12-26-2017, 11:28 PM
A sharp cracking sound permeated the muted soundscape of the Nexus. Where there had just been a gently gurgling porcelain fountain now stood a towering glacier of bruise-colored, bloody ice. It stood there for a long moment, just long enough for a few of the bystanders to close their gawking mouths before it shattered in a manner just as unceremonious as its appearance. As chips of purple ice clattered across the smooth substrate of the yawning expanse, a lone figure rose from the core of the structure.
It was a droid of some sort, with gleaming metal armor and white-painted trimmings...at least up to its face. The four-eyed mask that the Prime wore was pitted and covered in a veneer of patchy rust. Bilious green eyes glowered out from under the faceplate, scanning the perimeter of his violent egress.
Kopaka was displeased.
While his final moments within the whirling darkness of the collapsing Nebula space were hazy and half-remembered, Kopaka did recall that he had been hoping the dying dimension would purchase him sweet release from this hellish cycle foisted upon him by the churlish god of the Omniverse. As his immense unluck would have it, it seemed being crushed out of existence was no more or less a death than a cursory stab to the eye. Even now, though, his mind felt fevered and unsteady. The Darkness that had been welling up within him for so long within the Omniverse had been handily tempered within the bowels of Nebula Space.
The biomech stared at a hunk of the shadowed ice in his palm, contemplating its significance. His mind did feel different, aside from the simple fallout of resurrection. A cursory glance through his data drive indicated he hadn't lost any knowledge or processing ability in his fall to darkness, but his inherent willingness to think had diminished severely. To put it simply, Kopaka was fed up.
Losing and failure were things he could come to terms with. It happened. What Kopaka could no longer stomach was his apparent inability to find a worthy cause that would not only satisfy him, but also keep him as an ally. Duty. The simple word that he had decided to let rule his life. For so long he had searched for a Duty to serve within the Omniverse, and none had sustained him. Things fizzled out, got in his way, pulled him out or pushed him outwards. Speaking of which, a few of the bystanders who were staring at him seemed to be Imperial Stormtroopers. In particular, they seemed to be Imperial Stormtroopers who were familiar with his legacy of failing the EPD.
Kopaka was displeased.
"Oh shit, Sanders. Check it out. It's the Pecker." the Stormtrooper chuckled through his vocoder, nudging his patrol partner with an elbow. The Pecker. How droll; the plebeians had affected a nickname for the Toa. Normally the Toa would have allowed this paltry insult to roll off his back, but his recent acquisition of a surfeit of bellicose bearing disallowed such resilience. The biomech stomped towards the pair of scout troopers, their visored helmets glinting in the ambient light of the nexus as they sat perched on a pair of swoop bikes.
"I wouldn't recommend provoking me at the moment, pawn." Kopaka hissed, keeping a determined set of eyes on the trooper. The scout sat up on his rust-colored speeder a little straighter.
"Stand down, Prime. Wannabe EPD scrubs like you don't get a free pass on indirect threats." the trooper cautioned, a sly hand moving slowly to his blaster. Kopaka knew this. But he also knew how screwed the trooper was if he continued with his harassment.
"Empire Peace Division Nexus Operations Manual, page ninety-one, section two, subheading a-one: All Secondary Empire personnel are to conduct themselves with aplomb in the presence of potentially dangerous Primes at all times, and avoid any conflict if possible. Such actions are included but not limited to heckling, unprovoked threats, unprovoked attacks, extortion or other antagonistic actions pursuant to damaging a Prime's livlihood. Failure to comply with this mandate will result in severe reprimand, following one week unpaid review period and reassignment..." Kopaka recited, keeping his eye trained on the trooper's own at all times. The Kanohi Akaku allowed Kopaka to see the man's pained expression as the guidebook's words hissed out from the Toa's own vocoder, inspiring more anger than suppression.
Before the trooper could respond, however, Kopaka continued.
"...Now, I know how much EPD personnel despise Nexus duty, so I would hate to see what Lieutenant Brath would move you to, following your review period. After all, I am not official and official EPD member yet, so the aforementioned clause is applicable in this instance." Kopaka said in a flat, bored tone. Yes, Kopaka could see the dread on the man's helmeted face. The resentment and loathing were palpable. Where sword and shield might fail to terrify, the Toa had just attacked the man with his own ontological armor, and it clearly stung. The biomech continued trudging on past the mounted Imperials towards the distant gate to Corsuscant. Whether or not the scout had taken him seriously was largely inconsequential; the point was that he had managed to rebut the EPD whelp's nagging in a way that didn't give the secondary scum more leverage over him. It felt...good.
Duty still called out to Kopaka, but he was done wading amongst the dregs of the Omniverse's secondary rat pack. He would find his higher purpose within this segmented Universe, and the more people he could vault over at once, the better. Surmounting the fickle henpecking of the EPD would be a large step in the right direction.
So, Kopaka kept putting one foot in front of the other, as always, and headed to that inequitable den of corruption and self-service, so far, yet so intimate to him...
It was a droid of some sort, with gleaming metal armor and white-painted trimmings...at least up to its face. The four-eyed mask that the Prime wore was pitted and covered in a veneer of patchy rust. Bilious green eyes glowered out from under the faceplate, scanning the perimeter of his violent egress.
Kopaka was displeased.
While his final moments within the whirling darkness of the collapsing Nebula space were hazy and half-remembered, Kopaka did recall that he had been hoping the dying dimension would purchase him sweet release from this hellish cycle foisted upon him by the churlish god of the Omniverse. As his immense unluck would have it, it seemed being crushed out of existence was no more or less a death than a cursory stab to the eye. Even now, though, his mind felt fevered and unsteady. The Darkness that had been welling up within him for so long within the Omniverse had been handily tempered within the bowels of Nebula Space.
The biomech stared at a hunk of the shadowed ice in his palm, contemplating its significance. His mind did feel different, aside from the simple fallout of resurrection. A cursory glance through his data drive indicated he hadn't lost any knowledge or processing ability in his fall to darkness, but his inherent willingness to think had diminished severely. To put it simply, Kopaka was fed up.
Losing and failure were things he could come to terms with. It happened. What Kopaka could no longer stomach was his apparent inability to find a worthy cause that would not only satisfy him, but also keep him as an ally. Duty. The simple word that he had decided to let rule his life. For so long he had searched for a Duty to serve within the Omniverse, and none had sustained him. Things fizzled out, got in his way, pulled him out or pushed him outwards. Speaking of which, a few of the bystanders who were staring at him seemed to be Imperial Stormtroopers. In particular, they seemed to be Imperial Stormtroopers who were familiar with his legacy of failing the EPD.
Kopaka was displeased.
"Oh shit, Sanders. Check it out. It's the Pecker." the Stormtrooper chuckled through his vocoder, nudging his patrol partner with an elbow. The Pecker. How droll; the plebeians had affected a nickname for the Toa. Normally the Toa would have allowed this paltry insult to roll off his back, but his recent acquisition of a surfeit of bellicose bearing disallowed such resilience. The biomech stomped towards the pair of scout troopers, their visored helmets glinting in the ambient light of the nexus as they sat perched on a pair of swoop bikes.
"I wouldn't recommend provoking me at the moment, pawn." Kopaka hissed, keeping a determined set of eyes on the trooper. The scout sat up on his rust-colored speeder a little straighter.
"Stand down, Prime. Wannabe EPD scrubs like you don't get a free pass on indirect threats." the trooper cautioned, a sly hand moving slowly to his blaster. Kopaka knew this. But he also knew how screwed the trooper was if he continued with his harassment.
"Empire Peace Division Nexus Operations Manual, page ninety-one, section two, subheading a-one: All Secondary Empire personnel are to conduct themselves with aplomb in the presence of potentially dangerous Primes at all times, and avoid any conflict if possible. Such actions are included but not limited to heckling, unprovoked threats, unprovoked attacks, extortion or other antagonistic actions pursuant to damaging a Prime's livlihood. Failure to comply with this mandate will result in severe reprimand, following one week unpaid review period and reassignment..." Kopaka recited, keeping his eye trained on the trooper's own at all times. The Kanohi Akaku allowed Kopaka to see the man's pained expression as the guidebook's words hissed out from the Toa's own vocoder, inspiring more anger than suppression.
Before the trooper could respond, however, Kopaka continued.
"...Now, I know how much EPD personnel despise Nexus duty, so I would hate to see what Lieutenant Brath would move you to, following your review period. After all, I am not official and official EPD member yet, so the aforementioned clause is applicable in this instance." Kopaka said in a flat, bored tone. Yes, Kopaka could see the dread on the man's helmeted face. The resentment and loathing were palpable. Where sword and shield might fail to terrify, the Toa had just attacked the man with his own ontological armor, and it clearly stung. The biomech continued trudging on past the mounted Imperials towards the distant gate to Corsuscant. Whether or not the scout had taken him seriously was largely inconsequential; the point was that he had managed to rebut the EPD whelp's nagging in a way that didn't give the secondary scum more leverage over him. It felt...good.
Duty still called out to Kopaka, but he was done wading amongst the dregs of the Omniverse's secondary rat pack. He would find his higher purpose within this segmented Universe, and the more people he could vault over at once, the better. Surmounting the fickle henpecking of the EPD would be a large step in the right direction.
So, Kopaka kept putting one foot in front of the other, as always, and headed to that inequitable den of corruption and self-service, so far, yet so intimate to him...
C O L D