sus
1 Like
how’s it sus?
Did Dume go into a vent at some point?
2 Likes
the timings on the side…
1 Like
Here’s chapter 12! This chapter focuses more on the Toa Nuva’s efforts to try to understand what’s going on! I hope you enjoy! 
Chapter 12
“There has to be a connection,” Kopaka muttered, pacing around the room. “There’s no blasted way two Turaga died one after another less than 24 hours apart.”
Kopaka stopped pacing around the room and looked at the bulletin board that was up on the wall. Ever since the Toa Nuva went their separate ways, Kopaka decided to become a private investigator and start his own service. It turned out to be a great decision on his part, as he made a lot of money nabbing famous criminals and handing them over to the RCF and the government. The bulletin board was crowded with pictures from his previous cases as they accumulated over time. However, two bright new pictures glared conspicuously from the middle of the board. They were the pictures of the now-late Turaga Onewa and Turaga Vakama. They were connected by threads to another, blacked out picture with a question mark on it.
“Well, we know that Sarda was found dead at the crime scene,” Onua offered. He was sitting to the side, dimly illuminated by a small lamp. “At least that tells us Sarda was the last person to see Vakama alive.”
“True,” Kopaka replied. He tacked up Sarda’s portrait on the board with a pin, and connected it to that of Vakama’s. “But I highly doubt it was a suicide bomb blast. Sarda was a lowly courier. I don’t think he had the expensive resources necessary to make such a bomb. Forensic scientists Vhisola and Tehutti sent me images of the rubble, and items they found amongst it. I saw a weird triangular shaped thing with circular outlines attached to it. It wasn’t found far from the epicenter of the blast, and it did destroy three other houses as well. There’s no way he would have made a bomb with such high grade explosives. There must have been at least 3 exploding Kanoka on there, judging from the charred and vague disk shapes. Exploding Kanoka are really rare and expensive, so someone else must have made the bomb.”
“But who could have made it? Obviously it’s someone with government funding and backing, because exploding Kanoka are still within government development,” Pohatu said. “That means there’s a traitor responsible for this madness lurking somewhere inside the system. Sarda had been used for killing Vakama, but by whom?”
“There’s only one way to figure that out,” Lewa said. “We need to track down who they met prior to their deaths.”
“That would be easy … except for the fact that there’s no information on who Onewa met right before his death. Turaga Dume claims he hadn’t seen him and that he’s sick, while the others said that he was sent to reason with Turaga Dume,” Kopaka sighed. “We don’t know whether Onewa was found coming back from Dume’s house or found going to his house.”
“I think the best course of action is to split up amongst ourselves,” Onua said. “Perhaps Kopaka can go investigate the rubble for evidence, and the rest of us can investigate Onewa’s side of the case and gather clues as to who Sarda met before heading for Vakama’s house. Chances are, he delivered the bomb from someone within the government. I think the council building is the first place we should look.”
The Toa Nuva nodded in unison at the plan Onua outlined. They then went their separate ways to investigate.
Kopaka pulled up to the remains of Vakama’s house in his vehicle. He parked the vehicle on the side of the road, and got off. He surveyed the scene, and took in every small detail. The modest house, as well as the houses to the left, right, and behind it were all reduced to rubble, razed to the ground. He had heard the explosion from the other side of the city. There were RCF units, Matoran, Toa, and Agori swarming the scene, and large areas were marked off with danger tape. Kopaka walked to the side and was promptly noticed by a group of Ta-Matoran, who let him pass.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” an Agori snapped at him.
Kopaka slowly turned around and fished around in his cloak pocket. He pulled out his ID card and showed it to him. The ID card had his picture, as well as “PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR” written on it. It also had the Central Institution of Investigation’s seal of approval on it, which serves as certification that he was allowed to operate on his own. Even though the CII certified it, they have no formal affiliation with Kopaka, or vice versa. The law in New Atero pertaining to private eyes is that they must undergo CII certification before being eligible to operate independently.
“Investigating,” he said coldly. He yanked it out of his hand and proceeded to the entrance of Vakama’s former house. He could hardly make out anything that used to be there; such was the impact of the bomb blast. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a team of Matoran carrying two bodies wrapped in full body bags, undoubtedly Vakama and Sarda. If he felt any emotion, he did not show it outwardly. He walked in and began to kneel down and sift through the rubble. After a good few minutes of searching, something caught his eye.
It was a leather bound book, heavily dusted. The Toa of Ice picked it up and began to thumb through the pages. A quick read of a few pages confirmed it was Vakama’s diary.
“This will be very useful. I’m going to keep this,” Kopaka said. Just as he pocketed the diary, a Matoran screamed.
“Hey Toa! This is a crime scene! Stop taking stuff! You’re tampering with evidence! RCF Units, come arrest this straggler!”
Kopaka walked up to him, glaring at the poor Po-Matoran.
“Listen, I do not have time to waste. You fools are delaying an important mission. Stay out of my way. I have CII approval to conduct my own investigations.” Kopaka pulled down his hood, which revealed his famed Akaku Nuva. The Po-Matoran gasped with shock upon seeing the face.
“I – I’m sorry, Toa Kopaka! I’m extremely sorry! My sincere apologies –” the Po-Matoran stammered. He was cut off by Kopaka helding a hand up to him.
“Save it,” he said. He began to walk away, hood back up again. He was not far from the Matoran when two RCF drones grabbed onto his arms with their claws and began to pull. Kopaka, quickly making a decision, split his sword into two, raised his hands up, and instantly flash froze the two robots. He turned around, blew a whiff of his icy breath onto the both of them, and knocked them over. They instantly shattered into a million pieces.
He searched for a little while longer, but did not find anything else worth his time that was considered important for the investigation. He was just about to exit the remains of the house when suddenly a giant hump of bricks and colored metal caught his eye. He walked over to it, and noticed the badly mangled remains of a bike.
This is either Sarda’s or Vakama’s bike, Kopaka thought to himself. He then noticed the badly mangled and dusted form of a license plate.
“License plate,” he muttered aloud. “If I can enter the number into the Automotive Vehicle Database, maybe I can get a confirmation.”
He pointed his finger at the metal rods holding the license plate to the bike and shot a thin beam of ice at it. He broke the bonds after having freezed them, and picked up the license plate in his hands. It was mangled, but not enough so that the text was rendered illegible. The text on the license plate read:
SDR-98 1AGH4
He placed the license plate in the bag and started to head towards his bike. The Toa stole one last glance at the house that once belonged to a village elder he was close with, that his former teammate was once close with.
Memories of his time with the other Toa Nuva, when they were still a team, began to flood his mind. When they were all gathered around Amaja Circle, listening to Turaga Vakama tell tales of ages past. When the six Toa together vanquished Makuta together. When Turaga Vakama defeated the Rahi Nui on his own. The number of times their wisdom has saved him, and the others, from disaster. Memories of his two fallen comrades, who will never return. Memories of the Turaga he regarded as father figures, deceased, never to come back again.
Kopaka uttered a silent prayer to himself, to the skies above, as he turned away from the house for the final time. He could not help but shed a lone tear for his fallen comrades, whose memories were evoked at the sight of the late Turaga’s house. No matter how hard he tried to portray himself as an unwavering, stoic hero, he just could not hold back the emotions any longer.
Wherever they are now, I hope they’ve finally found peace at last.
5 Likes
This chapter was good, it’ll be interesting to see how Dume reacts to Kopaka’s continued investigation.
2 Likes
Thank you!! 
1 Like
This story is possibly one of the best i’ve read here!
1 Like
true dat
After a long delay, Chapter 13 is finally here! Apologies for the wait, been busy with life. I hope you enjoy!
————————————-
Chapter 13
“Target arrived,” a notification said. It popped up at the bottom of Turaga Dume’s computer screen as a notification from the RCF central console.
Defilak is here and he’s been captured, Turaga Dume thought. All according to plan.
The RCF central console is hooked up to Dume’s computer and updates the central program constantly according to missions that were previously assigned. This is the robots’ way of letting Turaga Dume know that they have completed their assigned tasks.
Turaga Dume picked up his dispatcher and spoke a command into it.
“RCF Squadrons 2 and 4, place Defilak in a temporary jail cell. Await further instructions, stay on standby. Over.”
Turaga Dume sighed, put down his dispatcher, and got up from his desk.
I’ve made a risky move, arresting my own software engineer. This could be my very undoing, unless I tread carefully from here on out. I must not make a single mistake in executing my plan, but if I do, I’ll risk being murdered by the very entities that once fought for me. I must make sure to destroy all traces of the fabricated evidence once the RCF is through with Defilak. Turaga Dume contemplated his decision, plotting how to proceed next.
He opened up his mobile device and looked at the video that he received through the RCF central console. The RCF network was super encrypted and had no possible loopholes that one could possibly exploit; his very own engineers and hackers made sure of that. It was also a major bragging point for the RCF, as the Matoran who worked for the RCF boasted that the robots could not be corrupted and could do no harm.
He viewed the video on his mobile device, which came straight from the neural feed of three drones in Squadron 5.
“VAKAMA: Sarda, what brings you here?”
“SARDA: Turaga Dume wanted me to give this package to you.”
“VAKAMA: Here, give it to me. Thank you.”
“SARDA: No problem, I’ll see you around, Turaga.”
After the dialogue, the explosion was caught on video, after which the broadcast abruptly stopped. The three drones in Squadron 5 were destroyed by the blast.
Turaga Dume tapped his mask with one finger.
In order for my plan to succeed, I’m going to need to tamper with this video. This can be a valuable tool in blaming Defilak as a scapegoat in his upcoming court trial, Turaga Dume thought.
Just then, his dispatcher crackled. A voice came onto the radio. The all too familiar robotic, monotone voice of an RCF unit came onto the radio.
“SUSPECT ESCAPE ATTEMPT UNDERWAY. THWARTED BY RCF DRONES IN VICINITY. PRESENCE REQUIRED. BACKUP IMMEDIATELY REQUESTED. OVER.”
And now I’ve got just the means to frame him, Turaga Dume thought with glee. Any remorse he had shown earlier over his plan and the deaths it had caused, it was gone. His ambitions were flashing in the sky right in front of his eyes, his goals and dreams, and he was not going to let such an amazing opportunity slide past him, possibly never to be seen again.
Turaga Dume opened his office door and walked out. On his face was a cruel, wicked grin. He was going to seize this chance.
Defilak barely dodged the metal rod. It managed to just graze his mask, before coming down on the hard linoleum floor of the cell with a loud clang.
“I DIDN’T DO IT!” he protested, scurrying around the floor of the damp and dark cell. “PLEASE LET ME GO!”
His legs were tightly bound together by a metal chain, which was connected to an iron pillar in the center of the room. Prior to being stuck in this unfortunate situation, the last thing he remembered was the RCF trying to abduct him from his residence. It was not long ago he regained consciousness only to find himself imprisoned in an inhospitable dungeon-like cell after being subject to the RCF’s not-so-nice tasers.
I don’t know what they want from me, but I have to leave, and fast, Defilak thought desperately as he tried to dodge the blows of the RCF drone chasing him. It was too late. This thought momentarily distracted him, and he was just a little too slow. The metal rod wielding robot used this momentary distraction and gained the edge over him. It brought down the metal rod on the scurrying Le-Matoran as he tried desperately to dodge the bot. He let out a loud scream and lay still on the ground.
“TARGET SUBDUED,” the robot said. It muttered something in a really low frequency, and the voice of a Turaga, albeit crackling and laced with static, was clearly audible.
The door to the room opened. Light immediately flooded into the room, which was a welcome change from the dim light of one solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling. In walked a red Turaga holding a majestic looking, glowing scepter. None other than Turaga Dume himself. He motioned behind him, and two Matoran carried over a chair. One of them handed him a small remote, with two small red buttons on it.
“Set it down, and leave the room,” Turaga Dume ordered. “I have an interrogation to attend to.” He pointed his finger at the door, signaling for the two Matoran to exit the room.
Turaga Dume pulled out his dispatcher and contacted Raanu. “Get ready. Interrogation is about to start. Make sure the cameras and mics are live and recording. Monitor Defilak carefully.”
“RCF drones, place the Matoran in the chair. Strap him carefully, and shoot him with the stun guns if he tries to escape.”
On command, two RCF drones picked up the unconscious Matoran and strapped him to the chair. The chair looked not unlike a torture device, being lined with tiny little holes from which spikes would jut out. The remote would in theory also trigger an electric current to run through the chair, but it had been a long time since this chair was used in an interrogation. The use of the RCF and their beatings gradually put this chair out of use. However, Turaga Dume felt it was necessary to have both reinforcements in place, as Defilak had already tried to escape previously. These both prevention tools would help him keep the Matoran in place and force answers out of him.
Turaga Dume pointed the remote to the chair and pressed the second red button. A jolt of visible electricity ran through the chair, instantly snapping the Matoran back to consciousness. The voltage and intensity of the shock made him scream in agony.
“Where am I?” Defilak muttered. His breath was ragged from the intense pain he felt. “T - T - Turaga Dume?? What are you doing here?”
“You are in jail, Defilak. The government of New Atero has reason to believe you are involved in Turaga Vakama’s murder,” Dume said in a flat voice.
“W - W - what reason? I didn’t even do anything!” Defilak protested, his voice rising. A glint of rage flashed onto Dume’s face for a split second as he whacked Defilak’s head with his scepter.
“Wrong answer, Le-Matoran. Consider this your appetizer,” Turaga Dume said, smugly. “Tell me the right answer now. A few hours ago, a bomb blast occurred at a house in Lhikan sector, near the border with Mangai sector. We know this house was Vakama’s, and he perished in the bomb blast. What is your link to this?”
“I DON’T HAVE A LINK! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING! PLEASE! TRUST ME!” Defilak screamed. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!”
In response, Turaga Dume picked up his remote and pressed the first button. Spikes from inside the chair protruded up all over the place, and Defilak let out an agonizing, blood curdling scream. Drops of blood rolled down the chair’s legs. The lone lightbulb hanging above the room started to flicker. It briefly blinked twice.
“You claim to not know what I’m talking about, is that right?” Dume asked. “Am I a fool to you now? An incompetent old man who doesn’t know what he’s saying? I could not have been more crystal clear in my statement – you are linked to Vakama’s murder, and here is how.” Dume pulled out his dispatcher and muttered something into it. An overhead projector suddenly turned on, and a video started playing. It was the video that had captured the final moments of Vakama’s life. Except, there was something seriously wrong with it.
“VAKAMA: Sarda, what brings you here?”
“SARDA: Defilak wanted me to give this package to you.”
“VAKAMA: Here, give it to me. Thank you.”
“SARDA: No problem, I’ll see you around, Turaga.”
The video evidence recorded by the RCF was tampered with to make it sound like Sarda had uttered Defilak’s name instead of Turaga Dume’s.
Upon hearing and seeing the video, an expression of rage, as opposed to the cowardice he had shown earlier, appeared on Defilak’s face.
“Why ask me questions when you already know the answer?” Defilak spat. “You’re just trying to frame me for a crime someone else committed, just because that person in question used Sarda as a vector for his bomb. You know that Sarda lives — lived — with me, and you’re using that fact against me!” His voice was full of barely contained rage.
Turaga Dume pressed one button on his remote twice. Two powerful jolts of electricity wracked the chair — as well as the Matoran strapped to it. The chair started to smoke, but it quickly fizzled out.
I better be careful, Turaga Dume thought to himself. I might accidentally burn him alive, and I can’t let that happen. Not if I want my plan to succeed.
His thought was interrupted by the loud and harsh scream of Defilak, who had just been electrocuted by two high voltage bolts of electricity.
“How clever of you to figure that out,” Dume sneered. “As if that wasn’t apparent already.”
“So. You know I’m innocent. You’re trying to FRAME ME FOR A CRIME I DID NOT COMMIT!” Defilak exploded. He was about to leap out of his chair and attack Turaga Dume, had the straps not restrained him.
“Yes,” Dume admitted. “The only way my plan can succeed. You’re going to admit to orchestrating this plot, whether you like it or not.”
“What plot? Now you’re going to blame me for Onewa’s murder as well?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I’ve planted your fingerprints and biological material all over Onewa’s corpse via the RCF. In case you forgot, every citizen of New Atero, as per article 35 section 3 of the Constitution, is required by law to be documented via biometrics in order to purchase a place of residence within the city. I have your fingerprint, and I’ve used it to its advantages.”
“No … no … ,” Defilak breathed.
“Also, since you’re an employee of a government subsidiary, I have all of your data locked away in a secure database I and only I can access. It’s game over for you.”
“NO! I WON’T LET THIS TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE HAPPEN! YOU’VE COMPLETELY CHANGED MY OPINIONS ON THE CITY THAT I’VE TRUSTED! THIS CITY IS A CORRUPT HELLHOLE THAT’S GOING TO KARZAHNI! IT ISN’T AND NEVER WAS THE UTOPIA YOU CLAIMED IT TO BE! YOU ARE SUCH A TWISTED, CRUEL, AND WICKED MONSTER!”
“You got that right,” Dume smirked. “It never was the utopia I claimed it to be.”
Dume pressed the button on his remote once again. The spikes protruded out of the chair and stabbed into Defilak’s legs and back with extreme force. Blood rolled down the chair, causing permanent stains. He pulled out his dispatcher, and summoned two RCF scouts. The small, four armed droids scuttled into the room and awaited further instructions.
“Persuasion mode activate,” Dume ordered. “Coercion in order for target.”
The eyes of the two scouts glowed bright red and flashed rapidly. Two drones stepped in front of the Le-Matoran and took aim with their guns. This was supposed to give Defilak the effect that he was hallucinating and was being threatened at gunpoint to reveal the answers. A strange powder-like substance was ejected from the eyes of the drones, which coated the Le-Matoran’s face. This fully tranquilized him, and the RCF units stepped back.
“Now speak. Where were you last night?”
”I was in a dark alleyway at the junction between Nuva and Metru sectors,” Defilak said in a hallucinatory, drugged state. The thing about the powder was that it masked all feelings of lethargy and made the user seem like he or she was completely active and alert. His induced hallucination made him nervous and his breath ragged. “P - P - please don’t shoot me,” Defilak stammered. Because of the drug, all traces of anger were replaced with fear.
“What happened this morning?”
“There was a bomb blast in Lhikan sector this morning.”
“Are you responsible for the murders of Turaga Onewa and Turaga Vakama by homicide with gun and bomb blast, respectively?”
It’s game over now, Turaga Dume thought with excitement. My plan has succeeded. I have all the evidence necessary, and Defilak will be executed by the state.
“Yes.”
4 Likes
I like your writing style. May I add a suggestion to make it more easy on the eyes to read?
You have times in the story where characters think thoughts to themselves. I think italicizing these moments can help the reader better infer these type of scenes. Additionally, times if intensity/actions can be bolded to help as well. Keep up the story!
1 Like
Wow
poor defilak
ooh very interesting
Defilak getting framed?
things’ll really get tense soon
Dume’s probably gonna get some really awful karma at the end of this
2 Likes
Heheh that’d be funny
Defiak: (initiates override code) disassemble Dume
2 Likes
We’ll see … 
Just a heads up, please don’t expect chapter 14 for at least another two weeks, as I’m currently in the middle of a busy week at high school and I will be traveling soon, so that will take up my time. I promise I haven’t given up on this, as I’ve made a New Years resolution to myself that I will finish this story before 2022 is over
Some stories must be told… and some must continue
Thanks for understanding! 
4 Likes
UPDATE
I’ve started work on chapters 14 and 15 because I’ve found some free time to work after a brief hiatus. I’ll be releasing them together sometime this week or the next (tentatively), so stay tuned for that!
The show will go on … 
2 Likes
UPDATE
I didn’t discontinue the project! Here’s chapter 14! This one took me a solid month to finish, mainly because school got into the way.
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 14
Onua and Lewa bent over the corpse of the dead Turaga of Stone and carefully brushed it with a specialized powder. Upon applying the powder, a whole set of fingerprints were uncovered on the mangled and now unidentifiable body.
“Wait a second, there’s something off about these fingerprints,” Onua said. “Lewa, have a look.”
The Toa Nuva of Air bent down to look at the body when suddenly a blast of cold, hard ice struck him square in the back. He was instantly knocked over and just narrowly avoided falling on the body. Moments later, Onua was also knocked over by a blast of ice.
The form of Kualus, Toa Hagah of Ice, loomed over them, spear still frosting.
“Sorry Toa, this is government property. You can’t conduct unauthorized investigations. It’s against the law,” Kualus said. He began to walk away.
Onua sat up and gingerly rubbed his head. The bolt of ice had struck him hard, but at least some of the pain was canceled out due to his immense strength and higher tolerance for pain than his brothers.
“Well, is it really against the law if you’re part of the government?” he asked.
Kualus turned around. “Huh?”
Onua brandished his ID badge. It had a picture of him, and the title “GOVERNMENT AGENT.” He handed it over to the Toa Hagah of Ice for inspection.
Kualus glanced at it briefly before handing it back to Onua. “I’m assuming Lewa and Pohatu are government agents as well, right?”
“Yes, they are,” Onua said, glancing at his two brothers that accompanied him on this little investigation. Lewa had not regained consciousness, and Pohatu was standing off to the side facing the other direction, refusing to look at the mangled and disformed body of someone he held dear.
“Must have hit him too hard,” Kualus softly muttered under his breath as he walked away.
Lewa groaned and sat up. He glanced to the side to see the soulless and eerie gaze of the dead body meet his eyes. The Toa of Air quickly recoiled in disgust and stood up.
“Ouch … What in Mata Nui was that?” Lewa said.
“Just an unwarranted warning from the government,” Onua replied flatly. He then turned his attention back to the corpse of Turaga Onewa. As much as he hated to look at it further, he still had to carry out the investigation.
“Lewa, there’s something off about the body,” Onua said, peering over the corpse. “There’s two gunshot wounds in the head and one in the back, but … there aren’t any bullets. Also, weirdly enough, there are fingerprints on the body, all over. Is this making any sense at all? I mean, it would make sense if the body was shifted here to be disposed of, but then that would mean there has to be traces of blood or other bodily secretions in another place not too far, and I haven’t seen that. Especially if a firearm was the weapon of choice for this murder. Surely there must have been some leakage of blood.”
“I notice that too,” Lewa said. He focused his attention on the wound in the corpse’s back, trying his best not to faint due to sheer disgust. “It seems the wounds are also deep too. That means the bullet must have gone in with more force than normal.”
“That also means there must have been a louder sound produced when the gun was fired, which means it was not just some regular, ordinary handgun that was used in the murder. It must have been some high end rifle of sorts,” Pohatu said, speaking up for the first time since they arrived at this spot.
“I remember hearing a loud crack in the city square, just before the Council Building Riot, when Nuhrii was killed. It’s very likely these two murders could have a connection, which the timeframe in which these events happened is indicative of. Pohatu, I think you should head to the mortuary to take a look at Nuhrii’s body and see what happened. You’re obviously not in the mindset to tackle this part of the investigation,” Onua observed.
“Maybe I should do that,” Pohatu replied. He walked away from the scene where Onua and Lewa lay over the body.
“The fingerprints also look-seem really strange. They don’t look like a Dark Hunter, Toa, or any other higher being could have done this. They are small in size, which means it could have possibly been a Matoran or a Turaga that had done it,” Lewa remarked. “Why anyone would kill Onewa is beyond me.”
“Perhaps it’s because Onewa was one of the rulers of New Atero? This murder, as well as Vakama’s and Nuhrii’s must have been politically motivated. But that doesn’t explain why the killer would target an opposition leader first and then a member of the ruling party. Or maybe, the culprit has a higher motive in mind. It’s highly likely that the person responsible works within the central government, especially since the weapon used in Vakama’s murder was a bomb made of highly expensive, rare exploding Kanoka only available within the government. After we finish collecting evidence here we should head to the council building and ask the couriers.”
Onua finished speaking and sat down to meditate for a second, trying to make sense of what was going on. He finished his contemplation a few seconds later and opened his eyes.
“Lewa, we should collect the fingerprints. We need to send them to the forensics department as soon as possible. We have absolutely no time to waste.”
The two Toa Nuva dusted the entire body and transferred the prints they found onto a clear film, which they carefully wrapped. Onua handed it to a nearby Ga-Matoran CII agent and asked her to drop it off at the forensics laboratory. He also handed his mobile contact pincode on a small strip of paper along with the fingerprints to her and told her to ask the forensics lab to send the results to that number. He saw the Matoran leave on her bike, and then turned around to face the Toa Nuva of Air.
“We - we - we should really leave now,” Lewa said. “I don’t want to look at any more dead bodies.”
“After all is said and done, we should give Onewa and Vakama a proper burial. They don’t deserve to be stuck in a mortuary as any other random dead person,” Onua sighed.
“We’ve already done two burials,” Lewa said, sadly. “Even then, I still don’t have a sense of closure. None of us really know what became of Tahu, and Gali’s body was never found.”
“How many more do we need to do?” Onua murmured, tone grim.
The two Toa signaled for a Matoran to come over with a body bag in hand. They watched as the Matoran inserted the corpse into the body bag, tied it tightly, and hauled it out of sight.
Before leaving, Lewa and Onua glanced one last time at the Turaga that was now no more, wrapped tightly and being hauled off to an unknown afterlife. Their hands rose up to their masks in one final salute.
“Farewell, Turaga Onewa.”
“May I gain access to the morgue?” Pohatu requested. He was speaking to the De-Matoran at the mortuary front desk.
“Not if you have a valid reason to do so, Toa Pohatu,” he replied, sternly. “My sincere apologies for refusing a Toa Nuva, but that is government law. I’m afraid you cannot.”
Pohatu presented his government ID card to the clerk, who quickly glanced it over.
“Satisfied?” Pohatu snapped, immediately regretting his tone.
“I - uh - yeah, you can go,” the De-Matoran stammered, taken aback by the tone of voice.
“Sorry, De-Matoran, that came out more rudely than intended. My apologies,” Pohatu quickly said. The De-Matoran nodded in acceptance and beckoned for a Su-Matoran escort to come. The escort led Pohatu down to the basement, which contained all the bodies of all sorts of beings, Dark Hunters to Toa to Agori. They were all neatly locked away in drawers to prevent the smell from coming out.
The escort walked over to the desk and turned on his computer. He quickly opened up a master list of every identified body currently occupying a locker.
“Tell me which locker you need opened,” the Su-Matoran grunted. Pohatu could clearly tell that the Matoran hated his job, and understandably so. He then remembered that almost 70 percent of the city lived in poverty and that they had to take up all sorts of occupations to make ends meet.
He scanned the list until he found a 6 digit code with the name Nuhrii printed next to it.
“Locker 652817, please. I need the locker opened. Also, I need to examine the body.”
The Su-Matoran walked down a long corridor and unlocked locker 652817. Underneath the padlock read a sticker that read “Nuhrii.”
“Here you go,” he said, as he pulled out the drawer fully.
Pohatu looked down at the Ta-Matoran’s body. It was wrapped in a thick white sheet, which he began to pull back. Upon closer inspection of the bare body, Pohatu noticed that the Ta-Matoran’s armor and Kanohi were removed. What lay there was his bare body, biomechanical parts completely exposed.
He noticed a bullet wound in the chest that sank really deep. It pierced his heartlight clean and damaged much of the surrounding organ and wires that connect it.
He was one-shotted for sure, Pohatu thought.
The Toa of Stone bent over and looked inside the wound. Blood that was dripping from the wound dried in its tracks, leaving the trail still plainly visible. Upon examination he noticed the bullet was still there. He had no doubt the bullet penetrated his chestplate.
He turned to his escort. “Can I borrow a forceps, please?”
“I’ll get one, wait for a sec,” the Matoran grunted. He handed the forceps to Pohatu and watched. Pohatu carefully inserted the forceps into the wound and gently pulled out the bullet. He set it aside on the table and put a glove onto his armored hand.
That’s strange, there’s a bullet in Nuhrii’s body. Onewa and Nuhrii were killed by likely the same type of gun, and the wound in Nuhrii’s chest and Onewa’s back have the same dimensions, Pohatu said to himself. Interesting. Onewa’s body didn’t have a bullet inside it, and had a separate wound in the head. Whoever murdered Onewa took out the bullets but forgot to do the same for Nuhrii.
Pohatu carefully picked up the bullet and held it up to the lightbulb nearby. What he saw almost knocked the wind out of him.
“ MADE FOR THE RCF: PROTECTING CIVILIANS FROM EVIL SINCE 3075.”
“You think Sarda’s last visit would show up on the courier logs?” Lewa asked Onua, while walking. The two Toa were headed to the central office of the courier department wing in the Council Building.
“We don’t even know if the package was authorized or not, especially since it came from the government itself. It could have been a covert delivery, for all we know.”
“That’s against the law, though.”
“Yes, I know, any package coming straight from or to the government must be approved by both the censor and courier departments. I think we should check on the courier logs, especially since the courier logs are constantly updated as to which courier leaves and arrives at the building. If no one else knows, this is our only resource.”
Lewa and Onua arrived at the central office. At the front was a Ta-Matoran wearing a shiny new noble Kanohi Calix.
“What can I do for you Toa?” he asked politely.
“We need to check the courier logs, urgently,” Onua demanded. “We’re government agents investigating a high profile case. We have no other option, I’m afraid.” Onua and Lewa showed their ID cards to validate their claim.
“Alright then, step this way,” he responded. He led the two Toa to a dark room with a giant telescreen attached to the wall. Next to the telescreen was a computer with a constantly updating spreadsheet.
Onua sat down at the computer desk, opened up the command console, and began to type on the keyboard.
He began to type in the command console a few lines of code with the specified filters, and then hit enter.
Onua and Lewa stared at the screen, completely taken aback. What they saw on the screen went completely against their predictions.
1 result
Specified Timeframe - 00:00 to 10:30
Sarda - Building Exit
Unknown Destination
Not verified
08:44 Departure from Security Checkpoint 7
“So … Sarda did show up on the logs,” Lewa remarked. “But we know he delivered the bomb, and all packages leaving or entering the Council Building must be cross checked. This is not adding up.”
“How can a package containing a bomb go undetected? Our X-ray machines are usually strong enough to detect such a thing!” Onua exclaimed.
“Maybe it’s not the verification itself, but who DOES the verification,” Lewa replied after a few moments of speculation.
“Who does it though?” Onua asked.
“I think we should check the CCTV footage to find out,” Lewa answered. He beckoned for the Ta-Matoran to enter the room, and ushered him to sit down at the desk.
“Can you open up the CCTV footage from 08:30 to 09:00?” Onua asked the Ta-Matoran.
“Sorry, I cannot,” the Ta-Matoran informed him. “You only asked for the courier log, and it was my responsibility to give only that to you.”
Lewa grabbed the Matoran on the shoulders. “Listen, firespitter, it’s not a choice. It’s an order. The city’s fate is at stake here.”
The Matoran, obviously frightened, backed off and put his hands in the air. “Fine, I’ll do it,” he mumbled. “It’s important to you, I guess.”
He opened up a program on the computer and played the CCTV footage from security checkpoint 7. It clearly showed a Ta-Matoran in conversation with two RCF units, and then leaving shortly after. Onua noticed that the package was not thoroughly inspected by the RCF units.
RCF DRONE 1: Where are you headed?
SARDA: Turaga Vakama. Turaga Dume asked me to deliver an important package to him.
RCF DRONE 2: Suspect cleared. Exit and re-entry authorized.
“The fact that the drones did not bother to check the package … it worries me,” Onua said.
“The RCF is probably in on this plan,” Lewa said. “They did not even bother to check the package after Sarda stated that it was from Turaga Dume. Either the packages coming from the Turaga are not properly scanned, or Dume or one of the Turaga is under this entire scheme, since the RCF is under their joint control.”
Just then, Onua’s mobile device buzzed with a notification. He pulled it out and clicked on it. It was as if they were uncovering surprise after surprise today, because the results of the forensic test of the fingerprints came out.
Interestingly enough, he also received the same text message from Pohatu. I guess the same fingerprints were planted on Nuhrii’s body, he thought. This is definitely a framed case.
He opened up the message.
Fingerprint forensic test result:
1 match found
Defilak, Le-Matoran.
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