A short piece, taking place within the span of less than five minutes. Dialogue and action light, exposition heavy; this is just a character’s train of thought. More or less canon compliant, but I do downplay previous interactions between Jaller and Matoro.
…
Jaller sat in contemplation. His general strike had been a success: Turaga Nokama had told him everything. The Toa Nuva had been sent to “the Island of Doom” on a quest to save the very life of Mata Nui. Not just asleep, but dying from Makuta’s spell. Nokama had been light on detail, but the urgency of this task was conveyed.
‘They can’t possibly do this alone!’ said Jaller, to nobody in particular. He was in his Ta-Metru apartment, alone. ‘None of the other Toa’s quests had been done without Matoran help! How many times did Matoran guide them to the masks? Alert them to Rahi dens? Waged war against the Bohrok?’
He was right. Though they were the long prophecised heroes that were meant to solve all the Matoran’s woes, the Matoran had to be an active force in aiding them. Why then should they be expected to save Mata Nui’s life alone?
They would need help, Jaller decided. He briefly envisioned a legion of Matoran from the various militias following in the Toa’s wake, but he quickly shook this idea from his head.
‘Mustn’t leave the city defenceless,’ he said to the window. His apartment held a view of the Ta-Metru coastline, a line of facilities bringing in the water (no no, liquid protodermis , apparently) as coolant for the foundries. Jaller had to fight with his fellow Matoran for this view.
Images came to his mind of Takua’s company that he had led to the Kini-Nui. No more than seven Matoran tasked with defending the temple from the Rahi. They had required the intervention of a hundred other Matoran in the end, but they held on magnificently before that.
A team of seven, then. Six Matoran, including himself, as well as Takanuva. He never even considered how many to take. Six was just a natural go-to number in Matoran culture. He likewise never even considered whether or not to take Takanuva; it was so obvious he should.
‘I don’t understand why they left him here in the first place. “Protect us in the Toa’s absence” yeah that’s what the militias are for!’
But who to take? Himself, obviously. Taking five of his guards was his immediate reaction. Himself, backed by Agni, Kalama, Kapura, Keahi, and Nuhrii. All good and brave Matoran, whom Jaller could rely on.
But was that the best choice? Perhaps not. It would gut the Ta-Koro… Ta- Metru Guard of its best warriors. This city was new territory, unknown to the Matoran, and the Turaga had pointed out that it was not totally safe yet. Again, Nokama had specified this was why they kept Takanuva back. Perhaps some lingering “Visorak” were waiting to be found, or some of those “Dark Hunters.” There were very suspicious icebergs looming around the city as well.
Takua’s company came back to his mind. He had a Matoran of each village, not including himself. A diverse group with the diverse talents that brought. Jaller should do the same. Including himself, he thought of taking each of the leaders of the six Matoran militia. The top warriors. Himself, Kongu, Ehyre, Kotu, Onepu, and Hewkii. What they would lack in number they would make up for in skill.
But was this still the best choice? He would be stripping the Matoran militia of their leadership. But he was close to getting the team he wanted. It just needed some tweaks.
Onepu should stay. Firstly, Jaller fully intended to lead this team and Onepu would do nothing but challenge his authority. Secondly, Onepu didn’t offer a different skill to this team; he was basically a black and purple version of Jaller but with extra boasting. Now, he technically had full reason to boast; he was a brilliant leader that had led the Ussalry to glory. Which was why he should be left behind to lead the Matoran in Jaller’s absence. Instead, Jaller would take that engineer that built the Boxors. Nuparu’s skills would serve them well.
‘Heck, maybe we take some Boxors.’
Hewkii should still come, he thought. The Po-Koro… Po- Metru Guard didn’t have a very rigidly defined hierarchy like the Ta-Metru Guard or the Ussalry. Hewkii wasn’t their leader so much as their best warrior. So in Hewkii’s absence they would lose that warrior, but they wouldn’t suffer any structural loss. They were all strong and skilled Matoran. Hewkii’s skills would be needed to aid the Toa Nuva, Jaller was sure.
‘It’s not like the Po-Matoran depend on him. They’re all competent fighters without him, and they’ll have the other militia for help anyway.’
The same could be said for Kongu. Fighting the Nui-Rama, with their tendency for kidnapping, had long convinced Kongu to train a dozen deputies to be able to take his place should he be snatched by the bugs. The Gukko Force would lose merely a singular pilot in Kongu’s absence, and Kongu’s fighting and navigational skills would be of great service in aiding the Toa Nuva.
‘And frankly, he’s the only one of those pilots that can fight without a bird.’
The same could not be said for Kotu and the Ga-Matoran. The organisation of the Ga-Koro… Ga- Metru Guard was a joke. They had no actual structure. What happened when they were attacked is that they would panic until Kotu whipped them into formation. Take her away and the Ga-Matoran would never organise themselves. Instead, Jaller would take Hahli. He considered this choice carefully. Was he only picking Hahli for their friendship? No. Hahli was an accomplished athlete, explorer, had fought the Bohrok, and was the Chronicler. Someone had to chronicle all this!
‘Besides, if I was letting friendship get in the way of my decisions, I would be leaving her behind away from the danger.’
As for Ko-Koro–
‘Oh for the love of Mata Nui. Ko-Metru. Metru . M. E. T. R. U. Metru. Get it right, Jaller!’ he shouted at himself. There was thump on the wall from Aodhan’s apartment.
–as for Ko-Metru… Ehrye and the Sanctum Guard were an interesting case. It was well organised enough that taking Ehrye wouldn’t harm their structure. But Ehrye was still pivotal to their function. Unlike most Ko-Matoran, he was talkative and actually communicated his thoughts and opinions. This allowed him to coordinate with Jaller and the other leaders far better than would be otherwise be possible. Ehrye should stay. Should the worst happen, he would be able to coordinate the Sanctum Guard’s cooperation with the other militia alongside Onepu.
‘All well and good, but who do I take in their place? With the others I just run into the “doesn’t communicate” problem.’
Maybe the one Takua took? Kopeke? He was a decent scout. But there was something telling Jaller he was wrong. Something telling him that he should choose somebody else. There was another Ko-Matoran. One that he had seen and spoken to often, but didn’t actually know that well. Nuju’s translator. They were an athlete, like most of them, and had fought somewhat during the Battle of Kini-Nui. If Takanuva was to be believed, they were also an expert mountaineer and tracker. Useful enough. What was his name?
‘I think it was… Matoro?’
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