The City of Aluxa

Three RMS trucks roll up. They seem pretty capable of laying waste to a small village. Perhaps not the city of Aluxa, but a small village.

The vehicles slow at the gates, and the driver of the first truck reaches to the dashboard and begins speaking. Within his vehicle, the agent ready their heavy assault weapons; the other drivers pass on the message to their charges, who do the same. The convoy nonetheless stops at the gates.

"We're here on a diplomatic mission from the Brotherhood of Makuta," calls the principal driver to the Toa at the gate. He makes a note that the Toa's armor is gold and white, like a Toa of Light's. He would make the primary target if things ran downhill. He follows up with, "Is there any process we need to go through to enter?"

The driver nods and makes a sweeping gesture out the window, signalling to the other trucks his intent to begin moving. The convoy enters the gates and upon sighting the central sphere drives to it.

"Remember," the commander begins, "we're not here to wipe them out. I know this is a strange development for all of you, but we're here to make friends with them. Absolutely not violence unless things turn lethally against us. Understood?" Affirmations resound throughout the convoy. Once the sphere is reached, all agents disembark; one unarmed agent, a Toa of Psionics, is sent inside with two armed agents each of Ehlek's species. The rest stand guard in a semicircle around the trucks. They're expecting cynical response and remember the pressure to remain peaceful.

The ambassador steps into the room and faces the guard. She nods, understanding that arriving unannounced was certainly not in anyone's best interests. "I believe a tour of your facilities would prove most educational, thank you." She turns to the guards, who put away their weapons and nod as well.

Meanwhile, the guards attempt to remain inconspicuous and appear nonthreatening, though they cannot help but recognize how awkward the situation is.

The guard nodded and withdrew, leaving the ambassador and her retinue to their own devices. The entrance was left gaping open, presumably so as to reassure the soldiers outside that their diplomat remained unharmed.

A black Matoran stumped in a few minutes later. Upon seeing the ambassador and her escort, he dipped into a shallow bow. "This unworthy soul has been sent as your guide." He straightened, undermining his previous self-debasing remark with a direct gaze into the Toa's eyes. "Please, follow me."

Without giving her a chance to respond, he spun and walked towards the room's exit. A scar was revealed as his back was turned, a garish, twisting gash that snaked from the left shoulder to the right flank. Still facing away, he began to speak.

"I suspect that, given who your masters are, your primary interest is our military. Let me spare you the attempted wheedling and surreptitious observation; we have no factories or foundries. Only a regime with the intent to conquer requires anything other than a simple force of guardians, and you have already seen ours at their posts."

He paused for a brief moment, with his voice if not his feet. When he continued, he would once again roll right over anything the ambassador had been trying to say. "Seeing as our society doesn't revolve around military force, I'm not certain what you'd want to see. The living conditions of our people are plain enough, and I'm not about to invade their privacy for the sake of some diplomat sent by that band of—"

The Matoran visibly took mastery of himself, swallowing the beginnings of his tirade. "I offer my regrets. That was unbecoming of me. Our violence-related facilities may be lacking, but I do have something to show you." He bowed once more and continued on.

They soon came to a lift that, should the Toa still be following, would take them back to the ground. As the lift doors opened, a towering structure was revealed. It was a domed building supported on all sides by columns and buttresses. A steady stream of inhabitants, mechanical and biological, were entering and exiting through a massive pair of doors.

"Come." The Matoran joined the line, the Toa and her guardians presumably following. They soon entered the structure to find a vast, open interior. Only footsteps marred the silence inside the doors. Ornate carvings were sprawled upon each wall, and the floor itself was elaborately done. Directly underneath the dome, etched in the sleekest obsidian, was the symbol for Light.

Glatoran, Agori, Matoran, and Toa were scattered about. Most sat in small alcoves or rooms set off from the main, meditating. A single closed scroll lau upon a pedestal beyond the dome.

The Matoran dropped his voice to a hushed whisper, so as to avoid disturbing the others. "We aren't forced to participate, but most of us follow a certain... philosophy, I suppose. The Path of Enlightenment. I'm no priest, and I've never been much of a speaker. Whatever the case, the tenets teach serenity, understanding, and self-betterment."

He took a deep breath, interrupting the flow of his speech. His small hands closed into fists and an edge came into his voice, the same that had intruded earlier. "What do you believe in, Toa? What do your masters believe in?"

The diplomat took in her pacifist surroundings with a mixture of disgust and fear. Only people extremely confident in their own defense would dare be so... so lax in their defense. While the Matoran's words did bite, she noted that they came from an ignorant Matoran and let it go.

The temple was to the Toa what the crucifix was to a vampire. She was compelled to fall to her knees but her entourage threw out their clawed hands, holding her upright. "We believe in a ... different path to peace. Security over freedom. A necessary sacrifice, but only the Makuta... are fit... to rule."

The Makuta arrived just in time to hear the ambassador's final remark; the irony wasn't lost on him. He approached the four beings, dipping into an ever-so-slight bow upon reaching them. "Greetings, ambassador."

It had to be said; that Toa wasn't looking too well. The taint of his misguided brethren was clearly stamped upon her soul.

The Matoran was returning his bow and excusing himself. It was time, then, to move the conversation.

"It would pain me to disturb the meditation of these beings. Shall we relocate to a more suitable area?" The Makuta glanced about the building, running across an empty alcove in the process. Perfect. He pointed to it with one clawed finger. "There, perhaps."

Assuming that the diplomat took him up on his offer, he would kneel in that alcove and shift his weight back onto his toes. He did not initiate the conversation, choosing to sit in silence until she wished to speak.

She bows her head in recognition and replies, "Greetings to you, Makuta." She followed his lead to the alcove, squatting opposite him and waving the guards to post themselves at the doors.

For a time, she stared in silence at the Makuta, attempting to read him without the use of Psionics; as an agent who had to work with Makuta and other agents with mental shields, this was a critical skill. However, even with her ability, she could detect nothing from the wise being's darkened visor. She realized this was getting nowhere and customarily cleared her throat. "I represent Makuta Inharax of the Brotherhood of Makuta. We have come to make contact with this city on the terms of a possible friendly relationship between the two states. Inharax is interested in cooperating with his--" the ambassador made a near-instant calculation for the politically-correct term "-- differently-aligned brethren in this city to ensure peace and prosperity for all the world. This is a cause we have reason for you to believe in yourself, Makuta...?"

She makes a gesture conveying her wish to learn the Makuta's name.

The diplomat maintains a straight, dispassionate face. "Inharax is all there is of the Brotherhood. Its other leaders and members have cast everything aside: the Plan, their original purpose, even their name. He has recognized and corrected the Plan's failings, and seeks to return the Brotherhood to its original role as producers and guardians for a flourishing world. I have nothing but respect and admiration for the Makuta."