Okay, so, quick recap of my time on Scorched Earth: my attempt to subvert the ARK system has failed, I ended up on a giant desert space station with all kinds of mythical creatures, and now I have to deal with the orange-haired love interest of one of the main protagonists of Code Geass and a tribe of Matoran, who may have Toa with them. Recap is now down. Yay.

Somehow, I feel like someone else succeeded where I failed. And with laughable ease. Though, given that I haven't really been doing too much proper commandering, isn't much of a surprise. But what was I supposed to do now?

'You are asking that now?'

Why are you being a smart ass now, Viv?

''You already United one ARK full of survivorsunder our banner. How hard can it be to unite another? Perhaps you can start with these matoran.'

What if they have a misplaced Makuta with them?

'You do realize that the Makuta aren't all inherently evil, correct? They only became evil after Teridax took over, and he eliminated all the ones who had doubts.'

Oh yeah. Guess that's an excellent point.

'Oh my dear former pawn, you need to learn to take more risks. Caution is a good thing, but you can't hide in your shell forever.'

Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now to see what I can do here.

"Greetings Phijus, formerly of Po-Metru."

"The same to you. May I assume that you wanted the supplies in this strange floating machine?"

"Correct. While I would say that we have first choice at what is within since we arrived here a scant few seconds before you did, I am open to negotiation regarding who takes what from the container."

"I see. Perhaps we should discuss this with our leader."

"And who might that be?"

"Turaga Otuma."

"Would you like us to meet at your camp..settlement...forgive me but I don't-"

"You may call it a camp. And yes, that is permissable." Then he turned and gestured for one of his companions to come forward...was that a Rakshi?

"Tell Turaga Otuma and Nyrcorax that we have met another group is this ast desert, and that this one is still alive and is open to coexistence with us."

The makuta-created armor merely nodded, surprsingly enough, before taking flight.

When it vanished from sight, I glanced back at Phijus. "Should we just, um, wait here?"

"Yes...this could be a while."

I knew that. "I see. Vivian, could you go take some of our group and tell them about who we have found?"

"Sure." 'Don't screw this up.'

I won't...hmm

Phijus did the matoran equivalent of quirking an eyebrow at me. "What's on your mind?"

"You know of any games we could play to pass the time?"

"...Have you heard of Kolhii?"

XXXXX

By the time Viv and the Rakshi got back, we'd played a total of five matches, with the matoran winning out three to two. Not that I really cared about that - learning the sport in and of itself was fun. Something Vivian noticed.

"Got your robotic companions to play ball with you?"

"Yes, I did," was my affirmation, before I glanced at the rakshi, which was now talking to Phijus in a language I couldn't understand or have translated by my commander software. I'd need to address that blindspot soon.

Was the conversation was finished, Phijus turned to look at Vivan and me. "Otuma has asked that we meet at the nearest bluff to discuss terms for a peaceful coexistence. He has also asked that you only take a few of those with you to meet him."

"That was...way faster than I expected," I conceded.

"We are in a brutal desert that can quickly take lives. Decisiveness is a necessity here."

"Point taken."

XXXXX

Our group was cut down to myself, Vivian, Vincent, Carol, and Eyeshine, alongside a few camel-dinos we had tamed. We also had a few mantises with us, and let me tell you, the dossier in the game on them was actually underselling how intelligent they were. I can fairly safely say that they are a sapiant species in their own right, and they even seemed to understand the concept of bartering. I made a point of including them as beings that could be classified as citizens when we did eventually finish up our business with the ARK, but that's a later story.

Back to our meeting with the bionicle.

We met the Turaga atop a bluff, where he was resting on what appeared to be a large rock, but what I was fairly certain was actually a rock golem. Nearby were other matoran, glatorian (they didn't have kanohi masks), some humans dressed in the vestements I'd expect from people living in the Sahara or the Middle-Eastern deserts, alongside...were those Jawa?

...Yes, they were Jawa. And Tusken Raiders. Somehow.

And then there was this being who had several Rakshi around them. Ninety-percent sure they were a makuta.

Seeing that we had finally arrived, Otuma gave us a welcoming smile. "Greating, travelers. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you," was my reply, not wanting to offend our host. "May I presume that you are Turaga Otuma?"

"I am. It is...refreshing to see another group here that is so civilized."

I quirked an eyebrow. "So you have met others in this arid landscape, some of whom have been unfriendly to you?"

"The harshness of the desert does not encourage coexistence," noted the being guarded by rakshi. Going by its tone, they were female.

"True enough...I'm sorry, but may I have your name?"

"Nycorax, of the...you wouldn't know."

So this was Nycorax. Food for thought.

"Thank you. Now, then, may we get to negotiations?"

"I see you wish to be quite forward. And given our abode, I understand why."

"We're in a desert that's hotter than the one I lived in before I came here. The sooner we are out of the heat, the better."

"True enough. Would you be the one to discuss with me, or would you like another to do it in your stead? Or would you prefer we both send several within our groups that we trust to decide things?"

Before I could give an answer, Viv tapped me on the shoulder, with the glance that followed telling me exactly what I needed to know. "Let this be decided one on one, if that is permissable to your compatriots."

The various affirmations that followed, even one from Nycorax, made it clear that Otuma was trusted enough to decide things for all of his fellows.

So I left Vivian to handle this while decided to contact Fide and see if things had improved in dealing with our unexpected interlopers.

"Fide?"

"Yes Commander?"

"Any luck clearing out those defenders?"

"Not yet. Rockwell evidently had good assurances from whoever promised him aid."

"Crap. Anything else to note?"

"Yes, actually - I've managed to hack into the ARK network and get some information regarding how exactly so many different universes converged here. Sending it over now."

Mentally glad that nobody could hear this conversation, I allowed the files to filter into my mind. One, in particular, had been highlighted by Fide.

Unknown improvement to ARK candidate selection system has yielded unexpected results. Chief among them is that several worlds beyond Earth have been examined. While the origin of the improvement is still unknown, this advancement could accelerate the plan to repulse the unchecked element cataclysm

Fuck, sounds like another ROB had screwed up this world.

...Wonder what universes they had examined. Let's start with the one labeled Omega-4.

Universe Omega-4 resembles our own, however the planet we have examined from it, while at first appearing to be very similar to Earth, has numerous differences. Beyond the differnet continents, some of which resemble dragons, the moon appears to have been partially shattered due to a collision with a dwarf-planet or large meteor some time in the past. The debris field, oddly enough, does not seem to have caused any meaningful damage to the planet below.

The planet itself is unique in that it is inhabited by aggressive creatures known by the locals as Grimm. Grimm are primarily animalistic creatures known for their black skin/fur, bone white armored sections, and red and yellow markings. These creatures have an intrinsic hatred of humans, and actively hunt them down to feed upon. As this behavior is not done on animals, it appears that Grimm consume humans for pleasure. Grimm are notably attracted to negative human emotions.

Humanity is divided into two subspecies on this planet: normal humans and a race known as the Faunus. The latter are known for having singular animal traits, such as wolf tails, dog ears, chameleon skin, and spider legs, in addition to their normal human forms. The origin of these traits are unknown, and several local myths attempt to explain this. Note: humans in this universe display massive potential in terms of physical prowess, and also appear to be able to access an unknown power called aura, which locals claim to be the manifestation of the soul. Aura reacts with a strange crystalline material native to the planet called dust. Further research needed.

Conclusion: potential source of candidates for ARK project, further research needed regarding Aura. Dust unlikely to be useful, as it does not work outside of Remnant's atmosphere. Similarities in behavior between the Grimm and the Corrupted noted. Possible leads on a sort of equal and opposite race to the Grimm found, examine later. Do not attempt to bring Grimm onto the ARKs, this will likely end in failure.

So that's where they got the Dust from...wonder which universe the Bionicle came from

"Check the file on universe Beta Sigma 0-1.

What does it say?

Beta Sigma 0-1 is a bizarre universe home to multiple biomechanical beings of various origins. From what can be pieced together, they originate from a large planet called Spherus Magna that was later shattered into pieces by a material called energized protodermis, more precisely by efforts to harvest it causing structural instability in the planet. In an effort to preent this, the native sophonts created a planet sized robot to travel the cosmos, research other worlds, and determine how best to fix this one. The robot contains an artificial ecoystyem filled with machines that function as sentients and animal fauna. Several species from this machine have been determined as suitable candidates for the ARK following relatively recent incidents on the Scorched Earth ARK. Hopefully, these candidates will be able to coexist peacefully with the other survivors already on the ARK.

Note: Beta-Sigma 0-1 has massive time-flow fluctuations, with several candidates being pulled from different time periods in its history. Additioanlly, Candidate Nycorax seems extremely paranoid, with occasional moments where she claims in her sleep that she is worried that those who saw how long she took to abandon one known as Miserix will attempt to silence her. All that can be inferred is that Miserix was platonically close to her, as we have been unable to determine if she can understand the concept of romantic love.

XXXXX

I ended up losing myself in though trying to find out all that I could about some of the universes that had been considered for the ARK project. Star Wars, Dune, some unfinished world where people talked of 'The Anthem of Creation', and many others were listed. Details also emerged on who came from where - the desert humans who were with Otuma were apparently Fremen, albeit ones from before House Atreides took dominion of Arrakis. Some of the Sand Worms of Dune were also kept in storage, for introducing them now would be too much of a problem for survivors. And as I looked into them, I wondered what I was going to do once this situation was over. Some I knew might be willing to follow me to the Hub, but others would want to go home. I had no problem with that, but I did have to wonder whether I would follow them to try and gain some new tech and right a few wrongs.

Also, this was all done over the course of ten minutes while Viv negotiated with Otuma. Once that was done, and coexistence was assured, we bid farewell and made our way back ot camp, still thinking over what to do.

...Yeah, this was going to be a problem.

XXXXX

AN: Want to get this posted so I get back in the modd for writing chapters.

For those confused regarding Nycorax, (and anyone who isn't familiar with Bionicle beyond the basics of the lore), the Brotherhood of the Makuta (the organization all Makuta belong to) was initially led by Miserix until a couple thousand years before the events of Legends of Metru Nui. Here, after Teridax (the Makuta we know as the main villain of the franchise) leads the Brotherhood in putting down the six Barraki, who had decided to try and take over the Matoran Universe. Teridax decides to use their plan for himself, and ends up getting the rest of the Makuta to join him in overthrowing Miserix. He then makes a point of wiping out all of the Makuta who only sided with him when it became apparent that they were really outnumbered. Nycorax is/was one of those. Also, according to the Bionicle wiki, there were exactly 100 Makuta ever created by Mata Nui - 85 males and 15 females. By the end of the original run, Miserix was the last one left.

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