Airship

Airships were a type of flying vehicle operated in many regions of the Matoran Universe, most often to transport cargo. In the city of MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it. Nui they were based primarily at the Le-MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it. Moto Hub and flown by skilled Le-Matoran pilots, working alongside the liquid protodermis canals and the ChuteThe Chute SystemThe pressurised liquid Protodermis transit network of Metru Nui, run from Le-Metru's Moto-Hub and carrying Matoran, cargo, and Rahi across the city. network as one of the city's main forms of transport.

Use in Metru Nui#

Before the Great CataclysmThe Great CataclysmThe day Makuta Teridax put the Great Spirit to sleep, the Great Spirit Robot fell from the sky, Metru Nui flooded, and Voya Nui tore loose from the Southern Continent., airships were one of the principal means of moving freight around Metru Nui. The cargo they carried typically included RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. bound for Onu-Metru, blocks of solid protodermis, tools for the Po-Metru carvers, and other bulk goods destined for points across the city. Passenger airships were never put into service, since they would have been far slower and less efficient than the ChutesThe Chute SystemThe pressurised liquid Protodermis transit network of Metru Nui, run from Le-Metru's Moto-Hub and carrying Matoran, cargo, and Rahi across the city. and UssalUssalSix-legged crustacean Rahi domesticated across Metru Nui and Mata Nui for cargo, mining, and sport. Backbone of Matoran labor. carts that Matoran used to get about. Because learning to operate one demanded a great deal of training, airship pilots were held in high regard by other Matoran. Shortly before the Great CataclysmThe Great CataclysmThe day Makuta Teridax put the Great Spirit to sleep, the Great Spirit Robot fell from the sky, Metru Nui flooded, and Voya Nui tore loose from the Southern Continent., travel by airship was restricted, and ordinary Matoran could not board one without a supervisor's authorization.

VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years., NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras. and MatauMatauA former Le-Metru test driver who became a Toa Metru, Matau wielded air, illusion, and shape-shifting before sacrificing his Toa power to wake the sleeping Matoran. once stowed away aboard a cargo airship taking off from Le-Metru during their search for the Toa MangaiMangaiThe active volcanic peak at the heart of the island of Mata Nui, in whose shadow Ta-Koro was raised and beneath whose roots Mangaia was hidden. LhikanLhikanToa of Fire, leader of the Toa Mangai, and the last Toa of Metru Nui, who surrendered his Toa Power to create the Toa Metru and died defending Vakama., unaware that several Vahki NuurakhNuurakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ta-Metru, the Nuurakh were the fastest of the order-force lines and used Staffs of Command to push a single overriding directive into the mind of any Matoran they struck. were also on board. The ToaThe Toa: Heroes of the Matoran UniverseThe Toa were biomechanical guardians sworn to protect the Matoran, bound by a strict code and defined by sacrifice across every age of the universe. destroyed the Vahki, but the Dark Hunters Krekka and Nidhiki then attacked the vessel. Krekka was thrown clear of the airship in mid-flight by a Kanoka of Teleportation and Nidhiki was pinned under debris, after which the Toa left the ship using the flight abilities granted by VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years.'s Disk Launcher and MatauMatauA former Le-Metru test driver who became a Toa Metru, Matau wielded air, illusion, and shape-shifting before sacrificing his Toa power to wake the sleeping Matoran.'s Aero SlicersAero SlicersThe Toa Tools wielded by Toa Metru Matau, capable of channeling Air, serving as melee blades, and catching wind to permit limited gliding flight..

The evacuation of Metru Nui#

When the VisorakThe Visorak HordeThe Brotherhood of Makuta's spider-Rahi army under King Sidorak and Viceroy Roodaka, summoned to Metru Nui after the Great Cataclysm to free Teridax and pacify whatever survived in the abandoned city. swarms invaded the city they destroyed every airship in Le-Metru. With the fleet gone, the Toa HordikaToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety. and the Rahaga had to gather the resources to build six new airships, which they used to carry all of the sleeping MatoranMatoran SpheresThe silver hibernation pods used by Teridax, posing as Turaga Dume, to capture, store, and transport the entire Matoran population of Metru Nui during the Great Cataclysm. of Metru Nui through a rift in the Great BarrierThe Great BarrierThe enormous underground dome of rock and solid Protodermis that enclosed Metru Nui and the Silver Sea, sealed Teridax into a cliff face, and was finally cracked open during the Great Cataclysm. and onward to Mata NuiMata Nui: Great Spirit of the Matoran UniverseBuilt by the Great Beings as a biomechanical guardian, betrayed by Teridax, and returned in a smaller form to reshape Spherus Magna.. After arriving, the six airships were melted down and the material was later used in building the six KoroKoroThe Koros were the six elemental villages established by the Toa Metru on Mata Nui after the Great Rescue, each tied to one element and one Turaga..

Design and operation#

Airships relied on a system of Levitation and Weight Increase KanokaKanoka DisksThe protodermis throwing disks of Metru Nui, used in Akilini sport, in Matoran self-defence, in Vahki weaponry, in mask-making, and as the signature armament of the Toa Metru. disks. A Le-Matoran pilot worked a set of pulleys that brought either the Levitation or the Weight Increase disks into contact with the airship's framework, causing the vessel to rise or fall. For forward movement, a short section of transport chute capped at both ends and filled with highly pressurized liquid protodermis was built into the rear of the airship; the pilot could release small jets of the protodermis from the capped chute to drive the ship ahead.