Keerakh

The Keerakh were the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. model assigned to Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race., the silent district of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. given over to the Scholars and their Knowledge Towers. Like every other VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. line they were designed by the Onu-MatoranOnu-MatoranEarth-wielding Matoran of the deep who adapted to darkness and built the Matoran Universe's defensive cavalry. engineer NuparuNuparuAn Onu-Matoran engineer from Metru Nui who built the Boxor and rose to become a Toa of Earth despite no warrior destiny. and built en masse by Po-MatoranPo-MatoranThe Stone-element Matoran of Po-Metru and Po-Koro, carvers and quarry workers, the most athletic of the Matoran types and the population behind the Kohlii and Akilini circuits. fabricators, but the Keerakh diverged from their siblings on the question of how to catch a lawbreaker. Where a 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. would chase a target across a foundry floor and a RorzakhRorzakhThe Vahki model assigned to Onu-Metru, the Rorzakh were utterly relentless and carried Staffs of Presence that turned the affected Matoran into an involuntary audio and visual transmitter for their squad. would track one through the Archives, a Keerakh simply did not bother to pursue. The model had been engineered to deduce where its quarry was going to be and to arrive there first.

Role in Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race.#

Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. was the quietest of the six districts of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., called the Quiet 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. in common usage, and its civic life was organised around the long-term study performed by the Ko-MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. Scholars in the Knowledge TowersKnowledge TowerThe crystalline spires of Ko-Metru that housed memory crystals, sheltered the district's Scholars, and stored much of the city's accumulated knowledge.. The work was taken seriously enough that any disturbance to the silence inside a tower was treated as an infraction in its own right. Enforcement of that silence was the standing assignment of the Keerakh.

A Keerakh squad was a routine presence in the Tower of ThoughtKnowledge TowerThe crystalline spires of Ko-Metru that housed memory crystals, sheltered the district's Scholars, and stored much of the city's accumulated knowledge. and the other principal Knowledge Towers, posted to ensure that neither casual visitors nor distracted 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. interrupted the scholars at work. The same units patrolled the chute stations that connected the towers and the open ground between the towers' bases, where stray noise or unauthorised movement was more common than within the spires themselves. Coverage of the wider district fell to roving Keerakh assignments rather than fixed garrisons.

The model's quieter operating profile fit its environment. Where a BordakhBordakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ga-Metru, the Bordakh patrolled the canals and schools of the academic district and carried Staffs of Loyalty that turned any Matoran they struck into a willing informant against their own friends. patrol in Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh. moved openly through the canals and a 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. squad in Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years. maintained constant visible presence near the forges, a Keerakh would more often appear as a reflection in an ice crystal a moment before stepping into view. A recorded instance had a Ko-MatoranKo-MatoranIce Matoran who were quiet scholars and star-watchers, built to survive the frozen peaks of Ko-Wahi. wearing a Ruru walk through the district unaware that the Keerakh shadowing him had been visible the entire time, mirrored in the surrounding ice.

The deduction directive#

The most distinctive feature of the Keerakh was tactical rather than mechanical. Each unit had been programmed with what amounted to a predictive directive: given a target's recent movement, current heading, and known habits, the Keerakh would calculate where the target was going to be and proceed directly to that point rather than follow the target through any intervening ground. The model did not chase. It intercepted.

In open patrol the directive made the Keerakh effective at low cost. A single unit could shadow a 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. across several blocks without ever revealing itself, then step out at the corner the target was about to round. In the Knowledge TowersKnowledge TowerThe crystalline spires of Ko-Metru that housed memory crystals, sheltered the district's Scholars, and stored much of the city's accumulated knowledge., where movement was constrained to fixed chute stations and a small number of interior staircases, the directive was even more difficult to evade. A target's destination could be inferred from the tower's geometry as easily as from their behaviour.

The directive carried a structural weakness, however, in the same way the KralhiKralhiThe first attempt at automated law enforcement in Metru Nui, the Kralhi were decommissioned for draining their captives into uselessness and later re-emerged in the city's underground waterways.'s energy bubble had carried one. The Keerakh's calculation depended on the target behaving as the model expected. A target who deliberately chose a route that contradicted their own intent could redirect the Keerakh away from the actual destination. NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. exploited the weakness directly during the Great Disk retrieval, allowing a Keerakh squad to lead him toward the Knowledge TowerKnowledge TowerThe crystalline spires of Ko-Metru that housed memory crystals, sheltered the district's Scholars, and stored much of the city's accumulated knowledge. where the disk was concealed by treating their predicted intercept as confirmation of the location, then letting WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui. draw the squad off with a deliberate disturbance below.

Staffs of Confusion#

The Keerakh's standard armament was the Staff of Confusion, a two-pronged shock staff that did not damage a target so much as disorient them. A 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. struck by the staff lost track of when and where they were. Sense of time and sense of place were both scrambled at once, and the victim was left believing they were somewhere else, doing something else, often years removed from the actual moment.

The disorientation was strong enough to remove a target from any ongoing situation without injuring them. The 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. TehuttiTehuttiTehutti was an Onu-Matoran archivist of Metru Nui, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, whose Archives research produced the Matoran Nui technique., struck by a Keerakh during the Great Disk mission to Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race., came out of the encounter convinced he was back in the Archives cataloguing a FikouFikouSmall arachnid Rahi associated with Metru Nui's Maintenance Tunnels, the reason the tunnel network earned the nickname Fikou Web. spider exhibit, and had to be guided through the remaining route by EhryeEhryeEhrye was a Ko-Matoran errand-runner of the Knowledge Towers, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, and a survivor of every era from Metru Nui through Spherus Magna. and the Toa MetruToa 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.. In the time-displaced sequence 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. experienced under the influence of a Kanoka of time travel, a Keerakh entered the chamber where he was speaking with NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. and used its Staff on NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. without warning, severing the conversation. The MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. Jaa was stalked by Keerakh for reasons no later record made clear, and was eventually captured by the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. and sealed inside a Matoran SphereMatoran 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. before the Toa MetruToa 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.'s evacuation reached him.

The same staff was issued to the specialist combiner unit KraahuKraahuThe specialist Vahki combiner formed from Zadakh, Keerakh, and Bordakh components, the Kraahu carried knowledge centres throughout its body, could split apart to fight six directions at once, and as a single unit could spray a cloud of stun gas., the larger VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. formed by combining Keerakh, BordakhBordakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ga-Metru, the Bordakh patrolled the canals and schools of the academic district and carried Staffs of Loyalty that turned any Matoran they struck into a willing informant against their own friends., and ZadakhZadakhThe Vahki model assigned to Po-Metru, the Zadakh were the strongest of the order-force lines and carried Staffs of Suggestion that left any Matoran they struck willing to follow orders from almost anyone. components and called in when a single squad could not contain a disturbance. KraahuKraahuThe specialist Vahki combiner formed from Zadakh, Keerakh, and Bordakh components, the Kraahu carried knowledge centres throughout its body, could split apart to fight six directions at once, and as a single unit could spray a cloud of stun gas.'s variant of the staff carried the same scrambling effect.

The Great Disk pursuit#

The Keerakh's most documented field action was the pursuit of NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. and WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui. atop the Knowledge TowersKnowledge TowerThe crystalline spires of Ko-Metru that housed memory crystals, sheltered the district's Scholars, and stored much of the city's accumulated knowledge. during the Toa MetruToa 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.'s recovery of the six Great Disks. An estimated nine units took part. NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro., whose previous life as a Scholar in Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. had given him direct knowledge of how the model operated, reversed the deduction directive against itself. He allowed the Keerakh to deduce that he was heading for the tower where the Great Disk was hidden and let their predicted intercept confirm the location, then had WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui. tunnel under a nearby road to draw the squad off with a deliberate disturbance. With the Keerakh pulled away, NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. climbed up and recovered the disk from the icicle it had been concealed within at the height of one of the tallest Knowledge Towers.

The sequence was characteristic of the kind of opposition the Keerakh could mount and the kind that could be turned against them. They had not been outfought. They had been correctly predicted.

Cataclysm and end of service#

The Keerakh's operational life ended with the rest of the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. corps when TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., at that point still posing as Turaga DumeTuraga DumeThe Turaga of Metru Nui for sixteen thousand years, a former Toa of Fire who saved Lhikan's life and was abducted and impersonated by Teridax., absorbed the city's entire power grid through the Coliseum array to amplify his own strength. Most of the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. units present in their hives were destroyed by the surge, and the Keerakh hives in Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. were not spared.

The handful of survivors emerged with their programming rewritten. The original non-lethal directive was replaced with the post-surge variant common to every surviving VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. model: order was now to be maintained by leaving nothing alive. Their staffs no longer scrambled; they destroyed. In that altered state the remaining Keerakh persisted through the early evacuation period until the VisorakVisorakSpider-like Rahi created by Makuta Chirox, conquered for the Brotherhood by Gorast, broken at Metru Nui, and ultimately destroyed in a volcanic eruption on Artidax. invasion of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. reached the city, at which point the spider 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. destroyed them along with the rest of the surviving VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. population. No Keerakh unit was confirmed to have outlived the invasion.

The model nonetheless retained a reputation among observers who had encountered the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. at the height of their service. The makuta KrikaKrikaThe cautious Mistika leader who survived by never taking unnecessary risks, until Teridax's Plan forced his hand., in a later assessment of the order force, described the Keerakh as a remarkable machine made by the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. It was the rare compliment any makuta paid to a MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body.-built device, and it was directed not at the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. line in general but specifically at the model that did not chase.