Nuurakh

The Nuurakh 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 Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years., the foundry 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 Mask Makers, the Vat Workers, and the heat-bound industry that produced the city's KanokaKanoka DisksMetru Nui's most versatile artifact: flying disks equally at home in sport, combat, and crafting. and KanohiKanohiMasks that grant powers and sustain life, they're the most vital artifact in the Matoran Universe.. 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, and like the KeerakhKeerakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ko-Metru, the Keerakh enforced silence in the Knowledge Towers and subdued lawbreakers with staffs that scrambled a Matoran's sense of time and place. of Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race., each was tuned to the temperament of its district. The Nuurakh were the fastest of the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. lines, and they preferred not to chase a lawbreaker through the open. They preferred to lie in wait, and then to close the trap.

Role in Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years.#

Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years. was the industrial heart of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., the district in which the Great FurnaceThe Great FurnaceThe largest furnace in Ta-Metru, site of the Morbuzakh King Root's nest and the recovery of the fused Great Disks that became the Kanohi Vahi. burned and in which the city's KanokaKanoka DisksMetru Nui's most versatile artifact: flying disks equally at home in sport, combat, and crafting. and KanohiKanohiMasks that grant powers and sustain life, they're the most vital artifact in the Matoran Universe. were forged. Its civic life was organised around heat-intensive labour: vat workers tended the molten protodermis pools, mask makers shaped the cooled material at the forge benches, and the streets between the foundries carried a constant traffic of carts and labourers. Enforcement of order in such an environment meant something different than it did in the silent Knowledge Towers of Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. or the canal-cooled academic blocks of Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh.. It meant visible presence, quick reaction, and the ability to traverse open foundry floors faster than any worker could.

The Nuurakh provided that presence. Squads patrolled the Great FurnaceThe Great FurnaceThe largest furnace in Ta-Metru, site of the Morbuzakh King Root's nest and the recovery of the fused Great Disks that became the Kanohi Vahi. and the surrounding mask-making districts, posted in elevated overlooks from which they could survey wide stretches of factory floor at once. A Nuurakh patrolling above a vat works was a familiar sight to the Ta-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. labourers below, watching from above with the slogan that the model existed to serve and protect TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. 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..

The model's profile matched its surroundings. Where a KeerakhKeerakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ko-Metru, the Keerakh enforced silence in the Knowledge Towers and subdued lawbreakers with staffs that scrambled a Matoran's sense of time and place. might appear as a reflection in an ice crystal and 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. might glide along a Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh. canal, a Nuurakh stood in plain sight on a high gantry above a forge, deliberately visible, and the deterrent effect of that visibility was part of its function.

The ambush directive#

The most distinctive feature of the Nuurakh was tactical. Each unit had been programmed to favour ambush over open pursuit. Given a target's general heading and the geometry of the surrounding district, a Nuurakh squad would not chase the target down the street. It would split, take elevated positions on each side of the target's likely route, and close the trap as the target crossed the chosen intercept point. The model's superior speed, the fastest of the six VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. lines, gave the directive its mechanical foundation. A Nuurakh could reach an intercept position before its target arrived, and could close the gap from that position faster than the target could turn and run.

The directive favoured the Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years. terrain in particular. Foundry districts were dense with vertical structures, walkways, and elevated gantries from which a squad could spring without warning, and the heat and noise of an active forge masked the sound and movement of a Nuurakh moving into position. A MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. crossing an open foundry floor on routine work would not normally see the squad assembling above until the trap had been closed.

The directive carried a known idle-state failure. When a Nuurakh squad had no current target, the predatory tuning of its programming did not switch off, and units in that state had been observed to start fights with each other, requiring other VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. to break up the brawls.

Staffs of Command#

The Nuurakh's standard armament was the Staff of Command, a two-pronged shock staff that operated by directive imposition rather than by direct injury. A MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. struck by the staff was not knocked unconscious. The mind of the victim was instead filled with a single overriding command, which the victim then followed without question until the stun wore off, a process that took hours.

The effect was strong enough to remove a target from any ongoing activity and redirect them entirely. A MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. labourer struck while interrupting a forge cycle would walk back to the assigned post and resume work. A lawbreaker struck mid-flight would turn and walk to the nearest VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. station for custody. The command's content was supplied by the deploying squad and varied with the situation, but its imperative weight on the target's cognition did not. The victim simply did what the staff had instructed.

The same staff was issued to the specialist combiner unit KranuaKranuaThe specialist Vahki combiner formed from Nuurakh, Rorzakh, and Vorzakh components, the Kranua could collapse into living protodermis sand to chase lawbreakers through cracks and gratings and reform on the other side., the elite VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. variant called in when a single squad could not contain a disturbance.

Field actions against 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.#

The Nuurakh saw repeated combat use against 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. during the period in which the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. were under standing arrest orders from the impostor TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. 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.. The first notable engagement came aboard a Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. cargo airship on which 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. had stowed away during their search for the Toa MangaiToa MangaiThe defenders of Metru Nui before the Toa Metru arrived, a team that fell to betrayal and relentless war. 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.. A Nuurakh squad had been hidden in the cargo hold, waiting to strike. The ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. destroyed the squad in the resulting fight, although the airship was subsequently attacked by the Dark HuntersThe Dark HuntersA mercenary organization founded on Odina by The Shadowed One and Ancient, contracted across the Matoran Universe for assassination and theft, and ultimately reduced to a battered remnant by the fall of the universe itself. KrekkaKrekkaA brutish but ineffective Dark Hunter with no powers or masks, Krekka was outmatched from his first moments in Metru Nui. and NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price..

A separate squad arrived at the emergence of a TahtorakTahtorakMassive, articulate Rahi that turned against their Skakdi riders and nearly wiped out an entire civilization., the enormous 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. that had risen demanding an answer to a question no one could supply. The Nuurakh attempted to engage the creature, and the TahtorakTahtorakMassive, articulate Rahi that turned against their Skakdi riders and nearly wiped out an entire civilization. smashed the squad to pieces within seconds. Their intervention inadvertently bought 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. a moment of breathing space against the 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.. A third engagement took place underwater 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 journey through the seas south of the city, when a Nuurakh squad ambushed the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. in deep water and briefly enslaved 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. by applying a Staff of Command's directive through the water before being defeated.

Three Nuurakh were also among the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. forces accounted for in the city's defensive posture in the period immediately before 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, by which point the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. corps had been substantially reduced from its pre-Cataclysm strength.

Cataclysm and end of service#

The Nuurakh'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 TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. 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 ColiseumThe ColiseumCentral tower of Metru Nui, serving as government seat, sporting arena, and, during Teridax's masquerade, a prison for the city's Matoran population. 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 Nuurakh hives in Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years. were not spared. The model's particular vulnerability to a power-grid event was structural: the high-speed actuators that made the Nuurakh the fastest of the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. lines drew more power per unit than any other model, and the surge accordingly hit the Ta-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. hives harder than most.

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 imposed directives; they destroyed. In that altered state the remaining Nuurakh 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 Nuurakh unit was confirmed to have outlived the invasion. The model had been the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. line that could not be outrun across an open foundry floor, and the line whose staff could turn a fleeing lawbreaker around mid-stride and send the same lawbreaker walking willingly back into custody.