The Secretary Remains [Bionicle]

Your name is Jalda, and to say you're feeling a little stressed right now is like saying Matoran are small.

You are not a Matoran, of course, but a Vortixx. Standing at a respectable two-and-a-half Bios tall, your figure is lithe and lanky, ill-suited to much of anything outside of the officious sort of secretarial work to which you had been assigned. And because of that, you opt to give yourself a careful once-over, suspecting that your fragile frame must have taken some sort of damage in the recent earthquakes. Approaching the mirror again, you begin by lifting up your hands, wiggling each slender finger to test their range of movement, and moving on from there. Soon enough it becomes clear that your right hip and shoulder are both out of position; pain flares up when you try to take longer steps, and your arm's range of movement is limited as the gears in the right side of your torso grind and click uncomfortably. You'd been using that side to try to hold up the tall cabinet in the corner; it's no wonder they got strained and broken.

Still, you realize, you're otherwise in surprisingly decent shape despite the circumstances; despite having let yourself go during your imprisonment, you can roll your slender neck just fine, your wedge-like head bobbing smoothly, and the rest of your undamaged joints are in similar condition. That doesn't mean you don't still look haggard, however; applying touch-ups as needed, you untangle the dangling sensor tendrils on the back of your head, and use a small brush to clear away the crusty residue of sleep that has built up around your eyeshutters. Realizing how dull the glow of your heartlight has grown, you locate the charging port in the wall nearby and connect to it... but nothing comes.

Now that you think it over, it suddenly hits you that the only actual source of illumination in here are the lightstones around the mirror - the small blinking lights in the door and walls have gone dark, and trying to activate the main lamp yields no results. Everything is utterly silent as well, a background hum you'd never noticed now gone, leaving you feeling isolated. Beyond the walls of this room you could just be floating through empty void, and never realize it. You shiver, watching the darkest corners of the room as if expecting something to step out at any moment; given where it is you work, such an event isn't all that implausible.

Feeling suddenly paranoid, you hobble over to the tall cabinet you'd spent so much effort to keep upright, throwing open the doors to reveal your external armor. While it's more ornamental than anything, it offers at least some protection. Shrugging it on, the armor segments clip snugly into ports in your own frame, while the skirt of leather from a Muaka's hide falls down around your long legs, brushing the floor. Despite the lingering gaps and loose construction, you feel at least a little better for having donned it. Still, you're quick to return to the safe haven of the lightstones' golden glow, watching as the armor finishes shifting color to match your element.

What Color Is It?
> [Element] Red You are a Ta-Vortixx, with resistance to extreme heat, and possessing miniscule power over fire.
> [Element] Orange You are a Su-Vortixx, able to see clearly even in extremely bright light, and possessing miniscule power over plasma.
> [Element] Blue You are a Ga-Vortixx, adept at swimming and maintaining your breath, and possessing miniscule power over water.
> [Element] Indigo You are a Ce-Vortixx, empathic to others' feelings but guarded from influence, and possessing miniscule power over psionics.
> [Element] Green You are a Le-Vortixx, graceful in high places but clumsy on the ground, and possessing miniscule power over air.
> [Element] Teal You are a Bo-Vortixx, with an innate understanding of various flora, and possessing miniscule power over plantlife.
> [Element] Brown You are a Po-Vortixx, relatively strong despite your frame, and possessing miniscule power over stone.
> [Element] Copper You are a Fa-Vortixx, with a strong sense of direction and navigation, and possessing miniscule power over magnetism.
> [Element] Black You are an Onu-Vortixx, with enhanced vision in the dark, and possessing miniscule power over earth.
> [Element] Gunmetal You are a Fe-Vortixx, relatively durable despite your frame, and possessing miniscule power over metals.
> [Element] White You are a Ko-Vortixx, with resistance to extreme cold, and possessing miniscule power over ice.
> [Element] Silver You are a De-Vortixx, with extremely acute hearing, and possessing miniscule power over sonics.
> [Element] Maroon You are a Vo-Vortixx, insulated from electric shocks, and possessing miniscule power over lightning.
> [Element] Purple You are a Ba-Vortixx, resistant to impacts and extreme pressure, and possessing miniscule power over gravity.

Still, it feels clear to you now that whatever's going on, you'd rather be outside than stuck in here any longer. Something feels deeply wrong in the lack of power, the silence, and what was once a familiar haven from a stressful work environment has transformed into a prison, slowly sapping away at your mental wellbeing. Despite your dark thoughts from earlier, you have no intention of allowing yourself to just rot away in here.

Noticing your tablet board has toppled over on the counter, you right it, gazing pensively down at the writing implement clipped inside of it at the moment. It's worn with use, the sharp edges dulled from thousand and thousands of notes and observations transcribed on behalf of your boss as he went about his experiments. While nowhere near as prolific as some of his peers, he still could sometimes leave you struggling to catch up, one of the few times he expressed any real joy as the thrill of an unexpected discovery caught his attention. With a bittersweet smile, you take the board and slip it into a dedicated pocket within your armors' skirt. Even with him gone, you wonder if you may yet get use out of it.

Glancing leftward, your gaze falls upon three elongated shapes, sitting just on the edge of the light. Your boss had given you these masks, too; special-forged ones to fit the shape of your head, but you'd never worn them. As a Vortixx you are capable of using them, of course, but unlike the likes of Toa and Matoran, you don't need to wear one all the time in order to function. Still, as hesitant as you've been in the past, the situation is much different now... Maybe they could come in handy. However, you don't have a Toa's suva with which to store them, so you'll have to pick just one.

Which to pick?
> [Kanohi] Jutlin, Mask Of Corruption Can break down any targeted inorganic object in your range by causing it to weaken, rust, and crumble at an extremely rapid rate. (From 7-1)
> [Kanohi] Avsa, Mask Of Hunger Can drain the energy and lifeforce of any target within your vicinity, to bolster your own energy reserves and power. (From 7-2)
> [Kanohi] Mohtrek, Mask Of Duplication Can temporarily summon past and future versions of the wearer to the present to aid in any task, though it risks paradoxes. (From 7-6)
> [Kanohi] None All three were declared immoral; while normal here, they are frowned upon in other regions, and you feel the social consequences outweigh their utility. (From 10)

Finally, you feel you have yourself sorted out. You're ready to leave, one way or another - you just need to grab one last thing. Turning toward the cabinet once more, you find a case full of green cylinders sitting at the bottom. This was the final gift your boss had left you, before his departure. Somehow they've remained intact, not so much as a crack marring the dark green glass despite the earthquakes. As you draw near, you feel like you're being watched; sure enough, the dark forms within, long and serpentine and with far too many legs, are all staring in your direction, far too many beady eyes fixed unnervingly on you as you approach. The things disgust you, frankly, but lingering loyalty obligates you to take care of them as you were charged.

It had been fascinating yet disturbing, you muse as you pick up the case. You had long thought of your boss as being different from his peers. He was quieter. Kinder, in a way. Certainly closed-off in his own way, but he always felt thoughtful somehow. He remained interested in ecosystems rather than individual creatures, and sometimes he would set aside his experiments to simply ramble about philosophy, morality, and the three virtues. Yet at the end of the day he still did what was asked of him, and he still went with the others when called upon to do so. Watching him condense his own essence to produce these leeches had been disturbing, yes, but it was also a sharp reminder that, for all his gentler words, he was still just another Makuta.