Akutana/The Matoran Civil War

The Matoran Civil War is one of the work archived by the Akutana e-Metru Nui.

Content

Part 1

A summary of the Matoran Civil War, as written by Vhisobarra of Stelt at the request of Turaga Bomupar, after the conclusion of the War.

The Civil War in Metru Nui began in 20,500 a.A. and marks the single most brutal Matoran conflict to date. The tensions before the war were subtle, tied up in trade agreements and zoning laws, but the moment that the countdown to oblivion began can be traced back to Ta-Metru lobbyists pushing through legislation for the construction of a large port on the Scrap Coast. Such a port would allow Ta-Metru to import raw materials on a significant scale, free them from dependence on the Po-Metru ports in the Wash, and keep widgets circulating in Ta-Metru instead of Po-Metru. This is where it all began. The scene is set as Ta-Metru is scheduled to receive its first set of shipments of raw materials in its new port, but that shipment will never come. The Agnukai and several other ships had been sunk off the coast of Ta-Metru by mines lain by Po-Matoran, sending a fortune in widgets to the bottom of the Silver Sea; Ta-Metru is in outrage. This affront to Ta-Matoran independence from Po-Metru trade would not be tolerated - this would mean war.

The Ta-Matoran strike a deal with Ga-Matoran radicals, ferrying them around the coast of Metru Nui to the Po-Metru Wash, where they burn down a warehouse of Po-Matoran trade goods. Now the Po-Matoran were on the same page: if it was a war Ta-Metru wanted, it was a war they were going to get. Delegates were sent to Le-Metru, explaining that Ta-Metru imports would cut into their lucrative transport business moving goods from the Wash across Metru Nui, a displeasing notion to the Le-Matoran. Meanwhile, trade vessels are loaded with weapons and put into a self-imposed blockade around the Wash; Po-Metru was not going to lose any more of their valuable trade goods to sneak attacks. Le-Metru enacts Operation Dagger Spider, a series of hit-and-run attacks along the Ta-Metru border, with an aim to cause havoc and mass panic before quickly retreating to Le-Metru.

Ta-Matoran push to reach the hub at the Coliseum, loading soldiers onto trains and launching an offensive to take a train control center up the line, establishing a beachhead in the Southern Sculpture Fields. Po-Matoran flee by train up into the Northern Sculpture Fields and down into Onu-Metru, cutting the lines behind them. This was the First Battle of Sculpture Fields South - a decisive victory for Ta-Metru, but one battle does not win a war. Po-Metru proceeded to cut all train lines connecting them to the other Metru, beginning to construct massive cliff fortresses in the rural canyons of the Sculpture Fields as well as converting the Northern Archives into bunkers to hold out until reinforcements could arrive. Kapoki, Commander of the Po-Matoran Archives encampment, devises Operation Stampede, loading exhibits onto trains and sending them speeding down the tracks into the Coliseum to disrupt Ta-Matoran control of the Hub. This infuriates the Onu-Matoran, giving rise to revolt against the Po-Matoran annexation of the Northern Archives and pushing them back into Ta-Matoran-occupied Po-Metru. Trapped in hostile territory, the Po-Matoran forces in question are slaughtered during the Battle of Archives North.

Ko-Metru attempts to intervene, blockading the Le-Matoran from supporting their Po-Matoran allies in Onu-Metru whilst also sending delegates to the Coliseum to plead with the Ta-Matoran to end the war. But Ta-Metru chooses to press their advantage; the Ko-Matoran delegates are imprisoned, opening an opportunity for Po-Metru to strike an alliance with Ko-Metru. Suddenly, Ko-Metru launches an offensive into the Southern Archives in what would be later referred to as the Battle of Archives South, creating an opening for the Le-Matoran Operation Tornado. Le-Matoran transports speed across Onu-Metru, slamming into the Ta-Matoran flank in the Southern Sculpture Fields, and the Second Battle of Sculpture Fields South begins. Unlike their earlier victories, Ta-Metru now faced coordinated offensives from the Po- and Le-Matoran designed to push them out of Po-Metru - they are forced into Ga-Metru, where they have no choice but to seek asylum. The Ga-Matoran agree to harbor the Ta-Matoran soldiers so long as they give up their weapons; the Ta-Matoran agree and are allowed to stay in Ga-Metru while they tend to their wounded. But now Po-Metru was gaining momentum and they didn’t intend to lose it. If Ga-Metru was going to harbor their enemies, then Ga-Metru was one of their enemies.

The Ga-vahkra, or "Days of Dark Water," was without a doubt the single most barbarous conflict throughout the entire war. During these early years, conventional weapons had not yet become commonplace; every implement was a weapon of convenience, and so the battles became a horrific display of brutality. It was not uncommon to see Ta-Matoran with chisels planted in their masks or Po-Matoran cut apart with a mask-shaping torch. By the time of the Ga-vahkra, armaments had become more organized, but still by no means standardized or even civilized. The invasion force that ravaged Ga-Metru was mostly composed of Po-Metru irregulars armed primarily with large hammers designed for hewing stone, along with two Le-Metru motor units for rapid deployment - this composition proved widely effective as the Po-Metru force washed across Ga-Metru like a wave of ill water. The Ta-Matoran refugees had set up field hospitals on the campus of Niragawa University, approximately 4 kio away from the Po-Metru border. The invasion made landfall in Gaisa's Cove in year 20,548, pushing up the coast into Leva's Market and butchering any Ga-Matoran who stood in their way. When they finally found out where their enemies were, they marched down through the Fountains of Wisdom into Niragawa University, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. The Ta-Matoran never stood a chance, still recovering from their last battle and unarmed as per the terms of their asylum. The entire force of nearly 200 were slaughtered, along with over 300 students of the University. It took another two weeks to push the Po-Matoran out of Ga-Metru, and in that short time more Matoran lives were claimed than in every battle before it combined. The final death toll was estimated at 2,200, although owing to the hammers used by most of the Po-Metru troops, many of the bodies were crushed beyond recognition. At the time of this writing, there are still Ga-Matoran casualties unidentified even now that the conflict is over.

Part 2

In the wake of the Ga-yahkra [sic], Ga-Metru was sent reeling, sympathy for Ta-Metru rose, and unsurprisingly, Ga-Metru officially allied itself with Ta-Metru. Ta-Matoran soldiers are ferried up the coast once again, this time to the Assemblers' District, where the Ta-Matoran rapidly establish a beachhead. The Po-Matoran and their allies quickly abandon the district in favor of their more defensible cliff fortresses in the Sculpture Fields. Ga-Metru Privateers begin pick off all transports inbound to Metru Nui, their resources flowing into the Ta-Metru forges and new armaments flowing out. The Le-Metru hit-and-runs grind to a halt as Ta-Matoran tear down the highways connecting their two Metru.

In the year 20,551 Po-Metru redeploys their Navy, having finished fortifying the coast of the Wash; first attempting to blockade the Ga/Ta-Metru coasts, but quickly finding they have nowhere near enough ships, they then set out on a relentless offensive on Onu-Metru. The Le-Matoran transports that had once crossed Onu-Metru to reach Po-Metru - now resupplied and carrying Po-Matoran reinforcements - slam into the Onu-Matoran front near the coast, supported by the Po-Metru Navy. The Ko-Matoran launch their own offensive on the other side of the Onu-Metru coastline, creating a pincer formation that allowed them to quickly take control of the Onu-Metru coast. They then begin to slowly force the Onu-Matoran inward, out of their own Metru. The Seige [sic] of Onu-Metru would last for over a year and claim countless lives, but in the end the Onu-Matoran had no choice but to abandon their home and seek refuge in Ta-Metru.

Throughout the entire war, Le-Metru had remained mostly untouched, acting as the backbone of the Po-Metru war machine with no recourse, but Ta-Metru is done letting Le-Metru blaze their way across the island. The March of Fire begins with Ta-Metru redeploying their idle troops from the Assemblers' District through the rails, down to the Ta-Metru border. From there they begin to push their way into Le-Metru, burning a path to the Moto-Hub with one goal: put a stop to Le-Metru's seemingly endless supply of transports. Another force deployed to the Le-Metru coast in Ga-Metru ships, looking to carve their own path to the Moto-Hub and catch the entire Metru in a pincer formation of their own. They get caught about a kio inland and clash with enemy forces in the Battle of Le-Metru, eventually attaining victory, but the delay would prove costly. Although the Ta- and Ga-Matoran blaze their way across Le-Metru, the Battle of Le-Metru had cost them valuable time. The last vehicles out of the Moto-Hub are large, powerful transports built to carry the smaller, faster Le-Matoran transports over the jagged Ta-Metru border, releasing them into enemy territory before the Ta-Matoran can react. It was time for Operation Muaka, the last maneuver the Le-Matoran planned in their own Metru. The quick Le-Matoran transports lead the Ta- and Ga-Matoran soldiers on a massive chase across both Ta- and Ga-Metru, cutting the unguarded train lines to the Coliseum inland, before reaching refuge in Po-Metru. The Ta- and Ga-Matoran armies finish taking Le-Metru, most of the remaining Le-Matoran having fled into Ko-Metru; they would forever remember this as Tagaki-ya, “the Days of Great Burning Waves.”

Now the island was split in half, a single front running down the length of the Great City. The war would continue for another 300 years - countless battles would be fought, unimaginable numbers of lives were lost - but none of it would matter. The Great City had descended into gridlock, no side able to gain any tangible advantage over the other; they became trapped in what would become known as the Great Stalemate, and they would remain that way until the intervention of the Makuta, and the Archives Massacre.