So I've spent the last few days with Ernal, Razor-Vines, Star Dancer, Polly, and this strange Xoh character I've never met. We're taking a trip to a sector known as Memoria; supposedly it's where a few of them have come from before landing in Council Space. Ernal swears he's never been. Insists he lived his life only aboard the personnel carrier and later Mud when they landed. So why does he seem so upset to see the ruins of what was once a glorious settlement? A place he's never seen before? A place he should have no attachment to. Of course I felt a pang of regret for not being able to experience the settlement's prime. But it was nothing like him. He dropped to his knees and wept. It was very disturbing... I will ask him about it later, when he's seemingly recovered a bit. Razor-Vines showed us Floran'Da, a floran settlement with Apex fittings. Their technology was used as security devices, surveillance, and it looked like a lot of the settlement relied on their power, too. Razor said something about an Apex man, Boris? Borin? He'd helped install and maintain the equipment, I think. They mentioned another man, too. Darren. It's a name I'd heard before, but I can't put my finger on it. Older human male, had a lab there on Floran'Da. They spoke highly of him, so maybe he was a good person. There was also mention of an avian, Tcloa. Perhaps a great leader? I'm unsure what the connection between all these people is, but it must be pretty profound. I just don't understand how it affects Ernal. When we arrived at Lenna Prime, I was still asleep. Half the crew had left me there to beam down, while Polly and Star were chasing each other around the ship, I think. Polly beamed with me down to Lenna, where I found Ernal crying. It didn't seem like there was much I could do for him. Polly wanted to walk with him, take a look around old, familiar places. Places that *shouldn't be familiar to Ernal.* What's going on here? Has he been lying to me? Lenna Prime seemed like the kind of place to get a good run in, considering I haven't really been able to exercise much while sick. I was feeling a lot better, so decided to take a jog with the pink one, Xoh. I don't know a lot about her, other than she's a shifty sort. She's already been caught with a few members' items in her pockets. She's a lot like Tenca, really. Kinda crusty on the outside, but playful, nonetheless. Probably why I find it easy to get along with her. Anyway, we tore off across the rooftops and later found a railway to latch onto and ride around the city. It was a great time. The climbing and free-running were all well overdo. I haven't done much of that since... home, really. Anyhoot... we all regrouped at the beampad after some time, and we zooped on back to the ship. Where will we go next, I wonder?
Ernal and I are very happy. Even though I've sort've... grown bored of Mud's architecture and familiar sights, my little greenbean has always found a way to spice things up between us... Anyhoot, I needed to get off Mud for a while. After work, I gave my nestmate a little peck on the cheek and left his office- and the planet- to explore some of the new settlements popping up. I love my work as a district guard on Mud... It's very reminiscent of the days I used to work back home on Strixus... Quiet. Peaceful, even as a soldier. Someone who can make a difference- not just a warrior, killer, etc. However... it can be very dull. And I need excitement, so... I took a job as a bartender at a place called the 'Drunken Ape.' So far business is slow, but it's only just opened up, so maybe soon the traffic will pick up. I figured it was a nice way to meet new people. And so far it has been- I met one of my co-workers, Ace, there and he helped me learn a little about the job. Unfortunately, though, he's left. On bad terms. I'm starting to think the Apex that runs the place may be untrustworthy... I'll stick with it a little longer, maybe, before moving on to something else. Admittedly, the extra income is nice. Maybe I can get something nice to surprise Ernal. There's another settlement, Gillian's Ranch, that's rather lovely. I pitched in over there a little, weeding the plants to earn a few extra meals. Kinda nice having something other than rice, even if it is oversized bug meat.
I keep neglecting this journal. Far too much has happened for me to fill in each event. Truth be told, I can't remember everything with clarity. I can say things have not been going well in the slightest. I left Mud for some time to get my thoughts together after Ernal and I had a disagreement. I'm glad I did, because someone made an attempt on my life. Had Ernal been there, things could have been radically worse. I'm baffled as to how they found me. Even more alarming, they also know my name, where I live, and their equipment far outmatches anything that I would be capable of standing against. I feel like I was only able to escape by the skin of my beak. I'd built myself a little hunting outpost on a completely desolate forest planet. It was just me, the local wildlife, and four days to myself. Most of the time I'd spent setting up punji traps for larger game. The lumbering quadrupeds had a sweet flavored meat. Good for stew. It was just busy work, really. Something to keep my body occupied while the mind wandered. The nights I just sat by the fire, sharpening sticks. Thinking. Didn't matter about what. It's a weight on my heart I wanted to avoid for a while. I was ready to head to bed when I got a beep on my phone. I'd turned it off, but the relay program from my ship sent a wakeup packet if the proximity alarm was triggered. Someone else was parking nearby. This was odd to me, but I didn't think much of it. Probably resource hunters. I tried to hail them on the radio, but didn't get a response. Not at first, at least. It was time for me to leave. I started packing my things back into my bag, but left the tent I'd built and the fire. About the time I was heading off, the radio picked up. The human over the broadcast mentioned that he was sent this way by a friend directing him for a colony. I figured it was odd, as it was an unmarked planet devoid of any settlement markers or information, and planetary scans wouldn't reveal any sentient life. Aside from myself, anyway. This whole situation creeped me out, so I replied to his broadcast, offering to let him stay in my tent for the night, if he were simply looking for a place to stay. I left the clearing and took off into the woods a good seventy meters or so. From my hiding place, I waited and I watched. No sooner than ten minutes two human males burst from the treeline, rifles shouldered and aimed at my tent. I never gave any directions to my camp. I didn't wait any longer; I'd seen everything I needed to know what was happening. Even though it was dark, the landmarks denoting my hunting traps were clear enough, and I remembered the path back to the river and the clearing beyond. It was a little over a kilometer. Not far. I figured if I could get there, I could board my ship with the beam device, but I still had to wait for the ship to lock on after activating it. I remember about the time I'd stepped over a trap, a blinding light bathed me and the entire forest around me. It was some kind of drone, and it had to go. It was giving away my position. I remember diving into a cut that was well obscured from the way I was coming from, and it would provide plenty of cover while I took some potshots at this thing. Though I wasn't expecting trouble when I planned this trip, wounded animals are several times more ferocious. Using my hand as a blind, I was able to sink three shots into this blinding little fucker before it started playing an alarm and flying too high for me to see. I don't know what these peoples' equipment is made of to make them indestructible... It almost seems unfair. Regardless, I was a huge target just sitting still in this ditch, and they were getting ever closer. Thinking back, I have no idea how they managed to dodge <i>every single punji trap I dug <b>in near blinding darkness</b></i>, but not only were they able to manage that, they were able to close the distance pretty quick. As soon as I leapt out of the ditch to keep moving toward the river, I was sprayed by a shower of wooden splinters, followed by a loud <i>CRACK</i> and a sharp sting. I wasn't hit, but it was close. They were close. More shots rang out, and I frantically zipped through the woods. I had almost made it to the edge of the river when I heard a loud <b>THUMP</b> noise and was thrown to the ground, the air evacuated from my lungs. I remember crying out in agony and terror, and I remember the hot pain in my back, like someone stuck me with a red hot brand. But I couldn't stop. All I could think about was that idiot green bean and if I never got out of there, I could never hug his stupid idiot face... So I struggled to my feet, arms weak and bloodied from the fall. And I kept running. I managed to cross the river. Once on the other side, it wasn't far to the clearing. When I finally reached my destination, I allowed the ship to bring me aboard. I was hurt, I was angry, but I was alive. When I shrugged off my backpack and tended to my back the best I could, I noticed a hole in my backpack and the books I was carrying. If it hadn't been for those guides, I would be dead now, I'm sure of it. There was a red-hot fury in my chest, and somebody was about to pay. But I had to play things smart because it wasn't over yet. Every second wasted was another second they were getting to catch up. I knew they were still in the woods and wouldn't be able to beam, especially if they hadn't started their lock-on sequence. I started up my ship and anchored myself to their ship's hull. I don't know what I did to deserve literal hitmen to descend on me in a time of struggle, but I don't appreciate it. I tried to find answers on their ship, but was blocked from entry by an invulnerable lock-on autoturret and an irritating auto-drone. Smashing that thing was the most satisfying feeling I've felt in a long time. Since I couldn't really do anything to get in and find out what the hell was happening, I escaped the way I came and re-entered my own ship. Just in time for the proximity alarm to go off. They had a second ship, and were closing fast. I hesitated to disable the first ship on the grounds that it would leave them stranded on an uninhabited planet. But as the second ship approached, all bets were off. I sent a laser cannon blast through the cockpit of the ship I'd just left as a warning for the shuttle that was approaching. It wasn't a match for my patrol ship, but I wasn't interested in combat, and initiated a jump as soon as the FTL engine was spooled. I took the ziggiest zaggiest route I could come up with, but it probably doesn't matter. They know where I live. But they also know I know they're coming, probably. It'll take some time to recoup from their loss of resources, I think. I hope. Because I need time to recover. Hopefully I can get some answers before they're ready for another attack. I don't know why this happened. I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with my inky black secret. I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with Ernal, either. Is it just random violence? I don't think so. It's certainly the last thing I need.
