The Miniknog Part I “… Free. I’m finally free. After weeks of waiting for the next hurried lab evacuation, I used the chemical cocktail JR-V had whipped up (Poor bastard got found out by the Miniknog for being smarter than desirable variables) to wake from cyro-sleep mid-transfer. The scientists didn’t notice. While they were busy checking data and arguing among themselves, I pulled myself out of the tank, wrenched a pipe from an exposed, damaged wall, and put an end to those monsters forever. When the adrenaline and anger left me a long time later, I found the sense to be scared again. Not of the Miniknog, not of Big Ape, not even of dying. No, what has frightened me most since then has been the very thing I had won that day — my future as a free Apex.” The Miniknog Part II “I should have kept one alive. Damn. Damn it! I’ve been staring at the sleeping faces of my brothers in their pods. They look so peaceful, so unburdened by the weight I carry for all of us. The plan had been to wake them when I had dealt with the Miniknog monsters, but with the heavy damage this ship has sustained, it has taken all I know just to keep life-support from tripping a breaker and killing them. I’ve even had to resort to a barrel fire just to keep warm in this derelict. I don’t know what to do now. Sure, I could go and find someone smart enough, qualified enough to help, but how do I trust them? How can I trust anyone? I know that what I did wasn’t wrong, but did I pick the wrong moment? “ Avalon Part I “The accusing stare of Big Ape has driven me to seek time away from my slumbering brothers. The most broadcasted location in this quadrant is some place called Avalon, kind of a dive with too much colour and chaos, but better than monochrome conformity. Better than spending all of my time with that statue of Big Ape. Maybe. The first “person” I met was some kid pretending to be a cardboard box. In a bar. In another life, she’d be a walking case of Thought Reassignment waiting to happen. Here, I dunno. I abandoned mocking her (still better than spending time with Big Ape) when I spotted another Apex in the room sitting alone at a table. I should have felt on edge, should have bolted, but I felt drawn to her, the only other Apex I had seen after so long, so against my better judgment I conversed. She introduced herself as Vae. I enjoyed her company. Then she revealed to me her former affiliation with the Miniknog. I still don’t know how I should feel about that, but even now I’m already thinking of meeting her again or accepting her offer to write. Big Ape here is trying to convince me not to do it, which means I actually might.” The Miniknog Part III “Big Ape and I both agree that the galactic frequencies are full of banana-brains. However, it is also the most reliable medium through which to gain knowledge of outposts in which to trade for supply, something this awful boat guzzles like vitamin water. Dangers exist in seeking knowledge, though, particularly when dealing with information brokers. The last one I met, another Apex who calls himself “The Baron,” highlighted to me that danger when he invited me onto his ship. Miniknog! A massive Miniknog exploration vessel! I was instantly glad for the hidden weapon I had found on my own stolen craft—a violin loaded with incendiary bolts. Clutching my prize, I followed this Baron to his private quarters where we discussed terms. In exchange for the coordinates to Hearthstone, I was to promise to reveal later to him the location of a place called Opportunity. Fair. I gave him knowledge of a bunker I had found on a Glitch world as a freebie and remarked how his ship seemed curiously lacking in images of Big Ape. The Baron, in that moment, launched into a passionate tirade against Big Ape’s regime. Not wanting to push my luck any further lest it was a ruse, I excused myself and fled. Big Ape approves.” Tallest Tree Part I “The talk in Avalon was all about a kidnapping at this place called Tallest Tree, so that was my next stop. Sneaking in with a batch of visitors to the local blood sport, I slipped away and made my way down to the roots where a small village hides in a way not unlike a Resistance base. Not knowing what to expect, I kept to the shadows, but unfortunately, Floran senses are exceptionally sharp—at my approach, one called out in alarm that he smelled a “fur man!” To calm him, another Floran mentioned the presence of native Apex named “Dr. Nero,” which I used to my advantage. When inevitably cornered by patrol, I introduced myself first as “Dr. Nero...’s son.” They bought it, escorted me to the clinic of my “father,” and (thanks to a Floran falling through a chute) showed me a room with three life-support pods, two filled, one unfilled - an eerie parallel. The Floran with sharp senses surprised me again by asking if I was “the third.” Though he referred to the empty pod, I thought of my stolen ship, my two brothers, and my own designation: JR-III. Absolutely uncanny. I told my statue of Big Ape about that later, and he tried to convince me to capture that Floran for study. I continue to refuse his stony requests. Anyway, I shall stay in Tallest Tree for the time being until the doctor returns. Time to get used to being Dr. Nero Jr.”
Tetanus Fields I "It's been a while since I last updated the logs, and with good reason. Consider this the catch-up. My stay in Tallest Tree didn't work out, though I'm keeping the alias Dr. Nero Jr. because it might prove useful later. After following the radio and StarNet chatter, I came upon a new colony claiming to be a refuge for those seeking to not be found. Tetanus Fields. What a mistake. The place was--and yes, I'm emphasasing was--a rust bucket. Abandoned factory on terrible world, the kind of place you'd have to be crazy or stupid to live in. Perfect, right? Except that's exactly what it turned out to be: crazy and stupid. A lot happened on Tetanus Fields, a lot I didn't get to record. There just wasn't time. First day there? Tasked to build an entire city-ready power plant in three days out of scrap and sludge. After a week? Tasked to RE-build an entire city-ready power plant capable of powering a massive space cannon. Every day was another demand for more power, more electricity, more wires, all with substandard parts and fuel. And for what? For broken promises. Tetanus had a simple concept: it was a place to hide. Except the bleeding hearts who ran it extended that further to include "we'll help you even if you don't want us to." That became problematic. It became the USCM wanting to stomp boots on the ground. It became advertising the colony out publicly for all to know. It became taking the refuges of Avalon in when their hubworld exploded. It became Tarl Hollow, the former USCM soldier with emotional dampening chips in his head who went on to become the leader of a warmongering fleet of bathtubs and rust buckets. Tetanus Fields birthed him, raised him up, enabled his climb, all while remaining blind, so blind. It was a stark reminder, actually, of how, in this sector, the Apex are the minority. No Apex, conditioned or free, could fail to make the parallels between Tarl Hollow and Big Ape. But I could. And when nobody listened, really listened, I left." Tetanus Fields II "Okay, so I didn't leave because of Tarl Hollow. I can feel Big Ape's statue judging me with its steady stare, so I'll amend that ending. Close to the end of my time in Tetanus Fields, the local Floran decided to have an orgy. They birthed a lot of idiots, and then some other idiot decided the best way to deal with this over-abundance of Floran was to nuke the entire colony. Like I said, crazy and stupid. There was probably a total of one other decent person on that colony. One. Everyone else? Idiots. So I left because of the nuke. I left to go find my third reactor core for a new power plant, which took longer than the last two trips. And when I was towing it home? Tarl's Armada was there. In numbers. I haven't evaded the Miniknog this long to get caught by naive faith in the goodwill of others. I booked out. And ended up here, on Reactor."
