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| | [[File:Apelinq War Journals.gif|thumb|upright=1.5|Get your stinking paws off my war journals.]] |
| |seriesissue=''[[Transformers: The Wreckers]]''
| | '''''Apelinq's War Journals''''' is a web-based series of short text stories written by [[Rob Gerbracht]] and was originally released on a near-weekly basis on ''BotCon: Beyond'' from [[February 17]] to [[June 29]], [[2001]]. It served as part of a campaign to build up hype for [[BotCon 2001]] (following a similar campaign conducted earlier by "[[VEHICON ALERT!]]"), and is written in the form of personal logs made by the [[Maximal]] [[Wreckers|Wrecker]] [[Apelinq (BM)|Apelinq]]. |
| |prev=VEHICON ALERT!
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| |next=Departure
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| |seriesissue2=''[[Reaching the Omega Point]]''
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| |image=Apelinq War Journals.gif
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| |caption=Get your stinking paws off my war journals. | |
| |title="Apelinq's War Journals"
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| |publisher=[[3H Productions|3H Enterprises]]
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| |date=[[February]] [[2001]] to [[June]] 2001 (BotCon: Beyond)
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| |writer=[[Rob Gerbracht]]
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| |continuity=3H [[Beast Era]] continuity | |
| }}
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| '''As first Cybertron and then the universe come crashing down around him, Apelinq records his impressions.''' | | It also served as both a bridge between the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' and ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' cartoons and as a bridge between the [[1998]]–[[2000]] convention-based storyline ''[[Reaching the Omega Point]]'' (which had just concluded the previous year at [[BotCon 2000]]) and the then-forthcoming ''[[Transformers: The Wreckers]]'' comic series set to debut at BotCon 2001. |
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| ==Journal entries== | | {{chapters|title=''Apelinq's War Journals''|prev=Reaching the Omega Point|next=Transformers: The Wreckers|content= |
| ===Journal 1: The Terror Begins===
| | *[[The Terror Begins|#1]] |
| ''Date Index 316.075 [[AU]]''
| | *[[Pieces of a Puzzle|#2]] |
| | | *[[Crumbling Edges|#3]] |
| [[Apelinq (BM)|Apelinq]], Squadron Commander of the [[Wrecker]]s, awaits word from the [[Maximal Elder|Council of Elders]] regarding recent terrorist attacks on the outskirts of [[Cybertropolis]]. [[Imperial Peace Marshal|Peace Marshal Command]] had assured him that everything is under control, but he has his doubts. Going it alone, he continues his search for any trace of the still-missing [[Maximal]] vessel, the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''. | | *[[Chaos (AWJ)|#4]] |
| | | *[[The Tyrant Returns|#5]] |
| ===Journal 2: Pieces of a Puzzle===
| | *[[Wreck and Rule|#6]] |
| ''Date Index 316.098 AU''
| | *[[Circle of Dread|#7]] |
| | | *[[The Virus Revealed|#8]] |
| To Apelinq's dismay, his trail runs cold, finding no clues as to the whereabouts of either the ''Axalon'' or the [[Depth Charge (BW)|rogue Peace Marshal]] who went missing to chase after the ship on his own. With no other leads, Apelinq switches to investigating a recent, and somewhat foreboding, [[unspace|transwarp]] anomaly.
| | *[[Back From the Past|#9]] |
| | | *[[The Wait is Over|#10]] |
| ===Journal 3: Crumbling Edges===
| | *[[Two Against a World|#11]] |
| ''Date Index 316.168 AU''
| | *[[A Cure is Found|#12]] |
| | | *[[Call From the Heavens|#13]] |
| The terrorist attacks have escalated. The Wreckers grow frustrated at the bureaucracy as Peace Marshals go missing while Apelinq's offers for assistance are constantly met with polite rejection. As his investigation of the transwarp anomaly has proven fruitless, Apelinq feels the Wreckers must take action should the situation continue to decay.
| | *[[(Primal Prime) Assuming Command|#14]] |
| | | *[[Timewrecked|#15]] |
| ===Journal 4: Chaos===
| | *[[Re-visitations|#16]] |
| '' Date Index 316.183 AU''
| | *[[The Frontiers of Our History|#17]] |
| | | *[[Point of No Return (AWJ)|#18]] |
| An attack at [[New Cybertropolis spaceport]] forces the Wreckers to break protocol and intervene. The situation has deteriorated to the point that the [[Tripredacus Council]] wants martial law. Maximal Command believes the terrorist group responsible to be small and limited, but the Wreckers fear that the worst is yet to come.
| | *[[Witness to the Covenant|#19]] |
| | | *[[Beyond Point Omega|#20]] |
| ===Journal 5: The Tyrant Returns===
| | }} |
| ''Date Index 316.235 AU''
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| To Apelinq's horror, the mastermind behind the attacks is revealed to be none other than the notorious criminal [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]], having made his return to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. The [[Maximal High Council|High Council]] is thrown into a panic over this news and nearly thirty Marshals break rank to go after Megatron themselves.
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| ===Journal 6: Wreck and Rule===
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| ''Date Index 316.247 AU''
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| Reports come in revealing the deaths of the rogue Marshals. The Wreckers receive numerous calls of [[Vehicon (BM)|attackers]] swarming the planet en masse. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] has Apelinq remain behind while he and the rest of the team go to face this new menace. Apelinq's parting words to Rodimus: "''Wreck and Rule!''"
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| ===Journal 7: Circle of Dread===
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| ''Date Index 316.258 AU''
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| Inside the [[Wrecker Command Base]], Apelinq remains in solitude, having heard no word from any of the Wreckers. He faces the grim realization that he might be the only living [[Transformer]] left on Cybertron, now that Megatron has seemingly [[transformation virus|eradicated the planet's entire populace]] in under a [[Units of time|stellar cycle]].
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| ===Journal 8: The Virus Revealed===
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| ''Date Index 316.263 AU''
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| Apelinq determines that Megatron took over the planet so quickly through use of a [[transformation virus|virus]], which must have induced a kind of [[stasis lock]] that paralyzed everyone's [[transformation|ability to transform]] and fight back, as it swept across the planet.
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| ===Journal 9: Back From the Past===
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| ''Date Index 316.265 AU''
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| Oribital scanners detect a spacecraft approaching the planet. Though Apelinq's attempts to contact it have met with failure, its presence fills him with renewed feelings of hope... and confusion, since the ship is indicated to be an [[Autobot Shuttle Omega Delta|ancient ''Autobot'' shuttle]].
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| ===Journal 10: The Wait is Over===
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| ''Date Index 316.270 AU''
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| Apelinq is done with waiting inside Wrecker Command. Having developed a "shield suit" to protect himself from Megatron's virus, he decides to get outside and figure out what's going on... and maybe take out a few attack drones along the way.
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| ===Journal 11: Two Against a World===
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| '' Date Index 316.270 AU''
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| Rodimus is alive! Miraculously unaffected by the virus, even! He's confirmed to Apelinq that the rest of the team, and the entire planet, are dead, with Cybertron now completely overrun by mindless drones called "[[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon]]s". Rodimus reassures Apelinq that, as long as the two of them survive, the Wreckers haven't lost yet!
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| ===Journal 12: A Cure is Found===
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| ''Date Index 316.279 AU''
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| Apelinq determines that Rodimus's "somewhat… [[Matrix Templar|''unique'' physiology]]" is what made him immune to the virus. Apelinq uses this information to create an inoculant against the virus. With this cure in their possession, they are ready to begin searching for more survivors. | | ==Overview== |
| | ''Apelinq's War Journals'' chronicles the days on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] that led up to [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron's]] takeover of the planet following his return from the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]], all told from the perspective of [[Apelinq (BM)|Apelinq]], a [[Maximal]] scientist and Squadron Commander for the elite special operations unit known as the [[Wreckers]]. These events are drip-fed over the course of each journal entry, providing tantalizingly small samples of the story's bigger picture rather than spelling everything in fully-elaborated detail. Once Megatron has conquered the planet, the story carries on into the events of the ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' cartoon, with Apelinq observing [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal's]] team of Maximals returning to Cybertron in [[Back From the Past|Journal 9]]. |
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| ===Journal 13: Call From the Heavens===
| | By [[Call From the Heavens|Journal 13]], a major status quo shift occurs when a [[unspace|transwarp]] ship containing a ragtag crew commanded by [[Primal Prime]] arrives on Cybertron, with [[(Primal Prime) Assuming Command|Journal 14]] seeing Apelinq thrown back in time while Primal Prime take his place for that journal entry. For the rest of the series, Apelinq is stranded on prehistoric [[Earth]] during the latter half of the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' cartoon, and observes the events of that series a from afar. He finally gets involved when the battle of [[Point Omega]] suddenly begins, bringing the series full circle with Apelinq's previous appearance in "[[Terminus (issue)|Terminus]]", the finale of ''[[Reaching the Omega Point]]'' set between the ''Beast Wars'' episodes "[[Master Blaster]]" and "[[Other Victories]]". The series ends on a deliberate cliffhanger that overlaps with the events of "Terminus", leaving Apelinq's fate undetermined in order to hype up the [[BotCon 2001]] exclusive comic [[Departure|''The Wreckers'' #1]]. |
| ''Date Index 316.286 AU''
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| Another transwarp anomaly appears nearer to the planet's surface, and another ship comes through it. It crashes on the far side of [[Polyhex]] and the two Wreckers are set to go straight to the crash site.
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| ===Journal 14: (Primal Prime) Assuming Command===
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| ''Date Index 316.292 AU''
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| This entry is written by Acting Commander [[Primal Prime]]. When he and his team had [[VEHICON ALERT!|arrived]] via the transwarp portal, Apelinq had attempted to inoculate them. But before he could finish, he was attacked by a [[Vehicon general]] who plunged Apelinq into the portal as it closed behind them both. Primal Prime's meeting the Wreckers reinvigorates him, even if Rodimus is now the sole remaining member. He is also surprised to find Rodimus receptive toward Primal Prime's taking command, and senses an odd familiarity with the Autobot. With Apelinq MIA, the newly-reformed Wreckers must prepare themselves for the coming battle.
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| ===Journal 15: Timewrecked===
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| ''Fixed Date Index Unknown''
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| Having emerged from the portal and dealt with [[Mirage (BM)|Mirage]], Apelinq finds himself in an unknown locale that reminds him of ancient [[Earth]]. His [[Transfer Interlink]] is missing, having been knocked away when he and Mirage fell through the portal. Apeling aims to recover it, but still has no idea where or when he is. He ponders what Primal Prime's team had been doing here and if he himself may now be trapped here forever.
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| ===Journal 16: Re-visitations===
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| ''Fixed Date Index Unknown''
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| Apelinq has retrieved his Transfer Interlink with the antivirus program intact, having nearly risked [[Visitations|an encounter with other Cybertronians on this planet]] to recover it. Their presence on this planet poses a curiosity to Apelinq. He will need to further observe them from afar until he can determine who they are.
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| ===Journal 17: The Frontiers of Our History===
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| ''Fixed Date Index Unknown''
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| After further investigation, Apelinq deduces that he has arrived on prehistoric Earth in the middle of the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]]. As he awaits a "temporal polestar" that will allow him to reopen the transwarp portal he came through, he is sorely tempted to stop Megatron in ''this'' time and prevent the Predacon's future takeover of Cybertron.
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| ===Journal 18: Point of No Return===
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| ''Fixed Date Index Unknown''
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| With his transwarp program finally up and running, Apelinq is ready to at last return home. But then... "''they''" catch his attention.
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| ===Journal 19: Witness to the Covenant===
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| ''Fixed Date Index Unknown''
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| To Apelinq's amazement, eleven new warriors, the literal [[Covenant (group)|Covenant]] of [[Primus]], have appeared! He's missed his chance to return home and must await the appearance of yet another transwarp gateway.
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| ===Journal 20: Beyond Point Omega===
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| ''[[Point Omega|POINT OMEGA]]''
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| The time has come for Apelinq to put aside his desire to go home and accept that fate has brought him here to actively take part in these events. Though regretful that he may never return home, he hopes that Primal Prime and the Wreckers will continue their fight in his stead. If Apelinq is fated to die here, he'll die knowing that he did what he could to help in this fight!
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| ''[[Terminus (issue)|WRECK AND RULE!]]''
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| ==Featured characters==
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| Characters in ''italic'' text are only featured by Apelinq's (or Primal Prime's) describing their active involvement in the story.<br>
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| {{featuredcharacters
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| |h1=[[Maximal]]s/[[Autobot]]s
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| |c1=
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| *[[Apelinq (BM)|Apelinq]] (1)
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| *''Other [[Wrecker]]s'' (2)
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| *''The [[Maximal High Council|High Council]]'' (5)
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| *''[[Imperial Peace Marshal]]s'' (6)
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| *''[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]]'' (8)
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| *[[Primal Prime]] (9)
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| |h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]/[[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicons]]
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| |c2=
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| *''The [[Tripredacus Council]]'' (3)
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| *''[[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'' (4)
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| *''Swarms of [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon]] drones'' (7)
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| *''[[Mirage (BM)|Mirage]]'' (10)
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| *''"[[Shokaract|That anthropodan thing]]"'' (12)
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| |c4=
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| * ''The [[Covenant (group)|Covenant]]'' (11)
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| }}
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| ==Notes== | | ==Notes== |
| ===Production notes===
| | *Following its original release on ''BotCon: Beyond'', the series was later moved to ''BotCon Online'' on [[November 13]], [[2001]], where it remained until it disappeared in a site update made on [[May 11]], [[2003]]. It wouldn't resurface until early [[January]] [[2006]], on the ''BotCon Online'' archives hosted by [[Fun Publications]] (and later BC Productions). |
| *Other mentioned characters: The [[Maximal Elder|Council of Elders]], [[Imperial Peace Marshal|Peace Marshal Command]], [[Primus]], [[Depth Charge (BW)|a lost Peace Marshal]], [[Maximal Command]], [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] [[Cheetor (BW)|and]] [[Rattrap (BW)|his]] [[Rhinox (BW)|crew]], [[Spittor (BW)|the]] [[Packrat|rest]] [[Sonar (BW)|of]] [[Tigatron|Primal]] [[Fractyl|Prime's]] [[Ramulus|crew]], "[[Onyx Primal|those]] [[Packrat|Cyber]][[Fractyl|tron]][[Vice Grip|ians]]", "[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)#Characters|these beast warriors]]". | | *Apelinq uses an [[AU]] dating system for his journal entries. The recap of ''Apelinq's War Journals'' included in the [[BotCon 2001]] comic [[Departure|''The Wreckers'' #1]] would later indicate this system to refer to the number of years, or [[Units of time|stellar cycle]]s, '''A'''fter '''U'''nicron's destruction (in reference to [[The Transformers: The Movie|his 2005 destruction]]). The first fourteen of Apelinq's entries take place during 316 AU, with decimal points to distinguish between them. As Journals 10 and 11 are dated with the same decimals, but clearly take place some time apart from each other, it is very plausible that each decimal signifies the day, or solar cycle, of the year/stellar cycle 316 AU that Apelinq made each entry. |
| *"Apelinq's War Journals" is a series of brief text stories that was originally published online at BotCon: Beyond as part of a buildup campaign for [[BotCon 2001]]. Each journal entry was released on a weekly basis from mid-to-late [[February]] to the end of [[June]]. It was eventually moved to BotCon Online on [[November 13]], [[2001]], where it remained until it disappeared in a site update made on [[May 11]], [[2003]]. It wouldn't resurface until early [[January]] [[2006]], on the BotCon Online archives provided by [[Fun Publications]].
| | *Between [[Timewrecked|Journals 15]] and [[Beyond Point Omega|20]], Apelinq was basically stuck on prehistoric Earth from about midway through Season 2 of ''Beast Wars'' to right after "[[Master Blaster]]". |
| *The series also served as both a bridge between the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' and ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' cartoons and a bridge between the ongoing convention-based storyline ''[[Reaching the Omega Point]]'' (which had just been concluded the previous year at [[BotCon 2000]]) and the then-forthcoming ''[[Transformers: The Wreckers]]'' comic series. | | *The series was originally placed under the ''Transformers: The Wreckers'' label on ''BotCon Online'', but then placed under the ''Reaching the Omega Point'' label when the series was brought back in 2006. |
| *The series was originally placed under the ''Transformers: The Wreckers'' label on BotCon Online, but then placed under the ''Reaching the Omega Point'' label when the series was brought back in 2006. | | *Apelinq would later make one more War Journal entry on the inside-cover of [[Disclosure|''The Wreckers'' #3]], serving as a prologue for that comic issue in lieu of a standard recap for the preceding issue, [[Betrayal|''The Wreckers'' #2]]. |
| *The [[BotCon 2001]] comic book contains a recap of this story, titled "Last Time on ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Machines''...", and further confirmed that Apelinq was able to successfully return to Cybertron after the events of [[Point Omega]]. The text of this recap was later posted to BotCon Online on [[November 13]], [[2001]], and then replaced by scans of the comic's actual pages on [[March 30]], [[2002]].
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| *Apelinq would later make one more War Journal entry on the inside-cover of "[[Disclosure]]", serving as a prologue for that comic issue in lieu of a standard recap for the preceding issue, "[[Betrayal]]". | |
| *The concept of personal log journals written by Apelinq would later be revisited for [[BotCon 2014]], with seven entries written by the ''[[Transformers: Wings Universe|Wings Universe]]'' version of the character published by "[[Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur]]", the Facebook page of the [[Star Seeker]] [[Tornado]]. These entries were given date indices beginning with 468.900.12, but with no units given. They cover the ''Wings Universe'' [[Primal Prime]]'s new Wreckers team and his conflict with the [[Cybertronian Knight]]s, as well as Apelinq's visions of another life he had [[Point Omega|forgotten]]. | | *The concept of personal log journals written by Apelinq would later be revisited for [[BotCon 2014]], with seven entries written by the ''[[Transformers: Wings Universe|Wings Universe]]'' version of the character published by "[[Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur]]", the Facebook page of the [[Star Seeker]] [[Tornado]]. These entries were given date indices beginning with 468.900.12, but with no units given. They cover the ''Wings Universe'' [[Primal Prime]]'s new Wreckers team and his conflict with the [[Cybertronian Knight]]s, as well as Apelinq's visions of another life he had [[Point Omega|forgotten]]. |
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| ===Continuity notes===
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| *Chronologically, the events of the War Journals begin prior to the ''Beast Machines'' cartoon, with the first nine entries detailing Megatron's gradual rise to power. Journals 10 to 14 continue during the show's events, beginning with [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]]'s team of [[Maximal]]s arriving on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. The final six entries, Journals 15–20, jump to the era of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon and come full circle with Apelinq's previous appearances in ''Reaching the Omega Point'', with Journals 15 and 16 bookending the [[BotCon 1998]] "[[Visitations]]" script reading (with Journal 16 aptly named "Re-visitations") and Journals 18–20 occurring during the BotCon 2000 "[[Terminus (issue)|Terminus]]" comic story.
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| *Apelinq uses an [[AU]] dating system for his Journal entries. The recap of "Apelinq's War Journals" included in the BotCon 2001 comic would later strongly imply this system to refer to the number of years, or [[Units of time|stellar cycle]]s, '''A'''fter '''U'''nicron's destruction (most likely in reference to [[The Transformers: The Movie|his 2005 destruction]]). The first fourteen of Apelinq's entries take place during 316 AU, with decimal points to distinguish between them. As Journals 10 and 11 are dated with the same decimals, but clearly take place some time apart from each other, it is very plausible that each decimal signifies the day, or solar cycle, of the year/stellar cycle 316 AU that Apelinq made each entry.
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| *The [[Imperial Peace Marshal]]s are introduced as a planetary peacekeeping force for the Cybertron of the [[Beast Era]]. Later ''Beast Wars''-related BotCon fiction produced in [[2006]] and [[2007]] by [[Fun Publications]] would introduce a rather similar organization called the [[Maximal Command Security Force]]. What, if any, affiliation there may be between the two groups has never been touched upon.
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| *In case it wasn't apparent, the foreboding transwarp anomaly first mentioned in Journal 2 is what brought Megatron back to Cybertron after his having escaped from the [[Autobot Shuttle Omega Delta|Maximals' Autobot shuttle]] mid-transwarp, as was seen in the ''Beast Machines'' episode "[[Revelations Part II: Descent]]".
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| * Journal 5 reveals Megatron to have been responsible for the terrorist attacks that had been plaguing Cybertron since Journal 1. And in Journal 6, his Vehicon armies begin swarming the planet ''before'' the [[transformation virus]] wipes out the populace. This is so far the first, last, and only piece of fiction to ever claim that Megatron had already been attacking areas of Cybertron with Vehicons prior to when he unleashed his virus upon the planet.
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| *Rodimus is referred to as "the last of the Templars" in Journal 7, while Journal 12 refers to his "somewhat... ''unique'' physiology" as having made him immune to Megatron's virus. The previously-released "[[VEHICON ALERT!]]" referred to Rodimus as a member of an "order" thought destroyed. The "Templars" mentioning and Rodimus's physiological uniqueness are both references to Rodimus as a member of that order, with "Departure" later confirming Rodimus to be a "[[Matrix Templar]]".
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| *Megatron's takeover and the return of Optimus Primal's team all happen in the same stellar cycle with very little space between them: Megatron's won by 316.258 AU and the Autobot shuttle shows up on 316.265 AU, a mere ''seven'' solar cycles later.
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| *As Apelinq prepares to finally exit the [[Wrecker Command Base]] in Journal 10, he states that he'd "like to keep a low profile". And later in Journal 16, he insists that he "cannot risk further contact with these beast warriors until [he is] sure of their origins or intent." Both of these are sneaky little excuses for why Apelinq never appeared in the onscreen events of either the ''Beast Machines'' or ''Beast Wars'' cartoons.
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| *The arrival of [[Primal Prime]]'s team in [[Polyhex]] was first brought up in "VEHICON ALERT!", whose events are now determined to be set chronologically between Journals 13 and 14.
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| *In Journals 1–13 (written by Apelinq), the Wrecker Command Base is located in Delta Three. But in Journal 14 (written by Primal Prime), it is instead suddenly located in Delta Five. No explanation is given for this change, but it is presumable that Primal Prime had his team establish a new Wreckers base in Delta Five for any number of reasons.
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| *The point in time that Primal Prime's team came from would be further explored in the then-forthcoming "[[Primeval Dawn]]" comic storyline.
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| *The strange kinship Primal Prime feels towards Rodimus, as stated in Journal 14, is due to Rodimus having once held the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. "Primeval Dawn" would later reveal Primal Prime to essentially be "the Living Matrix".
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| *The [[Vehicon general]] [[Mirage (BM)|Mirage]] is said to have attacked Apelinq when the Vehicons arrived in Polyhex in response to the appearance of Primal Prime's team. As Apelinq was not one of Mirage's assigned targets in "VEHICON ALERT!", this suggests that either Mirage broke rank to engage a foe he wasn't supposed to, or circumstances somehow forced Mirage into attacking Apelinq.
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| *Apelinq was basically stuck on prehistoric Earth from about midway through Season 2 of ''Beast Wars'' to right after "[[Master Blaster]]".
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| *Journals 18 and 20 retroactively declare that Apelinq's thought bubbles from Page 17, and his dialogue from Page 21, of "Terminus" were actually lines that he was recording into those respective log entries. What's more is that the thought bubbles from Panel 4 of Page 17 are now revealed to have been a quote from an excerpt of the [[Covenant of Primus]] (here referred to as the "Book of Primus") titled the "[[Sojourner's Passage]]", which also makes the reference to the "Machine Age" into being a scriptural term for the events of ''Beast Machines''. And the reference to "Primal" on Page 21 of that comic is now confirmed to refer not to Optimus Primal but to Primal Prime.
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| *Journal 19 is the first, last, and only time that a connection has ever been made between the [[Covenant of Primus|Covenant of Primus book]] and the [[Covenant (group)|Covenant of Primus group]].
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| ====The artifact of ''Omega Point''====
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| After nearly three years of ambiguity, the identity of the artifact from ''Reaching the Omega Point'', which first turned up in the "Visitations" script reading, is at last finally revealed... ''kind of''.
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| Journals 15 and 16 refer to Apelinq having first lost and then reclaimed his Transfer Interlink, in direct reference to the events of "Visitations". However, he also refers to having reclaimed his cure for Megatron's virus in the same Journals, making the cure and the Interlink the two most likely candidates for the artifact's identity. But determining which of these two is supposed to be the artifact is not so simple:
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| *In "Visitations", the artifact was first said to be a ''Predacon'' device of "futuristic" design, which applies to neither the Interlink nor the antivirus since both were owned by the ''Maximal'' Apelinq, whose home-time was the same as the Beast Wars' original participants, making neither Apelinq nor his technology any more "futuristic" than any of the Beast Warriors.
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| *The implication behind this description suggests that the artifact was originally supposed to have been a device that hailed from [[Shokaract]]'s future era, rather than a personal belonging of Apelinq's. However, both "Terminus" and its recap of "Visitations" confirm the artifact from the script reading to indeed have been taken by Apelinq, which Journal 16 lines up with in its description of Apelinq having retrieved both his Transfer Interlink and his antivirus from the events of the script reading, thereby most likely [[retcon]]ning away any inherent ties the artifact was to originally have had with Shokaract's future timeline.
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| With that said, there are a few clues that suggest the artifact to be the Transfer Interlink:
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| *"[[Herald]]" refers to the artifact as a "key" capable of "breaching—or indeed sealing—the dimensional wall." This is later referenced in "Terminus" at a point where the narration refers to the artifact as Apelinq's own "key" to the future. The Transfer Interlink is indeed an object that can both open and close transwarp portals, as Journal 14 refers to an attempt made by Apelinq to close the transwarp gateway that brought Primal Prime's team to Cybertron, while Journals 17 and 18 refer to a transwarp program that Apelinq can use to reopen transwarp gateways, but which will only work in tandem with his Transfer Interlink.
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| *Journal 15 only makes direct mention of the Transfer Interlink having been lost, while the loss of the antivirus is instead merely implied.
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| *Though Journal 16 refers to Apelinq having recovered both items at the same time, there was explicitly only ''one'' device, not two, that Apelinq made off with in "Visitations". This would suggest that, prior to his logging Journal 16, Apelinq either reclaimed one of the two ''outside'' of the script reading's events, or that both objects could in fact be the ''same'' object instead of separate ones. The latter notion is even supported by how Journal 16 indisputably refers to the antivirus as a ''program'', while Journals 17 and 18 also mention a Transwarp program that only works in conjunction with the Interlink.
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| And when all is said and done, logical reason would beg the questions of ''how'' and ''why'' a cure for Megatron's virus in the ''Beast Machines'' cartoon would be of ''any'' relevance to anything in the ''Omega Point'' storyline. Why would Shokaract send Antagony to search for a cure to a centuries-old virus that helped ''benefit'' Shokaract's former life? What threat would the antivirus pose to the [[Dark Essence]]? How could the antivirus breech or seal the "dimensional wall"? None of this makes any sense for the antivirus to be the artifact. The Transfer Interlink at least has its transwarp program to connect itself to the artifact's description in "Herald", but the antivirus has no relevance to the ''Omega Point'' storyline whatsoever.
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| However, despite all of this, there are still a few other points that lean more towards the antivirus being the artifact:
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| *The recap of "Visitations" found in the BotCon 2000 comic features artwork that unambiguously presents the artifact as a sealed, vial-shaped canister, which "Terminus" reiterates in its depiction of the artifact as a vial containing a visible yellow-green liquid. The Interlink itself is later depicted in the [[BotCon 2002]] comic story "[[Betrayal]]" as a small computer console accessed by little keypads mounted on the insides of Apelinq's forearms, which does ''not'' match the visual depiction of the artifact taken by Apelinq in the BotCon 2000 "Visitations" recap art. This not only strongly implies the antivirus to be the artifact, but also a physical liquid substance instead of an intangible program, making Journal 16's calling it an "antivirus program" seem more like another retcon.
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| *The recap of "Apelinq's War Journals" included in the BotCon 2001 comic describes the antidote to Megatron's plague as "a virtual '''key''' that might seal the tyrant's fate while securing the Wreckers' last hope for salvation." Though the context is different, the precise use of the word "key" in specific regards to the cure feels a little too on the nose for both "Herald" and "Terminus" likewise referring to the artifact as a "key" to be just a mere coincidence.
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| *And most tellingly of all (depending on how much value one puts into [[authorial intent]]), in [[2002]], [[3H Productions|3H]] member [[Glen Hallit]] once openly ''insisted'' that the artifact was absolutely the antivirus and ''not'' the Transfer Interlink at all.<ref>[https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.toys.transformers/mmW3dom5GiA/OwEuiAOkSj4J alt.toys.transformers post by Glen Hallit made on 2002/03/29]: "The interlink had nothing to do with the battle... The artifact was the antivirus to Beast Machine{{sic}} Megatron's virus that hurt all of Cybertron."</ref> '''''HOWEVER''''', in [[2018]], when shown this post of his from sixteen years prior, a rather baffled Glen Hallit had completely forgotten about having ever made this claim and couldn't remember why he had made it in the first place.<ref>Via personal correspondence with Glen Hallit at [[Unofficial conventions|RoboCon 2018]].</ref>
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| In short, the artifact was evidently first written with the initial intent of being a nebulous object left open enough for later writers to fill in the blanks on its identity. But in the end, said blanks were never completely filled in either a consistent or a conclusive manner. Therefore, it remains ultimately [[Personal canon|up to the reader]] as to which of Apelinq's two personal belongings one wishes to perceive as the identity of the artifact.
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| ===Continuity errors===
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| *The aforementioned AU dating system Apelinq's journal entries use poses a timeline inconsistency with previous installments of the ''Omega Point'' storyline. Shokaract's future era was stated in "Terminus" to exist in the 32nd Century, which "[[Schism (story)|Schism]]" declared to be set 200 years after "[[Covenant (story)|Covenant]]", which itself was set during a point when [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] was on Cybertron (most likely right before the ''Beast Machines'' cartoon given the point in time in which "Covenant" would have been written). If one were to calculate how long "Covenant" took place before "Schism" based on the 32nd Century statement from "Terminus" (even factoring in the [[Units of time/Continuity#Beast Wars & Beast Machines cartoon|conversion differences between Earth years and stellar cycles]]), 200 years before the 32nd Century would be the 30th Century. Meanwhile, Apelinq's first fourteen Journal entries all take place around the same time as "Covenant", when Megatron is back on Cybertron after the Beast Wars. The problem with this is that those Journals are are all dated "316 AU", or "316 years '''A'''fter '''U'''nicron". Calculating 316 (Earthen or Cybertronian) years after Unicron's destruction in 2005 (the 21st Century) would place Journals 1–14 in the 24th Century, about six centuries ''before'' the 30th. The only way around this is if the "AU" era did not start at 2005 but instead at some point in the 27th Century, three centuries before the 30th. Yet, ''Omega Point'' made several explicit references to Unicron's 2005 destruction as though it had been his only or most recent demise. Alas, such discrepancies in minutia like this are bound to happen when writing and creative duties switch over from [[Simon Furman|author]] to [[Rob Gerbracht|author]].
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| *In Journal 5, Apelinq refers to the terrorist attacks as having occurred "over the past cycle". This is incongruous with how the term "cycle" in the Beast Era is supposed to equate to roughly one minute. Apelinq most likely meant to say "over the past ''stellar'' cycle".
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| *Journal 11 has Apelinq claim that Rodimus searched "half the entire planet" looking for survivors, but came up short. Really? He never even once found a ''hint'' of Optimus Primal's team? Did he even think to check in [[Cybertropolis]], the ''central city of Cybertron'', at all? Or did that city just ''happen'' to be in the planetary half that he didn’t search?
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| ===Other errors===
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| *In Journal 4, the C in "Maximal Command" is not uppercased.
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| *The following errors occur in the most recent version, which only came about after "Apelinq's War Journals" was added back to the BotCon Online archives in early [[January]] of [[2006]]:
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| **In Journal 3, the word "communiqués" is incorrectly-formatted as "communiquÈs".
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| **Journals 7 and 9 each feature an "Ö" where an ellipsis should instead be.
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| ===Transformers references===
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| *First and foremost, Apelinq is presented here as a member of the [[Wreckers]], who were originally an elite [[Autobot]] unit from the [[United Kingdom|UK]]-exclusive issues of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel Generation 1 comics]]. Both the team and their rally cry of "Wreck and Rule!" first debuted in the story "[[Target: 2006]]. "Apelinq's War Journals" marks the first use of the team in American ''Transformers'' fiction, and the second American use of their rally cry (the first having been its previous use in "Terminus").
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| *The [[Maximal Elder|Council of Elders]] was first mentioned in the ''Beast Machines'' episode "[[Master of the House]]", while the "[[Maximal High Council|High Council]]" was first mentioned in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[Deep Metal]]".
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| *Apelinq invokes [[Primus]] and the [[Pit (BW)|Pit]] more than once.
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| *Journal 2 refers to the disappearances of the ''Axalon'' (which occurred in [[Beast Wars (Part 1)|the first ''Beast Wars'' episode]]) and a "lost Marshal who broke ranks to locate the ship on his own." The latter is in reference to the Maximal [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]] having been in charge of security for [[Colony Omicron]], and his subsequent pursuit of the ''Axalon'', both of which were first given in "Deep Metal". And now, the story reveals Depth Charge to have formerly been a Peace Marshal.
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| *Journal 4 mentions "Fifty PMC Starhoppers". A [[Starhopper]] was first seen in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "Deep Metal" as the ship that brought Depth Charge to Earth. Here, they are stated to belong to Peace Marshal Command, furthering Depth Charge's ties to the Marshals.
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| *Journal 4 also refers to New Cybertropolis spaceport. This could refer to the [[Central Spaceport|central spaceport]] that was featured in the ''Beast Machines'' episodes "[[Fires of the Past]]", "[[Revelations Part II: Descent]]","[[Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege]]", and "[[Spark of Darkness]]".
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| *The [[Tripredacus Council]] was first introduced in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[The Agenda (Part 1)]]".
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| *After a minor appearance in "VEHICON ALERT!", [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] is more formally reintroduced here as a member of the Wreckers for the first time. He originally appeared as "Hot Rod" in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', in which he inherited the Matrix and became "Rodimus Prime". Here, he is simply named "Rodimus". The in-fiction reason for this name change would later be given in "[[Departure]]", but for a real-world reason, [[Hasbro]] apparently lost the [[trademark]] for the name "Hot Rod" at the time and would go on to use "Rodimus" as a substitute for the non-[[Prime (rank)|Prime]] version of the character. The usage of the name here would be the first sign of things to come for over a decade.
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| *Journal 17 states that Megatron "tramples on the sacred ground of our race's heritage", referring to his entering the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] in either "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]" or "[[Master Blaster]]", or possibly even to his assault on the Maximal base inside the ''Ark''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s mountain in "[[Cutting Edge]]".
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| ===Real world references===
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| *In Journal 17, Apelinq notes that he must wait for a "temporal polestar" before he can reopen the transwarp gateway that brought him to the past. A {{w|pole star}} is a star in a fixed position located near the celestial pole of a planet. In Earth's case, the fixed position of {{w|Polaris}}, the "North star", made it historically useful for navigational purposes in the Northern Hemisphere. The "temporal polestar" Apelinq awaits is likely a metaphor for either a point or a phenomenon that is fixed in time, and which will also likely enable him to safely navigate the timestream back to his home time. He misses the first polestar when the Covenant arrives, but will successfully access another at the conclusion of Point Omega, according to "Departure".
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist}}
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| ==External links== | | ==External links== |
| *[http://www.botconarchives.com/archive/story/journals/index.html "Apelinq's War Journals" at the BotCon Online archives] | | *[http://www.botconarchives.com/archive/story/journals/index.html "Apelinq's War Journals" at the ''BotCon Online'' archives] |
| *Apelinq's Journal entries from [[Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur]]: | | *Apelinq's Journal entries from [[Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur]]: |
| **[https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_AaAWT6x2Nmc1kzY0JCN2R4bVk/edit Date index 468.900.12] | | **[https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_AaAWT6x2Nmc1kzY0JCN2R4bVk/edit Date index 468.900.12] |
