User:Sabrblade/sandbox
Apelinq's War Journals
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 a month earlier by "VEHICON ALERT!"), and is written in the form of personal logs made by the Maximal Wrecker Apelinq.
It also served as both a bridge between the Beast Wars and 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.
| « | Apelinq's War Journals | » | |
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Overview
Apelinq's War Journals chronicles the days on Cybertron that led up to Megatron's takeover of the planet following his return from the Beast Wars, all told from the perspective of 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 cartoon, with Apelinq observing Optimus Primal's team of Maximals returning to Cybertron in Journal 9.
By Journal 13, a major status quo shift occurs when a transwarp ship containing a ragtag crew commanded by Primal Prime arrives on Cybertron, with 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 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", 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 The Wreckers #1.
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).
- Apelinq uses an AU dating system for his journal entries. The recap of Apelinq's War Journals included in the BotCon 2001 comic The Wreckers #1 would later indicate this system to refer to the number of years, or stellar cycles, After Unicron's destruction (in reference to 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.
- 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 The Wreckers #3, serving as a prologue for that comic issue in lieu of a standard recap for the preceding issue, The Wreckers #2.
- The concept of personal log journals written by Apelinq would later be revisited for BotCon 2014, with seven entries written by the 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 Knights, as well as Apelinq's visions of another life he had forgotten.
External links
- "Apelinq's War Journals" at the BotCon Online archives
- Apelinq's Journal entries from Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur:
[[Category:3H media]] [[Category:Text stories]]
The Terror Begins
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| "The Terror Begins" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | February 17, 2001[1][2] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Trouble's a-brewing.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.075 AU
Apelinq, Squadron Commander of the Wreckers, awaits word from the Council of Elders regarding any assistance they could provide for a search Apelinq is conducting. However, the Council has its hands full with some terrorist attacks that recently occurred on the outskirts of the city. Peace Marshal Command had assured him that everything is under control, but Apelinq has his doubts and resumes the search on his own.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: The Council of Elders/High Council, Peace Marshal Command, Primus
Continuity notes
- Apelinq is stationed within the Wrecker Command Base, which is situated in a location on Cybertron simply known as "Delta Three".
- Peace Marshal Command is introduced here as a planetary peacekeeping authority on Cybertron. Later chapters will refer to a group known as the "Peace Marshals", which the BotCon 2001 comic The Wreckers #1 would more formally refer to as the "Imperial Peace Marshals". These are whom Peace Marshal Command is in charge of.
- Later Beast Wars-related BotCon fiction produced in 2006 and 2007 by Fun Publications would introduce a rather similar law enforcement organization called the Maximal Command Security Force. What, if any, affiliation there may be between the two groups has never been touched upon.
Transformers references
- Having made his debut back in the BotCon 2000 comic story "Terminus, Apelinq is reintroduced here as a member of the Wreckers, who were originally an elite Autobot unit from the UK-exclusive issues of the Marvel Generation 1 comics, debuting in the story "Target: 2006". Back in "Termimus", it was subtly hinted that Apelinq is a Wrecker when he cried the Wreckers' famous battle cry of "Wreck and Rule!" It is made fully apparent here with his log entry noting he is a Squadron Commander stationed within the Wrecker Command Base.
- With this first journal entry, the Wreckers receive their very first, very own insignia, one styled after the Autobot symbol but with a hammer incorporated into its design.
- The Council of Elders was first mentioned in the Beast Machines episode "Master of the House". The High Council was first mentioned in the Beast Wars episode "Deep Metal". Here, they are confirmed to be the same council.
- Apelinq invokes the name of Primus.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Pieces of a Puzzle
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| "Pieces of a Puzzle" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before February 24, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
When one door closes, another one opens.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.098 AU
To Apelinq's dismay, his trail runs cold, finding no clues as to the whereabouts of either the Axalon or the rogue 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, transwarp anomaly.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: A lost Peace Marshal
Continuity notes
- It's revealed here that Apelinq's search first mentioned in Journal 1 is for the Axalon, the Maximal science vessel captained by Optimus Primal, which first disappeared through a transwarp portal in the first episode of the Beast Wars cartoon.
- Apelinq mentions a "lost Marshal who broke ranks to locate the ship on his own." This in reference to the Maximal 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". It is revealed here that Depth Charge had been an Imperial Peace Marshal.
- The foreboding transwarp anomaly mentioned here is what brought Megatron back to Cybertron from the Beast Wars after he escaped from the Maximals' Autobot shuttle mid-transwarp, as was seen in the Beast Machines episode "Revelations Part II: Descent".
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Crumbling Edges
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| "Crumbling Edges" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before March 3, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Tensions rise.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.168 AU
The terrorist attacks have escalated and the Wreckers grow frustrated at the bureaucracy. As Peace Marshals go missing, Apelinq's offers for assistance are constantly met with polite rejection. Since his investigation of the transwarp anomaly has proven fruitless, Apelinq feels the Wreckers must take action should the situation continue to decay.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: Imperial Peace Marshals, the other Wreckers
Continuity notes
- The terrorist attacks were first mentioned back in Journal 1. It is not yet known who is responsible for these attacks, but their identity will be revealed soon.
- Apelinq first began investigating the mysterious transwarp anomaly back in Journal 2.
Errors
- When Apelinq's War Journals was added back to BotCon Online in early January 2006 (after it inexplicably disappeared in a site update made on May 11, 2003), the word "communiqués" in this journal was incorrectly formatted as "communiquÈs", and has remained as such to this day.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Chaos (AWJ)
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| "Chaos" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before March 10, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Panic in the city.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.183 AU
An attack at New Cybertropolis spaceport forces the Wreckers to break protocol and intervene. The situation has worsened 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.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: The other Wreckers, the Imperial Peace Marshals, the Tripredacus Council, Maximal Command, the Council
Continuity notes
- "PMC Starhoppers" are mentioned in this chapter. A Starhopper was first seen in the Beast Wars episode "Deep Metal", identified 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 first given back in Journal 2.
- New Cybertropolis spaceport is a new development first introduced in this story. It is possibly (but not confirmed) the same place as the central spaceport featured in the Beast Machines episodes "Fires of the Past", "Revelations Part II: Descent","Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege", and "Spark of Darkness".
- With that said, this chapter confirms that Apelinq's War Journals has, thus far, taken place in Cybertropolis, the "central city of Cybertron" first seen in the Beast Machines episode "Master of the House".
- Apelinq mentions that it's been "less than a stellar cycle" since the terrorist attacks first began back in Journal 1. Up until now, each journal entry has been dated with an index starting with the number "316" and followed by a decimal point and a different set of digits that increase with each journal, suggesting this to be "stellar cycle 316" with each number after the decimal point designating a specific solar cycle (that is, a specific day of the year).
- The Tripredacus Council was first introduced in the Beast Wars episode "The Agenda (Part 1)".
- Maximal Command is introduced here as a separate entity of authority from Peace Marshal Command. At this point, it is not entirely clear what kind of authority Maximal Command has, but later Beast Wars prequel stories published by Fun Publications in 2006 and 2007 ("Dawn of Future's Past" and "The Razor's Edge") would reintroduce Maximal Command as another planetary defense agency in charge of the Maximal Command Security Force, and would once be more formally referred to as the "Maximal Defense Command".
Errors
- The C in "Maximal Command" is not uppercased.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
The Tyrant Returns
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| "The Tyrant Returns" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before March 16, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
He's baaaaack.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.235 AU
To Apelinq's utter horror, the mastermind behind the attacks is revealed to be none other than the notorious criminal Megatron, having made his return to Cybertron. The High Council is thrown into a panic over this news and nearly thirty Peace Marshals break rank to go after Megatron themselves.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: Megatron, Optimus Primal and his crew, the High Council, the Peace Marshals
Continuity notes
- Megatron is finally revealed to be the one responsible for the terrorist attacks that had been plaguing Cybertron since Journal 1. The exact nature of these attacks will be revealed in the next chapter.
- Megatron is also described as "a murderous criminal bent on fulfilling his own twisted vision of a new Decepticon heritage." His being a criminal refers to the fact that he stole the Golden Disk (which was first given back in the first episode of Beast Wars) and the fact that the Tripredacus Council considered him a renegade in the episode "The Agenda (Part 1)". His "twisted vision of a new Decepticon heritage" refers to Megatron's desire to overthrow the Maximal government and conquer Cybertron (something Megatron spoke often about throughout the Beast Wars cartoon) "in memory of the Decepticons" and "for the glory of the Predacons" (both statements given in "The Agenda (Part III)").
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Wreck and Rule
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| "Wreck and Rule" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before March 23, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Enter the Vehicons.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.247 AU
Reports come in revealing the deaths of the rogue Peace Marshals. The Wreckers receive numerous calls of attackers swarming the planet en masse. Rodimus has Apelinq remain behind at the base while he and the rest of the team go to face this new menace. Apelinq's parting words to Rodimus: "Wreck and Rule!"
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: the Peace Marshals, swarms of attackers, Rodimus, the remaining Wreckers
Continuity notes
- The true nature of Megatron's is revealed to be "swarms of attackers". These are none other than the Vehicon drone armies from Beast Machines which spread across Cybertron in droves during Megatron's conquest of the planet (as first seen in a flashback in the episode "Forbidden Fruit"). Though, as of this point, there's been no mention Megatron's virus that the episode showed to be released across the planet before the Vehicon armies came along. Journal 8 will later shed some light on this.
- After a making minor appearance in "VEHICON ALERT!", Rodimus is formally reintroduced here as a member of the Wreckers for the first time ever. He originally appeared as "Hot Rod" in The Transformers: The Movie, in which he inherited the Matrix of Leadership and became "Rodimus Prime". Here, he is simply named "Rodimus". The in-fiction reason for this name change would later be given in the BotCon 2001 comic story "Departure", but for a real-world reason, Hasbro had lost the trademark for the name "Hot Rod" at the time of this story's release, and would go on to use "Rodimus" as a substitute for the non-Prime version of the character. The usage of the name here would be the first sign of things to come for over a decade.
Transformers references
- Both the title of this story and Apelinq's parting words to Rodimus are the Wreckers' signature battle cry of "Wreck and Rule!" first introduced in the Marvel UK comic story "Target: 2006". Its first use in American fiction was back in Apelinq's own debut in the BotCon 2000 comic story "Terminus", in which it was uttered by Apelinq himself as the biggest hint of his being a Wrecker (before he was fully confirmed as such in this series).
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Circle of Dread
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| "Circle of Dread" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | March 31, 2001[1][2] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
A silent planet.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.258 AU
Inside the Wrecker Command Base, Apelinq remains in solitude, having heard no word from any of the other Wreckers. He faces the grim realization that he might be the only living Transformer left on Cybertron, now that Megatron has seemingly eradicated the planet's entire populace in under a stellar cycle.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
Continuity notes
- Rodimus is referred to as "the last of the Templars". The previously-released "VEHICON ALERT!" referred to Rodimus as a member of an "order" thought destroyed. Said order will later be revealed in The Wreckers #1 to be a group called the Matrix Templars.
- By now, it is clear that Megatron has fully conquered Cybertron, reflecting the status quo at the start of Beast Machines. Presumably, his virus has already been let loose upon the planet, but like the previous chapter, there's still been no mention of the virus as of yet.
- Like in Journal 4, Apelinq mentions that it's been "less than a stellar cycle" since Megatron first began his takeover of Cybertron, the first signs of which were terrorist attacks first mentioned back in Journal 1.
Errors
- When Apelinq's War Journals was added back to BotCon Online in early January 2006 (after it inexplicably disappeared in a site update made on May 11, 2003), the ellipsis that originally ended the text of this entry's second-to-last sentence (which came after the word "myself") was distorted into an "Ö", and has remained uncorrected to this day.
Real-world references
The use of the word "Templars" to refer to the order that Rodimus is based on the Knights Templar, a Catholic military order from the Middle Ages.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
The Virus Revealed
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| "The Virus Revealed" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | April 4, 2001[1][2] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
He blighted us with SCIENCE!!
Synopsis
Date Index 316.263 AU
Apelinq determines that Megatron took over Cybertron so quickly through use of a virus, which must have induced a kind of stasis lock that paralyzed everyone's ability to transform and fight back, as it swept across the planet.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
Continuity notes
- Having first commenced his all-out conquest of Cybertron back in Journal 6, and accomplishing that in Journal 7, it is here that Megatron's transformation virus is finally brought to light. The virus was first shown in the Beast Machines episode "Forbidden Fruit" as having wiped out most of the planet's population. However, that episode also stated that the virus was unleashed before the Vehicon armies swarmed over the planet, whereas all throughout this series has Megatron been launching terrorist attacks with his Vehicons prior to the release of his virus. It's not implausible that he could have started attacking with Vehicons, then used the virus as a trump card, and then finished off his takeover with a final Vehicon attack, but this is so far the first, last, and only piece of fiction to ever suggest such.
- As was likewise the case in Beast Machines (most prominently in the episode "The Reformatting"), Megatron's virus is said to be capable of "crippling one's ability to transform".
- Apelinq also postulates that the virus induces an intense form of stasis lock, a concept first introduced by Beast Wars, which is a state of unconsciousness brought on by an emergency systems shutdown. Here, it is tied into the fact that Megatron's virus deactivated much of Cybertron's population, as originally given in "Forbidden Fruit".
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Back From the Past
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| "Back From the Past" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before April 15, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
The beasts are back in town.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.265 AU
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, of all things, an ancient Autobot shuttle.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
Continuity notes
- The Autobot shuttle is none other than Autobot Shuttle Omega Delta, the ship commandeered by the Maximals of the Beast Wars cartoon in the show's final episode, meaning Apelinq's War Journals has finally caught up to the start of the Beast Machines cartoon as of this installment. The shuttle was shown returning to Cybertron (and immediately shot at by the planet's defenses) in a flashback during the episode "Revelations Part II: Descent".
- With this entry marking the arrival of Optimus Primal's team, their return to Cybertron follows a rather brief period after Megatron's earlier takeover. Back in Journal 7, Megatron had already won by Date Index 316.258 AU, while this entry is dated 316.265 AU, a mere seven solar cycles later.
Errors
- When Apelinq's War Journals was added back to BotCon Online in early January 2006 (after it inexplicably disappeared in a site update made on May 11, 2003), the ellipsis that originally came between the last two words of the first paragraph (between "there" and "somewhere") was distorted into an "Ö", and has remained uncorrected to this day.
Transformers references
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
The Wait is Over
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| "The Wait is Over" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before April 21, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
He's mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore!
Synopsis
Date Index 316.270 AU
Apelinq is done 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.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: Megatron and his attack drones
Continuity notes
- As Apelinq prepares to finally exit the Wrecker Command Base, he states that he'd "like to keep a low profile". This is a sneaky little excuse for why he never appeared in the onscreen events of the Beast Machines cartoon.
- Apelinq's shield suit seems to be an in-universe explanation for why his toy (a redeco of the Transmetals Optimus Primal toy) resembles a Transmetal despite not actually being one: the shiny metallic alloy covering his body would be the protective shielding of his suit.
Transformers references
- Apelinq swears by the Pit.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Two Against a World
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| "Two Against a World" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before April 27, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
A new hope.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.270 AU
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 "Vehicons". Rodimus reassures Apelinq that, as long as the two of them survive, the Wreckers haven't lost yet!
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
Continuity notes
- This journal has the same date index as that of the previous entry, indicating that they both take place on the same day.
- Apelinq swears by the "divine weld", seemingly a new addition to the Transformers mythos, and presumably a legendary device that helped in the creation of the Transformer race.
- Rodimus and the other Wreckers have been missing since they were last heard from in Journal 6.
- It is revealed here that Rodimus has a mysterious immunity to Megatron's virus. This will become a plot point in the next installment.
Continuity errors
- Not so much an error as a bit of absurdity: Apelinq claims 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 (and which Journal 4 strongly implied to be the setting of this series thus far), at all? Or did that city just happen to be in the planetary half that he didn’t search?
Transformers references
- Apelinq mentions that "history has been less than kind to our ranks," in reference to how the Wreckers tended to have a high death toll in the Marvel UK The Transformers comics.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
A Cure is Found
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| "A Cure is Found" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before May 3, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
The latest in antivirus software.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.279 AU
Apelinq determines that Rodimus's "somewhat... unique physiology" is what made him immune to Megatron's plague. Using this information, Apelinq creates an inoculant that sufficiently counters the virus. With this cure in their possession, they are ready to begin searching for more survivors.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
Continuity notes
- Apelinq confirmed Rodimus was somehow immune to Megatron's virus back in the previous chapter. It's revealed here that his immunity is rooted in his physiology, right down to the "low-band energy signatures" of his Spark. The implication is that this is in reference to his being a Matrix Templar, which was previously alluded to both in "VEHICON ALERT!" and in Journal 7. How exactly his being Templar makes him immune to the virus, however, has never been explained.
- Apelinq first started looking for survivors back in Journal 10.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Call From the Heavens
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| "Call From the Heavens" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | May 11, 2001[1][2] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
It came from transwarp space.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.286 AU
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 both Apelinq and Rodimus are set to go straight to the crash site.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: Rodimus
Continuity notes
- The orbital scanners that picked up both the transwarp anomaly and the ship that came through it are the same ones that detected the arrival of Autobot Shuttle Omega Delta back in Journal 9.
- This journal entry overlaps with the events described in "VEHICON ALERT!", in which newcomers are detected over in Polyhex and Megatron orders many of his Vehicon troops to head there immediately. The next chapter will reveal that the crewmembers belonging to the ship that arrives through the anomaly in this chapter are among those newcomers (the rest of which were already on Cybertron).
Transformers references
- Polyhex is a polity of Cybertron that originally appeared in the 17th Marvel G1 comic issue, "The Smelting Pool!", in 1986. It was previously mentioned a few months earlier back in "VEHICON ALERT!", which was its first mention in eleven years, after having last been mentioned in the 1990 toy bio for Generation 1 Kick-Off.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
(Primal Prime) Assuming Command
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| "(Primal Prime) Assuming Command" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before May 18, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
New 'bots on the block.
Synopsis
Date Index 316.292 AU
Acting Commander Primal Prime writes this log: When he and his team had arrived via 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 rather receptive to Primal Prime taking command of the Wreckers, and senses an odd familiarity with the Autobot. With Apelinq missing in action, the newly-reformed Wreckers must prepare themselves for the coming battle.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals |
|---|
|
Notes
Continuity notes
- Up until now, every journal entry written by Apelinq indicated that the Wrecker Command Base was located on Cybertron in "Delta Three". In this journal written by Primal Prime, however, the base is instead suddenly located in "Delta Five". No explanation is given for this change, but it is presumable that Primal Prime had his team had relocate Wrecker Command from from Delta Three to Delta Five for any number of reasons. It is also presumable that, like how the Delta Three base was implied to be in Cybertropolis, the Delta five base may be in Polyhex.
- This journal and the preceding one bookend the events of "VEHICON ALERT!", with Apelinq, Rodimus, and the crew commanded by Primal Prime being among the newcomers whose presence in Polyhex had been detected by Megatron.
- Primal Prime states that Apelinq disappeared through the same transwarp portal that brought he and his crew to Cybertron, after Apelinq had been attacked by a Vehicon General. Apelinq's whereabouts and the identity of this General will be made known in the next installment.
- Before he was sent through the portal, Apelinq was attempting to inoculate the members of Primal Prime's crew with a cure for Megatron's transformation virus. Apelinq had first created this cure back in Journal 12.
- The strange kinship Primal Prime feels towards Rodimus is due to the latter having once held the Matrix of Leadership. Primal Prime also feels a familiarity with Cybertron, which he notes is odd since he's never been to Cybertron before now. The then-forthcoming Primeval Dawn storyline would later reveal Primal Prime's origin and that he is essentially "the Living Matrix", containing the memories and experiences of all Matrix bearers yet being his own person all the same.
- This is the final chapter of Apelinq's War Journals to chronologically lead up to Transformers: The Wreckers. The remaining entries after this one all shift the setting to the Beast Wars cartoon to tie in with the previous Reaching the Omega Point saga.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Timewrecked
| |||||||||||||
| "Timewrecked" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before May 24, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Back in time.
Synopsis
Fixed Date Index Unknown
Having emerged from the transwarp portal and dealt with 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. Apelinq 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.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: Mirage, Megatron, Apelinq's comrades, Primal Prime and the rest of his crew
Continuity notes
- Beginning with this entry, Apelinq's War Journals shifts to a completely new setting to tie into the Reaching the Omega Point stories of previous years, with Apelinq having been sent through a transwarp portal back in Journal 14. While the identity of this new setting won't be fully confirmed until Journal 17, it is very much implied in this journal to be prehistoric Earth.
- It is revealed here that the Vehicon General that attacked Apelinq back on Cybertron was Mirage, a Vehicon originally from the Beast Machines toyline who did not appear in the Beast Machines cartoon. He is given no origin in either this series or any related media to explain his presence in the world of the cartoon in which this series takes place, but his toy bio describes him as "An experimental, high-speed weapon created by Megatron to breach the intelligence gap between Vehicon generals and their drones." It is plausible that Megatron continued to experiment with his Vehicons and had created Mirage offscreen (especially since Megatron was aware of Tankor having secretly gone rogue and likely would have wanted another loyal General under his thumb).
- Apelinq mentions having lost both his cure for Megatron's virus (which he first created back in Journal 12) and a device he calls his Transfer Interlink, mentioned here for the first time ever.
- Apelinq indicates that wherever and whenever he is now is where and when Primal Prime and his crew originally came from, before they had arrived on Cybertron back in Journal 13 and "VEHICON ALERT!". Apelinq also reiterates the fact that Primal Prime's crew had come from here aboard a ship. Exactly what this ship is and how Primal Prime's crew got it has never been explained.
- Apelinq also notes the unpredictable dangers of transwarp travel, saying it "has a nasty habit of taking random turns." This is to explain how and why Apelinq didn't arrive in the exact same time and place from whence Primal Prime's crew originally came, as further installments and the later Primeval Dawn mini-series will indicate that Apelinq arrived at his destination well before the time when Primal Prime's crew first departed from this planet bound for Cybertron in the future.
- Apelinq mentions that, when he first met Primal Prime back on Cybertron, the latter was cryptic about himself in their introductions, and had mentioned something to Apelinq about "ending the war". What Primal Prime meant by this has never been made clear.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Re-visitations
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| "Re-visitations" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | June 1, 2001[1][2] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Stranger in a strange land.
Synopsis
Fixed Date Index Unknown
Apelinq has found and retrieved his Transfer Interlink with the antivirus program intact, having nearly risked 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.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
Continuity notes
- Apelinq previously lost his Transfer Interlink and his cure for Megatron's virus back in the Journal 15. His recovery of both in this journal is meant to tie into the BotCon 1998 script reading "Visitations", with one of these two belongings intended to be the "artifact" that was the main plot device of that story. Artwork (pictured right) for a text recap of that story published in the BotCon 2000 convention comic depicted Apelinq as having been the mysterious "shadowy figure" who snatched the artifact away from the main cast of that story. However, of the two items that Apelinq lost and recovered between Journal 15 and this one, it is not precisely clear which is supposed to be the artifact from "Visitations" (see here for more).
- With this journal confirming that both it and Journal 15 bookend "Visitations", it's pretty much a given that the transwarp gateway that sent Apelinq back in time in Journal 14 dropped him off in the Beast Wars on prehistoric Earth, during the second season of the cartoon of the same name.
- After recovering his lost belongings from a battle between some unfamiliar Maximals and Predacons, Apelinq insists that he "cannot risk further contact with these beast warriors until [he is] sure of their origins or intent." Like in Journal 10, this is another sneaky little excuse for why Apelinq never appeared in the onscreen events of the Beast Wars cartoon despite having been there since midway through Season 2.
Transformers references
- The title of this journal entry is an obvious nod to the aforementioned "Visitations" script reading that this entry and the preceding one bookend.
- Apelinq describes the Maximals and Predacons involved in the battle from which he recovered his lost items as "beast warriors", which serves as another obvious hint to where and when Apelinq ended up after he traveled back in time.
- Apelinq cheekily describes his current location as "much more than meets the eye," echoing one of the Transformers brand's oldest marketing slogans.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
The Frontiers of Our History
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| "The Frontiers of Our History" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before June 7, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Time travel's a funny thing.
Synopsis
Fixed Date Index Unknown
After further investigation, Apelinq deduces that he has arrived on prehistoric Earth in the middle of the 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 leader's future takeover of Cybertron.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: Primus, Optimus Primal, Megatron, Wreckers
Continuity notes
- After several hints (some subtle, some obvious) in the previous two journals, it is confirmed here explicitly that Apelinq has indeed arrived on prehistoric Earth during the Beast Wars, with Apelinq recognizing Optimus Primal and Megatron as the opposing leaders of this conflict, having been aware that both had disappeared from Cybertron some time prior to Journal 1.
- Apelinq colorfully describes the Beast Wars as a "private little war on the frontiers of our own history." This description suggest that, prior to the point in the future when Apelinq sent back in time, the Beast Wars were never documented by any Cybertronian history records.
- Apelinq calling himself a "background player" of the Beast Wars is yet another sneaky little nod to the fact that he never appeared onscreen in any episode of the Beast Wars cartoon despite this series saying he apparently was there.
- Apelinq refers to the Wreckers back on Cybertron trying to reclaim the planet. Megatron had previously taken over the planet back in Journal 6, which was in reference to his takeover in Beast Machines.
- Apelinq mentions having reclaimed his Transfer Interlink. He had previously lost it back in Journal 15 and recovered it in Journal 16.
- Apelinq states that Megatron "tramples on the sacred ground of our race's heritage," referring to the volcano where lies the crashed Autobot starship of legend, the Ark. Megatron had successfully entered the Ark in the adjoining episodes "The Agenda (Part III)" and "Optimal Situation", and later again in "Master Blaster". Between those two cases, he also launched an assault on the Maximal base inside the volcano in "Cutting Edge", in which he did enter the base but was prevented from reaching the Ark. Regardless, any one of these instances (or perhaps even all of them) could be what Apelinq refers to in this entry.
Transformers references
- Apelinq mentions the name of Primus.
Real-world references
- Apelinq notes that he must wait for a "temporal polestar" before he can reopen the transwarp gateway that brought him to the past. A 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 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.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Point of No Return
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| "Point of No Return" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before June 15, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Time to go.
Synopsis
Fixed Date Index Unknown
With his transwarp program finally up and running, Apelinq is ready to at last return home. But then... "they" catch his attention.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: "The enemy", "those left behind", "they"
Continuity notes
- Beginning with this journal entry, the events of Apelinq's War Journals overlap with Apelinq's appearances in the BotCon 2000 comic story "Terminus" (which is itself set between the Beast Wars episodes "Master Blaster" and "Other Victories"). Some of the text in this entry is lifted word-for-word from Apelinq's thought bubbles on Page 17 of that story, retroactively declaring that the text from those thought bubbles was actual lines he recorded into this particular journal entry.
- Furthermore, 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 titled the "Sojourner's Passage", which also makes the reference to the "machine age" into a scriptural term for the events of Beast Machines. The Sojourner's Passage wouldn't be brought up again until 2004 in the "Director's Cut" version of The Wreckers #2, which would reveal that the excerpt quoted here is only the first half of the quote.
- Apelinq has been waiting to get his transwarp program active since the previous journal.
Transformers references
- Apelinq refers to the Covenant of Primus, a religious tome of recorded prophecies first introduced in the Beast Wars episode "Nemesis Part 1". Here, he instead calls it the "Book of Primus".
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Witness to the Covenant
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| "Witness to the Covenant" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | On or before June 24, 2001[1] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
Never meet your heroes.
Synopsis
Fixed Date Index Unknown
To Apelinq's amazement, eleven new warriors, the literal Covenant of Primus, have appeared! He's missed his chance to return home and laments having to wait again for the appearance of another transwarp gateway.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
Continuity notes
- Just as the title of this entry says, Apelinq witnesses the arrival of the Covenant, a group of twelve (here eleven) prototypical Transformers who were the very first creations of Primus (a concept that would be recycled for the better-known Thirteen), and were first introduced in the BotCon 1999 prose story aptly titled "Covenant".
- The arrival of the Covenant described here parallels their arrival in the BotCon 2000 comic story "Terminus", specifically on Page 18, immediately after Apelinq's thought bubbles on Page 17, whose text was reflected in the text of Journal 18.
- Apelinq missed his opportunity to use his transwarp program to latch onto a gateway and send him home. He was preparing to do this back in the previous chapter, but got distracted when the Covenant appeared.
Transformers references
- Apelinq likens the "Covenant of Primus" group to the "Covenant of Primus" book. This is the first, last, and only time that a direct connection has ever been made between the two.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
Beyond Point Omega
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| "Beyond Point Omega" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | 3H Enterprises | ||||||||||||
| First published | June 29, 2001[1][2] (BotCon: Beyond) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Rob Gerbracht | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 3H Beast Era continuity | ||||||||||||
At the crossroads of destiny.
Synopsis
The time has come for Apelinq to put aside his desire to return 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 destined to die here, he'll die knowing that he did what he could to help in this fight!
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
- Mentioned characters: "That arthropodan thing", Primus, Primal Prime, the Wreckers
Continuity notes
- The "arthropodan thing" that Apelinq refers to is none other than Shokaract, the Predacon tyrant from the far future of an alternate timeline who served as the main antagonist of Reaching the Omega Point. The BotCon 2000 comic story "Terminus" (during which this journal entry is set) was all about a massive battle against him—said battle being Point Omega, the fated event that would decide the future of the Transformer race and Primus's Grand Plan. It is here that Apelinq finally realizes the significance of this time and place he has found himself in and decides to join in the fight.
- Apelinq alludes to Primal Prime and the Wreckers partaking in a fight of their own back on Cybertron. This refers to a conflict between them and Megatron that apparently takes place offscreen during the Beast Machines cartoon, with Primal Prime having previously succeeded Apelinq as leader of the Wreckers (due to Apelinq having been unexpectedly sent back in time) back in Journal 14.
- Apelinq's final message is taken verbatim from his dialogue on Page 21 of "Terminus". This also means that the reference to "Primal" on Page 21 of that comic is retroactively confirmed to refer not to Optimus Primal (as was strongly implied in "Terminus") but instead to Primal Prime.
- This final journal entry leads directly into the rest of "Terminus" starting on Page 22, about halfway through the story. Though, neither here nor in that story is Apelinq's fate revealed. This was purposely done to build up hype for the BotCon 2001 comic The Wreckers #1, which would reveal the full outcome of Point Omega and whether or not Apelinq survived the battle or even made it back home to Cybertron.
Transformers references
- Apelinq swears by the Pit.
- He also believes that it was Primus himself who guided fate to lead him into Point Omega as one of its active participants.
References
External link
[[Category:Apelinq's War Journals]]
