Zeroth Directive

Archive III

By Blacknight's own account, she was around ten years old when she wandered into a wasteland settlement and was adopted by a hunter couple. Life on the barrens, far from the shade provided by a nomadic city, is extremely dangerous. On top of evading the Catastrophes that might descend at any time, wastelanders must also endure encroachment from all manner of wild beast. Their greatest challenge, however, remains food and water. Long-term crop farming in the arid soil is practically impossible; a single gale or rainstorm will ruin any farmland with its accompanying Originium. People may be forced to starve for days at any moment. Under her parents' upbringing, Blacknight mastered many a wasteland survival skill. She can easily discern relatively safe terrain, the most filling fruits, the easiest beasts to catch, and the several warning signs of impending Catastrophes. But among all the knowledge her parents gave her, there's one thing she recalls most firmly: the most precious thing in the wild isn't water, food, or shelter from the wind and rain, it's companionship. Clever wasteland beasts are never alone, and the people are the same. One person is weak in the face of the barrens, yet a group can traverse them. From the time she was thirteen, Blacknight led a group of the settlement's children to make a living as bounty hunters to survive. Relying on their familiarity with the wastes, they were able to take on missions that even adult hunters couldn't dream of seeing through, and quickly made a name for themselves in the region. This period of her life might seem a miserable plight to some, but Blacknight speaks of it with only pure joy, and a little pride. When Blacknight registered at the branch office, recommendation letter in hand, it was apparent that the only ones accompanying her were her slumberfoots. Where did her companions go? This, she never told us. Following simple investigation, we found out she was presently carrying a tremendous debt. Combined with her past experience in the wasteland, we surmise that she and her companions most likely failed a job, offending someone they could not afford to. As the leader, there's a high probability that Blacknight took full responsibility for it, and left the team that had given her so many warm memories to avoid burdening her friends. Whenever we see Blacknight huddling with her slumberfoots, talking to them or just staring off into the distance, we know that she misses her past companions. On one hand, we believe Blacknight and her partners will reunite sooner or later. On the other, we've all been very happy to observe Blacknight gradually dropping her guard, becoming willing to consider other operators as new companions instead of potential enemies. After all, who wants to step on any traps Blacknight leaves next to her seat at lunchtime?

Archive IV

When registering as a cooperating contractor, Blacknight gave 'wastelands' as her place of residence. However, she's never made a secret of being a Rim Billitonian. Not only does she speak the language fluently, she has given her slumberfoots a host of rather Billiton-style names. When she first called out for 'Drill' and 'Pick' in front of us, some operators genuinely thought she was going to be using those tools, which caused quite a few laughs. From Blacknight's own descriptions, we've found that both her parents were mine workers in Rim Billiton. Miners catching Oripathy is not infrequent, and her parents were both unfortunately infected in a small accident. Not wanting to be bound by work contract to the even more arduous Infected mines, they took their young daughter and left with a caravan headed for Columbia. For the entire trip, they kept describing to Blacknight what their new life in Columbia would be like: they'd get fairly priced medicine, freedom to open up the land, and a stable, happy life on fresh soil. Even as they both became critically ill, they never once despaired in front of their daughter. Though they were unable to reach Columbia alive, Blacknight will forever remember how her mum and dad's eyes shone when they discussed their future. Many years later, Blacknight learned the reality of Columbia, and realized that her parents' dreams may not have been feasible. As she unfolded the map that came from her mother's hands, passed through her father's, and finally arrived in her own, she saw the marks drawn onto it one after another, plans written down line after line, and had an epiphany—what truly mattered back then was not Columbia, but the journey itself. Right until the very end, her mum and dad never regretted leaving Rim Billiton to travel through the wilds. To them, dying on the road, chasing after their dreams, far outshone spending what little they had left in the mines. Her parents' determination has always stayed with her. Even as she scrambled through danger in the wastes, even as she found out she had Oripathy too, even as she got involved with a foe far stronger than herself, she's never stopped in her tracks. Just like the wild beasts of the wastelands, she chose to run free, and rush through every last day in her life.

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