Author's note: This serves as a prologue to the main story, and its first chapter will be coming out soon. The first chapter is in its final phases of editing and will be published within the next two weeks. I hope you guys enjoy and I will be back with chapter one as soon as possible!
Minerva: Wandering Mercenary
Prologue - Origins
Pre RaC 1-RaC 2:
Minerva Oxford was born to teen parents, Mayella Cambridge and Atticus Oxford. Her parents moved from the Polaris Galaxy to Bogon about five years before Tachyon took over (or around five years before Ratchet was born). Mina's parents quickly got married after the birth of their daughter and six years later had their next daughter, Eleanor. Three years after Eleanor's birth they had a boy, whom they named Jamison. Being much older, Mina often times took on the role as a third parent. Growing up, Mina was inspired by various holo-films and shows to pick up on hobbies such as mechanics and robotics. Many of Mina's peers bullied her for her obsessions that some saw as strange. Yet her parents and teachers were largely impressed. She picked up on her hobbies so well that they saw her as a child prodigy. They were very right, as Mina ended up graduating high school a year early at the age of 16.
After graduating high school, Mina was employed at MegaCorp, becoming their youngest employee ever. Even though most of the other employees patronized her, she was a great worker. Two years into her employment, an accidental house fire occurred, leaving Mina with life-threatening injuries. Mina's injuries were so severe that the only way to save her life was to replace the majority of her body with machinery. Although the remains of her organic body rejected her mechanical parts to the point where she had to be turned into a robot 100%. When she finally saw her new form, Mina suffered a mental breakdown. She spent the next year barely speaking to anyone and refusing to go out in public.
Mina later learned of a tech company that invented electronic accessories that could create armor on whoever the wearer was. After speaking with the company, Mina was informed that the coding could be altered to produce materials that look and feel like organic tissue; such as hair and skin. Mina relentlessly begged her parents for it until they finally gave in. She had a watch attached to her left wrist that practically brought her back to her old self. She was overjoyed until she was informed how much money her parents owed the tech company. They owed so many bolts that it would've taken a minimum of 10 years to be able to pay it off.
Feeling guilty, Mina packed her bags and moved all the way to the Solana Galaxy, where she would hope to find new work to help her parents pay off the debt. She couldn't stand being anywhere near her family knowing what she did. Not long after turning 20, Mina found work at Big Al's Roboshack on Kerwan. She told Al about her true robotic form and the two immediately clicked and became friends. But one job wasn't enough for her. So Mina also got employment at a 24-hour restaurant as a server and worked graveyard shirts. Being a robot meant she didn't really need to "sleep" and therefore dedicated the majority of her life to working. At times she would go weeks or months at a time without a single day off. Al was unaware of her graveyard shifts.
UYA - Age: 21
Captain Sasha requested Al to stick around to join the Q-Force and Al insisted that Sasha should recruit Mina as well. Even though Mina didn't particularly care for the operation, she decided to take on the offer anyway. Mainly because she didn't want to run the shack by herself. Mina immediately recognized Clank as the holo-film character Secret Agent Clank and was overjoyed to be working with him. When Ratchet introduced himself to her, Mina teased him for his name, prompting him to dislike her at first.
Later, Mina was approached by Courtney Gears and was captured by her bodyguards in the limo. She attempted to turn Mina into a robot with the biobliterator ray, yet it ~mysteriously~ didn't work (hmm I wonder why). Mina escaped as Ratchet and Klunk made their way inside, but didn't see her until they battled with Courtney. Mina burst in and saved them at the last minute, delivering the final blow. Ratchet thanked Mina for saving their lives, she apologized for being rude earlier, and the two started seeing each other as friends. She made sure to inform them about Nefarious' plan. Although the biobliterator ray didn't properly work on her, Mina's circuitry was damaged. But she told everyone else it was just a severe migraine and remained quarantined on the Starship Phoenix for a while.
Al helped fix her up and she went back to work. Mina continued to aid the Q-Force and the Galactic Rangers in stopping Dr. Nefarious. After their victory, Mina and Al began to hang out with Ratchet and Clank more frequently.
Deadlocked - Age: 22
Along with Ratchet, Clank, and Al, Mina was captured by Gleeman Vox and forced into the Dreadzone games. She remained with Al and Clank while Ratchet risked his life in the games. After Al became "Cyber Al", Mina felt even more connected to him than before; as he told her that she was no longer the only cyborg around.
Tools of Destruction - Age: 25
After knowing Mina for a few years at this point, Ratchet and Clank began to grow suspicious of her odd lifestyle. All they ever knew from her was that she worked a lot and only hung out with them and Al. One day when the three get together, they intend to ask Mina about her family life (as she barely ever mentioned them). However, Tachyon showed up with the intention of killing Ratchet. The three steal his ship, fall under cryosleep, and end up in the Polaris Galaxy.
Mina remained with Ratchet and Clank as they navigated the galaxy, learning more about Ratchet's race and true origins. At some point, Mina and Clank become separated from Ratchet as he and Talwyn ended up captured and placed in an unknown prison. Not being in charge of any current missions, Mina didn't know what to do or where to go. Clank became her guide for the time being.
After sustaining serious injuries during a battle, Mina's left side of her face became completely exposed, revealing her true self to Clank. She found it funny how it took him so long to figure it out. Mina then explained her entire history to Clank, lamenting over putting her family in debt, and broke down. She insisted to Clank that it was all her fault -claiming she had "ruined their lives"- and that for years she had attempted to make everyone else's lives easier while never focusing on her own. Clank consoled Mina, expressing to her that no matter what her true form was, he still saw her as a friend regardless. At that point forward, Mina declared to Clank that he now had her full trust.
Clank received the vision from the Zoni that Ratchet and Talwyn were locked up in Zordoom Prison. Mina didn't particularly believe in the Zoni, but listened to Clank anyway, and took them to Zordoom to save their friends. After the jailbreak, Mina told Ratchet and Talwyn everything. Both of which were shocked and could barely believe what they heard. Mina shifted the attention away from herself and convinced the others to focus on the more important task: Defeating Tachyon.
After Tachyon's defeat, Mina apologized to Ratchet and Clank for hiding such secrets from them for so long; promising she would be more open to them. Once again, the Zoni appeared, visible to everyone, and took Clank away. Mina was on the verge of another mental breakdown and demanded that she help find him. Ratchet insisted that it was best for Mina to focus on herself and see her family instead. She took his advice and that was when Ratchet and Talwyn went off to search for Clank themselves.
