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The Alternate Universe Weekly Challenge Thread


elliotcat

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"One thing has become clear: this is the darkest timeline."

 

It's the Short Fic Weekly Challenge Thread - Alternate Universe Edition!

by popular request!

 

:sy_galaxy:

 

Back in June, I started running the Short Fic Weekly Challenge Thread. For three months, we've had an excellent time writing stories about our characters and their journies their the class stories and beyond. But in mid-August, a prompt was posted that would change our lives forever...

 

What if? asked us to consider alternate versions of our characters...timelines where their lives had taken a different path. Some were small changes, others major. The prompt was so popular that requests for a spin-off thread were made, and so this thread is for indulging our curiosity about what might have been for our characters.

 

Thread Rules:

1. AU Only. This thread is for versions of your character and his/her story that did not happen in your "prime" universe - that is, things that according to your personal canon for the character did not happen. An example would be a re-roll on an RP server, where your character did not go through the class story. Anything that you wish to set in universe "prime" should go into the original weekly challenge thread.

2. No jerky behavior. Everyone's been super cool in the last thread, so let's keep it going. Anybody who acts jerky will get yelled at by me, and probably others. This is such a wonderful community and we ask that everyone is respectful of each other so that we can keep that going.

3. Mark all spoilers and use spoiler tags. These threads move very quickly. By convention, in the original thread we used spoiler tags. Please continue to place your stories under the tag to save space and keep us from having to spend 5 minutes scrolling.

4. Try and set up some context. I'm sure many of us will be writing about millions of varied timelines - so please help keep things organized and briefly explain your story's context, if it is not clear from the story.

 

A Request: I'm a pre-med student and my schedule is really hectic! I don't mind running both threads, but I worry some about coming up with prompts for them both. So, if you happen to think of a prompt, please send it to me! It would help me out a lot, and I'd really, really appreciate it.

 

I'm going to try and update this thread with new prompts every Wednesday while the prime thread will continue to be updated on Friday.

 

I love everyone who writes in these threads.

 

Current Prompt:

Week of 8/22/12

Friends and Allies - We saw a similar prompt in the prime thread - but what if things were different? What if your character had a different set of friends he or she ran with? How would an alternate version of your character act as a friend, and who would he or she call on as allies?

Edited by elliotcat
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Ongoing

Night of the Living Prompt - So remember all those ideas or half-finished scraps you had for earlier prompts? You know how it feels way too late to post it now? Resurrect your favorite prompt - let us know which it is! - and give us a story!

 

Current Prompt -

Week of 12/6/13

Heritage and Antiques---Star Wars is full of special things. Old things. Things with personal meaning, things revered as holy. The lightsaber your father wanted you to have when you were old enough. Your grandmother’s silver (or silver ship) you hope one day to give to your grandchildren. The insignia of your squad’s first commander, the one whose bravery won her (or him) a medal and gave your squad its reputation. The holocron that corrupted (or redeemed) your master. What things, places, or heirlooms are special to your character?

 

Prompt Archive - See the SFC prompt archive for a complete list.

 

 

Story Index by Author > AU > Prompt

Adwynyth

Sith Warrior AU

What If, What If Part 2, Worlds Colliding, Uninvited Guests, Sith Happens

 

bright_ephemera

Ruth AU: RMC Fix Fic: Teachers and Heroes 1

Ruth AU: The Sword of Mercy (Ruth's line): Short Fic What If?, Friends and Allies 1, Friends and Allies 2, Friends and Allies 3, Loyalty and Betrayal 1, Loyalty and Betrayal 2, Goals and Ambitions 1, Goals and Ambitions 2, Goals and Ambitions 3, Life and Death 1, Life and Death 2, Life and Death drabbles, Memories, Best Day Ever 1, Worlds Colliding

Ruth AU, The Sword of Mercy, Twin Stars (Wynston's line): Loyalty and Betrayal 3, Life and Death 3, Backfired Plans 1, Culture Shock 1, Teachers and Heroes 2, Disguises

Wynston AU: Screw the Sword of Mercy: Backfired Plans 2, Culture Shock 2, Best Day Ever 2

 

Screw the Sword of Mercy chronology:

Wynston behaves nicely on Taris

Wynston kicks back after Taris

Wynston helps change Ruth's crew

 

 

Sword of Mercy/Twin Stars chronology:

Ruth discovers the conditioning

Vette is re-collared

Drabble: Taris

Ruth meets and seeks help from Rho on Hoth

(Twin Stars) Wynston changes course

Ruth gets conditioned a second time; side effects suck

Pierce declares his intention to help

Baras seeks to kill Quinn; Quinn makes a power play

Pierce teams up with Vowrawn

Ruth negotiates with Darth Ekkage

Ruth receives a serum course from Doc on Voss; Scourge learns something

Ruth starts seeing Lord Draahg

Drabble: Investigating Baras's records

Ruth negotiates with Darth Vowrawn

Drabble: Scourge's Vigil

(Twin Stars) Wynston ends the traditional class line

Ruth faces Darth Baras

Justice is served

(Twin Stars) Wynston attempts to set terms

(Twin Stars) Wynston's partner has a different idea

Ruth goes home

(Twin Stars) Wynston makes contact with Imperial Intelligence and is needled by his partner

(Twin Stars) Wynston gets his disguise generator

 

Ruth/Wynston AU: Lodestone

L-3: Kaliyo's personal quest blows up

L-3: Wynston calls Ruth

L-2: Wynston talks with Keeper and the Minister

AU thread:

L: Faith, Hope and , in which Wynston catches up with Ruth

L: The dream changes

L+1: Wynston talks to the crew

L+1: Wynston sees DS Ruth in action and calls her on it

L+2: Ruth leaves Wynston behind

L+2: Quinn proposes something to Wynston

L+2: Ruth and Wynston get cozy

L+3: Ruth takes exception to Wynston's recommendations

L+3: Ruth alone, day 1

L+3: Wynston alone, day 1

L+4 and change: Ruth alone, days 2 and then some

L+4 and change: Wynston alone, days 2 and then some

L+10: Wrath, Courage, Culture Shock

L+11: Allies, Goals and Ambitions, First day on the Job

L+12: Home Ec, Loyalty and Betrayal

L+13: Goals and Ambitions

L+15: Confessions and Allies

L+20/L+25: I Love this Bar

L+32/L+39: What's in a Name/Sacrifice

The rest of the story is now in its own awesome thread.

E: Music

E: NotLP: I Love This Bar

E: NotLP: As Time Goes By

Affection

Good/Bad Memories

Alternate Perspectives

Membership

Life and Death

Cross My Heart

 

Vierce Cross Faction: What If?, Law and Governance, Loyalty and Betrayal, Communication Breakdown, Behind the Scenes, Discoveries and Home Ec, Dreams and Nightmares, Do the Math: Does Not Compute, Brotherhood, Dreams and Nightmares II, Goals and Ambitions,Failure, Goals and Ambitions, Enemies, Brotherhood, Life and Death, What's in a Name, Dreams and Nightmares, Brotherhood, Allies, Enemies/Communication Breakdown, Do the Math, Goals and Ambitions, Allies, Enemies, Communication Breakdown,Goals and Ambitions, Communication Breakdown, Allies and Enemies, Catching Up, Legacy, Catching Up, Legacy/Tools of the Trade, Enemies, Dreams, Epilogue: First Day on the Job, Coda: What If?

 

NDOW!Class Swap

Head of the Class

Allies and First Day on the Job

First Impressions

First Impressions, Teachers and Heroes, Sisterhood

Communication Breakdown

 

 

Earthmama

Ardyth AU: Loyalty and Betrayal

Miranda Quinn AU: Friends and Allies, Loyalty and Betrayal, Backfired Plans, Loyalty and Betrayal 2

 

elliotcat

Meenah AU: Worlds Colliding

 

Ereiniel

Andrina Revel AU: NotLP: Seven Virtues

 

Eversteam

NotLP: Loneliness and Solitude

NotLP: Tools of the Trade

NotLP: Stomping Grounds

NotLP: Sacrifice, NotLP: Hidden Talents and Best Day Ever

 

frauzet

Goodbye, Allies

 

iamthehoyden

Skari AU: Skari & Doc- Friends and Allies

Esma/Ukaita AU: Loyalty and Betrayal: Part 1, Part 2, Goals and Ambitions, Life and Death Drabble, Backfired Plans, Sacrifices, Disguises, Tools: Part 1, Part 2,

Home Ec, NotLD: Loyalty and Betrayal

 

irishfino

NSP:

Allies

Syla AU: Failed to Kill the Whole in Part - Backfired Plans

Dreams and NIghtmares, Allies, Uninvited Guests, Planes, Trains, and Thrantamobiles, Backfired Plans, Discovery, If I were a Rich Man, I Love This Bar, Celebrations

 

QQQ-AU

NotLP: Loyalty and Betrayal,NotLP: Allies,

 

Irrissa

The Morning After

 

kabeone

One Shots - Cipher Nine AU: Trump Card

 

Dark Ally AU

Allies

 

Lord Ninka AU: Alone - What If (shortfic thread), Loyalty and Betrayal, Backfired Plans, Fix Fic: Best Day Ever

 

Remi AU: Knightless - What If (shortfic thread), Friends and Allies: Part 1, Part 2, Loyalty and Betrayal: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Goals & Ambitions: Part 1, Part 2, Life and Death: Part 1, Drabbles, Drabbles 2, Backfired Plans, Teachers and Heroes: Part 1, Part 2, Best Day Ever: Part 1, Part 2, Worlds Colliding: Part 1, Part 2 Solitude: Part 1, Part 2,

Vices and Virtues: Wisdom,Justice,Greed & Faith,Gluttony, Sloth & Charity, Restraint, Home Ec: Part 1, Part 2, NotLP: Culture Shock, NotLP: Math, NotLP: Loyalty and Betrayal

NotLP: Disguises / Behind the Scenes, The Story So Far, Health, Health, NotLP: Backfired Plans, Morning After, (Un)invited Guest, To Market, To Market, Health, Membership, The End Part 1, The End Part 2

 

 

Kitar

NotLP: I Love This Bar, NotLP: Health, Worlds Colliding, Confessions, Nightmares and Dreams, Behind the Scenes

 

Lesaberisa

The Story So Far

 

LogicLoup

Khon'ilim'ahael AU: Coldfire Disguises, Solitude

 

Magdalane

Miriah AU - What If + Friends and Allies

 

marissalf

Kinka AU - Friends & Allies

 

Morgani

Ipha AU: Havoc Squad Commander - Friends and Allies

Ipha AU: Jedi - Friends and Allies, Reluctantly

 

Striges

Agent!Rixik AU: Cleaner

What If?, Allies, What's in a Name, Canned Response, Catching Up: Part 1, Part 2, Hide and Seek, Working out the Kinks, Exploration

 

Rixik and Kirya AU: Uncharted Territory

The Story Thus Far

 

What If (shortfic thread), Loyalty and Betrayal, Goals and Ambitions, Life and Death: Drabble, Extended, Culture Shock, Backfired Plans: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Good/Bad Memories, Xenobiology, Disguises,Tools of the Trade,

Vices and Virtues: Wrath, Restraint; and Faith, Food, Filling Station, NotLD: Allies, Alternate Views, Behind the Scenes, Behind the Scenes, Working out the Kinks, Morning After Part 1, Part 2

To Market, To Market

 

 

Vesaniae

Sith Quinn AU: Switchbladeverse - What If, Drabbles, Teachers and Heroes, Food, Solitude, Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, NotLP: Seasons-Winter, NotLP: Seasons-Winter, NotLP: Sacrifice, NotLP: Life and Death

 

Afterimages AU: Affection

 

Thaera AU: - Life and Death

A'tro AU: - Life and Death

NotLP: Parenthood

 

 

Updated to Post 666

Edited by kabeone
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Friends/Allies

 

Not Quite My Style

BH/JK (kinda) Skari & Doc no spoilers

EDIT (again): Quick mention, Skari is my bounty hunter from the stories on the Short Fiction Weekly Challenge Thread for those of you unfamiliar with her.

 

 

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you are?"

 

Skari casually smacked Doc across the back of the head as she headed towards the ship's cargo hold.

 

"Oww!" he complained, rubbing the spot.

 

"I warned you," she said as she pulled open the ammo locker and checked a pair of blaster pistols before sliding them into her holsters.

 

"You said I had to stop trying to get in your pants! How is telling a lovely woman that she..." he trailed off and put up his hands protectively at Skari's glare, "Fine."

 

"If you're done being an idiot, we have a bounty to collect," she said, crossing her arms as she waiting none-to-patiently for him to gather his gear.

 

"Ready when you are, gorg...I mean, Skari." He sighed as he followed her out of the door. "This may not have been the best team to sign on to."

 

***

"You may experience some discomfort!"

 

"I swear if you don't get your a** moving you're going to feel more than discomfort!" Skari snarled at her medic as she laid down cover fire.

 

"I'm moving as fast as I can! It's not easy to look this good and still...HEY!!" He looked over at Skari with huge eyes and then back at the smoking crater at his feet. "I can't believe you did that."

 

Skari spared him one evil glance, "You keep talking instead of running, and you'll have more than my blaster bolts to deal with."

 

He huffed and puffed as he ran for the exit, Skari right behind him. "Definitely signed on with the wrong crew."

 

 

 

Author's Note:

My excuse...I mean premise...was that Doc played pretty much the part of Mako on Hutta and joined up with Skari there. But I may have to have her meet him in the "real" universe just cause this dynamic is waaay too much fun.

 

EDIT: Oh, and by the way, fun version of the short fiction challenge thread! No, I didn't need all that extra time I had lying around, why do you ask :p

 

 

Edited by iamthehoyden
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Knightless: Friends and Allies Doc & Chemish

JK

Remi Alt-U Expanding on this what if story What if my JK was never sent to Tython and instead she stayed with her mother on her homeworld, Balmorra.

 

Spoilers for IA Balmorra character names but not actual plot.

 

 

 

Coremi leaned against a wall in the makeshift medical center rubbing small amounts of kolto onto her wounds. She had escaped from the Darth Lachris’ compound by slipping into an abandoned tunnel. It was sealed except for a narrow gap, she lost some skin getting through but it was unlikely anyone could follow her.

 

Unlikely, but one of the Sith in that room was still alive. She thought over the encounter, he could have killed her, but he hesitated. She had seen the look on his face when he met her eyes. She expected anger, hatred, or some kind of evil Sith emotion, instead she saw something terrifying. Recognition, somehow he knew her. She shuddered.

 

“Cori, are those burn marks on your neck?” A harsh voice brought her back to the present. She grinned at the woman who stood over her. Half her face had been rebuilt with cybernetics. Despite her appearance and manner, Chemish had a soft spot when it came to Coremi.

 

“Maybe they’re love bites.” She grinned up at the older woman.

 

“You need to find a new boyfriend if those are love bites,” Chemish replied, shaking her head at her best friend’s daughter. “How are you holding up?”

 

“Same.” She shrugged, “I keep expecting her to walk in here and ask why I haven’t cleared out all the Imps yet.” She used the last of her tiny tube of kolto and stood.

 

“Give it some time,” Chemish said sympathetically, “It’s only been a month since we lost Selena. It’ll be hard for a while.” Coremi nodded and dug her nails into her hand to hold back tears. Their longtime leader, Gray Star, had once been a brilliant strategist, but recently his ops had gone bad. They took casualties on every mission, and it seemed the Imperials always knew where they would be.

 

Coremi lost her mother on a simple recon mission. Somehow, Darth Lachris had known where to deploy probe droids, and after losing her stealth field, a sniper took her mother with a single shot. He also took the three others who tried to recover her body. When they gave up on getting her back, Darth Lachris sent her body to a refugee camp with a note. Terrorists cannot defeat the might of the Sith. Hugs and Kisses – Darth Lachris.

 

“Proved that b****, Darth Lachris, wrong.” Coremi smiled grimly. “I got her Chemi, she’s dead and four others with her, we’ll probably hear about it on the wire soon.”

 

Chemish stared at her with shock. “Gray Star was planning something to take care of her,” she stammered finally finding her voice. “We were still recruiting people, you took her by yourself?”

 

“If you think I’d let the man who got my mom killed plan her revenge you’re crazy.” Coremi crossed her arms defiantly, “I’m done working for him, and you should be too.”

 

Chemish ignored the young rebel’s words, for now she had saved lives. She hugged her friend’s daughter tightly. The girl winced at the contact. Chemish frowned and checked the back of her neck.

 

“Cori, you have burns back here too, what the heck did you do to yourself?”

 

“Slave collar.” She stared at her hands, “Look, I have to get out of here, I killed five but there was another Sith and he saw me. If he’s looking for me, I’m a danger to everyone. I’m going to lay low for a while, I’ll be back when it’s safer.” The look on Chemish’s face was plain, she hated the Sith but now she was terrified for Coremi. She looked into the older woman’s eyes and said firmly, “It was worth it.”

 

Chemish folded under Coremi’s intense yellow stare, “It was.” She agreed. “Come on, I’m not letting you leave without proper treatment.”

 

“Don’t tell anyone I did it.” Coremi warned, “Not even Gray Star. Promise me.”

 

Chemish sighed, the girl was as stubborn as her mother. “I promise. Now, let’s get you patched up and out of here.”

 

Chemish accompanied her to the middle of the medical center where a harried medic ran back and forth between patients.

 

“Doc,” Chemish called, “Toss me a kolto bandage.” The medic looked up and started to snap that they were rationed but when he saw Coremi, he dropped what he was doing and ran over.

 

“What happened?” He guided Coremi to a chair and sat her down. He cleaned the burns and applied the bandage to the larger wounds in the back. “This is from a slave collar!” he accused, “Who did this to you?”

 

“Foreplay gone wrong?” Coremi suggested innocently. The medic glared at her. She rolled her eyes, she had known him since she was eleven and he was a little over-protective, “It’s ok, dad, I’m fine they’re just burns.”

 

“Cori, when you call me dad,” He said trying to maintain his scowl but failing, “I feel really old.”

 

“Well then,” Coremi said tweaking his mustache, “You should have thought of that before you slept with my mom.”

 

 

 

Edited by kabeone
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Friends/Allies

 

Not Quite My Style

BH/JK (kinda) Skari & Doc no spoilers

EDIT (again): Quick mention, Skari is my bounty hunter from the stories on the Short Fiction Weekly Challenge Thread for those of you unfamiliar with her.

 

This works so well because we know Doc did hang around on Hutta for a while. Also, I wish my JK could have shot at him enough to get him to stop calling her beautiful/gorgeous or whatever.

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Are we assuming a "consistent" alternate universe? One of my "what-if"s from the other thread could certainly be continued, the other was intended as a one-off. Also got one in progress that would be a one-off as well.

 

So I guess the question is, are you looking more for "continuing stories in an alternate universe, where your characters did something very different and now have a different story to tell", or more at a twilight zone vibe, where you change one thing, get a dramatically different story, but not necessarily one that could continue. Any of the ones where the main character (usually your PC) dies fall into this category.

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Are we assuming a "consistent" alternate universe? One of my "what-if"s from the other thread could certainly be continued, the other was intended as a one-off. Also got one in progress that would be a one-off as well.

 

So I guess the question is, are you looking more for "continuing stories in an alternate universe, where your characters did something very different and now have a different story to tell", or more at a twilight zone vibe, where you change one thing, get a dramatically different story, but not necessarily one that could continue. Any of the ones where the main character (usually your PC) dies fall into this category.

 

I would think it's anything that's not the "main universe" but giving enough background so we know which alt universe is happening.

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Ok, that works.

 

We may want to consider having some kind of background section for our characters. One for each thread, but especially the main one. There are a lot of them in there, and it can be intimidating for a new reader (or a slacking returning reader like me sometimes) to remember everyone's backstories.

 

Not sure where we'd put it though. And I probably should have posted this in the main thread but I haven't gone there yet tonight.

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Alternate Ipha story (kind of a crackfic). I wrote this months ago and actually posted it on the forums I think. I went back and made some edits to it, made things flow a little better. But this AU snippet shows why Ipha shouldn't lead Havoc Squad.

 

(I thought you were my) Friend and Ally

 

 

Ipha was pissed. So pissed she was a veritable thundercloud about to explode on someone's parade if poked. The op had nearly gone south through no fault of hers or her team's, Garza was about to have her balls in a sling, and her head was pounding a vicious beat behind her eyes that told her if she didn't stop and eat soon, she was just going to fall face first on the floor.

 

As she stomped across the briefing room she threw her helmet at the wall as hard as she possibly could despite the lack of proper nutrition. “I'm going to holo up that sniveling, underhanded, back biting SIS snake agent and give him a dressing down that will burn the skin off his a*s. Then I'm going to sell him out in all my reports and draw pictures of him in a dress. After that I'mma take an autocannon, a tub of butter and a family of womp rats to his home and show him what 'we need to wait for an absolute clear signal' really means. Oh, yes I will,” she snarled before Jorgan could say anything to contrary.

 

Her helmet skittered across the floor and came to a slow spinning stop by the stairs to the bridge. She ignored it and disappeared into the mess. Some marketing genius on Alderaan somewhere had heard her silent pleas for the creation of a sugary, non nutritional, teeth rotting coco-nectar candy bar. She was going to have one. Right now.

 

Behind her, Jorgan (her XO, her partner, her freaking husband) snatched the bar right out of her hand. She whirled on him. “Release the snack, Cathar!” she growled, furtively grabbing at it as he held it over her head.

 

“You can have it after you bring me the data pad with the weapons malfunction update info, the recon mission log, your holo recording with Garza while we were on Voss, and you take that gear off so we can fix the fist sized hole in your back. Oh. And pick up your helmet.” He stared her down with cool eyes as she seethed. He waited a beat, just one then said, “And after you eat something with real nutrients in it.”

 

“I hate you,” Ipha fumed and knocked him aside as she went to do everything he listed.

 

“Better him than me,” Vik said.

 

“They really are rather adorable when she's not actively trying to set him on fire with her eyes,” Elara pointed out.

 

Jorgan turned. “Why are you all standing there? I want your reports!” he said.

 

“I want you to give me candy or die!” Ipha shouted from her quarters where she furiously flipped through data pads.

 

“She doesn't mean it,” Elara told him gently.

 

“Oh, she means it. She'll be sorry for it, but she means it,” Jorgan answered.

 

Elara, Vik and Yuun separated to begin their reports and Jorgan replaced the candy and instead brought Ipha an energy bar to tide her over. He stood at the door with the peace offering in his hand and she glared at him with murder in her eyes and snatched it away like he might try and hide it. She grumbled as she ripped it open to take a bite and the only word Jorgan could catch was chocolate. He sighed and sat on the bed as she threw a data pad, a holorecorder and her helmet next to him.

 

“I doubt that candy even has any real chocolate in it. It's just flavored sugar and rehydrated cocoa,” he tried to point out reasonably.

 

“Tastes good,” she said glumly as she looked at the half eaten energy bar in her hand.

 

“Sure it does. But that's not an answer. I can think of a lot of things that taste good and are good for you,” he said.

 

“I can't hear you over the sound of my endless seething rage.”

 

Jorgan stood and yanked Ipha into his arms. “I think now's great time for a bit of quiet,” he said as she struggled.

 

“But I haven't even begun to burn your ears off with my misplaced and impotent anger,” she said, and came as close to pouting as the the commander of Havoc Squad was legally allowed to do.

 

“No, quiet time for the rest of the ship,” he said. With her trapped he brought her against him, lifted up to her tip toes and kissed her thoroughly. She frowned against his mouth momentarily but her struggling ceased when he parted her lips with his tongue. When he felt her relax he released her from his arms and let her slide down to the floor. “Alright, now that that's done, I'm taking these reports, and the rest of the crew's reports and I'm going to submit them. You stay there if you want to.”

 

Ipha pulled her knees to her chest and ate her energy bar in defiance.

 

Edited by Morgani
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Here's the original AU post for What if?

 

 

Corso watched as the petite female prisoner was punched by the trooper. He winced as her head struck the metal bedframe and she fell, silent and still. Oh well, he thought, she really shouldn’t have kicked the guy there. He was nursing wounds of his own, inflicted by that scum Skavak when he took off and stole the lady’s ship. Still, he felt like he’d have gotten away if she had believed him, that he wasn’t any part of the scheme to steal from her. She might have gotten a pass too, but someone ran her background before she could get away. He had a hard time believing someone as small as she was could take out a platoon of soldiers, but what did he know? He had no idea Skavak was a sep, either.

 

He watched as she groaned and struggled to sit up, crawling instead to the far corner of the filthy cell. Blood ran down her face, and she swiped at it with her cuffed hands. She’d screamed about that, he recalled, wanting to know why she was cuffed in a cell. He could see her reasoning. Now she just sat in dejected silence, staring straight ahead.

 

He heard his name called and walked to the cell door, where he saw Viidu paying his bail. He was released, and when he passed the woman on his way out she didn’t even look at him. He was just glad to be free, and thanked his boss for his help.

 

A month later, one of his friends had a little too much fun and Corso found himself at the holding cells again, bailing his friend out. He glanced down the row and saw her, still bound, still sitting. She was several pounds lighter, which made her waif-like. He asked the trooper on duty what was wrong with her.

 

“I have no idea, buddy, but unless she finds her voice soon, she’ll lose enough weight to just waste away. All she has to do is tell us who hired her. You want to pay her bail, too?” He laughed, but stopped laughing when he was handed a cred stick. “Seriously? Okay, it’s your money. You know you don’t get it back if she takes off on you, right?” Corso nodded and the transaction went through. “Hey, Carl, get Spooky out too, “ the trooper shouted down the hallway. In a few minutes, Corso had both his friend, who was only half conscious, and the tiny woman with the silver eyes, both walking out with him. They reached the street, and stopped.

 

“I know you don’t have a place to stay,” Corso told her, “you can sleep at my place tonight if you want.” Her frightened expression told him that she didn’t trust him, and he held his hands up defensively. “I won’t touch you, and you can do something else tomorrow. I gotta get this guy home first, though.” She hesitated, then nodded and followed the two men. She hadn’t said a word since that first night they were put in the cells, and her voice didn’t seem to work at the moment. Corso got his friend home, then turned to the woman, motioning her to follow him.

 

They arrived at his place, which wasn’t fancy but was clean and well cared for. He went in his room, got some clothes for her since hers were beyond saving, and showed her where she could sleep. He went to his own room, heard the water running, and nodded. He fell into bed, knowing he had to be at work early. Before he left the next morning, he looked into the other bedroom to check on her. Her bare back was his first sight, partially covered by the waterfall of long, black hair. She was snoring softly, and he didn’t have the heart to wake her. He sighed, and set off for work.

 

When he returned, she was gone. He’d expected that. She did leave a note, though.

 

I will pay you back every credit. Thank you for your kindness. Miriah

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the continuation:

 

 

Another week, another set of problems, Corso thought. He made his way to his apartment, where he spent most of his time off. More and more, his thoughts turned to the woman who’d spent one night here, had said not one word, and was gone when he’d returned. He’d had several other women here since then, who had actually slept in his bed and not the guest room, but none that had interested him enough to think about when they were gone. Viidu had laughed when he’d heard what Corso had done in paying her bail. Maybe it was a mistake, he thought, but it was my mistake to make. He decided to go out to eat, maybe he’d see someone he knew to spend time with. Maybe he’d meet a woman that would wipe the memory of silver eyes from his mind.

 

He walked rather than ride, since he was fairly close to the Avilitan Cantina, and chose a corner table. The dancers were always visible, so all the tables were good, but he preferred to have his back covered by the wall. He’d changed from his usual work clothes into a very nice shirt and tailored pants, like most of the businessmen. He’d recently been promoted to office work, and while it was nice to be cool and clean, he was missing being outdoors some. He waved to people he knew, but ate alone. Once his food had arrived, he’d bent his head and not paid much attention to the band, until he noticed that their singer was different tonight. Even then, he didn’t think of it beyond noting that she had a nice voice, and that her accent was probably Coruscanti. He glimpsed her when he stood to leave, and stood there dumbstruck. She hadn’t left, he thought, I figured surely she’d left the planet. He slowly sat back down, thinking it through. The troopers had her blasters, her ship was stolen, and if she accessed her accounts, they could track her down. He realized she really didn’t have many options.

 

When the band was on a break, he tracked her down, staring at the sunset out back of the cantina. She didn’t notice him at first, until he spoke. “Hello,” he said, moving under the scarce light of the single bulb. She turned, and tried to smile at him.

 

“I promised I would pay you, but I haven’t gotten it together yet…” she looked at her feet, embarrassed that she was still in debt to him.

 

“That’s not why I looked for you. I wanted to see if you were okay. I thought as soon as you could you’d have gone home, or at least away from here.” He sat on a crate that had been upended, and watched as she nervously paced. “That’s all, I promise.”

 

She whirled on him, “I won’t be owned. Just because I have a debt to you, you don’t own me.” He threw his hands up in front of him in a defensive gesture.

 

“Look, I didn’t expect anything but to say hello and see that you were okay.” He got up and walked to the door, and stopped when he heard her weeping. Oh man, why’d she have to do that, he wondered. He walked over to her, hesitant to touch her. He just stood there while she tried to collect herself, turned away from him with her arms hugged around her.

 

“Miriah, you have a friend here. That’s all.” She nodded, but didn’t speak. The band leader, a guy Corso knew as Lane, called to her, break was over. She blew her nose, and tried to wipe the evidence of her tears away. She gave him a watery smile and went back to work. He was tempted to go back, to listen more, but knew it would just haunt him. Instead, he stood outside, leaning against the sun-warmed stone, and listened to her sing one more song before he went home to drink himself to sleep.

 

 

 

 

To me, this AU finds that Miriah and Corso are still the same people at their core, only their circumstances have changed.

Edited by Magdalane
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Friends and Allies - We saw a similar prompt in the prime thread - but what if things were different? What if your character had a different set of friends he or she ran with? How would an alternate version of your character act as a friend, and who would he or she call on as allies?

The Sword of Mercy: Friends and Allies, an alternate reality for Sith Warrior Ruth along with Agent Wynston and Jedi Master Rho. Today's entry is 1400 words. Significant spoiler elements are taken from SW Act 3 and IA Act 2 to set up this reality...

[Too creepy.]

Edited by bright_ephemera
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Alternate Ipha story (kind of a crackfic). I wrote this months ago and actually posted it on the forums I think. I went back and made some edits to it, made things flow a little better. But this AU snippet shows why Ipha shouldn't lead Havoc Squad.

 

(I thought you were my) Friend and Ally

 

 

Then I'm going to sell him out in all my reports and draw pictures of him in a dress. After that I'mma take an autocannon, a tub of butter and a family of womp rats to his home and show him what 'we need to wait for an absolute clear signal' really means.

Hahahahhahaha!! Have I mentioned how much I love Ipha :D It's a good thing she has Jorgan there to keep her from the worst of her temper ;)

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Always love Ipha stories, in any form. Bright, as usual a wonderful tale of Ruth, and new anger for Quinn (from me).

Hoyden, perfect note to take with Doc!

Kabeone, that fits so well with the story arc, it's kinda scary :)

 

Nice work, guys!

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Read and reread. Oh, the roads we didn't go down...

 

Ipha made me giggle. So, so much. :D

Mags, Miriah made perfect sense here. Perfect perfect events-happened-a-little-differently sense.

Coremi: Love her wit, love her interaction with Doc.

Speaking of Doc, iamthehoyden, I giggled here, too...poor guy! Some forced recruitments are entertainingly tragic.

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The Sword of Mercy: Friends and Allies 2, an alternate reality for Sith Warrior Ruth along with Agent Wynston and Jedi Master Rho. Today's entry is 950 words. Significant spoiler elements are taken from SW Act 3 and IA Act 2 to set up this reality...

[Too creepy.]

Edited by bright_ephemera
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@ Bright, This is such a disturbing and intriguing AU, I can't look away or stop reading, even when I get that sick feeling in my gut. It is seriously hard to read from an emotional stand point. Masterfully written, as usual!

 

I agree wholeheartedly with this. The idea of a control word makes me sick to my stomach. I got that far in my IA's story but I didn't feel an impact because I wasn't invested. I've rerolled an IA to pay more attention.

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@ Bright, This is such a disturbing and intriguing AU, I can't look away or stop reading, even when I get that sick feeling in my gut. It is seriously hard to read from an emotional stand point. Masterfully written, as usual!

 

Thank you for the praise! This AU is way, way, way outside anything I usually enjoy reading, much less writing, and there's a huge quantity of logical-extension stuff that I never want to think about, much less think through at the level of detail I visualize my stories in.

 

At the same time, the scenario is awfully fascinating. First for neatly flipping the "Sith Warrior as ultimate power trip" concept and second for the complex cascade of power realignments that would occur in Act 3 from the simple changes of a) Quinn being a meaningful player and b) Ruth enlisting other classes to do what she cannot. Oh, and third, for finally considering an image of Quinn as an unambiguous, irredeemable villain after all those times I joked he was a scumbag unworthy of love. And, now that I think of it, fourth, for thinking about (Agent spoilers)

how to cope with the command word and try to circumvent or raise an alarm, while dealing with the physiological/psychological consequences of two full courses of the serum, all without everybody's favorite Watcher to point the way...this is where the Sith Warrior's strength and willpower must be brought to bear, the only battleground she can command for herself.

 

It's like a really, really creepy train wreck to think about. Unbearable to examine in any detail, but hard to look away.

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@ Bright, This is such a disturbing and intriguing AU, I can't look away or stop reading, even when I get that sick feeling in my gut. It is seriously hard to read from an emotional stand point. Masterfully written, as usual!

 

I agree with every word of this, I didn't think I could hate Quinn more, but apparently we haven't finished pumbing those depths. The one thing that makes me happy is that at least with this scenario the fact that he remains alive makes sense.

 

Betrayal and Mind Control seem to be the top two AU themes :)

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Knightless: Friends and Allies Scourge

 

Remi Alt-U (What if Remi never became a Jedi Knight), IA Balmorra story spoilers, 2,158 words.

 

 

 

Coremi had packed what little supplies their group could spare. Just enough to get into the mountains, from there she would steal and forage whatever she could until she thought it was safe to go back. She thought she would be gone for less than a month, she thought she was just being paranoid, but as the saying went “Just because you think there might be someone waiting in ambush, doesn’t mean you’re wrong.” By the end of the second day, she knew she was being hunted.

 

She assumed it was the Sith using his evil Sith powers. She never caught sight of him but she knew he was there. She intentionally passed through several herds of wild animals. The next day when she looked back with her range finder they would all be gone, fled or killed by something strong enough to fight the creatures in the dark.

 

The days were hard enough, trying to run from something she could not see. Nights were far worse. When it grew too dark to move, she would set up a cold camp and snatch a restless sleep. Then the dreams would come, the dreams that haunted her from the night her mother died. The galaxy was a void, its endless fields of stars snuffed out. Each planet grew cold, then frozen, an eternal brutal winter, but the cold did not matter. All life on every planet in every system had long been silenced.

 

She did not know how, she did not know why, but she knew one thing. The galaxy died because she failed.

 

***

 

Scourge followed the woman at night. She hid her tracks well enough by day, but when she made camp to sleep, terror seized her mind, acting like a beacon. Though he did not know where she was going, he never lost her trail, and as the terrain grew harsher, he gained on her.

 

He prevented the Imperials from sending out hunting parties, he told them that he would find her, after all, she had attacked him and he demanded revenge. They accepted his reasoning. He did not give them a choice. He learned what he could of the resistance, the Imperials knew their movements and their operatives, it was curious that despite this knowledge the resistance remained intact. Eventually they told him, he only had to kill one officer to learn that the core of the resistance was run by the Empire. It gave him a bargaining chip, perhaps he could trade it for the fate of the galaxy.

 

***

 

The Sith would catch up tonight, Coremi decided to make a stand. She was glad she made it into the mountains, far from her friends. No one else would pay for her revenge. Instead of moving forward, she climbed the steep mountain slope and made a blind several meters above the trail. She pulled out a vial of her precious medication. Doc had raided an Imperial medical outpost to get it for her. The first few nights after her mother died, she had fits. Violent fits, she woke up bruised and bleeding surrounded by small circle of destruction. The medication numbed her until she felt no anger, fear, or sadness.

 

Doc never knew she stopped taking her meds for the nightmares, she saved them to fight Sith. Darth Lachris would have sensed her terror. Instead, she ignored the slave who felt nothing. Most of her slaves were like that. She felt a twinge of guilt at the ones who died when her bomb went off, then the meds took effect and she could not feel that either. She watched the trail below her with a detached kind of focus. She clutched her small sharp dagger in her hands, a ridiculous weapon against a Sith, but then, so was a steak knife and a piece of fruit. A mirthless smile touched her lips as darkness fell.

 

***

 

Lord Scourge frowned. Either the woman still moved along the path or she had decided to stop but not sleep. He moved forward cautiously, the path was lit by the moon but he had planned to wait until daylight before he confronted her. Now he was unsure he would find her before then.

 

Only his instincts and a whisper of air alerted him to her attack. He turned as a dark form fell toward him. He pushed it away with a burst of force. Not fast enough, she buried her dagger in his neck. Had it been longer or had he not worn a neck guard, she would have killed him. Instead, she opened a shallow bloody gash.

 

Rage overtook him. He threw her savagely against the mountain wall and then back to the ground. He pulled the knife out of his neck guard and cast it aside. He pinned her to ground with the barest fraction of his will, she only managed to thrash feebly, he snarled in disgust. He picked her up and held her suspended against the wall. She was slight and fragile looking, more a child than a woman. She clawed at her throat while he studied her face in the moonlight. She was the one, but this pathetic creature was not the Jedi shining with the force he had seen.

 

“Use your power to break free or I will kill you.” He said grasping her neck with his hands. He preferred to take her life up close. His anger and disgust at having found the one only to be so thoroughly disappointed would not go unpunished.

 

***

 

Strange words from a crazy Sith. Coremi thought as she stared into bright red eyes.

 

Her medications held her detached from the fact that she was about to die. I’ve never even been kissed. It was an odd thought to have when faced with a big red alien. He has nice lips. She thought speculatively and she choked out a laugh. He looked confused for a moment and his grasp loosened just slightly. She grabbed the back of his head to pull him close and brushed her lips against his. He threw her to the ground.

 

She lay on the narrow trail, defeated and ready to let him end it. She was tired of fighting and living on the run, tired of being angry at the universe for putting her on this war-torn planet. She let the Sith kick her. Big feet. She snickered. The rage in his eyes intensified at the sound of her laughter, he drew his lightsaber. She swallowed and closed her eyes as the blade came down, peace filled her mind along with relief that she could finally stop fighting. She focused on the peace, nothing the Sith could do would hurt her. He was setting her free. Thank you, she thought.

 

***

 

The girl lay in the dust defeated but still laughing. Scourge curled his lip in revulsion at what she had done. How could he have thought someone so pathetic would save the galaxy? He would cut off her head and mount it on a wall. Perhaps one day the real Jedi with her face would come along. Then he could laugh at his trophy the way she laughed at him now. He drew his lightsaber and brought it down on her neck. It bounced off a wall of force. He almost lost his weapon in surprise.

 

***

 

When the expected blow failed to fall, she opened her eyes. It took a few tries before she could speak. “Are you going to stand there all night with that thing in your hands or you going to do something with it?” she croaked.

 

He scowled and put away his lightsaber. He extended his senses, her connection to the force was tenuous and flawed. What happened should not have been possible. “How did you do that?”

 

“Do what?” She replied sitting up, a headache forming between her eyes.

 

“You shielded yourself from my attack with the force.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She sighed and tried to stand using the mountain wall to lever herself up, she got halfway there before she had to slide back down to a sitting position. The headache had taken monstrous proportions. “As long as you’re not doing anything important, would you mind killing me to make this headache go away?”

 

“Most people would not say such a thing to a Sith, even in jest.” He said, still trying to decide what to do.

 

“You’ll kill me if you feel like it regardless of what I say,” she said pressing her fists against her eyes, “I’m just trying to get some kind of benefit out of it.”

 

Scourge shook his head and looked above the trail catching sight of her cleverly disguised blind. He reached up and brought down her gear. She ignored him while he went through her supplies and set up camp. He threw a ration bar at her. She caught it, though her eyes were still squeezed shut and hidden behind her fists.

 

“You use the force without trying but your connection is feeble.” He observed.

 

Instead of answering, she took a bite of her ration bar keeping her eyes shut and chewed mechanically until she had finished half of it. She opened her eyes experimentally seeing the camp he laid out. She crawled to her pack putting her unfinished food away and moved to her thin bedroll to lie down. Scourge sat with his back to the mountain wall watching her ignore him. He wondered if it was bravado but within minutes, her breathing evened out and she was asleep.

 

In the morning, he opened her eyes to see her quietly packing her supplies. She was not making any effort to hide her movements she naturally moved with stealth.

 

“I am surprised you did not try to kill me.” He said into the silence.

 

“If I had known you were asleep, Sith, I would have.” She replied without looking at him.

 

He barked a laugh. “You are force sensitive.” He said changing the subject, “You cannot hide your power forever, sooner or later you will be discovered, the Empire will hunt you or worse, you will hurt your friends with your lack of control.” The look on her face told him this was something that already occurred to her.

 

“I guess it’s running then.” She said when she finished packing. She stood next to her gear with her arms crossed looking down at him.

 

“I offer an alternative,” he said studying her. She was different today, he sensed emotions held tightly in check.

 

“My headache’s gone, so I’ll pass on being killed.” She hefted her pack.

 

He shook his head and stood, “You will become my apprentice.”

 

She threw her head back and laughed, “You Sith really are crazy. I take it back, killing it is.” Even as she spoke, he saw she prepared herself for an attack. A pathetic display and futile, he waved his hand dismissively.

 

“I can give you the means to fight your enemies more effectively, you will become a weapon, and you will no longer fear the night.” He hinted that he knew about her terror in the dark.

 

She narrowed her eyes considering his words. Finally she spoke, “Nothing like that comes without a price, Sith.”

 

“No,” he agreed, “You will fight at my side against a much greater foe than the petty hordes that chase each other in circles here.”

 

“I like some of those hordes,” she said dryly, “I care more about Balmorra than I do about your greater foe.”

 

“Then your mind is small,” he scoffed, “But I understand how you cling to what you know. So I offer you something more, I will give you revenge on the one who is responsible for your mother’s death.”

 

Her jaw tightened but she raised her chin, “I already had that, I believe you were there.”

 

He smiled, “You do not suspect that someone within your organization has been feeding information to the Empire?”

 

Her face changed, he felt her anger kindle, it was good, pure, uninhibited. The spark was there, he would fan it into flames.

 

“He leads your organization, Gray Star, I think you call him.” He saw little surprise at his revelation, he nodded acknowledgement. “But he calls himself, Sanju Pyne.”

 

The sparks ignited, her rage incandesced, and the ground shook. Scourge heard the sound of falling rocks, he grabbed the slight woman and pulled her against the mountain wall. The avalanche caused by her fury fell past them. When it was over, he laughed with delight at her raw untamed power while she gazed in shock at the destruction she caused.

 

“As a part of your training we will find and defeat him, him and all your foes on this planet.” He promised the girl he held in his arms.

 

Flames danced in her eyes as she gazed back at him. “In that case, Sith, I am yours.”

 

 

 

 

Backstory links:

 

 

Edited by kabeone
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@Bright_, some of the best you have ever written! So, good I can't stop reading and wondering what will happen next!:D I allways enjoy your stuff but this is spectacular!:)

 

@Kabe, I am really loving your Coremi story! Remi and Scourge are just so awesome in the AU! I can't wait to see what you dish out next!:)

 

Great job everyone! :)(walks to the Short Fic thread and reads more awesome stories)

Edited by SveinEternity
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The Sword of Mercy: Friends and Allies 3, an alternate reality for Sith Warrior Ruth along with Agent Wynston and Jedi Master Rho. Today's entry is 900 words. Significant spoiler elements are taken from SW Act 3 and IA Act 2 to set up this reality...

[Too creepy.]

Edited by bright_ephemera
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