Star Wars: Alternate Episode I: Converging Fates COMPLETE

[ForceFusion]

Hello all! I doubt many of your remember, but a long time ago I began a thread for a project I was working on: the Alternate Prequel Trilogy. Unfortunately, I sort of fell off the face of the internet, and since then I've done some revising and have actually finished Episode I! I've decided to start a new thread so that no one gets confused due to whatever changes I might have made.

 

So, what I plan on doing is updating the story once every 2-4 days, possibly longer depending on reader responses. It is, in fact, finished, so this isn't something where I'll update and then you won't hear from me for a month. If I'm not updating, PM me hassling me about it!

 

A warning: this is a full length story of 116,040 words. It will probably take a good few months for the entire story to be posted. Most of the updates will probably be longer than your typical fanfic updates. So, have patience, bare with me if you will, and let me know if the updates are going too fast!

 

Without further ado, I present the prologue!

 

Star Wars: Alternate Episode I: Converging Fates

Prologue: The Thoughts of the Wandering Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn

 

I may never truly understand the ways of the Force. I am not sure the Force has ways. I am no longer sure of many things, in fact. My mere existence seems to defy the laws of the physical world, but that is a daily activity for a Jedi, isn't it? And for a Sith, as well.

 

I never thought the fates of those around me would converge the way they have. Yet, I still have faith in my decisions. The stars below me swirl around the galactic core as they always have. They will continue to swirl, and one day, the Force will be in balance once again. The gravest mistake the Jedi made was not being acutely aware of just how out of balance the Force already was.

 

And I thought one young man could change it all. I still do think that, though he is no longer a young man. Is he even a man? But I still have faith in him. He still has good deep in his heart. I can feel it.

 

Yet I am still in awe of how things changed with that young man. The day I felt our fates begin to converge, I never would have imagined one boy could be at the heart of it all. Not with a change as massive as this. I never could have imagined.

Edited October 27, 2008 by Guest

[Silas]

I totally do remember this story from way back when. I actually have it printed out and in a binder with other stories I was going to read from the Fan Fic world.

 

Anyway, glad you're back. Can't wait for the next update as the first one was really good.

[Anakin T Skywalker]

I'm glad you're re-posting this; I think I tried to read the other one and ended up being deterred by the amount of catching up I had to do. Or maybe I did read it and just don't remember it all. Anyway, it's be nice to follow something from the beginning.

 

BUT PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE AND LEAVE IT HANGING LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE ON HER DOES!

[ForceFusion]

***Chapter One

 

It was Anakin Skywalker's favorite time of the day on Tatooine: just before twilight. The heat of the long day under twin suns was finally losing its edge and giving way to a beautiful night sky, soon to be filled with stars that held infinite possibility. The cool evening breeze whispered of the freezing desert night to come. Anakin had lived on this planet his entire life and had come to know that this hour was the only time Tatooine was worth living on.

 

His sandy-blond hair tossed in the wind as his limbs pumped. He ran faster than any thirteen year-old boy in Mos Eisley, and faster than many full-grown men. His eyes scanned the dirt streets for signs of the thief he was chasing, but he saw nothing. Some might give up after losing sight of their quarry, but Anakin followed a hunch, and took a right turn. He was rewarded by the sight of a boy, about the same size as himself but dark-haired, running at full speed, attempting to keep a box overflowing with parts under his arm. Gotcha, Anakin thought, and added a burst to his already impressive speed. He was gaining on the thief quickly. Maybe one day I'll be a famous bounty hunter, he allowed himself. But that optimistic thought didn't last long, for he reminded himself that he was still, in fact, a slave, no matter how free running after thieves made him feel. He was a slave and he always would be. He was stuck on this planet forever. The anger from that notion fueled his legs to pump even faster.

 

The child-thief looked over his shoulder and Anakin recognized panic in his eye. He rounded another corner to follow the kid, but stopped as he noticed an old speeder clunking away. Frag! he swore to himself. But before giving up, he reoriented himself and began running in the opposite direction.

 

After one block, he stopped and began pounding on a door. ”œVel, open up! I need your speeder!”

[Anakin T Skywalker]

Awww, poor Anakin! Innocent little boy not for long.

 

You definitely made him sound more thirteen.

[Dartha Athanth]

Lol all of A_T_S's posting is making me feel guilty. Hmm interesting start to the AU so far; but let me get this straight - Anakin's a slave, and he's running after slave thieves? Sounds like a suck-up to me =P hmm cant wait for more!

[Anakin T Skywalker]

Guilty? I'm making you feel guilty? LOL I'm just trying to catch up!

 

I tend to not tiptoe into things; I'm either there or I'm not. Though I don't know what I'll do when I run out of things to post on. Because people don't write and respond fast enough here.

[ForceFusion]

Ok, so here's one of those long updates I warned about! Sorry! I'll probably give an extra day or two before putting up the next one, in case y'all need more time to get through.

 

***

Hyperspace swirled around them in shades of black, silver, and even purple, if Obi-Wan Kenobi looked at it long enough. He was told that looking directly into a hyperspace sky was not healthy on the mind, but he found it fascinating. Of course, he made sure to often inventory his body and mind with the Force, as to make sure everything was functioning properly. He knew he needed to be in tip-top shape when the Trials came around, and they could come around any day now. In fact, he had a suspicion that Master Qui-Gon would present him to the Jedi Council for Knighthood when they returned from this mission. The Force seemed to be tingling around him.

 

”œObi-Wan,”

[Dartha Athanth]

Haha qui gon is being a know-it-all again! This situation looks rather like the real one, just without them going onto the TF ship so i'm waiting for more deviations!

[ForceFusion]

There will be. You've just finished Chapter 1 of 29! There are many borrowed ideas that you'll recognize. My purpose is to improve upon what has been done, not simply scrap and start over.

[Anakin T Skywalker]

Fun stuff! Looking forward to more altercations... I mean alterations. Although the occasional heated argument can be vastly entertaining.

[ForceFusion]

***Chapter Two

 

Dooku ”“ that was the extent of his name now; no titles, no pomp and circumstance, no hypocrisy ”“ walked through one of the many empty, anonymous alleyways in the lower levels of industrial Coruscant, all long abandoned since sunset for the residential or social sections of the city-planet. Life would teem in these streets once again in a few hours, with the pulse of the galaxy's industries. Though trillions of credits swirled into, out of, and around this planet, Dooku knew that the core of wealth was here. From here, the people climbed the corporate ladder ”“ and fell from it as well. Raw materials from across the galaxy funneled into these factories to pump out durasteel or transparisteel, which would be crafted into the products that fueled the galaxy. To think the Republic could turn its back on industrial and corporate value. The Jedi, of all people, should have been wise enough to see the galaxy's true heart. Fools.

 

Even as his thoughts festered, he knew he would manipulate these factories, and many like these across the galaxy, for his own good. His departure from the Jedi came primarily from political reasons, but he no longer lied to himself about his ambition. The Jedi could never truly do anything useful with the galaxy. They were too passive, too afraid, always trying to please everyone. Well, Master Yoda, Dooku thought to himself, the galaxy is too large to be catered to! To affect change, you must use your aggression! Dooku had been taught to trust his instincts since birth, but Yoda's mantra became contradictory as Dooku had grown in age and wisdom. His instincts told him that the Jedi were spelling their own doom. His instincts forced him to swim upstream until he'd finally gotten out of the water.

 

Now his instincts led him here: a dark rendezvous with someone who brought out the bloodlust in his old friends on the Jedi Council. The Force had told Dooku that the galaxy was spinning and turning to a tune other than science and evolution. Events danced and swirled into place, as a conductor guiding an orchestra through a symphony. And it was a conscious being. This was not the will of the Force, or the Light Side or the Dark Side, if those distinctions could even be made. Someone powerful, very powerful, was pulling the galaxy's strings. Dooku knew that to affect true change, he must ally himself with this powerful man.

 

It'd been the Neimoidians who had slipped and given him his clue. He'd been working with the Trade Federation for years before his resignation from the Jedi and his search for a way to truly change the galaxy. He knew them to be sniveling cowards, always worrying about their purse. He found it odd when they began building their droid army, and completely out of character when they began enforcing their space-lanes with it, Neimoidians in the front-line control ships and all. But the true shock came when, just days ago, they had blockaded Naboo. The planet was fairly well armed, though not nearly well-armed enough to make a dent in the droid fleet. Also, Naboo held great swing in the Senate, and pitting themselves as enemies of Senator Jmila was almost like pitting themselves as enemies of the Chancellor. But the Chancellor remained neutral in the uprising, wisely keeping a cool head and looking for evidence. Upon his own curiosity, Dooku had paid Viceroy Nute Gunray a visit in orbit around Naboo. The Viceroy attempted to hide his secrets, but Dooku's Force-probes had been too powerful. The secret had come out at last. The Sith were back, and had struck an alliance with the Trade Federation. He imagined many more such alliances had been put into place secretly, and many more would come.

 

As soon as the secret had entered Dooku's ear, he knew that the Sith had been orchestrating these strange galactic events. It was with the Sith that Dooku was aligning himself. The prospect excited him, even as he walked. Abandoning the tradition of the Jedi had not been easy. Fellowshipping with Force-users, always gaining new insights and perspectives on the Force ”“ as well as sharing them ”“ that had been a beautiful thing. Now he could gain a perspective no Jedi would ever have. The Force was surely leading him to the Sith, to build on his Jedi legacy and skills, to change the galaxy with the fervor that only a Sith could bring.

 

Dooku flung his gray cape around himself, as the music to this galactic symphany reached a crescendo in his mind. His destiny awaited him at the top of this turbo-lift, he was sure.

 

The gray cloak was fitting, he realized as the lift took him up. It was between black and white. He did not consider himself an evil man, as some of the Sith legacies truly were. He would never be so dark as to be compared with Exar Kun or Darth Bane. Nor was he consumed with the plain and useless white of the Jedi. He found himself walking ”“ no, dancing ”“ a beautiful step in the middle. This was wiser than any of Master Yoda's mantras, surely.

 

At the top of the turbo-lift shaft, Dooku exited and looked around. The meeting was set for this building, but exactly where, he did not know. He was standing in a large, empty room, with smaller offices lining the walls. The only light came through the open doors of the offices: the glow of the city.

 

A nudge from the Force led him to the corner office exactly opposite of his position in the room. Through the shadows he walked slowly , with dignity, then stepped through the opened doors into a plain office with a simple metal desk. A cloaked figure, human by his Force-signature, and powerful too, sat peering out the window to the cityscape before them. The man radiated a dark presence in the Force, pulsing with wisdom and strength. This was surely the Sith Lord.

 

”œLord Sidious,”

[Anakin T Skywalker]

I like your take on Dooku's apprenticeship! It's cool how you show him chasing after Sidious, not the other way around.

[Dartha Athanth]

Poor Maul! He was always m favourite (prequel) sith. And I like how this shows the gradual corruption of Dooku.

[Amidala Skywalker]

Sorry I didn't get to this sooner--I've been so busy, I haven't had time to sit down and read it!

 

But I'm so glad I did! This is really top-notch stuff, Fusion. You are a BRILLIANT writer. Your writing shows an innate understanding of the way the SW universe works, a deep insight into the Force, and an amazing view of the characters that is completely in line with the way they were originally written by GL himself.

 

On top of all this, you add a wonderful, easy-to-understand writing style that nevertheless tackles the tough political issues of this time in history. I'm usually not one for movie re-writes, or even novelizations, but this is amazing stuff. It reads just like any of the prequel novels I've read.

 

I only noticed a few things to critique. You had a few typos--"his Qui-Gon's" in one place and you misspelled "symphony". The part with Anakin seemed the most AU for me; I could see him doing that if he was a bit older, like he is, but I think Anakin felt too old. He was more like an Ep. II Anakin than a little-older-than-Ep.I Anakin.

 

Also, if you wanted to use the same name, your Senator's name should be spelled "Jamilla". I find it interesting that Palpy is already Supreme Chancellor, and I'm very interested to see what Padme's role in this new AU will be!

 

Your Dooku is absolutely perfect, and your Obi-Wan is good too. It's hard to write Obi-Wan during this time period, but you did a nice job with him. I don't know about the whole wanting galactic fame part, but good work.

 

And of course, all of these character notes could be there because it's an AU fic.

 

Anyway, amazing stuff. I would say that right now, this is my favorite fic being posted in this forum.

 

Can't wait for more!!!

[ForceFusion]

Anyway, amazing stuff. I would say that right now, this is my favorite fic being posted in this forum.

 

Wow! Thanks! I'm honored!

 

Thanks everyone for your comments, etc. I'll be posting up a new section today or tomorrow.

[ForceFusion]

***

Darth Maul waited in the shadows as the Jedi ”“ yes, the Jedi; once a Jedi always a Jedi ”“ walked but a meter away from him, out the door. Though he was doing nothing more than standing in a corner listening, he was exhausted. Sweat dripped from his horned Zabrak scalp, giving the black and red body tattoo a glimmer. It had taken a massive amount of concentration simply to cloak his Force presence from Dooku. Sidious had more than once paused in the midst of his conversation to lend Maul a helping hand through the Force. It was slightly embarrassing, but Maul knew that he was not as in tune with the Force as his Master. And these strange powers Sidious seemed to know about always stretched him more than the traditional Sith abilities did. His skill was with a lightsaber, not in meddling deeply in the Force. He took more joy in severing limbs with his blade than he did from unleashing the Dark Side via Force lightning. But he did respect his Master for those unique abilities he always seemed to conjure.

 

When he heard the door to the turbo-lift across the room shut he let his Force-cloak down with relief. ”œLord Maul,”

[Anakin T Skywalker]

Awww, poor Maul, he wanted to slaughter so bad!

 

Interesting twist on the movie; it'll be nice to see what comes of Darth Maul's new mission.

[Dartha Athanth]

Hmm Maul looks nice here - can't imagine him as a diplomat. I liked how you portrayed him.

 

Fett is coming! Yay!

[ForceFusion]

***Chapter Three

 

”œThis meeting is adjourned,”

[Anakin T Skywalker]

I really enjoy your take on Kit Fisto's personality.

[Dartha Athanth]

Mmm I like your Fisto too. Oo so that's who boba was after! I like the mishmash of time periods. And Aayla as Fisto's padawan... *wiggles eyebrows*

[ForceFusion]

Sorry it took so long to get this up! Busy weekend, busy week.

 

***

 

”œMaster,”

[Amidala Skywalker]

As I said before, masterfully written! I simply love reading this.

 

Your Kit Fisto is a lot of fun to read. I like how you chose to highlight him; I think he's such a cool minor character, and have always been interested in seeing more of him. Same with Aayla.

 

And I really enjoyed the simple back and forth convo between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon in the most recent section. Not only does it set us as readers straight on some things, but it also build the rapport we know already exists between them.

 

This really makes me want to see Ep. I again. Isn't that odd? This is so different....and yet, in a way, the same. I don't know how you accomplished that, but it shows the sign of a true writer.

 

Excellent job and I can't wait for more!

[Anakin T Skywalker]

I really like it - and like how they are on their way to Otoh Gunga without silly Jar Jar.

[Dartha Athanth]

No Jar Jar! Yes! Finally!

 

I get the feeling that your fic is an improved version of Ep 1. *wiggles eyebrows*

 

Interesting background of Dooku, I'm interested to know if he's the same Dooku we know in the movies.

 

Mucky obi! Whee! Anyway, he's promoting some Davidoff Adventure frangrance for men thing with his motorbike, so he should smell all right.

 

MOre!

[ForceFusion]

Thanks again, all for your comments and compliments! It's been so long since I actually wrote this specific section that I was worried if it was any good at all!

 

 

This really makes me want to see Ep. I again. Isn't that odd? This is so different....and yet, in a way, the same. I don't know how you accomplished that, but it shows the sign of a true writer.

 

Thanks! As for capturing Episode I, here especially at the beginning, I feel like the galaxy is in the same type of state: a society still thriving yet on the brink of collapse. There's still an excited optimism (Obi-Wan), yet there is a lot of wariness (Qui-Gon), darkness (Dooku/Maul), and intrigue (Kit). I think Episode I did a fairly good job of capturing that simply in the characters of Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Padme. Where it failed, IMO, was in taking itself entirely seriously. The Gungans could have been a very compelling people (and I hope they are in my story), yet Lucas represents them with goofy Jar Jar and flabby-cheeked Nass. By making Anakin so young, one of the central characters was difficult to take seriously as a hero (though he is still lovable) and the romance which must eventually develop between he and Padme seems disturbing (and in EpII forced).

 

These are some of the issues I hope to fix in this book. In honesty, I do love The Phantom Menace, despite its shortcomings. But as a writer and an impassioned Star Wars geek, how can I help but try to do better?

[ForceFusion]

***Chapter Four

 

Queen Padmé Amidala, sovereign leader of the Democratic State of Naboo, sat uncomfortably in her luxurious throne, watching with no expression on her face””heavily adorned with the royal makeup””as the members of the Theed Committee assembled. She sat at the head of the Committee as elected Queen of Naboo, despite her young age of only sixteen. While many planets scoffed at the tradition of electing a ruler so young, the people of Naboo adamantly stood behind their Queen, knowing that because of her youth, she would not be corrupted or influenced by bureaucracies and political games. She had been educated for a job in politics since she was seven, but had been kept safely away from Theed during her years of training. Now, two years into her five year term as Queen, she sat on the Throne at the gravest of times.

 

”œCaptain Panaka, Captain Typho,”

[Anakin T Skywalker]

Wow, you REALLY don't like Sio Bibble, do you?

[ForceFusion]

haha, no, I just needed someone to be that voice. Probably wasn't as well done as it could've been.