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passable-talent · 4 years ago

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listen,, im just in the mood for stih!reader. not followed-anakin-to-the-dark reader,,, just straight-up sith, subscribed to the sith, bloodlustful, power-hungry reader x anakin. whether they were a sith before him or a knight pulled to the dark at the same time but separate from him is up to you, but i just want some sexy evil reader <3

two things. one- in planning this one i came up with possibly my most interesting canon ret-con ever.

two- sorry about the lack of this in the past, with all of my darkfics i just always end up trying to make the reader redeemable or in some ways well-meaning so that it doesnt alienate my,,, readers,,, but as you wish!

that said, i havent gotten to really indulge my absolutely sadistic side in a while and it was uhhhh fun

There was a prophecy to the Jedi, long ago, that one young Jedi would bring balance to the Force.

And to the Sith was a prophecy that there would be a Dyad in the Force, one whose power would give rise to the power of the Sith.

Sheev Palpatine, tasked with finding an apprentice more powerful than he, who could possibly be within the Dyad, went through many apprentices in very quick succession, each destroyed by the Jedi before they could gain true power. There was only one apprentice who escaped the Jedi unscathed- a young former scrapper from a planet so unexceptional it didn’t even have a name.

You had struggled from the moment you could walk. You had built yourself up, with no help, no guidance. From a difficult child to a violent teenager, you fashioned yourself weapons, taught yourself to fight. When others tried to lay claim to what you owned, you cut them down.

So naturally, when he discovered you, Darth Sidious gave you a lightsaber.

With your skill in mundane weapons came an adaptability into the divine, and you were quickly nearly as skilled with a light saber as his last three apprentices, combined. He believed that your innate skill and exorbitant midi-chlorian count meant that you must be one half of the prophesized Dyad, and with the formation of a Force bond, he could do what his master had not, and become the other half. He just needed to build your power.

Each time he praised you, the hole in your soul grew larger, wanting more, needing it. You had come from nothing- so now, you wanted everything. You wanted to be the most skilled. You wanted to be the most powerful. You wanted to be the strongest and the fastest and the best.

So imagine your anger when you came across a little Jedi padawan who you could not defeat.

Anakin Skywalker was the golden boy of the Jedi, and it had gone to his head. He was nineteen, and already more skilled than his master, and most of the masters on the council. Of course he would try to kill a Sith apprentice, when one crossed his path.

Imagine, two young prodigies, on opposite sides of a millennia-long war, each convinced that nothing could stand in their way. Imagine no one winning the battle, and both going home unscathed.

Imagine how it would drive them mad.

Darth Sidious could not be seen without risking his discovery, so you often did what he needed. You wouldn’t complain- each successful mission would ease your hunger for victory and power, if only for a moment. You were cunning, and only unleashed your brutality when it was necessary, but Anakin- Anakin had the key to the cage that held your rage, and he opened it every time you saw him.

His master, the other Jedi, those you would dispose of easily, not caring enough to kill them, just doing enough to get them out of your way, so that you could face him. Every time you failed to kill him, you got angrier, until you felt nothing but rage when you saw him. How dare he challenge your supremacy, your skill. How dare he live and breathe, proof that you weren’t unbeatable.

In the dark side of the Force, with this conflict came uncertainty- no matter how Palpatine promised that his blood-soaked and rage-filled apprentice was the most skilled in the galaxy, he began to doubt. He began to wonder if Anakin was truly the apprentice he’d been seeking.

In the light side of the Force, Master Yoda began to understand what Anakin’s prophecy had truly meant- Anakin was meant to be the light’s balance to the dark that you carried in your heart.

Against the numbers of the Jedi, you were at a disadvantage, but you weren’t concerned with odds, not when you were the most talented Sith that had ever lived. All you felt that you lacked was the wisdom of the Sith who had come before you, and so you often meditated, trying to reach them. Darth Plagueis in particular guided your mind many a night.

But something was off about your meditation, this day. You couldn’t reach your grandmaster, and a sick, disjointed sensation rolled in waves through your skin. Breaking your concentration, you opened your eyes.

And seated in front of you was Anakin Skywalker.

“You-” you snarled, immediately calling your saber to your hand. He held his hand up, though, and something about the motion made you pause.

“I’m not really here,” he said, then looked around. “Can you see where I am? I can’t see where you are.” You narrowed your eyes, suspicious and still angry, but now curious. You slid from your meditative sit and onto your knees, slinking toward him on your hands before reaching out to touch his shoulder.

“You mean you didn’t reach out to me?” You asked, tilting your head, expression still distrustful.

“No, I thought you called to me.” You locked your eyes with his, reaching forward with the Force to feel him, his presence. He seemed to feel you doing so, but did not resist, and in fact did the same. Reaching deep into his heart, you found a surprising spot of cold- and latched onto it, holding it, unlocking its secrets. This, you could use.

“You don’t trust the Jedi,” you said, a smirk curling on your lips. His eyes widened briefly, which made you realize just how correct you were. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that he was so skilled- if it could be used in service of the dark.

“The Jedi stifle me,” he conceded, and from your connection you’d forged into his soul you felt a spark of fire, that so-familiar rage. This time, the emotion wasn’t yours, but his.

“The Sith will not,” you promised, and sat back down, much closer to him now.

“The Sith must be destroyed,” he snarled, and you were in your element now, you were finally in control. After all this time, you were winning a victory against Anakin Skywalker.

“Why? We seek to bring order. I seek my fullest potential. Isn’t that what you’re doing? What the Jedi aren’t letting you do?”

“Shut up,” he groaned, looking away, and so you leaned closer, lifting your chin, beginning to smile.

“We’ve fought in the past, Anakin,” you breathed, “But I promise you this- I would help you the way no Jedi would think to.��

You felt it when his entire presence in the Force sparked, and then disappeared. It seemed that he’d grown too distracted to keep your connection.

Speaking of that- how could you have had such a connection?

Sure, you’d felt his presence in the Force before, but only when you fought, when your souls clashed as brightly as your sabers. This was new, very new, and in all your teachings you had heard of nothing like it.

Nothing- nothing but a Dyad. The Dyad.

Sidious was right, in everything he had ever told you- you were of the Dyad, you were the Sith meant to experience power like none before you had, you were the one the prophecies had spoken of. But Palpatine wasn’t the other half, the way that the Rule of Two would’ve expected it- the other half of the Dyad was instead a young Jedi.

Master Yoda felt a disturbance in the Force as you realized it- as your dark hunger pulsed out of your body, satisfaction with knowing that it was all true making you feel powerful. The destiny you had been promised, you now knew for certain, was rightfully yours.

You only had two problems, both easy to fix. The first- your Dyad partner needed to join the Sith. Only then would you be fully unstoppable, only then would no one be able to stand in your way.

And the Second? Anakin becoming a Sith would violate the Rule of Two. Meaning that there would be three Sith where there was only room for two.

So you needed to be rid of Sidious. Such was a plan for another day.

The Clone Wars were a Sith’s playground- Sidious’ extraneous apprentices, Dooku and Ventress, took care of most of the messy battles. Fighting clones, negotiating with the Trade Federation, such things were beneath you. Your specialty, your joy, was in the destruction of the Jedi. Every single Jedi death in the Clone Wars was at your hand.

And though you clashed with Anakin, the roles had been reversed- now twenty-two and sure of your destiny, you fought not to kill Anakin, but to show him the power of the dark, the power you wielded. He fought the way you had as a teenager, full of rage and murderous intent. Tortured as his missions were by you, he could not escape you in meditation, nor in sleep. You walked his dreams, making him wake with not anger but want, something that he hid from everyone, even his master. In his meditation you would appear before him, promising things that he only believed because they left your mouth.

“Anakin Skywalker is at his most powerful when he’s at my side.”

No Jedi sensed the rising darkness in Anakin Skywalker, just as you expected. Jedi are incapable of seeing past what they believe. They know that the Sith have returned, and still are blind to the power of the Dark!

The Sith, though... the Sith sensed his power. You sensed it, of course, reaching into his soul any time you could, grooming and nurturing the darkness he’d begun to share. And Sidious felt it, too.

So he took an interest in Anakin Skywalker.

He grew closer to Anakin through their mutual friendship with Senator Amidala. Palpatine promised Anakin balance, salvation from the worries he carried with him.

And he began to pull away from you, which certainly did not sit well. You were the most powerful Sith in generations, more powerful than even him, and he dared think you could be replaced? Not only he thought you could be replaced, but he dared set up such a replacement as though you wouldn’t notice?

No.

You were stronger than that. Smarter. There was three where there should be two, and if your counterpart in the Force was meant to bring balance, weren’t you meant to, as well?

So you took advantage of the age and weakness of Palpatine’s body. You poisoned him, slowly, deteriorating him, so that all that kept him alive was the Force, and he had no strength of his own.

And then you told him everything.

“An apprentice, when they are no longer fit for the teachings of the Sith, is replaced,” you said, your scarlet saber humming, its life and energy filling your body, like it had a thousand times. “Which is why you have grown interested in Anakin Skywalker. I have learned from you, my master, I see through your deception. You wish him to take my place.”

Your darkness invaded your smile, an emptiness invading your stomach that the deaths of dozens of Jedi had yet to fill.

“He will,” you promised, “He will be one of the most amazing Sith there has ever been. And he will fulfill the prophecy of the Dyad, just as you suspect.”

Sidious didn’t even have the time to ask how you knew before you buried three feet of plasma in his body.

You didn’t remove the saber, just let it rise and fall with the laboured breathing of an old man.

“Without your help, Sidious,” you snarled, “I have pulled Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side. I have found the Dyad, the one spoken of in prophecy- I have felt it pull he and I together. And without your help, I will purge the Jedi from the galaxy.” You ripped the saber from his body, separating his chest from his stomach.

As Palpatine breathed his last breath, you had an unexpected visitor- a few of them, actually. Masters Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Mace Windu each entered Palpatine’s office, sabers ignited and prepared for a duel with a Sith Master.

But they didn’t expect it to be the one that now stood before them.

Master Mace Windu knew of you- knew of the Sith apprentice who had a hunger for power so strong that it was meant to outgrow their master. He knew that you had killed countless Jedi, and would kill countless more, if given the chance. So he wasted no time in changing his intentions for the evening.

“In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic,” Windu said, igniting his saber, “You’re under arrest.” Your lightsaber still humming with the blood it had taken, you turned to him over your shoulder, canine tooth glinting from underneath a disturbing smile.

“And what are the charges?” you asked, calm as though you could predict the exact outcome of the match. “I’ve just killed your Sith Lord. Surely that must count for something.”

You focused the Force within you, sending it to the one person who you needed the most- and you showed him the way that four Jedi looked at you, threatened you.

“The Senate will decide your fate,” Windu threatened, and you tilted your head.

“The Senate just lost their chancellor,” you said with a small laugh, “I don’t believe they’ll be deciding anything for a while.”

It was all too easy to destroy them. Fisto, Kolar, Tiin, they were no challenge. Neither was Windu, but you needed him to believe he was gaining the upper hand- for Anakin was back on Coruscant, hurrying to your location, seeing through your eyes the way that Windu meant to murder you.

Feigning weakness, you opened your chest, which Windu rewarded with a strong kick, and you fell to your back, little groans and whimpers of fear leaving you as you scrambled backwards, and you could feel it, you could feel the way Anakin was running toward you, feel his desperation to protect you, even if he tried to disguise it with democracy.

“You are under arrest,” Windu hissed, his saber pointed to your nose.

And then, there- the man whose presence you had once loathed, and now craved. Anakin was here, with those lovely blue eyes, that curly hair, that body that deserved to rule the galaxy by your side.

“Anakin,” you said, chest rising and falling in panicked breaths, “Anakin, I killed Palpatine, I- I’m trying to help, I’m trying to help you!”

“You killed him to take his place,” Windu said, and your eyes narrowed. “But you have lost.” You reached out as though to call your saber back to you, but didn’t actually use the Force- which made it seem as though Windu overpowered you when he grabbed your throat and lifted you from the floor. Letting your body hang limp, you clawed at your throat, breathing ragged, and this- this was your chance.

You turned your gaze to him.

“Anakin,” you breathed, desperation, love, in your eyes. “Anakin, please...” He’d heard you say that word before, sounding just the same, in dreams of soft touches and tangled sheets. He’d seen the way you looked at him, when he met you on the battlegrounds, and you seemed to enjoy his skill. All too familiar was the curve of your neck, the flex of your muscles, as you fought against a grip on your throat.

“Please, Anakin,” you whispered, “I love you.”

“They are a traitor, Anakin!” Windu snarled, arm extended toward you. “Don’t listen!” You weren’t choking, not quite, but blood was being cut off, and you were starting to get woozy. You pushed the feeling through your bond to Anakin, proving to him how desperate the situation was becoming.

“Please,” you said, mouth gaping for a moment as you struggled to breathe, eyes briefly rolling back in your head. “Don’t let him kill me.” Windu dropped you, and you crashed to the floor, coughing and sputtering, letting them both believe your limbs were too tired to hold you up.

“I am going to end this,” Windu said, conviction in his tone, “Once and for all.”

“You can’t,” Anakin said, and dark satisfaction pulsed deep in your chest. With those two words, you knew how this day would end. “They must stand trial.”

“They are a Sith Lord! They're too dangerous to be left alive!” Curled up on your side, you didn’t look dangerous- you looked pitiful, coughing to regain your breath, tears rolling down your face.

“Please don’t kill me,” you sobbed, and in Anakin’s heart you felt resolve- you knew he wouldn’t let you die.

“It’s not the Jedi way!” Anakin said, “They must live!” You raised your eyes to Windu’s, and saw no remorse in them.

“Please, no-” you whimpered.

“I need them!” Anakin shouted, but Windu lifted his saber anyway. Anakin reacted in an instant, igniting his saber and slashing it through Windu’s arm, the distinctive purple saber now lost to the window and the streets of Coruscant below.

You smiled.

In an instant you flipped onto your hands, swiping Windu’s legs out from under him, and he could do nothing to stop his fall. Anakin fell to his knees, shocked, and ashamed of what he’d done.

“Anakin!” you said, rushing toward him, and finally, finally you could feel what you had in dreams, what you’d longed to- you threw your arms around him, burying your face in his neck. “Anakin, you saved me.” He hugged you back, slowly, and there was nothing else to compare to this.

You had been prophesized to be the Jedi and Sith who would bring balance and rule, and finally, after all this time, you were together. Not on the opposite sides of a battle, not in a connection, not in a dream, but in reality, in each other’s arms.

Together, you were more powerful than any Jedi or any Sith had ever been. You could feel it already.

“Thank you,” you breathed, pulling away far enough to brush back his hair, but his eyes were heavy with sorrow and regret. “Ani, love, look at me-” His gaze met yours, and nothing else in the universe had ever been so beautiful.

“I love you,” you promised again, and pressed your lips to his. The Force itself seemed to rejoice in you finally meeting, and now, all that was left to do was to ensure he stayed by your side.

“Finally, we’re on the same side,” you breathed, and you felt the way he bristled.

“The Jedi won’t see it that way.”

“The Jedi don’t understand- and they’re traitors, anyway, plotting to destroy the Republic, all this time. We have to rebuild the Jedi Order. We can make things the way we want them to be.” Anakin seemed to consider, so you pulled yourself closer to him, holding him just the way you remembered, in all those dreams you’d shared.

“We don’t have to run away anymore,” he said, and you cupped his face.

“No,” you said, “We don’t have to hide.”

“The Jedi turned against me,” Anakin said, his voice low, and you felt that darkness in his body grow.

“I know, love,” you breathed, brushing back his hair. “But I’m here. I’m still here.” Anakin leaned forward, holding you close by your lower back and kissed you, and you felt it- you felt hunger in his body, you tasted it on his lips. He rocked forward, laying you down on your back, even as you kept your arms around his neck.

And as you surrendered control, you almost had to laugh- he had no idea how much power you had over him.

-🦌 Roe

part 2 | part 3

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nevertheless-moving · 4 years ago

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Suicidal Misunderstanding XI

Part I - - - - - Part II - - - - - Part III - - - - - Part IV - - - - - Part V - - - - - Part VI - - - - - Part VII - - - - - Part VIII - - - - - Part IX - - - - - Part X

Star Wars Time Travel AU #27

Anakin left his first ‘soul healing’ appointment feeling on edge. They hadn’t even discussed anything important! The healer mostly talked at him, giving him rules for future sessions. They had barely touched on the reason he was there, which was both a relief and slightly irritating. ...He was a little uncertain what to do with him time now.

Obi-Wan hadn’t responded to him at all during his visit that morning, laying motionless in an apparently self-induced coma, and he wasn’t allowed to sit with him again until the evening. He wasn’t allowed to look at anything to do with the war until Mace cleared him. Returning to his and Obi-Wan’s quarter’s was still unthinkable, even though he knew he’d have to go back at some point before Ashoka landed on planet.

The Chancellor had left him several messages inviting him for a visit, but he was dragging his feet, despite the serious temptation of an always comforting father-figure. The thought of actually seeing the man made him feel practically sick with anger and betrayal. Obi-Wan had been convinced that Palpatine was trying to tear them apart. And while Anakin didn’t quite believe that... he had told Obi-Wan about what he had done after his mother’s death. Maybe someday, when Obi-Wan was better, he would be able to believe it was all for the best, but for now...he was just angry.

He hadn’t really been angry at the man before, and didn’t enjoy the sensation.

Padme had told him she would be working from home as much as possible the next few days. While he didn’t want to be an annoyance, there wasn’t really anyone else he could turn to for advice or comfort right now, and she seemed almost as desperate for the reassurance of his company as he was of hers...and the Master of the Order seemed to at least tolerate their relationship, even if he didn’t know all the details.

He arrived at her apartment and promptly collapsed on the couch.

“Is it alright if I join you?” Padme asked softly.

Anakin smiled at her. “More than alright”

She sat down. He shifted so she could lean against him comfortably.

“Do you want to talk right now, or should I do some paperwork?” she asked neutrally.

He groaned. “It’s- I’m not sure if I’m being immature. Should I go see Palpatine?”

She stiffened. “The Chancellor? I- I thought we had specifically agreed not to talk about him if we could help it. Have his politics started to bother you?” she asked dryly.

He rolled his eyes. “No, I still believe he’s the best chance for ending the war quickly- you know my friendship with him is personal, not political.”

“This is a personal problem then. Does it...have something to do with Obi-Wan? Are you not supposed to tell him about- what happened?”

“No, I’m sure the council’s already informed him, he is the Chancellor, after all; they would have to tell him if a High General was out of commission,” he replied, a touch bitterly.

“But it does have something to do with Obi-Wan,” she nudged.

“Yeah. It- he was the one who told Obi-Wan. About me. With the Raiders.” he ground out, suppressing a flash of anger.

“Oh. Oh! I didn’t realize he knew. He- had he urged you to tell Obi-Wan before?” she asked, slightly guilty.

“No!” Anakin snarled back. “He swore to keep it a secret, told me that my revenge was justified.”

“I’m sorry- the Chancellor of the Republic told you that what you did was justified? Padme sounded shocked and Anakin turned to her with wide eyes.

“Do you...you told me you understood...but...we’ve never really talked about it since it happened, have we?” He replied miserably.

She pulled away, heart pounding. “Anakin...do you think what you did was justified?”

He looked down “At the time I told myself it was...but I don’t know. Even right after...I thought about the kids. You have no idea how much clearer everything seems when your channeling the force with anger even though afterwards...I told myself they were animals but...I...when I was talking to Obi-Wan I realized that...I think I was just scared that if the order ever found out I’d lose everything which made me angry...And the Chancellor agreed that animals sometimes needed to be put down...and you said you understood.” He looked up at her uncertain.

She let out a sigh of relief. Of course Anakin knew his action’s were wrong, if he was so torn up about it. She took his hands in hers, stroking softly.

“Anakin...I know it’s not exactly the same, but I do understand wanting revenge. I helped personally liberate and clean up many of the trade federation camps. I buried the rotting corpses of my people, who I left to die- then returned back to my office to watch Nate Gunray get out on parole. If someone had handed me the power to kill every single Neimodian at the right moment-” She let out a breath, seething.

“But...no one did. I couldn’t have gotten revenge like that, even if I had wanted to. And now...gods Anakin, understanding why isn’t the same as saying it’s justified- I might still hate the trade federation, but that doesn’t mean that every Neimoidian is guilt of their crime, no matter my personal feelings. I really, truly don’t know what to say about the Chancellor telling you what he did, or keeping your secret, or breaking your trust.”

They sat in silence for a moment as he digested everything.

“I...think I get what you mean about separating out justifying and understanding. Maybe that’s what he meant, and I just wasn’t smart enough to realize what he was saying at the time. I want to ask him, but I’m still mad and... I just don’t want to lose my friend because I’m angry.” he finished unhappily.

She sighed, then pressed a delicate kiss to his cheek.

“Then tell him that. Leave him a message. A friend would understand holding off a conversation while you’re upset. And a politician should certainly understand holding back your feelings so they don’t dictate your actions.”

He smiled at her, “How did you get so wise?”

“I was a Queen, you know,” she replied haughtily.

“Oh a Queen, I hadn’t realized, do forgive my impertinence,” he said cheekily, pulling her closer.

She pushed him back. “Message first. He’s almost certainly in a Senate committee meeting right now, it’s the perfect time.”

He relented. They briefly hashed out what he was going to say. Then she drifted to the other room while he pulled out his mobile official senatorial comm-link, biting his lip nervously.

Much to his dismay, the Chancellor picked up on the last ring, holo opening up.

“Anakin, my boy! So good to hear from you; I had been getting worried. How are you?

Steeling himself, Anakin launched into their prepared monologue.

“Chancellor, you of all people know that I struggle with anger; I’m trying to work on not allowing it to dictate how I act towards those I value. That being said, in the interest of preserving our friendship and until Obi-Wan is fully healed, I think it’s best we avoid unnecessary communications.”

“Anakin! I don’t-” Palpatine tried to reply, but Anakin cut him off.

“Thank you again for your understanding. I will of course diligently reply to any military or professional requests sent through the proper channels.”

Anakin closed the connection with a click, heart pounding. The comm immediately lit back-up.

“What do I do?” he asked Padme, feeling nauseous.

Was this the right choice? Surely his friend would understand. He didn’t want to yell at the Chancellor just because he was still working through Obi-Wan’s issues and his issues with Obi-Wan! Or was he just acting out of fear? Maybe the Chancellor could help.

He started to reach for the comm, but Padme snatched it from the table first. She threw it to the ground, delicately lifted the hem of her dress, then pierced it with the heel of her shoe. It stopped mid trill.

“Let’s go to bed.”

“I love you.” He replied, looking at her adoringly.

“I know.”

Next (Part XII)

#star wars #my au #suicidal misunderstanding au #star wars au no 27 #anidala #star wars au #TALK #ABOUT #YOUR #THOUGHTS #AND #FEELINGS #YOU #KRIFFING #IDIOTS #YES #YOU TOO #PADME

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myenterpriseisparked · 3 years ago

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can.... can we get a cast for your zoologist Trek show?

I don't have names for them but here we go! This is kind of long, so I'm putting the characters under a cut.

The ship is called the USS Frontiersman. It works mostly in deep space, studying new forms of life on newly discovered planets. Crew compliment of 160. 50 exozoologists, 50 exobotanists, 20 environmentalists (including geologists and atmospheric experts). The remaining 40 crew members are engineers, security officers, helmsman, and the captain and first officer. I'm not positive on the time period this is set during, but it's at least at a point where there's not much conflict between Cardassia and the Federation.

Captain: She's a 40-year-old Engineer who never expected to make captain. Finding out she was being offered a command was the best day of her life. The worst day of her life was the next day, when she stepped on board and realized it was an exobiology ship filled with eccentrics. She slept through her required exobiology course so she has no idea what any of her crew members are talking about. She's basically that babysitter who's charges are all extremely passionate about things she doesn't understand and the parents have asked her to drive them around to local museums and science learning centers while the kids yell in the backseat about who's topic of interest is better.

First Officer: She's a 30-year-old who went through the academy on the command route and was known for being an excellent pilot. Has less knowledge of exobiology than the captain. The two of them keep trying to push interpersonal conflicts to be solved off on one another because neither of them understand what anyone's talking about enough to truly help solve the issue and, frankly, they're both a little frightened of the ferocity of their crew.

Head Engineer: Bajoran who actually did pay attention in biology and, while she's a little confused, she's eager to learn about what the others are prattling on about and is an excellent listener. She tries her best to translate for the non-exobiologist crew members, especially the captain and first officer. She was married (spouse died. tragically) and has a daughter that follows her around engineering. Everyone loves the kid and tries to convince her to study whatever their area of expertise is. Later in the show, when she's a little older, she decides to go the command route at Starfleet and become a pilot, much to the crew's dismay. The First Officer is absolutely tickled.

Chief Medical Officer(s): The Frontiersman actually has 2 chief medical officers; a doctor and a veterinarian. Yes, this is terribly inefficient and yes, they constantly butt heads. The vet is a young human woman from Ohio with a dry sense of humor and a penchant for snark. The doctor is a young human male from Michigan with a dry sense of humor and a penchant for snark. They absolutely hate each other until the day they realize that they are actually in love with each other and all of their arguments have been attempts to deny their attraction. Both of them are absolutely disgusted that they could fall in love with someone so... so... infuriating gosh dang it. They try to continue denying their feelings for each other because they are from rival states and they constantly fight over jurisdiction in the medbay for new species. One day, however, one of their most heated arguments ends in a passionate kiss and they stop fighting their feelings (but not each other).

From there, the rest of the crew is divided up under chiefs of specific taxonomical divisions. Sometimes a division will only have 1 scientist, other times it has a whole crew of people. Depends on the frequency of that type of living thing appearing. Most divisions only have 3 people; a chief and two junior officers. Not every chief is featured in the show because that would be too many characters, so just the ones that are considered part of the senior staff, which were selected by Starfleet at the time of commission based on training.

Chief of Feliformia: She's a hotheaded Betazoid in her mid 30's who spends her free time boxing on the holodeck. She argues a lot with the Chief of Canidae, but they still have breakfast together every morning to trade ship gossip. She wrestles with PTSD and anxiety, which she hides under a layer of bravado. Surprisingly enough, the only person she really feels comfortable opening up to about her past is the Chief of Canidae, because, despite all of their banter about cats vs dogs, they're her closest friend and she appreciates their blunt honesty.

Chief of Canidae: They're a Trill in their mid 30's who's passionate to the point of poetry about dog-like creatures. They're host to a younger symbiont, and they're one of the shortest people on the ship. They also only really open up to the Chief of Feliformia for similar reasons; the blunt honesty. Their relationship is strictly platonic (and I mean actually platonic, not whatever the VOY writers were trying to sell to us about Janeway and Chakotay).

Chief of Rodentia: He's a 70-year-old Bajoran/Cardassian. His mother defected from the Cardassian army to be with his father and the two of them raised him on earth where he raised pet rats. He always has about 7 various rodents tucked into his lab coat. He is a neat freak about his lab space and refuses to let anyone into his area unless they have completely scrubbed up and promise not to touch his PADD stack. Part of his particularity about his lab comes from the fact that he faced a lot of public ridicule due to his mixed heritage when he was young and so he's naturally very defensive of everything he does and owns.

Chief of Chiroptera: She's a twenty-something Half Vulcan-Half Betazoid who was raised on Betazed. Her Vulcan mother was the Vulcan ambassador on Betazed, and her work made her somewhat absent so, while she has enough of a restraint on her emotions not to be violent or aggressive, she's also more Betazoid in terms of personality. The combination of telepathic and empathic abilities from her parents has made her sensitive to large crowds, which is why she LOVES working in caves with bats away from other people. The combination of the two species' abilities constantly bombarding her and the need to restrain her Vulcan emotions have also resulted in her having ADD (her attention is being pulled in every direction so focusing on other tasks that don't immediately grasp her interest is SUPER difficult for her). However, she's also incredibly kind, difficult to shock or surprise, and very passionate about her work.

Chief of Reptilia: They're a human in their early 50's, a bit reclusive, and VERY unwilling to let people in their lab. They never show up to a meeting without a snake around their neck. The snake might be venomous. No one knows for sure. Whatever the case; everyone on board is pretty sure the reptile division is actually a cult because they never see anyone from that crew outside of the lab decks.

Chief of Aves: She's human, no one knows her age, and she refuses to wear a standard-issue lab coat, opting instead to wear a tie-die coat that reaches the floor. She speaks in riddles and everyone thinks she's crazy, but she's actually incredibly wise and an excellent listener. She specializes in raptors.

Chief of Livestock: Even though it's not technically a taxonomical order, they have a guy who specializes in studying livestock of alien cultures. No one is sure how old he is, or what his species is, for that matter. He has the calm, level-headedness of a Vulcan, but he always wears a hat so no one sees his ears or eyebrows to know for sure. He might just be a Midwestern farmer, because they can be Like That too. Despite working with livestock, he also never gets injured, so not even the doctor knows. Some people speculate that he's not human OR Vulcan, but some other immortal species, like a Q. This mystery is never solved on the show, but everyone really likes this guy.

Chief Exobotanist: Despite the fact that the plants are divided up into other taxonomical species, they all report to one Chief Botanist because the plant department is a lot more efficient and interconnected than the animal departments. Despite this, she's completely overworked and undercaffeinated. However, her workload doesn't stop her from being one of the sweetest and most creative people on board. As to the rest of her character, I defer to @emilie786 , as she is the inspiration for this character!

There are other chiefs who are occasional recurring characters, like the Chief of Aquaculture and the Chief of Amphibians. There are also several junior officers who we get to know a bit that are kind of fun. I'm thinking there's some kind of star-crossed lovers arc going on between someone who works in exobotany and someone who works in exozoology. There's also an overworked head of security who is getting really sick and tired of all the escapee animals he has to track down. I think he might fall in love with the Chief Exobotanist partially because plants don't run away and get into the Jeffries tubes (until they do, of course).

Anyway, if anyone wants to add to this, go for it! I'm open to ideas!

#Star Trek: Frontiersman #star trek oc #sorry for the long post #to be continued probably

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sirikenobi12 · 4 years ago

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Dear Mr. Filoni: About Qui-Gon Jinn

Mr. Filoni, I know you are pretty much the undisputed Padawan of George Lucas, but like many students they can sometimes misunderstand their teachings or interpret things from a certain point of view. While I won’t deny you are a brilliant creator who have brought us some amazing Star Wars content you said something a little while back about Qui-Gon Jinn that I think is rather nearsighted and in my opinion incorrect.

“And with the death of Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin loses the father figure who truly could have understood him – and maybe prevented what was to come.”

This implies several things, the first is that Anakin never had a father figure in his life. Or, rather that he lost the father figure he truly needed. In many ways this is implying that if someone grows up without a father (or a traditional father figure) then they are missing out or won’t have a stable childhood. What about all the people who are raised by single mothers or grandparents or aunts/uncles or by their older siblings?

Pixar’s Onward is a great example of finding a father figure through an older brother, it highlights that just because Ian never had a chance to meet his father didn’t mean that he lost out on a father figure in his brother Barley.

“I never had a dad, but I always had you.”

Saying that Anakin lost the father figure who truly could have understood him also just spits in the face of a young man who also lost his father figure in that moment and gave up everything to raise Anakin.

Let’s unpack that a little bit. Imagine if you will you’re twenty-five years old, you’ve worked your ENTIRE life for a particular goal which is to be a Jedi Knight, traveling the galaxy doing the most good that you can while discovering who you are on your own. Then maybe down the road when you are ready to settle down and possibly train/raise an apprentice you’ll take one on. Suddenly the only father you’ve ever known pushes you aside for a child he’s just met (without even discussing it with you first) and then uses his last words to push this child on you, making him your responsibility, thus shattering your chance at the freedom of a true Knighthood.

By all rights Obi-Wan could’ve given Anakin’s training over to the Council, the boy was in no way his responsibility. Much like an adult sibling doesn’t have to take on the responsibility of raising their minor siblings if their parents die, they could give the children over to the state and have a chance at a normal young adulthood instead of being thrust into being a parent before they are ready. But, Obi-Wan didn’t do that because he A.) Respected/loved Qui-Gon too much not to fulfill his final wishes, and B.) Knew it would be better for Anakin to take the boy under his wing.

I will say this until I am blue in the face: OBI-WAN WAS A FATHER TO ANAKIN!!

In fact, in Episode 2 Anakin refers to him as a father/father figure multiple times and it is clear their relationship while Anakin was a Padawan was that of a Father/Son. It isn’t until Anakin is knighted and they are peers that you see their relationship shift to that of brothers.

Am I saying that Obi-Wan didn’t make mistakes when raising Anakin? Absolutely not, but would I argue that Anakin was missing out on a father figure because Qui-Gon died? No, I would not.

The second part of that quote claims that Qui-Gon Jinn could’ve been someone who understood Anakin and might’ve been able to prevent what was to come. I 100% believe that would not have happened, while I think Qui-Gon Jinn is a very interesting character there is no indication in either canon or legends that he would’ve been a good influence on Anakin. In fact, quite the opposite. Here are the top ten reasons Qui-Gon would’ve been a terrible father influence for Anakin:

1. Qui-Gon Jinn thinks the rules don’t apply to him: While many fans applaud Qui-Gon (including apparently you, Mr. Filoni) for going against the Jedi Council and being a “Maverick” I would argue that more often than not it was to his or his mission’s detriment. This is not to advocate that the Council was 100% correct or that Jedi shouldn’t question things, but there is a difference between questioning authority figures and flat out being obstinate. This is something Anakin excels at even with being raised by the rule abiding Kenobi, imagine how bad it would’ve been had Jinn raised him.

2. Qui-Gon Jinn was selfish: There are several examples of Qui-Gon using the guise of “the will of the Force” in order to get his way. Are we honestly supposed to believe that somehow this one man was more in tune with the Force than any other Jedi (including 12 powerful Jedi who were on the Council)?? And, if he truly believed in following the will of the Force then why did he constantly bend the rules to make sure the “Force” went his way - an example of this is had he actually believed it was the will of the Force that he free Anakin, he wouldn’t have had to make the chance cube go the way he wanted it to go. He flat out cheated so he could get his way.

3. Qui-Gon was dangerously reckless: Many Jedi are reckless, even Obi-Wan said to Yoda in ESB ��so was I if you’ll remember”. But Qui-Gon was reckless in ways that was pretty astounding. For example, EVERYONE told him that his plan to get off of Tatooine was dangerous and frankly stupid. Couldn’t they have just sold the Naboo ship and then purchased a clunker that would get them to Coruscant? Honestly, that would’ve probably hidden them better from the Trade Federation in the long run...but no, he instead decided the best course of action was to put a slave child in mortal danger, thus also placing all of their lives in the hands of a boy who had NEVER won a race before. Now, it ended up working in his favor, but even still those few days spent fixing up Anakin’s pod and then the race itself delayed the Queen from getting to Coruscant which meant more people died on Naboo all because Qui-Gon refused to see any other solutions.

4. Qui-Gon was often a bully: our Maverick had no problems throwing his weight around to get what he wanted. The Council meeting with Anakin is a perfect example, he didn’t get the answer he wanted. So he put his hands on his hips and refused to leave the room until the Council caved to his demands. Another example of this is in Claudia Grey’s Master & Apprentice where he refuses to do his duty as a Jedi and fulfill the mission simply because he had a vision. He doesn’t discuss this with the Council or with Obi-Wan beforehand, he just decides for himself this is how it’s going to be and then throws a hissy-fit when he doesn't get his way. Or how about he is the one who cheated to get his way in winning Anakin and when Watto calls him out he threatens to get the Hutts involved? He just bullies his way to getting what he wanted.

5. Qui-Gon never saw the bigger picture: Master Jinn’s whole thing is to focus on the here and the now, and while that’s great advice (especially for Obi-Wan who often looks too far a head) it also means that Qui-Gon often misses the big picture. An example of this is in the book Master & Apprentice where he wants to free the slaves on Pijal’s moon, but Yoda has to remind him that there is a bigger picture and they can only act if it’s in their mandate. He says this not because the Council doesn’t want to free slaves, but because there are incredibly complex consequences and if they were to just do whatever they wanted/could do as Jedi it would cause all kinds of issues for others and while he could maybe free a handful of slaves now it would cause countless others to suffer in the long run. But, Qui-Gon wouldn’t accept this, because he refused to see the bigger picture - he refused to look at anything except what was right in front of him.

6. Qui-Gon has a history of failing his Apprentices: Now, I know this isn’t Canon at the moment, but by the time we make it to TPM Qui-Gon has already done severe damage to 2 former Padawans, and is in danger of having history repeat itself. Xanatos was his second Apprentice right before Obi-Wan, and this Padawan was extremely powerful and Qui-Gon insisted he be trained, but the boy fell to the darkside because he had been too old to start training and had a healthy attachment to his family (sound familiar?). Qui-Gon was so devastated by his fall that he went back and reputed his first apprentice, Feemor, claiming he was such a failure of a Master that there is no way his first apprentice should’ve been knighted. He basically in his grief pushed aside an apprentice who while on paper wasn’t anything special, but was kind and dutiful and a true Jedi (sound familiar?). He then begrudgingly takes on Obi-Wan (only after 12 year old Obi-Wan offers to kill himself to save others) and then time and time again tries to basically pawn off Obi-Wan onto someone else (even as far into their relationship as the Master & Apprentice book). Then, when it finally looks like the Kenobi/Jinn team have figured out how to work well together Qui-Gon has to literally be reminded that his Obi-Wan even exists because Qui-Gon is so blinded by Anakin’s power!! How in any way does this seem like a better father figure option for the emotionally needy Anakin?

7. Qui-Gon Jinn has a history of Attachments: The specific example I have is again from Legends, but it shows how Qui-Gon allowed attachments to become dangerous. He had a childhood friend who he fell in love with, they decided that they could handle being committed to each other as well as the Order so they “pledged themselves” to one another (my guess is basically this is like a Jedi marriage so to speak). Sounds beautiful right, and it is, but...But his love interest Tahl was injured on a war torn planet where the children are so sick of their parents' civil war that they form a third army and go to war against the adults. Tahl is caught in the middle of this and is gravely injured. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are sent to rescue her, and Obi-Wan is sickened by the sight of children fighting and wants to stay and help, but Qui-Gon is so blinded by his attachment for Tahl that he for the first time EVER actually follows his mandate and tells Obi-Wan that they weren’t sent there to help the children, but to rescue Tahl. Obi-Wan who is only 13 doesn’t understand so instead of taking the time to really explain it, Qui-Gon just LEAVES his young apprentice behind on a war torn planet. Now, I’ll admit that Qui-Gon did give Obi-Wan a choice, to come back to Coruscant or to stay and fight, thus leaving the Jedi Order and Obi-Wan did make the choice to stay. But, it was Qui-Gon’s responsibility as the teacher to fully explain the situation to Obi-Wan and let him know that they could do more good if they were to go back to the Council and the Senate and try to return with supplies and reinforcements. But no, Qui-Gon just yelled at him, disregarded his feelings and told him their mission was to rescue Tahl. He didn’t bother using this as a teaching moment for Obi-Wan because he was so concerned about his attachment. And then later when Tahl actually died, Qui-Gon nearly fell to the dark side and it was Obi-Wan who saved him. And then Qui-Gon went on to decide that because of the pain that had been inflicted by losing Tahl he’d basically give Obi-Wan an ultimatum when it came to the woman he loved (and basically downplayed it as nothing but a crush). Now, say what you want about how Obi-Wan handled Anakin/Padme’s relationship - maybe pretending it wasn’t happening instead of confronting Anakin about it wasn’t a healthy/smart choice, but at least he didn’t downplay it and make it look like Anakin’s feelings weren’t real or valid.

8. Qui-Gon refused to apologize: There are several examples where Qui-Gon refuses to accept any responsibilities and won’t apologize. One such point is in TPM where he basically traded his current Padawan in for a newer/shinier model in front of the entire Council (which if this alone isn’t enough cause to prove the man wasn’t the best father figure…) he then refused to even approach Obi-Wan about it, in fact the twenty five year old Apprentice who had just been tossed aside for a supposed prophecy came and apologized to Qui-Gon!! Another example is back in the Jedi Apprentice books where Qui-Gon leaves Obi-Wan on the war torn planet (as mentioned in #7) it is up to Obi-Wan to make it up to Qui-Gon and prove his worth once again. I’m not certain given Anakin’s tendency to need constant affirmations that this would’ve been a good combination.

9. Qui-Gon was manipulative: Oftentimes we see Qui-Gon manipulating people to get his way (I’m not talking about Jedi Mind Tricks). In TPM he manipulates Watto to win Anakin’s freedom, he even manipulates Obi-Wan into taking on the burden of training Anakin by making it his dying wish. He is not above manipulation if he gets his desired result. We see Anakin does the same thing, so one could argue Qui-Gon would’ve only encouraged this behavior.

10. Qui-Gon cared more about the prophecy than the boy: I’m not saying that Qui-Gon didn’t care about people, or even Anakin, in fact he was a very compassionate character. But, all of his arguments to have Anakin be trained was that he is “the Chosen One” not once does he talk about how the boy needs training simply because it’d be dangerous to leave such raw power alone in the galaxy without training, or that it would be the right thing to do. He doesn’t ever talk about how learning to be a Jedi would actually benefit the boy. Every single time he brings up Anakin needing training is because of the prophecy. Now, as far as it looks in both canon and legends Obi-Wan tried incredibly hard to not bring up the prophecy to Anakin (except on Mustafar), Obi-Wan would bring it up to Mace/Yoda but that was about it. Obi-Wan wasn’t blinded by the prophecy because until ROTS it didn’t really appear that he even believed in it - he believed in Anakin for who he was as a person. Something we just didn’t see with Qui-Gon.

Now, Qui-Gon has a lot of great qualities, I am not denying that, but to say that he would’ve been the father figure Anakin needed is just misguided. If you believe in the idea that there is a will of the Force one could argue that Obi-Wan training Anakin was that will, otherwise Qui-Gon wouldn’t have died.

Also, Mr. Filoni, why is it that Anakin supposedly suffered because he didn’t have a father figure yet you turned around and gave Ahsoka a brother, not a father? Are you suggesting Ahsoka suffered as well because she didn’t have a father figure? Or, was Obi-Wan by this time finally “old” enough to be considered a father figure?

This idea that Qui-Gon Jinn would’ve been the fix it to Anakin’s issues is just silly and once again places the blame of the Jedi’s destruction in the hands of the Council and specifically Obi-Wan, thus not forcing Anakin to be held responsible for any of his actions.

I’m sorry, but it’s not a theory I buy due to a lack of evidence.

#star wars #rant post #obi wan appreciation #qui gon jinn #obi wan kenobi #Anakin Skywalker #jedi council appreciation #dave filoni #the phantom menace #The Clone Wars #stop blaming the jedi #sorry but this has been on my mind a lot #not qui gon bashing i promise #obi wan deserved better

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zmwrites · 4 years ago

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tag: 20 first lines

I was tagged by @teasenpaiwrites! Thank you!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20 stories just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag others!

I was tagged in a similar game LITERALLY forever ago by @scmalarky PRE-BLOG MOVE, which makes it the oldest tag game sitting my drafts. It came with the following rules:

Rules: list the first lines of your last ten published stories. note if there are any patterns yourself and see if anyone else notices any! tag ten friends!

I put it off bc to date I’ve only published two stories over on Wattpad. So doing the first lines from the last twenty projects is somehow...easier? I suppose?

I’ll be putting the opening paragraph or so of each piece, and will only be using WIPs that I actually started at the beginning. Anything that doesn’t start at the actual beginning will be skipped.

Anyways, this is going under a cut bc I know it’s going to be ridiculously long. In order of ‘last modified by me’ as per Google Docs:

Remnants

Radka had been a seamstress in a previous life. Trained from childhood on the most delicate stitches, the most intricate embellishments. She had worked for royalty, sewing crystals and spun gold into skirts for the biggest social events of the year. Her steady hand and attention to detail had earned her a job in the palace by fourteen, and a spot on the queen’s personal seamstress team by fifteen. But that was years in the past. The girl she had been then, demure and innocent, wouldn’t recognize the woman she had grown up to be.

Open Seas

Theresia Bowen sat in the back of one of her family carriages, forehead pressed against the window as she watched the countryside fly past. The sky stretched on forever above her, interrupted only by the occasional wispy white clouds, and the spring sun had melted the snow from the hills to her left. The grass was still struggling to grow but was scattered in patches across the mud. To her right, the sea rolled and waved to the horizon. Ships dotted the deep blue, their sails bright and full with wind. Most were trading ships, a few navy, and the smallest of them all were pleasure ships. It was how she knew they were close to her destination.

Indigo Wars

Violet Colby sat cross-legged on her narrow bed in the room she shared with her two sisters at Osbrick Estate. The name was a holdover from the property’s previous life as a stately home, though not much else had carried over. The walled compound was nestled in the eastern sands of Edristan, less than two kilometres west of the capital city, with sun-bleached buildings that housed several dozen orphans and foundlings.

Pine Hollow

It was a miserable Monday morning, with dark, heavy clouds masking the rising sun and a steady rain pounding the town of Pine Hollow and the surrounding area. The dirt trails through the dense forest were slick with mud, the tire ruts becoming puddles and the puddles becoming proper ponds. It was as far from ideal body hunting conditions as possible without snow, but Virginia Crane had a job to do and she wasn’t about to let some adverse weather stop her.

Rochester WIP

The wedding was supposed to begin in five minutes and the bride was nowhere to be found.

Evelyn Rochester, for her part, was not surprised. Her sister Dorothea had claimed a headache a week earlier to get out of a family outing and had been gone by the time they’d returned. A small chest and a collection of her clothing had been gone as well. Their parents had made inquiries to some family friends but no one had seen Dottie, and at twenty-six she was allowed to do as she pleased, so they’d been left to wait to see if she’d return.

Just Jane

Jane rolled over in the narrow bed, pressing her face into the pillow as though it would make it any easier to sleep. Even as she breathed in the warm, sweet scent of the bed owner’s favourite perfume—myrrh, rose, styrax, and marjoram—a new sound made her ears prick to attention.

UNSS Spectre

The spacecraft glided through the void, following its prey silently. It was using its minimum operating power, leaving the two inside to perform their duties without overhead or emergency lighting. Only the glow of their instruments illuminated the interior of the craft.

“Cloaking device operating as normal,” Ensign Graecyn Ramsey said. She didn’t need to provide verbal updates since Captain Mezei could see everything that she could see and there was no one else aboard the tiny stealth class craft, but it was habit and she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

Fissures

Katherine Delacroix was seething. It was hard enough trying to get a gaggle of thirteen to eighteen year old girls to focus under normal circumstances but having the #1 most eligible bachelor of the school just hanging out at the back of the auditorium was making it nearly impossible. To make matters worse, the attention paid to the blond was bruising the egos of the boys in the group and she was painfully aware of how desperately the musical needed them not to quit. They already had a female Cogsworth and Le Fou; they didn't have enough girls with deep voices to play Gaston or Lumiere or, god forbid, Beast.

Snapshots

“Are you still looking for a roommate?” Misha asked, voice muffled slightly by whatever she was doing on the opposite end of the phone.

“You mean since you stole my last one? Yes,” Micah replied. He was stuck in traffic on his commute home from work, something his twin sister Misha knew, which was why she’d called when he had no excuse not to talk to her. It wasn’t that he didn’t like talking to her, he just wasn’t much of a talker.

“You’re gonna have to get over that,” she said.

The Tournament

The coin spun in lazy circles on the table, defying every law of physics. Izora Graham watched it with one hand held in a claw-like position over it. She didn't need to but it made it easier to cover the coin should anyone watch it too closely. The bar was still fairly empty so early in the evening and she was tucked away in the back booth away from the few early birds sitting at the counter, however any displays of magic would bring unwanted attention. Especially something that could be useful to any of the Upper Houses like her telekinesis.

Noyama Contest

Earthens had spread across dozens of galaxies once they’d perfected faster-than-light travel, and hundreds of solar systems within those galaxies. PT-759 was one of the galaxies they’d colonized only to find that it was already inhabited. It had ended up working out alright though, as the native species had radically different planetary needs and also happened to find Earthens downright adorable.

Naetov was a smaller planet at the edge of Federation-controlled space in PT-759. It had a few key cities where government funding was funneled to keep them perfect for non-Earthen tourists. Those cities were clean and friendly, open spaces and carefully maintained flora making up the downtown cores, streamlined designs and shiny surfaces giving the impression of a planet on the cusp of significance.

Gossamer Girl

It was the first day of winter and things were already looking bad. Even though the cold weather had held off for an extra two weeks, the harvest had been poor. A mold had festered in their southern field during the wet spring and had spread quickly. They’d razed the infected sections as soon as the fungus had been discovered but it had already destroyed a large swath of plants. They’d lost nearly a quarter of their usual yield and the troubles had only spiralled from there.

Knotted Strings

The room was just a bit too cold to be comfortable. The walls were wood panelled with some sort of reddish wood that matched the flooring. Rows of chairs with collapsible desks filled most of the lecture hall, with the front of the room dominated by a whiteboard and a table. The professor, hawkish in appearance, was perched on a bar stool facing the students and overlooking the table.

Tess lounged in her seat at the table at the front of the room, notebook open on the table in front of her and pen moving deftly across the page. She watched her competition critically as he spoke. His argument was solid enough to cast reasonable doubt on her case, or it would have been had he bothered to address a small piece of evidence she found to be damning. He finished his conclusion to a spatter of applause and returned to his seat across from her.

“Well done, Mr. Wynn. Miss Kinney, would you like a few moments to prepare your rebuttal?” the professor asked.

“No, I’m good,” Tess replied. She sat up, scribbled a note in her book, and then pushed the book across the table.

Oh, Ophelia

Alexis lounged in the shade next to the pool, sipping a daiquiri and considering her next move. She’d been using the same identity for nearly fifteen years and the neighbours were starting to get suspicious. With all the new beauty products and surgeries available to people of her wealth it was easier to convince people she was nearing forty when she was in the body of a twenty-three year old, but now she had to deal with people asking for her skincare routines and her doctors and the identity wasn’t worth all of the research she was having to do. She was getting sick of Malibu anyways, what with the yearly forest fires that got closer each year. She missed the deep-rooted history of Europe, the memories she had in all of the major cities, the people like her who were still living in their castles and manors pretending like the world hadn’t left them behind.

Bloodlines

Ten of Wands. The Tower. Two of Swords.

Morrigan Keeling sat on the floor of her bedroom, chewing the end of a pen and staring intently at the tarot cards spread in front of her. It was a simple three card spread to indicate how her day was going to go: a card to describe herself, one to indicate what was going to greet her, and another to show the outcome of the situation. She’d gotten into the habit of doing it every day while living at home, and even five years after moving out she found it a relaxing routine to start the day.

The day’s cards, however, were not very relaxing.

PerDeA

The backseat of the car was dark, only illuminated for short intervals by the orange glow of the streetlights. Two figures sat across from each other in the shifting light. In the backwards-facing seat on the driver’s side was PerDeA. Her dark hair was pulled tightly into a ponytail, lips slightly parted as she stared unblinking out the back window. Shoulders square, back straight, chin up, hands folded neatly in her lap, her breathing perfectly rhythmic; she would have looked human if not for the faintly glowing cybernetic blue rings superimposed over her black eyes.

Westhaven

Her eyes were open but she couldn’t see anything. There were mechanical sounds ‒ beeping, whirring ‒ all around her, and voices too far away for her to understand. The sharp smell of antiseptic and the softer detergent scent beneath it.

“Initiate optical system,” a muted female voice instructed. Between one breath and the next she started processing visual information: bright white lights above her, the featureless ceiling beyond, her own nose and eyelashes. She couldn’t move her head to see much else. Walls that matched the ceiling so well it was hard to tell where one became the other, bits of the bed she was on with its bleachable white sheets and side rails.

“Increase tactile responsivity by fifty percent and disengage the motion inhibitors.”

Pro Patria Mori

She sat on the narrow bed with her packed suitcase next to her. Her blonde hair was pinned back, her blue eyes fixed on a spot next to the door, her hands folded neatly in her lap. The winter chill clung like burrs to the house, helped by the heavy spring rain that beat against the window in a staccato rhythm. Outside, trees bowed under the charcoal sky. The old house creaked and groaned around her, the wind whistling and wailing as the storm continued to batter the country estate. She waited.

At any moment there would be a knock on the main door of the house. Godfrey, the aged and shuffling butler, would answer. Standing on the other side would be some men in crisp uniforms, holding up her picture and asking if he knew her. She had seen them in town the evening before, and it wouldn’t take more than a day before someone pointed them in the right direction. They looked like military men but there was something different in their manner, something sharper. Godfrey would lead them up, and up, and up, until they reached her third floor apartment. The butler would introduce them, she would smile politely, and she would leave with them without a fight.

The Clocktower

Astra hated Capperham. The way it sprawled its squalor from border to border, from the sea in the west to the battlements in the other three directions. The harbour reeked of dead fish and unwashed human, the slums of sickness and stale beer. Even the neighbourhoods of rich merchants and factory owners lay under the thick smog of black soot the mines and mills spat out day and night. The grit and dirt was part of everything, so deeply ingrained that even the most rigorous scrubbing couldn’t make something clean.

Stars Incline Us

The Christmas gala was in full swing. The entire ballroom was full of people Pippa didn’t know, all wearing fancy clothes that probably cost more than her rent. Her own dress was aubergine and a simple V-neck, form-fitting enough to be attractive but loose enough to not draw too much attention.

She and another girl who didn’t seem to know anyone at the event were chatting with Antero and Mr. Rabinoff near the edge of the dance floor. Antero was already antsy to leave despite the dinner having just ended, but Mr. Rabinoff had trapped him in a debate he was too proud to back down from. The other girl was from legal and either found them hilarious or had had a little too much to drink because she kept giggling, leaving Pippa no choice but to laugh along while adding the occasional remark to the back and forth between the men.

That brings us all the way back to October 2016. Which tells me that I need to start at the beginning of more stories haha. If anyone has questions about any of these, please feel free to ask. Also, if you read all of that, you are a saint and a hero and have my eternal friendship.

I tag @the-writing-avocado, @radiowrites, @pigeon-hold, @sleepyowlwrites, @akindofmagictoo, and anyone else who wants to share their projects!! As always, no pressure (to play or to read this whole post lmao).

#tag games #about me

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sandsofoneiros · 4 years ago

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No Light, No Light.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything in this other than Ro and Seraphine. Empress is @thembohux oc. Also, you'll be reading this while I'm on vacation! So, I won't get to discuss anything until I get back!

Description: The one where Poe is in the First Order and Senator Citlali doesn't want him around her. Could feelings grow between them? Let's find out.

Word count: 4941.

Warning: Slight mention of anxiety, using the word blood, and there's the use of blasters. Some cursing as well.

Tagging: Lemme know after you read it if you want to be tagged.

Chapter One: In The Presence of Enemies.

Three Days before. . . .

The Senator stood beside the young Queen as they watched another transport shuffle load up with more of the Nabooians. It was a bittersweet moment that shouldn’t be happening. These individuals shouldn’t be asked to leave their homes and their lives behind, but this was for this safety. This was for the future of Naboo. The Final Order was on their way to claim the planet, but Naboo was more than that. So much more. This still caused a dull ache in Ro’s heart as she watched her own family load up on the transport. Her sister’s eyes were puffy and red from their last goodbye. Her arms were full of the last dresses that had created in the Citlali dress shop. Her aunt Eira was doing her best to stay strong for Thalia. This shouldn’t be happening. The Resistance should be here stopping the Final Order. The New Republic should be here to help them, but neither had come. Now, her planet belonged to the Final Order. Her family would be safe, but she couldn’t say the same to herself. She had decided the moment Queen Seraphine had told them about the evacuation that she would remain. They had dressed the Queen in her black dress that was inspired by the dress that was once worn by the handmaiden, Sabe. Seraphine had told Ro that it was the highest honor to wear the dress as she helped her people. Ro, in return, had dressed like one of her handmaidens instead of her usual senator attire. She wore the dress that was orange velvet with the red hood today. To know that it was Padme’s blood taking over the planet made her even more upset. What would the former Queen say if she were here now? Would she tell them to fight? Would she tell them not to lose hope? Ro had always looked up to Senator Amidala since she was young and had been the whole reason she had pursued this career. Yet, here she stood watching the world around her fall apart, and she didn’t know what she could do.

“Any falcons in the skies?” Seraphine finally asked before glancing up at the Senator. They had spoken in code to keep any unwanted listeners from learning anything private.

“No, but we hear there are foxes in the woods,” Ro answered back before shaking her head. The falcons meant TIE fighters and foxes were the troopers on the ground. There had been no TIES today, which struck her as odd. The TIES had been flying overhead since Emperor Ren sent the transmission that he would take Naboo for the Final Order. The TIES were to keep any unwanted visitors away and also to stop any type of uprising. Storm Troopers had arrived the day after and patrolled the grounds. They didn’t interfere with people who were leaving the planet but made sure that the ones who were staying understood that they wouldn’t tolerate anyone starting trouble. Hearing them march or hearing the TIEs fly overhead made Ro’s stomach churn, and she would fight not to become sick. She never thought that certain sounds would ever make her sick. It almost made her feel embarrassed. She couldn’t show fear. Ro wouldn’t allow the Final Order to see her fear. The senator wondered if there would ever be a chance that everyone could return to Naboo. They should fight, but they wouldn’t stand a chance against Emperor Ren and his forces.

“I know you want to fight, Senator Citlali. I see the fire in your eyes.” Seraphine stated as she looked over at the woman standing beside her. She admired Aurora in the short time that she had gotten to know her. She had become like an older sister to her, but now that her own family had left, Aurora was the only family she had left. Seraphine clung more and more to the woman in these last days, where the future was unknown to them.

“Forgive me, m’lady. I simply don’t want to lose our home.” Ro’s fingers twitched at her side as she watched the transport shuttles close and departed. This would be the last transport for Naboo. There weren’t many left now. Just the ones who were too stubborn to leave, and no one dared fight them. They had been through too much to just leave their home. No one had ever told her the surrendering was hard. No one had ever told her that surrendering would make a wildfire spread through her body.

“Shall we take a walk?”

“Of course, m’lady.”

The arrival. . . .

They had spent all night preparing for this moment and no matter how much they smiled or laughed; it didn’t ease their fears. Ro had spent most of the morning preparing the Queen for their guests. They dressed her in a replica of Queen Amidala’s gown. The queen had worn the crimson and black dress when she had met with the Trade Federation so long ago. Seraphine had hoped that she would channel the beloved Queen’s bravery, but so far she felt even more scared. Adding the headdress had been the hardest part for Ro. Glancing in the mirror, she sighed. This would be the last time that she would ever wear this or any of her other gowns. Ro had sworn it wouldn’t but the young queen knew the truth. She was going to accept it. Senator Citlali had left alone to finish getting ready. This was the last time that they would be home. One last look in the mirror, Seraphine nodded at herself and turned to leave the room. She would meet Aurora in the throne room, where they would wait for the Final Order to arrive.

Senator Citlali stared at herself in the mirror. Her long hair braided and resting over her left shoulder. Dressed in a long black saffron dress, the plunging neckline opening of her dress that stopped just a little above her belly button revealed her black bra underneath. The light golden details showed the lace details on the bra itself. She would wear the black drape around her shoulders. She looked as if she was mourning, and she was. Her fingers stroked the pendant that rested at the bottom of her necklace. It could easily be mistaken for just a simple necklace, but there was a much more sinister purpose. One that she hadn’t even told the Queen about. This was just a precaution. This was if things became too much and Ro couldn’t believe that she had let herself do this. Aurora wanted to believe that maybe something would go differently today when they arrived, but that was a cruel lie that she was telling herself. Slipping on the ebony sandal that had thin straps that went to her ankles, Ro reached for the black drape that had the same gold stitching as her bra. The last thing she grabbed was the blaster and kept it covered. It was time.

The Queen sat on her throne with the Senator sitting beside her. It had been quiet for the longest time until Seraphine watched Ro. The woman was sitting straight up with her leg crossed over the other. Looking at the white polish on her nails that Seraphine had done last night. However, her outfit had caught the Queen off guard.

“Are you planning on seducing the Final Order, Senator?” Seraphine chuckled. She knew the question was going to catch Ro off guard and hearing the Senator laugh was better than the silence they had been sitting in.

“Seducing the Emperor? The Empress would have my head. No, I thought I would just woo a trooper and take his blaster. A daring escape.” Smirking, she uncrossed her leg and winked at the young girl. She could only imagine what she was feeling in these moments, the weight that had been on her shoulders, and now it was being lifted in a way. She reached her hand out to take Seraphina’s and gave it a squeeze. They only had each other now, and it might not be for too much longer. The Final Order could do whatever they wanted when they got here, but they weren’t alone.

“Show them no fear, m’lady.”

xxxx

Captain Dameron and his squadron were the first to land, and Poe was more than happy to stretch his legs. Storm Troopers were already crowding around him to give him their reports and he only half-heartedly listens to them. It wasn’t their fault for simply doing their duty, but he had other things on his mind. He had been securing the area before Emperor Ren’s boot touched the soil of Naboo. His eyes scanned over the capital and stopped at the sight of the palace. Was it checked recently?

“Is the palace cleared out? What about the Queen?” Captain Dameron asked as he walked towards the palace. He didn’t want this to turn into a bloodbath the moment that they went into the palace. He was certain it wouldn’t end well for the rioting side.

“Queen Seraphine hasn’t left the planet along with another. We have identified the other individual with her as Senator Citlali, and they’re both in the palace. They haven’t left since the last transport.” The trooper spoke as Poe listened. So there was a fourteen-year-old girl and a senator in the palace? That wasn’t awful.

“What do we know about the Senator? Are they dangerous? Any ties to the Resistance?” Poe asked. He wanted to make there wasn’t anything that they weren’t walking into some trap. People did ridiculous things when they were desperate, and this time he didn’t want to shed any blood. He especially didn’t want to shed any blood in front of a teenage girl. He never understood why Naboo had always elected to have young Queens. He couldn’t imagine that being his daughter or even son. He would constantly be worried about them. The other thought that bothered him was that the family of the Queen had just left their daughter. They left her alone. That very well could be the reason the senator was still here.

“She doesn’t have any ties to the Resistance. No military training. She was born here. That’s all we know.”

That was reassuring. Not a threat to him or anyone else. It was time for them to make their way to the palace to do one more last sweep, and then he would report back to Kylo that it was safe for his arrival. However, Kylo had nothing to fear, anyway. He could easily eliminate any threat that even attempted some attack. However, Poe knew this was a precaution. This was to make sure that nothing went wrong. He would give the Emperor hell for doing his dirty work one day. It was always nice to be the childhood friend of the Emperor and Empress. It always helped that he was on the good side of the most high-ranking officials of the Order. However, he knew there were officers and others that questioned his loyalty. They thought he would turn traitor at the moment that it benefited him. That moment had never come. Poe was well aware of what they whispered the moment his back turned. He wanted to think that they were merely jealous. He was one of the greatest pilots in the entire galaxy, and he was in the good graces of the Order’s top command. Most didn’t know the bond that they all shared. How they were practically family. How he will do anything to make sure that not only were they safe but also the galaxy. They were his family.

The walk to the palace was taking longer than he expected, but his droid had joined him not long after. The droid was better company than some troopers that marched beside him. The area surrounding the palace was just as remarkable as the royal palace itself. No wonder Kylo had insisted on claiming this planet. Although he wasn’t enjoying how quiet it was. He knew that there had been an evacuation the days prior, but he had caught glimpses of faces in the windows of what he thought were businesses. Poe hoped that in the future that he could see the streets bustling with people once more. He would love to see it thriving once again.

“One more sweep of the palace. Check everywhere. Meet me in the throne room when you’re done. If you come across anyone, bring them there and we’ll see what to do.” Poe ordered while the troopers nodded and scattered to start their sweep.

“Alright BB, let’s see what happens in that throne room. Kylo won’t mind me keeping the throne warm for him.” Poe smirked before scratching the shaved part of his undercut. It was getting long again. BB replied with several beeps that caused the pilot to laugh while they made their way to the throne room.

Upon entering the throne room, Poe wasn’t expecting two things. One, the two girls that were occupying it. Two the warning shots from the blaster that the woman had aimed at his feet. She was certainly an excellent shot, and it had stopped the captain in his tracks and even made BB move behind him. His hands were up in defense to keep her from taking another shot. His eyes scanned the room to look for anyone waiting to ambush them. His eyes landed on the young queen, that was gripping the edges of the armrests of the throne. Her knuckles were paling as she looked at the other woman. The Queen had sprung up to grab the free arm of the woman and whispered pleas not to shoot him. That had to be Senator Citlali. His gaze trailed up her form and noted the rather interesting dress that she wore. She had tossed the dark drape to the side that hid the blaster. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. Was that a custom dress style for Nabooian women?

“Is that a traditional Naboo welcome, Senator?”

“It is for the tyrants and their dogs.”

“I was talking about the dress.”

Poe grinned, watching as Senator Citlali gripped the Queen’s hand tightly. She was certainly distracting. He couldn’t help but trail his eyes down the chain of the long necklace that she wore. The pendant meant nothing, but his eyes would wander even more to where his imagination could start. She still had the blaster pointed at him, and he was certainly in no position to be upsetting the woman. Yet, a sneaking suspension told him she wouldn’t do anything that would harm the Queen. Poe didn’t want to harm either of them. He wanted no more bloodshed, and especially not in front of a teenage girl. There had to be a way to calm the Senator down to talk, at least. Kylo might not be in such a forgiving mood when he got here.

“Senator Citlali, please lower your blaster. I’m not here to harm you or the Queen. You can trust me.” Poe kept his hands where she could still see them. He knew she would not believe him, and she had every right not to. He was the enemy. Her enemy. He had a hand in taking her home. The captain was surprised that she had given him a warning shot, she could have easily gotten a better shot. She could have taken him out, but she hadn’t. It was possible that she didn’t want to subject the Queen to such a sight. They were agreeing on one thing, it seemed. Making sure that they caused no more trauma to the young queen. They were doing their best to keep her in mind during this altercation between them.

“Trust the lapdog of the Final Order? Please tell me you understand why I have a hard time doing that.” She scoffed at him before guiding Seraphine behind her. She was serving as a shield for the young girl and was doing her best to be brave for her. The sounds of the marching Stormtroopers only got louder. A thin layer of sweat was forming on her brow, and she felt her stomach tighten once more with nerves. Her hand remains steady as she kept the blaster trained on him and her gaze was cold. There was no chance of her lowering it soon. The stand-off couldn’t go on much longer with the troopers making their way to the throne. That was all they needed. They would outnumber her, and she wouldn’t be able to keep Seraphine safe.

“I understand your hesitation but imagine the stormtrooper seeing this. You’ll have more on your hands. Just lower the blaster and we can talk. I won’t approach you yet.” He continued to keep his eyes on her. The troopers would only add more stress to this situation. People did crazy things in stressful situations. Her arm slowly lowed, and he gave her a small smile. She would listen, and that was a step in the right direction. However, the queen was hugging the senator tightly, and that caused her to wrap an arm around the teenage girl and nestle her into her side. Her walls were coming down as she whispered what Poe assumed were words of comfort.

“Don’t come any closer to us. I will shoot.” Ro warned him, as she let the blaster fall to the floor and completely wrap her arms around the queen. She had no plans to shoot him. She just wanted to calm Seraphine more than anything. The stormtroopers had cut their moment short upon their arrival into the throne room, blaster drawn. Poe could have screamed at all of them. The senator had swept the queen back behind her and went to reach for the blaster.

“Hey! Lower the weapons! She will not shoot!” Poe’s tone had changed, and he glared at all surrounding troopers. This throne room was getting too crowded for his liking and this was going to add more edge to the situation that he had been trying to handle previously. The senator would fall back into her fight-or-flight response, and Poe knew she was going to fight before ever running away. She was already proving how much of a fighter she was, and not with just her words. “The Emperor won’t enjoy having to hear my report about stormtroopers who disobeyed their commanding officer. Grand Marshal won’t like it either. Now, stand down and let me handle this.”

The troopers did as they were told, and Ro’s shoulder remained tense as she watched them. Seraphine hadn’t stopped shaking, and Ro continued to hold her tighter and tried to keep her calm. It wasn’t working. Her mind told her to reach for the blaster that rested behind her left foot, but that would be foolish, and she opened herself. Her best bet was to just let the captain actually do his job and listen to his offer. What was the worst that he could do or say? Her own heart had pounded in her chest, and she felt herself fighting back any tears that threatened to fall. Don’t show fear. Ro thought of her previous words. She wouldn’t show fear. The thought of why the captain was keeping his men from doing anything was looming in the back of her mind. He could easily save a harsh punishment for her. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and counted to herself, hoping that she could ground herself again. It was hard to remain strong when she could feel herself breaking. The situation grows more intense with each passing second.

“Senator Citlali, I think it would be best if you came with us back to the Steadfast where we can discuss what will happen next.”

“I refuse to leave the Queen. We stay together.”

“I can make sure of that. Will you come peacefully or will I need to use binders?”

The mention of binders made Seraphine grip her dress tighter. Ro didn’t want to parade the poor girl around as if she was some prisoner. She didn’t want to look that way, either. Sighing, the senator realized that she would have to play nice with the enemy. She would have to be on her best behavior. Before she could answer, there was another sound of footsteps that were coming down the hallway. They echoed louder than what the stormtroopers had, and Ro knew without a doubt that Emperor Ren and his knights were here. . .

“Shit. I told him I would tell him when it was safe.”

Poe couldn’t help but groan as everyone in the room seemed to squirm. They all knew who was about to make his presence known, and that meant that anything could occur. The captain could only hope that Kylo would make anything worse. He figured that Empress would have told him to be on his best behavior while he was down here just in case. The room seemed to go older upon the Emperor and his knights stepping into the room. A slight shiver ran up Poe’s spine and he watched as everyone stood at attention for their leader. Exhaling through his nose, he waited to see what the man would say about his tardiness in contacting him. Still, his eyes remained on the Senator, who was doing her best not to fear what was to come. He wanted to promise her it would be alright. That Emperor Ren wasn’t looking to harm anyone. He wouldn’t Kylo do something so foolish. He watched as her fingers gripped the queen’s dress. Seraphine hadn’t even lifted her head up to see who was coming into her throne room. She wasn’t trying to be a Queen anymore; she was just a teenage girl. A scared teenage girl.

“Captain Dameron, you sent no communication. We were worried something had gone wrong.”

“Worried? I think you mean impatient, your highness.”

“Are these the prisoners?”

The word prisoners made Poe cringe a little. He hadn’t called them that and had even said he wouldn’t use binders on them. Kylo was making him look like a liar, and he could feel the glare from the senator on him. That wasn’t the way he wanted her to look at him. The knight stood close to him and their emperor. The silence of the room was deafening as they all waited to see what would happen.

“This is Queen Seraphine and Senator Citlali. I told them that if they came peacefully -”

“He wouldn’t put us in binders, but he’s a liar! Much like everyone in the Final Order.” Ro spat as she looks at them. His shoulders squared before moving Seraphine behind her once more. Poe knew what could happen, and he didn’t want to see that. He didn’t want Kylo to harm the woman who was just upset over what was going on. However, Poe knew Kylo didn’t have the best temper. He was in a tight spot.

“Your highness, I said that. I wanted to them see we weren’t so horrible. I kept her calm.” Poe continued, but he wasn’t sure if Kylo was listening behind his helmet. His umber eyes remain on the older woman to make sure that she wasn’t being touched by the Force. He would have to step in if Kylo tried to use it on her.

“Do you believe her to be harmless, Captain?” Kylo asked, before turning to face Poe. The captain already turning to face him. They trusted each other. Poe wasn’t entirely sure that Senator Citlali was harmless, but he didn’t want to be deemed a liar.

“Yes. I will escort her and the queen to the shuttle. I say we discuss everything back on the Steadfast. Both of them are clearly distressed about the situation.”

“Fine, take them to the shuttle and prepare to take them back to the Steadfast. I have matters to attend to here. I’ll keep my knights with me. Prepare the others to depart with you.” Kylo spoke, as Poe nodded his head.

“You heard your Emperor. Prepare to depart! Senator Citlali, Queen Seraphine, please come with me.” Poe held his hand out to the Senator. Her eyes held nothing but pure disgust before she took a few steps towards the exit, bowing to the Emperor. The Queen did the same and squeezed Ro’s hands as they left the room, leaving Poe alone with the Emperor. The men waited a few moments before Kylo took off his helmet, a gloved hand carding through his hair to push it back.

“I had it under control. She was just scared and I don’t blame her.” Poe started before Kylo rose a brow.

“I’m sure you did. That’s why there’s a blaster mark on the floor. Tell me, how did she distract you? How did she catch you off guard? Your thoughts are loud, Dameron.”

“Like you have room to talk when it’s your wife. Now, if you’ll excuse me, your highness, I need to make sure they’re comfortable.” Rolling his eyes, Poe started out of the throne room with BB-8 close behind him. It didn’t take him long to catch up with the others, but he noticed how the senator kept the queen close to her. Clearing his throat as he approached them, he gave them a small smile. “The transport isn’t too far, and I won’t be separating you. I ask that you don’t kill me on the way. I’m certain we can find you some food and water if you need it? Maybe caf.”

He noted that the woman wasn’t listening to him in the slightest, but Seraphine seemed to be a little more relaxed. With a curt nod, he led them to the shuttle and spoke little. He saluted all that he passed along the way and tried not to let the silence of the girls bother him. Poe wanted to show them that the Final Order wasn’t as horrible as they thought. They were going to keep the galaxy safe and bring order. This was going to be better for everyone. He truly believed that. He believed in what they were doing. Approaching the shuttle, Poe took one last look at Naboo and made a note that he would visit again. He might even bring the senator back if she would allow him. “Watch your step, Seraphine.”

“Queen Seraphine.” Senator Citlali snapped, which cause him to lift his hands up once more.

“You have some bite, Citlali. I might have to put you in those binders.” He grinned before following behind them to prepare for their departure.

“Touch me and I’ll make sure that this shuttle never makes it to the Steadfast,” Ro spoke as she turned to face him. Her shoulder squared as she tried to make herself a little bigger. He liked her.

“Aurora, leave Captain Dameron alone. Please take your seat.” Seraphine spoke sternly as she had buckled herself in. Poe rose a brow as he watched Aurora turn on her heels and go to the queen. He hadn’t planned on learning her first name, but now he couldn’t help but grin. He could see how devoted Aurora was to the young queen, and he could admire that. He was just as loyal to Kylo and the others. They were his family.

They spent the rest of the time in silence as Poe began his flight preparations. None of them will break that silence just to make awkward small talk. Instead, Ro had helped take off the headpiece that Seraphine had been wearing. She even took down her hair to comb through to help the young queen relax during the journey. Seraphine had curled up the moment that they took off. Her eyes grew heavy, and she had fallen asleep. Ro’s slender fingers working through her hair as she slept. The cold air of the shuttle made goosebumps form on the exposed skin of her midsection and the top part of her cleavage. She cursed herself for not grabbing the drape when they were leaving the throne room. Her arms were getting goosebumps from the chilled air.

“Here.” Poe’s voice startled her as she looked up at him. In one hand, he held out a black leather jacket with the symbol of the Final Order on the shoulders. She took it with reluctance. Placing her arms through the sleeves, thankful for something to put a barrier between her skin and the chilled air. Next, he handed her a cup of hot tea. Her eyes following the tendrils of steam as it swirled in the air. “I didn’t have any caf. It’ll help you warm up. Not too much longer until we arrive at the Steadfast.”

She only nodded her head at him before taking a small sip of the tea. The leather jacket smelled of the captain, but she couldn’t help to feel a little comfort from it. It was probably just from the warmth that was giving her. Captain Dameron had gone back to his seat and was back to watching all the control along with their course. Seraphine stirred for a moment before Ro hummed once more. She would not let the teenage girl feel alone, especially not around their enemies. They only had each other now. They wouldn’t establish trust with anyone from now on. They had to show them they were strong and wouldn’t be their prisoners. However, Ro already felt like a prisoner despite not wearing the binders. Her new journey made her feel like a prisoner.

“Twenty minutes until arrival. . .”

#TW: the use of the word blood #TW: mentions of anxiety #FO!Poe x OFC #My writing #My OC #Mar's writing #TW: Slight cursing #Scheduled post

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gwydionmisha · 3 years ago

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3.1: Spock's Brain.

*facepalm* This one is infamous. A mysterious ship shows up. A woman beams aboard. Everyone is knocked out. She takes Spock to sick bay and steals his brain. Somehow they get him on life support. They have to get his brain back before his body dies. Uhura asks the important question: why do they want Spock's brain.

Anyway, they follow the ion trail back to the planet where they think they took the brain. Some barbarians, who definitely were not the sort to have higher tech than the federation, attack. They stun one to question. The Barbarian thinks they are small, "Like the the Others, the givers of pain and delight." The Barbarians are all men; the others are women with some male barbarian servants. The Barbarian doesn't want to go to the buried city where the Others are and runs away.

The Landing Party finds a cave of supplies that may be a trap. Kirk sends for Spock and Bones. The brain nappers are confused, with minds like children. They contact Spock on the communicators. The Women capture them and question them. One is the brain abductor, but she doesn't remember at all. They serve the Controller. Bones explains brains to the women. Kirk works out that Spock's brain is the Controller.

The women give the Landing Party a long pain zap and go to work out what to do. They say a lot of sexist things, particularly Scotty. The Landing Party beats up the guards and escape. They explain to Spock he's a disembodied brain. Spock points out Bones doesn't have the technological knowledge to put his brain back in. Spock tells them how to get the pain bands off.

They find the Brain chamber. Head woman zaps them. Kirk uses his remote control to get Spock's body to release them. The Woman says if they take Spock's brain they will all die. It clearly runs their city. They find out their is a taped archive of the knowledge of the city builders they can access through "The Teacher" which is how the woman stole the brain in the first place.

They force the woman into the machine. She threatens them with the phasor, now she's bright. They steal the phasor back. The Teacher only gives three hours of knowledge. She refuses to put the brain back. Bones wants to try despite the brain damage risk. Bones hopes he can retain the knowledge. (Side note: The teacher looks like a crown to match the Iron Throne.)

Bones starts putting the brain back. The women is distressed by the coming civilization collapse. Kirk basically tells her she can trade sex for food and warmth. Eeew. Bones starts to forget how to do the operation. They connect Spock's vocal cords so he can help, instead of putting him under again for some reason. Spock talks him through it. Apparently the split happened during a glacial age. Bones is a jerk about the exposition.

This whole episode.... Sigh.

#Star Trek #TNG

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electronicdelusionstarlight · 5 years ago

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Alright, I’ve gotten back into writing Spider-Man.

I’m scrapping the Wonder Woman x Spider-Man open relationship with Mary Jane X Felicia Open relationship that ultimately culminates into a 4 people polycule where Peter gets pegged, and go for something a bit more simple. So, I’m sorry for the, like, 20 kudos I received on Ao3 over that, and 31 favorites on HF, but that’s abandoned at the moment.

So, new idea...

Amazing Spinnerete, an AU where MJ gets bitten by the spider instead.

(Spider-Woman and Jackpot were already taken and Spider-Girl didn’t sound right to her, as if it was too early for that).

1) Peter, who doesn’t get any powers ever for the entirety of my story (unlike I was planning to do for Mary Jane in the previous one as I piled power after power on her among star sapphire rings, spirits of vengeance, symbiontes, Gamma Radiations and Thor’s hammer), turns into a Sidekick/IT Guy role to her.

2) He’s there to fulfill a purely supporting role to MJ Heroics, craft the webs, be a support to her, all that shebang you’d expect, while getting worried sick over her going out in New York and risking her life daily among villains and criminals and whatnot. He’s the “Nerd behind the computer,” a concept that got admittedly popularized by Oracle, as well as her “field medic” when she gets back home and needs stitching on both the costume and her scars.

3) Also uncle Ben is alive and on a ongoing trip with Aunt Anna and Aunt May around the world. They solve crimes, off screen, like 3 Jessica Fletchers, so Peter isn’t as fucked up emotionally as in canon.

4) I’m gona take from the MC2 and say that, unlike Peter, MJ is actually trying to profit off her image from the start. This might cause some conflicts with Peter over him not wanting them to lucrate on some of their crime fighting (Such as not wanting to patent the web fluid in fear of criminals getting a hold of it), and mixes up with their already canon conflict over her being the main breadwinner in the couple AND the possibility of her doing progressively more risque work.

5) Specifically, I’m gona say it: Spinnerete and Mary Jane have two separate OnlyFans. It’s a modernized story and they are in their mid twenties and need a stable source of income and what better than a horde of people out there paying the same woman TWICE for pics of her buying wonderbread? “Pictures of Spinneret” therefore become a way different phrase, and there is a debate in universe over a superheroine essentially being a sex worker, and all that that entails. I don’t know how well I’m going to explore it tho so this might get dropped after a while and just make her a ASMRtist or a Twitch Streamer, basically the same thing at this point.

6) Since this is a AU I can do like Spider-Gwen did and not just fuck up one piece of the main universe but make every aspect of the universe different, so, bullet list of things I’ve been coming up with that are different from main continuity:

6A) The Hero to Heroine ratio (as well as Villain to Villainess) is 1 hero every 10 heroines. Major (Male, Homo Sapiens) heroes in the setting are: Johnny Storm (Johnny Storm), Thor (Thor Odinson), Power Man (Luke Cage), Iron Man (Rhodey Rhodes), Original Captain America (Steve Rogers).

6B) The mutant community is a massive polycule of free love and shit. The biggest mutant community in the world is stationed in the Free Republic of Genosha, currently part of a worldwide international federation of small nations around the globe born to contrast Soviet and American influences during the cold war called IFMP (International Federation of Micro-Powers). Latveria and Wakanda are part of it, and are the leaders of the two major factions among the delegates in the form of the isolationists (Wakanda) and the Expansionists (Latveria). The second biggest mutant community in the world is in San Diego. most male superheroes and some of their villains happen to be mutants.

6C) Susan Storm lead a year long deep space expedition team financed by the united states government, and managed to contact several alien races in her travels, returning to earth with diplomatic ties and Power Cosmic given to her by Infinity herself as a sign of good will after she and the united armies of space finally managed to slay and destroy “The eldritch abomination at the edge of reality that makes people racist by existing,” as it was called. This starts a age of cooperation between the various alien races and empires out there in the cosmos and Earth, their embassies being built in most of the major nations of the world, trade and science deals cropping up as a result.

6D) Susan Storm later formed the (apolitical, above nations and planets) superhero team the Fantastic Five, which changed members over the years based on relationship with other alien planets and tensions between the members of the team. Current line up consists in Susan Storm (Susan Storm, former Ms. Fantastic), super partes leader due to the Power Cosmic, alongside Lyja the Lazerfist (Second Ms. Fantastic and Former Skrull chaos agent on earth during the Skrull-Kree Cold War), Crystalia Amaquelin (Crystal, Inhuman Ambassador), She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters, earth representative and legal expert), Thundra (Thundra, Femizonian Ambassador). The Kree empire was disbanded after the end of the Kree-Skrull cold war.

6E) Johnny Storm never became the second human torch but ends up becoming Evil Jesus. During his trip to the stars with his sister he accidentally ends up in the Negative Zone, the void between dimensions, and befriends the locals, becoming a jesus like figure and ending up ruling the place. It’s not as banged up as it sounds but with prolonged commuting with the Negative Zone he has achieved a state of resonance with Oblivion, one of the other 4 great entities of the universe, and has become his champion. (in direct contrast with his sister’s coming from Infinity). He still uses his powers for good, if in a chaotic good way compared to his sister lawful good one.

6F) Peggy Carter was subjected to the Super Soldier program during WWII, thus becoming Agent England, de facto leader of the Invaders (Mostly same team, Sub-Mariner, First Human Torch, etc.), and guiding the assault against nazi germany and hydra. She and her sidekick end up frozen on the same plane

6G) Steve Rogers was still picked under her wing, if not able to receive super soldier treatment, and still became the (original) Captain America, a purely propagandist figure of a scrawny, physically weak son of immigrants Brooklyn dude, the complete opposite of the German Ubermech ideal for the white man, but with enough anger and outrage over an unjust world to pick fights with people 5 times his size, shown in many a propaganda video punching Hitler square in the jaw and knocking him out cold. They both ended up on that plane crashing in the arctic and were defrosted several years later.

6H) With the disappearance of Agent England, the Invaders disbanding, and the cold war underway, with no superhero team really cropping up, Doctor Deidre Wentworth managed to develop a modified version of the Super Soldier Serum, testing it on herself, and becoming the Superior Captain America. She forms the (US Exclusive, extremely political) “Americommandos” superteam, with selected superheroines and “reformed” supervillaines of the time. The team was responsible for many controversial superhero activities during the cold war, in and out of the united states, and is still going to this day, even if some members have retires or have outright died. Not Superior Cap tho, no, her aging has been slowed down due to the serum, so here she is still guiding black ops teams to capture and imprison some worker rights activists that happen to be mutants.

6I) The Sorcerer Supreme of this dimension happens to be Doctor Doom, Ruler of Latveria.

6L) Norman Osborn never became the Green Goblin. He was still a scummy CEO and millionaire, and still had a affair with one of his son’s best friends. Gwen was dating Peter at the time and ended up getting pregnant with Norman, he finds out, pressures her to get an abortion, almost terrorizes her, she doesn’t cave, Peter is understandably confused and shocked but still wants to support her (as does Mary Jane), but on the day of Gwen’s son’s and daughter’s birth Norman pulls the same shit he pulled in canon with Mary Jane and Mayday, hires an assassin to force a miscarriage, Gwen finds out a couple months later, stages her death, and becomes the Ghost-Goblin, ending up throwing Norman off the New York bridge and killing him in the process for good. His estate and company was inherited by his son, Henry, who devolved most of it to charity, destroying the Osborn business empire.

7) That’s the gist of it really, gona elaborate on more tomorrow.

EDIT: 8) Nightcrawler is the Pope.

#spider-man #mary jane watson #spinnerete #eh #long post

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areusittingcomfortably · 5 years ago

Text

Their tragic sense of life

Part 4

That might have been the end of their friendship.

But, the truth was that they were both adrift with nowhere else to be, questioning everything they’d ever known. They needed the security net the other provided more than either cared to admit. His tendency to wallow in misery, and hers to get lost in rage and addiction were, for the most part, comfortable bedfellows. Without the sex.

There were many reasons they never went there.

Chief among them was that Raffi had fucked up her marriage so royally she had no intention of sleeping with someone she actually cared about. She’d had her fair share of meaningless encounters since her marriage fell apart, and that was the way she preferred to keep it.

The first night they met that was exactly what was on her mind. His handsome face, his thick dark hair, the broody philosophical air with just enough of an edge beneath it to make him interesting… yeah, she could have gone there. But, it turned out that what she really wanted, really needed, was someone as burned as she was, to just be with. No questions, no commitment, just acceptance. Someone to exist with.

Ríos had his own reasons. Which, true to form, he kept to himself.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it.

Raffi on the dancefloor, her hair escaping from any attempt to tame it, grooving and grinning and getting lost in music, was intoxicating. Equal parts beguiling and intimidating. It was hard to look away. More than once he’d had to slip away to the men’s room to take care of himself. But, Cristóbal Ríos had made one serious mistake in his life, and he wasn’t going to let himself get romantically entangled with anyone again.

So, they kept each other company, as comrades, until any initial attraction had long since passed.

With a ship to pilot, Ríos began to feel a sense of purpose. The obvious thing to do was to find cargo to move.

That’s where Raffi came in. With her skill in research and coding, she was able to find clients who needed to move things through unofficial channels – like a non-Federation freighter. Around the edges of the Federation and beyond, there was a surprising amount of black market trade and credits exchanged. Not enough to get rich on, particularly when you were trying to steer clear of the dealing with the Ferengi, but enough to get by.

Ríos handled the flying and logistics, and Raffi was the ‘facer who handled research and negotiation. They made a good team. Raffi made no claim on La Sirena. That had been all Cris’s doing, his risk, his reward. But they split the profits of their trade 50/50.

*****

A year had passed since they’d fled Earth in the stolen ship.

In that time, Raffi had mostly stayed off the drugs, and on the few occasions that she didn’t, Ríos said nothing, knowing that she’d come down before too long. They flew together, drank together, played cards and soccer, planned cargo jobs, and when they happened to be on a planet with compatible life forms and alcohol, Raffi would hook up for a night or two, and Ríos would have the ship to himself.

Returning slightly drunk in the early hours of one morning, she found him sitting in the pilot’s chair reading a hefty volume of German poetry.

“What is it with you?” she demanded, slightly more aggressively than she’d intended, “Why don’t you ever go out and have fun? Meet some women. Or men. Or… whatever your thing is. This moody existential thing isn’t healthy.”

The EMH popped into being, all brisk concern. “That’s what we keep telling him, Ms. Musiker. It’s not…”

“Deactivate EMH” snapped Ríos, before turning to Raffi with a raised eyebrow “Pot, calling kettle…”

“Yeah, yeah, deflect, why don’t you. You didn’t answer my question. Who – or what – is your type?” she asked, genuinely curious.

Cris ignored her and turned back to his book.

“Uh uh, no you don’t. Raffi wants an answer. Why are you sitting alone reading at 3am when you could be out having fun?” She took the book out of his hands and put it down on the console. Ríos said nothing but glared at her.

“Replicator: Cachaça, por favor.” A bottle of the spirit appeared in Raffi’s hand.

“Raffi, let me be. I’m not in the mood for drinking games.”

“No? Okay then, so, here’s how this is gonna play out. Raffi’s gonna ask you a question, and you’re going to answer, or Raffi’s going to drink.” she challenged.

“Knock yourself out.” he muttered, simultaneously annoyed at her insistence and vaguely amused by it.

“First question. Does Cristóbal Ríos prefer men or women?”

No answer. No change in expression.

“Okay then.” She took a long swig.

“Second question. Does Cristóbal Ríos prefer to stay home and play with his holos?

He made a face at that, but didn’t answer, so she took another swig.

“Officers or regular crew?” A slight raise of the eyebrow. Swig.

“Humans or Vulcans?”

“Seriously?”

“Answer the question.”

“No.” trying not to laugh. Raffi took another swig.

“Is Cristóbal Ríos in love with himself?”

He rolled his eyes at that one.

“No,” Raffi said slowly, “no, I already know the answer to that one. Cristóbal Ríos doesn’t even like himself.” She declared triumphantly, congratulating herself with another swig.

“Fuck’s sake, Raffi!” Cris growled, snatching the bottle out of her hand. “You’re drunk. Go to bed.”

“Not that drunk.” she leaned back against the console and dropped the teasing tone. “I’m right though, aren’t I? You don’t like yourself. Why is that, Cris?”

She rarely used his preferred name. “What makes you think that?”

“Because you clearly like people, I mean, hell, you even like me.”

“Do I?” he challenged, but without any venom.

“Yeah, you do. You like most people, but you avoid them. You were unfailingly polite to every bartender and patron at every bar we ever went to. You’re nice to everyone. But, you leave all the negotiating to me, and barely ever leave this ship. I’ve never even heard you raise your voice at anyone but the holos, which are basically just versions of you. So, if it’s not that you don’t like other people, but still avoid them, it must be that you don’t like, or maybe don’t trust, yourself.”

She stuck her hand out, challenging Ríos to say something or give her back the bottle.

“Maybe I don’t.”

“Why?” Raffi looked at him, genuinely curious. “I like you, and I can barely stand most people.”

“Raffi…” he sighed, at a loss.

She grabbed the bottle out of his hand and took a big swig. “Talk to me or I will down the rest of this bottle in one.”

“Cabrona.” he swore softly, shaking his head, holding out his hand for the bottle and taking a swig himself “Tabien. First Officer Cristóbal Ríos of the USS ibn Majid made a very very big mistake. One he can’t forgive himself for. That he doesn’t deserve to be forgiven for. There. Happy?”

Raffi waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.

“That’s it? Everybody makes mistakes, Cris.”

“Not mistakes that cost lives.” he stated flatly.

Raffi was silent a moment. “Are you saying that you killed people? Deliberately? When you weren’t under attack?”

He didn’t answer.

“What then? What did you do that you can’t forgive yourself for?”

“I trusted someone I was romantically involved with, and as a result of that, people I loved died.”

Raffi frowned. Either Ríos was being deliberately obtuse, or she was a little more drunk than she thought she was, possibly both, because he wasn’t making a whole lot of sense. Probably both.

She was about to ask a heap more questions, but the look on his face stopped her. He looked anguished in a way she hadn’t seen before, leaning forward, gripping the edge of the chair like he was about to be physically sick or trying to stop himself punch something. Possibly himself.

“Okay,” she said gently. “Okay. I’m gonna let you off the hook this time. But, one day, you’re going to confess everything to Sister Raffaella, and let her absolve you. I don’t know what happened on the ibn Majid, but I know that underneath all your misery, you’re a good man, Cris. Go to bed, get a good night’s sleep.”

He shook his head, helplessly. “I can’t.” he admitted.

She realised with amazement, he was crying silently.

“Hey,” she reached out to him awkwardly, standing with her arms around him as he sobbed against her stomach.

*****

She did take him to bed that night, but only to hold him. He slept fitfully, and in the morning they were both exhausted.

They never spoke of it again, but something shifted between them after that. There was an ease between them. It levelled the playing field a bit.

Ríos had arguably saved her life by getting her out of the destructive spiral she’d been in, looking out for her when she wasn’t looking out for herself. And it had made Raffi uncomfortable having the scales tipped so far in his favour. Now she had a chance to return it and get things on a more equal footing. She figured she still owed him, big time, but at least it wasn’t all one way traffic.

She didn’t ask him about what happened on the USS ibn Majid again, but she looked it up. At least, she tried to. But, there was absolutely no trace the ship had ever existed. And no record of a First Officer Cristóbal Ríos either. She hacked into his training records, his medicals, his early career, everything exemplary until the records simply stopped.

She sought out his personal comms, and there was a normal amount of traffic up until 4 or 5 years ago, a few girlfriends, or could Jo have been a man? and then it mysteriously dried up. A few bland communications here and there. But in all that time, nothing whatsoever about his location, career, or colleagues, as though absolutely everything to do with the ship and its crew had been surgically removed and wiped clean.

She’d never seen – or more accurately, not seen – anything like it before. If it had been anyone else, she would have questioned if they were lying, but this was Ríos, and she trusted him completely. Besides, she had her own reasons not to trust Starfleet. If the man said he’d served as XO on the ibn Majid, he had.

It was easier to work out why he was in the habit of staying up all night and disappearing for hours at a time during the day, which he’d been doing even when they were hanging out in the bar. He slept during the day, fully dressed, a phaser beside him on the bed, with all the lights on. The holos that let it slip when she expressed concern about him. The EMH or the ENH, she found it hard to distinguish between their clothing and accents. In retrospect, she probably should have been a bit more careful and bit less spiteful with reskinning them.

Despite the way he treated them, they seemed to be fiercely loyal to their Captain, and concerned about his welfare, though that was likely just their programming.

“Aha!” thought Raffi, in a sudden moment of clarity, “That’s why he doesn’t like them. He doesn’t know if they’re being genuine or just programmed to look out for him.” The only one he seemed to like was the one who clearly didn’t give a shit.

In any case, it was obvious to both Raffi and the EMH, who’d been trying with no avail to get the Captain to take sleeping pills and drink less, that whatever had happened to First Officer Cristóbal Ríos of the ibn Majid, was likely the cause of his sleeping disorder and nightmares.

And so, the friendship of Raffaella Musiker and Cristóbal Ríos continued.

#star trek: picard #fan fiction #cris rios #cristobal rios #raffi musiker #their tragic sense of life #part 4

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whatamirolling · 5 years ago

Text

forest ranger

Juno Devine is in sixth grade, and she doesn’t have many friends. Usually she doesn’t mind all that much; she’s never liked many of the same things as her classmates. She would rather go on nature hikes than stay inside watching television, but she’s only twelve and her mother won’t let her go too far into the Monongahela Forest without an adult yet, and she knows there’s so much more beyond the marked trails just behind her house or the back of the property of Pocahontas Middle School.

The hike that day in the woods is fun, and Mr. Thacker is nice and knows a lot about the woods, but Juno isn’t enjoying it as much as she thought she might. She’s been trying to make more friends lately, but no one seems interested in talking about all the interesting birds and plants in the forest, and Duck is sick today, so he’s not here. About halfway through the tour, Juno stops to sketch a flower she’s only seen a few times before, and Bobby Fletcher and Jacob Wilson grab her sketchbook and throw it into the creek and laugh as they walk away.

Juno can’t quite keep herself from crying. She steps into the creek (It’s not high at all, barely even ankle-deep) and grabs her book. The cover isn’t too wet, but some of the drawings in the middle are ruined. Juno sits on the trunk of a fallen tree and shakes the sketchbook, trying in vain to dry the pages.

“Young lady! What in the world are you thinkin’?”

Juno hurriedly wipes the tears from her face and turns to see Mr. Thacker standing a few feet behind her, a concerned look on his face. At first he seems mad, but then he’s not anymore, and then he says her drawings are really good, and Juno decides she would like to spend more time with Mr. Thacker. He’s one of the nicest grown-ups she’s ever met, and he loves the forest, too.

Juno visits KepEx a few days later, that Saturday. She’s worried that Mr. Thacker won’t remember her, but he does, and he offers to let her tag along on another tour he’s giving in a few hours, free of charge. Juno agrees happily. This tour turns out to be much more fun than the one she took with her classmates. There’s more time to stop and sketch; grown-ups are much more patient and appreciative of nature than kids are. She also asks more questions than she did around her classmates; they weren’t so keen on her being so curious about the forest, but these grown-ups don’t seem to mind, and Mr. Thacker seems more than happy to provide answers.

When Juno grows up, she wants to work in the forest. She’s in high school now, a freshman, and school is alright, but she would much rather be outside, cataloging the wildlife and seeing what new things she could find. So Juno spends a lot of time staring out the window, not listening to her teachers, getting in trouble for not listening to her teachers, and then repeating everything over again. Juno tries to pay more attention in class, if only it would get her fewer detentions so she could get out of school and into the woods sooner, but it’s just so hard not to stare out the window some more and plan her next hike, instead. She still visits Mr. Thacker sometimes, and it’s always fun to tag along on his tours, too. Juno’s gone rafting and spelunking many times now, and sometimes she even convinces Duck to go with her (he’s never been one for danger or adventure).

Duck is one of Juno’s best friends. He likes the forest, too--more so because it’s a quiet place he can go and smoke, but still--and he doesn’t talk a lot, and he actually seems to like listening to Juno while she rambles on about the latest bird she sketched. They hang out a lot, taking hikes through the woods or just sitting high in the branches of the tallest tree in Juno’s backyard, passing a joint back and forth. Sometimes they talk about what they want to do in the future. Juno thinks she knows; she wants to ask Mr. Thacker if he would consider hiring her part-time, so she can get more experience navigating the forest and educating people on its importance. Duck doesn’t know what he wants to do; he’s never been particularly motivated to try anything new. Juno asks him if he wants to see if Mr. Thacker will give him a job, too. Duck says he’ll think about it.

Juno is out of high school now, and she knows what she wants to do. She attends college just outside of Kepler, pursuing a degree in forestry, and she has to say she’s absolutely ecstatic when Duck decides to come with her. They have most of the same classes, aside from some core, and hang out even more than they did in high school. Four years seem to fly by, and before Juno knows it, she and Duck are graduating and beginning training for the U.S. Forest Service.

Juno and Duck have worked in the Monongahela National Forest as rangers for more than twenty years now, and Juno wouldn’t trade that time for anything in the world. Sometimes, she’s still a little in awe of how her life has turned out; she’s doing something she loves every single day and getting paid for it, and isn’t that the dream? And there are still undiscovered secrets everywhere she turns, waiting to be found.

The FBI is here, and they’re taking over the forest, taping off enormous sections and trampling everywhere in their stupid FBI regulation shoes, and Juno is pissed. But there’s not much she can do about it. Sure, things have turned a little upside down since the top of Mount Kepler flew off and destroyed half the town, but that doesn’t make Juno any less mad. This is bullshit. And then Mr. Arlo fucking Thacker walks into the ranger station after six or so years of being missing, tells her about his travels on another planet, and asks if she’ll help him and his motley crew commit a federal crime.

And Juno says yes.

#idk how old juno is exactly or if she and duck are the same age or what #so let's just pretend they are #taz #taz amnesty #the adventure zone #taz spoilers #the adventure zone amnesty #juno devine #arlo thacker #duck newton

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carrietrekkie · 5 years ago

Text

Exelor

Chapter II - Something is terribly wrong here.

Hey together!

Here is the next part! Now it gets much more intenser as the Enterprise landing party discovers something unbelievable..

Chapter I

Masterlist

Please leave me some fb if you didn´t mind. ;)

@bold-brave-courageous @allthetrek @reeselivesforeverinmyheart

The capital of Exelor was truly not a beautiful place. Ensign Freeman explained to me, it was exactly the standard construction of the Federation, although the planet was quite a pleasant place. I used the time until our arrival to make myself acquainted with the history of our mission aim. By that time, the colony had been formed because Exelor, a M class planet, had vast mineral deposits, a colorful cocktail of everything the Federation and especially Starfleet needed to function. This, however, was also the problem, the restrictions and rules that governed the trade and so they had won their independence to do and leave what they thought was right and of course most profitable. We arrived at a dead end, one-family houses stood around the insert, one as bleak as the other. "We should split up." Mayas nodded to me and I followed the doctor to one of the houses. One of our security guards followed us.

"Zimmer, may I ask you something?" "Of course, Mam." I swallowed slightly. "What do you think of this?" She drew a circle around her. "What do you mean?" "Isn´t it funny?" Mayas knocked softly on the door, gently pressed against it and it opened. "This is not the first medical crisis I'm experiencing, but here." She shook her head. "It's too quiet." "Well, people are sick or scared." Carefully, I followed her, my hand on my phaser, wondering for a moment about myself doing this. "I have no experience with the Andorian flu, but if it is only half as enjoyable as the Terran, I can understand that good." "Oh it is." She swiftly with her tongue. "Maybe I just need a shore leave." I gave her a smile, then she made me understand that I should go upstairs, she began to look around the lower floor. Slowly I went up the stairs and stopped. Again, it was terribly dismal, even my quarters on the Enterprise was personally furnished. A noise forced my attention to the left. "Hello?" I started moving and followed what I thought was crying. "Does anyone need help here?"

My heart was beating to my throat, a strange feeling in my stomach and my hand closed so tightly around the handle of my phaser that it hurt. Carefully I circled around the corner and had to pull myself together, that I didn´t exhale too relieved. On a bed a young woman, maybe my age, crouched a baby in her arms. She cried and rocked her upper body slightly back and forth. "Oh God." I turned quickly. "Dr. Mayas!"

In a few steps I was at the two, let my backpack from the shoulders and went to my knees next to the woman. "Can you hear me?" I put my gloved hand on her forehead. Even through the fabric I could feel that she was glowing. Her eyes were glassy, her breathing was heavy.

"Do you tell me your name?" "Juliana Narrows." She was hotter. "Who?" "I'm Cathrin Zimmer from the USS Enterprise." I smiled at her, then turned to the baby. Also it was hot but fortunately still alive. "We are here to help you." "Go away." Powerless, she lifted her arm and tried to push me away. "The others have already said that and now!" She began to sob. "My baby dies because of the medicine they gave her!" "I really don´t want to hurt you!" I put my hands on her shoulders. "What did they give you?" "Those, the paramedics who were here yesterday. They gave her pills and then. "She swallowed hard again. "Then she got a fever, didn´t want to eat and nobody comes to help us!"

What the hell was going on here? I looked over my shoulder as I heard someone approach. Mayas came to us and her trained eyes surveyed the situation immediately. "Both?" She put down her bag and pulled the tricorder off her belt "At least I thought the kids had been vaccinated?" Narrows jerked back as Mayas began examining her. "Cathrin can you take the baby?" "Of course." I moved to the other side of the bed and stretched out my arms. "Juliana, give me the little one." "No, you take her away from me!" Desperately, she looked at me. "Please don´t take her away!" "I will not take her away from you." Carefully, I put my arms around the baby. "I'm just holding her until Dr. Mayas examined you.” I nodded encouragingly to her and after a few seconds of hesitation she gave me the baby. "Okay." I smiled at her and then looked at the baby. Something was wrong with this picture. "Okay, you have the flu." Mayas loaded a hypospray and pressed it to her patient's neck. "Then let's have a look at her baby." She lifted the tricoder, but I could see from her gaze that the same thoughts passed through her mind as mine. No doubt this baby was sick and we were just as certain that it didn´t have the same illness as his mother. Shortly thereafter, the scan confirmed our guess. "The baby doesn´t have the same." "How could that be?" I watched as the doctor checked the scans manually again. "Two epidemics at once? Moreover, two such similar? " "So you noticed." She didn´t look at me, instead she examined the kid's throat. "Explain."

"The infections are similar, but while she's clearly suffering from a respiratory infection, the baby seems to be suffering from something that attacks the immune system." "Go on." Now she looked at me briefly.

"And it's quick." I looked around for a moment, then at my supervisor. "She told me there was someone here yesterday giving medicine to the child so it wouldn´t get sick." "Oral vaccines are not uncommon." "I know, but if we assume it was not like that, it's something." "Infectious." She twitched her eyebrows. "That's a terrifying incubation period and an extremely fierce course." "What are we doing?" I looked at the heavily breathing baby in my arms. "We bring both to the Enterprise." "Doctor!" Chris's words came to my mind. "That doesn´t correspond to the orders we have." "I know." But before she could talk any further, our communicators beeped and since I had my hands full she answered. "Dr. Mayas here! " "Here Dr. Boyd, we'll go back to the Enterprise, inform your people and then get out of here." "Sir, we barely started and Zimmer and I came across inconsistencies here." "Yeah, so am I." Even through the bad connection, you could hear how Boyd hit this condition on the stomach. "We have slipped into something that we cannot judge. The order comes directly from the Captain."

"Understood." Mayas pressed a few buttons on her communicator. "Mayas to External Team 2 prepare for beaming, at your discretion." She looked at me and though I barely knew her, I knew what was going through her mind. "That means trouble Mam." I looked at the mother, then at the child in my arms, then at her again. "Fuck it."

"Dr. Mayas to Enterprise. "She grabbed her backpack and then helped the woman onto her shaky legs. "Signal to my position, four to beam."

******

"What am I going to do with both of you now?" Mayas and I exchanged a look, then we gazed at Dr. Boyd. Instead of looking at us, his eyes were fixed on the baby in his arms. "What are we going to do with the two, mmh?" He smiled at the child, then gave us his attention. "So, who had the idea?" He nodded toward the baby's mother, who slept in a biobed next to us.

"It was mine, Sir." Mayas straightened up a bit. "It is entirely my responsibility." "Zimmer?" Boyd glanced at me. "Sir, I supported this suggestion." Denial was useless anyway. Boyd arrived at the Enterprise two seconds after us and the gaze as he had seen us two with the two inhabitants of the colony had spoken volumes. I still wondered that he had not exploded right on the spot.

"Yes." He grinned at the baby again, the little girl just reached out her hand to him. "Yes, I would have bet on that." "Phil, what should we have done?" The doctor grabbed a PADD and stepped next to him. "Both were in a catastrophic state." "I know." Boyd beckoned me to him, then he hugged the baby in my arms and I started rocking it a bit. "All the patients I've seen in that short period have had either the mother's or baby's symptoms." He sighed, suddenly looking twenty years older. "No doubt she has the Andorian flu, but the kid." Boyd stroked the baby over its head. "The little girl has something completely different." "You know what it is?" I stared at him. "I have a guess, yes, and if that turns out to be true." Behind us, something beeped and Boyd went to the station. He paused for a few seconds, then turned.

"Phil?" Mayas also came up to him, read the results and turning also pale. "For the love of mother and child." "What's happening?" Dr. Boyd waved me over, called something up, and then looked at me.

"In the Federation, all kinds of biological weapons are banned, outlawed, and just a matter of researching is a serious crime." Suddenly, I felt suck, and it got worse when he called up the girl's blood count. "I suspected it from the first moment, but I was not given the opportunity to investigate." Boyd looked at me. "The little one is the proof. In addition to the flu, large parts of the population were poisoned with a bacterium. " I looked at the baby. "Must she die?" "No, we can handle that well, she's already fitter than when she arrived. It is a particularly perfidious epidemic. Intended to weaken, demoralize the population." "Do we have to worry about being infected?" Mayas was still absorbed in the notes. "It will not be transmitted through the air, that would also weaken the attacking troops." "But why do they do that?" The baby fell asleep slowly.

"Exelor is independent, we have no idea what they are doing or with whom they have gotten themselves." Boyd hurried to a com unit. "This could be anything from an attack to an accident or a trap." He pushed the button.

"Here Dr. Boyd connect me immediately with Captain Pike."

****

Pike closed his communicator, then took a deep breath, opened his mouth, then closed it again because he was literally missing the words. "Sir, surely that's a mistake?" Lt. Commander Dumar stared at him. "Dr. Boyd makes no mistakes. "Spock looked around. "Not in such things, anyway." "Bioweapons?" Dumar's eyes widened. "I have not heard of any case in which they were used. Not since the last World War. "

"We should not jump to conclusions." Pike looked at his officers. "This warfare agent was developed from a naturally occurring bacterium. Before imposing war crimes on the people here, we need to be sure that it's not just a chain of unfortunate coincidences. "

He hoped that they would buy it for him, because inside it seethed in him. If that proves true, then it wouldn´t matter if Exelor was a member of the Federation or not, those responsible would experience the full severity of the judiciary and it could also mean the end of the colony. Before Spock could object, or Dumar continued to speak quickly, he set off and headed for the governor's office. He ignored the panicked secretary, as well as the security guard, who for a moment thought he might face the Starfleet officers.

A look from Pike was enough and he changed his mind. Chris knocked, but didn´t wait for him to be called in, instead he pushed the door open and saw Sforza shoot up from his chair. "Captain Pike, what do you allow yourself?" "What I allow me, Governor?" Chris pulled himself up in front of him, a menacing glint in his eyes. If there was something he really didn´t like at all, it was when you approached him. "Think carefully what you want to audition for next, because you have no idea what kind of trouble you´re charging up here." Sforza's lips tightened, then he nodded to his completely disbanded assistant that she should leave him alone with the officers. As soon as she closed the door, he collapsed in his chair.

"I already asked myself how long it would take you to notice." "Excuse me?" Dumar stepped out from behind the captain. "You knew about it?" "Commander." Chris glared at him, enough to put him in his place. "Sir." "Governor, you owe me an explanation and not just me, but Starfleet, the Federation." He propped himself up at the desk with one hand, the other pointed out toward the main street. "You´ve lured us here under false pretenses, you've taken advantage of a humanitarian crisis to pull Starfleet into something which is non of our business, and now you have to live with the consequences, Sforza!" Pike took a moment to breathe. "You have five minutes, then I will inform the High Command."

"You're clearly overstepping your competencies here Captain Pike!" Somewhere, Sforza found some rest of his authority, straightened up and tried to look Chris as angry as he did. "What would the Federation have done if we had officially asked them for help in a matter that we had ourselves incinerated?"

"They would have sent appropriate help." Spock fixed the politician. "Followed by an invasion fleet." "So you're thinking about us governor?" Dumar couldn´t stay quiet any longer.

"We're sitting here on one of the largest dilicium deposits in the entire quadrant, we've long since withdrawn from the influence of the Federation and Starfleet, and now we've got involved with the wrong people." Sforza sighed. "Yes, that's what some think about the Federation and there are a few who want to violently enforce their opinions and views. Most of the population, however, hopes that you are our salvation from a mess that we have not seen for some time. "

"With all due respect, Governor, we are not here to get you out of domestic chaos, that you have got themselves into trouble. We are here because you are fighting two diseases here, one of which represents a biological warfare agent that has been banned since the early days of the Federation. "Chris didn´t fail to notice that Sforza became even paler at these words than he already was.

"What do you mean?" "An infection with Siofra bacteria." Spock discarded a PADD on the desk. "These are the first analyzes of our chief physician. In fact, you have a threatening outbreak of Andorian influenza, but also an epidemic with those same bacteria that are not naturally occurring in this way. "

"Thanks, Mr. Spock." Pike nodded to him. "Well, I hear." "In everything that is sacred to me and to you, Captain Pike." Sforza looked at him and an unmistakable tingle in Chris neck told him that the next one was not good news. "I swear to you, I knew nothing about that." "Who is responsible for that?" He didn´t get the answer anymore. The next thing he heard was a gigantic explosion, then the city's big alarm, before the next few hours sank into blood, violence and chaos.

#star trek discovery #star trek discovery fan fiction #star trek discovery oc #chris pike #chris pike x reader #christopher pike x reader #captain pike x reader #captain pike x oc #pike x oc #chris pike x oc #captain christopher pike #captain chris pike #writeblr #cathrin zimmer #captain pike fan fiction

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notebookqueenofnarnia · 6 years ago

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The Just Jedi

The super long summary totally not proofread but whatevers.....

After hearing of the Caspians' demises, Edmund attempts to contact Capt. Elidor, who, he sent on a mission to rescue the rulers of Telmar. Unable to make contact, Edmund Immediately sets off with a small crew to discover the truth. On board, Edmund is overcome by exhaustion and falls asleep. He dreams on of those Jedi dreams that can only be the Force speaking...

In the dream, his betrayal to the White Whitch replays before his eyes. He and his siblings arrive on the planet of Narnia as refugees from a war on their home planet. Yet, Edmund quickly grows bored with provincial life of their forest friends (like the Beavers and Mr. Tumnus) and wants to get away from Peter's overbearing big brother attitude. Which leads him right to Queen Jadis, who instantly recognizes Edmund's sensitivity to the Force. She promises to train him, give him the ability to overpower even Peter, in return for the location of his family's ship. He consents, but does realize she's teaching him the dark ways of the Sith. Jadis then uses part of their hyperdrive (something rare on the outlying, self-sustaining planet of Narnia) to power a weapon of her own design. It (get ready for this) using a combination of technology and the power of the Dark Side, turns her victims in to carbonite upon contact. She uses upon everyone in the forest, Edmund's siblings just escaping with their lives. They retreat to the camp of the rebellion against Queen Jadis, lead by Jedi Master Aslan. As "all traitors belong to Jadis," per Narnia's ancient religions, Aslan sacrifices himself in Edmund's place. Yet, to Jadis's surprise, Aslan is even more powerful as a Force Ghost and aides the newly elected four kings and queens of Narnia in their victory over Jadis. The former queen and Sith dies, butler weapon is lost upon the battlefields.

After their victory, Aslan tells Edmund he must go to the Jedi Temple to learn to control his abilities. Edmund does, becoming Master Windu's padawan. However, Edmund is still plagued by the darkness that Jadis encouraged and constantly fears for his family's safety. After a frightening occurrence involving Susan and a Calormenian suitor, which Edmund had foreseen in a vision, he makes the decision to leave the Jedi and remain with his fellow Narnians. Many question and fear his choice, but he's at his calmest around his family.

Edmund jolts awake when the ship enters an asteroid field. Just as he wakes, he hears Aslan's voice echoing in his ears, saying "The galaxy will need you more."

At the last known location of King Caspian's ship, Edmund realizes there is debris from two ships amongst the asteroid field. He is relieved to find the crew of his rescue ship unharmed in an escape pod. Capt. Elidor tells him the attackers appeared to be pirates, but he was suspicious of that cover as they blew up the ship rather than taking it captive. Edmund suddenly feels something through the Force and directs his ship's flight to another escape pod, containing young Prince Caspian and his tutor. The tutor tells Edmund that he recognized the so-called pirates as Calormenian business associates of Lord Miraz.

Edmund attempts to contact his siblings, but is unable to. His anxiety growing, Edmund orders his ship into full attack when a small X-wing jumps out of hyperspace. To their great surprise, its pilot is the young ex-royal from Commenor (aka the Reader!). She tells Edmund that the Trade Federation has blocked all communications on Telmar. The Federation members have also encouraged Lord Miraz to take his brother's throne, to which the man agreed. King Peter has challenged Miraz to a duel to stall, which both Edmund and the reader can foresee ending in Miraz's claim on the Narnian throne next.

Edmund and the reader make the decision to leave Prince Caspian and his tutor on the planet of Alderaan. (Where he will grow up safely in refuge with Alderaan's soon-to-be-adopted princess as good company.) Best to keep his survival a secret from murderous uncles. Meanwhile, Edmund contacts Master Windu to tell him what has happened. Mast Windu informs Edmund of similar take-over tactics of the Trade Federation all over the galaxy, but tells the king that no aide will be sent to Narnia and Telmar until there are hostages. Senators who were on Telmar have already returned to the Senate.

Racing back to Telmar, Edmund has a vision of the Reader in immense pain. He doesn't mention to her, but she obviously looks quite distressed. She tells Edmund she's already seen the fall of too many leaders to watch it happen to the Narnians. They're too good a people. Edmund, tells her that, when all this is over, she can remain on Narnia as long as she like. She takes this to be an admission of his feelings and kisses him. Edmund rebuffs her, already having enough problems keeping his emotions in check. As they land back on Telmar, Edmund glances at Narnia in the sky, longing for home and wishes he could spend the rest of his days peacefully in Cair Paravel with the Reader and his siblings at his side.

Edmund arrived in just enough time to try to talk his brother out of this stupid duel. They can return to Narnia, gather the troups, and take Telmar back from Miraz and the greedy Federation. Between the four of them, they could easily provide enough guidence until Caspian comes of age. But High King Peter refuses. Declares that he would not sacrifice his troops when he could humiliate Miraz in this duel. Miraz would admit to the conspiracy and crimes when Peter had his sword, Rhindon at his throat. The brothers walk toward the duel together after a final reassuring "For Narnia. And For Aslan."

At the duel, Miraz has a very odd sort of weapon. About a half hour into the well-matched fight, once helmets had been lost, Rhindon breaks Miraz's weapon. Peter has Miraz on the ground, asks him to admit to his crimes. Miraz does, but suddenly lunges forward and pressed his broken weapon into the side of Peter's neck.

The High King of Narnia turns to stone.

It's chaos. The Narnians are surrounded and fighting for their lives. People are running towards the ship, but Lucy is running towards her brother encased in carbonite. Edmund, his anger and anxiety mixing toxically in the Force, fights his ways toward them, only to watch his younger sister turned to stone as well. The Reader drags him away, towards the forest and the ship. He sees that Susan is not with them and knows she's joined the others.

They arrive at the ship in a hail of blaster fire. The gangplank is lowered to allow the last to run, even as the ship rises in the air. Amongst all this, Edmund can feel a darkness rising in the Force, overwhelming the Light. The Reader runs to the communications port to send out distress signals and reports, but the channels are overrun by reports of similar chaos across the galaxy. The Narnians will not be heard.

Edmund stands at the gangplank in a daze. He hears the screaming on Telmar and screams millions of miles away. He hears Jadis's voice ("The traitor belongs to me") and Aslan's ("the galaxy needs you"). He hears Lucy's sobs and Susan's panicked "Peter!" It's too loud, too much.

A dozen years ago, Aslan taught Lucy how, with her minor abilities in the Force and with her relationship with Narnia's natural world, she could heal all those affected by Jadis's weapon. It was while Edmund was a padawan. No one else knew the secret. It took take years to discover how.

Edmund looks over his shoulder as his frazzled and injured people, at the Reader who is desperately trying to find some help in the galaxy. Only the Reader looks back at him and sees the broken look in his eyes before he jumps to the ground. The ship continues to try to escape.

There are troops on the ground. Edmund doesn't care if their droid or sentient, they all fall before his light saber. He fights his way back to where Miraz is showing his weapon to those from the Trade Federation. One tap to on Susan's stone head sends the Just King into a rage. Within moments, the only conscious beings for miles are Edmund and Miraz, dueling to the bitter end.

Edmund's rage dissipates as he feels a familiar presence behind him. Miraz sees him first and falls to the ground in surprise. To keep him there and to give him a reminder in the coming years, Edmund drags his light saber through Miraz's right thigh. Miraz begs for mercy.

"No one will come here." The Just King declares. "You will see to it that no one disturbs us until the end of our sun and this whole system burns. And you will destroy that weapon. Otherwise, you'll have him to answer to." He nods towards the figure of Aslan, standing behind him. Edmund deactivates his lightsaber and stands up straight. Aslan speaks, but Edmund does not turn around.

"Much worse than he will befall this galaxy, Edmund."

"Much better than I will bring an end to their terror. Do it, Miraz."

The new King of Telmar (and soon the whole Narnian system) took a moment to catch his meaning. Then, he seized up Queen Jadis's old weapon, built from the very thing that brought them to Narnia, and froze the fourth Pevensie in carbonite.

Miraz held his promise. As the Republic fell and Empire rose, as he charmed and fell in favor with those in charge, he kept his promise to the stone-faced Just Jedi. Amongst his other tyrannical rulings, he declared no soul shall ever go to the field where Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy stood together for eternity. He split Jadis's weapon and buried a piece on every planet and moon under his control.

The Reader retreated to the safety of Alderaan, where she kept an eye on Prince Caspian X and learned the stories of Narnia from his tutor.

And nineteen years later, she and the young prince sneak into the forbidden field on Telmar. Under the watchful eyes of a lion, they turn four stone faces back to flesh. Peter, Susan, and Lucy are all blind from hibernation sickness, but Edmund can see the faces of two familiar strangers. There's something in the woman's eyes that takes his breath away.

The young man with her speaks.

"Help me Narnians, you're my only hope."

And there it is! I hope this is a somewhat satisfying ending that still stimulates the imaginations. It certainly did for me! If anyone anywhere would ever like to write or draw anything inspired from this narrative, please don't hesitate. Just promise you'll send it to me.

#narnia #narnia au #edmund pevensie x reader #starwarsinnarnia #star wars au #justjedi

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96thdayofrage · 6 years ago

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Dan Kovalik is a labor and human rights lawyer, but most of all he is an anti-imperialist and an author of three books. Kovalik’s first two books tackled the specific US war drives against Russia and Iran. His third installment, The Plot to Control the World: How the US Spent Billions to Change the Outcome of Elections Around the World, addresses the broad scope of US election meddling abroad. The book provides much needed political and ideological life support to an anti-war movement in the U.S that has been rendered nearly invisible to the naked eye.

The Plot to Control the World is as detailed in its critique of U.S. imperialism as it is concise. In just over 160 pages, Kovalik manages to analyze the various ways that the U.S. political and military apparatus interferes in the affairs of nations abroad to achieve global hegemony. He wastes no time in exposing the devastating lie that is American exceptionalism, beginning appropriately with the U.S. imperialist occupations of Haiti and the Philippines at the end of the 19thcentury and beginning of the 20th. The U.S. would murder millions of Filipinos and send both nations into a spiral of violence, instability, and poverty that continues to this day. As Kovalik explains regarding Haiti, “While the specific, claimed justifications for [U.S.] intervention changed over time- e.g., opposing the end of slavery, enforcing the Monroe Doctrine, fighting Communism, fighting drugs, restoring law and order -- the fact is that the interventions never stopped and the results for the Haitian people have been invariably disastrous.”

“Kovalik wastes no time in exposing the devastating lie that is American exceptionalism.”

US expansionism has relied upon the ideology of American exceptionalism to silence criticism and weaken anti-war forces in the United States. American exceptionalism claims that the U.S. is a force for good in the world and completely justified in its wars of conquest draped in the cover of spreading “democracy and freedom” around the world. Kovalik challenges American exceptionalism by showing readers just how much damage that US expansionism and militarism has caused for nations and peoples in every region of the planet.Russia, Honduras, Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Vietnam and many other nations have seen their societies devastated by U.S. “election meddling.” In Honduras, for example, a U.S.-backed coup of left-wing President Manuel Zelaya in 2009 made the nation one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist, indigenous person, or trade-union/environmental activist. Thousands of Hondurans have been displaced, disappeared, or assassinated since the coup.

Another important aspect of The Plot to Control the World is its exposure of U.S hypocrisy surrounding the subject of “election meddling.” Since the end of the 2016 Presidential elections, the U.S. military, political, and media branches of the imperialist state have accused Russia of virtually implanting Donald Trump into the Oval office. The U.S. public has been fed a steady dose of anti-Russia talking points in an apparent effort on the part of the elites to beat the drums of war with the nuclear-armed state. No evidence has been presented to prove the conspiracy, as a recent National Public Radio (NPR) analysis states plainly. However, there is plenty of evidence that the United States is the most depraved and dangerous “meddler” in the affairs of other nations that history has ever known.

“The author shows readers just how much damage that US expansionism and militarism has caused for nations and peoples in every region of the planet.”

Just ask the much-vaunted Russians. Kovalik devotes an entire chapter to the 1996 Presidential election in Russia that re-elected the wildly unpopular Boris Yeltsin. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 began an era of “shock therapy” in the newly erected Russian Federation, a euphemism for the wholesale theft and transfer of socialized wealth into the hands of oligarchs and multinational corporations. Millions would perish in Russia from an early death due to the sudden loss of healthcare, housing, jobs, and other basic services. In 1996, President Bill Clinton ensured that Yeltsin maintained his near total grip on state power in Russia by providing the Russian President with a team of U.S. political consultants and over a billion dollars’ worth of IMF monies directly to the campaign. U.S. political and monetary support allowed Yeltsin to rig the election in his favor despite his dwindling popularity. Kovalik shows that if anyone should worry about election meddling, it should be the people of Russia and not the US elites that control Washington.

The Plot to Control the World takes readers into the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the CIA’s coup of revolutionary Patrice Lumumba continues to haunt the resource rich nation in the form of endless US-backed genocide. It travels to Guatemala, where the CIA overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz led to a U.S.-backed slaughter of a quarter million Guatemalans under the auspices of several military dictatorships. Kovalik shows us that the election of the fascistic Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil was no aberration, as the U.S. was primarily responsible for the rise in fascism in Brazilthrough its direct role in placing the nation under the control of a military dictatorship in 1964. The military dictatorship predated the CIA’s ouster of Chile’s Salvador Allende in 1973, which handed the once socialist state to Augusto Pinochet’s murderous and repressive leadership.

“The mission is always the same: to destabilize independent nations that refuses to bow down to the dictates of U.S. imperialism.”

The entire skeleton of the U.S. military state is on full display in The Plot to Control the World. The U.S. military state utilizes an array of tools to overthrow democratically-elected governments that it deems to be a threat to corporate interests. These tools include the U.S. intelligence agencies, so-called Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as the National Endowment for Democracy, and the various branches of the military itself, to name a few. Regardless of the tools employed, the mission is always the same: to destabilize independent nations that refuses to bow down to the dictates of U.S. imperialism.Thus, while Nicaragua, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Vietnam may possess unique histories, their economic and political development has been shaped by the destructive interference of the United States.

Dan Kovalik is not likely to be reviewed in the New York Timesor other corporate outlets. That’s because Kovalik unapologetically speaks out against U.S. empire and all that upholds it. In doing so, Kovalik’s The Plot to Control the World walks in the footsteps of anti-imperialists such as Michael Parenti and William Blum. Blum, a former State Department employee, spent his post-State Department life providing humanity with knowledge about how US imperialism operates on the global stage. The New York Timeswasted no time in slandering Blum in their obituary . This showed the great lengths that the ruling elites will go to discredit, defame, and condemn critics of the military industrial complex and how important it is for those who oppose war let go of any expectation that the corporate media will cover Kovalik’s work or anyone else who speaks out against war.

“White supremacy is the biggest lie of all and is completely embedded in the ideology of American exceptionalism.”

With that said, one of the reasons that the left in the U.S. is so weak is because it has been numerically and politically isolated by the lies of the Empire. White supremacy is the biggest lie of all and is completely embedded in the ideology of American exceptionalism. Despite the ruthlessness of the austerity and incarceration regimes, many Americans continue to be convinced that the U.S. is the most exceptional nation in the world and do not balk when its military wages wars abroad at the expense of U.S. tax dollars and civilian lives. U.S. imperialism has made sure that Americans feel that they are special colonizers who see the victims of the U.S. military state as savages worthy of slaughter. The Plot to Control the World is based on a different premise: internationalism. The book links the struggle against US imperialism to the needs of the oppressed and working class living in the heart of empire, making it an essential read for those who are sick and tired of the prevailing narrative of American exceptionalism and want to be armed with knowledge that is essential toward changing it.

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starfencer01 · 3 years ago

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Sick Days the Phantom Menace

Welcome to Sick Days basicly a DND campain of the Orginal Star Wars Movies based on the premises that the party takes the place of the main protagonist of the story.

Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.

Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.

While the Congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events the Supreme Chancellor tried to secretly dispatch two Jedi Knights but Qui-Gon Gin and Obi-wan Kenobi but they came down with the Mandalorian Super Warrior Flu. So it is up to their replacements to be the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict.

The first of four team members is Lord Garr Cultrift, a Cerean Nobel who has often been asked to settle disputes where a particular strong hand is necessary to achieve a goal. Lord Cultrift was at home looking over his finances, seeing if his household could financially survive his wife’s threats of divorce, when a servant rushed in. Lord Cultrift glares at his servant, disapproving as to why he was disburbed. The servant ashamed and embarrassed handed him a data pad, bowed and exited while Lord Cultrift yelled and cursed him out until he began to read the data pad. “SPECIAL REQUEST FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR OF THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC” the request outlined the mission details. Lord Garr Cultrift agreed to the mission, because of the large financial reward that just might save his nobel household from finical disaster. He had his personnel shuttle ready to the flight to Coursant.

Holt Achai, the second member of the team is part of the Senate Specialist Core, some people call him a spy but he and the senate calls him a Information Specialist. A Kel Dor Holt Achai always classified himself as a fringer but he serves as the eyes and ears of the Senate anytime the Senate launches an inquiry he is the one to inquire. He was at his desk at his office in the basement of the Senate building reviewing his next Op to investigate a courupt taxation offcial on Antares when his data screen flashes red, Holt's filtered breather let out a quiet and curious sigh. “What do we have here?” his deep voice rummbled through the empty office. As he opened his new orders he read the first lines “SPECIAL ORDERS FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR OF THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC”. Holt read through the file, copied it to his data pad, grabbed his go bag and left for the docks to board the diplomatic frigate.

Pwon Uhusu was an Ithorian Soldier who just graduated Commando School to join the Senate Commandos; however, Coruscant is a very racist place especially in the senate building “you’ll think that in a building that represents every species in the galaxy they would have more than just human guards visible.” Pwon thought as he guards the back entrance where brandy, Wine, Ale and other alcoholic drinks are dropped off for senatorial use. Just then his CO walls in, one of the other commandos he actually likes. The CO takes position next to Pwon, hands him a datapad and says you're relieved. Confused as to why his cut 3 into his 8 hour shift. He reads the data pad that said “SPECIAL ORDERS FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR OF THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC”. He skimmed the document and realized what was going on. “My first off planet assignment?”. “Yes it is now go get packed” His CO said proudly “I had to pull and few strings to get you on this assignment so don't let me down” Excited Pwon skipped off this could be the break he was looking for, if he did well on this assignment, the Commandos would have to take him more serisouly and hey maybe it will pave the path for more and more nonhuman Senate Commandos. As his mind raced he missed the racist comment his CO muttered “anything to get him out of this building and out of sight of the Senators.”

Sesh-Sesh Nijopps is a Gungan Scout. He was found abandoned in a forest on Naboo by a Naboo human family who took him and placed him for adoption, he was passed around to different orphanages on different planets it was on board the many transports that he gained his love of Astral Navigation, when we grew too old to stay at orphanages he got hired as an Animal Handler on the same freighter company that took him from orphanage to orphanage until a Navigator Spot opened up. Their company usually took contracts from the Republic so it was not unusual to have Orders from the Senate to ship live stock from here to their but when the Captain received “SPECIAL ORDERS FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR OF THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC” requesting Sesh-Sesh to come to Coursant they did not hesitate speeding through their current mission of delivering Therapy Tookas to Mandalore when they offloaded the Tookas two sick looking Jedi Knights tried to ask for a ride back to Coursant but Sesh-Sesh did not want to be sick for his special mission. To return to Naboo, maybe while their he could find his missing parents!?

On the ride from Coruscant to Naboo Lord Cultrift, Holt Achai, Pwon Uhusu and Sesh-Sesh Nijopps got acquainted when they appeared out of hyperspace and observed the dozen Trade Federation Battleships only reemphasized the importance of their mission to break the blockade, by negotiation but by force if necessary. As they got landing clearance they all went back to get their kits together each was issued a blaster pistol if things got sticky, a commlink and a 100 credits. Except for the Lord Cultrift who brought a little more pocket change than the rest. They finally landed and deboarded as the four of them were escorted to a conference room by protocol droid. There they waited for hours waiting for the Viceroy of the Trade Federation when they heard a small explosian then a small hiss caught their attention they look toward the vents as an unknown gas was being pumped into the room.

#star wars #dnd #dnd adventures #phantom menace #rollplay

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cristinagooge · 5 years ago

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15 Reasons We Love Canada - Qualico® Communities

Advantages Of Living In Canada: Newcomers Share Their

Canadians want to know how bad this ...

Canada enjoys it some amusing! Some individuals think Canadians aren't funny, but that's just since we've been so good about our total domination of humour! If we may issue a courteous reminder of our stars: Leslie Nielsen, Stephen Leacock (Groucho Marx was a fan), Seth Rogen, SCTV, Jay Baruchel,,, the Kids in the Hall, Jonathan Goldstein, Lorne Michaels, Russell Peters, Martin Short and not to discuss Drake and his humorous undercover streeters.

Canada is a fantastic nation and it has a lot to provide tourists the most lovely landscapes, tasty food, incredible wildlife, fantastic breweries, distinct Canada cruises and above all, the terrific locals. Do not just take our word for it though as we have actually asked some canucks to tell us what they love about their own nation. Jeff Neinstein.

Unsurprisingly Canada's breath-taking landscapes are likewise enjoyed by locals and Leigh McAdam, who runs the travel blog Walking Bike Travel and is author of Discover Canada: 100 Inspiring Outdoor Adventures, is among them. She says, "I love Canada for its exceptionally diverse landscapes, multiculturalism and friendly individuals (Duncan Embury). As one who appreciates wild and untamed wilderness I feel lucky to reside in a nation that is house to range of mountains, numerous rivers, thousands of lakes, 36 national parks, eight national forest protects, and several hundred provincial parks.

I think Canadians are compassionate ...

I have access to a series of accommodation alternatives from wilderness outdoor camping to backcountry lodges to 5 star hotels. And a fantastic glass of Canadian white wine is never far away. Life is awesome here!" Canada is home to some of the world's greatest untamed lands and its vast hinterlands are fortress for some of the most unbelievable wildlife in the world.

Its rich waters off the coasts of Newfoundland and British Columbia are chock filled with whales and dolphins. Canadians Dave and Deborah, who run the widely known travel blog site The World D, say, "We like Canada since experience can be found in every corner. It is so huge and varied - Sonia Leith. As outdoor enthusiasts we can't get enough of it.

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However it's our wildlife that actually gets the blood pumping. Canada is an amazing safari location where we have strolled with polar bears, canoed through peaceful lakes to spy on moose, kayaked with beluga whales and listened to the cry of the wolf. Canada is amazing." Canadian's love their beer, however they're more than just consumers they are the creators of some mouth-watering beers themselves.

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Parallel 49 Brewing Business, a Vancouver-based brewery that produces some extremely popular beers such as the pale ale Unsteady Pop, states, "We enjoy Canada for all the incredible craft breweries in the Pacific Northwest. We like our juicy, hoppy IPAs and prefer to enjoy them outdoors." Whilst Banff National Forest is a terrific location to go to anytime of the year, with Lake Louise and Moraine Lake being just 2 of the top tourist attractions, the national park is a popular destination in winter.

Canadian blog writer Cameron Wears, who in addition to his other half Nicole runs the Taking a trip Canucks blog site, has previously gone to Banff in the height of winter and highly suggests it. He states, "We like winter locations and ski resorts so we believed it would be enjoyable to trade the sand for snow this year.

" Our journey began in Calgary after a short 1 hour flight from Vancouver. We got incredibly lucky with the presence as we passed over the Canadian Rockies, which gave us the opportunity to catch some incredible aerial pictures of the endless rows of glaciers and snow-capped peaks." During winter season you can go snowboarding at the Lake Louise Ski Resort, take pleasure in a pet sled tour through the Kicking Horse Pass at the Continental Divide and play ice hockey on the frozen Lake Louise.

It is going to be incredibly hard to top this one. in Canada. Snowshoeing, snowboarding, pet sledding, ice walking at night, first-class dining experiences, rustic mountain lodge in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, en-suite Jacuzzi, crackling fireplaces, hot springs, no television shall I go on, or is all this gushing making you sick?" Idyllically set between the Pacific Ocean and the Coastal Mountain range, Vancouver is unsurprisingly a popular vacation destination.

Will Woods, founder and chief storyteller for strolling tour operator Forbidden Vancouver, says, "Canada is tremendous bigger than any one person could ever know. However my love for this grand nation is regional. My life and my work are in Vancouver on the patched streets of Gastown, among the big firs of Stanley Park, by the glowing waters of Coal Harbour.

She says, "Vancouver's food truck scene began years earlier, and has actually blossomed into a delicious variety of regional flavours and all at a sensible price. "And the very best part is that our mild winters enable food trucks year-round. Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck (at Howe and Robson), and Tacofino (at Burrard and Dunsmuir) must be a great place to start." The appealing Canadian capital with its Gothic Parliament structures and culinary scene is rupturing with variety.

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He includes, "What I like about Ottawa is the large diversity of alternatives offered to locals and visitors alike. If you are into history and culture, examine out the many national museums and federal monuments. "Are you an art and indie fan? Then numerous galleries and public art screens are discovered throughout the city centre.

Travelling with a family? Ottawa has everything you require for family enjoyable from water parks to hands-on activities for the kids. "Ottawa, in my viewpoint, is Canada's a lot of under-rated city. I started Ottawa Strolling Tours 13 years earlier as a way of revealing visitors just how much the Canadian capital needs to use.

I discover families and senior citizens specifically value Ottawa's laidback technique to life with its numerous walkway cafes, courtyard restaurants, stunning buildings and cultural attractions. Jeff Neinstein. "You have the ability to be treking in the Canadian wilderness in the early morning, gazing at a creative masterpiece in the afternoon and after that consuming at the 4-star bar or restaurant or capturing the symphony, ballet or jazz concert at night (and all for less than it will cost you in the bigger cities).

Ottawa Strolling Tours' Craig MacDonald, states, "Last but not least what I love about Ottawa is its European city feel and yet being so close to the Canadian wilderness we are popular for. Toronto lawyers. Within a 15-minute drive of the downtown core, you can be surrounded by freshwater lakes, hiking tracks, dense forests, white-water rafting, hot air ballooning, or in the winter season pet sledding or skiing either alpine or cross-country.

Craig MacDonald shares some expert information about where you must head to. He says, "As a trip guide for over 20 years I get this question A LOT! "My answer has actually changed in time today I suggest 2 specific establishments: The Buzz on Bank Street and The Manx on Elgin - personal injury lawyers in Toronto.

The Manx has actually developed a strong reputation on serving a great breakfast (try the goat cheese frittata) at a sensible price and is likewise tied at the top of my list." Tracey Pictor, who resides in Toronto and is the author behind the Journal of a City Lady blog, states one of the things she most loves about Toronto are its individuals.

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Canadians are unapologetically regretful and measure up to their offered stereotype of being the friendly nation. It is not at all unusual to have a thorough discussion with a total stranger on where you are from and how you are delighting in the current summer weather condition or with a server about how heaven Jays are performing this season." Toronto has actually become a significant style destination with lots of high-end style outlets discovered around every corner and more classic shops turning up.

Tracey Pictor adds, "All the time benefit stores, grocery shops open till midnight, coffee and dessert bars open till all hours, these are the little high-ends I love about huge city living." In case you have not heard, Montreal likes it food. As Canada's foodie capital it is unsurprising that the city boasts an abundance of high-end dining establishments and an enviable selection of regional fruit and vegetables.

He adds, "Whether it's the baguettes at a regional pastry shop, fresh veggies from the Jean-Talon Market, a tasty late night supper at Van Horne or a 2am poutine at La Banquise. Montreal is jam-packed with amazing restaurants, bars and delis. You could spend a whole summer season in Montreal and hardly scratch the surface of the Montreal food scene.

Walking around Old Montreal is an excellent method to check out the city as the historical location is house to some iconic sights. The likes of Place d'Armes, the Basilique Notre-Dame, the Montreal City Center and Saint-Paul Street are simply a few of the terrific tourist attractions you can see. Rose Leto. Corbin Fraser, says, "Between the numerous patios and dining establishments, the fresh air, the open park space, the gentle breezes rolling off the Fleuve Saint-Laurent, or the stable buzz of individuals unwinding and talking, it's easy to see why many fall for this city." Image Credit: GoToVan, The Planet D, Traveling Canucks.

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In a last-ditch effort to convince Canadians that their public health care system ought to be privatized, Canadian Medical Association (CMA) President Robert Ouellet has guaranteed to "pull out all the stops" throughout the association's annual conference next week. Trouble is, Ouellet's objective to lead the modification to privatization is exactly the opposite of what 86 percent of Canadians desire.

" With more than 8 in 10 Canadians supporting public options to make public healthcare more powerful, there is compelling evidence that Canadians throughout all demographics would prefer a public over a for-profit healthcare system," said Nik Nanos, president of Nanos Research study. Nanos Research study was commissioned by the Canadian Health Coalition (CHC), a nonpartisan group that supports Canada's public health system, to conduct a random telephone survey of 1,001 Canadians in between April 25 and May 3.

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Meanwhile, Canada's federal government simply launched a report titled "Healthy Canadians A Federal Report on Equivalent Health Indicators 2008." Its findings nearly identically mirror the CHC polling results. In that report, a leading sign points to the fact that "Most Canadians (85.2 percent) aged 15 years and older reported being 'extremely satisfied' or 'somewhat pleased' with the way overall health care services were offered, the same from 2005." Michael McBane, nationwide planner of the CHC, commented: "Throughout our campaign, Canadians have actually informed us they wish to keep our health care system public and to enhance it with made-in-Canada services.

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Ouellet's proposition to provide us with American-style, two-tier medication. This poll definitely highlights that for us. Eighty-six percent is a substantial portion of the population. It stands out that Dr. Ouellet could be so out of touch with the pulse of the majority of Canadians." McBane warned that Ouellet's most current effort to replace public health care with a personal system utilizes language that is misleading.

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Ouellet's concepts about activity-based funding, 'competitors' and more private delivery would not yield European-style care, but rather would lead us down the roadway to U.S.-style care." McBane continued: "At the CMA's annual conference later on this month, you will hear Ouellet speak about 'patient centered' care, however he actually implies 'profit-centered' care.

He will also unveil outcomes of a CMA study that he claims shows support for his brand-new privatization scheme. In truth, the language used in the CMA study was so unclear and deceptive that its outcomes can not possible be interpreted as support for more for-profit medication." McBane stated that Ouellet, who owns or handles 5 personal, for-profit diagnostic clinics, has a history of deceptive Canadians.

" Dr. Ouellet requires to stop misguiding Canadians and begin informing them what he's really as much as privatizing our health care system," said McBane - Rose Leto - Toronto lawyers. "His 'transformational change' program is his last kick at the can in the past becoming the CMA's past-president. Dr. Ouellet's privatized, for-profit vision won't fix a single issue of our public health care and more importantly, Canadians do not want it.

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