History Literature / AlouettesSong

* TheyDo:
** After Dorothy gets her in-law issues sorted out, she marries Richard on Earth.
** Margaret begs two weeks additional leave from her boss ([=DuQuesne=]) so she can elope and have a honeymoon with Martin. She doesn't tell him is they plan to have the honeymoon in Jupiter orbit far out of his reach. This evasion backfires badly for everyone.

** After marrying Dorothy and Richard settle on Osnome as ordinary citizens, then consummate their marriage, both awarding each other their virginity and immediately conceiving their baby. It's the moment they've both been dreaming for, and [[GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex it's absolutely wonderful]]. The End.

* UpToEleven: Greater ability for the girls and greater urgency to contribute.
** In {{Backstory}}, Dorothy is given abilities based from hints provided by the original continuity.
** Margaret is no longer a secretary in DuQuesne's company. She's instead a graduate student in mathematics with him as her thesis adviser when he's not out working in the field. He also cared for her and trained her when no-one else really wanted to.

* NotSoDifferent: Richard and Dorothy [[spoiler: are both Jewish, Dorothy being highly observant and Richard starting out as nearly secular. Their theology is very similar to Kondal's with those people even having their own Abraham figure in the form of their land's founder, Lady Kondal]] immediately bond with Sitar and Dunark.

* EvolutionaryLevels: The Kondalians of this continuity now ignorant of this and [=DuQuesne=] needs to explain to the ruler why [[TheRainman Margaret]] was able to develop the math for interstellar travel in the first place. Even her parents had left in her the trash, but using her abilities, resolve, and honor she managed to defeat him in opposing an undeserving humanity's right to explore the stars. [[spoiler: He conjectures the autism spectrum is actually a genetic mechanism responsible for accelerating evolutionary development of human beings for enhanced visual thinking and spatial reasoning, but since nature is often cruel a great many children are left by the wayside. Only a lucky few actually win the Genetic Jackpot of intelligence and creativity and still be even at most only slightly unaffected by behavioral problems. He explains Margaret is most likely one of a handful of the most intelligent children in her generation, and he's extremely proud of her.]]

* TheJailbaitWait: Zig-zagged. While some jurisdictions may have laws on the books punishing under-18/over-18 relationships even with minimal age gaps as felony sexual offenders, many others don't, especially when it's done as part of marriage with parental permission. Rick and Dotty are seriously in love with each other]], yet each have their own reasons to stay virgin until marriage. It's everyone else who thinks that something's going on, including Richard's mother who is even ready to press charges against Dotty.

* EvolutionaryLevels: The Kondalians of this continuity now ignorant of this and [=DuQuesne=] needs to explain to the ruler why [[RainMan Margaret]] was able to develop the math for interstellar travel in the first place. Even her parents had left in her the trash, but using her abilities, resolve, and honor she managed to defeat him in opposing an undeserving humanity's right to explore the stars. [[spoiler: He conjectures the autism spectrum is actually a genetic mechanism responsible for accelerating evolutionary development of human beings for enhanced visual thinking and spatial reasoning, but since nature is often cruel a great many children are left by the wayside. Only a lucky few actually win the Genetic Jackpot of intelligence and creativity and still be even at most only slightly unaffected by behavioral problems. He explains Margaret is most likely one of a handful of the most intelligent children in her generation, and he's extremely proud of her.]]

%% commented out as ZeroContextExample * ActionGirl: Dorothy, compared to the old continuity, is now oh so very much by the end of this revision.

%% commented out as ZeroContextExample * AlphaCouple: Richard and Dorothy

%% commented out as ZeroContextExample * BetaCouple: Martin and Margaret

%% commented out as ZeroContextExample * ChekhovsGun: Practically everything in the story.

%% commented out as ZeroContextExample, possible misuse * EasterEgg: Scattered everywhere from literature, film, or song in the modern era if you look hard enough, used to form a common cultural viewpoint for the time the story is set in.

%% commented out as ZeroContextExample * TheEngineer: Martin Crane III, Margaret's husband. Also doubles as TheHeart.

%% commented out as ZeroContextExample, character page material? * TheNavigator: [=DuQuesne=].

%% commented out as ZeroContextExample * ProudWarriorRace: The Osnomians [[spoiler: Dotty also. She's from Texas. 'Nuff said. ]]

* CommandRoster: Margaret Spencer Crane as TheCaptain. [=DuQuesne=] as The Scientist and TheNavigator, after his protege' Margaret makes a deal with him so he can earn his freedom after losing his bid to hijack the ship. Dorothy as TheMarine. Richard as the Mess Chief, giving his parole to his captor, [=DuQuesne=], in exchange for his promise to spare Margaret's and Martin's lives once he hijacks the ship.

* TheMarine: Dorothy, although she's actually a U.S. Deputy Marshal by direction of [[TheInvisiblePresident The President]] to recover the Alouette and either bring back or execute [=DuQuesne=]. Her only training is from childhood to kill predators of the four-legged kind to guard her father's ranch, but she was the only choice available. Earns the position by attacking [=DuQuesne=] by surprise and defeating him with Richard's help. [[GoodShepherd Doubles as The Chaplain.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: This is how [=DuQuesne=] operates now rather than the original PragmaticVillainy, is part of a [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction black branch of NSA]] charged with [[LicenseToKill suppressing WMD-capable technology]]

Because ''The Skylark of Space'', the first novel of E. E. Smith's Literature/SkylarkSeries had fallen into the public domain by the time Fine finally had a comprehensive vision for a reboot in 2013, this actually is a legally non-infringing piece of literature. Some names are the same, but the motivations for the characters are completely different: see tropes below and character sheet for specifics.

HARD HAT AREA. PLEASE DO NOT DELETE OR CHANGE WITHOUT FIRST DISCUSSING.

''Alouette's Song'' is a self-published novel by [[Troper\the_eternal_squire]].


''The Skylark of Space'' was the first space opera series read in high school by the author while still attending high school during the 1970's. The author had always been fascinated by the possibilities of how the story might have unfolded had it begun in the post-World-War-II era, with changes in the issues in culture and sensibilities that had taken place long since the Depression Era.

* AlphaCouple: Richard and Dorothy
* BetaCouple: Martin and Margaret
* ActionGirl: Dorothy, compared to the old continuity, is now oh so very much by the end of this revision.

* FantasticRankSystem: Original continuity had no means for the emperor of Kondal to cope with a Terran holding enormous power from knowledge or wealth, and therefore had to invent titles on the fly for Seaton and Crane. In this continuity, room has been built into both the Mardonalian and Kondalian societies for a means by which a commoner may obtain power through the achievements of great learning. A sage is defined as a ruler over knowledge. The title of journeyman sage is styled "prince over knowledge", and in social prerogative ranks with-but-after all the other princes in the realm. The title of full sage is styled "ruler over knowledge", and is a complete equal to the emperor in terms of protocol. A full sage has several prerogatives, not the least of which is the right to refuse to obey the emperor's without needing a reason, and the right to speak truth to him at any time. These are important examples of customary checks over an emperor's power where there is no written constitution.
* KidHero: [[BoringInvincibleHero In the original 1930's continuity, Richard, Margaret, Martin, and Dorothy were all in their mid to late thirties.]] In this continuity they are a 16, 17, 18, and 19 year old TeenGenius respectively.
** DePower: Greater challenge for the boys and greater urgency to work together.
*** [[PluckyMiddie Richard is stripped of everything he ever had in the original continuity.]] [[ThePowerOfLove He gets by now on his willingness to risk himself for other]], [[ImmuneToFate how high the odds against success are, and how horrible the consequences will be for him if he fails.]] [[ShellShockedVeteran Each time he does this]], [[EveryScarHasAStory he takes a physical and/or emotional injury.]]
*** Martin is stripped of direct access to his fortune. His dad controls it instead.
** BroughtToEleven: Greater ability for the girls and greater urgency to contribute.
*** BackStory: [[BadassNormal Dorothy]] is [[RockStar given]] [[CowGirl abilities]] [[EverythingIsBiggerInTexas based from]] [[DeepSouth hints]] [[ActionGirl provided]] by the original continuity.
*** [[BreakOutCharacter Margaret is no longer a secretary in [=DuQuesne=]'s company.]] [[TeenGenius She's instead a graduate student in mathematics]] [[BrokenPedestal with him as her thesis adviser]] [[PunchClockVillain when he's not out working in the field.]] [[BrokenPedestal He also cared for her and trained her]] [[FosterKid when no-one else really wanted to.]]
** Second, the 1930's-style dialogue in that story sounds juvenile to modern ears. De-aging the main characters was the easiest solution, keeping them profoundly (but not superhumanly aside from Margaret, who is a narrowly-defined case) gifted for their age the best way to keep the team capable.
* TheJailbaitWait: Zig-zagged. While some jurisdictions may have laws on the books punishing under-18/over-18 relationships even with minimal age gaps as [[ZeroTolerance felony sexual offenders]], many others don't, especially when it's done as part of marriage with parental permission. Rick and Dotty are [[OneTrueLove seriously, seriously, seriously in love with each other]], yet each have their own outstanding reasons to stay virgin until marriage. It's everyone else who thinks that something's going on, including Richard's mother who is even ready to press charges against Dotty.
* DudleyDoRightStopsToHelp: Dorothy is mugged and pushed to the bottom of subway tracks, spraining her ankle. Richard is waiting for a train to catch a connection, [[IdiotHero so without even thinking]] he runs to the other side of the concourse from where she is screaming and jumps off it down onto the track. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome He sizes up the situation, then helps her to the tunnel well with a split second to spare from the approaching express run]]. [[TheBigDamnKiss While the train passes at highway speeds inches away from their elbows, Dorothy rewards him for his valor.]] [[spoiler: Immediately after the kiss Richard noticed from her Chai pendant she was Jewish, so he revealed he was Jewish also]][[OneTrueLove Each discovers the other is single and conclude]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming they are destined for each other]] They begin an online courtship.
* FiveMinutesIntoTheFuture: A plausible explanation for how the story in the original continuity [[ContinuityReboot could begin]] in the early 21rst century rather than the early 20th. [[spoiler: Richard Seaton, a teen artist, is attempting to electroplate niobium through a rare-earths waste solution provided by his close friend, Martin Crane, an engineering freshman, living on the opposite side of the country. Martin had been childhood friends with Margaret Spencer, a child prodigy now a graduate student researching a total matter-energy conversion effect for her master's degree in math under her professor, Marc [=DuQuesne=]. When Seaton places his copper candlestick into orbit completely by accident, Margaret begins to see the possibilities. Martin and Margaret fall in love, build a ship, marry, and go out to Jupiter on a honeymoon; completely oblivious that Marc had Richard captive with a plan to highjack the ship on orders from Marc's other employer to suppress the technology. Richard had gained a girlfriend, Dorothy Vaneman, a musical superstar with talents in both voice and violin, in the meantime. Dorothy's the only one left on Earth who can rescue them. She has powerful friends who can help, but she's still terrified...]]
* CommandRoster:
** TheCaptain: Margaret Spencer Crane, on the basis of a coin flip between herself and her husband done by her new father-in-law just before launch.
** TheScientist: [=DuQuesne=], after his protege' Margaret makes a deal with him so he can earn his freedom after losing his bid to hijack the ship. Also doubles as TheNavigator.
** TheEngineer: Martin Crane III, Margaret's husband. Also doubles as TheHeart.
** TheMarine: Dorothy, although she's actually a U.S. Deputy Marshal by direction of [[TheInvisiblePresident The President]] to recover the Alouette and either bring back or execute [=DuQuesne=]. Her only training is from childhood to kill predators of the four-legged kind to guard her father's ranch, but she was the only choice available. Earns the position by attacking [=DuQuesne=] by surprise and defeating him with Richard's help. [[GoodShepherd Doubles as The Chaplain.]]
** The MessChief: Richard gave his parole to his captor, [=DuQuesne=], in exchange for his promise to spare Margaret's and Martin's lives once he hijacks the ship. [=DuQuesne=] [[IGaveMyWord then restricts him to the galley.]] [[FieldPromotion Demands official command of the galley from Margaret]] [[YouNeedToGetLaid as a face-saving alternative reward from her]] [[FryingPanOfDoom after playing the most important support role in retaking the ship]].
* ScienceMarchesOn: Propulsion system is now a distortion-drag based reactionless drive, fully subject to Einstein's laws.

* BadAssBookworm: In this continuity, [=DuQuesne=] himself, followed just behind [[spoiler: by his research assistant Margaret]] The others aren't too bad either.
* EvilOverlord: Played with, usually in the process of scheming toward the greater good.
** By the end of the novel, completely averted. [[spoiler: In the previous continuity Seaton is made Overlord by Kondal's emperor for saving his kingdom. In this continuity, Richard must BECOME Overlord to force Kondal and Mardonale from engaging in a NuclearWar]]
* CallARabbitASmeep: The term for horse manure sounds really different in Kondalian.

* CheckovsGun: Practically everything in the story.
* EnemyMine: [=DuQuesne=] and Seaton are pretty snarky with each other but readily cooperate with [[spoiler: [[TheCaptain]] ]] Margaret bossing them both around!

* EvolutionaryLevels: The Kondalians of this continuity now ignorant of this and [=DuQuesne=] needs to explain to the ruler why [[RainMan Margaret]] was able to develop the math for interstellar travel in the first place. Even her parents had left in her the trash, but using her abilities, resolve, and honor she managed to defeat him in opposing an [[HumansAreMonsters undeserving humanity's]] right to explore the stars. [[spoiler: He conjectures the autism spectrum is actually a genetic mechanism responsible for accelerating evolutionary development of human beings for enhanced visual thinking and spatial reasoning, but since nature is often cruel a great many children are left by the wayside. Only a lucky few actually win the GeneticJackpot of intelligence and creativity and still be even at most only slightly unaffected by behavioral problems. He explains Margaret is most likely one of a handful of the most intelligent children in her generation, and he's extremely proud of her.]]

* NotSoVeryDifferent: Richard and Dorothy [[spoiler: are both Jewish, Dorothy being highly observant and Richard starting out as nearly secular. Their theology is very similar to Kondal's with those people even having their own Abraham figure in the form of their land's founder, Lady Kondal]] immediately bond with Sitar and Dunark.

* EasterEgg: Scattered everywhere from literature, film, or song in the modern era if you look hard enough, used to form a common cultural viewpoint for the time the story is set in.
* HaveAGayOldTime: Martin, but Margaret found a [[IncrediblyLamePun backdoor]] [[spoiler: which seems he is actually bisexual, but only for her. ]]
* [[invoked]] HoYay: [[spoiler: Martin believes Richard would be extremely attractive if he just lost 30 pounds...]]
* HumanAliens: The same as before [[spoiler: In fact, so much so that Richard is tempted to BoldlyCome with one but in the end turns her down flat. He pawns the woman off to Margaret's professor, later, before he and his now fiancee' Dorothy return to Earth. She finds out later what he did and is extremely proud of him. ]]
* MindReadingMachine: Inverted. A [[MindRape mind ripping machine]] designed by one of the Mardonale's inventors, captured by the Kondalians for use on a LOW setting upon the Terrans to provide them knowledge of language and customs.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: This is how [=DuQuesne=] operates now rather than the original PragmaticVillany, is part of a [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction black branch of NSA]] charged with [[LicenseToKill suppressing WMD-capable technology]]
* ProudWarriorRace: The Osnomians [[spoiler: Dotty also. She's from Texas. 'Nuff said. ]]

* ScienceMarchesOn: A lot has happened between 1928 and 2014. This reboot makes the most of it but we start at QuantumMechanicsCanDoAnything rather than end with it.
* TechnoBabble: Lampshaded. Martin is the first to ask regarding how the matter-to-energy conversion functions, "what are the mechanics of this totally wield shit?"

* TechnologyLevels: Inverted. Osnome is more advanced in the use of clean energy for the most part. They're roughly 1970's in electronics compared to current Terran advanced systems integration. They skipped chemical photograph directly to light-emitting-diode displays.

* {{Unobtainium}}: Played straight as before with [[http://www.rogermwilcox.com/arenak.html Arenak]]. [[spoiler: with one exception - Arenak is now vulnerable to ultrasonics ]]

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The entire royal family of Kondal. Roban, the Emperor, is an active head of state, his son, Dunark, who by custom as crown prince is his highest ranking general, and Sitar is now both crown princess and Dunark's favorite sniper on his intelligence gathering missions. She also gets to conduct the palace fire drills.
* ZeeRust: Osnome's nuclear weapons technology on both sides is extremely crude, circa 1940's. Mardonale's prototype nuclear propelled flagship uses a design similar to ORION. [[spoiler: [=DuQuesne=] exploits that design weakness to turn the engine room into a huge NuclearBomb.]]
* TheyDo: After Dorothy finally gets her in-law issues sorted out, she marries Richard on Earth.
** Margaret begs two weeks additional leave from her boss ([=DuQuesne=]) so she can elope and have a honeymoon with Martin. She doesn't tell him is they plan to have the honeymoon in Jupiter orbit far out of his reach. This evasion backfires badly for everyone.
* BabiesEverAfter: Margaret's birth control shot gets compromised by an Osnomian fruit she finds delicious and she becomes pregnant while still on Osnome.
** After marrying Dorothy and Richard settle on Osnome as ordinary citizens, then consummate their marriage, both awarding each other their virginity and immediately conceiving their baby. It's the moment they've both been dreaming for, and [[GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex it's absolutely wonderful]]. The End.
* RenamedTheSame: "Skylark" is the English name for avian genus Alauda. "Alouette" is the French name for exactly the same. Portions of the plot actually depend on the change, for example, Dotty sings the 'Alouette' chant to the ship, as a SoftwareBackdoor for entering the spacecraft to rescue her friends.

* GuardianEntity: The Lady Kondal, [[PatronSaint founder of]] [[TheKingdom Kondal]], by right of regency over her unborn child, by the final scion of Mardonalian royalty [[spoiler: 'Dunark the Martyr']] before he died. She has guarded her own grave since she passed on after founding Kondal more than six thousand years ago.
* TheCallLeftAMessage: Lady Kondal's [[TimeAbyss abiding spirit]] guards the Overlordship of Mardonale, a necklace of seven symbols functionally equivalent to a crown. She is waiting for just the one person she judges worthy to take on the Overlordship for the good of all. She will instantly stop the heart of any other person. [[spoiler: Richard's mission to order the respective emperors of Kondal and Mardonale to range safety destruct the nuclear missiles they fired at each other currently crossing the poles makes him very worthy in her eyes.]]
* PrayerIsALastResort: In the wake of Richard's destruction of Nalboon's flagship that almost laid waste to Kondal, the emperor of Kondal orders a nuclear missile strike in revenge. Richard begs him not to but his pleas fall on deaf ears. Mardonale responds in kind. A potential extinction of all life upon their world through NuclearWinter seems inevitable. Richard realizes there is only one hope left: the Overlordship, which could give him the necessary authority over the emperors to restore peace. However, touching the symbols could kill him. Dorothy tries to dissuade him from trying to remove it from her grave, but then suggests they pray to God to stay the Lady Kondal's anger over her grave being desescrated.
* [[invoked]] TearJerker: The story of Kondal's founding six thousand years ago. Had Lady Kondal of Mardonale not discovered monotheism, she would not have won the heart of young prince Dunark The Martyr.
** DuelToTheDeath: When the old ruler of Mardonale died, it was traditional for his sons to duel each other for his title. Dunark the Martyr was the youngest brother still surviving after the eldest killed all the others.
** BadassNormal: Dunark the Martyr had finished studying at the feet of all the major philosophers of Mardonale, while his brothers were all hunting, raiding, and wenching. [[IKnowKarate One of his teachers was a master of empty-handed combat.]]
** SeekingSanctuary: After finishing his education, at about Richard's age, Dunark the Martyr sought sanctuary with Lady Kondal, the Oracle of Fate and Mercy. There he learned the principles of monotheism she discovered, also known as the First Cause, and the principles of love directly from her.
** TheGreatEscape: Lady Kondal, being the Oracle of Fate, had access to many unseen things through the power of the First Cause. One was Dunark's heart. The other was the son Dunark the Martyr had placed inside her. They decided to take a a secret following the Lady had gathered across and escape across the sea. They found a secret cove and built ships.
** DelayingAction: The oldest brother discovered them and would exterminate the people and set fire to the ships, but his army would not follows those orders until he first killed Dunark in a proper duel. As the challenged party, Dunark the Martyr chose bare hands. Both brothers met on the sand and began fighting. The visibly pregnant Lady gave the order for all ships to set sail and take to the sea. The oldest brother expected an easy fight, but the younger brother used his skills to delay and humiliate the older for as long as possible.
** DirtyCoward: The elder brother only cared about being the ruler, not about winning honorably. He had a picked archer shoot the younger in the chest.
** [[invoked]] CrowningMomentOfAwesome: As the younger died, he killed the older with a palm strike to the nose, tore the symbols of Overlordship off the older's next, and threw them to the Lady's feet. The lady set sail on the final ship. She was now a widow after only having known her wonderful young man for such a short time, who died before seeing his own son. But for Dunark the Martyr's sacrifice, Kondal would never have been established.

* LadyOfWar: [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Sitar of Osnome]], Princess of a ProudWarriorRace, is now the Kondlian equivalent of UsefulNotes/NavySeals complete with [[ColdSniper sniper specialization]]. Dunark is first her general, but [[BattleCouple later]] works with [[AcePilot him]] as a husband-and-wife team.

* FiveMinutesIntoTheFuture: A plausible explanation for how the story in the original continuity [[ContinuityReboot could work]] in the early 21rst century rather than the early 20th. [[spoiler: Richard Seaton, a teen artist, is attempting to electroplate niobium through a rare-earths waste solution provided by his close friend, Martin Crane, an engineering freshman, living on the opposite side of the country. Martin had been childhood friends with Margaret Spencer, a child prodigy now a graduate student researching a total matter-energy conversion effect for her master's degree in math under her professor, Marc [=DuQuesne=]. When Seaton places his copper candlestick into orbit completely by accident, Margaret begins to see the possibilities. Martin and Margaret fall in love, build a ship, marry, and go out to Jupiter on a honeymoon; completely oblivious that Marc had Richard captive with a plan to highjack the ship on orders from Marc's other employer to suppress the technology. Richard had gained a girlfriend, Dorothy Vaneman, a musical superstar with talents in both voice and violin, in the meantime. Dorothy's the only one left on Earth who can rescue them. She has powerful friends who can help, but she's still terrified...]]

* GenreSavvy: After Richard takes power to stop the war on Osnome, he realizes the ruling power must be taken away from royalty and devolved to the common people. He provides [[Film/TheTenCommandments 'five decrees of decency']] for the people to obey forever and build their laws around, before he steps down. When Dorothy asks what he is about to do now that he has absolute power, he will LampShade his intentions by saying, [[IncrediblyLamePun "I'll give them each a tablet now and call on them in the morning."]], [[spoiler: realizing his role is all the more ironic given that he is Jewish ]]