Line #45 Fanfic/TheUnabridgedMemoirsOfDarthPlagueisTheWise


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/darth_plagueis_7.jpg]]
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3	->''Now it was my turn to gloat. "Oh, Sidious. You never did show much interest in learning about Force illusions. Perhaps you should have spent less time rehearsing your ''monologue'' and more time practicing. Now, I'm afraid, it's too late." I fastened my Force grip tighter around his heart. By now the organ was unable to pump blood at all, muscles desperately twitching and fluttering. If he had been born a Muun, one of his other two hearts would have picked up the slack and he might have been able to resist. But alas, evolution had a sense of humor when shaping the human species. Sidious' legs buckled and he collapsed to his knees. He snarled up at me, struggling for breath as his face started to take on a bluish cast.''
4	-->-- '''Darth Plagueis'''
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6	Written by [=YeahOkayCool=] on Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom, ''The Unabridged Memoirs of Darth Plagueis the Wise'' is a ''Franchise/StarWars'' alternate timeline.
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8	The point of divergence is simple: Darth Plagueis kills Palpatine at the end of the ''Literature/DarthPlagueis'' novel by James Luceno.
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10	What follows is a rather different story to the one we all know.
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12	Can be found [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-unabridged-memoirs-of-darth-plagueis-the-wise.409838/ here]], and is mirrored for non-AH.com members at [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/the-unabridged-memoirs-of-darth-plagueis-the-wise-star-wars-au.46426/ Sufficient Velocity]]. The version on AH.com has since been closed due to the author being banned, however.
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14	----
15	!!This fanfic provides examples of:
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17	* AGodAmI: Plagueis and the [[TheDeterminator "sovereign will"]] he believes to be the hallmark of a true Sith Lord.
18	* AboveGoodAndEvil: Plagueis believes in the idea, claiming that what makes one person better than another is how much their actions benefit ''him.''
19	* AdaptationalVillainy:
20	** [[spoiler: Jabitha Hal is recruited by Plagueis and becomes his new apprentice, Darth Borea.]]
21	** [[spoiler: Padme Amidala]] is a leading member of the Rim Liberation Front. Well, [[AmbiguousSituation maybe]]; [[spoiler:she might be an imposter.]]
22	** Gial Ackbar is also in the RLF, though he's stated to be more of a MyCountryRightOrWrong example.
23	* TheAgeless: [[spoiler:Plagueis, after conducting extensive experiments in attempt to directly control midi-chlorians.]]
24	* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: Averted, forming the story's divergence from Legends continuity.
25	* AManOfWealthAndTaste: Plagueis is said to be well-dressed in the ''Darth Plagueis'' novel. It's nearly written word-for-word in the form of an uncharacteristic ShoutOut - "[[{{Pun}} A Muun]] [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand of wealth and taste]]."
26	* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler: It's unclear in-universe whether the "Amidala" leading the RLF is the real person or a body double who pulled a KillAndReplace. Out of universe, [=YeahOkayCool=] is unwilling to reveal it.]]
27	* AscendedExtra: Jabitha Hal, a human/Ferroan hybrid. She debuted as a brief supporting character in ''The New Jedi Order'', but had little in the way of character development or impact. Here, [[spoiler:she becomes Plagueis' new apprentice, Darth Borea.]]
28	* AssholeVictim: Palpatine. Plagueis was genuinely willing to share power, but instead Palpatine tried to get him drunk and kill him in his sleep.
29	* BadassBookworm: In the Legends continuity, Plagueis disappeared for twenty years, holing himself up in his lab and working around the clock to better understand midi-chlorians. In this story, he puts this knowledge to good use by [[spoiler: figuring out how to influence the midi-chlorian analogues that make up Yuuzhan Vong biotech and escape his torture in the Embrace of Pain]].
30	* BastardUnderstudy: [[spoiler: Borea]], like all Sith apprentices.
31	* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Averted for [[spoiler: Jabitha. While the Embrace of Pain brought her to the brink of madness, it was her rescue by Darth Plagueis that really began her fall to the dark side]].
32	* BigWhat:
33	** Plagueis' mental reaction to Zho Krazhmir stopping him for a conversation in the middle of a fight.
34	** Also his mental reaction to [[spoiler: Dooku nominating himself for Chancellor]].
35	* TheChessmaster: Plagueis is a skilled one, given that he was the one to plant the clone army idea in Sifo-Dyas' mind so well [[GladYouThoughtOfIt that even Sifo-Dyas forgets that Plagueis was the one who suggested it.]]
36	* TheChosenOne: Both Plagueis and [[spoiler:Borea]] are anxious and obsessed with Anakin Skywalker.
37	* ConvenientComa: [[spoiler: Rune Haako ends up in one after being wounded during Nute Gunray's assassination. He wakes 13 years later during the tail end of the Rim-Core War, informing the Jedi about the (unknown to him) deceased Sidious' involvement in the Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo.]]
38	* TheCorrupter: Plagueis does this with [[spoiler: Jabitha]] to create a new, loyal apprentice. And, while not to the extent as Palpatine did in canon, he's also slowly gaining influence over Anakin as well.
39	* ContinuityCameo: A ''lot''. Moreso even than Luceno himself.
40	* ContinuityNod: Tons and tons, on the verge of ContinuityPorn. Like Luceno, [=YeahOkayCool=] gets an A+ for effort.
41	* CuteAndPsycho: Jabitha is a sweet, friendly teenage girl who loves plants, starships, and getting into trouble... [[spoiler: who also happens to be Darth Borea, Plagueis' Sith apprentice and a merciless assassin]].
42	* DatingCatwoman: While her job is to manipulate him for the Sith agenda, Plagueis notes that [[spoiler: Borea]] seems to have developed feelings for Anakin. [[spoiler: It's mutual, and they eventual consummate a RelationshipUpgrade.]]
43	* DeadMansSwitch: Plagueis and Dooku both claim to have one ready to expose the other's corrupt dealings, in case of an assassination. [[spoiler: Plagueis discovers Dooku's (a [[VideoWill hologram confession]] of his crimes, implicating Plagueis in them) and manipulates it to frame him as being Darth Sidious.]]
44	* DecapitationStrike: [[spoiler: The RLF attacks a conference of the galaxy's {{Mega Corp}}s which wipes out their entire leadership.]]
45	* DidntSeeThatComing: [[spoiler: Dooku nominating himself for Chancellor]] catches Plagueis totally flatfooted.
46	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: The fic's primary [[ForWantOfANail divergence]] is this, as Palpatine unfortunately didn't get Plagueis drunk enough and is killed in retaliation.
47	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
48	** The execution of Nute Gunray's assassination plays out fairly similarly to that of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.
49	** The Siege of Kalee, which drags on indefinitely due to the Republic facing an irregular war against guerrilla insurgents, has been compared to similar such wars in Afghanistan and Vietnam.
50	* DoubleAgent: [[spoiler: Nom Anor]] becomes this, agreeing to serve as Plagueis' mole among the [[spoiler: Yuuzhan Vong]] after witnessing his power.
51	* EldritchAbomination: As a child brought into being by the Force itself, Anakin is one -- at least to Plagueis' Force-sight.
52	* EliteMooks: The Thunderclap Commandos, special clone troops made from [[spoiler: Yuuzhan Vong DNA]] and used by the RLF specifically to fight Jedi.
53	* EmperorScientist: Plagueis is a [[BadassBookworm lethal combatant]] and seeks to [[GalacticConqueror conquer the galaxy]] like all other Sith, but he puts particular emphasis on the esoteric nature of the Force.
54	* EntertaininglyWrong: Dooku confronts Plageis after figuring out that he's a Sith and was the one who killed Palpatine. However, not knowing Palpatine was a Sith, he assumes Darth Maul was Plagueis' apprentice and that Palpatine was a [[{{Muggles}} mundane]] CorruptPolitician who Plagueis was planning to use as a [[PuppetKing puppet to rule the Republic through]] but was killed for not playing his part after Maul's death.
55	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Just as he saw Sidious as a surrogate son before his attempted betrayal, Plagueis comes to see [[spoiler:Darth Borea]] as a daughter figure. And unlike Sidious, [[spoiler:Borea]] reciprocates that feeling.
56	* EvilerThanThou: In Plagueis' view, Alto Stratus is this to the other RLF leaders, as while they're only rebelling out of political pragmatism or loyalty to their homeworlds, Stratus is an utter fanatic for the RLF's cause.
57	* EvilVsEvil: Plagueis vs [[spoiler: the Yuuzhan Vong scout teams]].
58	* FalseFlagOperation: [[spoiler: Dooku]] bombs the Senate, killing the Chancellor, and implicates the RLF for it, in order to convince the Republic and Jedi to take a harder stance against the rebels. For now, it appears to have failed, as both groups realize that the evidence seems too convenient to be true. [[spoiler: In the meantime, however, it's successfully opened the path for Dooku to nominate himself for acting Chancellor.]]
59	* FirstPersonSmartass: Darth Plagueis' narration falls into this a lot, especially when Senators or Jedi are nearby.
60	* ForWantOfANail: Plagueis stays sober enough just before Palpatine's attempt on his life that he sees it coming and kills him instead.
61	* FrameUp:
62	** Plagueis uses his connections to frame Chancellor Farr for embezzling funds from a relief organization and diverting them to an RLF-aligned group on his homeworld, thus leading to his impeachment and weakening the Republic even further.
63	** [[spoiler: After Haako reveals the Sith's involvement with the Trade Federation, Plagueis has Zam Wesell impersonate Dooku in a forged video which portrays him as confessing to being Darth Sidious.]]
64	* HeKnowsTooMuch:
65	** Why Nute Gunray is assassinated by Plagueis.
66	** [[spoiler: After Wesell helps Plagueis in his framing of Dooku, on top of having previously killed Gunray for him, he decides she's too much of a loose end and orders her death.]]
67	* InSpiteOfANail: Despite ending up with someone other than Padme, Anakin still ends up fathering twins.
68	* MythologyGag: When Anakin and Jabitha are reunited on Bothuwai, he's wearing battle armor, the description of which sounds a lot like Darth Vader's.
69	* OrbitalBombardment: The main tactic of Ackbar's Perlemian Blitz campaign. He jumps his fleet into a system, and proceeds to deliver DeathFromAbove on every visible military sight on the planet, allowing his forces to then land and steal and/or sabotage all the infrastructure they can, before then fleeing the system to rinse and repeat somewhere else.
70	* PraetorianGuard:
71	** Plagueis has his Sun Guards, as per canon.
72	** After [[spoiler: Dooku]] becomes Supreme Chancellor, he replaces the office's contingent of Senatorial Guards with a handful of personally-selected Jedi bodyguards. The media takes to calling them "Chancery Knights".
73	* PurpleProse: Plagueis often slips into long, verbose metaphors on Sith philosophy and metaphysics while writing his memoirs.
74	* PyrrhicVictory: The Battle of Outer Hapes is this for the Republic -- they destroy most of Ackbar's fleet, ending his blitz, but in the process lose a significant number of their own ships. Plus, the blitz has already devastated a vast swath of Republic territory.
75	* RedBaron: Anakin becomes known as "the Black Knight" during his RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Probably because of the Vader-esque armor he wears.
76	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: After he's led to believe that [[spoiler: Jabitha has been killed]], Anakin takes his clone battalion rogue and begins slaughtering his way through Bothan space.
77	* SecretPolice: The Political Security Service serves this function for the RLF.
78	* ShoutOut: During one conversation with Anakin, Plagueis comments "[[Series/HouseOfCardsUK You may very well think that, I suppose, but I couldn't possibly comment]]."
79	* TheSiege: The Siege of Kalee, which apparently lasts for nearly the entirety of the Rim-Core War.
80	* SingleMindedTwins: Anakin and [[spoiler: Borea]]'s twin children border on this, due to a combination of their Force-based TwinTelepathy and how early in development they are meaning that their thoughts and emotions keep mixing.
81	* TheSocialDarwinist: Plagueis, like most Sith, believes that the strong should rule and the weak exist only at the mercy of the powerful. [[spoiler: Borea takes his lessons to heart and puts them into practice by hunting down and killing a Hutt slaver. Rather than capture his slaves by force, he quietly poisoned a colony's water supply with horribly addictive chemicals and sold the colonists into slavery when they couldn't pay for the "treatments" for their chemical dependency. In Borea's mind, the Hutt never gave his captives a fair chance to prove themselves strong or weak, and therefore deserved to die.]]
82	* TakeThat: When story commentators brought up the possibility of Darth Maul still being alive, like in Canon, [=YeahOkayCool=] made it perfectly clear that Maul is dead in this universe, and that no amount of "handwaving or space voodoo" is going to change that.
83	* VillainTeamUp: Plagueis eventually, by chance, encounters [[spoiler: Nom Anor]] and is convinced to tentatively take up a loose alliance by means of opening a backchannel to share information. Plagueis is aware that their different goals mean they'll probably end up opposed to each other later, but for now is going along with it out of curiosity.
84	* WackyMarriageProposal: [[spoiler: Anakin proposes to Jabitha in the middle of a war zone, after she's just talked him down from a grief-induced madness.]]
85	* WeAreStrugglingTogether: The Republic's reaction to Anakin's RoaringRampageOfRevenge is heavily divided between the Jedi and their political allies wanting to bring him back in before he goes fully to the Dark Side, a purely military faction which wants to try him for desertion, and a group led by Tarkin who want to let him keep doing what he's doing.
86	* WhamLine: [[spoiler: Dooku]]: "I therefore, with the blessing of the Jedi High Council, put myself forward as interim Supreme Chancellor for the duration of this crisis."
87	* WildCard: [[spoiler: Dooku]], after discovering Plagueis' identity, plays along with being his ally while pursuing his own agenda.
88	* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The Rim Liberation Front, which has the stated purpose of freeing the Outer Rim from the tyranny of the Core.
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