Intersections follows the criss-crossing escapades of seven main characters from various walks of life. It's an independent series written by Chris Comerford.
Cycle 1, titled Convergence, is completed and can be found here
. Cycle 2, titled Requiem, has begun, with the first chapter released online.
The entire first Cycle is currently undergoing massive rewrites.
- The Characters:
- Julian Vail - a bounty hunter from Arctico with a troubled past and an even-more troubling quarry to hunt down. After some mental problems that arise from the death of his beloved in Chapter 7, continuing through with an inadvertant mental probe in Chapter 12, he does a major Face–Heel Turn and becomes the Big Bad.
- Arlen Kase - soldier in the Metegaran Navy. After an enemy assault in Chapter 3 leaves him as the only surviving soldier of his detachment he experiences something of a spirit walk before returning to kick ass. He spearheads the protagonists' efforts to take down Julian Vail and his evil buddies.
- Emma Braegiss - a morally grey telepathic assassin from the techno-planet Cy. Her actions switch from heroic to Ax-Crazy psychotic at the drop of a hat. She's the reason that Julian Vail becomes the Big Bad in Chapter 12, and also has some unresolved issues with her ex-girlfriend that lead to the latter's death.
- Brendan Maulen - musical prodigy from entertainment-planet Verdania. He was largely pressed into the limelight as a child given his family's prestigious history, and as such led something of a sheltered life. After an attack on the vessel carrying most of the main characters he suffers a mental breakdown, and departs from the main group in Chapter 15, but returns at the start of Chapter 17 after he Took a Level in Badass and vows to stop the baddies.
- Lastolian - a slightly-crazed by still very cogent self-styled Prophet who is (initially) from Tezra. His past is shrouded in mystery, given that it transpires he's actually one of a race of godlike beings who left him behind as an emissary to kick humanity's ass for their decadent ways. He later, literally, becomes God.
- Lanna Plasiv - smart, book-savvy Vice President of Metegaran. Slightly hot-headed, and at times almost sickeningly patriotic, she is offered the Presidency by exiting leader Luke Da Cart, who in reality is trying to have her set up as a traitor to secure himself several more years as leader. He gets her arrested for treason. She escapes prison and retaliates by starting a manhunt for him.
- Lev Stolv - a militiaman of the Swarm, the main adversaries of humanity, introduced in Chapter 4. His explosive debut includes almost killing Emma's new friend Brother Herbert, torching the organisation that hired her and taking off in her ship immediately thereafter. In a nice twist of fate he's betrayed by the people who employed him, who leave him for dead on a desert planet, right before he's rescued by his boss and enslaved as a pet personal assistant. He's something of a truth-seeker in this story, but is nowhere near as patriotic towards his race as Lanna is.
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Tropes Utilised
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The Swarm capturing the Pendragon in Chapter 3, and giving Kase hell for it afterwards.
- Always Save the Girl: Subverted by Vail having to watch his beloved, Siana, get killed as the last twist of his deceased adversary's plan, leading to Vail's eventual Face–Heel Turn.
- Anyone Can Die: Siana is a good example of this early on, as is Luke, Vas, Stolv and Lanna.
- Arc Words: "The Sundering".
- Archetype: Brendan is the Reluctant Hero, Kase is the Devoted Soldier, Cardain is the Evil Villain.
- Artifact of Death: Arguably, the Penumbra fills this role.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Vail, Cardain, The Prisoner, General Tamb, General Vas
- Body Horror: Swarm bio-organics. It's hard not to shiver at both Stolv's Swarm induction and Brendan's semi-conversion in Chapter 10.
- Brainwashed: Vail, and to a lesser extent Kase, but both by Cardain. The guy gets around.
- Casual Interstellar Travel: Lane-jumping, also highlighted when Lastolian swats aside the EM barrier to get to the Penumbra
- Chekhov's Gun: The teleport bracelet
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Vas's treatment of Stolv. Could also be considered a Fate Worse than Death. Eesh.
- Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are: Subverted slightly as Vail silently hunts the Prisoner on his vessel in Chapter 7.
- Distant Prologue: Lastolian's death and rebirth at the start.
- Doesn't Like Guns: Lastolian, although it's never explicitly stated.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: The destruction of Klamastis.
- Energy Being: Lastolian. He pretty much becomes God after Vail kicks his ass in Chapter 20.
- Evil Counterpart: After his Face–Heel Turn, Vail is this to Kase.
- Evil Plan: Cardain's entire plan for revenge against Vail, unknowingly set in motion by Lanna's arrest and subsequent imprisonment in Chapter 7, continuing into the jailbreak in Chapter 12, his meeting with Vail in Chapter 13, their capture of the Penumbra and use of it against the good guys in Chapters 14 through 19, culminating in Vail's mind being completely mind rapedthrough both Cardain's telepathy and the knowledge of what he has done and the people he's killed. Made all the more worse by the fact that Cardain's death does nothing to stop any of the mind rape.
- Evil Twin: The Prisoner/Lejin Kase, although not technically a twin.
- Explosive Decompression: Occurs when Vail escapes the Dante in Chapter 12. Kase is almost a victim to it.
- Face–Heel Turn: Vail after he is accidentally mind-probed by Emma, and even more so when Cardain gets a hold of him. The end result is not pretty.
- Flashback: Used frequently, specifically in Chapters 5, 8, 11, 13, 14, 17 and 20. Subverted slightly in Chapter 10.
- "Flowers for Algernon" Syndrome: Julian Vail, beginning with Siana?s death in Chapter 7 and finally eroding all that was good in him, gained from Brendan's company, by the start of Chapter 13.
- Finish Him!: Cardain telepathically urges Vail to do this when Lastolian is on his last legs ? to which the bounty hunter immediately acquiesces. Talk about being impressionable.
- This also occurs when Kase murders a battered, confused and extremely apologetic Vail at the beginning of Cycle 2. Vail begs for mercy, so Kase gives him a bullet to the head. He is one cold bastard.
- Flaw Exploitation: Vail's sorrow at Siana's death and Emma's self-loathing over [[spoiler killing Kate]].
- Government Conspiracy: Played with by Luke DaCart, as he is the only one engineering it.
- Heel–Face Turn: Arguably, Stolv fits this in Chapter 20, when he briefly allies with Emma to kill General Vas and the bridge crew of the Onterron. Whether or not this would have been permanent becomes a moot point after she shoots him in the back.
- Honor Before Reason: Lanna when she attempts to negotiate with Vail and Cardain in Chapter 20, with the Presidency on the line if she succeeds, right before Kase tases her.
- Human Aliens: Zigzagged with The Swarm, once their heritage is revealed.
- Interesting Situation Duel: Vail and Kase on a space station, made of hardened glass, orbiting a globe of purple energy, driven to near-psychotic status (or in Vail's case, near-animalistic status) by telepathic horrormaster Cardain.
- Kick the Dog: Vail trying to kill Lastolian, Vail blasting away at the two fleets outside the Penumbra, Vail trying to kill Kase...so pretty much anything Vail does after Chapter 15.
- Killed Off for Real: [[spoiler:
Word of God indicates that Lanna, Stolv, Siana, Vas, Tamb, The Prisoner, Cardain and Luke are all definitely dead for real, and will not return to the story with some Lazarus-like resurrection technology (excepting a brief appearance by Stolv from an alternate universe). He hasn't said anything about Lykard, however... - Loss of Identity: Vail suffers this as part of Emma?s mind probe, and is further screwed up by Cardain?s control once he makes a "truce" with him on Arctico. His identity is only restored after he's swallowed whole by Lastolian's godlike Sundering powers.
- Love Makes You Evil: Played semi-straight with Emma, twisted with Vail.
- Made of Phlebotinum: Most of the story.
- Mind Rape: Vail, Emma and Massick all fall victim to this, and to a lesser extent Brendan, Kase and Lanna are also recipients of this. Funnily enough, almost all of them have it happen to them by the same guy.
- On that subject, Cardain himself, the mastermind behind most of the mind rapes, gets his own when Emma reverses it against him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Vail's memories on Arctico in Chapter 13 and during his resurrection in Chapter 20. He literally has one of these in the first chapter of Cycle 2, right before Kase gives him a coup de grace with his gun.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Vas and Vail both slowly become the epitome of this trope.
- Only One Name: Lastolian.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: General Tamb, subverted by Stolv.
- Psycho for Hire: Bardra Massick, Mind Flayer. We'll let you figure out the rest.
- The Purge: The end of both Tempus and the Swarm in Chapter 20. Confirmed at the start of Cycle 2.
- Ragnarök Proofing: The Penumbra.
- Redemption Equals Death: Subverted with Stolv and Vail.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Used when Kase tasers Lanna and proceeds to lay the smackdown on Vail straight afterwards.
- Single-Biome Planet: Llanfall, Sybillins, Arctico, and Betadina Gamma.
- Storming the Castle: The Battle of the Penumbra.
- Techno Babble: Occurs frequently throughout.
- Time Travel: Tempus, and specifically the mission they give Kase
- Token Evil Teammate: Vail, after a fashion.
- Took a Level in Badass: Brendan, after his breakdown at the end of Chapter 15, returns to full form and shoots the bad guys in Chapter 19.
- Touched by Vorlons: Brendan, during and after Chapter 10.
- Tragic Hero: Vail, until his Face–Heel Turn.
- We Can Rule Together: Vail and Cardain, until it's revealed Cardain?s just trying to kill Vail and the whole thing's a ruse.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Seen in the flashbacks of Chapter 13 when Vail disowns his family.
- Zerg Rush: The Swarm militiamen represent this.
- Zeerust: Inverted, the Penumbra, being an ancient space station, has shiny tech way beyond anyone else's capability, and weapons that kick the crap out of any who are stupid enough to get close.
