The Eidolon Job by RSR (PG-13)

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Fandom: FARSCAPE
Pairing: a bit of Stark/Zhaan, a tiny bit of John/Chiana
Author on LJ: redstarrobot
Author Website: None
Why this must be read:

Remember when Zhaan did that pirate act in "Liars, Guns & Money?" Remember how cool that was? Wouldn't it be great to have some kind of AU in which Zhaan was a pirate for real? Or at least a bit less free of her violent anarchist past and a bit more willing to go around kicking ass? Well, in case you're not sure about the answer to that, let me assure you that it's a resounding "yes," at least in the case of this particular fic.

I suppose I need to include a bit of a disclaimer here, because I did have some involvement in this story. Quite a while ago, redstarrobot made a drabble request for a "pirate Zhaan AU," I wrote one for her, and when she later decided to explore the idea in a story of her own, she asked if she could use it as an intro. So, yes, the first 100 words here are mine. The rest is pure RSR, however (except perhaps the bits that are loving homage to The Italian Job), and not anything I could have written in a million years.

The story sort of parallels canon -- or perhaps more accurately twists and weaves around the framework of canon like some kind of crazy, twisty, weavy thing -- and yet it manages at the same time to feel incredibly creative and original and to work consistently with an AU logic of its own. Even better, it gets the character voices absolutely spot-on. I think Crichton and Chiana are especially good, but, tellingly, Zhaan herself sounds impressively Zhaan-like. It's actually very, very easy to believe that this is someone Zhaan could have become if whatever spiritual experience she had in prison had come out differently. She hasn't been turned into a cartoon villain here, but allowed to continue being a complex, layered character, every bit as much as the "real" Zhaan is.

The ultimate result is a story that's amusing in places, thought-provoking in others, and generally just plain fun, all the while offering you interesting new perspectives on the characters and the canon. Plus, if you ask me, it would have made a damned good TV show. So don't let those first 100 words put you off. :)

An excerpt:

Funny, thought John as he sat at the base of the console in Pilot's den, the big lobster-guy is a really great listener. “And ever since I fell through the goddamn looking glass, I haven't been able to make heads or tails of this crazy wonderland. There's the Blue Queen, the pack of cards, everyone all 'off with their heads!', and, man, all I can think is that I just want to find my white rabbit to guide me though this place, and click my heels three times and say 'there's no place like home', you know what I mean?”

“No...” said Pilot, looking down worriedly.

“Well, no, of course not, because the ruby slippers are a different movie altogether, but you get the idea. So now I've got until morning to decide whether to become Bluebeard's cabin boy, which is crazy, except everyone's acting like it's normal. Tell me, dude, is that sort of thing really normal out here?”

“I think you'll find,” said Pilot, “that what people will accept as normal depends a great deal on their circumstances. Gratitude--” he stopped to press a series of buttons “--and survival are very powerful considerations for people in difficult situations.”

“Whoa, do you think I'm being ungrateful?”

“She did save you from the Peacekeepers, too.”

“And that means I owe her a hand in pillaging, plundering, and probably murdering her way across the galaxy?”

Pilot waved a large claw. “Well, put it this way... how else do you plan to survive here, so far from your home?”

That was a very good question.

The Eidolon Job