Saga Blue Sun Down: A SW/Firefly XO--Winner, Best Crossover, 2008 Fanfic Awards

Thanks to everyone for voting for Blue Sun Down in the Fanfic awards. Blue Sun Down named winner of the Best Crossover for the 2008 Fanfic Awards for the Saga. Thank you all for your support and for reading!


Disclaimer: I own nothing. Lucas owns Star Wars. Joss Wheden is God. Amen.

Cheers
Darth Marrs


Blue Sun Down

A AU Star Wars/AU Firefly Crossover

Timeframe: 27-19 BBY Star Wars
2518 CE Firefly

Characters:

Quinlan Vos, Jedi Master,
Other SW characters as necessary
Cast and Crew of Firefly 3 weeks after Serenity.
AU Wash and Book were both severely injured, BUT LIVED
(because I wanted them to).
Former Operative
OCs

Synopsis: Three weeks after the events on Mr. Universe's planet, the crew of Serenity take a job they shouldn't have, and learn truths far more terrifying than anything they learned at Miranda.


Blue Sun Down


Prologue: A Ghost of Memory


Serenity moved as a shadow in the black, drifting with minimal power through the endless void of space.

Within this shadow of a ship moved a shadow of a person, almost transparent in her slimness, ethereal in her silence. She skimmed barefoot through the gantries above Serenity?s cargo hold, listening; observing. Healing. She was a creature of darkness, with large, expressive eyes that sucked in the meager illumination of the ship?s sleep cycle and peered with vision beyond that of her fellow crewmates.

Three weeks ago, they were on Mr. Universe. Three weeks ago, she wielded a chipped axe and a bent sword made from an atmospheric propeller against at least eighty Reavers. She remembered the feeling of exhilaration that coursed through her veins as everything in her life, all the pain and anguish and memories that were never hers coalesced into that one, brilliant moment of purpose.

Three weeks ago, River Tam realized she was a killer.

There were other killers on this ship, men and women capable of and willing to take life. She could hear them now?sense, perhaps was the better word. The captain was talking to Inara on the flight deck. Since their brush with the Operative, Inara had elected to remain on board. Each night for the past three weeks, she had tended to the captain?s many hurts, obtained in his fight with the Alliance?s most deadly assassin.

?Did I show you where he stabbed me?? Mal said for the tenth time that evening.

?Yes, Mal,? Inara said. River could hear the smile on the Companion?s lips; she could feel the love there that neither Mal nor Inara could quite conceal any longer.

On the other side of the ship, in the Infirmary, she could hear Zoe reading to her husband. Wash nearly died on Mr. Universe, pierced through his stomach by a Reaver grapple. It was a stroke of luck bordering on the miraculous that the grapple itself stopped the internal bleeding, and even more so that it missed both the heart and the lungs. There were three cracked vertebrae, but the spinal cord was not damaged.

Simon, who was not in very good shape himself after the fight with the Reavers, was able to remove the grapple with the help of the Alliance medical personnel on loan from an oddly recalcitrant Operative. With state of the art facilities on an Alliance cruiser, Simon managed to salvage much of Wash?s stomach and intestines, save for four feet of large intestine that suffered the worst of the damage. That section of Wash?s digestive track now rested in a large jar filled with preserving gel under the pilot?s panel on the flight deck, right next to his plastic dinosaurs.

She could hear Wash now, interrupting Zoe. ?Honey, I?m hungry. Could you get me something to eat?oh, that?s right. My stomach?s gone. Never mind.?

Zoe chuckled and kissed her husband passionately. ?I?m glad you?re not dead, Honey.?

?Me too, Honey,? Wash said. It was not a joke, and neither laughed.

?Honey??

?Yes, my beautiful warrior woman??

?You?re not a leaf on the wind.?

A pained snort of breath. ?Now yo

 

First, put me on the PM list. Now!

Second...

 

A gun can be used for evil purposes, but the gun itself is not evil. You were created as a weapon, River, but that does not make you evil. Nor does it even mean you have to be a weapon. God gave you Free Will, and no matter how hard the Alliance tried to take it away from you, you have it still.

This is great Marrs, I'm curious how you're going to fit it all in with the GFFA. Definately worth a second post; or at minimum 30-40!

PM me too!

 

Sweet, this combines two of my favorite fandoms.

Very nice work. I think you did a great job here with the Firefly characters, a feat which I'm admittedly envious of. River's got to be a tough character to write, particularly as a POV character, but this was really good. Nice way to set everything up on Serenity.

I'm glad to see there is some amount of AU present here. I still get all teary-eyed just thinking about a leaf on the wind.

I do hope there's a second post. If there is, I'll definitely be tuning in. Good job!

-Thumper

 

This story is looking very good already, Darth_Marrs, and looks set to be the equal of the other SW/Firefly crossover in this thread. Your AU is interesting; and I'm looking forward very much to see what you make of it. Could you please put me on your PM list for updates?

 

Loved the way you introduced each character. Add me to the PM list, please?

 

What a great start!! I just finished reading your other story Gods of Dark and Light, and I thought it was the best crossover I have ever read!!

Please put me on the PM list!!
I am looking forward to the next installment!

GraceSolo

 

Loved it so far. I thought you did an excellent job with River and all the other characters. Please PM me with updates!

 

VaderLVR64?I think you?re the first post on almost all of my stories. Thank you! Also, as the author of the only Dune cross-over I?ve seen on TFN, did you happen to catch my veiled Dune reference? I?ve made two in my fan fiction that only a true Dune aficionado would catch. I was actually bit proud of this one, since it was an allusion to Dune that fit perfect with the story.

Correllian_ale?Thank you. It?s going to be a completely immersive crossover, but told almost strictly from the Firefly ?verse?s perspective.

Thumper09?Thank you. You?re right that River was tough to write. Her character does undergo some changes in the story, but I hope they?re believable changes. My first version followed canon, but I realized that the story just wasn?t the same without Wash, and killing Book ruined a great mystery on who he really was.

Kevin_Solo?That?s high praise, since I?m a fan of that other fic as well! Will do.

Golden_Jedi?Thank you. Will do.

GraceSolo?Thank you. If you liked GOD&L you might also like my Legacy of the Red Sun series. On the surface it sounds cheesy, but I took a straight dramatic approach and those who?ve read it seemed to enjoy. Glad to have you aboard.

Dianethx?Thank you, I appreciate the kind words. Will do.

Wow. One post and I have a PM list. I hope I?m able to continue without disappointing anyone. I guess we?re about to find out. Here?s the first full chapter. Enjoy.

(Author?s note: Regarding the Chinese, most of my phrases came from Fireflyfans.net. I won?t translate as some of them are less than nice. Some are pretty hilarious.)



Chapter One: The Three Hills Job


?Doc, why are we havin? this discussion again?? Mal said loudly. ?My boat, my rules. You don?t like ?em, get the hell off, dong ma??

?She?s an eighteen-year-old girl,? Simon said as the two walked down the gantry toward the waiting mule. ?She is not some personal bodyguard or your in-house psychic.?

Mal actually stopped. ?Did you not see same said girl corpsify a whole gorram army of Reavers all by her lonesome? Did you not see same said girl save your sorry pee-goo? She does not need protecting. Way I see it, if anyone needs protecting, it?s us from her.? He leaned forward until his nose brushed Simon?s. ?So, we really gonna have this conversation, again??

?It?s okay, Simon,? River said as she drifted past the two men barefoot. ?I won?t get shot today.? She hitched a thumb at Mal. ?He will. In the shoulder.?

From the mule, Zoe perked up and said, ?You?re going to get shot today, Sir??

?Seems so,? Mal said, all thought of the doctor falling from his brain. ?Zhoa mei mei, how am I going to be shot??

River climbed into the mule and slipped on a pair of Jayne?s old, oversized goggles as the mercenary also climbed in. The look of exasperation she gave him made her look like a mother scolding a slow child. ?With a gun, silly.?

?Will we make any money?? Jayne said as he climbed in.

?Yes.?

The merc shrugged and looked at Mal. ?Sounds worth it to me. Let?s go.?

With a last look at River, Mal climbed into the Mule as Zoe kicked it in gear. As they flew out of the cargo hold, he turned and said, ?Which shoulder??

River leaned forward and poked his left shoulder. ??Least it?s not my gun arm,? Mal said.


* * *


The job was supposed to be a simple transport: a cryo-chest of cattle embryos to be shipped to a rancher on Santo. Plus a security man to ensure no one tampers with it. Because of the questionable nature of shipping agricultural products without proper permits, the seller was willing to pay a lot, since said permits cost even more than that. Geneered livestock capable of moving from world to world while remaining viable was a closely guarded commodity on the core worlds. This, as Mal explained, was why he was charging a lot in the first place.

However, as the mule hovered through the desolate, sparse vegetation that was

 

?Doc, why are we havin? this discussion again?? Mal said loudly. ?My boat, my rules. You don?t like ?em, get the hell off, dong ma??

?She?s an eighteen-year-old girl,? Simon said as the two walked down the gantry toward the waiting mule. ?She is not some personal bodyguard or your in-house psychic.?

What I love is that you've remained so true to the characters! Bravo on a job well done!

 

The captain was on the ground cradling his left shoulder and glaring up at her. ?Tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-chiouh doh sai-jin wuh duh pee-goo!? he shouted. ?Would it have been too much to say, ?Get down???

River shrugged and squatted beside him just as the report of the gun reached them and a bullet whizzed over her head to strike the dry, dusty ground a few feet away. ?If you got down, it would have hit Zoe in the head,? she said.

?Huh.?

Loved this exchange! Thanks for the PM.

 

Thanks for putting me on your PM list, DM! Chapter One was good, with the Firefly people being very much in character. What I'm interested in is what changes they cause in the GFFA. Doing it from their perspective will be very interesting. I hope some of them wonder why a planet would entrust extensive political power to a 14-year old.

 

This is so bang on with Firefly! I have to wonder what/who is the man with the blue gloves.
You have the people from Serenity down perfectly.

Loved it.

?Seems so,? Mal said, all thought of the doctor falling from his brain. ?Zhoa mei mei, how am I going to be shot??

River climbed into the mule and slipped on a pair of Jayne?s old, oversized goggles as the mercenary also climbed in. The look of exasperation she gave him made her look like a mother scolding a slow child. ?With a gun, silly.?

?Will we make any money?? Jayne said as he climbed in.

?Yes.?

The merc shrugged and looked at Mal. ?Sounds worth it to me. Let?s go.?

With a last look at River, Mal climbed into the Mule as Zoe kicked it in gear. As they flew out of the cargo hold, he turned and said, ?Which shoulder??

River leaned forward and poked his left shoulder. ??Least it?s not my gun arm,? Mal said.

 

Pretty damn awesome story

Put me on the PM list please

 

I only have time to read the first post, but I have to comment.

This quote is a good example of what I?m really liking about this fic just from the first post. I can absolutely hear these lines in the character?s voices. You?ve done a great job of capturing that Serenity tone. I?ll be interested to see where you take this story.

 

Great first chapter. It was easy for me to picture Mal, Zoe, Jayne and River out on the planet doing the job. The interaction between them flows very nicely.


?Will we make any money?? Jayne said as he climbed in.
?Yes.?
The merc shrugged and looked at Mal. ?Sounds worth it to me. Let?s go.?

I loved this part when they were talking about Mal getting shot. That's so Jayne. heh heh.


?No, he hasn?t,? River said. She wiped her nose and took a deep breath.
?Mei mei, would you let me talk?? Mal said. He studied the ship for a long moment, noting the unfamiliar lines and the odd fin. ?No. I haven?t.?

This part was great, too.

Uh oh, Reavers are never good. Combine that with the Hands of Blue...could be bad for the group. I'm with River--I wonder where the second blue-hands man is, and I wonder what happened to the crashed ship.

Looking forward to more!

-Thumper

 

Sweet! Great start Marrs. I love Firefly and Serenity (except for Wash and Book dying). You've really got the characters down, even River who must be one of the hardest characters for someone to write. Kudos. I could picture everyone and hear their voices saying those lines. You've also got the Firefly humor down well too. I read Legacy of the Red Sun and loved it, you're a very talented writer. From what I've read so far you could have been an assistant writer on Firefly (I think Wedon did most or all himself). Please add me to your PM list and looking forward to the next update.

 

A funny line, for one, and also perfectly in line with River's character. I imagine she'd be a tricky one to write.

The action was very well-done; I could definitely see the whole scene playing out. I'll be interested to see how the GFFA plays into things.

Great post! If you'd like to PM me when you update, that'd be super shiny.

 

VaderLVR64?Thank you. Joss Whedon did such an outstanding job developing those characters it makes it much easier for us fans to follow his path. It might not have had all the wiz-bank big explosions other Franchises had, but I believe Firefly was the best-written science fiction show of its time, and certainly one of the best ever made. Too bad Fox screwed it up so bad.

Golden_Jedi?Thank you for reading!

Kevin_Solo?Your welcome, and thank you for reading. I?m awfully tempted just to spill the beans on who that dead contractor is, but then that would give away plot points. I?m one of those schmucks who tells people how movies end, so keeping this under wraps is hard. I?m trying, though!

Dianethx?That is a big mystery. I do reveal it eventually, but not for a while. Gotta keep some suspense in there!

Cobranaconda?Thanks, and done.

The Face (1)?Thank you. I?ll admit to going back and looking at scripts from the show to try and match up dialogue. I have a natural accent similar to Mal?s, but they also tent to leave out words in odd places that I need to really think about when I?m writing. I don?t have it done perfect, but I?m pretty close, I think. Also keeping track of who talks proper English, and who talks with the drawl is a challenge. But it's also very fun.

Thumper09?Chapter One was unabashedly based on the opening of the movie. And the Reavers are definitely integral to this story. More than that?

Cggunnersmate?I didn?t care for Wash and Book dying myself, as you can see. I appreciate the kinds words about Legacy and in general. Trying to find a light side to everything, I admit that I would love to be a professional writer, but if I were, I?d be on strike, and that would stink. So, I guess I should be happy in a dead-end bureaucratic desk job. Right?

The Face(2)?I?m glad you enjoyed. I?ll add you on.

I?ve accrued a PM list pretty quick. This is who I have so far. I only add folks who specifically request it, so if I missed you please let me know.

Dianethx
cggunnersmate
Cobranaconda
Correllian Ale
Golden Jedi
Grace Solo
Kevin Solo
VaderLVR64

Thank you all for reading. Here with go with the next installment. I hope you enjoy!



Chapter Two: Bug Swatter; Baby Cows


He was an Operative of Parliament.

Once upon a time he was a man. He had a name. He had a family. A little girl, a wife he adored more than his own life. They left Beaumond for a new life on the Rim. Then the war came, and those loyalists like himself who had the misfortune to live in the Independence Territories suffered for their allegiances. The Browncoats came for him when he allowed the Alliance to use his farmstead as a staging area.

The missed him, but they managed to kill his wife. And his little girl.

Now the Operative had no name. He was not a man. He was a shadow. He was a warning to those who would threaten the peace he once wanted for those he loved. He was death.

Those who had reason to call on him called him Walsingham, after an historical figure from Earth-that-was who committed acts of a monstrous nature in order to defend a glorious kingdom.

He stood now on the barren plains of Three Hills, looking over the shattered remnants of an unidentified ship. His men finished their sweeps and reported four dead locals, plus a Blue Sun contractor in the wreck.

?There is no sign of the cryo-tank or the second contractor,? the Special Forces lieutenant said. The Operative had his pick of Alliance personnel, and the only ones worth their weight were the Special Forces units. His predecessor taught him that lesson just three weeks ago after losing almost eight thousand men and three Alliance battle cruisers and several support ships to kill a force of only a few thousand Reavers.

Walsingham nodded and stepped gingerly among the crash, scanning everything closely. That was when he saw it. He knelt

 

That ain?t no baby cow, and no how!

Uh-oh, I wonder who it is...

 

This is wonderful. Loved how you've captured everyone's voice. This just struck me as hilarious.

Jayne picked himself up, glaring as he held his head with both hands. ?I weren?t gonna do squat!? he said. ?Just thinkin? it is all.?

?First off, we ain?t throwin? nothing out the airlock we could sell for money!? Mal said. ?Second, nobody beats up my merc but me!?

?That?s right!? Jayne said. He did a double take. ?What??


I can just picture Jayne's face as he said it.

Great job.

 

I know I read Chapter One already...why didn't I leave a response?


Zoe perked up and said, ?You?re going to get shot today, Sir??

?Seems so,? Mal said, all thought of the doctor falling from his brain. ?Zhoa mei mei, how am I going to be shot??

River climbed into the mule and slipped on a pair of Jayne?s old, oversized goggles as the mercenary also climbed in. The look of exasperation she gave him made her look like a mother scolding a slow child. ?With a gun, silly.?

I love how your characterizations are all spot on Marrs!



Ever see a ship like that, Mal?? Jayne asked.

?No, he hasn?t,? River said. She wiped her nose and took a deep breath.

?Mei mei, would you let me talk?? Mal said. He studied the ship for a long moment, noting the unfamiliar lines and the odd fin. ?No. I haven?t.?

Again, spot on!


?He doesn?t know what he is,? River said. She continued to stare at the tank with wide, startled eyes. ?Doesn?t know who.?

Hmmm...


Will return for next chapter!

 

LOL! Another great chapter. I'm guessing this Corlingua that the Alliance is teaching is Galactic Basic maybe, which originated on Coruscant perhaps, or maybe it's Corellian. I also wonder who's in the tank, some Jedi I'm guessing but is it one we know or an OC hmm. Again you've got all the Firefly characters spot on! Now you just have to find a way to work in Jayne saying "I'll be in my bunk" and I'll be ROFL! Looking forward to the next update!

 

This is really great. I thought River's craziness was right on target. I now can't wait to find how this links in with SW

 

I am so glad I decided to go surfing the Boards today. I found this! I'm happy to see you're posting the re-write now.

And it's off to a great start. Your River characterization is brilliant, as always. And I love the fact that Book and Wash survived. Not baby cows, for sure! Serenity sure has a thing for people hidden in cryo tanks.

I can't wait to read more.

You mind putting me on the PM list? Thanks!