Hi! So, my brain literally took the whole alternate universe thing a bit too seriously, and I came up with this on my short walk to work yesterday morning.
I hope people enjoy it!
The Great Conjunction
The orange haired woman sat outside during her break at work. A conversation she overheard from a group of the restaurants local patrons was playing on her mind. 'Do you think the is prophecy real?' Nami recalled one of them asking her as she came to collect their empty plates. She looked up to the sky wondering about all the possibilities her future could hold.
She watched the binary sunset over the hazy horizon. The two stars danced about their barycentre battling for power. A fight that the blue star always one. Its gravity was so fierce it was slowly consuming stellar matter from it's smaller companion, creating a red line from the crimson sun, that appeared in the sky like a tail. It trailed behind the smaller red sun as it ran in circles from the larger blue one.
Nami wished there was more to the night sky. There were no stars, save for the two at the heart of the solar system, but they were obviously only seen during the day. At night, only the light reflected off other celestial objects could be seen. Beyond the immediate night sky, there was nothing but a terrifying emptiness. No distant stars, nothing. The solar system was encased in a dense dust cloud called the Calm Belt. It blocked out any possible light from their galactic neighbours. Leaving them with miles and miles of empty sky.
She had drawn maps of the heavens at the same time each night from being a little girl. Plotting where all of East planet's satellites would be. It was easy because they orbited the planet she lived on. The neighbouring planet, North, and its satellites were a bit more difficult.
Each moon in the solar system had a molten metal core, creating its very own electromagnetic field, but that was where the similarities ended. Things like tidal heating, and other cosmic processes, made every celestial body very much alive its own way, and also very deadly. They orbited their centre of gravity at different speeds, too. Just one of the many reasons to add to the list of why they were problematic.
Nami hated to imagine what the sky on North would look like. At night there would be even less to see, just more empty sky, save for whatever few moons were in the hemisphere on that particular night.
She missed the routine of plotting maps. Life, and the desperate need for belli had gotten in the way. She knew the sky well enough that she didn't have to refer to the planisphere she was creating. She knew where most of the objects would be in the sky. The hazy atmosphere of Whisky Peak always gave that satellite away. Water 7 was the only visible blue moon in the sky.
Nami desperately wanted to plot where the two other terrestrial planets were, and the satellites that orbited them. She had heard stories about them from various sources, but had never seen the two other planets. They were paired as opposites with her home world and North. Never to catch a glimpse of its twin as they maintained even distances from one and other along the same orbital plane. The binary stars at the centre of the solar system completely eclipsed the other two planets and their satellites. The dully named North and South shared the colder outer orbit, East and West shared the slightly warmer inner orbit.
"Nami-swan!" The restaurant's sous chef called out to her.
"I'll be there in a minute." She informed him. She wanted to watch as the suns went down.
"Okay~" Sanji cooed before returning to his work.
Their ancestors called it the Great Conjunction. The sky pirates of the modern 'New World' called it The Grand Line. A prophecy that predicted the celestial alignment of every object in the heavens. Eclipsing half the solar system from its binary heart, shrouding it in a terrifying darkness for an unknown amount of time. The gravitation strain of the alignment was prophesied to throw everything into chaos.
There were sceptic's, as there are with anything. There are also apostles. People who have such a fearful belief in the prophecy that they have prepared a military faction to maintain order during the chaotic time. The Four Worlds Government, it was called. Though, often the word 'four' is left out.
Nami had made a promise to her friend, Luffy. That when the prophecy came true, when the Grand Line emerged, she would take to the skies and navigate for him, so he could fulfil his dream. She was a sceptic when she was young, until she started to plot her maps. Her calculations showed that the outer planet North, moved across its very long orbital plane at a slightly faster pace than the East did. The planet slowly etching closer to its neighbour, meaning the prophecy would come true. The two planets would move as one for a time, as would South and West. She was still sceptical about the gravitational effects, though.
She wanted to fly out into the sky, to turn to the 'Grand Line' and see every celestial object aligned, and to see the unnerving pitch black of the rest of the empty sky. She imagined herself there, a glimmering road of spherical lights before her, nothing either side.
Nami had never even left East, so her image of what the planets and moons might look like from space could be way off. She was dating a man because he promised to take her off world. After two dates, she very much hoped it would be their third.
"You shitty little brat!" Zeff shouted at Sanji, drawing Nami's attention. "I don't pay you to stare at our waitress..." The owner continued to reprimand at his apprentice. Nami took that opportunity to slip back inside.
Her job as a waitress at the Baratie, was one of many. She also worked at garage called The Thousand Suns. The owner there was an eccentric cyborg, Franky. A complete genius who could build, or maintain any ship worthy of the night sky. Nami usually worked the reception, conning customers into purchasing upgrades they didn't need, or simply flirting with them until they requested the most expensive service for their vessel. Franky would always give her a cut of the takings.
Nami would spend her mornings at the garage, then her afternoons and evenings at the restaurant.
The Baratie was always open late, and the night shifts were always busier than the mornings, so it suited her well.
A young man, about her age, named Usopp ran the bar. He was constantly telling stories to the customers about places he had apparently been, adventures he'd supposedly had. The more they drank, the more they believed him. He was telling one now, though Nami actually believed this one to be true.
"I am the son of a great man, a great pirate!" Usopp boasted. "His name is Yasopp. He flies with 'Red-Haired' Shanks!"
Nami smiled at his expression. He was earnest and proud, that's how she knew he was telling the truth.
"Nami-ya!" A low, sadistic voice drawled.
'Shit' she thought to herself. Nami was momentarily frozen, her eyes wide, her hand moving to cover her mouth. The low chuckle she heard from the man quickly thawed her body, and she ran for the kitchen.
"Don't you dare run from me, you infuriating woman!" Law shouted, and instantly captured her. He covered her mouth, and wrapped an arm around her waist. His tall frame made it easy for him to lift her from the ground, and carry her out of the Baratie. Nami struggled against him to no avail, he was too strong and kept her bound against his body. She watched his surprised crew pass by as he marched her to his yellow ship. He had landed in the nearest possible space to the restaurant, so hopefully Sanji would see and come to her aid soon, if things got out of control.
Trafalgar Law set her down, but pulled her closer to him with his tight hold on her. "What the fuck is this?" He demanded as he pressed a button on the outside of the airlock.
"Welcome." A familiar voice sounded.
"Well?" He grumbled. His lips presses against Nami's ear sending a shiver through her body. One that didn't go unnoticed by him.
"It's an audio program." Nami explained as she turned her head to try and face him. She wanted to smile and bat her eyelashes, hoping it would make a difference.
"It's an audio program. One that sounds every time I walk through a doorway on board my ship … every doorway!" He shouted at her as he spun her around to face him. "I didn't ask for an audio program! I asked your cyborg friend to fix my hull. I wondered why it was so expensive until I heard that!" Law's face was contorted with anger.
"Why are you confronting me about it? Franky is the owner, take it up with him!" Nami knew him well enough to hope she wasn't in any sort of real danger. Her two dates with the extremely rich ex-government surgeon turned pirate, had showed her that he wasn't as bad as his reputation lead people to believe. He was also close, albeit reluctant friends with Luffy, and had been for a while.
"Nami-ya." Law sighed as he pressed the button again.
"Welcome."
"The fact that you ran from me says it all! Whose voice is that?" He inquired as he leaned in closer to her.
Nami turned her head away from him, and pursed her lips in a way she had seen Luffy do many times.
Law grabbed her chin and raised her face to his. "That is your voice Nami-ya. You recorded this audio program, and probably just to piss me off!" he accused. "I didn't ask for it, so do something about it." He ordered her.
Nami had gotten a huge bonus from this, so she wasn't going to back down. "Just because you didn't ask for it, doesn't mean that you don't want it!" She said smugly before sticking her tongue out at him, claiming this as her victory.
Law's eyes were fixed then on the pink appendage protruding from her lips. She retracted it slowly, but not seductively. Just not fast enough that he knew she had noticed him staring.
"I'll remember that line." He promised her. Law escorted her inside his ship to the maintenance panel just inside the cargo bay doors. "And that wasn't there before." He informed her, pointing to what was obviously a finger print recognition plate.
Law sighed before he spoke again. "How am I meant to uphold my fearsome reputation as a sadistic pirate captain? I can't exit my ship in front of my enemies, because the motion sensors prompt that fucking audio program! Your sexy voice sounds, bidding me farewell!"
"Sexy voice, hey?" Nami teased.
Law gave his woman a pointed look, letting her know that this was really not the time to be tormenting him.
"Okay. I see your point." Nami conceded. " You'll have to wait for it to malfunction, though." She explained.
"How long will that take?" Law sighed in exasperation. His glare turning colder.
"It is Frankys work, so maybe a thousand years ..." Nami estimated with a smile.
"I want my money back!" He ordered.
"Tough, it's my money now." Nami huffed, folding her arms across her body.
"Don't you know who I am? Don't you know my reputation?" He asked through narrowed eyes as he pinned her against the side his ship.
"Of course I do." Nami said, completely unafraid. She wrapped her arms around his neck to try and lessen his foul mood.
He loved that she wasn't afraid of him, or was just simply too bold to admit it if she was.
"Then you know what I'm capable of, and you know that I'll take what I want." Law threatened.
"You wouldn't dare!" Nami said. Law enjoyed the sound of that challenge.
"Wouldn't I?" He purred as he captured her lips briefly.
"I better get back to work." Nami quickly excused herself, after pulling away from their kiss.
"Nami-ya!" Law said pointing to the maintenance panel.
"Fine!" She huffed and put her hand on the print recognition plate.
'Audio erased.' Appeared on the screen next to the panel.
"Thank you." Law sighed in relief.
"Did you like what it said when you went into your bedroom?" Nami asked, curiously.
"What did it say?" Law questioned her immediately. A hint of disappointment on his face,
"Did you not go in?" Nami teased him again.
"No! What did it say?" He grabbed her shoulder to stop her from walking away.
"I guess you'll never know now since it's been erased. Maybe it told you all the things I want you to do to me, or maybe it said all the things I want to do to you ... Who knows." She said, as she leant up and placed a kiss on the tuft of hair on his chin. Her eyes fixed on his, enjoying the way he smirked down at her.
"You can tell me those things." Law insisted, trying to pull her against him.
"Maybe I already tried." She winked and shook free of his grip to walked off.
"I'm picking you up after work!" Law shouted to her.
"No, don't. I need an early night. I'm running the fruit stall for Nojiko in the morning" Nami hollered back, half turning her head, but not looking at him.
Trafalgar Law watched her as she walked back into the Baratie, admiring the sway of her hips as she moved. He planned to get a few more dates out of her before he finally took her off world. Just in case.
I really hope that I managed to explain that well enough so people could understand it, and visualize it. I might photoshop something, just in case.
I know it isn't really possible for planets to maintain a stable orbit around a binary star, and that there are a couple of other issues like that with it, but hey!
Oh, and please let me know if anyone is actually interested in the AU. I've had a few ideas that's fit into it, but not enough for an actual fic.
Sorry for any typo's.
Thanks!
2nd July
