Miklinar's Afterword and Notes
Some small while ago, Iejasu told me about a _Star
Wars_/_Voyager_ crossover she was playing with. She
asked if I would like to see it.
I frankly thought the idea was silly at first. But
_Star Trek_ has opened gateways to other universes
before.
The first major decision was "when?", for both sides
of the equation. Iejasu wanted Tom and B'Lanna to be
together. And it had to be before _Voyager_ was home,
of course -- otherwise, it's not _Voyager_, it's one
of the other _Treks_.
The other side was more indefinite at first. We
finally decided that the Vader near the end of Episode
6 was best for the story. That one would be more
likely to adapt to being in a new situation -- even if
he didn't realize at first it was a new universe.
We decided to change the final battle in the Emperor's
Throne Room by just a bit. The Emperor didn't damage
Vader quite as much as he did in the movie -- Vader
had to have a chance to live. And there was no
lopped-off hand.
Someone asked why Vader didn't just take over Voyager,
strangling Janeway to start with. (Oh, the
temptation!)
Vader is not Q. He can't control all of _Voyager_ by
himself -- he doesn't know how the systems work, and
he can't control enough people at once to run it. And
if he picked one or two vital crewmembers to control,
the changed behavior would bring negative attention to
him and his "pet" very soon. It's happened before on
_Voyager_. The others noticed the change, and _did_
something.
Without a Fleet or the political backing of the
Emperor, Vader has to resort to guile and diplomacy to
advance his agenda. It's a strain, but he's learning.
And it will take _time_.
And what _is_ his agenda? First, of course, to
survive. Then, to get closer to the top -- he's not
used to being on the bottom of the social ladder any
more. Getting home is a distant third on the list --
it might not even be possible.
The wormhole trip almost kills him. When Vader
arrives, he's half out of his mind with pain, and
having to deal with the Emergency Medical Hologram
could drive anyone to a temper tantrum.
Once he starts to heal... and especially when he
discovers they don't know who he is ... he does the
cultural equivalent of Sith invisibility: he slides
into _Voyager_'s tidy categories of "rescuee" and
"patient", and is taking maximum advantage of both
_Voyager_'s medical facilities, and all the new
engineering. Both of which he is encouraged to take
advantage of, to his surprise.
For the first time in years, he is dealing with people
with no pre-conceptions about him. Which challenges
him to re-examine his conception of himself.
And if he ever reaches home, what will have changed
there?
We have even speculated on time travel -- having Vader
arrive before he left. This could be extreme -- a
thousand years or a hundred -- or close -- he arrives
to see himself leaving Tatooine for the first time.
-----------
Minor notes
-----------
Vader and Naomi Wildman
As far as we know, the only experience Vader has with
children while he was adult/near adult is with Jedi
apprentices. Naomi, as the "token child" on _Voyager_
doesn't quite fit into the pattern Vader is used to,
but then again, she is not a normal child by _our_
standards, either. During Neelix's final episode, she
even said she wasn't a child any more. This from
someone the TV audience met before she was born in the
Delta Quadrant.
So Naomi is trying to fit Vader into her pattern of
"adult" while Vader tries to fit Naomi into
"child/apprentice."
-----------------
Seven of Nine and Vader
Before Kenobi arrived, someone suggested a romance
between Vader and Seven. It wasn't real likely.
First, she would be contemptuous of the tech level of
his prosthetics.
Second, there would be obvious distaste for the way he
loses his temper.
Third, she feels odd to him -- the "Force empty"
bubble caused by her Borg implants.
Both of them having implants is far from enough to
start a romance on.
Seven and the voices
We needed something more definite than just Kenobi
visiting Chakotay to cause Vader problems. And while
Kenobi is a manipulative soul ("I need you Luke. _She_
needs you.") there is nothing in the movies to suggest
possession was possible.
On the other hand, Seven has been known to be pushed
around by voices in her head before. It's a function
of messages from her implants.
-------------
On Fate
-------------
Why did this happen to Vader? And why _Voyager_?
On one hand, this question is silly -- these things
happen to characters because there are writers hiding
back behind the words.
On the other hand...
In some ways, Vader is more controlled by the Force
than controlling using it, and has been since his
conception. The Force could well have brought him
across to the closest universe capable of saving his
life, to the closest ship. But if the Force did so, it
means that something isn't finished with Vader yet --
I don't think the Force gives out new bodies as
retirement gifts.
Gripping hand, the story is driven by its characters.
Putting Vader on _Voyager_ after the Throneroom fight
has to put him into the Doctor's holographic hands
once he arrives in _VOyager_'s universe.
In a way, this reminds me of the final episode of
_Quantum Leap_. Whoever is jumping Sam around isn't
done with him yet. (No! We are not going to do a _Star
Wars_/_Enterprise_ crossover.)
----------
Third footnote on the left: read _Mote in God's Eye_
by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The somewhat
lopsided Moties had two right hands for medium to
light manipulation, and one heavily muscled left arm
for holding on and lifting.
----------
Iejasu's Afterword and Notes
First of all, this story would not have been half as good as it is without Miklinar.
Sometimes he asked questions that nearly drove me crazy.
Why would Vader act in this way?
No, Janeway would never do this like you describe it!
What does the detention area on Voyager looks like?
He asked if the security of the detention area was really able to restrain Vader with all his special Force abilities?
Sometimes i felt like hitting my head on the keyboard.
But that is what makes Miklinar so unique. He is the best writer and editor one can get.
He asks questions and does not stop until it is perfect!
He brutally badgered me to finish it and continued writing when I was distracted by
something new to marvel about...namely Harry Potter and esp. Professor Snape.
So If somebody is the real artist and made this story worth a hundred reviews, it is him!
Thanks Miklinar, for keeping up with me!
Iejasu
Some small while ago, Iejasu told me about a _Star
Wars_/_Voyager_ crossover she was playing with. She
asked if I would like to see it.
I frankly thought the idea was silly at first. But
_Star Trek_ has opened gateways to other universes
before.
The first major decision was "when?", for both sides
of the equation. Iejasu wanted Tom and B'Lanna to be
together. And it had to be before _Voyager_ was home,
of course -- otherwise, it's not _Voyager_, it's one
of the other _Treks_.
The other side was more indefinite at first. We
finally decided that the Vader near the end of Episode
6 was best for the story. That one would be more
likely to adapt to being in a new situation -- even if
he didn't realize at first it was a new universe.
We decided to change the final battle in the Emperor's
Throne Room by just a bit. The Emperor didn't damage
Vader quite as much as he did in the movie -- Vader
had to have a chance to live. And there was no
lopped-off hand.
Someone asked why Vader didn't just take over Voyager,
strangling Janeway to start with. (Oh, the
temptation!)
Vader is not Q. He can't control all of _Voyager_ by
himself -- he doesn't know how the systems work, and
he can't control enough people at once to run it. And
if he picked one or two vital crewmembers to control,
the changed behavior would bring negative attention to
him and his "pet" very soon. It's happened before on
_Voyager_. The others noticed the change, and _did_
something.
Without a Fleet or the political backing of the
Emperor, Vader has to resort to guile and diplomacy to
advance his agenda. It's a strain, but he's learning.
And it will take _time_.
And what _is_ his agenda? First, of course, to
survive. Then, to get closer to the top -- he's not
used to being on the bottom of the social ladder any
more. Getting home is a distant third on the list --
it might not even be possible.
The wormhole trip almost kills him. When Vader
arrives, he's half out of his mind with pain, and
having to deal with the Emergency Medical Hologram
could drive anyone to a temper tantrum.
Once he starts to heal... and especially when he
discovers they don't know who he is ... he does the
cultural equivalent of Sith invisibility: he slides
into _Voyager_'s tidy categories of "rescuee" and
"patient", and is taking maximum advantage of both
_Voyager_'s medical facilities, and all the new
engineering. Both of which he is encouraged to take
advantage of, to his surprise.
For the first time in years, he is dealing with people
with no pre-conceptions about him. Which challenges
him to re-examine his conception of himself.
And if he ever reaches home, what will have changed
there?
We have even speculated on time travel -- having Vader
arrive before he left. This could be extreme -- a
thousand years or a hundred -- or close -- he arrives
to see himself leaving Tatooine for the first time.
-----------
Minor notes
-----------
Vader and Naomi Wildman
As far as we know, the only experience Vader has with
children while he was adult/near adult is with Jedi
apprentices. Naomi, as the "token child" on _Voyager_
doesn't quite fit into the pattern Vader is used to,
but then again, she is not a normal child by _our_
standards, either. During Neelix's final episode, she
even said she wasn't a child any more. This from
someone the TV audience met before she was born in the
Delta Quadrant.
So Naomi is trying to fit Vader into her pattern of
"adult" while Vader tries to fit Naomi into
"child/apprentice."
-----------------
Seven of Nine and Vader
Before Kenobi arrived, someone suggested a romance
between Vader and Seven. It wasn't real likely.
First, she would be contemptuous of the tech level of
his prosthetics.
Second, there would be obvious distaste for the way he
loses his temper.
Third, she feels odd to him -- the "Force empty"
bubble caused by her Borg implants.
Both of them having implants is far from enough to
start a romance on.
Seven and the voices
We needed something more definite than just Kenobi
visiting Chakotay to cause Vader problems. And while
Kenobi is a manipulative soul ("I need you Luke. _She_
needs you.") there is nothing in the movies to suggest
possession was possible.
On the other hand, Seven has been known to be pushed
around by voices in her head before. It's a function
of messages from her implants.
-------------
On Fate
-------------
Why did this happen to Vader? And why _Voyager_?
On one hand, this question is silly -- these things
happen to characters because there are writers hiding
back behind the words.
On the other hand...
In some ways, Vader is more controlled by the Force
than controlling using it, and has been since his
conception. The Force could well have brought him
across to the closest universe capable of saving his
life, to the closest ship. But if the Force did so, it
means that something isn't finished with Vader yet --
I don't think the Force gives out new bodies as
retirement gifts.
Gripping hand, the story is driven by its characters.
Putting Vader on _Voyager_ after the Throneroom fight
has to put him into the Doctor's holographic hands
once he arrives in _VOyager_'s universe.
In a way, this reminds me of the final episode of
_Quantum Leap_. Whoever is jumping Sam around isn't
done with him yet. (No! We are not going to do a _Star
Wars_/_Enterprise_ crossover.)
----------
Third footnote on the left: read _Mote in God's Eye_
by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The somewhat
lopsided Moties had two right hands for medium to
light manipulation, and one heavily muscled left arm
for holding on and lifting.
----------
Iejasu's Afterword and Notes
First of all, this story would not have been half as good as it is without Miklinar.
Sometimes he asked questions that nearly drove me crazy.
Why would Vader act in this way?
No, Janeway would never do this like you describe it!
What does the detention area on Voyager looks like?
He asked if the security of the detention area was really able to restrain Vader with all his special Force abilities?
Sometimes i felt like hitting my head on the keyboard.
But that is what makes Miklinar so unique. He is the best writer and editor one can get.
He asks questions and does not stop until it is perfect!
He brutally badgered me to finish it and continued writing when I was distracted by
something new to marvel about...namely Harry Potter and esp. Professor Snape.
So If somebody is the real artist and made this story worth a hundred reviews, it is him!
Thanks Miklinar, for keeping up with me!
Iejasu