Fate Denied, by Saphrith, is a Star Wars Fan fiction series set immediately prior to, and during the Clone Wars era, featuring the adventures of Viera Sarat, a Miralukan force sensitive who goes from youngling trainee, to apprentice, to Jedi Knight (and presumably Jedi Master) over the course of the narrative.
Miss Sarat harbors a deep secret not even Master Yoda or Darth Plagueis have managed to (as of yet) discover; in her immediately previous lifetime, she was a resident of Earth, and a fairly dedicated fan of Star Wars, enough to recognize where and when she was in the timeline.
Realizing that the Jedi Council of the era would stick her in a loony bin if she went with them directly with her knowledge, and directly attempting to unmask Senator Sheev Palpatine and Magister Hego Damask as secret Sith Lords would end very badly for her, she is determined to screw with the timeline in any other way she can, short of falling to the Dark Side.
The story has become an ongoing series at Space Battles
and Sufficient Velocity, consisting of the following volumes:
- Fate Denied: Covering Viera's time as a Padawan learner, as well as her earliest actions made to avert the events of the prequel trilogy.
- Knight Errant: Viera's first adventures after being Knighted, and her continuing efforts to prevent the rise of the Galactic Empire.
- Trials on Trandosha: Viera helps her Trandoshan friend Ehruss reclaim a place amongst her people, and the spirits of ancient Sith begin to stir.
- Shadows of The Sith: Viera travels to Korriban and discovers that the spirit of the ancient Sith king Dathka Graush has acquired a new body, and with it, the ability to start a war that will engulf the ancient Sith colony of Tund in the fires of war.
- Hunter's Mark: Viera aids in relief efforts after a devastating natural disaster on the planet Druckenwell, and discovers just how badly the criminals in the galaxy want her dead.
- Knight to Remember: After dealing with one disaster after another, Viera takes some time off to relax. Everything goes just fine, with the sole exception of a chance encounter with Hego Damask, AKA Darth Plagueis.
- The Battle of Karazak: A recap of a pivotal battle between Ranulph Tarkin's Republic Outland Security Forces and an alliance of criminal syndicates, this volume is told in the style of a historical documentary.
- The Nar Shaddaa Job: Viera is enlisted by the ROSF to pull off a heist on Nar Shaddaa. No small feat, considering that there's a massive bounty on her head and the Hutts are gearing up for war with the Republic.
- Daughters of Dathomir: Viera travels to Dathomir to investigate the connection it has with Darth Maul, and stumbles across a Nightsister plot to take control of an ancient Kwa Star Temple.
- Training Days: After taking a young Dathomirian Witch as her Padawan, Viera travels to Corellia to take a well-needed vacation. Hilarity Ensues, but a terrible force is preparing to unleash a nightmare upon the galaxy...
- The Butchering of Coruscant: Slowly building up during the background of Training Days, in this volume an insane Iron Knight triggers a droid uprising on Coruscant the likes of which had only existed in the nightmares of rabid technophobes, and Nothing Is the Same Anymore. Unlike previous volumes, this one consists of three small arcs interspersed between individual chapters with meaningful names.
- The Conclave of Ossus: In the aftermath of the Butchering of Coruscant, the Jedi begin a great conclave on Ossus to discuss the future of the Order and whether it should continue as it always has or adapt to the changing times, and tensions that have run beneath the surface now threaten to fracture their unity at the worst possible time.
- Laying Foundations: With the Conclave over, the Jedi must now start trying to mend the rifts in the galaxy, while getting their feet on the ground in the new status quo.
- Taking Sides: The Mandalorian civil war is getting worse. In order to prevent the Death Watch from attaining total victory, Jango Fett turns to Viera Sarat for aid.
- Summit of Fear: With tensions rising across the galaxy, a summit is held in an attempt to stave of the chaos. However, there are some who wish to take advantage of this tumultuous time, leading to the Jedi having to take an active role in the hopes of maintaining the Republic.
- Homecoming: Viera needs to take some time off to recover from all of the stressful situations she's been in lately. This takes the form of a vacation alongside her girlfriend, daughter, and apprentice to her homeworld of Alpheridies, where Viera hopes to meet the rest of her biological family.
- Siege of Irith: Mace and Yoda finally confront Sidious' new apprentice. However, the confrontation doesn't go quite as they planned.
- Disaster at Dellalt: The Rim Alliance finds that defending Dellalt from Hutt forces is more difficult than initially predicted.
On Jun. 23, 2023, the story is put on hiatus.
Fate Denied features the following Tropes:
- Adaptational Heroism: Several people turn out better than they did in canon.
- Dooku doesn't fall to the Dark side and remains a Jedi thanks to being provided the opportunity to directly remove the criminals that the Senate is too corrupt to actually deal with.
- Bruck Chun, who ended up dying in a fight with Obi-Wan in the first Jedi Apprentice novel, survives thanks to Viera joining the duel and helping Obi-Wan overwhelm him. He ends up getting expelled from the Jedi Order, which leads to some much-needed introspection on his part and a resolution to become The Atoner. He ends up joining the Disciples of Twilight and eventually becomes one of Viera's companions after meeting her on Bespin and stopping a terrorist attack.
- Qymaen jai Sheelal, better known to fans as General Grievous, is able to fight off invaders thanks to the assistance of the ROSF, and thus is an ally of the Republic.
- Asajj Ventress is found by Dooku and is taken in as his padawan after the death of Ky Narec, as opposed to becoming a Dark Sider as she did in canon.
- All There in the Manual: Saphrith has included several technical and organization articles in the threads she uses to post the series.
- Awakening the Sleeping Giant: This is basically what is happening with the Hutts. They have a lot of money and influence, but were content to be crime lords. After the ROSF/Rim Alliance cut into their profits too much, they start to use the massive wealth they have accumulated over the centuries to arm up their forces.
- Both Sides Have a Point:
- Within the Republic: The pacifists who want to avoid conflict with the Hutts are right in wanting to make sure lives aren't lost unnecessarily. However, the militarists are also right in that not defending the people from pirates and other criminals is wrong.
- Among the Jedi: The moderates are right in that recklessly going to war could lead to the Dark Side. However, the reformists are also correct that the old way of doing things isn't working, and the Jedi need to be more proactive in being Guardians of the Republic.
- Breather Episode: Knight to Remember is a break from all of the action, with almost no tense moments whatsoever.
- Continuity Porn: The series makes excellent use of Star Wars Legends continuity, even as it veers coherently into its own unique direction.
- Death by Adaptation: Some people died sooner than in canon thanks to the after-effects of Viera's actions.
- Jedi Knight Jorus C'baoth and his fellow Jedi are killed by Darth Sidious in the battle against marauding Dark Jedi in the Elrood sector.
- Jedi Master Iri Camas is killed when he is possessed by the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord Dathka Graush.
- Jedi Master Adi Gallia dies years before when the Clone Wars would have happened in the battle against the spirit of the Sith Lord Dathka Graush.
- Jedi Master Nico Diath is executed by a prospective apprentice of Darth Sidious.
- Master Aqinos and all but one of the Iron Knights die due to an experiment gone horrifically wrong involving Rakatan technology.
- Death World: Korriban, as one should expect of the Sith homeworld. The planet's natural - for a given value of the word - wildlife is tough and vicious in order to survive the harsh environs, and the assorted Sithspawn that inhabit the planet will eat any unfortunate soul they catch unaware. The ancient catacombs are filled with traps and alchemically mutated beasts that will gladly kill you and add your corpse to the tomb's defenses, and many of those tombs have Sith spirits lingering within. To top it all off, the place has been steeped in the Dark Side for so long that Jedi and other light-siders have a weakened connection to the Force so long as they stay there.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: Some people end up with significant injuries they didn't have in canon.
- During the Battle of Tund, Kit Fisto ends up blinded and Eeth Koth loses one of his legs.
- Cad Bane ends up getting his left arm amputated from the elbow down, courtesy of Viera.
- Doorstopper: The series and its supporting short stories and reference material weigh in at over 1,000,000 words.
- Enemy Mine: As the Death Watch have an overwhelming number advantage, Jango reluctantly asks assistance from the Blue Jedi.
- Fantastic Racism: Downplayed, but as the Jedi make their way to Tund in order to stop Dathka Graush, the question of what to do with the planet's Red Sith population is brought up. More than one Jedi is leery of them, and after the battle is over they're expelled from the planet by the government due to Graush's actions.
- For Want Of A Nail: As the title suggests, Viera sets out to defy fate in any way she can and drastically alters the state of the galaxy as a result.
- Ranulph Tarkin (Wilhuff Tarkin's cousin) survived his date with destiny due to Viera and her Master's presence, which has allowed him to further develop the "Republic Navy".
- Less salutary is the way a Black Knight was defeated by Viera, but not killed or brought in, who then escaped and found the tomb of Xoxaan, three decades ahead of A'Sharad Hett/Darth Krayt.
- Ryloth is freed of its constant slave raids thanks to the intervention of the ROSF, bringing peace to the planet for the first time in thousands of years.
- Darth Maul is captured by Viera, leading to Sidious having to try and find a new apprentice and the Jedi's discovery of the Sith Order's survival years early.
- The ancient Sith Lord Dathka Graush is released decades early and is allowed to amass an army made up of reanimated dead and members of the Sith species who want to be conquerors again.
- Due to the early death of Adi Gallia, Mace Windu ends up taking Adi's former student Siri Tachi as his padawan.
- As the Republic is no longer in such a desperate need for an army, Sidious instead has the clones become an army for the Death Watch.
- He also has clones made to act as Senate Guards, allowing the original guards to become part of the Judiciary Corps.
- Jango Fett reforms the True Mandalorians to fight Death Watch.
- The Hutts are gearing up for war, having bought large amounts of battle droids to bolster their forces and even discovered the Katana Fleet.
- The increased stability in the Rim combined with resentment in the region spawned a terrorist group called the Rim Liberation Army that aims to free the Rim from both the Core and the Hutts.
- This is made worse by the fact that there are disillusioned Jedi who have joined the group, with one acting as the leader of the whole organization.
- The Witches of Dathomir have become allies with the Jedi Order, and Viera even takes one as her Padawan.
- Sharad Hett has joined forces with the Rim Liberation Army to overthrow the Hutts on Tatooine.
- Several events have caused Palpatine's true identity to become known to the Jedi.
- Vexxtal's master plan results in Coruscant becoming uninhabitable, killing trillions.
- The Jedi have to relocate where the main Jedi Temple will be, and the Republic has to select a new galactic capital.
- In response to how the Jedi Council has decided to adopt a wait and see approach on the tense situation between the Core, Rim, and Hutts, Viera starts her own splinter sect of the Jedi, with over a thousand Jedi following her.
- Gambit Pileup: We have two (possibly three) Sith Groups, the Hutts, both factions of Mandalorians, the Night Sisters of Dathomir, the Black Sun, and pro-Rim terrorists plotting against the Republic and each other.
- Godzilla Threshold: Vexxtal's attack on Coruscant is bad enough for Sidious to out himself and - after the obligatory fight with Yoda - join forces with the Jedi to kill him off.
- In Spite of a Nail: Some things still happen despite all changes in the galaxy.
- Asajj Ventress still ends up being Dooku's student. The difference is that she is his Jedi Padawan instead of a dark acolyte.
- Micah Giiett still goes out in a Heroic Sacrifice.
- Depa Billaba still ends up in a coma as a result of using the dark side of the Force.
- Indy Ploy: Viera often comes up with insane plans to survive or defeat her current enemy.
- Irony: After the Battle of Tund, the Sith population of the planet is expelled by the Centrality, and two dozen of them approach the Jedi Order for training as healers. Among them is Jihany Sadow, a young woman that was studying to become a doctor and just so happens to be a direct descendant of the ancient Sith Lord Naga Sadow. The irony is not lost on the Jedi Council.
- Mind Rape: Sidious does this to poor Chancellor Valorum, and we get the privilege of seeing it from the latter's point of view. It's
horrifying. - Named by the Adaptation: Several Player Characters from Star Wars: The Old Republic are given names.
- The Barsen’thor is named Essia Rhane.
- The Hero of Tython is named Tionne Thul.
- The leader of Havoc Squad is named Tyria Fenn.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: The Butchering of Coruscant is this. The after-effects of it spread out across the galaxy and the rest of the story moving forward.
- Night of the Living Mooks: Dathka Graush is able to form one from almost the entire population of a planet (Tund).
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Children of the Core state that they wish to defend the Republic, and the Core in particular. They believe that to do this, the Rim should be brought to heel, and that the only true people of the Republic are humans.
- The Paragon Always Rebels: In the aftermath of the Butchering of Coruscant, Viera resigns from the Jedi Order, both because she disagrees with the wait-and-see approach that the new High Council enacts and because her secret family is revealed. Due to the latter, if she didn't resign she would be expelled nonetheless. She didn't count on more than a thousand fellow Jedi to follow her though.
- Patchwork Fic: The fanfic draws information from both Legends and Canon, allowing for a large amount of Easter Eggs.
- Principles Zealot: The Jedi Shadows have an undeserved reputation of being this; the reality is that they aren't nearly as bad as some think, but that hasn't stopped unfounded rumors about them continuing to sully their name.
- Resigned in Disgrace: After the Butchering of Coruscant, Valorum suggests to Yoda and Mace Windu that they resign from the Jedi Council and the Order, both to placate many who blame the Jedi for the tragedy, and to allow them to hunt for the exposed Darth Sidious in Hutt space, where the Republic and the Jedi cannot legally operate.
- Robot War: Vexxtal started one in order to wipe out all life in the galaxy. He failed, but trillions of people on Coruscant died in the ensuing chaos. The planet is also rendered uninhabitable.
- Screw Destiny: Basically the premise of the series, if the title didn't tip you off.
- Shoot the Dog: Sometimes, especially after Vexxtal starts his Robot War. The author makes sure to show how unsettling it is to do this, even for Jedi who have nearly mastered the art of stoicism.
- Spared By Adaptation: Several people survive thanks to Viera's interference when they would have died in canon.
- Bruck Chun is defeated non-lethally thanks to Viera being able to assist Obi-Wan in their duel.
- Both Jedi Master Tyvokka and Senator Ranulph Tarkin survive the Stark Hyperspace War thanks to Viera protecting the former from being shot in the back and convincing the latter to survive while giving him a viable plan to make a paramilitary force.
- Tor Vizsla is able to avoid being killed by Jango Fett thanks to Darth Sidious' clandestine aid.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Surprisingly, the Jedi and Sith work together, no matter how begrudgingly, when fighting Vexxtal, a Wound in the Force. The situation is more than dire enough, and it turns out to be entirely necessary.
- The Virus: As a final act of spite, Vexxtal releases a vial of nanogene spores into Coruscant's atmospheric systems, beginning what is essentially a techno-organic Zombie Apocalypse on one of the most densely-populated planets in the galaxy.
