Alright, I understand that this doesn’t really count as a PT rewrite, more of a SW AU (of the PT, OT, and ST) as a whole, but I thought it would be interesting nonetheless.
This was inspired by the SW fanfiction “The Force Shall Free Us” by LuxLoser, who reverse the positions of the Jedi and Sith, having the Sith be the heroes and the Jedi be the villains. It was a fascinating take on the SW mythos, as well as decently-written, so I decided to give it a go with “Emotion, Yet Peace,” an AU which removes the dumb non-attachment rule for the Jedi, and more or less incorporates ideas from Legends canon into an otherwise Disney-fied universe. And teach trilogy would turn out as such:
THE PREQUELS - The Ancient Enemy (the Sith Empire of old returns to threaten the Republic); Treachery of the Republic (Palpatine reveals his Sith nature to the Jedi and allies with them to destroy the Sith Emperor, but he has Republic betray the Jedi, driving them from their home on Exis Station); and Forces of Destiny (where the trilogy ends with Anakin killing the Sith Emperor and accepting the Dark Side, which allows Palpatine to become the galaxy’s dictator)
THE ORIGINALS - Age of Order (Luke’s rung up in Obi-Wan’s rebellion against the Empire and trains with Kenobi’s pupil, Leia, while finding a way to disable the Death Star laser); The Prodigal Knight (where Luke skirts near the Dark Side in his search to defeat Vader); Revival of the Jedi (where the Empire’s defeated, Leia dies after giving birth to Ben Solo, and Luke escapes into the Unknown Regions with Vader and Mara Jade, leaving whatever Jedi are left to protect the galaxy).
THE SEQUELS - Evil from the Beyond (where Rey’s on the Ahch-To island instead of Jakuu, only to be discovered by the First Order and get caught up in a search for Darth Vader, leading to Rey facing her actions that caused the deaths of her parents, Luke and Mara); Fall of Dark Lords (in which, after finding Vader, Rey learns more about the Force, and Vader sacrifices himself to weaken Snoke); and The New Dawn (the Jedi reassemble to bring down Snoke once and for all, under Rey’s leadership, forming into a new kind of Jedi Order)
Of course, like with everything else I’ve done in the past, I gave up on it (mainly because the exact same ideas used here were being used in other stories), leaving the prologue of this discarded project. Still, I thought it might be something interesting to share. That being said, I hope you like it. Thanks.
“In the course of history, there are so few instances that can have a huge impact on the galaxy, for good or for evil. Many Jedi refer to these as Shatterpoints, mere moments in time with great effect."
"Many historians who support this theory often point to the events seen in the past millennia. Times when the entire galaxy rested on the fate of a few, or even the choices of one. Others against the notion have argued that it is the masses, the common people, and the mentality of the time that influenced these events…”
Madame Jocasta Nu, Jedi historian and caretaker of the Jedi Archives, took a second away from her datapad. She carefully tried to think on what she just wrote. Her thesis had been the work of many months of study into philosophies and historical records. It was meant to be an unbiased look at past history, but as she further read her essay, her opinion was slightly swayed by the proponents of the Shatterpoint theory. For as old as the human was, Jocasta could be as giddy as she was when she was a little girl, and she let it show, much to the chagrin of her more scholarly side.
Sighing, Jocasta stood up from the crate she had been sitting on for the past hour. As she walked down the cargo hold, she glanced down at her manuscript. “I suppose I’ll have to start anew… again,” Jocasta murmured, feeling the slight trepidation rise as she deleted the passage she had written.
Emotion, yet peace, she reminded herself. There were always other essays, and she was in no rush to finish her work.
Jocasta was about to start again when she stopped and noticed something peculiar. The cluttering sounds of worker droids echoed about while they did cleaned and assorted boxes. The lighting in the cargo bay was as dim as it ever was, yet Jocasta could clearly see what the shape of something that wasn’t a droid in between cargo crates.
Ever since the Jedi had taken up residence four thousand years ago, Exis Station had been a home to them, Jocasta included. As a historian and caretaker in the Jedi Archives, she knew Exis Station’s layout, and anyone inside, like the back of her hand. So much so that she garnered a reputation. “Nu knows,” her peers always said as a little joke.
It was for that reason Jocasta was surprised to see someone unfamiliar walking in the cargo bay. Said someone, feminine upon closer inspection, was dressed in brown rags, possibly from some desert planet. The woman kept wandering the cargo hold, her head going back and forth.
After a while, Jocasta took a step towards the woman. “Hello! May I help you?!” she called out.
In her surprise, the woman whirled around. Jocasta’s eyes darted to the small bundle in her arms before looking back up at the woman. She came closer, revealing a weary face, covered in sunburns and hair, and inexorably tired. Her eyes, a pair of dull greys, stared back Jocasta as a croaked and raspy sound left the woman’s throat. “Is… is this Exis Station?”
“Yes. Yes, it is,” replied Jocasta, who was confused and astonished by the question. “Are you looking for something?”
“Jedi,” she said, her eyes trailing down to the saber hilt on Jocasta’s belt. “A-are you one?”
“I am a Jedi, yes. Are you in need of some help, dear?”
The woman opened her mouth to answer, but the bundle in her arms started to move. A tiny hand moved up to touch the worn down face. Jocasta, eying the bundle, inquired, “Is that…?”
“… my son,” the woman said softly as she cooed at the baby. “He… he is special, you see… ”
Jocasta stared at the baby and was surprised that she had not felt his presence before. The Force was strong in him. Very strong, in fact, and he was barely a year old, which was quite impressive. Glancing back up, Jocasta knew the question and asked, “You wish for him to be a Jedi?” The woman nodded her head. “But why stay here? Don’t you have a home to go to?”
“Not anymore,” the woman said softly.
With that piece of information. Jocasta considered the proposition carefully. It was not everyday someone would come to give their child away to the Jedi. Most ordinary people kept their distance. Besides, the child’s real training would not start until he was in his teens. Guilt wrangled around Jocasta’s logical mind. If she denied this woman, she would be homeless, and the Jedi would lose a potentially powerful member.
Something about this weighed heavily on the old archivist. She had a choice to make, and she had a feeling this may have a great effect in the future. Whether it was a good or bad feeling, Jocasta didn’t know, but she felt the Force swirled around her answer.
Perhaps, they do exist, Jocasta thought on her thesis as she came to her decision.
“I believe the Jedi can accommodate.” With a kind glance, Jocasta asked, “If I may ask, what is your name, dear?”
The woman hesitated for a second, then she replied, “Shmi… Shmi Skywalker.”