What Shines Through

What Shines Through is a Knights of the Old Republic AU fanfic. To summarize, Bastila goes to the Mandalorian Wars instead of Revan, for some still undisclosed reason, and following from that she is the one who is captured and mindwiped, getting the new identity of Mab Argonberth. It's not even close to being finished, (they're still on Taris, actually) but the wordy, complex writing style, and intelligent use of science fiction tropes, (the first full length battle scene in Chapter Three alone is a massive deconstruction and explanation of various fighting techniques) is very attractive and makes it of especial interest to tropers.

It can be read here

"Also: Mission Vao: "Water is for drinking, not washing...""
 * Action Girl: Mab
 * Big Good: Revan is a Jedi Master, representative of the Council to the Republic, and informal head of most of the military, yet Mab is the main character. Also, Darth Vuncroy is specifically said to be focused solely on killing/consuming Revan, putting all her resources into that, with no other concerns. If it's completely true is unknown at this time, as after all Mab is obviously Bastilla, so Vuncroy probably considers her important as well (if she knows she's alive).
 * Bizarre Alien Biology : Played with heavily. Mab, who is the world wiser of the two, is constantly stressing to Carth how different aliens are. This includes really weird diets, such as eating living food, (a lobster like creature jumps out of Carth's soup and attacks him) not being able to stand certain sounds (some even have difficulty with the frequency human speech is one) and trying to buy men or women because in their culture these are the subjugated genders, (specifically aliens with bug like characteristics will attempt to purchase human males, because they normally eat theirs, so assume other races do the same, making them a lower discriminated against group). At one point Mab and Carth walk through a crowded area, and come out covered in slime- Mab tells him that it's possible they could have just been impregnated.


 * Chainsaw Good: Mab's most used/mentioned weapon so for as been a "roaring" moving sword...
 * Foe Yay: The Dark Mistress, Bastilla, and Revan, especially coming from his side.
 * Grappling Hook Pistol: On Taris, a crowded city planet, the locals travel place to place using grappling guns, among other things. In Chapter Four, Revan disarms someone and takes their grappling gun, shoots it a passing train, and attaches the pistol to a stone pillar,causing it to get ripped out of the wall and the room to collapse as he flies out of the destruction by holding onto the chunk of rubble - showing that if grappling guns are awesome in the hands of a Badass Normal, they're on a whole other level when used by a Jedi.
 * Good Is Not Nice: Revan doesn't seem to be the most pleasant of people...
 * Gun Kata / Gun Fu: This style is referred to and used once; its suppose to be employed in close quarters against an opponent with a kinetic shield; Mab chops, stabs and uses her pistol as a club until she can get a clear shot in, all the while her opponent attempts to slap her blaster away so she misses.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Haskel, an Ithorian and Trasks replacement in this alternate universe, jumps in the way of a volley of laser bolts, saving Mab. It definitely doubles as his Crowning Moment of Awesome as well, as he, after getting shot multiple times, tears a lightsaber through his arm, and seals the door behind them, so the Sith can't get past, and Mab can't try to save him.
 * Katanas Are Just Better: Mab slices a swoop bike speeding her way in half with a katana.
 * Magical Realism: I can't really explain it, but it seems more fantastical and odd then a normal science fiction story; it has touches of quirky strangeness: floating traveling elevators, rollercoaster train tracks, and giant business streets shaped like canyons with aliens fishing for customers.
 * Nanomachines: Revan has a vial filled with nanobots, which surround him and eat his dead skin cells and pieces of hair, so no one can track him.
 * Perpetual Frowner: Revan
 * Purple Prose: Your mileage may vary whether it's done well or not.
 * Combat Pragmatist : Most of the main characters seem to fight in this way: Mab routinely chops people's arms off or kills them when they're already down, Carth shoves a swoop bike into someone, pining them and burning them alive, and also shoots pieces of the environment whenever he can to cause them to collapse on people. Partially justified: because of medical technology, they have to kill their enemies quickly and in any way possible so they can't be rejuvenated: brutal dirty styles thus become prominent.
 * Walls of Text: Plenty of words, not enough paragraphs.
 * Xanatos Gambit: Revan appears to very skilled at these. After all, this trope and Xanatos Speed Chess is most likely the only way he can hold his own against the story's villain, a Omnicidal Maniac that can read minds on a planetary scale. What's unique is that both his and the opposition's plans are discussed in great detail, continuously, between the characters, and reasons for every action examined and thought over- which makes the whole thing feel very realistic and natural: solutions evolve organically; they are not just pulled out of someone's brilliant ass.
 * He is also, are demonstrated by Chapter Four, a expert liar. Who was this guy's master again?