(In light of the fact that Med and I are in the final stages of bringing our collective epic storylines to a spectacular climax, I've decided to summarize the remainder of SAM to complete the story and framework.)
Socially Acceptable Monsters
( second half of Series 3 )
On Coruscant - Agent Venko follows Melanie Masterton to the Twilight Place and discovers she is associated with La Revolte and in a relationship with Castin Donn. He is, at first, intent upon bringing them in but Melanie tells him it was she who sent him the vid of Alexia Winton's episode at North Coruscant. She tells him that Alexia Winton is capable of much larger destruction and that the Emperor is fully aware of these facts. His life, as well as those in his care, are in extreme danger. This information, combined with his feelings for Kimber Patten, turn him against the Empire and he vows to keep them safe.
On Naboo - Celeste Masterton returns to find the Greyson Estate a graveyard. All of the security agents are dead. She discovers Queen Monica Greyson-Winton in the early stages of labor with Master Corrin of the Jedi. She reveals a secret pregnancy, one she hid from Alexander Winton in fear he would make the child suffer as he did their other daughters. When her water broke, she channeled her immense connection to the Force outward, sending a deadly kinetic shockwave through the estate which killed those keeping her prisoner. Doctor Henrick Masterton arrives shortly thereafter and is reunited with his wife and their dear friend. Master Corrin tells him everything the Jedi knows with Monica apologizing to Henrick for their misplaced trust in Alexander. Henrick delivers the baby, a girl, whom Monica names Dahlia. The warm moment is short-lived as Monica and Corrin can feel Alexander coming. She pleads with Celeste to flee with the child and confesses she had made arrangements with Rutherford Gellar in the Corporate Sector. Gellar had vowed revenge against Winton when he aided Major Kyri Patten in blackmailing Rutherford in order to steal his daughter Blair's child, Valerie. The Jedi had reached out to him and offered sympathy and an opportunity for justice which Gellar accepted. The Jedi were to provide safety for her and the child. Henrick, heartbroken and distraught, agrees and injects Master Corrin, his wife and the child with the stolen Force vaccine to shield them from the Emperor's forces. Master Corrin flees Naboo with Celeste Masterton, the infant Dahlia Winton and samples of the vaccine.
Alexander arrives to find his treacherous wife and best friend ready for a showdown. They confront him and argue about the true nature of the prophecy. Alexander admits the prophecy is merely a tool and nothing more. He accuses them of being naive and short-sighted, that they never understood the scope and magnitude of his vision and plans. He first stabs and kills Henrick before turning the blade on his wife.
It is murder in the coldest blood.
He buries Henrick and loads Monica's body into his shuttle. On the trip back to Bakura, he forwards a message to Alexia that Monica tried to send the previous year after returning from delivering the altered and incomplete prophecy to Melanie.
On Bakura - Alexander returns and with the assistance of his loyal servant, Agent Marius Guile, stages a spectacular speeder crash in Salis Da'ar. The headlines are splashed with the news, Alexander Winton and Queen Monica Greyson-Winton dead! Both bodies are practically incinerated but identified by the Imperial Health Authority. This cover allows Alexander Winton to forcefully resign from his duties as RepulsorCorp Vice President (while maintaining stock options) and focus solely on acting as Imperial Director, in itself a cover for a larger galactic plot.
On Corellia - Frank Farmer discovers massive financial inconsistencies in Jerico Gellar's records but no trace of the name Blair associated with Major Kyri Patten. He delivers the news to Valerie Gellar as promised, allowing her to draw her own conclusions.
On Coruscant - Caprial Bronson, captain of the NCH Varsity Cheer team is murdered on school grounds, causing a widespread investigation and public relations disaster. Karen Winton learns of her parents death and grieves in the company of trusted friends. Skyler McNeal is her grounded emotional center. Valerie Gellar agonizes over the information she received from Corellia and wonders if her father was actually a CorSec Agent at all. She confesses these fears to Melanie but continues to spiral into alcohol and men. Lucas Maxwell admits he has feelings for Kimber Patten which she does not reciprocate. Agent Venko investigates the Bronson murder. Reef Stratford continues his twisted relationship with Valerie. Billy St James and D'Arcy Saunders are approached by a tabloid looking to get an inside scoop of their lives which Billy considers but D'Arcy talks him out of when she discovers they only want dirt on The Four. Kimber's feelings for Agent Venko boil over and they agree to meet each other one evening after the last day of their junior year. Tenley Price, the mind-controlled former classmate turned Imperial agent, approaches Venko as he is waiting for Kimber and brutally stabs him. Kimber arrives to find Venko dead. The group rallies but remain unaware that this was only the beginning.
On Korriban - Alexia Winton receives a strange message from her mother, warning her of her father's intentions and that the prophecy, the destiny she hopes to fulfill, is meant for her sister, Karen. This revelation causes a psychic break, the darkness of the Sith energy on Korriban swallowing her soul entirely. She rages, turning on Dementat and engaging him in battle. He is wounded and she and strands him on Korriban, sights set on the Imperial capital.
*
( SAM - Series 4 )
On Hesperidium - During summer break, a fragile Kimber socially withdraws but finds comfort in having Lucas around. Melanie continues to see Castin in secret and grieves in silence as she believes her parents also dead. Karen joins Valerie in a summer stupor filled with parties much to Skyler's disappointment. Reef wonders about the Director and his deal after a long period of silence strangely coinciding with the death of the Winton's. D'Arcy and Billy plan to escape the circus after high school by attending university offworld. Valerie discovers Reef is dealing with someone in secret and uses the information to blackmail him into submission.
Elsewhere - Alexander Winton oversees the drama while working to further his own goals.
Senior Year at North Coruscant.
What follows will collectively come to be known as - The Event @ 500 Republica.
Five will die...
D'Arcy Saunders: following the first day of school, D'Arcy kisses her boyfriend Billy St. James goodbye and boards her new shuttle. Inside is a present which she assumes is from Billy. Upon taking off the top of the box, she discovers a bomb which explodes to destroy the shuttle as Billy watches from the landing platform.
Billy St. James: weeks after D'Arcy's death and despite consoling from his close friends, he falls into despair. Alexia infiltrates his dreams every night, pushing him toward a resolution that will bring him peace. One morning he walks onto his parents' bedroom with a blaster rifle and shoots himself in the head.
Reef Stratford and Lucas Maxwell: devastated over the loss of two friends and the constant terror of Alexia Winton, the friends drown in alcohol and illicit drugs. During a particularly heavy afternoon, Alexia enters their clouded minds and forces them into a vicious and blood-soaked vibroblade duel. Reef and Lucas effectively eviscerate each other and die as a result of their self-inflicted wounds.
Skyler McNeal: with most of the year dominated by menace and terror, Skyler clings to the hope he can save Karen. She gravely fears she will wind up like Alexia to be taken over by the Force. He vows to keep that from happening. Upon getting a message claiming she is in danger, Skyler rushes to the rooftop of 500 Republica only to find Alexia Winton waiting for him. Karen, having received a similar message, rushes to the rooftop in hopes she can save her lover. Alexia taunts Karen, blaming her for taking away the destiny which is rightfully hers and hurls Skyler over the side. He plummets to his death as Karen watches helplessly.
The Four survive.
With graduation approaching, The Four turn to each other for support. Their classmates, propelled by the media spin and sick fascination, drive their popularity up and off the charts. They are beautiful, dangerous, legendary and the bump in the press is something Maxi Marx uses to her full advantage with the next Raga'Ana campaign.
Their mortal struggle is sexy and sells. ? ?
The ceremony itself is bittersweet and they attend the after party out of obligation. Later in the evening, news breaks on the destruction of the second Death Star over Endor. The party falls into a rioting frenzy which The Four barely manage to escape. On the Esplanade, explosives planted by Alexia Winton in the Raga'Ana corporate offices detonate as she flees the capital, killing Maxi Marx.
Alexia disappears. ? ?
*
(Epilogue of Socially Acceptable Monsters, prologue to The Reluctant Redhead & Corellian Rebirth.)
On Hesperidium - Defeated and traumatized, The Four return to the resort world for a much needed distraction. Karen begins a brief affair (grief sex) with Vex Sienna, a former classmate who recently completed his first year at the Imperial Naval Academy. The returning cadets bring much needed cheer to The Four but with them, they are always an outfit change away from another disaster. Explosives planted by agents of the Dark Queen of Hapes are detonated on Coruscant, destroying the entire northern hemisphere of the capital world and sending a wave of ash and fire searing around its entirety. Everyone inhabiting Coruscant perishes save for those on Hesperidium and elsewhere in the galaxy. The Empire is in the throes of a crisis, searching everywhere for someone to blame. They discover La Revolte operating out of West Iobatese Beach and storm their hideout. Many are killed, Melanie is arrested, and Castin escapes. Castin goes to Karen for help and she, with a bitter Valerie and despondent Kimber, spring Melanie from her holding cell. Kimber and Valerie pack Melanie's belongings into Karen's Naboo Royal Cruiser. Karen insists Melanie and Castin flee with the ship, that there is no other way. After a tearful goodbye, Castin and Melanie leave Hesperidium.
The summer descends into madness.
Kimber and Valerie leave for fall semester at the CorSec Academy on Corellia. Karen wakes up after their goodbye party (in a green dress that still sells out to this day) to find Agent Scott St. Claire in her penthouse. He demands she accompany him on the strike-cruiser Abyss.
They need her help.
*
(Continued in The Reluctant Redhead & Corellian Rebirth (SWSF: LotF - AE))
(Concluded in Vogue Empire, Alive & Corellia Shines (SWSF: Freestyle))
*
You know how it began. You saw how it unfolded. Find out how it ends.
Only in the Freestyle.
Weeknights on the Holo.
