Tyche: Alternative Universes

Tyche is my eternal hero; no matter what universe she's in, no matter what she's been through, she's always a hero.

Notes on the individual pictures follow from my original posting on dA.

01) Tyche's Big Top Beatdown: " You ever notice how clowns are creepy? I mean, not the sad-face clowns, but the manic, happy clowns that inevitably look like they want to eat your face with a nice Chianti. I don't think I'm alone in this, either.

"Now, don't get me wrong; I don't suffer from coulrophobia, like an estimated twelve percent of the world's adult population. My own prejudices are perfectly rational: they move aggressively and wear makeup and clothes that distort their identities. That's enough right there, I think... and when one of them also swings a chainsaw at my head and has been implicated in the disappearances of over a dozen children in the last six months?

"Yeah, I find that a little creepy.

"Fortunately, I'm a bad-ass superchick, and I know what to do when something freaks me out: I hit it.

"Hard. "

02) Dr. Tyche:TNG's Continuing Mission: " Okay, look. Yes, I'm the ship's medical officer... but I'm also the ship's astrozoologist. So when the exec and the rest of his away team come back with tiny, fuzzy elves, I'm the one that gets to discover that they were known as far back as the twentieth century... and that, whatever you do, you should never get them wet or feed them after midnight. Seriously, folks: Mogwai are worse than Tribbles and Muertes together!

"At least I got to play with the cute little bugger before we dropped it off on Feng Han IV with the Golden Emperor's Chief Wizard... "

03) Tyche and the Troops:  "I love mornings when I'm just starting a fresh, new wilderness survival refresher course. There's this brief time when you're high in the hills and the sun is just kissing the peak and the treetops... the sky is still and cold and the air is anticipatory, filled with promise.

"I beat the troops up pretty much every morning, and it's this time that gives me the strength to face the rest of the day's challenges. Later on, I'll be busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking competition; the rooks will start bringing in their battle scars, each one a new and fascinating example of how to screw up by the numbers, and the Lt. will expect me to magically get them all back on their feet in fighting trim without delay... but that's later.

"Right now, I'm just drinking the morning.

"And it tastes fine."

04) Tyche of the Field of Glory:  "You know how they sometimes say a blow hit you like a hammer?

"Unless it was a hammer that hit you, they lied.

"I staggered back, crashing down on my knee and raising my shield despite my numbed shoulder. Zaccharias was a huge man, and I wondered again if he might not have ogre blood in his lineage somewhere. His wife, my friend, swore he did not, but as his maul crashed down on my shield again, I had to wonder.

"Given a choice, I would not kill him. We had been trained together and fought side-by-side in the Peloponnese Wars, but failure to fight was a punishable offense, and I would not see either his wife or my uncle used as an example to ensure our continued cooperation.

"The problem was... as good as Zed was, I was better. Much better.

"But he was a stubborn cuss, and if he didn't give in soon, I wouldn't have a choice.

"I saw my opening. I turned my shield and drove the edge into his gut, doubling him over. One of his hands broke free of his maul and I spun, slamming the butt of my gladius into the wrist that was still holding his weapon.

"I felt the bone crack; I didn't think it was broken, but I'd been wrong in the past.

"It didn't matter. The blow was enough.

"Zed's weapon fell from fingers too numb to even register pain.

"I took his legs away. As he tumbled to his back, I sprang and landed straddling his waist. I brought my gladius to his neck as the crowd roared approval.

"'Yield, Zed,' I said.

"He looked up at me, coughed, and nodded.

"'I yield, Tyche. Again.'"

05) Tyche Struttin': " It's not all about kicking ass and taking names.

"Sometimes, it's about looking good, too.

"Actually...

"Usually it's about looking good. "

A note: This picture was a gift from my good friend, Lady Quantum, who has often provided artwork for me and taught me pretty much everything I know. Go check out her page!

06) Tyche Takes a Bullet: "'Let's go, Mr. Corwin,' I growled, turning to put my body between my charge and the incoming fire.

"Three slugs pounded into my back and I felt a rib give.

"Nearly invulnerable skin was nice, but it couldn't completely negate kinetic force; I was going to have some killer bruises if we made it out of this.

"He had the door open and he was ducking into the car when I felt a bullet whang off the top of my head.

"For an instant, everything was bright sparks and movement. I think I blacked out.

"The next thing I knew, Luke was next to me, his shield sparking bright in the continued flare of gunplay.

"My team was here. Thank god.

"'Get him out of here, Luke!' I yelled, but my voice wasn't big enough over the roar of the bullets. Even I couldn't hear me.

"Cyn stepped around the car and all of a sudden there was so much sound that everything went white. Sound complete enough to have a visual effect. That was how strong she'd gotten.

"The air crackled with the volume of the noise and the building in front of us simply imploded. The earth exploded and threw up jagged shards as microfaults shifted and multiplied.

"I stared at the chaos uncomprehendingly.

"'Time to move, boss,' Cyn said, her soft voice in my ear somehow breaking through the constant ringing. She pointed and I saw them: heavily armored troops with milspec weapons and a bad attitude. The MRT, right on schedule to round us up and drop us in a reeducation camp.

"Corwin... the idiot was still here, but I couldn't get too upset. The back door of his car was standing open and I dived in. Cyn was right behind me.

"I felt Luke slam the door and smack the driver's window smartly.

"The car lurched into life, and Luke turned back to face off with the incoming cops.

"I could only stare as the squad's heavy weapons began to tear away at his force field.

"'We'll be back for you, Luke,' I swore as our car rounded a corner and I lost sight of him. "

07) Tyche Always Gets Her Man: " I strolled up to the red-bearded giant. 'Hey, there, Rory,' I said.

"He glanced over at me and I could see him deciding that he liked what he saw. He smiled and I put my hand lightly over his bicep.

"'Well, now, hotness,' he said. He had the sort of light brogue that might make another girl's panties wet. 'Maybe yuir wantin' tae find someplace a wee bit more... intimate?'

"It would've worked on me, too, if I didn't know what his day job was. Frankly, I found the idea of anyone who would cheerfully blow up whole, innocent families just to make a point sort of revolting.

"I flashed my pearly whites at him and started walking for the door, and that's when everything went straight to hell.

"'RORY GRAY!' the amplified voice announced, 'THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER!'

"I rolled my eyes.

"Of course the cops would show up now...

"Rory looked at me, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. I shrugged and threw off my jacket, revealing the heat I was packing.

"He was faster than I expected, and he had a pair of irons in his hands before I could draw.

"These were not the odds I wanted, so I took things outside, clearing my first holsters as I went.

"Well... shit."

08) Tyche in Honor Bound: "Aboard the Aquila d'Oro, I had been unique. Assigned by the Duke of Savoy, Charles Emannuel II, to serve as my captain's mate and personal protector, I was well-respected and given nearly equal status to the other men aboard- more, if I drew on my captain's prestige.

"All of that ended the day we sailed into Kyoto. We were confident and strong and we thought we would take the port town of Edo and firmly reestablish the faith amongst the heathens who had sprung up to fight them.

"We were mistaken.

"God did not favor us, that day, and our ship was captured after a prolonged battle that lasted nearly twenty-one hours. Our captain and much of our crew survived, but without ammunition, in the face of superior forces, and with our keel smashed to kindling, our captain had no choice but to surrender. Emperor Go-Kōmyō was more than gracious in victory; indeed, he had his physicians treat our wounded and then put them back aboard our newly restored ship. He demanded two concessions which, though unhappy, our captain had no choice but to accept: first was that the Aquila d'Oro would sail away and never return. His second demand was, not to put too fine a point on it, me.

"That was ten years ago.

"I quickly established myself among the emperor's concubines. My place, at first, was low, both as a relatively young woman and, more importantly, as a western barbarian, but as his lady-in-waiting took notice of me, my position improved. When the emperor learned I was as skilled as many of his samurai in swordplay, he ordered that I be instructed in martial sword use and open hand combat.

"Before long, I was the emperor's favorite; he looked to me to solve problems in the region, although that task, at least, was relatively simple as the boy-emperor had few enemies, and Hideko spoke with me to help keep the emperor engaged.

"It was only after his death from a wasting disease, while he was still a young man, that I finally began to truly search for a way to return to my beloved Venice. "