Oooh, those Martinieres. They are very, very tricksy characters.

I’ve been doing editing work on The Netwalk Sequence series and just poking a little bit at the current chapter of Repairing the Legacy, in part because I’m dealing with a complicated plot twist and resolution. Including a new antagonist who popped up his head in the last chapter (“Research Complications”).

So what slid into my head the other evening, as I was dropping off to sleep?

A whole new tangent. A “What If” scenario that goes back to the very foundation of Gabe’s character.

What if…Gabe’s stepfather, mother, and sister weren’t killed in a plane crash?

What if…things proceeded according to Donna-gran’s disclosure in Realization, where Gabe and Joey learn that the men who raised them are actually their uncles, not their fathers? (Gabe is raised to age twelve by Saul, but his bio father is actually Philip. Joey is raised by Philip, but his bio father is actually Saul)

What if…Gabe and Joey are now engaged in a struggle to prove which one is worthy of becoming the Martiniere-in-waiting, to succeed Saul as the Martiniere?

What if…Gabe’s first contact with Ruby is not as Gabe Ramirez, broke saddle bronc rider on the run, but as Gabriel Martiniere, a Martiniere Group division head who’s looking to prove himself by recruiting Ruby to work for the Group?

Hijinks ensue. And yes, Ruby and Gabe would still get together under this scenario.

I’m just not sure what Philip does. But ooh, the possibilities.

That said, I’m not certain if I’ll put the stories up here, or as I gain subscribers, make them part of a paid layer, or take them to Patreon. I still plan to continue serializing Repairing the Legacy in rough draft here. That will take a while.

But the rest of this….hoo boy. I have to think about what I’m going to do with it.