StrandedAU is a tiny side AU that was inspired by an old book called the Timeswept City. The first chapter was POV a man who was plugged into a spaceship as both it’s computer and pilot, and the imagery resonated with a younger me so much.
In the AU Jax fills that role of Central computer/Pilot for a ship, but the ship has been derelict for well over a hundred years by now. His life support still works, and he’s still using the bots and drones to maintain the hull as best he can, but he’s stuck in the loop of daily tasks to complete even though he knows there’s no real point. He can’t leave the tank so he may as well keep himself busy.
Cue a research ship coming to salvage the derelict (it’s a marvel of ancient tech now), and the crew is shocked that the thing is in good condition for its age, and even more shocked when one of the crew (Monroe) find that the prototype pilot is still alive and still mostly sane.
Jax is carefully removed from the tank by Monroe and the crew agree to keep him a secret from the historical society that funded the recovery of the ship, concerned that they may treat him like hardware and not like a person.
I have a weakness for ‘man out of time’ scenarios, and this is just a fun feel-good AU for me.