Saga 10-minute challenge entries

Title: This doesn't have one yet. Who knows? I may expand it one day and give it one.
Author: VaderLVR64
Time started: 0615
Time finished: 0625
Status: Unfinished due to time constraints
Notes: Inspired by a "second person" POV vignette by rhonderoo. I'm going to have to look for the title. And there are a dozen things I'm just itching to correct, but I'll be brave and let it stand as it is.



You lay alone in the miserable darkness that you have claimed as your own.

Though you do not wish it, your mind marks this anniversary. You cannot escape the date that glows malevolently in your mind like a dark beacon, breaking through the mists you have used to surround yourself. You see it with reluctant eyes and you remember, though you long to forget.

It has been exactly one year since she stood before you, her eyes brimming with tears, your betrayal transforming her face from a thing of beauty to one of infinite sadness. You see once more your hand come up and crush the life from that beloved throat. To your shame, you also feel the echo of the bloodlust that thundered in your veins as you took that precious life.

You see her fall to the ground again, her life ebbing away. You can almost hear her heartbeat slowing?slowing?

And as she fades away from existence, you are struck but the thought that within her, your child is dying, too. Two more lives that have been sacrificed to your yearning for power.

Some tiny part of you cries out at the loss, but the part of you that is Vader, the part that has taken over the flesh and soul of Anakin Skywalker, feels only a surge of self-righteous triumph. She got what she deserved, you tell yourself. Yet that small, hidden part of you shudders. You are Lord Vader and there is no going back.

You are lost, wandering a shadowed wilderness and you have just destroyed the only person who could have guided you out of the dark and evil place you have come to.

Now you shake the memory away and tell yourself that it does not belong to you. It is not yours. It belongs to the one who died to make way for you, the one whose flesh was sacrificed so that you might live.

If you could still be touched by regret, you might weep for that man. But your heart has been shattered and the remains have been buried beneath countless layers of hatred and anger. So you do not weep for him; he is past the need for your tears and you have none to give.

You are nothing more than shadows and ice.

 

Huzzah! The Padawan gets to return the favor!
Lovely, lovely work as always!
Wonderful imagery. So sad. Glad we know he comes out okay in the end.

 

This is in response to the Hoth 10-minute challenge.

9:48, pre-formatting according to my stopwatch. At least I actually finished within the limit this time

As the Flakes May Fall

It was a terrible sight.

Carlist Rieekan watched grimly as his loyal soldiers fell under sustained fire from their unrelenting enemy. He had thought a sustained drive into the heart of their opponent?s staging area would break their will, but the plan had backfired horribly. Now, it appeared that all was lost.

Men and women struggled to resist the endless barrage, but in the end they all succumbed. Projectiles slammed into their body and knocked the Rebels backward, littering the blindingly white plains of snow with hordes of the fallen.

And it?s all my fault, the General cursed to himself. If I?d only withdrawn earlier?

In front of him, his able-bodied adjutant Lieutenant Goss dove behind a defensive barrier to avoid streaks of fire. After the immediate threat was gone, Goss stuck his head over the top of their hastily-dug snow trenches and started answer back with salvos of his own.

It was short-lived effort. There was simply too many of them to resist. Goss? heavy parka was stiched with projectiles and he staggered back. His body twisted as he fell, sending him face first into the snow beneath him.

?General, those are some long sleeves. You got anything hidden up them?? asked a weathered looking man to his left. The man was crouched behind a barrier made of compacted ice and snow. Rieekan saw the pilot wings on his jacket, but the man?s name escaped him. Jes Wansom? Something along those lines.

Rieekan gritted his teeth together. It was now or never.

?Everyone, to my position!? the General cried, rallying his troops for one last desperate charge. His remaining men ? only a dozen ? cheered and surged around Rieekan. They all had to know as he did that their chances of victory were hopeless, but their faces showed nothing but determination. The general pulled his goggles over his eyes and took a deep breath.

Had anyone bore witness to the Rebel remnants, they would have thought that Rieekan?s survivors looked like they were even enjoying themselves.

?Let?s show these amateurs how it?s done,? Rieekan roared. With that, he leapt over the snow fortifications and raced forward. They were completely exposed, but none of them seemed to notice in their fervor. They made it halfway across the battlefield towards the enemy encampment before the torrent of opposing fire started up again. In his peripheral vision, he could see the loyal soldiers fall one by one, but there was no time for terror or remorse.

Less than ten meters from his target, Rieekan was hit. He felt a great explosion against his face that stung his nearly-numb face, sending pulses of fiery agony through his nerve endings. He lost his footing and plunged into the snow beneath him.

For the General, everything ceased. The sounds of the raging battle dissapeared. His world revolved around his ragged breath, the shocking feeling of Hoth?s snow against his exposed flesh, and the crescendo of his beating heart.

After a moment, Rieekan returned to his feet and gazed at his attacker. The rugged man gazed back at him with a look of exaggerated innocence.

?Nice one, Captain Solo. You just earned yourself a three-month dock in your freelancer pay. Maybe I should give a hospitality call to Jabba the Hutt,? Rieekan said with mock seriousness.

Next to the smuggler-turned-seditionist , a soldier took their helmet off, revealing the beautiful features of Princess Leia Organa. She shot Solo a wry smile.

?Not a bad shot,? she said. ?For a nerf-herder,? Leia quickly added.

Solo turned to her with a pleased look on his face. Rieekan took the opening and fired. A snowball slammed into Solo?s head, spraying the man with fine powder. Leia laughed and was quickly joined by Rieekan and many others. Solo raised his head indignantly, then followed suit and chuckled. After a few seco

 

All righty please pardon the lack of grammar and spelling.
_________________________________


A Bad Idea


?It will take ten minutes tops,? Han smiled as he and Luke stood by the shield doors to Echo Base.

?She?s not going to like this,? Luke shook his head knowing his friend was going to cause more trouble.

?I know,? Han smirked.

?You also know she?s going to kill you right??

?Kid at the moment the only entertainment I have is to watch her Royalness get upset, don?t take that away from me,? Han gave Luke a mock hurt look.

?But you?re not just affecting her Han, you?re effecting all of us you know,? Luke knew this was a bad idea. ?They?ll be no dealing with her after this.?

?Come on by lunch time she?ll be fine,? Han glanced outside a moment.

?No she wont because you?re throwing off her whole routine,? Luke put quotation marks around the last word.

?I?m not throwing anything off, besides she can grab another one,? Han said casually.

?Yeah but that?s her favorite,? Luke countered.

?If you?re that worried then go get it,? Han gestured towards the open shield door. Luke didn?t move. ?See you?re curious too.?

?Ok fine I?m curious but couldn?t we have just asked her before we took it??

?Where?s the fun in that??

?Hey Solo!? Hobbie shouted. ?She?s on her way and she looks really mad.?

?Perfect!? Han started rubbing his hands together.

?Han!? only one person could make his name sound like a curse word.

?Yes you?re Worshipfulness,? Han grinned.

?What did you do with it?? Leia snapped.

?Do with what?? Han tried to play dumb.

?You know what I?m talking about,? Leia started to tap her foot. ?3PO saw you take it.?

?Told you,? Luke muttered.

?You were in on this too!? Leia almost shouted.

?Well I ? ?

?Don?t get all bent out of shape Princess. It was my idea,? Han stepped in.

?Can I please have it back,? Leia asked at her wits end.

?Sure,? Han walked outside into the snow and came back a moment later with a mug in his hand. Leia noticed a stick in the middle of the mug and watched as Han suddenly flipped the mug over and yanked on the stick.

?Here you go your Highness, iced caf,? Han smiled. Not saying anything Leia yanked her mug and the stick of caf out of Han?s hands then proceeded to walk away.

?Well, I think she took that well,? Han said right before a block of frozen caf hit him in the head.


The End

 

You made me scared of Leia with this!

?Well, I think she took that well,? Han said right before a block of frozen caf hit him in the head.

lol! Let the good times roll...

 

That was hilarious, Irish

I loved this line:

?Han!? only one person could make his name sound like a curse word.

Great work, the submissions for this challenge are always awesome.

 

Briman - You made me scared of Leia with this!

?Well, I think she took that well,? Han said right before a block of frozen caf hit him in the head.

lol! Let the good times roll... -- Thanks for reading! As I said at the guild people who don't get their caf in the morning can be very scary.

Exeter - That was hilarious, Irish

I loved this line:

?Han!? only one person could make his name sound like a curse word.

Great work, the submissions for this challenge are always awesome. -- What can I say, I'm all about the H/L. Glad you enjoyed it!


Exeter - That was a really cute post and I'm impressed you got all that done in ten minutes! You - you're good you

 

In response to the 10-minute Hoth challenge. Regretfully, my typing was all over the place at the beginning, and I wasted valuable seconds correcting myself. 11 minutes.


Start: 1555

FOR THE HIGH JUMP

As klaxons echoed throughout the iced corridors of Echo Base, Lieutenant Alex Stern tried to fight his way to the command centre, which wasn't easy given the bulky white combat gear, isulation gear, and backpack he wore.

Similarly dressed troopers were jogging in the other direction, towards the outside and defensive trenches as directed by Major Derlin.

There! He could see the doors leading into the control room, almost reached them, when a hand clamped onto his shoulder.

"Where's the fire, son?" It was the Major himself.

Stern's heart sank. "Something I have to do in there, sir. To do with my duties yesterday."

Derlin turned the younger man around, propelling him towards the exits. "That can wait, son. We have Imperial troops making planetfall as we speak. Whatever you think needs doing in there can wait."

"But sir?"

"To your station."

"Yes sir."

The Major was right, he had to get his priorities right, but for himself personally, even if he survived, this was not going to end well.

* * * *

Within the control room, barely thirty minutes later, with pipes falling down around them, and the planetary shield down, Princess Leia leaned towards the brave girl at the communication console.
"Give the evacuation code signal. And get to your transport!"

* * * *

The call to disengage, echoed across the smoke and debris strewn battlefield:

"Run like buggery, run like buggery. This is not a drill."



End 1606

 

Great response with concise emotional responses appropriate to the situation.

 

I don't know if this counts as it's not technically on the planet; however, space is quite cold.

Ten Minute Vignette Challenge II
First Catch of the Day

There had been dumber things said in the history of the Empire, most of which were said on the original Death Star moments before it was blown to tiny bits by a Rebel pilot fresh off some farm in the Outer Rim. Now, he had added his own utterance of stupidity to the great compendium of Dumb Things Imperials Say Minutes Before the Poodoo Hits the Fan.

The ion cannon had taken out all of the electrical systems and the Impervious, another poorly named star destroyer, had been left floating in space, like a drunk in a swimming pool after a wild party. The emergency power system barely cranked out enough juice to keep the oxygen flowing. As Captain he couldn?t leave the bridge as per protocol despite the fact that he had to piss like a bantha.

There he was trapped on the bridge of his poorly named ship with a crew of shell shocked shivering Imperials while the Emergency Broadcast officer on the Executor decided it would be fun to put Captain Borzan?s infamous ?First catch of the day? on repeat for the amusement of the entire Navy.

Many lessons were learned at the Battle of Hoth. However, he felt he?d learned the most poignant lesson of all. Be nice to others, for that little guy you gave countless wedgies to at the Academy might just rise to the rank of Emergency Communications officer on a flagship.

He hated it when people stopped him on the street and asked if ?he?d caught anything lately.?

 

It qualifies, since it deals with the battle. Poor guy with that in infamy. I love the name of the ship.

 

Well, here's my 10-minute bit of silliness for ya.

A Good First Line of Defense

?Antilles, would you care to explain this??

Wedge looked sheepishly out the door to the snowspeeder bays, where he and Luke Skywalker had gotten bored and decided to build an army of snowmen. They stood in nicely regimented rows, at attention as any Rebel soldiers could be. Surplus hats had been fit snugly atop the heads of many, and broken parts had been thrust into their hands as weapons.

?Well?? he paused, trying to find a plausible sounding explanation. ?We thought the doors needed a little extra defense??

?Extra defense?? General Rieekan raised an eyebrow incredulously, looked out at the steadfast troops of snowmen, and then back at Wedge. ?And you expect these snowmen will provide it??

?Well, sir,? he fumbled for an answer, ?I hear that the local wildlife is notoriously skittish.?

?We don?t have jawas here, Antilles.?

?No, but the spontaneous development of snow into creatures would be enough to make them stop and think, don?t you agree??

Rieekan?s eyes narrowed, and Wedge sensed that his argument wasn?t winning. ?If nothing else, sir? they block some of the wind??

Rieekan looked as though he wanted to give a lengthy lecture about the appropriate usage of time and equipment. However, he simply sighed in disgust. ?I knew I?d have to deal with smart-arses like you when I signed up with the Rebellion.?

?At least we keep life interesting.? Rieekan looked at him skeptically. ?Sir.?

?Antilles, I don?t want to see any more snow troops outside. Am I clear??

?Yes sir. I won?t build another snowman, sir.?

?Good.? He turned on his heel and left.

* * *

The next afternoon, General Rieekan entered the hangar only to see that nearly twice as many snowmen stood outside the doors.

?ANTILLES!?

Wedge scrambled down from the snowspeeder he was working on. ?It wasn?t me, sir!?

?Well, then who the bloody hell was it??

An innocent tweedle came from behind them, followed by the prissy voice of a protocol ?droid. ?No, Artoo, I don?t see why we should be building more snowmen outside. It?s silly, if you ask me, and my motivators are freezing up.?

Rieekan stood slack-jawed for a moment, then turned back to Antilles. ?Nice try, but if I catch you telling the astromech to do what you?re not allowed to again, I?m gonna make sure you never get out on a speeder again.?

Wedge swallowed. ?Yes, sir.?

 

Okay, it's not fair how much you're making me laugh with that one.

 

Another Rieekan entry! That was great, DWH. Poor Threepio, always taken advantage of

Nice work.

oqidaun: I'm glad someone didn't let Borzan's arrogant statement go unnoticed - or unpunished

 

DWH:
?We don?t have jawas here, Antilles.?

Jawa-slanderer.

 

Ish: Making people laugh seems to be my forte... Glad you enjoyed.

Exeter: Yeah, Rieekan's pretty cool, even though he doesn't get much screen time. Thanks for the commentage.

oqidaun: Nah, to be a slanderer I'd have to make a comment that wasn't true. I'm glad you liked it, though. I also enjoyed yours quite a bit, though I neglected to comment on its awesomeness earlier. It was really funny.

 

ICE PRINCESS
By Darthishtar

I can't take this. Luke's off gallavanting in the wastelands, Han's on the brink of leaving, and I still have a base to keep together. I'll kill Rieekan if he reminds me one more time that I'm the morale officer, I'll shove my morale so far up his...

Leia stopped dead in her tracks. Or, rather, she tried to. The fact of the matter was that it was very hard to stop dead in your tracks anywhere on a solid patch of ice.

The more accurate term was she went flying and landed in a rather inglorious heap on her back in front of her own door.

"I told you she would be home soon," Threepio brayed in a tone of obvious alarm. "Now, look what you've done, you tin-plated half-wit!"

Perhaps she was hearing things, since she'd hit her head pretty hard on the doorjamb when she went down.

"Threepio?" she called. "Why is there a frozen flood outside my door?"

"No reason at all," he said in clipped tones. "Don't worry, we'll have all this put right before..."

"All what put right?"

"Nothing," he stammered.

"Threepio," she growled, "you're a lousy diplomat, but you're even worse at lying! Now give me an explanation..."

She sat up as the door opened and Threepio deposited a sodden lump on her face.

"Oh, dear me! Mistress Leia..."

She scooped the pile of soaked garments from her face, then stared in exhausted consternation at what appeared to be her entire wardrobe.

"It's not my fault!" he whined.

You know you're having a bad day when even the droid sounds like Han.

"I don't care whose fault it is," she snapped, "why were you in my quarters and what dam broke?"

"Not a dam," Threepio corrected timidly. "Artoo overheard my observation that it was freezing in your chambers and took matters into his own...gripper extensions. He had access to your quarters to deliver the briefing datacards, so he simply turned on the thermal heaters..."

"Threepio," she wailed, "it's supposed to be freezing! What have you done?"

"Not to worry!" he responded cheerfully. "We turned off the heaters and it is now the proper temperature..."

Which explained the frozen lake outside her door.

"But we will require some time to remedy the wardrobe situation," he concluded. "That was, in fact, our order of business."

She pushed to her feet, clutching the doorjamb for dear life, then shoved the clothes back at Threepio. "I don't care what your order of business was," she snapped. "I'm going to the medic to make sure you didn't do any permanent damage, then the mess hall, then I've got a long night of duty patrol. When I return, either my clothes will be returned to their original state or I'll see that you get that memory wipe you so richly deserve!"

"Oh, dear, oh, dear," was the last thing she heard before rounding the corner.

 

Ha! That was great!

 

Poor 3PO Can't catch a break

 

LOl, yes. I've always wanted to write the backstory to that conversation in ESB.

 

Here's mine. It's utterly pointless and ridiculously stupid. I wrote it in nine minutes.

---

Freezing While Playing

?It?s freezing here!?

?Quit complaining; I thought you said that you agreed with the leaders that it was the perfect place to hide!?

?I didn?t think that it?d be this cold!?

He snorts; the sound is muffled beneath the layers of clothes he is wearing as protection against the chilling cold.

Adah glares at him. Her eyes are two dark holes hidden beneath the furry lining of her hood. ?What?s so funny??

?Did I say that something was funny??

She pulls her Tauntaun beside his and punches his shoulder. ?You snorted. I?ve been around you long enough to realize when you?re laughing and when you?re not.?

?I never invited you to join the Rebellion, Adah. You wanted to, remember??

She doesn?t answer but punches his shoulder again. When she had joined the Rebel Alliance, she knew that they?d spend half their time running around the Galaxy, finding places to hide and to revise and finalize their plans against the Empire. However, now that she had been with the Rebels for two years, she had begun to rethink her decision. All the running around was becoming irksome and they were fighting for a hopeless cause. Now she was stuck checking out the area around their new base while being turned into a human popsicle on the land of the planet refrigerator unit.

A snowball hit her in the back of the head. She turned and received a handful of snow in the face. Screeching in shock, she yelled back: ?I?ll get you for this one, Aiden!?

At least two Rebels always knew how to have fun in the time of war, no matter where they were. Freezing on Hoth suddenly became freezing while playing.

 

Cute.

 

These are awesome responses!!!!

 

Title: To Serve
Author: oldjedinurse
Characters: OC, unnamed Han/Luke
Genre: Angst
Summary: Response to the 10-minute Challenge - Topic: Hoth



To Serve


My fur is always frozen stiff.

I was born here, but I hate the cold. The snow makes your coat lumpy as it grabs hold and freezes instantly. Icicles dangle from my nose and mouth. I?m hungry and tired and these newcomers just don?t seem to get it.

They don?t have any fur to freeze.

Of course, they don?t have any fur to keep them warm either.

Strange, these creatures. They try to treat us right, asking us to work, let them ride us. But they feed us well and it surely beats having to hunt for food in the ice crevices. I suppose I would call them kind.

They came here in huge noisy things I?ve heard them call ?ships?. They seem to spend an awful lot of time working on those ships. Their language changes and their voices get very loud and they hit the ships. I wonder if the ships hurt? I don?t think they are very good servants. Not like we are.

Sometimes we are called out into the cold too late in the day. Before we worked for these newcomers, we would run to the caves and hide before the light disappeared. Even we can?t bear the cold of darkness. Once, I even saw a Wampa dead in the snow. He had stayed out too late.

Here comes my newcomer again. He is arguing with the others. I wonder what ?Then I?ll see you in Hell!? means?

We have been running for more than an hour. The cold is biting at my skin, even under my thick coat. I think my newcomer has seen something as he is turning me and pushing me forward.

We stop at a small pile in the snow. It is one of the newcomers - I suppose that is why we are here. I am feeling faint from the cold now. I marvel that the newcomers? layers of clothing keep them from this.

The sky is very dark. I see sparks before my eyes.

Oooof. I lie in the snow now. I ? I think ? I will pass out soon.

Now I hover above them and I see my body. My newcomer has slit my stomach and put his friend inside.

I have served them last. I have served them well.

THE END

 

Lovely, oldj! From a very different perspective -- it's unique! Bravo!