Saga Different Kinds of Mountains: After ANH; OC's

This was written for the OC Dueling circle's 14th challenge. My OC had to fail at something, and I was to record his reaction to the failure

Title: Different Kinds of Mountains
Author: Rogue Pilot 2347
Characters: OC's
Time Frame: Sometime during the original trilogy

* * * * *

DIFFERENT KINDS OF MOUNTAINS

Kev gripped the rock with chalk-whitened fingers, and took a huge step up, lifting himself almost a meter to reach the next tiny fissure to which he would latch on like a mynock. He could hear Keera?s heavy breathing below him - climbing was hard work.

At the top of the mountain was the Imperial receiving station the two climbers were to destroy. The station was programmed to take out any mechanical devices approaching, so Kev and Keera had to ascend the old-fashioned way: ropes, harnesses, fingers, and toes.

Kev was thinking over the past day?s climb, when a jerk brought him quickly back to the present. He looked down, and saw Keera dangling from an overhang by three fingers, and the doubled figure eight knot that attached the rope to her harness. Suddenly, her fingers gave way, and then, encumbered by too much weight, the carabineer holding the rope to the rock snapped. Kev grabbed madly for the fast disappearing rope, but it no use. The cord slid through his hands, taking a layer of skin with it, and forcing him to let go for the heat of friction. Then it went taught, and he was yanked up toward his own carabineer. This one snapped as well, and both of them went hurtling toward the distant ground, hundreds of meters below.

Everything was a blur then. Kev felt himself get pulled up with a jerk as the rope caught on something; heard the awful tearing sound, as the sharp rock cut through it; felt the searing pain in his back as he landed hard on an outcropping; heard, as though through a thick wall - the last shreds of his consciousness - his fiancée?s scream as she fell farther and farther beyond his reach.

* * * * *

The next thing Kev knew, someone was shaking him by the shoulder, calling his name. ?Kev! Kev, wake up! It?s just a dream! You?re having a bad dream!?

Kev, blinking in the bright lights of the med center ward, looked bewilderedly at his hands. They were scarred, but whole. The skin he had lost to the sliding rope was long since re-grown.

Kev covered his face with his hands, and sobbed, shoulders heaving. ?I couldn?t save her. I couldn?t save her.?

The person who had woken him - his best friend, Jackson - laid a hand on his shoulder. ?There was nothing you could do, Kev. It?s not your fault.?

Predictably, Jackson received no response. He sighed. It had been two months since the accident that had killed Keera, and crushed Kev?s lower spine, effectively paralyzing him from the waist down. The only time the climber showed any emotion or awareness was after these dreams. The rest of the time, he lay on the bed, ignoring everything and everyone.

* * * * *

?Kev, I know you can hear me. Please answer.?

Nothing. Jackson Riley stood, then sat, and then took to pacing the room with his fists clenched. He?d been trying to coax some response from his friend for half an hour. A 2-1B droid whirred into the room to check the charts and machinery. As it scuttled back and forth, it bumped into a hover chair, accidentally starting the vehicle up. The sight of the chair gave Jackson new determination; and an idea.

Without warning, Jackson gathered Kev into his arms, and deposited him unceremoniously into the hover chair, much to the consternation of the 2-1B.

?Sir, the patient is unfit to -?

?Shut up. I?m taking him with me.?

?Sir, you can?t - patient must be released by a doctor.?

?Consider this the release form.? Jackson flicked the droid off, ridding himself of all major opposition, and somehow got Kev to his speeder without anyone else challenging him.

* * * * *

The two hour drive was silent. Jackson finally stopped at one of the scenic overlooks that lined the road. Stretching as far as the eye could see, a range of mountains rose from the g

 

AWESOME!!!!! I loved the symbolism of the mountains, both stone and emtional that needed to be climbed. Great job.

P.S. Is Jackson Riley a combo of Phil Jackson and Pat Riley? It's just the first thing that popped into my head when I saw it.

 

Bravo! I've noticed these OC challenges have inspired some amazing work. This is among them.

 

Some mountains were not even tangible, Amen
Great story, well done

 

I'm glad you did't tell me much about this while you were writing it. It was very interesting to actually read something of yours that I haven't already heard half of

I loved you're discription of them rock climbing. I think it was done very well.

Awsome Job Rogue!

 

Bravo! I really like this challenge entry, neat title!
You do a great job describing the rock climbing incident.

Great job capturing the emotions of your OCs, the scene back at cliff was really well written.

 

Zane-Marit: Thanks. Actually, Jackson Riley is two words that sounded cool together, so I used them.

VaderLVR64: Thank you.

boady22: I'm quite familiar with those mountains. thanks for the review.

Princess_Melissa: Thanks. Yeah, I had fun using all the jargon we learned.

oqidaun: Thanks. We just went to a climbing gymn this week, so that kind of thing was kind of fresh in my mind.

 

The road of healing would be hard, he knew. In three hours Kev had been unable to coax any movement from his legs. But he would never give up. Kev was a rock-climber; perseverance was embedded into his very soul. And not all mountains were of rock. Some were not even tangible. Kev would climb these mountains for a while, until, someday, he could again set his sights on mountains of stone.

Well said. This was a stupendous story, Rogue_Pilot_2347. I loved it.

 

Great response Rogue_Pilot_2347! I really liked this one.



Btw, I totally agree with you siggy.




-Commander Tharen-

 

And not all mountains were of rock. Some were not even tangible. Kev would climb these mountains for a while, until, someday, he could again set his sights on mountains of stone.

This summed it all up! Wonderful story of perserverance and a well met challenge.

 

Oh, I loved it! Great OC, and like others have said, the parallel between the physical mountain of his memories and the emotional mountain he must now climb was very well done. Well-paced and interesting, awesome work!!

 

From the title I kind of knew you'd be using mountains in a symbolic vein (though I thought of moving mountains) but the effect was just the same, marvelous. The emotions were just right, and the fact that Kev didn't come around immediatly when Jackson brought him on the "field trip" made it more realistic.
Great challenge response R_P!