Saga Love Letter The Saga anthology thread

Here's my attempt.

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[b]Message in an Artoo Unit[/b]

She found him just where she thought he would be. Princess Leia wound her way easily through the maze of starfighters and shuttles in the Rebel Alliance frigate [i]Next Chance[/i]?s docking bay before stopping at the section cordoned-off for Rogue Squadron. ?Good-day, Commander Skywalker.?

A year ago, Luke Skywalker was a moisture farmer on Tatooine; today, he commanded the best starfighter squadron in the galaxy. Leia wouldn?t have known it by looking at him. Right now, Luke Skywalker looked more like a mechanic than a hot-shot starfighter pilot, his face smudged with grease, his hands black with it. ?Your Highness,? Luke said as he rose from where he was working on his R2-unit. ?How can I help you??

Leia smiled and gestured to the line of X-wing fighters that made up Rogue Squadron. ?You can tell me what?s going on here? Your crew-chief is practically apoplectic over what you?re doing.?

Luke mirrored her smile and turned his eyes to the rest of the squadron. ?I didn?t hear any complaints from the rest of the crew??

?Yes, I?m sure you didn?t,? Leia said dryly. ?Do you know what they?re doing to your wardroom??

?I haven?t a clue.? Luke turned back to his work on Artoo-Detoo.

The princess sighed. Was this the same young man who rescued her from execution? He seemed so innocent back then, not nearly as jaded. ?Look, flyboy,? she growled, changing tactics. ?I have an unhappy crew on my hands, and that is very bad for moral.? Moral in the Rebel Alliance was very high a year ago when Luke destroyed the Empire?s ultimate weapon, the Death Star. But their fight against the Empire had stalled and moral was slowly slipping.

Luke shrugged as he rummaged through the toolbox next to him. ?We were feeling a bit stagnant, too,? he said, gesturing with the tool. ?Plus Nhikk wanted to wipe the memories of our R2-units.?

?Isn?t that standard procedure?? Leia found a clean place to sit on a nearby cargo crate.

?Yeah, but I don?t exactly agree with that procedure. At least not with Artoo here.? The droid whistled his gratitude. ?Your welcome,? Luke said into the droid?s photoreceptor.

?But isn?t that a little dangerous? Your ship can become too dependant on one droid.?

Luke nodded. ?I gave the rest of the squad that option. I just thought they could do it themselves. Besides, we don?t work on our own ships that much. The more familiar we are with our crafts, the more familiar we become with how they handle.?

Leia snorted. ?You?re starting to sound like Captain Solo.?

Luke paused momentarily in his cleaning. ?I hadn?t thought of it that way.?

?So, what are you doing with Artoo?? Leia asked. ?The Death Star plans aren?t still in him, are they??

Luke laughed. ?No, they?re not. I?m doing a selective memory wipe. Our little friend here has a few files in him that he doesn?t need anymore.? He turned to look at a monitor that was connected via a thick cable to Artoo?s side. ?Ah, here?s something.?

?What??

?An old holo-message.?

?Can I see it?? Leia asked curious to see what kind of history the droid was carrying inside him. ?How old is it??

Luke squinted at the monitor. ?Looks like it?s about twenty or twenty-five years old. It?s a little corrupted, so I don?t know how much we?ll be able to see.?

?Try it anyways.?

Luke nodded and tapped the droid on its dome. ?Let?s see it, Artoo.?

The droid whistle and pointed his holo-projector at the ground. A three-dimensional image of a young man in a dark robe appeared at the end of a blue cone of light. Only a third of a meter tall, the image flickered and the audio crackled briefly before coming into focus. ?Hello, Pad---.? The image jiggled and the audio cut-out for a moment.

?Sorry,? Luke told Leia. ?But that?s the best I can do.?

Leia was transfixed by the handsome young man in the hologram. ?That?s all right. Let it run.?

?We?re leaving for? but you already knew that.? The man in the projection paused, searching for words. ?Master? doesn?t seem to think? but th

 

I bet some of you think I'm going to post an Anakin/Padmé love letter.

Wrong! Too obvious!

There's some pretty stiff competition, so I don't know how this will play but here goes:

Title: Helping Out A Friend
author: MissPadme
Rating: PG
Setting: During TESB
Lovebirds: Chewbacca/Malla (with a smidgen of Han/Leia)

?I don?t get her, Chewie.?

Chewbacca inwardly groaned as Han Solo yet again mused on the difficulties of pursuing Princess Leia Organa. Aside from the Empire chasing them around the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon?s hyperdrive malfunctioning, and the endless blatherings of a certain protocol droid, Chewbacca had to endure the tempestuous courtship between his best friend and the strong-willed, sharp-tongued princess. Often, it was amusing, but in closed quarters it got old after a while. Especially when Han started acting like a lovestruck schoolboy wondering what to do with his first crush.

?I thought things were getting better between us. But I say or do the wrong thing and she goes all Sith Lord on me. What do women want anyway?? He stared out the Falcon?s cockpit at the field of stars.

*A lady wants romance, hearts, flowers, feelings, that sort of thing,* Chewbacca growled. *Have you tried writing poetry? A love letter?*

?Like what? ?Dear Your Worshipfulness, I?d like to hook up your power couplings with mine???

*You can?t be serious.*

Han shrugged. ?I don?t know, I?m no good with that stuff. What am I supposed to say? Something out of an old holodrama like, ?You are in my very soul, tormenting me???

Chewbacca laughed. *That?s not a bad start. Here, let me show you something.* Han watched Chewbacca produce a datapad from beneath the co-pilot?s chair. *Usually, I keep my letters home private, but just this once, I?ll let you read one to show you what I mean.*

Chewie punched up some keys on the pad and gave it to Han. The Corellian leaned back in his pilot?s chair to read the script in Shyrriwook. It was a letter addressed to Chewie?s wife Malla.

My Dearest Mallatobuck,

Right now I?m on a barren, frozen world called Hoth. It is as different from beloved Kashhyyyk as Tatooine or Geonosis. Here it is unbearably cold. Even my fur does not protect against the biting chill. There are no trees and only a few creatures. The world does not sing with life the way home does.

But I will endure it as long as necessary, for as you know, the sacred bonds of the life debt cannot be broken. As long as Han remains here, I remain with him. Besides, the good, kind people of the Alliance continue to give us sanctuary. Luke is well and still insists on learning the ways of the Jedi on his own. The princess is well but you will be interested to know she and Han fight like vronskrs in heat. It is quite entertaining.

Han gave Chewie a sharp look. ?Vronskrs in heat??

The Wookiee offered a toothy smile in return and frowning, Han continued to read.

It reminds me of when we used to court, Malla. To get me through the long, cold days I think of you and all of the good times we have had. I long to stroke your soft, silken fur again and gaze into your starlit eyes. I wish I could pluck for you kolvissh blossoms to weave into your mane and then feed you fresh kill from the forests below or perhaps climb to the highest limb to find the fattest kroyie. How I miss the feel of your sharp teeth biting into my shoulder, signaling your desire to mate. To hear for just a moment the music of your voice would be a reward greater than any treasure. To hold you in my arms again as we listen to the wind rustle through the mighty wroshyrs is worth fighting a battalion of stormtroopers barehanded. I would wrestle an army of Trandoshans if you simply asked. I would do all that and more for you, my darling.

Give my love to my father and our young Lumpawarrump as well. The boy has his father?s strength and his mother?s looks. Be patient, my wife. I shall be home soon.

With a full st

 

Ha ha ha ha ha! That's great! I love it.

 

lmao....
?You are in my very soul, tormenting me??


The fic was sweet and funny, and I especially loved that line...



A. Windsor

 

Damn, I feel so out of my league! So, here's mine. Sorry it's so long


Insignificance

Summary: Xeo Chione discovers a love letter that Aalto Riordan wrote to the woman he fell in love with several years before.
Timeframe: between TPM and AOTC (Aalto is 29)
Characters: Aalto Riordan, Xeo Chione (OC)
Genre: Ah, lots o' angst


Standing in the middle of the impeccably tidy room, Xeo Chione had the whimsical urge to call up a maelstrom with the Force and send the neatly organized datacards, the properly filed papers, and the carefully stacked books into a flurry of chaos and disorder. Several things were stopping him. First of all, the books were near priceless tomes that deserved no less than his absolute respect and humility, not to mention the fact that Madame Jocasta Nu would lop off his gray-furred head without a thought. Secondly, the filed papers were research notes that had been painstakingly gathered at the price of many stiff backs and sore necks. Thirdly, the datacards contained classwork of the eight-year-old initiates, and woe unto any being that dared disturb work done by his former apprentice's students.

But the real hindrance to Xeo's bit of fun was the former apprentice himself, who was hunched over the computer terminal. Xeo knew that, were he to raise hell, Aalto Riordan's face would become a blend of annoyance and resignation quickly masked by patience. Aalto would then calmly pick up the strewn objects, shooting a dark look at his old master every so often, and would sit back down at his desk. Of course, during all this, Xeo would feel guilty for having made the mess and would offer to help. The assistance would be refused, and Xeo would feel even guiltier.

There were easier ways to lovingly torment the young knight.

Young? Aalto was only 29, but Xeo was convinced that, years ago, Aalto had been 12 going on 40.

"Hmmm? What?" the Shistavanen knight asked, belatedly realizing that he was supposed to respond to something.

"I said, I finally got in touch with that archaeologist from Kosuri."

"Great! When is he speaking to your class?"

"He's not."

"Oh?"

Aalto grimaced in frustration. "Arrogant Hutt's ass. Hearing him drone on about what little he does know wouldn't be worth all the trouble I went to just to talk to him."

Xeo growled with laughter as the younger Jedi detailed the archaeologist's erroneous statements.

"Once he started on the musical influences of Xen-Lan society and the effect they had on such a predominantly patriarchal structure, I was ready to reach into the holoscreen and bind his mouth shut."

"Aalto, I would have paid my entire annual allowance to see that happen."

"You would have gotten quite a show. He had three mouths, all of them going at once."

The elder knight grinned maniacally, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. "You should do that in front of the class."

"Hmmm," Aalto murmured absently, his sea-green eyes focused on the terminal screen's bright blue letters.

Xeo tried to take a peek at whatever it was he was studying so intently, noting with amusement how Aalto quickly switched to another document just as the Shistavanen rounded the desk. "You put your face any closer to that screen, and you'll go blind," he warned.

With a slight curve of his lips, Aalto pressed a small green button, and the blue letters vanished. "Better?"

"I hope whatever you were reading was worth the damage to your eyesight."

"Isn't that an old wives' tale?"

"It must have been true at one time." Aalto was keeping something from him, but Xeo did not say anything. Aalto usually brought up any issues on his own, when he was ready to talk about them.

A soft beeping interrupted them, and the Jedi teacher reached for the comlink tucked inside his cloak. "Master Riordan."

Xeo's chest swelled slightly. After more than five years since the knighting ceremony, it still made him so proud to hear his former padawan say those words.

"I'll be right there. Try not to pester Madame J

 

Diane,

I almost missed your Qui and Le story! That would have been a tragedy. Marvelous. Just like Le to hide the true reason for her letter in the middle of a bunch of other stuff. And just like her to be the one to ask since Qui wouldn't have. Stubborn man.

Great job, Diane! Looking even more forward to the post on Betrayal now!

Shaindl

PS: See, you can write quickly if you want to...

 

Wow. Great work!

RebelScum77 I'm here!
That was a great letter. I loved the way he did not want to see the sun rising just to stay with her... I loved the line about him sweeping her up in the middle of the Jedi temple until the younglings would feel it! So... Anakin!
There is no Force, only you.
[face_shocked] That really shows how much she's important in his life...

TKeira lea and Knight Ander I love it everytime the twins learn more about their parents...

oboana Nice glimpse in Anakin's war period. I really felt the desparation...

Happy Hobbit padawan Wow. So sad. As I was reading I felt something wrong but the poison thing caught me off guard... Poor Anakin... Too late again.

MissPadme The last thing I expected was a love letter from Chewie!
Dear Your Worshipfulness, I?d like to hook up your power couplings with mine??? No... somehow I don't think she'd appreciate that! Neither would she that! Fresh kill? Shoulder-biting? With a full stomach?? Somehow I don?t think Her Royalness is going to get all weak-kneed over that
Classic...

Something out of an old holodrama like, ?You are in my very soul, tormenting me???
ROTFLMAO!!

 

For some weird reason, I thought we weren't supposed to comment on the stories here. Maybe it was all that pink! Now that I know better, on to the stories

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[b]Comments[/b]

[b]stacysatrip[/b] - I do love kid letters and I thought yours was first rate. The flow and grammatical errors were just perfect for a 10 year old. And I thought the comments he made about Obi-Wan, Padme and the starfighters were bang-on for Anakin at this age. Good job.

[b]rhonderoo[/b] - I loved that Vader had the letters and that they were getting to him as he contemplated his life. I liked that you used [i]Liar[/i] through the fic to help tie it together. Very enjoyable.

[b]Darth_Lex[/b] - That was a good look at the war and what it does to young lovers. I liked that you stayed within canon and yet were able to give a good snapshot of their time together. Sweet but sad - especially knowing the end to their story.

[b]Sara Kenobi[/b]- That was nice that Leia was able to finally admit that she loved Han... Well done.

[b]Thumper09[/b] - I really liked your story a lot. I kept thinking that he was reading a letter addressed to him instead of to his friend. It was lovely and warm and, when the end came, so sad. Really wonderful job.

[b]Lady-Kenobi[/b] - That was sweet, the two of them sharing their hopes and dreams.

[b]jacen200015[/b] - I thought you did a really good job of showing the pain and suffering of war from both the battle front and back home. I liked, too, how you wove information about some of the surviving Jedi into the letters and the way you left the story unfinished. We will never know if Quanson survives... I liked the whole thing. Well done.

More comments later.

 

WoW! These are all so amazing! I wouldn't want to be one of the judges and have to chose between them. Bravo all of you for such wonderful entries. Especially those who took risks and entered something slightly different like Shaindl and Jedi Nemesis just to name a few. There are too many to name you all!

PS: Jade I loved the insight into Aalto.

 

More comments...

anakin_girl- I like how you've rewritten "history" and allowed Obi-Wan and Anakin to have a life. It was sweet.

CrystalKenobi - Very romantic words from Obi-Wan to his lady. I liked the imagery - every breath you take is the same breath that keeps me alive. Lovely.

GuerreStellari - This was quite sad, with the child and his mother waiting for her husband to come back from the war. Very nicely done.

KrystalBlaze - That was rather shivery as I went from sympathizing with Anakin to wanting to creep slowly away.

_Derisa_Ollamhin_ - I like how you wove a complete story around the letters. It took me a while to understand that it was Wedge's parents that were sending the love letters but I finally did. I could just picture the whole thing.

JediNemesis - Nem, what can I say? You never fail to please and surprise me with your stories. I absolutely loved this - it was sad and poignant and beautifully written. Haunting!!! Wonderful as always!!!

 

AERYN_SUN - It was sweet.

Livi-Wan - The poem had very nice imagery and the story was sad. I liked this line Unimportant, unimagined, unrequited.

geo3 - That was wonderfully done. I liked that you slowly see how Anakin is using (abusing) his power to make things better for Padme and her circle of friends. Increasingly chilling as the story progresses. Very good!!

LadyPadme - That was so sad. I especially loved The Demon of Death. What an apt description!

Ellcrys3 - That was sad - that Shmi was writing to her absent son. Of course, we know that he becomes Vader but her faith in her son was lovely.

kayladie - I liked the thought of a journal as Luke grew up. Writing about his father when he was young and then the last entry. Very sad.

Shaindl - What can I say? It was unique and sad and hopeful, all at the same time. 5236 finally found out about love. I can only hope that it will be enough for him. I liked the two viewpoints - the Jedi and the one who killed him and yet they were both alike - duty and honor. Great job with the story and the characters(as always!!!).

And thanks for your comments. But I write as fast as I write... somethings come quickly and some do not!!! I can but try. Thanks for your support.

 

More comments..

Arldetta - It was really lovely. Of course you can write romance - you can call it anything you like it is still beautiful. I love this "I?ll be waiting for you, no matter how long it takes. When that moment finally arrives, I?ll be here ready to spend eternity with you.? Really said it all about their relationship. Good job!


TKeira_Lea - A wonderful love letter from Anakin to his Padme and a sweet one from Padme to her children. Hopefully, Luke and Leia will feel a little differently after reading them both.

Happy_Hobbit_Padawan - You certainly know how to pull hearstrings! I kept thinking that they were together, never realizing until the end that she was dead and he was stroking her corpse. Beautiful imagery as well with things like So beautiful ? his fingers traced the golden trim which embossed the silken fabric. Delicately outward the material stretched, embracing her, like a halo, like angel wings. Wonderfully done.

Arriss - Different POV that Padme would think of Anakin without having seen him in 10 years. I like that she kept trying to go back to her duty but her thoughts kept straying towards him. Nice job.

RebelScum77 - I liked Anakin's musings over the relationship with Padme and his yearning to tell everyone. Someday, my beautiful Princess in the Tower, I will come and rescue you. Someday, Milady, I will sweep you into my arms in the middle of the Jedi Temple itself and kiss you until even the Younglings sense a disturbance in the Force.. Well done.

obaona - I liked that you turned a Anakin fic into a story about two people who loved and knew each other through 40 years. To let him know that others spent their lives together through thick and thin was just lovely.

Healer_Leona - I loved this story. It was complete and true to the characters and flowed so beautifully. I loved that Leona saw how badly Obi-Wan needed to talk to someone and yet did not push the issue because it was so personal. And we never got to read the letter - shame on you! Now my curiosity will never be satisfied! Great ending. Loved the whole thing.

Thanks for the comment on mine. You are very sweet!

Knight-Ander I thought you did an excellent job linking the Luke/Leia timeframe with the Anakin/Padme one. Gave us just enough information to fill in the blanks. And it was so sad that they erased the data, never knowing that it was their parents. Loved the irony. Great job.

 

MissPadme - This was so clever. I would never have thought of a letter from Chewie. And it had me in stitches - especially the How I miss the feel of your sharp teeth biting into my shoulder, signaling your desire to mate. Very funny!!!

JadeSolo - What, no Desimir this time. That was rather sad, that Aalto was holding this pain inside. Then when he erased the letter, oh, I would have had him send it and let her know the truth. But then I'm a sucker for happy endings. Good job with this.


What.. no more????

Great job everyone. Lots of variety and beautiful stories. A feast for the reader in us all.

 

Title: The Little Bird Sings Sweetest
Author: Knight_Dilettante
Rating: PG
Summary: An actor finds his skills tested to their utmost.
Word Count: 1999
Author's Notes: PG is probably overstating it. On the other hand, Vader certainly scares me. I managed to hit 1999 for this third entry without having to obsess all that much. Warning: This too contains possible spoilers for some upcoming works of mine and will most likely reappear in a longer form in that thread when I get there. This one is even a true vignette I believe. I hope it pleases. Oh yes, this too has not been beta-ed.

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"This one is more intriguing than your usual fan mail Mr. Lintol." Darth Vader's voice, unnaturally distorted, bothered Alen more than the lack of facial features presented by the mask. As an actor he had done his share of Nubian Masked Dances and knew to gain his insights from the language of the body as well as from the face. But the body before him, in its black armor, was also too rigid to teach.

The knowledge that Imperial Security was reading his mail increased his disquiet. But when he saw the paper Vader pulled out of the case he knew his greatest performance was now before him.

"Let me read parts of it to you and perhaps you can tell me if you know the author. Or better yet, if you can tell me where she might be found." Vader said.

...I must tell you how much your last performance meant to me. Though I cannot be the woman you displayed such selfless love toward, I know how she would feel. How much she...

Alen's mind, always so visual, pulled Livei's face up to match her voice as his inner ear changed Vader's harsh tones to her softer, more hesitent ones. He imagined her writing it quickly with the last of her paper. He hoped she had burned the rest as he had made her burn the cloak and tunics. He saw again the wonder on her face as she saw the clothing he had provided in exchange. As she saw herself in it. A different woman. Softer. Safer.

"What woman would she be referring to do you suppose? Herself do you think?" Vader asked, breaking into Alen's memories.

"Why, I've no idea." A balance of ennui and charm. "I play the lover so often, I get any number of letters from women." Professional pride accented with a becoming modesty now. Careful not to pile on too much.

"But how often, I wonder, do you play the fool?" Vader asked. Alen wondered suddenly if he had over-acted the last, or worse, lost his ability to keep his secrets even from Jedi.

Or if Vader recognized the paper as from the destroyed Temple. She had had a small stock with her and, foolish girl, had not been able to destroy her last link to that world beyond her clothes. Which, even she had seen through her tears, had had to go.

"Not often nowadays. The Clone Wars and the Jedi problem have turned audiences to more serious fare. Good thing too, I never liked playing the ingenue. Too much like real life eh? I mean, I never know what's going on outside our little fictional world when I'm working." Alen laughed though his audience didn't, and hoped he had hit the right note. Yet, if not, he did not know where she was so he couldn't give her away. She would not be so foolish as to have said in the letter, would she?

"It is not always healthy to be unaware of the outside world." Vader said.

The pithy comment probably meant Vader had recognized the paper. But Alen played the role he had cast himself, in case he hadn't lost his audience. "Oh, don't I know it, Lord Vader! Why if you and your ship hadn't appeared here so suddenly, our little system would have been overrun by that band of Jedi-blinded rebels. And they don't seem to appreciate the arts - they might have closed down the show." He steadied himself before his fear made him unbelievable. "And really - I shouldn't tell you this, you'll decide not to attend - it does need the work before we move on to Coruscant. The second female lead still hasn't memorized all her lines

 

Oooh... Knight-Ander, your love for the inexpected shows through in this interesting bit of work. It's sort of ironic, how they don't know who's in that hologram, and the conversation surrounding the love letter itself was very natural and fitting. The whole piece read very smoothly. Great job!

 

Her entire life was a royal mess.

It had been bad enough to deal with the aftermath of Bespin, the debriefing in which she'd had to explain two months of unexplained absence and the loss of one of their best fighters, to come back to the full-time job of running an active rebellion against the Empire.

But the reasons for fighting had never been quite this personal before. Even after Alderaan, Leia'd convinced herself that it would be dishonoring the memory of her parents, friends, and the people she'd faithfully served her entire life to fight to avenge their deaths. It was not the Alderaanian way and it was not productive.

But that had all changed the moment they entered a carbon-freezing chamber on Cloud City. When Alderaan had been destroyed, she'd protested, negotiated, even screamed once or twice in response, but found no peace in the fury of her sorrow. She had chosen from the moment that they were reunited with Darth Vader in the dining room to suffer in silence.

And that silence was still holding. The first night on the flight from Bespin, she had awoken to find her best friend caught in the throes of a nightmare, thrashing, choking out incoherent syllables as he threatened to damage his truncated arm further. Silently, she had crossed to his side and cradled him until the thrashing subsided and he awoke in a cold sweat and warm embraces. The next morning, when Lando had worked up the nerve to stammer out what apologies he could, she had listened to them, but still did not have the courage or the voice to respond.

Now, he had the nerve to suggest that they clear out Han's personal effects from the Falcon before they departed for the great chase to hunt the most infamous bounty hunter in recent history.

The silence was broken.

"You sold us to the Empire," she spat, "nearly killed him twice, and are stealing his ship to go off on a wild nyak chase, and you think we should clear him out already? Why are you even attempting to rescue him if you want to get rid of him?"

Chewie helpfully roared something that sounded like an agreement, flexing his fingers as Lando looked nervously from the miniscule monarch to the murderous intent in those hands.

"I'm not trying to get rid of him," he said hurriedly. "Quite the opposite."

Leia shook her head. "You've got thirty seconds to explain before I let Chewie show you the meaning of aggressive negotiations."

His throat muscles moved as though he were still straining at Chewie's hands in a corridor on Bespin. "Fair enough," he conceded. "We're going to be going after Fett, something that not many people dare to do and even fewer survive. If we disappear, I don't want the only thing you have left of the man you love to be performance reports and supply requests in the base computer."

I have a part of my heart torn away and you want to graft in the mess he left in his stead as compensation? You've got to be mad.

But there was some reason to that, the first thing Lando had suggested that didn't make the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach ten times worse.

"All right," she sighed. "When do you plan to head out?"

"Three days," he said, shoulders relaxing palpably. "You know where to find everything."

And thus she found herself in his cabin, sitting cross-legged on the floor between a pile of dirty laundry and a heap of spare parts.

It was heart-breakingly typical.

A repulsorsled was wedged somehow between the bed and bulkhead, already loaded with crates containing everything from the contents of his closet to the formation of food left in the refrigeration unit. The spare parts she had categorized, leaving them for Chewie, since Lando had been warned under pain of death to keep his hands off of everything except the navicomputer. She had been tempted to burn the contents of the laundry bag, then reminded herself that she didn't want the reunion to be marred with questions like, "You did what with my lucky vest?"

Besides, sweat stains, kvu-juice splotches and all, it was something to keep

 

I hope that got in on time. I thought it was a Feb15th midnight deadline. Please judge me!

 

Knight_Dilettante, your story is spooky and very well-written!

 

... right under the wire (I hope, anyway), but I couldn't pass this up.

Title: Marry Me

Rating: G

Setting: After Episode I.

***

I looked up when you came in the shop. Couldn?t help it. You changed it somehow just by walking in. The junk, the dust? all that went away. You took it and turned it into something more ? something better.

Kind of like with me. To this day I can?t understand what made you even look my way. What I did to deserve the look in your soft brown eyes. How you wrapped my heart up in that bun of yours and melted away fifteen years of hardship and sorrow.

I never thought I?d love again. Never. I didn?t want the pain that hid behind the joy. So I buried myself in trying to get something out of this harsh world, buried myself in trying to raise my son.

And then I met you. I couldn?t get over how sad you looked, and in that moment, I wanted more than anything to make it go away. I wanted more than anything to make you smile. So as soon as that thing went away, I decided to sidle up and try my luck. I know I must have looked like a bantha?s rear. I barely even got my name out, but you just smiled and told me yours. You had a beautiful smile, and a soft, sweet voice that flowed off your lips like blue milk. You had me from the get go.

I started ?accidentally? stopping by the shop more often. I must have burned 50 credits in parts I didn?t need in the next two weeks alone. Your? your master didn?t seem to mind so long as I bought something.

This is hard for me. I?m not really good with my words, and I?m not the kind of man to just sit down and write out some longwinded love letter. I?m going to get to the point. It?s not enough anymore. I need more of you ? more days, more nights. I need more of your smile ? more of the way the sky lights up with you under it, more of the way the suns glow brighter when you laugh.

I need you. And I?m determined to have you. I'll work myself to death to raise the money I'll need, but I will have you. I know I?m not good enough for you, but I promise that I?ll never let you down so long as it?s within my power. I?ll go to my last breath to protect you, because I love you and I always will.

I?ll say it again. I love you, Shmi Skywalker.

Marry me.

- Cliegg Lars

 

Wow, for originality and coherent writing, I'd give that a full score!

 

Thank you, DarthIshtar! I've really been horrible - I only got to read the first one. I've been preoccupied, but I'm going to have to catch up.

 

I feel like a complete waste of carbon but I can't possibly manage to comment on each story so intelligently as Dianethx has. There were some wonderful things here. So many that were heartbreaking. And so many uplifting ones. And even some that were both.

Thank you all so much for such a lovely read.

And boy am I glad I'm not a judge!

KD

 

Oh the last few slipped by me... here's some more comments...

Knight_Dilettante - Oh, this was very different. I liked it a lot. That Alen would try to hide his feelings from Vader, who could probably read his mind with little effort, was very brave. Glad he realized that he would be bait and that his nest was not a safe refuge. Good job.

DarthIshtar - I love Han. He's so human, vulnerable, hiding it all under a tough exterior or maybe among his laundry (loved that image - it was so Han). Very lovely to read and true to the characters as well. Nicely done.

Fate - A good job on the Cleigg's love letter. It seemed to come straight from his heart - good characterization, too with someone that wasn't on screen for very long. Very sweet and warm.

 

thanks, dianethx.

 

This is such a wonderful bouquet of stories. Original, funny, poignant... I'd hate to be one of the judges. Everything here is so good... There shouldn't be just one kind of prize, IMO. There should be different categories from humour, creativity, good ol' romance etc.
Good work all of you guys!