A Star Wars Short Story

 Today I am going for something a little different. Rather than writing a review, I am going to practice my writing by picking a writing prompt from https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/ and see what I can come up with.

I’ve decided that I will go for a Star Wars based story. The writing prompt is “The Empire has gotten fed up with the terrible aim of its storm troopers, and has instituted a remedial marksmanship program.” 

Commandant Rhorro Berand was feeling… content. The next batch of Stormtroopers to graduate from the Imperial Training Facility that he oversaw were due to complete their training in one standard week. The majority would be shipping out to serve as local enforcement, a few would be moving on to specialist training programs designed for harsher environments. 

Commandant Berand sighed as he looked out of his office window at the trainees currently marching in perfect unison through the parade ground, he was unsure if they were being marched as a punishment or not, laps of the facility were often a punishment for minor infractions. This latest batch of trainees was not the best to have passed through the facility, far from the worst though. He was pleased with how they had progressed. One of the best parts of being in charge of the training facility was that standards were low, the current need for troops far outweighing the rate of recruitment meant that it was harder to fail than pass. The best part was being far removed from actual combat but admitting to being a coward was out of the question.

Berand was interrupted from his musings by the sound of commotion coming from the parade ground. The cadets he had been watching had moved on and in their place, an Imperial shuttle was coming in for a landing. 

“Z-3H, explain to me why there is a shuttle landing on my parade ground” Berand instructed the droid that had been waiting patiently in the corner of the room

“Accessing… Sir, it would appear that a representative from Imperial High Command is visiting the facility, they have transmitted appropriate authorisation codes.” 

Berand’s feelings of contentment were a distant memory, visits from Imperial High Command were rarely good, and often very bad. He could recall hearing from an acquaintance about an inspection of an armory that had been experiencing high failure rates on vehicles they had produced. Imperial High Command had decided that it was the work of rebels and had executed the facility commander, the foreman in charge of production, and a handful of others too. Berand was never sure if that was because of genuine rebel activity or just to send a message.

“Z-3H, prepare to receive the visitor, I want training reports, disciplinary reports, and a staff summary available for them immediately.” Without waiting for a reply from the droid Berand stood up and went striding out of the office.

Arriving at the parade ground Berand could see that his visitor had already disembarked, already a mark against him for not being there to greet them immediately. Approaching the figure at the bottom of the shuttle ramp Berand stumbled slightly. His visitor was a Grand Admiral, this was not good news at all. Berand righted himself and tried to regain his composure as he reached the Grand Admiral and snapped into his best parade ground salute, fitting considering the Admiral had decided to land right there next to the flag pole.

“Grand Admiral, my sincere apologies for not being here to greet you sooner, I am Commandant Rhorro Berand, welcome to our training facility.” A bead of sweat had started to trail down Berand’s face despite the frigid conditions

“I am aware of who you are Rhorro, show me to your office. I’ve already been standing out here for too long.” The Grand Admiral wasn’t one for introductions. The use of Berand’s first name seemed somewhat disrespectful, a sign of how far above the Grand Admiral was in rank, Berand would need to tread carefully here.

As Berand studied the Grand Admiral the only impression he got was that this was a serious man. Older than Berand but not by much the Grand Admiral had a stately bearing. Slightly taller too, every inch of the man before him was regulation, greying hair kept close to the scalp, no facial hair, uniform exactly to specifications. Berand felt shabby by comparison.

“Of course Grand Admiral, please follow me.” Berand turned and led the way to the office growing increasingly more worried with each step. The Grand Admiral was also not one for small talk, he intended to save whatever it was he had come to say until they were situated in Berand’s office. 

As they entered the office Z-3H stepped forward to deliver the reports that Berand had asked for before he left to greet the Grand Admiral

“Grand Admiral, I had my droid prepare some reports on our training here for your perusal, I hope they will prove satisfactory.” Berand tried to keep his nervousness from his voice but he wasn’t sure he succeeded.

“I know what I need to know already Rhorro, do you think I would come unprepared? Leave us droid.”

Berand floundered slightly as Z-3H turned and left immediately, no one else in the facility could command Z-3H without Berand’s approval, of course, that wouldn’t apply to a Grand Admiral from Imperial High Command but Z-3H didn’t even look to him before leaving, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the droid followed orders and yet Berand felt somewhat betrayed, things were getting away from him quickly and he still had no idea why the Grand Admiral was even here.

“If you’re going to stand there all day looking stupid then I’ll begin.” Berand hadn’t noticed that while he was lost in thought the Grand Admiral had already seated himself, in Berand’s seat no less, and was waiting to begin. Taking a seat on the wrong side of his desk Berand tried to regain some composure as the Grand Admiral began.

“We have a rather severe problem Rhorro.” The expression on the Grand Admiral’s face hadn’t changed at all since his arrival, it was one of disappointment with a hint of something else, disgust?

“You had the droid bring reports for me, tell me are you familiar with what those reports say? How well do you know your facility Commandant?” the edge that the Grand Admiral put on his title sent chills up Berand’s spine

“Sir? I know the facility very well Sir. My trainers all prepare detailed reports daily that my droid summarises for me, anything out of the ordinary is brought straight to my attention, we run a good facility here Sir.” Berand may be a coward but he was a good administrator, he was almost certain the Grand Admiral hadn’t found anything major to criticise him on in the daily operations or in the reports that he himself sent on to Imperial High Command.

“Indeed you do Rhorro, so far we have found no fault in your leadership. For the time being, we are willing to allow you to retain your command of this facility. However, we have a new directive for you.” The Grand Admiral pulled out a file and placed it on Berand’s desk

“Do you happen to know, Rhorro, what the average score of a cadet is across all facilities for marksmanship?” 

“Yes Grand Admiral, Imperial guidelines state a passing score for a cadet is 70% accuracy, I believe that high performing cadets bring the actual average score up to between 76-78%” Being a good administrator has some advantages, as luck would have it Berand had asked for a report on this very subject about one standard month ago. The Grand Admiral may have even quirked an eyebrow slightly at his answer, maybe he was impressed, equally likely it could have been an itch.

“77% is what our reports show as being the average marksmanship of Stormtroopers in combat situations. As you astutely pointed out higher-performing soldiers do tend to increase the average slightly. I’ll be blunt with you, Imperial High Command has decided that this isn’t good enough. Footage obtained from recent battles make our Stormtroopers look incompetent, something has to be done.” The Grand Admiral paused and opened the file that he had placed on the desk.

“Your new training regime is contained in this file, the finest minds at Imperial High Command have worked on an intensive program designed to take the average score above 90%. With that in mind, we will be increasing the passing grade from 70% to 85%. Any cadets close to graduation will have their training period increased to give them time to meet this new requirement.”

Unfortunate for the cadets that were due to graduate but the new target should be achievable in time, Berand was feeling a lot better about this meeting. From fearing for his job, and possibly his life, now he was faced with a challenging new assignment.

“Also Rhorro, all non-combat duties are to be suspended, cadets will focus solely on training. Any leave is cancelled for instructors and cadets. Instructors must also complete at least 10 hours of marksmanship practice per week.”

“Yes Grand Admiral, I look forward to meeting this new target. I will have these orders to the trainers immediately. You can count on us” Berand had already begun to plan out the new timetables for the instructors, not being able to reward cadets with light non-combat duties combined with the increased workload might sap morale slightly but they would manage. This was an opportunity, Berand could turn this to his advantage, promotion might not be out of the question, to think how worried he had been when the Grand Admiral showed up, it was almost enough to make him chuckle.

“Oh one more thing Rhorro”

Berand had been lost in thought again, the Grand Admiral had left his seat and was at the door preparing to leave

“Yes, Grand Admiral?”

“There is something else in that file I forgot to mention, unsigned orders for your reassignment”

Berand was sure the colour must have drained from his face at that moment, was that a hint of satisfaction in the Grand Admiral’s eyes?

“Should you fail to bring the standards to a more acceptable level in this training environment then we will be generously offering you a chance to redeem yourself. You will be sent to provide in-field training to troops on the front lines, to lead by example. I suggest you make sure your own skills aren’t lacking. You have one standard month to make these improvements or those orders will be signed. Good Luck Rhorro.

Berand wasn’t even sure he noticed the Grand Admiral leave. The front lines? He might prefer execution to that. Looking around his comfortable office Berand noticed that Z-3H had returned.

“Z-3H, make sure these orders and the new training regime are passed to the instructors, instruct them to familiarise themselves with the contents, and inform them that we will have a meeting in the morning to discuss how we proceed. Quickly Z-3H, we have a lot to do and not a lot of time.”  

 

  

Daily Writing 16/11/20

 No review today. I am simply going to write. I did finish a book but I don't feel up to reviewing it, I am unsure if I took everything on board, I might need another read through.

The book I read was Made To Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. It is about what makes some ideas stick in our minds while others fall away. It was a very interesting read. I read Made To Stick because I am considering trying out writing as a side hustle, probably not novels though (I hear you have to drink a lot, I'm not much of a drinker). If I could make extra money through writing that would be awesome. I have very little idea where to start though and if my usual tendencies are anything to go by I will likely read a bunch of books and then do nothing. 

Hence this post, I decided that if I have nothing to say just getting some words down on a page is better than nothing. Practice makes perfect. So this is just a rambly (Is rambly a word?) piece that serves no purpose other than getting some writing done.

After Made To Stick, I’m reading Robert W. Bly’s The Copywriter’s Handbook. I’m only a couple of chapters in so far but again an interesting read. I hope it helps me make a bit of money out of writing in the future. I spoke to a friend of mine who runs a remote business doing content marketing, SEO, and that sort of thing, I asked him for some advice and to be honest it was a little daunting. I had no idea how much it took to get his business running and it’s impressive. I don’t think I would take it quite as far if I’m honest, definitely targeting a side hustle rather than a full-time business. At least for now.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson: Please Stop Toying With My Emotions

 I need counseling. 

I decided to follow up on Warbreaker by reading Elantris, another entry in the Cosmere universe that Brandon Sanderson has created. Elantris was the first book published by Mr. Sanderson and it follows a Princess named Sarene from the nation of Teod as she travels to the neighbouring kingdom of Arelon to marry their Prince Raoden and secure political ties. Arelon was once the home of powerful god-like beings known as Elantrians but the Elantrians fell 10 years previously to where the story begins, what was once a blessing has become a curse, now Elantrians are a reviled people.

It will be difficult to review this book without going into too much detail but I will give it a shot. Elantris is the debut novel for Brandon Sanderson and he comes flying out of the gates with this book. The narrative primarily follows Sarene and Raoden as they each adapt to changing circumstances, supporting characters come from the nobility in Arlene, Sarene's family, and the fallen Elantrians. After the fall of Elantris, the titular city that was once home to living gods, a new power has risen to the East, the followers of an opposing religion have converted other nations and now target Arlene and Teod and this religion is where we get our antagonist Hrathen a priest tasked with converting Arlene.

This book favours political maneuvering over grand battles and swordplay, although there are some of those too. The back and forth between Sarene and Hrathen as each plot to undermine the other and counter each other's plans is fascinating, their rivalry keeps throwing up surprises. Sarene is a fantastic character, her interactions with her Uncle and his family provide some levity as a counterpoint to some of the darker moments in the story, and her rivalry with Hrathen and political battles serve to move the story forward.

As the title of this review suggests this book took me on somewhat of a rollercoaster, I'm not going to cover anything as to how or why as I really enjoyed the ride and hope that new readers of this book get to experience that ride for themselves. What I will say is that as the book reached its crescendo there was no way I was going to be able to put it down, the book reaches a frenetic pace and I'm not sure I would have been able to stop had my house caught fire.

I mentioned before that Brandon Sanderson has a way with building the worlds his books take place in, I will probably mention it every time. Elantris takes place mostly in two cities and focuses mostly on the people of Arelon however during the story we are introduced to characters from other nations. The wider continent of Opelon feels populated and the nations within it feel diverse and developed.

So far there is not a sequel to Elantris although there are two short stories that accompany it, I for one hope we eventually get more from the world of Elantris.

Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson

 Hi, thank you for visiting my blog. Today I am going to be reviewing Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, I am going to preface this review by saying that this is not my first time reading a book by Mr. Sanderson, in fact, I would consider myself a fan. 

Warbreaker is a standalone (so far) novel which is part of Mr. Sanderson's "Cosmere" universe in which most of his books take place, though there is no particular reading order nor do you need to know about one book to enjoy another. The book focuses on two princesses, Siri and Vivenna, from the small nation of Idris which is under threat of war from their larger, more powerful neighbours the Hallandren. The story follows the two sisters as one is sent to the larger nation as part of a peace treaty to marry the nation's God King, the other one follows to rescue her sister from this fate. The other two main characters are an indolent God named Lightsong and a mysterious man known as Vasher with a black sword.

I don't want to go too deeply into the plot as I hope that you, like me, will enjoy discovering this world for yourself but I do need to cover some points so that you will understand when I talk about what I liked. The story takes place in a world of magic and focuses on the religious and cultural divide between the nations of Idris and Hallandren. The Hallandren nation worships a pantheon of Gods led by the God King, these are real-life Gods that live a life of luxury in the nation's capital city in grand palaces. Conversely, the Idrian nation worships the God "Austre" that is not a living being but more of a concept. Culturally the Idrians live a simple life, ostentation and excess are sins and the religion teaches the virtues of humility, sacrifice, and seeing another's problems before your own. The Hallandren live a more colourful life and make use of the system of magic that comes from Breath.

Breath, or to use the full title BioChromatic Breath, is the main divide between Idris and Hallandran. Idrian's see Breath as akin to one's soul, everybody is born with a Breath however Breath can be transferred which the Idrians see as a sin. The Hallandren Gods exist because they have a divine Breath and Hallandran's use of Breath is much more practical, almost like a second form of currency, the more Breaths a person holds the higher in society they stand and more Breath can be purchased though it is costly. A person with a large amount of Breath can also use it to perform Awakening, a process through which inanimate objects are invested with Breath and can perform tasks autonomously, for example, a rope can be commanded to tie itself around a person to hold them. Awakening is abhorred by Idrian's as they see it as using a person's soul to animate objects.

Moving on to the actual review part of this review, I really enjoyed this book, ok review done thanks for coming. Ok, why did I enjoy it? As I read through the book I was expecting the use of Awakening to set up some amazing action set pieces, and it does, however for me it is the characters that really make this book. Lightsong The Bold was my favourite character, a God who questions his own divinity and has the best one-liners and witty responses by far, but all four main characters are well written and with the possible exception of Vasher very relatable. Each character at some point in the story has to answer the same question, one we have probably all posed ourselves at one point, who am I? They each look at their own lives, experiences, prejudices, and those of their culture/religion and how they fit into their place in society. Also, prepare to have your views on mercenaries challenged thanks to the fantastic secondary characters present in Warbreaker.

A few more quick points that I liked, as I mentioned I am a fan of Brandon Sanderson and he is a master of world-building, Warbreaker is focused on a relatively small area, the majority of the book takes place in one city, but at no point did it feel like the wider world wasn't there, it never feels confined or cramped. There is a very satisfying anti-climax during the book, I loved it. The names of the Hallandren Gods are fantastic (Lightsong states that: "Our names and titles are assigned randomly by a small monkey who has been fed an exceedingly large amount of gin."). The pacing felt just right to me though I did talk with someone who felt that certain things were maybe covered too much. One tiny negative to end on for me, there was one semi-major plot point reveal that I saw coming from miles off, it didn't matter too much as there were plenty of other things that kept me guessing all the way through.

So, a very enjoyable book. I came to read this book off of the back of The Wheel Of Time series which is 14 books plus a prequel book so having this be a one and done standalone book with a satisfying (yet open to sequels) ending was perfect for me, I would highly recommend it if you are into fantasy and don't have the time to invest in a series.