Not every war story is told about the war…
—Back cover line
War Stories is a collection of tales, written by Seth Hoover, centered around the five remaining soldiers of a scouting platoon as they deal with the aftereffects of the Stark Hyperspace War, in 44 BBY. Each individual story focuses around one soldier from platoon D-9 and their personal struggles several years after the Fourth Battle of Qotile, the battle took the lives of the majority of the platoon.
Stories[]
Wounded[]
A wounded soldier retreats to the rear booths of a club on Coronet, Corellia, to contemplate the day he received his injury. As the soldier thinks back to that day, a woman approaches him with a proposition, company for the evening. The soldier has to decline her request, retelling the story of his last mission, a battle that resulted in the death of most of his platoon. This story deals with the physical and emotional struggles of a wounded war veteran as he longs for company but knows there will be judgment passed on him because of his condition.
- Dramatis personae
- Labon Sweef, wounded soldier
- Elayna, female club patron
- Rex Ordana, platoon leader (Appears in flashback(s))
- Krill Mayth, weapons specialist (Appears in flashback(s))
- Rim Perth Granode, weapons specialist (Appears in flashback(s))
- Tesh Vohore, pirate (Appears in flashback(s)) (Mentioned briefly)
Death Wish[]
A former soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder reflects on the events of his last battle, where the majority of his platoon was killed, alone in his apartment on Alderaan. During his recollection, he also reflects on his own inabilities and the cause of his disorder as they relate to the final mission. This story covers the emotional struggles of a depressed war veteran as he longs to get over his condition while battling an addiction constantly bringing him down.
- Dramatis personae
- Krill Mayth, former weapons specialist
- Rex Ordana, platoon leader (Appears in flashback(s))
- Rim Perth Granode, weapons specialist (Appears in flashback(s))
- Labon Sweef, sniper (Appears in flashback(s))
- Tesh Vohore, soldier (Appears in flashback(s))
Broken[]
A former mercenary returns to his homeworld, Alderaan, an outlaw and wanted by a private security task force for attempting to assassinate their leader. With the help of a friend, the mercenary hopes to be reunited with his wife, the only hope he held on to during a conflict that left the majority of his platoon dead, whom he left years prior when he fled the planet. Upon arriving, he soon discovers the dark truth of what happened while he was gone. Consumed with vengeance and anger, the mercenary sets out to seek justice. This story considers with the emotional brokenness a soldier goes through after being separated from their loved ones for extended periods of time and just one of the consequences that may come about from that leave.
- Dramatis personae
- Rex Ordana, former mercenary
- Tesh Vohore, former mercenary
- Tyrus Kalbec, leader of private security task force
- Labon Sweef, sniper (Appears in flashback(s))
- Krill Mayth, weapons specialist (Appears in flashback(s))
- Rim Perth Granode, weapons specialist (Appears in flashback(s)) (Mentioned briefly)
Development[]
War Stories started as a project to tell a different side of war, the emotional and physical difficulties soldiers must overcome after the war is over, a subject the author felt was rarely touched in Star Wars canon. Discrepancies in details about the mission the platoon conducted on Troiken between stories was intentional. The author wanted to use the concept that eyewitness accounts would vary depending on vantage point and prior personal experience, including biases and varying professions.
Halfway through development, the author decided to incorporate the stories into his already established fanon character, Tesh Vohore, after deciding to revise the storyline. Doing so, the author wrote the stories as a spring board into the his new project and prepare readers for the new storyline he plans to release at a later date, after the completion of War Stories.
Wounded[]
The initial inspiration for Wounded came after remembering a moment in Karen Traviss' Republic Commandos: Triple Zero, when the character named Corr describes his injuries due to the war and the psychological affects it had. The author also drew inspiration from Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, where the protagonist also suffers from a war wound and its adverse affects. Seeing that there was little fan-fiction touching this subject, the author decided to write his own story, hoping to capture the drama surrounding the subject. It took him about three days to develop and write the short for a writing contest on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. Wounded was nominated as a featured works on the same site later that year and approved to appear on the main page in May, 2012.
Death Wish[]
The inspiration for Death Wish came about from reviewing personal journals the author kept during a depression he suffered from years ago. Some of the journal excerpts used in the story were real excerpts from the author’s personal journal, altered slightly to better fit the plot and flow of the story. Though depression and suicide commonly coexist, the author had a difficult time coming to terms with the idea, due to personal experience related to the subject. Instead, the author decided to have the character die “accidentally” from overdose, while painting the protagonist as suicidal.
The title, Death Wish, was a play on “death sticks”, which the main character had an addiction to that coincided with the depression. To keep the story at a hastened pace, to reflect the emotions of the character, the author attempted to write the core of the story in one sitting. He also used short sentences to convey a sense of insanity, hoping to allow the audience to experience the mental breakdown of the character. He then went back and added detail and more development, all the while trying to keep the pace of the story consistent. Death Wish was later nominated for Featured Work, in April 2013, making it the second nomination for the author.
Broken[]
The initial catalyst for Broken’s story arc came from a need to explain why the same character had two different names, one in which the main character was referred to here, and one scheduled to be used in later works. The author originally developed the character of Tyrus Kalbec for his original draft of works featuring Tesh Vohore. He liked the character so much that, when he wanted to continue him in the revision; however, this was decided after Rex Ordana’s character had already been established in the story Wounded, thus creating the story arc for Broken.
The author decided to play off the theme of brokenness throughout the story, referring to it in both the character’s lives and the society they were in. In doing so, he hoped to create an atmosphere of depravity to further justify the character’s actions in the story. Broken took over one year to write, the author starting it in April of 2012 and completed in July, 2013. This was in part due to a transition period in the author’s life, as he went between jobs, became engaged, moved locations, and wed during that year. The author decided to finish the story after receiving word that Death Wish had been nominated for Featured Works.
Disclaimer[]
This work aims to not conflict with canon, as established by Lucasfilm, Ltd. As with all War Stories works, all terms copyrighted by Lucasfilm, Ltd. are their sole intellectual property, and the author does not seek to infringe on those copyrights. All comments should be left on the author's talk page or on the War Stories talk page. Also, edits to the anthology should be confined to spelling and grammar corrections. These works contain sci-fi action violence, mild profanity, some implied sexuality, drug and alcohol use, and scenes that may not be appropriate for children. User discretion is advised.