Untitled Star Wars Fanfic Prologue

Prologue

      Merak Stride looked at the light saber he had used all these years at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He'd have give it up soon, for his thirteenth birthday was only two days away and no one had taken him as a padawan. People whispered as they passed him, the general consensus that he was not meant to be a Jedi. The tall boy didn't think that was right. He was talented with the force, far beyond most kids his age. He could already feel with the force, even fight an opponent blindly and win.
           The boy's brownish-green eyes slumped down low; he closed them to push away the feelings of hurt he had. Yoda had asked him to come to his office, probably to tell him what would happed now. He opened the door, taking a cool breath before heading over to the great Jedi's room. His thoughts swam about, not giving Merak any rest. What now? It's not like I have a home to go back to. Merak' parent's had given him up for adoption, but after a regular blood test, the agency had noticed his incredibly high count of midi-chorians. So the boy was handed over to the temple, and Jedi bound.
         He had been sure he'd be trained, as he had surpassed almost everyone in the temple in force sensitivity and lightsaber skills. Perhaps he would ask Yoda why he’d come up shorthanded, but the thought sank down inside him as he knocked on the big gray door. “Come in Young Stride.” Merak couldn’t help but roll his eyes as the door slide open with the push of a button. Yoda sat comfortably by a window. He starred out at the beautiful cityscape. His head slowly turned to Merak; he seemed to be in no rush. Lifting his hand up, he politely directed him to a chair across from his. The boy tentatively  took the seat, not wanting to speak first. Yoda understood that and began to speak.
         “Hello. Sorry I am, for hard news I must bring.” Leaving the temple wasn’t news to him, but his eyes stayed locked on Yoda’s, unmoving. “A Jedi life, not all are meant for. Other things, young Stride, meant to accomplish are you. Day after your birthday, leave a ship will. To Exploration Corp it will take you. Jedi perhaps you not meant to be, but great honor and life this is.” Merak’s eyes continued to stare dully at Yoda, though his mind processed the Jedi Master’s strange way of speaking. I expected them to throw me into the Agricorp, but this is still not what I want. I want to be a Jedi. Yoda didn’t continue, but stared back at Merak’s thoughtful yet glazed over expression. He cleared his throat, bringing the boy back to reality. “Disappointed are you? Your feelings inform me.” Merak couldn’t say all he felt. What he felt was a slap in the face. Why had he not been trained? The question burned at him, though he knew it was wrong to question ‘destiny’. But in that moment, he didn’t care anymore. They’d kicked him out, and he may never get to tell Yoda how he really felt again.
         “I am disappointed. You might tell me that I was not meant to be a Jedi or whatnot, but I know, that I am more talented than all the kids in this temple. I would have been a great Jedi and I certainly can’t accept the explanation of destiny.” He felt his adrenaline run out at that point and the fact that he had just lashed out at Master Yoda donned on him, and he liked it. “I don’t want to go to the Exploration Corp. I want to be  a Jedi. I can’t work there everyday knowing that this is where they send the rejects. Maybe this kind of thinking was what did it for me, and I understand that now.”
         Yoda’s face didn’t change. He didn’t seem hurt or surprised. “thirteen years old you are, no parents to go to. Exploration crop wonderful life it is.” Merak couldn’t argue with that. He knew he didn’t have anywhere to go, so he bit his tongue. Yoda casually continued telling him about his trip, but he drowned it all out. An idea had come to him, and it didn’t involve the Jedi or the Exploration Corp.
         He nearly sprinted back to his room, anxious at his new idea. [i]I’m leaving, I’m going to make a life for myself, and I’m going to do it at the expense of the Jedi.[/] His mind was racing as he threw cloths into a bag, trying to work out the details of his plan. Pulling the pack over both shoulders, he wore it as a backpack. he grabbed another bag, which wasn’t his, but his roommate’s who wasn’t here at the moment. It wasn’t the end of his thievery. Merak slide open the door again, jogging discreetly down the hall in hopes that no one would see him. He made a sharp turn into an equipment room. It was loaded with costly blasters and small calculator sized droids that he could sell for a bundle. His heart raced as he searched for the smallest yet most expensive items in the room, finally coming across the one that would take the cake. It was the keys to a YT-1300 freighter that was parked out front. He didn’t care who it belonged to but he knew there would valuables on the ship and now he actually had a means of travel.
         He hurriedly stuffed the keys into a utility belt pouch, continuing to grab at pricey equipment. But the young man stopped stiff when he heard footsteps come around the corner. His heart might have missed a beat as he ducked under a desk, trying desperately to hide his force signature. He had foolishly left the door open and could hear two pairs of footsteps that turned into voices as they slowly passed by the open door unsuspicious. “Future of Stride, I worry greatly for.” The voice was no other than Yoda, but he couldn’t determine the other. “He’s just angry. He’ll come to terms with that and see it as the reason why he was not meant to be a Jedi. He is a reasonable boy, even if he has a temper.” They passed finally, out of hearing range. Merak couldn’t help but give a huge sigh of relief, but his anger and momentum only increased. Why were they analyzing him?
         Merak fled from the from the room with hushed speed, heading right for the ship platform. He was a naturally excellent pilot and would simply pilot the ship to somewhere far away, never to see the Jedi again. The thought seemed magnificent to him, but again reality made him shutter slightly as he stepped outside. It was a windy night, with almost all natural light disappearing into full-blown night. He gulped down his doubt and ran franticly to the properly labeled YT-1300. He pushed the button on the key that would open the loading dock, and then the button that would ignite the engine. Her raced for it, not trying to be discrete anymore. The two heavy bags didn’t slow him down a bit. Merak jumped aboard the big white ship, throwing down his bags and quickly running to the controls. He looked at the droid that beeped at him. “Plot a course for Corellia! Now!” The droid, that had been programmed only to do as it was told, quickly displayed the proper coordinates for the planet. It was one of the few other planets he’d been to in his short life, so it seemed like the best option.
         By this time, several Jedi stood outside the temple, stunned to sense a younglings successfully stealing a ship. The owner, a Bothan Middle aged teacher tried to reach out to Merak through the force, so did almost every other Jedi who watched the YT take off the ground nimbly, rising quickly into the air. He blocked out those intruding voices, only letting them feel his scorn. Younglings whispered that they sensed Merak behind this as the ship finally broke the atmosphere moments later.
          He’d have to reprogram the systems so that the ID of the ship wouldn’t show up as a stolen one, but it would be no problem considering the large bundle of credits he’s found hidden away on the ship. The young Jedi reject was heading for Correllia, to make a new life for himself. A devious smile sat comfortably on the boy’s face as he introduced himself to the droid. “Hey R2-MAV, I’ll be your new commander. We’re gonna have a lot of fun together.”