A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome to my newest adventure! I have been out of the fanfiction game for a while, but I'm making a comeback! This story follows the adventures of Ch'hala (pronounced more easily as 'Kala'). I am relatively new to the Star Wars fandom, but I plan on trying to follow as much of the new canon as possible, but I might pick and choose elements from what is now considered the "Legends" storylines. As I begin this journey I invite you to read and review this story. Your feedback and comments/suggestions help me grow as a writer and help my stories grow which is exciting for me as the writer and hopefully exciting for you as the reader!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. I own my OC(s)!

Enjoy!

Star Wars: Rise of the Rebels

Chapter 1: The Making of a Jedi

A small child stirred as she was gently shaken by a firm hand. Her small groggy eyes looked up at the man next to her. Without a word he gathered her up in his arms and rushed out of the shack into the hot night air. The darkness made it difficult to see, but she could hear many heavy footsteps nearby, which was unusual seeing as they lived far from any other people. The man carrying her seemed unfazed by the sound and instead pressed on through the blowing sand. As she buried her face in his cloak to escape the choking sand, she felt as though they had walked all night and if she were to lift her head she would be cloaked in sunlight.

The soon slowed their speed and the small girl uncovered her face only to find that it was indeed still night. She turned her attention to the cruiser they were walking towards. As they approached, a man came out to greet them.

"Captain Delvas. You have your coordinates, correct?" the man carrying her asked as he put her down onto the soft hot sand.

"Yes, Master Kenobi. The Dagobah System."

"It will not be an easy journey, but you must be quick. The Empire must not follow you."

"Understood." Captain Delvas nodded as he reached out for the small girl to take his hand.

She looked up at her father, a questioning look on her face. He knelt down to meet her at eye level. He firmly grabbed on to her shoulders as he spoke, "Ch'hala, this is Captain Delvas. He is someone you can trust. It has become too dangerous here. You must go to Master Yoda to complete your training." Her father saw the look of fear that crossed her small face. "Remember what I have taught you. You must not fear what is to come. If the Force wills it we will meet again. Take comfort in that."

The girl nodded, tears starting to form in her eyes, but they did not fall, "Peace over anger. Honor over hate. Strength over fear. Peace over anger. Honor over hate. Strength over fear…" she repeated as she calmed.

"Very good. Now go." He commanded giving her shoulders a squeeze. Captain Delvas reached out his hand once more, and Ch'hala took it without hesitation. As she turned to enter the cruiser she exchanged one last smile with her father. As the walkway lifted she felt… cold.

The lights went out and she could see nothing around her. In the distance she saw a glowing violet light. It was beautiful, drawing her closer to it. The closer she got to the light the colder she felt and she knew this was a source of great evil. When she was but an arms-length away she could finally see the light for what it was. A staff. She studied it, the way the wood seemed to twist around itself was beautiful and mesmerizing. Her eyes traveled up until they reach a hand. It was rather pale and quite large. Her eyes slowly worked their way up the man's arm. His face was equally as pale as his hand and his hair almost white. The only feature of his that seemed to stick out were his eyes. Dark. That was the only way to describe them. It was impossible to tell whether they were dark brown or dark blue, but it didn't matter. She tried to think, to look back in her mind to see if she knew this man, perhaps from long ago.

As she searched the corners of her mind she didn't notice the violet light start to fade away. It wasn't until she felt the all too familiar feeling of sand whipping across her face that her focus came back to what was in front of her. The wind was so strong and the sand clouds were so thick that she could hardly see.

"Help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." Ch'hala nearly jumped as the woman's voice boomed around her and clouded her mind.

"Help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." The voice kept repeating, each time slightly quieter than the last. As the voice quieted Ch'hala could feel her senses returning and she began to sense a familiar presence. She turned to her right and saw a hooded figure standing above an unconscious young man. The hooded figure turned his head towards her, but before she could see his face the sand swirled around her and the woman spoke again,

"Help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

"Help me Obi—only hope. Help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope…" Ch'hala mumbled as she rolled over. She groaned in exhaustion as she rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. She sat up and looked out of the small window next her bed into the dense swamp. It was almost impossible to tell what time of day it was since the dense vegetation hardly let any sunlight through. However, after 10 years of living here, Ch'hala had learned to use the humidity to tell time. And by the way her chocolate brown hair stuck to her face, she could tell it was just before sunrise.

Ch'hala pushed the thin blanket off and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She reached under to bed to grab her boots and quickly put them on. She stood up, grabbed a handful of yarum seeds and walked outside.

"Well I better make sure Master Yoda is awake," she mumbled to herself eager to start training and get her mind off her dream. "Master Yoda!" Ch'hala knocked on the small door of her Master's hut. "Master Yoda?" She questioned, knocking once more.

"Ready to train, you are." Master Yoda chuckled standing behind his padawan. Ch'hala spun around to meet her Master's gaze. She nodded and kneeled down to carry him on her back.

They weaved their way through the trees and vines in relative silence except for the occasional 'Hmmmm' from her Master. He must have sensed her unrest. She just couldn't shake the dream from her mind. She had had the same dream several times over the 10 years she had lived on Dagobah, but this time it felt…different. The best way she could describe it was like it was closer. Closer to her, closer to reality.

They reached a small clearing with some solid flat ground and Ch'hala kneeled down once more to let her Master down. She took out her lightsaber and ignited it holding it out in front of her. She took a deep breath and listened to Master Yoda's words,

"Feel the Force, you must. Flow through you, it does. Control your breathing, control your thoughts." She slowed her breathing and tried to control her thoughts. She closed her eyes and heard her Master's lightsaber ignite. She heard the soft whirring and humming of his lightsaber as he moved it around and she moved her lightsaber to match his movements.

She opened her eyes and moved to strike. Her movements her quick, but he matched her movements with ease. As she sparred with her Master, she noticed just how much her skills had grown recently. However, as her Master managed to land a soft blow on her left arm she realized how much she still needed to learn.

They continued on like this for what felt like hours. As they moved through the swamp she sensed what Master Yoda would do next. Then, she saw it. She knew it was coming. Her Master was going in for a low sweep. She was prepared, she was ready for it. Just as Ch'hala was about to jump over the saber she felt as though sand was pelting her. As though a thousand tiny knives were cutting her face.

"What is this? Sand? There isn't any sand on Dagobah!" she thought as confusion clouded her mind. She lost her focus and lost her footing. Ch'hala stumbled back and fell. The collision with the ground jolted her back to reality. She felt a shooting pain. She was sure it was from Master Yoda's lightsaber hitting her leg, until she opened her eyes and saw the lightsaber stopped short only centimeters away from her leg,

"Woah, that was lucky. Sorry, Master Yoda." As she apologized she managed to push herself back up onto her feet. She noticed the pain can from her wrist and it hurt quite terribly, but she knew it wasn't broken. "Sprained perhaps?" She thought rubbing the sore area.

"Hmm…Something troubles you, does it not?" Master Yoda asked his padawan. "This troubled I have not seen you in a long time."

Ch'hala nodded inwardly scolding herself, "I knew I couldn't hide my restless mind from Master Yoda."

Her master led her over to a fallen tree trunk and sat down. "What is troubling you?"

"I had a dream last night," Ch'hala began, "I saw the past; when I left Tatooine to come here, and the Darkstaff."

"Do not let the past trouble you. Changed, it cannot be."

Ch'hala nodded in agreement, "My worry stems not from the past, but from the future." Master Yoda nodded in understanding. "I believe it was the future, anyway. It was so clouded… and incomplete. There was a voice. A woman's voice. She spoke of my father. She begged for his help, from what I know not. In the sandy haze there was a young man lying in the sand unconscious and a hooded figure bent over him."

"Do you recognize the boy or the figure?" her Master asked.

"I did not recognize him, but I feel as though I should. I did not see the hooded figure's face, the whirlwind of sand clouded my vision." She explained. "I feel as though the face is not far from my view. Even now I can see the image of the figure as clearly as I had in my dream."

"Hmm… Clear your mind, you must, if you wish to make clear the future." Master Yoda advised. "Breathe in deep and feel the Force flow through you. Feel it flow through your thoughts. Clear your mind of worry and focus on the image you wish to see more clearly."

Ch'hala did as her Master advised. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to center her mind on the image of the young man and hooded figure. She opened up her body and mind to the Force. She could feel it course through her. The Force entered the image in her mind and began to clear away the clouds of sand.

"I can see the boy's face clearly, but I still do not recognize him," she told Master Yoda. "Though, I admit, his face has a certain boyish charm to it," she thought to herself.

"Your smile betrays your thoughts young Ch'hala. Focus on the hooded figure, you must." Master Yoda smirked as he berated his padawan. He had trained many young Jedi in his lifetime to recognize what that kind of smile meant. As common as this sort of look was, all young Jedi must go through the trials of learning to distance themselves from such thoughts and feelings.

Ch'hala knew he was right. She had to focus. So she took another deep breath and tried to focus her mind once more. She stared at the hooded figure and tried to focus on the face as they turned their head towards her. Ch'hala's eyes snapped open.

"It's my father! He seems older, but it's definitely him. I can feel it!" Ch'hala exclaimed proud of her growing mastery of the Force. "But, why do I see him now. Why does that woman call out for his aid?" She asked Master Yoda.

"This, I have seen as well. Hmm…" Master Yoda commented as he stood. Ch'hala watched him as he paced in front of her.

"Does my father still have a role to play against the Empire? Is that woman from the Rebellion?" Her questions grew more urgent as Master Yoda continued to not offer any answers. "Perhaps I should go back to Tatooine to make sure he is all right?"

"To your father you must not go!" She was taken aback slightly. She had never seen him this stern before. "Without complete training, useless against the Empire will you be."

Ch'hala deflated slightly, "He's right. What can I do against the terror of the Empire. I can't even focus my mind enough to see a vision of the Force clearly without Master Yoda's help."

"I know you're right Master Yoda. You always seem to be." She heard him chuckle,

"If you believe me, then why do I sense such restlessness in you still?

"I suppose it has to do with my training. Don't get me wrong, I love training here, with you, Master Yoda, but I feel as though my training will never be complete so long as I never go on missions. So long as I never have the opportunity to help or save people, I feel as though I will never truly be a Jedi." Ch'hala had been thinking thoughts like these for a while, but she never voiced them as she knew Master Yoda knew what was best for her training.

"I probably sound like some bratty child."

"Correct, you are. Complete your training will not be so long as you stay here." He seemed to ponder this idea for a while. "To Alderaan, you must go. Seek out Bail Organa, you will."

"Wait. Is he serious?"

"Master Yoda, is this to be my mission? Seek out Bail Organa in the Alderaan System?"

"Mmmm… Hide not your identity. Your skills he will need. Leave now, you must." Master Yoda commanded.

"Now? Now!" Ch'hala exclaimed. She was not expecting to leave so soon.

"A Jedi questions not when or where they are needed." He began to walk further into the swamp.

"Where are we going? We've never gone this far into the Northern Swamp before—" Ch'hala was cut off by the sight of a ship lying on the swamp floor. It was covered in moss and vines, but the brightness of the metal still shone through in some places.

"Master Yoda-?"

"A Jedi Courier, this is."

"You want me to fly this to Alderaan? I don't think it will even work!" she exclaimed. "I've never flown before in my life. Even if I could… I don't think this thing will break out of the atmosphere, let alone make it to the Alderaan System."

"Trust in the Force you must." Master Yoda told her motioning towards the Courier.

Ch'hala nodded. She knew that if she had any hope of using this ship to get to Alderaan she had to uncover it first. Ch'hala closed her eyes and raised her hand up towards the ship. Ch'hala focused her energy. Concentrating. Envisioning the ship raising from its green tomb. She felt the Force flow from her mind, through her arm, out her hand and surround the ship. After a few moments she heard the vines groan and snap as the ship lifted from the ground. When the ship was free she controlled its descent back towards the ground once more.

Ch'hala felt a small smile lift the corners of her mouth, "Yes! I can't believe I did it!"

Master Yoda pursed his lips together and nodded, "Good. Now go, you must. Trust in the Force. Guide you to your destiny, it will."

Ch'hala slowly walked towards the ship. She opened the cockpit and stepped inside. A sense of overwhelming uncertainty pulsed through her as she powered up the ship. Ch'hala took one last look at her Master and her swampy home as the Jedi Courier took off into space. Her uncertainty subsided as she focused her thoughts on her mission, Alderaan, and the unconscious boy in the sand.

A/N: Well there you have it, Chapter 1! Please review and let me know what you think: good or bad.

See you soon!