***Chapter 1***
Rebellion
Meria Skywalker wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. She held her lightsaber in a two handed grip. As she circled her opponent she kept her eyes focused on it. The Force warned her a split-second early that a strike was coming. She parried a slash on her right side and then overhead and quickly on the right again. A strike came straight at her head. She waited until the last possible moment and ducked and went into a roll. The momentum of the roll as she slammed into her opponent brought the figure tumbling over the top of her. She completed the roll and jumped up quickly. Before the figure could regain balance, Meria was slashing down at his back. Her opponent blocked the attack by blocking over his head, the purple blade pointed down his back. He jumped up and did a spin in the air and threw an attack at Meria. She batted it away and brought her blade in at his neck. His parry flung her blade out wide and she barely brought it back in time to block a blow at her mid section.
She could feel sweat running down the side of her face and her red-blonde hair stuck to her neck and her shirt clung to her hot back. Though she was covered in sweat, she had a small smile on her face and determination in her eyes. She was barely breathing hard and she was proud of herself. She was enjoying this battle. Lightsaber duels always took her mind off of the problems in life that could not be solved by a simple duel. When she was fighting, she felt in control of the situation. Like her dad always said, Meria had inherited her mother's stubborn fighting spirit. She gave herself to the Force and she blocked blow after blow. Her blade went into offensive mode and she attacked the form aggressively. Finally she did a Force-assisted jump over her opponent's head. She quickly caught his blade from behind and flicked her wrist, sending his lightsaber across the room. She did a jump-spin, and kicked his feet out from under him. She flipped him over and pointed her lightsaber at his throat.
Meria smiled at her opponent and shut down her lightsaber. "Good fight, Ben. Thanks. I needed a little work out."
"Ha, I was just being easy, little sis. Just wait 'til next time. I'll get you." Ben laughed. He lifted his legs and kicked the air, sending himself flipping to his feet. He ruffled his sister's hair and said, "You're actually getting good."
Meria shot Ben a mock glare and smoothed her ponytail. "I tell you every day not to mess up my hair. Mine's not short enough to lay back down straight…And if I wasn't about to take a shower anyway, I'd kill you." She laughed as she ruffled her older brother's hair in retaliation. Then she jogged off to the refresher.
An hour later, Meria felt vigorated and watching a holovid. Her dad, Luke Skywalker, sat down beside her and patted her shoulder. "I saw the fight. Very impressive. You know, you certainly have Mara's fighting spirit, along with talent."
"Yea, yea. I know." Meria rolled her eyes.
"But I also saw that you used anger and aggression," her father added solomly. "Anger can lead…"
"To the Dark Side," Meria interrupted frustrated. "I know. You always tell me that. You're always finding something wrong with what I do." As her temper rose, she stood up, her voice rising as well. She was angry now. "Why can't I ever do anything right. You never grill Ben like this."
"I know, Meri, I just want you to stay clear of things that can hurt you, including the Dark Side."
"Well, you wanna know something, Dad? I am fifteen. Have been for several months now. I am capable of taking care of myself. Why can't you understand that?" She stomped off to her room and slammed the door closed behind her using the Force. She sat on her bed and tried unsuccessfully to calm herself using Jedi Calming Techniques. *Why can't I ever do anything right? It's not fair. I get in trouble for everything I do and Ben gets away with it all. If they don't love me enough to be fair, I'll find my own way through the Universe. * As she thought this, she grabbed a bag and started packing.
Later, under the cover of darkness, Meria quietly and stealthily left the house. With her lightsaber clipped to her belt, a fully loaded blaster in her holster, and her bag of most valuable possessions across her, she tiptoed out to her very own ship. The Dream had been given to her by her Uncle Han and his family. Her cousin Jaina had taught her to fly long before she had been able to own a starship herself. She left a message on Ben's comlink and boarded her ship. She quietly lit the repulsorlifts and without a sound cleared the atmosphere. *Let's see. Where should I go? * She thought to herself. *Dad always talked about the races he used to watch on Tatooine, and how much he always wanted to leave it. I'll go there and see why he hated it so much. And I'd love to watch a race…or participate in one myself. * She allowed herself a small grin at the mental picture of her winning a race. She typed the coordinates into the navicomputer and jumped into hyperspace.