A Galaxy Not so Far Away

Chapter 1

This story was an idea that I had in my head for a long time, so I finally decided to go ahead and write it. I hope you enjoy it!

Her footsteps echoed down the old stone hallway of the ancient temple. As she drew closer to the end, she sensed a dark, ominous presence prowling behind her in the shadows. The young girl spun quickly to counter the growing threat. A shiny metal cylinder leapt from the folds of her cloak into her waiting hand. In a fluid motion the girl ignited the brilliantly glowing sapphire blade and parried the blood red blade that had been hurtling towards her neck just microseconds before. Her sinister attacker was clothed all in black, with a dark hood pulled up over it's face to mask the features beneath the hood. With a fierce cry, her dark assailant rained down a fury of blows upon her. Dodging and blocking it's strikes, the girl soon found herself horribly outmatched by her menacing foe. In an effort to even the fight, she suddenly attacked her opponent with all of the strength and grace that she could muster. She spun and slashed until her glowing lightsaber seemed to form a web of blue light around her. Her adversary was caught off guard, and she was able to drive him back for a few seconds. Suddenly, the dark warrior Force pushed her into the wall with tremendous power. As her attacker held her to the wall, it advanced on her slowly and menacingly. The last thing that she saw before everything went black was a glimpse of his eyes. Snakelike and evil, they were twisted in hatred and contorted with rage and cruelty.

"Sam! Sam! Wake up!" cried a voice. "Sam, wake up! You are having a nightmare!"

Samantha, a pretty, young girl of about 15 woke with a start, sweat pouring down her face and drenching the bed and sheets. Breathing heavily, she leaned over and turned the bedside light on. Its soft glow comforted her, that it was only a dream.

"Wow, that must have been some dream! You were tossing and turning and screaming just before you woke up." said Rebecca, Sam's older sister.

"Yeah it was, and it was the same one that I've been having all this week. I keep dreaming about someone, some girl who is looking for something. I don't know why I keep dreaming about her, but I do know that she was a Jedi.

Rebecca laughed. "You know that all of that Jedi stuff isn't true, right? Its just something that was thought up by George Lucas, nothing more."

"Yeah, I know, but I just can't help sometimes wishing, and even sometimes feeling like it's true.

Rebecca laughed and stood up. She patted her younger sister's foot and said, "Well anyway, ill be in the next room if you need anything more."

"Thanks Rebecca."

Sam looked around her room. It was filled with everything that had to do with Star Wars. Different ships, all different shapes, sizes, and colors hung from her ceiling, and the wall was covered with Star Wars posters and pictures. She sighed, remembering what her sister had always told her. Ever since Sam had began imagining her own adventures as a Jedi, Rebecca had always been there to tell her that Star Wars wasn't real.

"She just doesn't have any imagination, that's all. I don't understand why she can't lighten up a bit and use it."

Feeling slightly frustrated, Samantha rolled over and fell back to sleep.

-----

The next morning, Sam was rudely and abruptly awakened by her alarm's incessant beeping. Groggily, she rolled over and switched it off. Lifting her head, she stared at the numbers in front of her in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh! I'm going to be late for school!"

She jumped out of bed, quickly changed into her new jeans and a shirt, and ran as fast as she could downstairs.

Rebecca and her mother were sitting at the table, drinking their coffee.

"Good morning Samantha." said her mom. "I left the cereal out for you."

"Thanks mom, but I don't think I'll have enough time for that." said Sam irritably.

"Oh, wow… I'm sorry Sam, I totally lost track of the time." said Rebecca apologetically.

"It's ok. If I hurry I might be able to catch the bus." said Sam as she reached for a banana.

----

"Wait! Stop!" cried Sam as she sprinted to catch her bus.

Seeming to ignore her, the bus kept driving down the road. Dejectedly, she walked back home.

"Hey mom, I'm back. I missed the bus." said Sam. "Could you drive me?"

"Sorry Sam, I'm busy."

Sam sighed. "I have a bad feeling about today" she said quietly.

"Don't say that. You have to always remember that your focus determines your reality." said Rebecca gently, stepping into the room.

Sam stepped back, startled.

"Rebecca, you startled me! You were so quiet. I didn't know you were there."

"I just came down to drive you to school."

"Oh, thanks Rebecca.

"No problem."

----

Samantha waved to Rebecca as she drove away.

"Thanks again Rebecca!" called Sam.

Rebecca watched Sam as she walked into school. She sighed. "She's a good kid." said Rebecca to herself. "How long do we have to keep her in the dark?"

As if on cue, a strange object on Rebecca's belt beeped quietly. Grabbing it, she flipped the top open, revealing a much more complicated device that it seemed at first.

"Yes?"

Suddenly, Rebecca's face suddenly drained of color.

"What? What happened?" cried Rebecca in disbelief. "Ok, I'll be right over."

----

"Come on Samantha, pay attention!" yelled her gym teacher.

Sam shuddered. She had been thinking of her dream. What did it mean? Why did she keep dreaming about that same girl over and over? Sam shook her head. She would think about that later. She had to focus. Suddenly, she remembered something she had heard her sister say just this morning.

"Remember, your focus determines your reality."

Sam knew she had heard those words before. They sounded familiar to her. Then, she remembered. It was from Episode 1 of Star Wars. Qui-Gon was talking to Anakin before the podrace.

"Why in the world would my sister be quoting from a Star Wars movie?" thought Sam.

She shrugged, and tried to concentrate on the game.

----

Rebecca pulled into the driveway. She threw open the car door and ran towards the house, reaching into her coat as she ran. She felt a tremendous battle of the Force taking place within the walls of her house. Bursting through the front door, she saw a scene of incredible destruction. There were burn marks on the walls, plants and broken furniture were scattered all over the floor, and one sofa was even split completely in half.

"Man, we are totally going to need to redecorate." said Rebecca to herself as she ran to the kitchen. "Mom, I…"

Rebecca's voice faltered as she walked into the kitchen. A tall hooded figure was advancing on her mother, it's lightsaber ignited and raised above it's head. Her mother's own weapon was lying on the ground about ten feet away. With a yell, the black figure swung it's crimson blade down upon Rebecca's mother.

"No!"

Ohh cliffhanger. Don't you just hate me? Stay tuned for Chapter 2, when Sam gets the surprise of her life.