The Desolate Jedi | Luke Skywalker

Act I. i.

The trees were alive with the Force. It raced through their dying limbs and into the ground, shaking the mud, crashing into the water, and right through Eleri. And if she cleared her mind, and reached out for it, she could catch a glimpse of it before it disappeared.

And it was incredible.

Her Master felt it - a lot more than her - and he told her of what it did. How it was incorporated into every aspect of life. It followed you through childhood, in the food you ate, and the forests you played in, and the people you met. It followed you to the edge of the galaxy when you ran away, and it followed you when you went back home. And there were few - very few - people who, if they asked, the Force would help them.

And she was not one of them.

And her Master made sure she knew that.

Eleri grew up surrounded by swamp. Her only company besides the plants and small creatures that scurried through the thick mud was a small Jedi Master with a complexion that matched the dark and dreary scenery of the planet.

When she began to talk she spoke like him, until he told her not to, saying that Jedi spoke modern Galactic Basic. Then he started her training, hand to hand combat, meditation, lessons in the Force. When she was younger she was captivated by the Force, expressing immense desire to one day use it like her Master. And when he told her she would never be able to, she was heartbroken. If Eleri were to tell the truth, she was still heartbroken. The most she could do was feel its presence, and only if she tried really, really hard.

Her studies became hard. Despite being an excellent student, Eleri's resentment hindered her progress. Only when Yoda told her the story of a young padawan who was seduced by the dark side did her resent become simple sadness. And she went on.

She liked to take walks. To say that she liked them because she got to be alone would be a lie. She was always alone, and when she went on her walks she could imagine herself away. She could imagine herself in a large city, surrounded by people. She could imagine herself making friends. What would they be like? Well, one would be the responsible one, taking care of the group, one would be the trouble maker, one would be the funny one, one would be...

And she went on and on, until she had 867 friends in her mind. Then the subconscious smile on her face would fade a little, because she wasn't in a big city surrounded by friends. She was on Dagobah. And then Yoda would call her from her walk, and she would go back to him.

But that didn't stop her from taking the walks, and she knew with some sense that Yoda could feel her resentment. Bitterness at herself for not having a high Midichlorian count, and bitterness at herself for not being able to tell her Master that the thing she wants most is to meet new people.

So as she took her walk one day, she let her feelings go as she usually did. Telling the plants and the mud and the creatures.

That's all it was, plants and mud and creatures.

And then the strangest thing happened.

Eleri felt it.

It.

The Force.

Not coursing through her, no, but she felt it's presence. A strong tremour, not like her Master's, but a new one.

And then she heard yelling, from a voice she never heard before. And she heard it over the hill. So she climbed the heap, holding onto one of the low bearing branches of the tree to observe a ship stuck in the mud. A mud covered droid next to a boy?

With neutral coloured clothes on, he was talking to himself about something she couldn't hear. Eleri tried to catch a glimpse of his face, she could tell he was human, but she wanted to know what he looked like. He had blond hair, stature from what she could tell wasn't that tall, and then he turned and she could see his face. It was a shame she didn't find him all that cute. But he was here, nonetheless, and he was the first person Eleri had ever seen besides herself and her Master.

The branch she was holding onto snapped, loud. Her body slipped in surprise due to her captivation with the boy and she slid a couple feet down before catching herself. The unnamed boy yelled.

"Who's there!"

Eleri pulled herself back up and peered at him over top of the hill.

"Who are you!" She yelled back and the boy turned in all directions, looking for the source of the voice.

"I'm looking for Yoda." He said, facing the wrong way.

"Looking for my Master, you are?" She lifted herself up and he finally saw her. His face held some confusion.

"Do you - do you know galactic basic?" He asked and Eleri squinted her eyes a bit to see him better.

"Yes." She said, maneuvering down the side of the hill towards the boy and his droid. "You're looking for Master Yoda?"

His face held some relief.

"Yes." He nodded. "Do you know where he is?"

Eleri looked at him up and down, his face was dirty and it looked like it took a lot out of him to make it here. But there was no doubt, this boy was strong with the Force, and she felt a little jealous.

"Follow me." She said, and helped the boy and the droid carry some things back to where her and her Master lived.

"Luke." The boy said after a couple minutes.

Luke. It was the most incredible name she had ever heard.

"Eleri."

"El-what?" His eyebrows furrowed with a shy smile on his face.

"Ell-ee-ree." She sounded it out for him.

"Eleri?" He tried and she nodded. "That's nice."

She smiled a bit.

"Thank you."

They approached the house, an overgrown tree that covered like a tarp a small space. She bent down and Luke followed her inside, the droid being forced to stay out because it couldn't fit.

Her Master was there, and she greeted him, introducing the boy who called himself Luke. By the look on Yoda's face, he knew the boy was here. He took one glance at him and refused.