Tenric's Gambit: I

Got another story of Tenric underway here. Takes place roughly 2 years after Order 66 (-18 BBY) in Tenric's home system.
Here he is full-grown (@21 yrs. Old) and risking all to help a friend in need....

Tales from Soma III: Tenric's Gambit

Part I

"Hutt-Slime!", exclaimed the pilot as sparks erupted from the control panel accompanied by a wisp of smoke. Even before the alarm sounded, a drop in the ship's vibration rate told him one of his engines had just given out. He wrestled with the suddenly sluggish control stick and was forced to concentrate more on completing the race alive than trying to win it.

Several hoots and cheers came over the comm as the nearest ships shot past him to vie for the lead. He watched dejectedly as his hopes for winning literally flew away from him. He needed the prize money badly enough to have risked his life in this speed demon of a ship. Now it seemed as though it had been for nothing.

It wouldn't normally be such a dangerous situation since the fire suppression system would have handled it almost as it happened. The problem, however, was that the system wasn't there. In fact there were a lot of things considered standard that were missing in the stripped down Headhunter he was flying. Speed and maneuverability were paramount in this race so concessions had been made. As it stood now he wasn't sure if he could maneuver back out of the asteroid belt, much less finish the race. Of course, the fire might just deplete his life support and solve that problem for him; or one of the turbo burners could backlight and....

Up ahead one of the racers executed a tight flip-roll and broke from the pack. It turned back in his direction and was shortly flying in tight formation with him...too tight.

"Tenric, get the hell away from me man, she could blow any second!" He shouted into the comm

"Dale, just shut up and listen!" came the curt reply. "Shut down your oxygen and take as deep a breath as you can. Then run the emergency test cycle on the cockpit scrubbers!"

"No way man!" Dale responded, "I can't hold my breath long enough for that trick to work!"

"Then we're both going to die out here." came the emotionless response.

That got his attention. He had been prepared to die in this race if necessary, but not to take a friend with him, especially not Tenric. With him gone Tenric would be all his family had between them and debt-slavery to the Hutts.

"You never do know when to back out my friend." Tenric comm'd in response to his thoughts. "Now do it before its too late!"

Dale wondered again at how his friend had changed over the years. He'd grown from an impish and mostly shy boy to a gregarious and, still a bit impish, young man. The biggest change, though, was that Tenric had become focused in a way that could be scary and had an odd way of looking at you. He thought and reacted faster than anyone should...and he was almost always right. Dale knew it had something to do with Tenric's 'Uncle'. The old man had that same focused intensity and odd far-away stare. Since he left Tenric had.....

"Dale! Now!" Tenric ordered.

Dale realized he had begun to drift off; his Oxygen must be more depleted than he thought. With a shake of his head he flipped the switches and did as his friend instructed. Immediately he felt the rush of air as the scrubbers strained to evacuate all the air in the cockpit. The process took two full minutes and he had never been able to hold hid breath more than one and a quarter.

Just as he was beginning to crave air he felt something clamp itself around his throat. Amid his rising panic he realized he couldn't have taken a breath if he wanted to. His head was spinning and he felt as though he might black out. Suddenly his control stick seemed to move by itself and steer him past an oncoming rock twenty times his size. The pressurization alarm began to ring and he fumbled with the switch trying to get oxygen back into the cockpit. Then the switch just flipped on its own and he heard the life giving hiss of re-pressurization. His throat opened then and he could breath.

"Dale. Dale, you ok in there?" Came Tenric's voice over the comm.

"Ye...yeah. Think so." came the weak reply

"Ok buddy. You'll be safe along this vector. How's your air?"

Dale glanced at the readout. There was enough to get home, barely, but finishing the race was out of the question. He would need to use his emergency canister though in order to make it.

"Get home safe my friend." Tenric comm'd. "Let me worry about the race."

"There's no way you can win now!" he sent back "they're too far ahead!"

"Correllian Ale, cold, at the usual place." was Tenric's reply as his ship screamed off after the other racers.....