Gambit Inc. Part VI

Part III: A Promising Future

The ride to the spaceport was filled with the ongoing enthusiasm of Orlan and Dale for the prototype. Orrell fielded question after question about design and capabilities and good-naturedly answered what he could. Tenric, for his part, sat still letting his friends’ enthusiasm wash over him. He wanted to share their sense of fun but couldn’t. Too much rested on his learning the visitors’ affiliations and his thoughts were tainted with the possible need for violence. Remaining quiet Tenric kept his essence closed down so as to not tip his hand to the Jedi sitting next to him. Kr-Ant felt ‘clear’ in the Force and the currents Tenric had learned to see so well showed no real danger, but still...

Despite the frustrating and peculiar Force static on this planet, and possibility of making contact with another Jedi, Kr-Ant maintained a calm exterior and exuded the same within the Force. Given all the Jedi that had been betrayed even after the so-called Purge, Kr-Ant had learned, mostly from the experiences of a few other survivors he had met since that fateful day, to have patience and proceed with caution.

As the speeder passed through the quarantine security checkpoint, both Jedi could easily pick up on Dale’s excitement, though he hid it well on the outside, at first. Since Soma III evidently received so little unexpected traffic, the Z-100 had been placed in secure hanger number one. The decision to rent a secure hanger had been mostly to forestall any additional unwanted questions, related to the clearly new but heavily battle-scared fighter. The fee had been haggled over for just a few minutes, and only for appearance’s-sake. Thus, the group didn’t have far to travel once inside the quarantine compound.

As Kr-Ant exited the speeder and began entering his security clearance at the main entrance, Dale couldn’t sit still any longer, and jumped to the ground. Orrell chuckled, sighed, and then joined him on the tarmac. Orlan and Tenric only stepped down once the main hanger door began to slide upwards.

The interior was completely dark and silent. As the main door slid upwards with a quiet machine-hum, Dale could slowly make out a dark shape at the back of the immense hanger. Only once the door was halfway up, could the group make out the form of the prototype fighter.

As the small group entered the hanger, Kr-Ant initialized the interior lights and activated the door controls, closing it behind them. While he waited at the entrance for the door to seal again, the others proceeded towards the fighter. Only Tenric remained behind. Once the hanger security system had reinitialized, the two Jedi moved to a small seating area with several comfortable chairs and couches, and small tables. Seating themselves, Kr-Ant gently asked, “So, tell me about yourself. Where and when did you get your Jedi training?”

Tenric paused before answering. If Kr-Ant and Orrell were Imp sympathizers then telling them about himself wouldn't matter much since they'd both soon be dead. On the other hand, if they weren’t then being honest would open the possibility for a real friendship to begin. The currents were roiling around Kr-Ant and seemed to indicate the Jedi was trying hard to acclimate to the Force-Static on Soma III. His skill was apparent, though, as they were beginning to sort themselves into a natural pattern around Kr-Ant with a precision that spoke of high discipline. Making up his mind and taking a deep breath Tenric released his will to the Force and met Kr-Ant’s gaze. As he did this he allowed his full Force presence to emerge.

Caught off guard by the sudden emergence of Tenric’s Force presence Kr-Ant was nearly shocked into a defensive attack. Until now, Kr-Ant had had a tough time sensing much of anything from this unfamiliar Jedi. Tenric’s body language had shown him to be on edge, almost jumpy. One moment he was trying to read Tenric and the next he was nearly smothered by Tenric’s expanding Force presence.

Now, Kr-Ant began to feel as though he were walking into deeper and stronger waves of emotion. And not just a single emotion, but a full spectrum, from anger and fear and suspicion, to hope and peace and calm. But to Kr-Ant, it appeared that the ‘negative’ end of the scale was the stronger, though he was unable to get any clearer sense of what exactly was the root cause, and if it was normally part of Tenric’s personality, or something deeper that may eventually be cause for some defensive action. Considering what he had personally experienced in the last several years, Kr-Ant had gotten into the habit of taking up a strong defensive posture, be it physically, or within the Force. Despite their unfamiliarity and this strange planet and its affect in the Force, Kr-Ant decided to maintain a neutral calm, and let this young Jedi make the first move.

“Please pardon my rudeness,” Tenric said flatly, “but I would prefer you answer a question for me first.” Having said this Tenric let out a deep breath, raised his eyes to meet Kr-Ant’s and waited for his reply. He seemed to glow for a few moments until all else seemed to fade.

Kr-Ant suddenly noticed two things simultaneously; the first being that both Tenric and the immediate vicinity seemed in sharper focus, and the second was that there was definitely a hostile undercurrent in the other’s presence.

Kr-Ant held Tenric’s gaze as his mind raced for a response. There was still no tremor of warning in the Force especially now that the static had gone...then he realized what was happening. Tenric must have developed a way to cancel the static in their immediate area. That meant he wanted Kr-Ant to be able to sense the extremely guarded caution. Feelings so strong they were bordering on hostility. But why? Why would Tenric want Kr-Ant to know his feelings when he could easily hide them?

The answer was simple enough that Kr-Ant felt almost ashamed he hadn’t seen it immediately. Tenric was giving the outsider Jedi an opportunity to either justify or dispel the feelings of potential hostility towards him. It was a test of not only Kr-Ant’s intentions, but of his character too. If he chose to meet simple unfriendliness with aggression instead of with acceptance he would be showing his true Jedi ‘colors’ as it were. He knew now he was facing a Jedi who was both wise and a servant of the Light side.

Kr-Ant relaxed, “By all means my friend. I apologize for my bluntness as it is not often nowadays that I meet a fellow Jedi.”

“Thank you; you have just answered it,” Tenric said as the hostility faded from his presence. Both men relaxed visibly as they realized how close they had come to a confrontation.