‘The taller one then is the one I sensed’ Tenric thought to himself as the wary one made a subtle movement with his hand and nodded as his companion’s posture stiffened in response to the sign. Slowly they both began to scan the crowd in a seemingly offhand manner. Neither Dale nor Orlan seemed to notice, as both seemed involved in whatever conversation was going on. From Dale’s body language and focus he could tell it concerned business. Orlan’s obvious excitement and gestures told him it involved a ship with ‘special’ needs.
Warily Tenric continued to watch from the shadows, one hand resting close to his blaster. The two strangers stood out like transponder beacons to his eyes. He exhaled noticeably and dipped his head slightly, sending out the merest wisp of a Force-tendril. There was an almost immediate reaction from the tall one, who returned his attention to the doorway. After a few moments he once more began his scrutiny of the patrons and Tenric relaxed somewhat.
He kept to the shadows near the doorway and pushed his Force presence as far down as he could. Whoever he was, he was definitely a Force-user, and a well trained one at that. He seemed to already have mostly adapted to the static that the planet generated in the Force. The evening was going to be more interesting that he had planned. Tenric realized he almost had to be a Jedi to react so quickly to the small Force tendril Tenric had sent out. Whether he served the Dark or Light was what concerned Tenric. His hopes of a Jedi underground would vanish if Dark Jedi became aware of SomaIII this early. With a mental sigh Tenric resigned himself to finding out…and ensuring that, if they were on the wrong side, neither of the newcomers ever left SomaII.
“Sure. I think we’re about done here anyway.” Orrell responded with a glance at Kr-Ant.
“Uh, yeah.” He added a little distractedly, “We can go check her out…sounds like a good idea.”
The group rose and headed out. Kr-Ant was still trying to locate the Force tremor he’d detected a few moments ago. It had been there and then vanished again. Someone was watching them, he knew it, but just couldn’t pin it down. He was attuned enough to know the person was in the cantina, but nothing else. Broadening his scan he caught a blip near the door again. It wasn’t a presence as much as it was an absence, a calm spot in the static. The watcher must be near the door, and be a Jedi.
A stranger emerged from the shadows near the door as the four men were about to step out into the street. He was almost completely shrouded from Kr-Ant’s Force senses even though he stood right in front of him. Kr-Ant’s hand was slowly reaching for his hidden light saber, when the stranger spoke, “It’s okay, I’m with Dale and Orlan. They were here tonight to meet with me. My name is Tenric Starkindler.” Stepping closer to Kr-Ant, he nearly whispered, “I know who you are, and we need to talk.” Kr-Ant nodded imperceptibly.
Dale spoke up, “Tenric! Glad you made it buddy!” Pumping Tenric’s hand enthusiastically he went on, “Kr-Ant and Orrell here are gonna be Gambit Inc.’s first customers!”
Orlan interrupted and offered, “I saw you two walk here. Would you rather ride back to the port?” He pointed to a beat-up cargo land speeder off to the side.
“No arguments here!” Orrell quickly responded, thinking of his aching legs and feet. Kr-Ant nodded his agreement. He was wary of Tenric. Though obviously a local, and a trained Jedi, he was dressed like a spacer or bounty hunter. Still There was no warning in the Force, as far as he could determine, and he could learn a lot from a Jedi who had grown up with this Force static.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Gambit Inc. Part IV
….Kr-Ant and Orrell returned to the bar about fifteen minutes early, the two off-worlders ordered some food and non-alcoholic drinks, and retired to a booth on the far side of the bar, with a vantage point of the door and most of the room. Orrell literally sagged in his chair, happy to be off his aching legs and feet.
…They conversed in hushed tones. Not that such behavior was out of place here in The Shaft, but strangers were. Not many came to SomaIII for any other reason than mining, racing, or smuggling. Ragün ran a tight ship and, though there were stares and sideways glances in abundance, no one made any trouble or challenged them. Not yet, but perhaps later. Paydays were always fight days since that was when the miners and local ‘croppers were able to get drunk enough to forget about Ragün’s Rules.
Kr-Ant and Orrell were barely half-way through their spicy meal when they were suddenly joined by two strangers, who brought their own chairs with them. “I understand you’re in need of a hyperdrive. And with some unusual specs, too. Where’d you get your last one? Is it still in one piece?” A moment’s pause and then, “Oh, right, sorry. I’m Orlan, and this is Dale.”
Not sensing anything malevolent through the Force, Kr-Ant extended his right hand to the two new arrivals, “I’m Kr-Ant, and this is Orrell. Any technical stuff can be directed to him, I’m just the pilot,” he said grinning slightly.
This got a snicker and a knowing wink from Dale. After several minutes of polite conversation, each side feeling the other out, it became quite evident to all four that they were definitely going to get along. Kr-Ant and Dale discussed some of the finer points of asteroid field navigation while Orrell and Orlan ascended into computational wave functions and interstitial hyperspace geometry.
After a while, Orlan commented cheerily, “I’m pretty sure that we can help ya out, Orrell. Though, it may take a couple weeks, if you want a suitable replacement, and not just some retro-fitted off-the-shelf piece of junk.”
The engineer glanced over at his Jedi partner, who shrugged, “It’s your ship, and your call. I have the time.”
Orrell smiled, “Actually, she’s your ship, or will be once everything is fully operational, again.”
Kr-Ant’s jaw dropped slightly, “Uhhhhh…….are you sure? She’s a pretty amazing fighter, to say nothing of the fact that she’s a one-of-a-kind prototype!”
That last bit clearly grabbed the attention of Orlan. Trying hard, but unsuccessfully to hide his excitement, he blurted out, “A prototype? You never said you flew here in a prototype, and a fighter on top of that, Orrell! Can I see her?” The other three around the table chuckled at the engineer’s enthusiasm.
The noise died down a bit as Ragün approached the stage. Holding the microphone in one of his meaty hands and smiling, he announced proudly. “The Shaft is once again proud to welcome our very own local sensation The Town Criers!”
As the bar erupted into a cacophony of applause and cheers the group moved from their table in the corner to the small stage. They were a popular local fusion band consisting of a Toydarian, Human, Rodian, and a droid that had been specially modified with holo-projectors and synth nodes. Along with their lead singer, an Ithorian, they made for a highly unusual, but talented, quintet. They had even been asked to Nal-Hutta to give selected performances. If they had had the good fortune to live anywhere near the Core they would undoubtedly have been given a lucrative recording deal, but this was SomaIII and such things were far away.
Amidst the sudden burst of light and sound that heralded The Criers’ opening number Tenric slipped in the open doorway and stepped into the shadows off to one side. All eyes were on the group as they went through their, signature, musical introduction. All eyes except those of the taller of the two people sharing a table with his friends. Just as the shadows claimed Tenric the taller one’s head snapped toward the door and his eyes narrowed. His companion, somewhat shorter and thicker, noticed the movement and tipped his head slightly in a questioning gesture.
…They conversed in hushed tones. Not that such behavior was out of place here in The Shaft, but strangers were. Not many came to SomaIII for any other reason than mining, racing, or smuggling. Ragün ran a tight ship and, though there were stares and sideways glances in abundance, no one made any trouble or challenged them. Not yet, but perhaps later. Paydays were always fight days since that was when the miners and local ‘croppers were able to get drunk enough to forget about Ragün’s Rules.
Kr-Ant and Orrell were barely half-way through their spicy meal when they were suddenly joined by two strangers, who brought their own chairs with them. “I understand you’re in need of a hyperdrive. And with some unusual specs, too. Where’d you get your last one? Is it still in one piece?” A moment’s pause and then, “Oh, right, sorry. I’m Orlan, and this is Dale.”
Not sensing anything malevolent through the Force, Kr-Ant extended his right hand to the two new arrivals, “I’m Kr-Ant, and this is Orrell. Any technical stuff can be directed to him, I’m just the pilot,” he said grinning slightly.
This got a snicker and a knowing wink from Dale. After several minutes of polite conversation, each side feeling the other out, it became quite evident to all four that they were definitely going to get along. Kr-Ant and Dale discussed some of the finer points of asteroid field navigation while Orrell and Orlan ascended into computational wave functions and interstitial hyperspace geometry.
After a while, Orlan commented cheerily, “I’m pretty sure that we can help ya out, Orrell. Though, it may take a couple weeks, if you want a suitable replacement, and not just some retro-fitted off-the-shelf piece of junk.”
The engineer glanced over at his Jedi partner, who shrugged, “It’s your ship, and your call. I have the time.”
Orrell smiled, “Actually, she’s your ship, or will be once everything is fully operational, again.”
Kr-Ant’s jaw dropped slightly, “Uhhhhh…….are you sure? She’s a pretty amazing fighter, to say nothing of the fact that she’s a one-of-a-kind prototype!”
That last bit clearly grabbed the attention of Orlan. Trying hard, but unsuccessfully to hide his excitement, he blurted out, “A prototype? You never said you flew here in a prototype, and a fighter on top of that, Orrell! Can I see her?” The other three around the table chuckled at the engineer’s enthusiasm.
The noise died down a bit as Ragün approached the stage. Holding the microphone in one of his meaty hands and smiling, he announced proudly. “The Shaft is once again proud to welcome our very own local sensation The Town Criers!”
As the bar erupted into a cacophony of applause and cheers the group moved from their table in the corner to the small stage. They were a popular local fusion band consisting of a Toydarian, Human, Rodian, and a droid that had been specially modified with holo-projectors and synth nodes. Along with their lead singer, an Ithorian, they made for a highly unusual, but talented, quintet. They had even been asked to Nal-Hutta to give selected performances. If they had had the good fortune to live anywhere near the Core they would undoubtedly have been given a lucrative recording deal, but this was SomaIII and such things were far away.
Amidst the sudden burst of light and sound that heralded The Criers’ opening number Tenric slipped in the open doorway and stepped into the shadows off to one side. All eyes were on the group as they went through their, signature, musical introduction. All eyes except those of the taller of the two people sharing a table with his friends. Just as the shadows claimed Tenric the taller one’s head snapped toward the door and his eyes narrowed. His companion, somewhat shorter and thicker, noticed the movement and tipped his head slightly in a questioning gesture.
Gambit Inc. Part III
Part II: An Unexpected Party
It was crowded in the Shaft as Dale and Orlan arrived and took a table along the outer wall. Payday was always crowded as the miners had fresh credits to spend on drinking and other, less innocent, vices. Dale spotted a table of Dure-Lite’s enforcers across the cantina and nodded to point them out to Orlan.
“Some of your old friends?” He asked sarcastically.
“Nope.” Orlan responded without a second glance, “My friends at Dure-Lite are all in the R&D areas. We never trusted or liked the muscle since they report only to the Administrator and he holds everyone’s leashes.”
In the weeks after the race Dale and Orlan had met here often and gotten to know each other well. Tenric had been right about them. They clicked in many ways and kept each other honest in the areas they differed on. They quickly decided to actually go ahead with the plan to start up their own ship customizing business and had launched ‘Gambit Inc.’ with a good deal of fanfare.
Tenric’s interview had indeed elicited Dalba’s forgiveness and his mention of the “…Engineering wizard who’s innovative approach to design and power distribution will revolutionize travel in the galaxy,” had actually brought business offers to Orlan within days of the airing.
Together they had located and claimed the abandoned asteroid base Tenric had told them about. It had needed a lot of work, but possessed a solid infrastructure along with good shield generators. The first influx of investor credits had purchased a pair of Byblos Drives Sentry Security platforms and funded the construction of one of their Asteroid hangar bays. The conversion had drained every credit of investment capital they had garnered in the last year, but everything was finally ready.
Dale had used his credits to bolster Orlan’s and together they had managed to outfit the new base with the minimum necessary equipment. They had a few customers lined up already, Dalba among them, and knew it would only take one winning racer out of their bays to bring in more business than they could handle. Tonight was a celebration. Gambit Inc. was set to go into business with the start of the next work cycle and free time to while-away in the Shaft would be non-existent for the foreseeable future.
“I wonder if our friend will show this evening.” Orlan offered as a way of broaching the subject they both wanted to talk about.
“If he got the message he’ll be here.” Dale replied matter-of-factly.
“Think the last year has changed him?” Orlan asked sounding a bit worried.
“Nah!” Dale sounded almost offended. “Not him. Remember he has both a reason and a plan behind his new career.”
“Yeah, but the stories….” Orlan trailed off not wanting to antagonize Dale. He knew how close he and Tenric were.
“Stories are just that, stories.” Dale answered, “You know he needs to build a reputation in order to accomplish what he wants to, besides I am sure he hasn’t killed anyone who didn’t have it coming.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Orlan sounded unconvinced. “Its just that…” He trailed off again. He wasn’t sure how much Dale knew or suspected.
“Look.” Dale said defensively, “I’m telling you he won’t become one of them, he’s just using them. Hell he’s smarter, faster, and more skilled than any of them.”
Orlan didn’t want to say it, but that was exactly what he was concerned about. Tenric had practically admitted to him that he was one of the outlawed and hunted Jedi when he had explained his plan after last year’s race. Dale had grown up here on SomaIII and had little experience outside his sphere of interest. Orlan had been educated on both Corellia and Coruscant and had seen the Jedi up close several times. He didn’t believe for a minute that they had really betrayed The Republic as Palpitane claimed. He was, however, worried that the life Tenric had been living this last year, and the choices he had needed to make, might have turned him to the Dark Side.
Orlan had done a good bit of research over the last year. Old holo-vids, news-flimsies, and in-depth reports had contained a lot of info on the Jedi from decades past. Along with the footage from last year’s race he was now more convinced than ever that Tenric was one of them. That meant his ‘uncle’ had been as well. Tenric had told them he wanted to assist refugees by way of his new life as a bounty hunter, and Orlan was sure those refugees would be Jedi. The New Empire’s Forces were actively hunting down and exterminating them everywhere. It made him both nervous and excited to be a part of something so dangerous.
“Hello-oo! Come in Orlan, are you there?” Dale said mockingly, waving his hand in the air in front of him.
“Oh, excuse me Dale, I am sorry.” Orlan responded.
“Look we open for business with the next cycle. You’ve spent the last year off somewhere in your head with all the planning. Tonight, at least, join the rest of us and forget tomorrow.” Dale scolded.
“You’re right Dale.” Orlan nodded, “This isn’t the time for worries.” With that he lifted his glass and drank deeply.
As he set his glass down the server droid approached and stopped next to Orlan. While the droid delivered two frothing Hutt-Busters a small panel slide aside to reveal a holo-projector. With a bluish flicker it came to life.
“Orlan,” the diminutive holo-figure of Ragün said from their tabletop. “There are two off-worlders looking for some specialized repairs to their hyperdrive.” The droid deposited a small data chit on the table. “They seem ok and should be by shortly. Thought you and Dale could use a little start up business. I’ll have the droid alert you when they come in and you can decide. This round’s on me guys. Good luck.”
With that the screen went dark and the server droid whizzed away on its rounds.
“What was that all about?” Dale asked
Orlan didn’t answer right away. He was scanning the specs and parts listed on the datachit with a growing interest.
“Here we go again!” Dale commented sounding slightly annoyed.
“Oh. Sorry. Ragün seems to have found us out first customer.”
Dale listened and as Orlan filled him in it seemed to him things were definitely looking up….
It was crowded in the Shaft as Dale and Orlan arrived and took a table along the outer wall. Payday was always crowded as the miners had fresh credits to spend on drinking and other, less innocent, vices. Dale spotted a table of Dure-Lite’s enforcers across the cantina and nodded to point them out to Orlan.
“Some of your old friends?” He asked sarcastically.
“Nope.” Orlan responded without a second glance, “My friends at Dure-Lite are all in the R&D areas. We never trusted or liked the muscle since they report only to the Administrator and he holds everyone’s leashes.”
In the weeks after the race Dale and Orlan had met here often and gotten to know each other well. Tenric had been right about them. They clicked in many ways and kept each other honest in the areas they differed on. They quickly decided to actually go ahead with the plan to start up their own ship customizing business and had launched ‘Gambit Inc.’ with a good deal of fanfare.
Tenric’s interview had indeed elicited Dalba’s forgiveness and his mention of the “…Engineering wizard who’s innovative approach to design and power distribution will revolutionize travel in the galaxy,” had actually brought business offers to Orlan within days of the airing.
Together they had located and claimed the abandoned asteroid base Tenric had told them about. It had needed a lot of work, but possessed a solid infrastructure along with good shield generators. The first influx of investor credits had purchased a pair of Byblos Drives Sentry Security platforms and funded the construction of one of their Asteroid hangar bays. The conversion had drained every credit of investment capital they had garnered in the last year, but everything was finally ready.
Dale had used his credits to bolster Orlan’s and together they had managed to outfit the new base with the minimum necessary equipment. They had a few customers lined up already, Dalba among them, and knew it would only take one winning racer out of their bays to bring in more business than they could handle. Tonight was a celebration. Gambit Inc. was set to go into business with the start of the next work cycle and free time to while-away in the Shaft would be non-existent for the foreseeable future.
“I wonder if our friend will show this evening.” Orlan offered as a way of broaching the subject they both wanted to talk about.
“If he got the message he’ll be here.” Dale replied matter-of-factly.
“Think the last year has changed him?” Orlan asked sounding a bit worried.
“Nah!” Dale sounded almost offended. “Not him. Remember he has both a reason and a plan behind his new career.”
“Yeah, but the stories….” Orlan trailed off not wanting to antagonize Dale. He knew how close he and Tenric were.
“Stories are just that, stories.” Dale answered, “You know he needs to build a reputation in order to accomplish what he wants to, besides I am sure he hasn’t killed anyone who didn’t have it coming.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Orlan sounded unconvinced. “Its just that…” He trailed off again. He wasn’t sure how much Dale knew or suspected.
“Look.” Dale said defensively, “I’m telling you he won’t become one of them, he’s just using them. Hell he’s smarter, faster, and more skilled than any of them.”
Orlan didn’t want to say it, but that was exactly what he was concerned about. Tenric had practically admitted to him that he was one of the outlawed and hunted Jedi when he had explained his plan after last year’s race. Dale had grown up here on SomaIII and had little experience outside his sphere of interest. Orlan had been educated on both Corellia and Coruscant and had seen the Jedi up close several times. He didn’t believe for a minute that they had really betrayed The Republic as Palpitane claimed. He was, however, worried that the life Tenric had been living this last year, and the choices he had needed to make, might have turned him to the Dark Side.
Orlan had done a good bit of research over the last year. Old holo-vids, news-flimsies, and in-depth reports had contained a lot of info on the Jedi from decades past. Along with the footage from last year’s race he was now more convinced than ever that Tenric was one of them. That meant his ‘uncle’ had been as well. Tenric had told them he wanted to assist refugees by way of his new life as a bounty hunter, and Orlan was sure those refugees would be Jedi. The New Empire’s Forces were actively hunting down and exterminating them everywhere. It made him both nervous and excited to be a part of something so dangerous.
“Hello-oo! Come in Orlan, are you there?” Dale said mockingly, waving his hand in the air in front of him.
“Oh, excuse me Dale, I am sorry.” Orlan responded.
“Look we open for business with the next cycle. You’ve spent the last year off somewhere in your head with all the planning. Tonight, at least, join the rest of us and forget tomorrow.” Dale scolded.
“You’re right Dale.” Orlan nodded, “This isn’t the time for worries.” With that he lifted his glass and drank deeply.
As he set his glass down the server droid approached and stopped next to Orlan. While the droid delivered two frothing Hutt-Busters a small panel slide aside to reveal a holo-projector. With a bluish flicker it came to life.
“Orlan,” the diminutive holo-figure of Ragün said from their tabletop. “There are two off-worlders looking for some specialized repairs to their hyperdrive.” The droid deposited a small data chit on the table. “They seem ok and should be by shortly. Thought you and Dale could use a little start up business. I’ll have the droid alert you when they come in and you can decide. This round’s on me guys. Good luck.”
With that the screen went dark and the server droid whizzed away on its rounds.
“What was that all about?” Dale asked
Orlan didn’t answer right away. He was scanning the specs and parts listed on the datachit with a growing interest.
“Here we go again!” Dale commented sounding slightly annoyed.
“Oh. Sorry. Ragün seems to have found us out first customer.”
Dale listened and as Orlan filled him in it seemed to him things were definitely looking up….
Gambit Inc. Part II
Only then did he glance out the cockpit transparisteel viewports. Despite his Jedi training and experience, what he saw caused his heart rate to increase, and he swallowed quickly.
“At least we’re alive, still.”
Without taking his gaze from the scene outside, Kr-Ant replied, “Glad you’re back up and running, too. Strap in and help me with the diagnostics.”
Floating forward, Orrell pulled himself down into his seat beside Kr-Ant. Activating his own consoles, the most urgent alert flashed at the top of the damage readout. “Considering that asteroid field out there, I’d say we were pretty lucky. Aft hull armor is indicating a puncture, aft of the hyperdrive initiator, and the coolant lines have been pinched. The back-up hyperdrive appears okay, but the nav comp is still running its orientation computations. Which is odd. We must really be out in the boonies.”
Kr-Ant let Orrell ramble on, while he slowly steadied the heavy fighter’s multi-axis wobble. Gently easing in the maneuvering thrusters, the spinning slowed, and then stopped. Out of the right side, the Jedi suddenly spotted something that he had not noticed before, despite his force attenuation. “Okay, so where are we? I’ve got no threats on the sensors, but I’m bringing the combat systems online.”
“Nav comp still can’t make up its mind. That’s definitely not Gamorr; according to the calculations, we are further out towards the rim.”
“Well, let’s check it out. There’s something a little…..off, with this place.” And grabbing the throttle and control stick, Kr-Ant eased the throttle up slowly, and began picking his way through the massive asteroid field, to the planet floating beyond.
As they finally cleared the field, and passed near to a cluster of larger asteroids, four small fighters suddenly surrounded them. At the same time, a stern voice came over the common frequency, “Unidentified craft, you will power down your weapons, and follow us. Do you copy?”
Activating their comms, Kr-Ant replied, “Affirmative. Mind answering a few questions though?” While waiting for a response, Kr-Ant dumped all canon weapon energy into the shield secondary capacitors, effectively boosting them to two hundred percent of normal.
“We are Soma III security, and you will follow us down to the planet for processing,” was the terse reply.
Orrell commented quietly to Kr-Ant, “Processing, eh. I’m not sure I like the sound of that. At least we have a nav reference point now. I’m plotting an emergency hyperspace route out.”
“Wait,” the Jedi replied. “Just…..wait. There is some sort of force static around this planet. I can’t sense anything specific, either people or other biologicals. It’s definitely there, just that I can’t focus.” Glancing over at his companion, he grinned, “It would make a great place for Jedi to hide.”
*****
Processing merely entailed a brief and polite questioning period by the Dure-Lite port authorities, and then the two newcomers were free to leave. Returning to the small quarantine space dock, and their damaged prototype, Orrell began compiling a list of parts and things to do.
Grunting every once in a while against the heavier gravity, “I’m not sure what we can find here, but I’ll repair what I can. I can’t repair the main hyperdrive though; it’s melted beyond repair. I’ll need you to track down a replacement. Here’s a list of the minimum and maximum specifications that you’ll have to watch.”
Kr-Ant nodded, “Watch your back. I need to observe more of the locals to refocus my force senses, I think. I should only be gone a couple hours. Keep your commlink handy, in case either of us gets into trouble. Though, it looks like we have this spaceport pretty much to ourselves.”
“Good luck. Or should I say, ‘May the force be with you’?”
“It always is, even here.” And with that, Kr-Ant force-flipped over the permacrete security wall, and was gone. Orrell turned back to the heavy fighter, and began opening access panel after access panel, and reaching into his secret creation, making what repairs he could.
*****
As he wandered the streets, Kr-Ant passed another small building, when he unexpectedly detected a brief flash in the force. Careful to control his reaction, Kr-Ant stopped near a shop window, and scanned the area behind him both visually in the window’s reflection, and with the force. Gently at first, until he narrowed his search area. It was definitely coming from that building; it appeared to be a simple bar. And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the sensation was gone. Not just damped down or smothered, but completely gone.
Attempting to dampen his own force presence was difficult in this strange force static area, but he felt confident he was mostly successful. Only then did he turn around and slowly make his way towards the bar. Casually letting his left hand hang loosely near his hidden light saber, Kr-Ant stepped up to the door, and entered the darkened interior.
Glancing around causally before settling on a seat in the middle of the bar, Kr-Ant observed that most of the patrons were more concerned with their respective drinks than any newcomers, be they familiar or stranger. Requesting a simple water to start off with, Kr-Ant asked the bar tender if he might know of any reputable local starship parts dealers, or mechanics, and then specified he was looking for a hyperdrive replacement for a small ship.
After a moment’s silence, the bar tender grunted, “Maybe, but……..”
Kr-Ant silently slid several credits and the hyperdrive specs as provided by Orrell, over the counter casually. As the bar tender just as casually glanced down, Kr-Ant noticed his right eyebrow rise up just a little bit. Good, it was obviously a sufficient amount, but not too much to raise suspicions.
“Come back in a few hours, and I’ll see what I can come up with.”
Kr-Ant then ordered a mild local brew, and a short while later, left the darkened interior of the bar.
Returning to the small partitioned section of the spaceport the same way he left, he informed Orrell of the bartender’s comment.
“Well, I might as well come along with you, just in case there’s nothing exactly matching my specs.”
“Sounds fine. We still have about two hours, so we might as well get some more work done. What’s the ship’s status?”
*****
“At least we’re alive, still.”
Without taking his gaze from the scene outside, Kr-Ant replied, “Glad you’re back up and running, too. Strap in and help me with the diagnostics.”
Floating forward, Orrell pulled himself down into his seat beside Kr-Ant. Activating his own consoles, the most urgent alert flashed at the top of the damage readout. “Considering that asteroid field out there, I’d say we were pretty lucky. Aft hull armor is indicating a puncture, aft of the hyperdrive initiator, and the coolant lines have been pinched. The back-up hyperdrive appears okay, but the nav comp is still running its orientation computations. Which is odd. We must really be out in the boonies.”
Kr-Ant let Orrell ramble on, while he slowly steadied the heavy fighter’s multi-axis wobble. Gently easing in the maneuvering thrusters, the spinning slowed, and then stopped. Out of the right side, the Jedi suddenly spotted something that he had not noticed before, despite his force attenuation. “Okay, so where are we? I’ve got no threats on the sensors, but I’m bringing the combat systems online.”
“Nav comp still can’t make up its mind. That’s definitely not Gamorr; according to the calculations, we are further out towards the rim.”
“Well, let’s check it out. There’s something a little…..off, with this place.” And grabbing the throttle and control stick, Kr-Ant eased the throttle up slowly, and began picking his way through the massive asteroid field, to the planet floating beyond.
As they finally cleared the field, and passed near to a cluster of larger asteroids, four small fighters suddenly surrounded them. At the same time, a stern voice came over the common frequency, “Unidentified craft, you will power down your weapons, and follow us. Do you copy?”
Activating their comms, Kr-Ant replied, “Affirmative. Mind answering a few questions though?” While waiting for a response, Kr-Ant dumped all canon weapon energy into the shield secondary capacitors, effectively boosting them to two hundred percent of normal.
“We are Soma III security, and you will follow us down to the planet for processing,” was the terse reply.
Orrell commented quietly to Kr-Ant, “Processing, eh. I’m not sure I like the sound of that. At least we have a nav reference point now. I’m plotting an emergency hyperspace route out.”
“Wait,” the Jedi replied. “Just…..wait. There is some sort of force static around this planet. I can’t sense anything specific, either people or other biologicals. It’s definitely there, just that I can’t focus.” Glancing over at his companion, he grinned, “It would make a great place for Jedi to hide.”
*****
Processing merely entailed a brief and polite questioning period by the Dure-Lite port authorities, and then the two newcomers were free to leave. Returning to the small quarantine space dock, and their damaged prototype, Orrell began compiling a list of parts and things to do.
Grunting every once in a while against the heavier gravity, “I’m not sure what we can find here, but I’ll repair what I can. I can’t repair the main hyperdrive though; it’s melted beyond repair. I’ll need you to track down a replacement. Here’s a list of the minimum and maximum specifications that you’ll have to watch.”
Kr-Ant nodded, “Watch your back. I need to observe more of the locals to refocus my force senses, I think. I should only be gone a couple hours. Keep your commlink handy, in case either of us gets into trouble. Though, it looks like we have this spaceport pretty much to ourselves.”
“Good luck. Or should I say, ‘May the force be with you’?”
“It always is, even here.” And with that, Kr-Ant force-flipped over the permacrete security wall, and was gone. Orrell turned back to the heavy fighter, and began opening access panel after access panel, and reaching into his secret creation, making what repairs he could.
*****
As he wandered the streets, Kr-Ant passed another small building, when he unexpectedly detected a brief flash in the force. Careful to control his reaction, Kr-Ant stopped near a shop window, and scanned the area behind him both visually in the window’s reflection, and with the force. Gently at first, until he narrowed his search area. It was definitely coming from that building; it appeared to be a simple bar. And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the sensation was gone. Not just damped down or smothered, but completely gone.
Attempting to dampen his own force presence was difficult in this strange force static area, but he felt confident he was mostly successful. Only then did he turn around and slowly make his way towards the bar. Casually letting his left hand hang loosely near his hidden light saber, Kr-Ant stepped up to the door, and entered the darkened interior.
Glancing around causally before settling on a seat in the middle of the bar, Kr-Ant observed that most of the patrons were more concerned with their respective drinks than any newcomers, be they familiar or stranger. Requesting a simple water to start off with, Kr-Ant asked the bar tender if he might know of any reputable local starship parts dealers, or mechanics, and then specified he was looking for a hyperdrive replacement for a small ship.
After a moment’s silence, the bar tender grunted, “Maybe, but……..”
Kr-Ant silently slid several credits and the hyperdrive specs as provided by Orrell, over the counter casually. As the bar tender just as casually glanced down, Kr-Ant noticed his right eyebrow rise up just a little bit. Good, it was obviously a sufficient amount, but not too much to raise suspicions.
“Come back in a few hours, and I’ll see what I can come up with.”
Kr-Ant then ordered a mild local brew, and a short while later, left the darkened interior of the bar.
Returning to the small partitioned section of the spaceport the same way he left, he informed Orrell of the bartender’s comment.
“Well, I might as well come along with you, just in case there’s nothing exactly matching my specs.”
“Sounds fine. We still have about two hours, so we might as well get some more work done. What’s the ship’s status?”
*****
Gambit Inc.
GAMBIT INC.
This story is a sequel to "Tenric's Gambit" and takes place about 1 year afterwards.
I want to thank Jedi Ranger for his suggestion that we work together on a story. His storyline and characters fit nicely into Tenric's and I think the result is great.
As always I/we both look forward to and appreciate your comments and feedback.....
================================================================
Setting: The Somantus Asteroid Belt, Soma III & The Shaft / about 1 year after the events in “Tenric’s Gambit”
Part I: A Chance Encounter
“Get us out of here!”
“I’m trying but that last ion blast scrambled our hyperspace nav-comp in the middle of its calculations. It’ll take at least four minutes to reset! I guess we won’t be coming back to Bothawui any time soon; the Imps are everywhere!”
“We don’t have four minutes! And I seriously doubt we have one!”
The heavy fighter suddenly banked sharply to starboard, and even more suddenly, reversed course. The new heading took them straight at the pursuing Carrack-class cruiser.
“Are you crazy? They’ll get a tractor lock on us in no time!”
“Not if I have anything to say about it. Give me seventy percent of the shields forward, twenty aft, and throw the rest to the engines. I need more speed!”
The heads up display quickly indicated the instructions and been completed, and their relative speed indicator scrolled upwards another fifteen percent, clearly redlining the six brand new sub light engines. Suddenly four golden flares sprouted from the sides of the cockpit, and screamed forward towards the onrushing cruiser. And just as suddenly, the Z-100 prototype was surrounded by stretching star lines, and then the swirling blue and white vortex of hyperspace encompassed it completely.
*****
Orrell Varsin glanced up at his Jedi companion, and the prototype’s pilot, Kr-Ant Jooraw. “So, where are we going?”
The only immediate response was a simple shrug. Then, “What’s the status of our systems?” Only then did Kr-Ant return the engineer’s gaze.
Shaking his head, Orrell replied, “Tough to tell without actually putting down for a physical inspection, but the computers read most systems at one hundred percent. The nav computer is back on line, but could really use a proper tuning at a verified nav buoy. The sub light engines appear fine; shields and weapons are okay, though we are down four missiles.” It looked like the engineer was about to say something else, when his data pad beeped, and he held it up to read the display.
“I don’t need to force to know that expression, nobody would. What’s wrong?”
Still not looking back up, Orrell replied, “It appears that our primary hyperdrive sustained some damage in the battle, and is beginning to overheat. There is a short somewhere, and the hyperdrive coils have been overcharged. Wherever we are headed, we’re going to get there in a real hurry. If we don’t explode first.”
“Well, our last heading puts us on a rough course for Gamorr. Should we shut down the hyperdrive? This is the longest blind jump I’ve ever made.”
“That’s what’s really got me worried. I can’t, I’ve tried. All the safeties and overrides are scrambled or fused. Only a gravity well can stop us now. Unless……….” The engineer trailed off and began furiously entering calculations into his console.
Before Kr-Ant could inquire, their tiny world suddenly became total chaos. Both were thrown forward to the cockpit access hatch and were pinned there. At the same time, sparks began arcing from the hyperdrive computer at the aft of the compartment, and acrid smoke filled the air. What first started as a high-pitched squeal rapidly increased to a howling scream. Both men were unable to cover their ears or noses, as they were still pinned by a high gravity field. Had Orrell wanted to cover his face from the smoke, it would have been a pointless gesture, as he couldn’t breathe yet from the impact on his back.
As quickly as it started, it was all over. When they could breathe again, nearly every light and computer was not operational. Thankfully, it appeared that the basic systems still functioned, as they still had atmosphere, and the scent of incinerated electronics and hardware was quickly dissipating. But the artificial gravity had failed, too.
Grabbing a nearby rail, Kr-Ant steadied himself, and activated a ceiling emergency light. Spotting Orrell floating near the aft bulkhead, the Jedi gently reached out with the force, and pulled the motionless engineer to him. There was a small gash on Orrell’s forehead, and some slight swelling and bruising. Half closing his eyes, Kr-Ant released his grip and placed both hands on Orrell’s head. Gently nudging a tiny current in the force, Kr-Ant encouraged the engineer’s cells into a rapid healing state. Opening his eyes, Kr-Ant released Orrell to floating about the interior again, and turned to the cockpit hatch.
Hitting the release pad, the hatch slowly opened - a sure indication that main power was indeed offline, but at least the power cells were functioning as designed. Leaving the hatch open, Kr-Ant seated himself into the pilot’s seat, and began resetting the systems. The remote breaker resets operated normally, and the main reactor slowly returned to full power. Overriding the artificial gravity, Kr-Ant brought the rest of the primary systems online, and began an automatic diagnostic scan.
This story is a sequel to "Tenric's Gambit" and takes place about 1 year afterwards.
I want to thank Jedi Ranger for his suggestion that we work together on a story. His storyline and characters fit nicely into Tenric's and I think the result is great.
As always I/we both look forward to and appreciate your comments and feedback.....
================================================================
Setting: The Somantus Asteroid Belt, Soma III & The Shaft / about 1 year after the events in “Tenric’s Gambit”
Part I: A Chance Encounter
“Get us out of here!”
“I’m trying but that last ion blast scrambled our hyperspace nav-comp in the middle of its calculations. It’ll take at least four minutes to reset! I guess we won’t be coming back to Bothawui any time soon; the Imps are everywhere!”
“We don’t have four minutes! And I seriously doubt we have one!”
The heavy fighter suddenly banked sharply to starboard, and even more suddenly, reversed course. The new heading took them straight at the pursuing Carrack-class cruiser.
“Are you crazy? They’ll get a tractor lock on us in no time!”
“Not if I have anything to say about it. Give me seventy percent of the shields forward, twenty aft, and throw the rest to the engines. I need more speed!”
The heads up display quickly indicated the instructions and been completed, and their relative speed indicator scrolled upwards another fifteen percent, clearly redlining the six brand new sub light engines. Suddenly four golden flares sprouted from the sides of the cockpit, and screamed forward towards the onrushing cruiser. And just as suddenly, the Z-100 prototype was surrounded by stretching star lines, and then the swirling blue and white vortex of hyperspace encompassed it completely.
*****
Orrell Varsin glanced up at his Jedi companion, and the prototype’s pilot, Kr-Ant Jooraw. “So, where are we going?”
The only immediate response was a simple shrug. Then, “What’s the status of our systems?” Only then did Kr-Ant return the engineer’s gaze.
Shaking his head, Orrell replied, “Tough to tell without actually putting down for a physical inspection, but the computers read most systems at one hundred percent. The nav computer is back on line, but could really use a proper tuning at a verified nav buoy. The sub light engines appear fine; shields and weapons are okay, though we are down four missiles.” It looked like the engineer was about to say something else, when his data pad beeped, and he held it up to read the display.
“I don’t need to force to know that expression, nobody would. What’s wrong?”
Still not looking back up, Orrell replied, “It appears that our primary hyperdrive sustained some damage in the battle, and is beginning to overheat. There is a short somewhere, and the hyperdrive coils have been overcharged. Wherever we are headed, we’re going to get there in a real hurry. If we don’t explode first.”
“Well, our last heading puts us on a rough course for Gamorr. Should we shut down the hyperdrive? This is the longest blind jump I’ve ever made.”
“That’s what’s really got me worried. I can’t, I’ve tried. All the safeties and overrides are scrambled or fused. Only a gravity well can stop us now. Unless……….” The engineer trailed off and began furiously entering calculations into his console.
Before Kr-Ant could inquire, their tiny world suddenly became total chaos. Both were thrown forward to the cockpit access hatch and were pinned there. At the same time, sparks began arcing from the hyperdrive computer at the aft of the compartment, and acrid smoke filled the air. What first started as a high-pitched squeal rapidly increased to a howling scream. Both men were unable to cover their ears or noses, as they were still pinned by a high gravity field. Had Orrell wanted to cover his face from the smoke, it would have been a pointless gesture, as he couldn’t breathe yet from the impact on his back.
As quickly as it started, it was all over. When they could breathe again, nearly every light and computer was not operational. Thankfully, it appeared that the basic systems still functioned, as they still had atmosphere, and the scent of incinerated electronics and hardware was quickly dissipating. But the artificial gravity had failed, too.
Grabbing a nearby rail, Kr-Ant steadied himself, and activated a ceiling emergency light. Spotting Orrell floating near the aft bulkhead, the Jedi gently reached out with the force, and pulled the motionless engineer to him. There was a small gash on Orrell’s forehead, and some slight swelling and bruising. Half closing his eyes, Kr-Ant released his grip and placed both hands on Orrell’s head. Gently nudging a tiny current in the force, Kr-Ant encouraged the engineer’s cells into a rapid healing state. Opening his eyes, Kr-Ant released Orrell to floating about the interior again, and turned to the cockpit hatch.
Hitting the release pad, the hatch slowly opened - a sure indication that main power was indeed offline, but at least the power cells were functioning as designed. Leaving the hatch open, Kr-Ant seated himself into the pilot’s seat, and began resetting the systems. The remote breaker resets operated normally, and the main reactor slowly returned to full power. Overriding the artificial gravity, Kr-Ant brought the rest of the primary systems online, and began an automatic diagnostic scan.
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