"Knight Timpel saw the value that a fighting force of trained soldiers could have for the Jedi Order. Kaskutal, a wealthy businessman on Antar 4, agreed to fund the unit, and the first Rangers began their training the following year. Thus, the organisation founded by a Jedi Knight and a Force-sensitive Gotal flourished into the organisation that exists today, a staunch ally of the Jedi Order and a fighting force that stands ready to defend the Republic."
- "Chapter One – History of the Antarian Rangers", Ranger Doctrine Manual, p. 2-40
"And when I do this? Can you feel it?"
"No."
"Here?"
"Nope."
"Hmm. There, surely you felt that."
I opened my eyes to see a pair of blue hands, palms outstretched, only inches away from my face. "Sorry, Aayla." I flashed a grin up at the Jedi Master. "No luck this time."
Soon after my meeting with the Council, I had been taken on a tour of a "small corner" of the Jedi Temple – a tour which had lasted the best part of several hours. Now, a day after I had donned the uniform of an Antarian Ranger, I was getting acquainted with a few things, like the Temple, some training facilities…and a room full of jelly.
I was standing in the now familiar confines of what the Jedi referred to as a "flow tank", a white-walled metal room about the size of a gymnasium. Filling this space at a depth of almost a metre was a cold, sticky green gel. As it had been explained to me, the idea was to use the Force to manipulate your surroundings, and the gel could be used to map and measure that power. Unleashing a devastating push on another Jedi would not only send them flying back, but also create visible ripples through the gel that revealed how focused or dispersed the energy was between the caster and the receiver. Apparently, the tank was a favourite with Younglings who were just learning to harness their abilities.
The only thing in the flow tank that wasn't green was a blue-skinned female Twi'lek. Master Secura had been made my "handler" by the Council, for the time being, and was in charge of testing my abilities.
"Hmm. Cross your arms, and hold them tight to your chest. Let's see if I can't cause you to overbalance."
"Without using your foot this time?"
Aayla smirked. "Not unless I have to, Green."
We'd started out formal, but the sheer oddity of the whole process caused the clinical attitude to disappear after a few hours. Both of us were wearing were wearing plastic jumpsuits that let the gel slide off, but it still clung to our hands, feet and faces. Master Secura, or Aayla as she'd eventually told me (I pretended not to know out of politeness) had been put in the tank with me to perform a full, rigorous assessment of my abilities and inherent relationship with the Force – and so far, she had had no success. Being a Jedi Master, she was hardly rolling around in the gel laughing, but there now seemed to be a faint smile permanently attached to her face.
Aayla squelched around behind me, sizing me up. I crossed my arms, closed my arms and waited with a grin on my face to see what move she tried next. Once again, I felt a rush of air against my back and a corresponding ripple through the gel at my feet, but I remained almost motionless, like a heavy boulder standing in the current from a stream. Try as she did, Aalya could not interact with me through the Force in any kind of measurable way. If she stood within an arm's length of me and focused hard, she could manipulate my suit, but even then her options were extremely limited. All I had to do was start moving around, or even ask a question, for her to break concentration, and my short hair was sticky from where she'd doused me with gel for my trouble.
I started to laugh again, and she did too, but she stopped suddenly, and regarded me with a puzzled expression.
"Strange."
"What's strange?"
"Your emotions." Aayla made a waving gesture. "Out here a Jedi can sense the feelings of another. They give off echoes in the Force. But with you…"
I sighed in mock sadness. "I have the emotional range and Force presence of a rock. No need to rub it in."
"That's not how I'd have put it, no."
I raised an eyebrow. "Better than a rock?"
"Worse."
Ears still ringing after stepping into a sonic shower fully clothed, I emerged from the airlock of the flow tank and out into the central space. I felt tired, but in a good way, the same kind of buzz that I got from going for a run. I gave a cheerful wave to a pair of robed Jedi who had been watching me in the tank, but they only stared at me blankly. Aalya emerged after me, and held a muttered conversation with them as they compared datapads, presumably containing details about my performance. No matter where I went within the Temple, it was impossible to forget that I was as much a guinea pig to the Jedi as I was their newest recruit. They had been watching me in the tank – who knows where else they've been looking?
A few minutes of walking later, and I arrived at the entrance to my quarters. Aayla walked with me, shepherding me through the crowds of people that filled the corridors of the Temple at seemingly all hours of the day and night.
"Make yourself presentable, Green. I'll be escorting some visitors down here in an hour to supervise the beginning of your training."
One of the Temple Guards which had been assigned to watch me was waiting at the door, and it opened with a wave of their hand. Aalya turned and walked back into the crowd, and I went inside to freshen up.
I hadn't just been given my own room. Within hours of my promotion to the Rangers, an army of service staff had descended to the lower levels of the Jedi Temple and opened up a complex of rooms that had been sealed for centuries. These had once served as a barracks and training facility for the Antarian Rangers, although not as their main base of operations – the headquarters of the organisation had actually been back on Antar 4, and only a dozen or so were stationed at the Temple at any one time. This, however, suited me perfectly, as I effectively had the whole complex to myself. There was a well-stocked weights room, a pool (albeit with no water), a dormitory with a dozen beds, and a spacious office intended for a superior officer. Although I hadn't been told otherwise, I quickly bagged the office and the ensuite quarters for myself. Technically, I'm the highest-ranking Ranger in the galaxy…
There was also a door that led to an armoury and a firing range, although that was under lock and key. Aayla had said she would provide it to me once I had begun my training – what that meant, I didn't quite know. The only other door that branched off of the main 'lobby' of the Ranger barracks was a hangar large enough for a single shuttle, which clearly had been closed for centuries.
The centre of the atrium was dominated by a statue, made of a dull metal, that stood several metres high and was illuminated by a network of powerful lights. Two figures, one a human Jedi, and the other a horned alien – a Gotal – were frozen in the act of shaking hands. A number of other armed figures were gathered around them, although a few of the plinths were missing their statues. From my reading, I understood that this was clearly a reference to the founding figures of the organisation, Kaskutal and Knight Timpel. I admired the statue for a moment, making a mental note to ask someone about whether the empty fountain at the base of the monument could be started up again, and then went inside the office.
Reading had taught me a few things about my new role already. In addition to a tour and spacious accommodation, I'd been given something else – homework. The old holobook that Master Ki-Adi Mundi had taken my oath upon was now sitting on the desk in the office, open at the page I had been reading the previous evening. My reading comprehension was still a little rough, but staying up for hours had given me a chance to get through quite a few pages. The book, officially titled the "Ranger Doctrine Manual", was a training manual that seemed to contain a huge amount of information about the Antarian Rangers, from their historical origins as a mercenary company hired to protect a Jedi Knight a millennium ago, to their tactics, uniforms, weapons and other details.
Stepping into the office, I went to the far wall and opened up a massive wardrobe. The interior was filled with more vacuum sealed packages containing uniforms, just like the first items I had been given. I consulted the Ranger Doctrine Manual. There was a bewildering number of possible uniform combinations on the glowing pages – driver, pilot, dress uniform, summer and winter configurations. In the end, I picked out what I thought best matched a picture from an earlier chapter, featuring a human in royal-blue fatigues, a peaked cap and a heavy belt that was worn around my stomach. There was also a holster for a blaster clipped to the side, but they were presumably still locked away in the armoury. The thought of carrying a genuine blaster still made me feel a little thrill of excitement. After firing a few shots weeks ago, I was itching to get a chance to have another go, particularly on a firing range. The Manual spoke of the Ranger's "eternal readiness" for combat, but sadly nobody had stashed any secret holdout blasters in any of the desk draws.
I pulled the belt on and clipped it up, then examined myself in a mirror. I saw the reflection of a young man, his hair cropped in a military fashion. There was a little more colour in his cheeks than the last time I'd seen him, and a spark of confidence in his eyes. The fear and bewilderment that had fogged my mind since the beginning of my adventure had finally begun to recede, and although I was still encountering things that made my head spin on a daily basis, I was awed –not afraid. This wasn't some nightmarish misadventure, it was Star Wars!
As the fear subsided, however, different emotions had taken their place. I'd been gone three, almost four weeks now, and my thoughts had turned towards home. How much time has passed back in my universe? Seconds, minutes…years even? The thought of never making it back seemed both too frightening to contemplate and also a distinct possibility.
Home…The image of my phone returned to my mind. When I'd last seen it, Master Quinlan Vos had been trying to manipulate it with the Force in the interview room on the upper floor. For all I knew, the rest of my possessions were still up there. If someone – or something – had left me a message, a clue of some sort, then I needed to hear it.
Deep breaths, Sam. Focus on the present. I pulled the dress cap down over my head, tightened the straps on the goggles, and stepped out of the office and into the atrium.
There was a small party waiting for me in the shadow of the statue when I emerged. Aayla, dressed in her usual robes, along with a number of Temple Guards. There was another figure with them, who I only noticed as I approached – but when I did, my heart leapt into my throat. Yoda!
The diminutive Jedi Master looked up at me as I walked closer, leaning on his cane with a thoughtful expression on his face. I saluted – another move from the Manual – with a closed fist over my left breast, then stood at attention before him.
"Hmm. An Antarian Ranger's salute…long has it been."
Of course. He must be old enough to remember what the real Rangers were like. I said nothing, trying to stay as rigid as possible as Yoda circled behind me, examining me from all angles. Surprisingly, he turned to one of the Temple Guards. Up until this point, I had not yet interacted with them like I had with other Jedi. They seemed to prefer silence, and when they did speak it was with a boring monotone.
"Master Pivus. Your thoughts?"
The one Yoda had addressed stepped forward. The eye slits of the mask panned up and down my body, as if the wearer was critiquing my uniform. I shifted my feet slightly as I was inspected, nervous that I was perhaps not dressed appropriately.
"It has been a few centuries, Master Yoda…but I will never forget the look of an Antarian Ranger in uniform." The voice was male, with a haughty upper-class note to it that was only slightly distorted by the mask.
Whew. I gave a small smile. This Jedi was clearly old enough to also remember the Rangers in their prime.
"And I can safely say that this is not the look I remember!"
Oh.
"A summer uniform…winter boots…mismatched insignia…a utility belt instead of a dress belt…and I don't recall those goggles being worn with that cap. Master Yoda, if this is the best candidate for the Rangers in the last century then I think there was no need to reactivate them in the first place!"
Aayla stepped to my side, and indicated the Temple Guard with a nod. "This is Master Pivus. Captain of the Temple Guard, and the last Jedi to train with an active duty Antarian Ranger."
I saluted again. "It's an honour to meet you, Master. I'm…uh…glad to meet another Jedi who is familiar with my new position."
"Indeed. And it has fallen to me to be the guardian of their legacy and their future." The Guard removed his helmet, allowing me to see his face. "Stand to attention, Ranger! Your training begins now, and I can see I will have my work cut out for me."
"Sir!" I saluted – and the Pau'an male I knew only as the Grand Inquisitor returned it with a grim smile.
A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! For those who might be wondering, the Antarian Rangers are actually a part of the Legends continuity, and can be found here: wiki/Antarian_Rangers
Thanks for reading, and be sure to let me know what you think!