Title: Exodus - Intermission
Author: Robert Cox
Author E-mail: smeghead_76@hotmail.com
Category: New Republic
Keywords: N/A. No, really :)
Spoilers: None, not a single one
Rating: G
Summary: Not so much a new part, more like a rather long-winded answer
to Rick's question at the end of Part Three...
Disclaimer: Blah, blah... based on characters and situations created by,
and licensed to, George Lucas and the merry band at LucasFilm (even though this
is a bit that's not mentioned anywhere in the SWU :)... drone,
blather... not making any money from it... etc.
Author's Note: This is my take on what the Outbound Flight Project might
have been like if it had found Earth just after the Second World War had ended.
EXODUS - Intermission
by Robert Cox (smeghead_76@hotmail.com)
"Can someone please explain to me," Rick asked the universe,
"why the hell we look as if we're related?"
IT IS A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY IN THE
GALACTIC REPUBLIC. AS RECENT
EVENTS AT NABOO HAVE SHOWN, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT
PORTION OF THE POPULATION WHO ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE STATUS QUO.
HOWEVER, THE GENERAL MOOD IS ONE OF
OPTIMISM. AN EXPLORATION
MISSION, THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE THE EARLY
DAYS OF THE REPUBLIC, HAS RECENTLY BEEN COMMISSIONED.
CODENAMED 'OUTBOUND FLIGHT', ITS GOAL IS AMBITIOUS IN THE
EXTREME: TO TRAVEL TO ANOTHER GALAXY AND SEARCH FOR SIGNS
OF SENTIENT LIFE...
Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth fought the urge to fidget impatiently. After all,
Jedi Masters weren't supposed to be impatient. But these were special
circumstances. He was standing in Coruscant's primary orbital docking station,
in front of a moderate-sized crowd, listening to newly elected Supreme
Chancellor Palpatine talk about something he had no real knowledge of. Then
again, he is a politician. He should be good at that.
After a few more minutes of listening while trying not to fidget, another thought surfaced. Politicians have to be the only type of people that I know about that can make 'Good-bye, good luck, hope you find something interesting, and may the Force be with you' last half an hour. C'baoth chided himself gently. He and five other Jedi Masters were about to take part in an ambitious program - of course the politicians were going to show up and try to make out that the whole thing was their idea.
It hadn't been, naturally - in fact, it had been the Coruscant Astronomical Society that had first wondered if there was life in other galaxies, and if it was possible to travel there and find out. The evidence suggested that there was life, and informal chats with starship designers had resulted with a tentative yes, it might be possible. That is, if you didn't mind a long, boring trip through empty intergalactic space. And intergalactic space was supposed to be truly empty - not even a single dust cloud. That was something else the Outbound Flight project crew was supposed to find out.
Once the project had been determined to be possible, the next step was to obtain funding from the Senate. Still stirred up by echoes from the Naboo Crisis, the Senate had been disinclined even to grant a hearing. But persistence had paid off, and the Kuat Drive Yards had won the contract to design and build a ship capable of travelling intergalactic distances. When the final cost of the project had been presented to the Senate, some senators had raised quite a ruckus, until other senators had shot back with, Well, what about the cost of the so-called 'Dark Force', then? Do we really need another two hundred Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers? That had silenced the critics.
To man the newly christened Galactic Voyager, the Jedi Order had been asked to provide six Masters, selected for their diplomatic skills. After all, the ultimate goal of the mission was to find life - sentient life, if possible. Any sentient species that might exist in another galaxy might not have reached the same level of technological and social progress that the Galactic Republic had reached. It was even possible that this species might not have even achieved spaceflight yet, yet alone travelled outside their star system to make contact with other sentient species. So, diplomatic skills were required, and the six top diplomats the Order had to offer were selected.
Unfortunately, we couldn't choose the best diplomat the Order has produced in years. C'baoth sighed silently. He'd been fairly good friends with Qui-gon Jinn, and news of his death at the hands of a Sith had hit him hard. Still, the six Masters who had been selected were excellent diplomats. They should be able to achieve something.
Palpatine was wrapping up his speech. C'baoth was suddenly glad that he was going on this mission. There was something not quite right about the emotions that Palpatine was leaking into the Force. Yes, he had been one of the Outbound Flight Project's strongest critics, claiming that the money that was being spent could be put to better use helping his home planet of Naboo recover from the Trade Federation attack. Maybe it was the fact that he was trapped by his position of Supreme Chancellor into wishing the project well in front of a crowd made up of selected members of the Coruscant Astronomical Society, members of the KDY design and production team, and their families.
But even as the six Jedi Masters made their final farewells and boarded the Galactic Voyager, C'baoth couldn't shake an unsettling feeling of discomfort.
****
The hooded figure crooked a finger. "Parck," a soft voice said.
Parck approached the figure, but stopped a respectable distance away, and bowed. "Yes, my lord?"
"Advise me, Parck. What should I do about this 'Outbound Flight' project?"
Parck thought for a moment, and then continued his line of reasoning out loud. "Six Jedi Masters, relatively unprotected, undertaking a hazardous voyage... I would suggest that they be destroyed, my lord."
The hooded figure considered this. "Are we ready to implement our plan to destroy the Jedi? They, after all, are the main obstacle to my grand design."
"No, my lord. A replacement for Darth Maul has yet to be found. Finding a person who can be trained in the ways of the Sith is not easy, and keeping him under control once trained is even harder - as we found out with Maul."
The figure nodded - or appeared to, as much as the all-encompassing cloak and hood would reveal. Darth Maul, while well trained and obedient, had also been impetuous and headstrong, as his actions on Tatooine and Naboo had shown. A few moments' further thought revealed a possibility...
"I believe I can provide a replacement."
A blank look settled on Parck's face for a few moments, before realisation dawned. "Him? My lord, he is but a child..."
The hooded figure leant forward and Parck's voice trailed off. "And that is what makes him a more than satisfactory replacement. He can be brought around to the correct way of thinking in gradual stages, over the years, without raising suspicion in him, his Master, Obi-wan Kenobi, or that cursed Jedi Council. The stakes are high in our venture, but the reward for success is equally high. We must be patient."
Parck bowed again, signalling surrender to his master's wishes. "And the Outbound Flight project, my lord?" he prompted.
"Take fifteen of my best ships and lay an ambush for them in the Unknown Regions. They plan to test the capabilities of their vessel by conducting a mapping mission. They will not be expecting any trouble, least of all a well-laid ambush conducted with overwhelming force."
Parck nodded thoughtfully. Against anyone but Jedi, fifteen-to-one odds were ridiculously overwhelming. Against Jedi, the odds dropped merely to overwhelming. But these were Jedi, and the only way to ensure success was to assemble a force so large that no Jedi, no matter how powerful, would be able to survive. With a final bow, Parck left to begin planning the ambush.
****
Parck looked up from the holographic representation of the fifteen ships of his task force, which were currently deploying into their entrapment configuration. One of them had had something special added - a prototype gravity well generator, designed to either pull a ship from hyperspace, or to prevent it from entering hyperspace at all by simulating the mass shadow of a large planet or small star.
His sensor officer was standing there, waiting to make his report. "Make your report."
"Yes, sir," the officer replied. "The scan is complete. There's nothing of any interest or significance here. No signs of habitation, no signs of any kind of industry whatsoever." The officer paused before adding, "But the system is named, so it must have been visited by someone. Why would they just leave it undeveloped?"
"It's simple. Some development company, probably from the Corporate Sector sent a scout ship in, did a quick scan, named it, and filed for development rights. The so-called 'name it, claim it' law. The company might even get around to developing it one day."
The sensor officer nodded to signal his understanding, then hesitated. "You clearly have something else to ask," Parck stated flatly.
"I was just wondering, sir… how can we be sure that the Outbound Flight mission will visit this system? I mean, this is a remote system, surrounded by other equally remote systems. How can we be certain that the Jedi will choose this system over the ones nearby?"
That was something Parck had been wondering about, too. But he had served his master long enough for any doubts to be overcome. Having doubts proven wrong on every occasion tends to do that. The sensor officer, while loyal enough to take part in this mission, did not have sufficient experience to be able to say the same. Honest curiosity, not disloyalty, had prompted the question.
"You will see in time," Park replied flatly, his tone brooking no argument.
"Yes, sir."
Just then, a warning light began to flash on the sensor console. The sensor officer's assistant punched up the relevant information, then went pale. "Hyperspace anomalies! Eight... no, ten... no, twelve ships jumping in-system!"
Parck shot to his feet. "Where?"
Before the assistant could answer, twelve ships appeared with the characteristic flicker of pseudomotion that signalled an arrival from hyperspace. The communication officer waved to get Parck's attention. "Incoming message, sir!"
A blue-skinned alien appeared on the display. "I am Syndic Mitt'hraw'nurudo of the Chiss Expansion Defence Force," he began in a deep voice. "You have violated Chiss space. Leave immediately or be destroyed."
Parck was outraged. How dare this alien make demands like that? A quick glance at the sensor repeater display told him that the Chiss ships were smaller and, judging by their energy output, packed less firepower and shielding than his ships. Apart from that, there were less of them. He cut the communication and turned to the comm officer. "Did you trace which ship the message came from?"
"Yes, sir."
"Weapons, cripple that ship but leave it intact, and destroy the rest. I think that should adequately prove to this alien the folly of his actions."
"Yes, sir."
The display showed the task force breaking from their entrapment formation and shifting to an attack formation as they charged headlong at the Chiss ships. This shouldn't take too long...
Fifteen minutes later, as he sat in a near-derelict ship adrift in space, Parck reflected that he had been right. He had just been wrong about who would win.
****
"Eighteenth system coming up, and everything looks normal so far."
Jorus C'baoth nodded in agreement. Three months into the shakedown cruise, and everything did seem to be proceeding normally. This was the last system they would be visiting before returning to the Sluis Van shipyards for refitting and replenishment of supplies before heading to the galactic rim, and another galaxy.
"Hyperspace reversion in five... four... three... two... one... now."
The starlines reverted to the normal pinpricks, and...
C'baoth's jaw sagged as he took in what was out there. Twelve ships, of a completely unknown design, were surrounding them in a classic entrapment globe. Suddenly, a sense of utter doom hit him through the Force. "Shields up!" he shouted, just as the lead ship spat a concentrated salvo of blue laser fire at the Galactic Voyager.
The shields went up a fraction of a second before the laser fire hit. Not that it made much of a difference. The first salvo stripped the shields.
The second salvo opened up numerous hull breaches.
The third salvo destroyed the Galactic Voyager utterly.
****
Parck stood next to the Syndic on the bridge of the Chiss Defender, still marvelling at his good fortune. Apparently, his ship had been left relatively intact only because Mitt'hraw'nurudo had been curious as to why they were there. He had been even luckier in being able to talk the blue-skinned Chiss into waiting for the Jedi to arrive, and to destroy them without warning.
The blue-skinned alien turned to Parck as the wreckage of the Jedi's ship began to separate, drifting where gravity and solar winds took it. "There will be some among my people who will see this as intolerable. I only hope you can persuade them otherwise, as you agreed."
Parck nodded, although he really didn't care one way or the other. He had agreed to the bargain only to stop himself from being killed out of hand. Just then, the bridge's comlink activated.
"This is intolerable, Thrawn! You have gone too far this time!" an angry voice bellowed from the speaker unit. "The Council will hear of this, and I doubt that they will show mercy this time!" With a click, and before Mitt'hraw'nurudo could even begin to defend himself, the comlink shut off.
"What was that all about?" Parck asked, somewhat curious.
Mitt'hraw'nurudo shook off the intimation of a nasty future. Using a Chiss' core name, and especially in such a tone, was one of the strongest insults possible. "My race does not believe in pre-emptive strikes, no matter how justified. It is something the Ruling Council and I have disagreed on before. I fear that not even your intervention will help me this time."
***
The hooded figure read the report Parck had presented. He already knew that the mission had been a success, since the violent deaths of six Jedi Masters created an unmistakable ripple in the Force. The intervention of the alien species calling itself the Chiss, however, had not been anticipated. Some interesting opportunities had been presented, though. The commander of the Chiss task force, Mitt'hraw'nurudo, had been punished for his actions and exiled to an undeveloped world. Parck had been banished, too, warned never to enter Chiss space again on pain of death.
But the risk would have to be taken. The tactical and strategic skill shown by Mitt'hraw'nurudo had been nothing short of genius, and the hooded figure had a place for beings like that, no matter what species they were. Parck would be dispatched to try to recruit Mitt'hraw'nurudo.
An idea occurred to the hooded figure. He had had the Outbound Flight Project intercepted and destroyed because the prospect of six Jedi Masters together and relatively unprotected had been an opportunity too good to refuse. But now the bug of curiosity was working on him. What if there was a sentient species in the galaxy the Outbound Flight Project had planned to visit? And what if it could be used to his advantage? He knew just the people to contact: rogue Jedi, who had been expelled from the Order for various offences, and who would consequently hold little love for the Order.
****
The six former Jedi Masters were somewhat apprehensive as they stood in front of the hooded figure.The hood and cloak obscured all identifying features, so they had no idea who they were talking to. However, they could sense enormous strength through the Force.That, plus the threats to their families, had been enough to gain their attention.
"Very well," the boldest of the six said."Now that you have our complete attention, what is it that you want..." His voice trailed off under the impact of the glare the hooded figure seemed to be directing at him.At least, the opening in the hood was pointed at him.The other five Jedi decided not to speak up unless called upon to make a contribution.
"I have a task for you," the figure replied."A way to show the Jedi Council that they had been somewhat precipitous in expelling you from the Order.A way to redeem yourselves."
By this time, the person who had been bold enough to speak up had recovered sufficiently to feel like he could make another contribution."That's all and well, but what does this task actually involve?"
The hooded figure swung its gaze back to the apparently suicidal ex-Jedi Master, who suddenly found himself in the middle of a subtly widening space."You have heard, perhaps, of the Outbound Flight project?"
The bold Jedi managed to force a nod, and said through a throat that was obviously dry, "Of course we have.Its launch was Galaxy-wide news, and its recent disappearance also made headlines. But what does that have to do with… Surely, you're not considering sending us to replace them?"
****
Twelve Months Later
"So tell me again, Halcyon, why we agreed to this mission?"
Garik Halcyon didn't bother to look up from the displays he was studying. "Many reasons, but the main one was that I thought it would be a good idea to be as far away from Coruscant as possible for a while. You can't get much further away than an entirely different galaxy now, can you?"
The other Jedi nodded, conceding the point. "You felt it too, then?" he asked, referring to the impressions through the Force that he had received during the audience.
"How could I miss it?" Garik asked rhetorically. "Not that I could accurately describe them but, like I said, I just thought it would be a really good idea not to be near Coruscant – and especially him – for the foreseeable future." There was no need to elaborate on who the him Garik was referring to. "Back to business, though; class G2 stellar object – in other words a yellow dwarf star – with nine planets, two asteroid belts and a cometary halo. The signs are good for finding inhabited planets. Plus, I'm getting some good hunches through the Force."
"So this is a system you think we should spend some time checking out, then?"
By way of reply, Garik pressed some buttons on the console, and a view of the system appeared on the main display screen. The perspective was top-down, viewing from directly above the north stellar pole. Some more button-presses resulted in a green band appearing around the representation of the star, which covered the second and third planets. "This is the computer's best estimate of the habitable zone for this star, based on what data is available about yellow dwarves in general, and what our sensors have been able to pick up about this star in particular." He waited for the other Jedi present to signal their agreement before continuing, "We'll microjump to the second planet, scan it, and land for a closer examination if the sensors pick up anything. Then, we repeat the process for the third planet. Sound good?"
A round of nods signalled general agreement to his plan.
****
The second planet had been unrevealing, with its dense atmosphere and high temperatures making it unlikely that life had evolved there. However, because the six Jedi were thorough people, they had scanned the planet anyway. As suspected, the planet was a barren wasteland. The third planet, however…
"Picking up radionics signals from the third planet."
Halcyon nodded thoughtfully and thought for a moment before making his decision. "Put us in a geostationary orbit and commence scanning," he ordered.
Four orbits later, the six Jedi gathered in the mess bay to discuss the information that had been gathered. A portable holoprojector had been set up in the middle of the table and was linked to the main computer. "From what the computer has been able to translate, it seems that the inhabitants of this planet have yet to discover a single planetary government, instead they have lots of local regional governments," Garik started. "And that has cost them. At the moment, they are fighting what appears to be a fairly vicious intra-planetary war." The holoprojector flashed into life, showing the computer's projection of the area where the fighting was the heaviest.
"Apparently this war has been going on for almost six years, and the casualties are running into the tens of millions for the killed, and possibly the hundreds of millions for wounded." He paused as an exclamation of shock rippled around the room. Such a number of casualties in a single planetary campaign was unheard-of in their home galaxy. In fact, there were several planetary populations that would have been decimated by such losses. In the most recent conflict, at Naboo, the losses on both sides had been held to a minimum because both of the protagonists had gone straight for the leaders, with one exception: the Gungans had volunteered to draw the Trade Federation field army away from the city of Theed to allow Queen Amidala's strike force to slip in unnoticed. A bloody fight had ensued, with victory being snatched from the jaws of defeat when the droid control ship was disabled.
"But the conflict seems to be drawing to a close in one area, known as 'Europe'," Garik continued. "The main antagonist, 'Germany' is being overrun by those countries it attacked, and is expected to surrender any day now. In the other main area of conflict, the 'Pacific', fighting still continues, as that area is mainly ocean with only scattered islands available for occupation. The main focus in that area seems to be naval."
"Yes, yes. Very interesting, Halcyon. But what does that mean for our mission?" one of the other Jedi interrupted.
"An opportunity and a possible hindrance," Garik replied. "An opportunity, because things are somewhat confused and chaotic dirtside at the moment. A possible hindrance because the military forces of the planet are at the highest possible state of alert. After all, they are fighting a war." He paused as the others chuckled lightly, then continued, "Then again, the military forces are mainly focused on the war on the surface, so it shouldn't be too hard to slip in unnoticed. We'll go to separate parts of the planet to cut down on the time required to gather information. I think six months should be long enough."
****
Six months later
Garik Halcyon wandered down the streets of the Terran city, mingling with the crowd of people while lost in his own thoughts. He had suspicions about the true purpose of the mission he had accepted as a way of leaving trouble behind. In fact, he'd had the suspicions ever since the audience with the mysterious person who'd offered the mission, but the prospect of being a long way away while… he wasn't certain of the specifics, but he was fairly sure that something nasty was going on back home, and he was glad to be a couple of million light-years away.
It wasn't that he'd truly used the Dark Side of the Force. He'd just been a little… enthusiastic… when dealing with a band of smugglers/pirates in the Corellian system, which hadn't gone down too well with the liaison officer provided by the Corellian Security Force, Rostek Horn. The report that Horn had turned in had been somewhat less than favourable, and the Jedi Council had agreed with Horn that he had gone just a little too far, resulting in exile.
The one bright side to the whole affair was that he had had plenty of time to think about his actions, and he now agreed that he had been a little hasty. But it seemed that a quick temper was part of the Halcyon heritage, along with the Force skills. Garik was amazed that his brother, Nejaa managed to remain so even-tempered most of the time, despite the provocations that were a daily fact of life when working with CorSec.
The requirement to check his surroundings momentarily interrupted his thoughts. He was headed in the right direction. One of the first priorities after landing had been to familiarise himself with the layout of the city, to avoid getting lost.
But… the optimistic attitude of the inhabitants of the planet – or at least this region – was like a tonic to him. And the truly amazing thing was that, despite the fact that the inhabitants of this… country (better start using the correct terms) had their roots in a criminal past, and the fact that they'd been put on what was probably the most inhospitable continent on the planet, they'd managed to build a thriving nation from virtually nothing. Amazing. Colony worlds where he came from tended to need massive support from outside to survive, let alone thrive.
And they still managed to maintain their cheery outlook on life despite all of that, and the fact that they'd just gone through an incredibly bloody war. Garik could feel their enjoyment of life pouring off them through the Force like light from a glowbulb, exerting a calming influence on him. Then again, what else could be expected from a country whose inhabitants cheerfully greeted complete strangers as they passed on the street, and used the phrases, 'No worries' and, 'She'll be right' when faced with problems?
And they really loved their sport, too. They'd even managed to keep their major sports competitions going despite the large number of young men – the people who played in the competitions the most – being conscripted for military service.
The one not-so-bright point about this place was that the Force felt… strange here. Weaker, possibly – if such a thing was possible. Garik remembered what Master Yoda had said about the Force: Life creates it, makes it grow. Well, this place was full of life. Then he thought about the midichlorian symbionts that made it possible to communicate with the Force. Maybe the people here have a lower average count than back home, he mused. Which made it very unlikely that he would find someone trained in the ways of the Force here, or even anyone who had any idea what the Force was and how to control it.
Then another train of thought crossed his mind. After all, what did he have to look forward to when he got back? He somehow doubted that the Council would forgive him and rescind the exile order. They had picked their own for the original mission, and as far as they knew, the six Jedi Masters they had picked had vanished in the Unknown Regions. That was also what the mysterious person who had sent them on the 'replacement' mission had told him. But Garik had not been convinced. In fact, Garik doubted that anyone apart from the person who had sent them knew that they had gone. He didn't like where this train of thought was leading…
But that was just added incentive for a decision he had made a couple of weeks ago.
****
"You want to what?"
"I thought I made it clear enough the first three times," Garik said, rather testily.
"You did, but I'm still having trouble believing it. And your evasiveness regarding your reason for wanting to stay isn't exactly encouraging, either."
Garik sighed. He had trouble believing the reasons, and he knew that he didn't stand a chance of convincing the others. "Just trust me on this, okay?"
The other Jedi exchanged glances, before one of them said, "And what about your family? Don't forget, the madman who sent us on this mission threatened them to make us go."
Garik had thought of this, and had a plan in mind. "Just say that I was killed in the war that has just finished here. This is what I have in mind…" and spoke quickly for several minutes. When he had finished, the others were looking less dubious about his idea.
Then one of them spoke up, "Yes, very well, but the person who sent us is incredibly strong in the Force. We won't be able to deceive him."
"Then you'll just have ton convince yourself that what you'll be telling him is the truth."
The other Jedi exchanged glances once again. "Very well, Halcyon. We'll do as you ask. But back to the reason why we came here in the first place. Your report, please."
Garik slid a couple of high storage capacity datacards across the table. "My report is on those," he said. "But I'll summarise the highlights. The region I investigated was known as 'Australia'…"
****
The hooded figure listened intently as the five remaining Jedi presented the edited highlights of their mission. One of the Jedi had been elected as the group spokesman, allowing the others to examine the room out of the corners of their eyes.
There were bodyguards – which was not particularly surprising. What was surprising, however, was the fact that their uniforms seems to be designed along the lines of those worn by the Supreme Chancellor's guards, but in red. That, and the fact that their weapons, instead of being slung over their shoulders, were held across their chests.
"Six of you departed for this mission," the figure spoke after the report had been presented. "Why are there only five now?"
The remaining Jedi had done as Garik suggested, and had convinced themselves that he had not survived the mission. "He was killed while on the mission. He elected to go to a city called 'Nagasaki' and collect information there. Due to local military action, this proved difficult for him, but he sent a message indicating that he had succeeded on the local date of the eighth of August, nineteen forty-five. The next day, we learned that the city had been destroyed by what was called an 'atomic bomb'. Since we received no further messages from him, we assume that he was one of the fatalities in the city."
The figure considered this. The Jedi he had sent on the mission were telling the truth as far as they knew. In fact, he didn't really care wether Halcyon had been killed or not – he was just worried about possible loose ends. In practical terms, all this meant was there was one less Jedi to be killed.
And since he was now ready to implement his plan, he didn't these five fools any more, either. At a signal, his bodyguards dropped their weapons from the high-port position to the ready position and, before any of the Jedi could express a concern or even think of defending themselves, shot down all five of them.
The figure lowered his hood, revealing a truly evil smile.
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, a.k.a Darth Sidious, was ready to remake the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. The plan was now in motion.
****
Meanwhile, on Terra, time passed, as was its job. Garik Halcyon rejoined the country that he had observed on his mission, as it was the one he knew the best. He fit in well, since there was more than a passing resemblance to his native Corellia. All of the great and momentous events of the galaxy of his birth passed him by, as the distance was too great for the impressions in the Force to get through.
In time, he married and had children. As best as he could, he tested them for Force abilities, even though he had no real idea as to what he would do if they did turn out to be strong in the Force. His worries were groundless, though, as they showed no signs of having any great Force abilities, despite what seemed to be a higher than average midichlorian count.
It was when he was presented with his first grandchild, a boy whom was named Richard, that what he had been half hoping for, half dreading happened. The boy had great Force potential, at least equal to that of Garik or his brother. He had faith that Richard's parents would raise him correctly, but even so, he was still worried. Would the boy be able to control his Force strength? Garik would do what he could in the years he had left, and leave the rest up to the Force. He also made sure that Richard would inherit his lightsaber. That was all he could do.