Private Street Racer

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin was about to end what had been a pretty lame day with a sweet finale. He exited the little ice cream parlor, a cone piled high with soft serve in his hand, and was about to take a bite when suddenly a trio of speeders came barreling around the corner.

Time seemed to slow down as they raced past him, their repulsor engines shrieking in protest. It had rained that morning, and there was a conveniently placed puddle on the street. Starlin knew what was about to happen, but was powerless to stop it as the dirty water splashed up and onto him. The speeders vanished, leaving behind only the dwindling sound of their revving engines and the soggy remnants of his ice cream cone.

Starlin shut his eyes in pure pain. He was about to turn around, head back into the shop and hope they were willing to give him a new one... but then the wheels of his tired, fed-up brain started turning. Those punks had been racing. That was illegal. He was a Jedi Knight... He could make sure they never hurt another ice cream cone again!

Without wasting another moment, he flung what was left of his cone into the trash, got in his speeder, and set off after them.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

The more time went on, the more Tenn found himself yearning for the streets. It was a bizarre feeling. Never one he thought he would have. After all, the Jedi had been his ticket out. Why would he miss something he spent years trying to escape from?

Really, it was less about wanting to return, as it was wanting anything to do at all. The Jedi had become a refuge. But like at the temple was listless. He had no master. He had barely been assigned to any missions. It made him feel useless. Like a liability. Just another poor mouth to feed.

But at least out here, Tenn could find his own fun. The best of both worlds, really. Engage in his thrills, and head back to the temple for steady food and bed. It's not like he was getting much else out of the Jedi these days, besides a few classes for children. His learning was starting to stagnate. And his patience was like that of any teenager's.

While out a week ago, Tenn had gotten word of an upcoming race, open to anyone with a bike. Not a legitimate race of course; A street race. That suited him just fine, although the Jedi probably wouldn't take kindly to his antics. But he'd gotten away with it before. Why not again?

Whoever they just passed down the curb got an unlucky splash of water, but Tenn didn't really have much reason to dwell on it. "Ohhh," He said, somewhere between feeling bad and finding it humorous. Oh well, there was a race to win. And Shep was probably waiting for a treat back at the temple. No time to waste.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin was soon gaining on the three racers. His target was the one who had splashed him and murdered his chocolate cone in cold blood; he kept his sights trained on them. The others would likely figure out that they were being followed and scatter in all directions, but he wasn’t going to let the ice cream killer go.

Eyes glued to his quarry, Starlin fumbled a cigarette into his mouth and lit it up, foot pumping the accelerator to the max.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn caught sight of the speeder behind him before too long. He checked his mirror, and grumbled. That one hadn't been in the race before, but it was definitely following. The padawan looked at the winding streets ahead of him, and in an effort to shake off his pursuer, quickly swung his engines into a harsh turn, then launched off down a side road.

He had a good feeling this road was going to make a nice shortcut along the race, as well. Two birds with one stone. He glanced back once more, before flying off a bit of paneling that made for an impromptu ramp, dropping him down into a waterlogged strip of tight alleys and angles, sending a bit more water flying back.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"Son of a--!"

Starlin grimaced as more water splashed his speeder. Luckily he didn't have the top down, or else he would've been completely soaked. His windshield was covered in muck, temporarily blocking his view for a few crucial seconds. By the time the wipers cleared it, the offending speeder was nowhere to be seen.

The area around him was a maze of tight corners and oily alleyways. Plenty of places to hide. But whoever this clown was, they were still racing. Starlin just had to follow the screams of overtaxed engines to track down his quarry again.

The Force swirled around the road in front of the main speeder, jerking the front repulsors upwards, and then the rear ones in what probably felt like the galaxy's nastiest speedbump. An unnaturally high, teeth-clacking speedbump. It was a warning shot.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn figured he was in the clear. He slammed the petal, taking off down the streets to make his way back to the race. Then, he felt a harsh jolt under his bike that caused him to wobble. There was no speed bump. He would've seen it. He glanced back to see the speeder still in pursuit, "The hell…?" This guy was relentless. And clearly more capable than he realized.

Tenn swerved again, and saw a few other speeders passing by the next street. His fellow racers. He surged forward, launching back out onto the main route, and getting himself in between the other racers so as to throw his chaser off. Now it was just a matter of winning the race, and hoping this crazy guy gave up the ghost.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

His little trick did seem to have an effect, just not the one he wanted. The biker just went faster, trying even harder than ever to lose him.

Well, this was turning out to be more of a pain in the ass than it was worth. But Starlin stubbornly kept up the pursuit.

There had to be a way to stop them without risking their life. He was a Jedi, after all. He had the Force at his disposal. Starlin ran through a series of possible scenarios in his head, looking for the least lethal one.

Oh, duh. Slow him down. Why hadn’t he thought of that earlier?

Um, acksually, the Jedi power is called Force Stasis. Force Slow is a Dark Side power. At any rate, Starlin slowed the bike down to a crawl with the Force, his fellow racers speeding past him.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn sighed, thinking himself in the clear, before slamming on the pedal. Except, that his bike didn't seem to be going any faster. The other street racers zoomed past him, and soon enough he realized that his bike had been literally slowed down. He glanced back to see that same pursuer catching up. This guy had an insane case of road rage, and was a Force User to boot.

Tenn had no interest in dealing with that. For all he knew this was some Darksider tracking him down. He hopped off the bike and sprinted to a nearby alley, where he tried to hide around a corner. He clutched the hilt of his lightsaber in his hand, just in case this guy earned a bit of plasma in his throat.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Seeing the rider abandoning his bike in a panic, Starlin rolled down his window. "Hey!" he shouted, too late to stop the guy from disappearing into the alley.

Sighing, Starlin got out of his speeder, closed the door, and lit up a cigarette. He puffed generously, smoke pluming from his mouth and nose as he waited for his heart to stop racing. "You can come out, I'm not gonna hurt ya," he called out. "But you owe me a new ice cream cone. Also, speeding is dangerous and illegal. But mostly dangerous." He shrugged. "You did a pretty good job driving though, I'll give you that."

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"You can come out, I'm not gonna hurt ya,"

Heard that one before. Tenn wasn't exactly quick to trust the guy who just chased him down after a splash of water. What he said next only made him more untrusting, but it was so unexpected, that Tenn couldn't help but break from his hiding spot, "What?!" He stepped out with a bewildered face. The hilt of his saber still in his hand.

"You hunted me all this way because of ice cream?!" Disregarding the whole illegal and dangerous part.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"What?!"

"I said—"

"You hunted me all this way because of ice cream?!"

As the driver came into view—a mere teenager, from the looks of him—Starlin tossed his head and replied, "Yeah, boy! You splashed nasty ass puddle water on my ice cream before I even had a chance to taste it! While breaking the law and risking your life and the lives of those around you!"

He jabbed a finger in the direction of the young man... then blinked. "Hey, wait a minute. I've seen you somewhere before..." He squinted at the boy. "...Yeah, I remember you! You were on Ukatis at that fancy party where I got arrested! You had a dog!"

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn had to resist rolling his eyes as this schmuck tried to give him a moral lesson. But what really took him by surprise, was that this guy seemed to recognize him.

Worse yet, Tenn was starting to recognize him, too.

Chit. A Jedi. Be cool.

"…I have no idea what you're talking about, man," Tenn waved a hand dismissively, and tried to step past Starlin.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin stood in the kid's way. "What the hell are you doing out here, man?" he asked, appearing more and more alarmed as he realized who this kid was. Or rather, who he had to be. "You're a Jedi, aren't you? A Padawan? Do you realize how much trouble you could get into?"

Never mind that Starlin hadn't exactly set a good example himself. But there was a pretty big difference between meddling with the Crown Prince of Ukatis' head, and speeder racing through Coruscant.

... Okay, so maybe what Starlin did was technically a lot worse in terms of potential consequences. But he did it for a good cause! This dude was just a careless joyrider looking for cheap thrills.

"Who is your master?" he asked, his disposition a little calmer. "Not that I'm going to tell them about this, but it seems to me somebody isn't doing their job here."

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Starlin wasn't having it. Stopped his tracks, this time Tenn did roll his eyes, "Yes, it's very bad and I should feel bad. I learned my lesson, okay?"

He stepped back to try and move to the other side, but ended up stopping. He never answered Starlin directly about being a Jedi, but when he dropped the word 'Master', it made Tenn pause. He sighed exasperatedly, and flared his nostrils in defiance, "I don't have one."

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"I don't have one."

"Oh."

The kid had caught an attitude with him, but Starlin was deterred from firing back once he heard those four sad words. "That sucks," he said. Explains a lot, too, he thought. The teen gave off that overgrown youngling vibe, a teenager who should've been a Padawan by now, but was stuck in limbo for one reason or another.

"Well, chit. Now I feel bad." He shrugged. "Do you want some ice cream? I'll pay for it." Food was his go-to method for cheering up Padawans. It gave him an opportunity to try and talk to them about their problems without the pressure of a big formal meeting. Even if the kid got nothing out of the conversation or refused to talk at all, they at least walked away with a free meal or a treat.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Just like that, Starlin changed his tune. Typical Jedi stuff. Tenn just waved a hand dejectedly, "I don't want your pity, man," He turned around, and took a few steps, then stopped again. He froze there for a moment, in annoyance with both himself and the circumstances. Childish.

"…Where?" He asked too quietly. He grumbled, "…Where at?"

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin couldn’t help but grin. “Well, there’s this little shop on the corner…”

A short while later, they were in said ice cream parlor. Sprawled in a booth seat, Starlin held his brand new ice cream in one hand, licking some runoff that had melted over the edge of the cone.

“So,” he began, in between licks. “What’s your name, by the way? I’m Starlin Rand.”

He had several other questions he wanted to ask, but for now he kept things simple. “What were you racing for, anyhow? Money? Trying to impress someone? Or were you just bored?”

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn gripped his ice cream cone delicately, staring at it ambivalently as if he'd never eaten something like it before. His peculiar musings were interrupted by Starlin's voice, "…Tenn. Kalos."

Despite his initial annoyance, this was a far better outcome than he ever imagined, when it came to getting caught in an illegal street race by the Jedi. As long as this guy didn't rat him out to the Council or something. "Not to impress someone," He scoffed at the notion, "But uh, boredom. Money. Yeah. Two porgs one stone."

Tenn waited a moment, then asked a question of his own, "So like, who are you exactly? I ain't really seen you around the temple much." It was very possible that he just hadn't paid attention or noticed, but the guy had a general vibe that didn't really feel like your typical Jedi.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Nice. Do people ever call you a Tenn out of ten?” Having given utterance to the first terrible joke that came into his head, Starlin proceeded to take a crunchy bite out of his cone.

“Mmm, money and boredom. A dangerous combo.” His eyebrows rose. “My teenage thrill was stealing chit. Started out nabbing junk food and cigarettes from convenience stores, moved up to breaking into warehouses and selling whatever I found inside for cash.”

"So like, who are you exactly? I ain't really seen you around the temple much."

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” he muttered, licking his ice cream. He was spinning it around, shaping the sides of the scoop into a smooth round ball. “It’s ‘cause I don’t live in the Temple itself, I live on my ship parked outside the Temple. I like it ‘cause it’s nice and private.” And conveniently isolated, he realized. He hadn’t given much thought to why he preferred the Bright Knight, though he supposed he had become something of a hermit over the years.

“I come out sometimes for big events, missions, battles. But mostly I spend my days teaching. You know Lief , Makko Vyres , or Ceri Fraissi ? They’re my paddies.” He looked at Tenn. “I haven’t exactly seen you around much either, apart from on Ukatis. You been sneaking out a lot?”

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn raised and eyebrow, and responded flatly, "Uh, no. Not really." In retrospect, it was surprising how few ten puns he received. Not that he was complaining. "Already done that," He admitted casually, finally taking a lick of his ice cream, "Not cigs, though. That chit's gross."

Starlin admitted that he wasn't the most regular presence in the temple, as he actually lived just outside of it. Still, closer than Tenn would have expected for a guy he barely ever saw. He listed off a few paddies, and Tenn scratched his neck, "Not really. Makko is Cora's boy toy, right? Uh— Other than that rich chump." Complicated, and a whole other topic on its own. Tenn circled back, "Not during class hours, usually. But I guess I tend to keep to myself when I can." He shrugged, glancing out toward the street.

"Been in any cool battles?"

Starlin Rand​