
   Way of the Force
   
   Disclaimer: Three years and I still have to do this? Oh, all right.
   Ranma 1/2 and Star Wars belong to their respective creators... blah,
   blah, blah...
   
   < >: Thoughts
   
   Gee-Ex Threepio: GX-3PO
   
   Artoo Gee-Wun: R2-G1
   
   
   Chapter Three
   
   A Great Disturbance
   
   Ranma nodded as he pushed the repulsorlift modulator into its housing.
   He then stepped back to take a look at his work. It had been his pet
   project for over two years now, and it was finally nearing completion.
   Whenever he wasn't training as a Jedi or martial artist, he had been
   spending a good deal of his free time in building the thing. He was
   anxious to put it through its paces as soon as it was finished.
   
   Just as he was about to work on the steering mechanisms, he glanced at
   a clock on a nearby worktable and decided that it was time to turn in
   for the night. Tomorrow was going to a very big day for him and the
   other Jedi trainees; their first day at a new high school.
   
   He picked up a large tarp and covered his creation with it, making
   certain that it was completely underneath the material before heading
   toward the exit of the hanger. Recently, Jarrick had instructed his
   droids to move the ship to a new hanger location, which was now at the
   base of Mount Fuji. This made it easier for him and his students to
   get to it from Tokyo.
   
   As Ranma neared the main doors, he was greeted by R2-G1 and GX-3PO.
   
   "Good evening, Master Ranma. And how are things?" The protocol droid
   said in its most pleasant tone.
   
   "Buwheep!" The astromech droid said in greeting.
   
   "Everything's fine." Ranma replied as he yawned.
   
   "And may I ask, how is your little project?" Gee-Ex asked.
   
   "It's going great! I finally managed to solve the power regulator
   problems and I just installed the last of the repulsorlift units. All
   it needs now are some adjustments and fine tuning."
   
   "That is wonderful, Master Ranma."
   
   "Whoop! Beep! Bip! Bip!"
   
   Ranma smiled as he waved goodbye to the droids and mounted the
   repulsorlift cargo sled. "I'll see you guys later!"
   
   The young Jedi-in-training powered up the cargo sled and was soon
   jetting across the landscape toward Tokyo. He took a very secret route
   and used the new holographic cloaking device to hide himself and the
   sled from prying eyes. Once he came to the establishment in which he
   and the others were living at, he turned on the automatic recall
   mechanism and sent the sled back to the hanger.
   
   ----------
   
   At that moment, a certain girl with short brown hair and a very keen
   mind was just exiting a movie theater with two of her friends.
   
   "That was a great film!" Yurika remarked as she walked down the street
   with her companions.
   
   "I'll admit that it was pretty good for a sci-fi flick." Shinara
   agreed. "Though some of that stuff like those anti-gravity cars was
   just too unbelievable!"
   
   At that moment, something whooshed by them at high speed, whipping up
   a considerable jet wash and almost bowled them over. There was also a
   strange noise that accompanied the sudden gust of air. They began
   looking around for the source of that disturbance, but saw nothing.
   
   "What the heck was that?!" Yurika exclaimed.
   
   "I didn't hear anything or see any headlights, so couldn't have been a
   car." Shinara said.
   
   Nabiki looked about and wondered what could have traveled at such high
   speed and made almost no noise, except for a gentle humming.... like
   something out of that movie they had just seen.
   
   ----------
   
   The next morning...
   
   
   Ranma was dressed in the standard uniform of the high school that he
   and his friends were enrolled in. Ukyo and Shampoo were dressed in the
   school dresses for girls, but the okonomiyaki chef had her
   Vibro-Spatula strapped to her back and her Spat Saber clipped to her
   side. In her hair was a white ribbon. The Amazon had her Saber Spear
   in her hand. The three Jedi trainees and martial artists were walking
   toward the school.
   
   "Remember what Master Jarrick had said, Ucchan." Ranma said. "This
   goes for me and you too, Shamps. We're supposed to keep our Force
   powers under wraps. That means no levitation and stuff like that, and
   definitely NO lightsabers. (1)" He pointed to the weapons as he had
   already hidden away his Double-Edged Lightsaber.
   
   "No problem." Shampoo said as she used the Amazon technique of Hidden
   Weapons to hide her Saber Spear. That Mousse was an idiot, but at
   least some of his techniques were useful.
   
   Ukyo also nodded as she made both her Spat Saber and Vibro-Spatula
   disappear. She then addressed her childhood friend. "By the way,
   Ranma. Will it be ready soon? You've been working on that thing for a
   couple of years now."
   
   Ranma nodded as he knew what Ukyo was talking about. "I have to make
   some minor adjustments and fine-tune the steering. It should be ready
   for its trial runs soon, maybe even by today."
   
   "I can't wait to try it out!" Shampoo said with glee.
   
   "Yeah, well I'M the one who built it, so I get to go first!" Ranma
   said smugly. Just as they neared the school, all three suddenly
   stopped as their Force senses began alerting them to something big
   that was about to happen.
   
   "You feel that?" Ranma asked.
   
   The two girls nodded as they extended their abilities toward the
   school where the disturbances were emanating from.
   
   "I sense... eagerness and the urges for violence..." Ukyo said slowly.
   
   Shampoo nodded. "There are many... but all wish for some... common
   goal."
   
   With his Force senses being the strongest of the three, the son of
   Genma analyzed each and every one of the minds that were emanating
   these emotions. When he started scanning one mind in particular, he
   became more puzzled. "One mind... is warped... defies the most
   simplest of logic. I feel utter arrogance and an ego the size of a
   planet. I sense... a total disregard for the truth. I can't... his
   thoughts are so chaotic and follow no real pattern. And... he is the
   reason behind the way the others are acting. He wants the same thing
   that the others want... he..."
   
   At that moment, Ukyo got a sudden flash of the future and cried out.
   "Look out!"
   
   Shampoo and Ranma stepped to the right as Ukyo swerved to the left. At
   that moment, a hurricane blew into the school yard. A hurricane by the
   name of Akane Tendo.
   
   An instant later, a huge horde of teenage boys suddenly appeared from
   behind trees and the front doors of the school. Many were brandishing
   various sports equipment and blunt objects as they rushed toward
   Akane. Amazingly enough, the attackers were shouting out... date
   proposals?
   
   "Akane, I love you!"
   
   "Please go out with me!"
   
   "This one's for you!"
   
   All three Jedi trainees were very confused at what was happening as
   they watched the mob attack and praise the girl. She looked to be
   about their age and had long black hair. She appeared to be extremely
   agitated as she greeted her admirers with her fists and feet. Akane
   Tendo began punching, kicking and literally pounding the lovesick boys
   into the pavement. As she fought off the hordes, Ranma and the two
   girls assessed Akane's skills and overall abilities.
   
   <Anger. She is driven primarily by anger. > Ranma thought as he
   witnessed Akane deliver a sidekick to a tennis player while avoiding
   his racket. <She has no mental or spiritual focus, and very little
   discipline. Movements depend on brute strength. >
   
   <High amounts of personal pride. > Ukyo mentally catalogued. <I
   feel... a sense of superiority, and arrogance. > Akane was then seen
   knocking several teeth out of a rugby player.
   
   As a proper Amazon, Shampoo analyzed her fighting style. <Moves are
   basic and simple. No variation. May have a little chi potential, but
   it would take her a long time to harness it. Defense is almost
   non-existent and she's telegraphing her moves too much. Only reason
   why she's lasting this long is because her opponents have no skill and
   aren't very organized. >
   
   <Potential to use the Force... none. > All three thought at the same
   time. (2)
   
   Ranma then gestured to his friends to follow him into the school as he
   saw that this had nothing to do with them. He had also sensed that the
   girl would take great offense if he and the others interfered. The
   trio began to make their way past the mobs and were about halfway
   across the schoolyard when Akane finished off the last of her
   attackers and turned to face her final opponent.
   
   At that moment, a lone figure dressed in samurai robes stepped out
   from behind a tree and tossed an object at Akane.
   
   However, Ranma was currently in the way and deftly caught the item
   between the first and second fingers of his right hand. He looked at
   it and saw that it was a rose, which had its thorns removed. He felt
   the emotional intent that was impressed on the flower and turned to
   address Akane.
   
   "I believe that this was intended for you." He then deftly tossed the
   flower to her before turning back to head for the front doors.
   
   Akane caught the rose and looked at the boy with bewilderment, which
   quickly turned to anger as her hatred of boys came to the surface. She
   immediately catalogued him as yet another unwanted suitor... and
   pervert. All boys were perverts after all.
   
   To those who were watching, it appeared that the new boy had just
   presented Akane with a rose. To all the Akane-lovers in school, that
   particular act earned him hundreds of glares. For one person in
   particular, this was unacceptable.
   
   "How dare you?!"
   
   The young Jedi martial artist turned to the one who had thrown the
   rose, and who was now blocking his path.
   
   He appeared to about sixteen or seventeen and had a very arrogant air
   about him. In one hand, he held a wooden sword, (bokken), and had
   short, black hair. He glared at Ranma, whom he thought had stolen his
   gift and given it to the fair Akane as his own. This cretin will soon
   learn not to trifle with the likes of the great Tatawaki Kuno.
   
   "Excuse me?" Ranma asked.
   
   "You would dare steal the heart of my beauteous Akane Tendo, by
   claiming my gift to her as your own?"
   
   "Huh?"
   
   "You shall pay for your insolence, peasant! Prepare yourself!" He then
   took a stance with his weapon held out in front of him. "Ah! But is it
   not proper for one to give one's own name first? Very well then, mine
   I will give! I am..."
   
   "I have no business with you." Ranma said quietly. He was already
   tired of this moron. He and his companions needed to be in class, and
   it was a bad first impression to arrive late on the first day.
   
   The so-called Shooting Star of Furinkan, (or Blue Thunder as he was
   now calling himself), suddenly stopped in his grand introduction,
   lowered his sword and took a glazed look about him. "You... have no
   business with me."
   
   Standing some distance away, Akane stared in disbelief. How did that
   guy get Kuno to stop like that?
   
   "I don't need to know who you are." Ranma added.
   
   Kuno nodded slightly. "You don't need to know who I am."
   
   "You're in my way."
   
   "I'm in your way."
   
   "I can go about my own business."
   
   "You can go about your own business."
   
   "Now, step aside and allow me to pass."
   
   Kuno nodded again as he moved to his left and gestured with his bokken
   for Ranma to continue on.
   
   The disciple of Jarrick and Elder Cologne then casually strode past
   his would-be opponent. Just as he came to the front door, he glanced
   over his shoulder and called to Ukyo and Shampoo. "Come on!"
   
   Both girls nodded as they too began walking toward the front door.
   
   At that moment, the Jedi mind trick had worn off and Kuno was back in
   his normal, (if you could call it that), state of thinking. And as
   soon as he saw the two very attractive girls, he thrust out his sword
   in front of them and blocked their path.
   
   "Hold! What heavenly beauties have the gods deemed to bestow upon me
   this fine morning? What are thy names? I would know of the names of
   such angels! Oh! Should not one introduce oneself first? Very well! I
   am..."
   
   "We are not interested." Ukyo said with some slight irritation in her
   voice. Though she and Shampoo were not as proficient in mind tricks as
   Ranma and Jarrick, they could handle this idiot with no problem. He so
   simple and weak-minded that it was no challenge whatsoever. The
   openings in his mental defenses were so large, one could fly an
   Imperial Star Destroyer through them.
   
   The kendoist took on the same glazed look as before as he repeated the
   okonomiyaki chef's words. "You are not interested."
   
   "You are bothering us." Shampoo added.
   
   "I am bothering you." Kuno droned.
   
   "The girl behind us is the one you are interested in..." Ukyo began.
   
   "... so you will leave us be." The Amazon finished.
   
   "The girl behind you is the one I am interested in, so I shall leave
   you be." He said while retracting his bokken and stepped aside.
   
   The two girls smiled to one another and hurried inside the school to
   join Ranma.
   
   Outside, Akane was still in a state of disbelief as she repeated the
   question in her mind. <H-H-How did they DO that?! >
   
   At that moment, the late bell rang. Akane growled as she realized that
   she was now late and glared at Kuno, who was just regaining what
   little senses he had.
   
   "Ah! My fair Akane! You have waited to throw yourself into the arms of
   your beloved! Come to me, my..."
   
   WHAM! POW! CRASH!
   
   Kuno toppled to the ground with several lumps on his head as Akane
   stomped through the front doors of the school.
   
   ----------
   
   "Class, we have three new students at Furinken High." The elderly
   teacher said as he introduced the three Jedi trainees to the other
   adolescents.
   
   "Hello. I'm Ranma Saotome." The young man gave a polite bow.
   
   "I'm Ukyo Kuonji." The okonomiyaki chef greeted.
   
   "My name is Shampoo. I'm from China." The purple-haired girl gave a
   friendly wave.
   
   The boys in the room immediately fixated their gazes on the two very
   attractive girls while the female students had their eyes set on the
   cute boy. However, one person in the class was not at all interested
   in their looks and was a bit jealous at the attention they were
   receiving.
   
   "Ranma Saotome, I believe that there is an empty seat over there." The
   instructor gestured to a spot near the middle of the class. He then
   gestured to the girls. "And you two can sit near Miss Tendo. However,
   since you three came in late with her, then you will all stand out in
   the hall with her."
   
   ----------
   
   "Shoot! Even though we got into the building before the bell rang, we
   didn't make it to homeroom on time." Ranma commented as he held two
   buckets of water with his pinkies while leaning against the wall of
   the hallway.
   
   "It's not THAT bad, Ran-chan." Ukyo said as she and Shampoo stood on
   opposite sides of him.
   
   "This is nothing." Shampoo added as she casually balanced one heavy,
   water-filled pail on her right index finger. "I think I like doing
   this more than listening to some boring lecture." She began to
   consider using this time to practice her levitation powers. She
   started to focus on the pail that she had held out in front of her,
   enveloping the object with unseen tendrils of the Force.
   
   However, both Ukyo and Ranma sensed the buildup of Force and began
   shaking their heads at her.
   
   "Shampoo!" The brown-haired girl said in a quiet, but firm whisper.
   "Remember what Master Jarrick said!" She gestured with her head at the
   girl who was standing just a few feet away from where they were.
   
   The purple-haired girl sighed deeply and nodded as she decided to just
   keep balancing the pail.
   
   ----------
   
   Akane fumed and glared at the three. It was their fault that she had
   gotten punished! If it weren't for them, she would have beaten that
   jerk Kuno on time! And now they were ignoring her, Akane Tendo! How
   dare they!
   
   Though she hated how that pompous ass had gotten every boy in school
   fighting her for dates, she did like being the center of attention.
   And it was a great way of showing everyone of how great a martial
   artist she was. She had smashed many bricks and training dummies to
   have attained the her present level. No one could beat heat her! She
   had every right to be proud of her accomplishments. Now that new girl
   with the purple hair was showing off by balancing that bucket on her
   finger.
   
   <I could do that. > Akane thought to herself as she continued to glare
   at the three. Finally, she decided to make her displeasure known.
   
   "This is all your fault! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been
   late!"
   
   The three Jedi trainees stopped in their conversation to glance at the
   angry girl, then went back to speaking to one another.
   
   "Hey! I'm talking to you!" The short-tempered girl said in a more
   angrier tone. She did not like being ignored.
   
   Ranma and the two girls continued to converse quietly.
   
   "Hey! Didn't you hear me?! I SAID I'M TALKING TO YOU!"
   
   Ranma took a deep breath before turning to face her. He gave the rude
   individual a glare of his own before speaking in a calm, yet firm
   voice.
   
   "We were not speaking to you." (3)
   
   "You weren't speaking to me." Akane repeated then became a bit
   surprised. <Where did that come from?! >
   
   "You were very rude in interrupting us." Ukyo added.
   
   "I was very rude... in interrupting." Akane found herself repeating.
   <Why did I say that? >
   
   "You were not taught better manners." The Amazon said.
   
   "I was not taught better manners." <Huh?!>
   
   "Now keep quiet." Ranma finished.
   
   Akane found herself doing just that as her mind was in a bit of a fog.
   When the mind trick wore off, she shook her head and glared at the
   three. <How did they do that?! >
   
   At that moment, the teacher gestured for the four to return to class.
   
   ----------
   
   In a nearby class, Nabiki Tendo was intrigued. She had seen the entire
   exchange through the window and was very interested. Usually, her easy
   to anger sister would speak her mind and no one would be able to stop
   her. However, those three new students actually had her cowed for a
   brief moment, just like they had done with Kuno this morning.
   
   Nabiki would have loved to know how they accomplished it and saw many
   uses for such a skill in her mercenary work.
   
   Oh yes, this was very interesting indeed.
   
   ----------
   
   Gym Period...
   
   "All right! Next!"
   
   Ranma nodded as he ran toward the springboard that was ahead of him.
   The gym exercise was a simple one. The boys were to use the
   springboard to jump to the top of the vaulting stand. However, for
   someone of Ranma's skills, that was no challenge whatsoever. When he
   leapt onto the board, he made a triple somersault over the stand and
   landed perfectly on the mat behind it. The other boys were quite
   impressed by the casual show of acrobatics and some applauded.
   
   Akane snorted as she and her other classmates went through a series of
   warm-up exercises on the other side of the gym.
   
   <Hmpf! Big deal! I could do that! >
   
   Her friend Yuri was very impressed though.
   
   "Hey, he's pretty good!"
   
   "So what? I could do that. I'm a martial artist, you know." Akane
   snorted and went back to following the instructor's movements. A few
   yards in front of her, Ukyo and Shampoo were doing likewise. Akane
   noticed that many of the male students in the gym were gazing with
   their perverted eyes at how well those gym shorts molded themselves to
   their posteriors. She became very annoyed at how they stared at new
   girls.
   
   <Hmpf! Perverts! And those girls are nothing but bimbos! >
   
   Of course, this had nothing to do with the fact that both girls had
   more voluptuous figures than she, nor was she the center of attention
   any more.
   
   ----------
   
   The rest of the school day went without much of a hitch, aside from a
   few more irritating encounters with Kuno. Though Ranma and the other
   Jedi trainees were very tempted to use their lightsabers on that
   idiot, Master Jarrick's lessons reminded them that a Jedi Knight
   should only use physical means when all other options were exhausted.
   And there were other ways of swatting a bothersome gnat...
   
   ----------
   
   "Hold, peasant! The Blue Thunder of Furinken would have words with
   you!"
   
   "Oh? And what about?" Ranma asked nonchalantly as he casually walked
   toward his next class.
   
   "If you think that your earlier transgression and use of vile sorcery
   will stay the righteous blade of the Blue Thunder then you are sadly
   mistaken! I, Tatewaki Kuno shall make certain that you pay for your
   taking my gift to Akane Tendo, as well as free the lovely Shampoo and
   Ukyo Kuonji from your odoriferous presence!" With these words, he
   brought out his bokken and charged at Ranma's unprotected back.
   
   Ranma however, was not concerned. With a simple application of the
   Force, he made Kuno's feet trip over themselves and caused him to fall
   forward. His head hit against a water fountain, knocking him out. The
   young Jedi continued to make his way toward his physics class.
   
   ----------
   
   "Ah my beautiful Chinese Rose and Queen of the Griddle! I shall date
   with both..."
   
   "I thought we told you to get lost." Ukyo said in a tired voice.
   
   Kuno once again took on a glazed expression. "You had told me to get
   lost."
   
   "Now go cool off." Shampoo added.
   
   Kuno made a right turn and jumped out of the window. Nabiki, who
   happened to be standing nearby, gasped when she saw the upperclassman.
   
   "Hey! This is the third floor!"
   
   "Don't worry. There's a pool." Shampoo said as she and Ukyo continued
   on to their next class.
   
   Sure enough, there was a huge splash as Kuno made a tremendous
   belly-flop.
   
   Nabiki looked out and saw that Kuno had survived, then looked back at
   the two girls.
   
   <How do they do that?>
   
   If there was one thing that intrigued Nabiki Tendo, it was a mystery
   and a potential money-maker and she was certain that the three new
   students were veritable gold mines. Now, how to find out their
   secrets....
   
   ---------
   
   Later...
   
   "Well, that wasn't bad for a first day." Ranma commented as he and the
   two girls walked home.
   
   "I suppose." Ukyo then noted some other presences, just as the Amazon
   and her childhood friend detected it as well. "Do you know that we're
   being followed?"
   
   "Yep." Ranma replied.
   
   "About twenty meters behind us and hiding in that alley, right?" The
   purple-haired girl asked.
   
   "Right." The brown-haired girl nodded.
   
   "No big deal." Ranma shrugged as he rounded a corner, then made a
   thirty-foot leap to a rooftop. His companions followed suit and the
   trio were soon hopping from one building to another.
   
   ----------
   
   Nabiki and her cohorts were understandably surprised when they came to
   where they had last seen their quarries and found nothing. They had
   been tailing the three Jedi-in-training since they had left the school
   and they were now gone from sight.
   
   ----------
   
   At the hanger, late in the afternoon...
   
   Shampoo's brow was sweating a bit as she parried Ranma's lightsaber
   with her own. Her sparring partner had only one blade ignited at the
   moment as the hanger echoed with the sound of energy swords clashing
   together. The two were leaping about and exchanging dozens of blows
   with each second, mixing Jedi battle tactics with martial arts.
   Nearby, Ukyo watched as the two battled it out.
   
   Ranma leaped back after blocking another of the Amazon's attacks, then
   twisted the ends of his weapon before extending its length. The second
   energy emitter activated itself and the other blade flashed forward.
   Twirling his weapon like a quarterstaff, he then pressed the attack,
   forcing Shampoo to retreat. Using all of his Jedi senses, he began
   probing for the weaknesses in Shampoo's defense.
   
   Shampoo was determined not to be outdone. Since Ranma was now using
   both blades, he had a temporary advantage in reach, but not for long.
   Pressing the hidden switch, her own weapon elongated itself and the
   blade shortened into a focused, energy spear point. Using a series of
   intricate patterns of thrusts and swings, she began countering each of
   Ranma's moves, using her own enhanced senses. Many times, she blocked
   using the haft of her Saber Spear, with the deflector grid protecting
   both the weapon and her hands from the blades of Ranma's lightsaber.
   It seemed that the two were evenly matched.
   
   However, Ranma had made one new adjustment to his weapon recently and
   decided that now was the time to try it out. Touching another switch,
   then twisting the ends of the handgrip again, he pulled hard and an
   audible click was heard as the two halves of his Jedi weapon split
   apart. The Amazon gasped as Ranma was suddenly swinging not a lance,
   but TWO lightsabers!
   
   "AIYAH!"
   "How do you like it? I made the modification last week!" Ranma smiled
   as he once again forced the purple-haired girl back. For a single
   spilt-second, he saw his opening as he brought both blades down on
   Shampoo's spear. As the warrior-maiden parried, he lashed out with a
   foot and tripped her up. As she went down, he finished the duel by
   pointing both blades at her throat.
   
   "Say uncle?"
   
   Shampoo gave a tired sigh before nodding. It seemed that she needed
   more practice and be more prepared for surprises. Fortunately for
   Ranma, this had not been a formal challenge and he was an honorary
   Amazon, so the Kiss of Marriage did not apply.
   
   Ranma fitted the two weapons together before deactivating and
   compressing them back into one. "Well, it looks like I won against
   both of you, so I get to take the wheel first!" He began walking
   toward an open area near the hanger doors where a large object stood.
   It was about the size of a large sedan and was covered by a tarp.
   
   Shampoo and Ukyo stood behind him as he grabbed hold of the covering.
   
   "So it's ready to go?" Shampoo asked.
   
   The young Jedi nodded. "You bet! I just made the final adjustments
   when we got home. Here it is... the Ranma Racer!"
   
   The tarp was pulled away to reveal a sleek landspeeder. Ranma had
   based its design on some blueprints he had found on Jarrick's ship. It
   was modeled after the XP-38 series, but had only two engine nacelles
   mounted in the rear instead of three. The propulsion units were
   contained in rectangular housings which tapered off into points. The
   front was more angular and the cockpit was roomy enough to seat four.
   The driver and passengers were protected from the elements, foreign
   objects and so on by a jet fighter-style canopy made of reinforced
   plastic polymer mix. On the bottom were the main repulsorlift units
   and maneuvering thrusters.
   
   Ranma had also added a few extras that had not been included in the
   original design specs, such as a holographic projector and ECM devices
   to evade detection, an extensive sensor array, a deflector screen
   array for protection against collisions, and weapon systems;
   consisting of two retractable laser cannons, an ion blaster mounted in
   a hidden compartment in the front and some extra gadgets mounted in
   the back.
   
   The teen gleefully jumped into the driver's seat and began powering up
   the main drives and repulsorlift field. The craft began emitting a
   steady whine which softened down to a gentle hum as it slowly began to
   rise off the floor of the hanger. The two girls also got in with Ukyo
   in the passenger side and Shampoo in the rear. After buckling up,
   Ranma began turning the wheel of the vehicle, making it pivot ninety
   degrees to the right. Touching a switch on the console, he then
   directed the craft toward the opening doors of the hanger. As the
   landspeeder glided out into the open air, Ranma took a deep breath.
   "Okay... let's see how she handles!"
   
   With these words, he grabbed hold of the throttle lever and pushed it
   forward. The Ranma Racer rocketed forward like a jet being shot off a
   carrier catapult.
   
   ----------
   
   Meanwhile...
   
   "Jarrick? What's the matter?" Cologne asked as she approached the Jedi
   Master.
   
   The man from outer space stiffened a bit as he slowly replied. "I just
   felt... a great disturbance in the Force... concerning our three
   charges."
   
   (incomplete)
   
   
   
   (1)The Force can be considered as the collective energies of
   everything and everyone in the universe, (ki, life-force, biological
   processes, and so on), plus all the ambient energies, (electricity,
   steam, light, heat, etc), and energies of the metaphysical level,
   (ESP, telekinesis, elemental magic, and so forth). Like the saying
   goes, the Force binds and surround us all. Martial artists can control
   the inner energies within themselves and even draw upon the ki of
   others. However, a Jedi Knight can draw upon other sources, which can
   explain their diverse powers of levitation, mind control, manipulate
   machinery, shooting lightning bolts, other psychic abilities, as well
   bend or even break the laws of physics. This also includes knowledge
   and being more aware than even the best of martial artists. (Remember,
   Obi-Wan Kenobi felt Alderaan being destroyed by the Death Star while
   in hyperspace and Luke Skywalker sensed his friends' pain on Bespin,
   despite being on Dagobah)
   
   
   (2) I had figured that having Akane, Ryoga and the rest of the Nerima
   crew with the potential to use the Force as TOO clich. Only a chosen
   few individuals from the Nerima Gang will be able to use the Force.
   Sorry, but I had decided that none of the Tendo clan will be able to
   use it. As for Ranma's family, I think that Nodoka may be able to use
   it, but Genma will not. Ranma gained his Jedi talents solely from his
   mother, just as the Solo twins and Anakin Solo had gained their
   talents from their mother, Princess Leia. If every martial artist had
   the potential to be Jedi Knights, then Jarrick wouldn't have looked
   very long for candidates when he came to Earth, considering how many
   martial artists there are. Just remember, I'M the one writing this
   story.
   
   (3) Now a lot of people may say that Akane has a strong mind, but
   remember that she usually lets her anger and pride override her better
   judgment, especially during the beginning of the canon series. This
   leads to very little discipline in mental defense and control. Ranma
   didn't try force his way into her subconscious like she would expect,
   but rather used a more subtle approach. Akane's anger provides a back
   door in which Ranma and the others can easily enter and plant
   suggestions into her head. As long as Akane remains in that state of
   thinking, she'll always be an easy target for the Jedi Mind Trick. And
   one has to admit, it's no challenge to get her riled, especially with
   her pride. And people say that Ranma has a big ego.
   
   Akane only understands physical strength, otherwise she would have
   been throwing ki blasts and have raised her consciousness
   substantially by end of the original series.
