Visitors

Instead of waiting passively for his guests to arrive, Gar entered his room and changed into fresh clothes. After basic grooming, he returned to the room as Coulson and a pretty woman entered. 

"Agent Coulson, it is good to see you again," Gar gave the man a hearty handshake. He looked at the young woman who stood with Coulson.

"Gar, it is good to see you as well," Coulson smiled and returned his handshake. Gar followed the quick glance Coulson cast at Surj as he left the room.

"Robots, you have them everywhere. I've never seen functioning bipedal robots, and you've got them everywhere building things," Coulson didn't hold back his interest.

"Surj isn't one of the worker droids, he's a medical droid. Who is this?" Gar asked.

Looking surprised he seemed to remember the young woman at his side, "Oh, this is a promising young agent. She's part of my team, Anita Hill. Agent Hill, this is Jedi Padawan Gar Finn." 

Anita greeted him lacking an outward reaction, "It's a pleasure to meet you Jedi Padawan Gar Finn." Anita shook his hand.

"You can call me Padawan Finn, Agent Hill. There's no need to be nervous," Gar kept a level of formality. As a Jedi, it was important to maintain a level of mystique. 

"I'm not -- I'm not nervous," Anita responded. Gar smiled slightly choosing not to pursue it. 

"Please, come in and have a seat, can I get either of you something to drink, snacks maybe? I've recently restocked some extragalactic foods. Maybe you would like to try a Nerf steak, Agent Coulson?"

Coulson's eyes lit up, "Nerf steak?"

"It's like beef, but much tastier and healthier. It will only take a couple of minutes," Gar offered.

"I don't have a lot of time," Coulson was tempted by the offer, but he also had his job to do.

"How about this, I'll cook up some steaks for the three of us and the other two in the vehicle outside. While I'm cooking and we're eating you can tell me what brought you to me," Gar smiled and walked into the kitchen and started making the meal. 

"I just returned and haven't eaten much myself, so don't feel like this is an inconvenience," Gar noticed Coulson and Hill were looking around the room for something. 

He could feel their surprise, "Is there something you're looking for?" 

Getting caught snooping, Coulson laughed awkwardly, "I'm sorry, it's just I don't see any surveillance equipment but you know we've brought an additional two agents. Perhaps you took a look at us before we arrived, or while we were making our way up?"

"No, nothing like that. When Surj informed me about you, I sensed you and the others through the Force. It's not unusual for a Jedi to know things beyond the boundaries of the senses," Finished cooking, Gar took the steaks, side items, and drinks to the table. Agents Coulson and Hill sat at the table and received their food and utensils. 

"I'm sorry that I can't offer any hard liquor, I'm too young to order such things," Gar shrugged shoulders. From Coulson and Hill's expressions, it looked like they forgot they were dealing with a kid. 

Gar sat down and started eating his Nerf steak. Coulson and Hill tried their steaks timidly at first, but once they took a bite. Their eyes lit up! "This is the best thing I've ever tasted!" Coulson couldn't hold himself from exclaiming. Agent Hill nodded vigorously.

"I'm glad you like it. Now I know I have something tempting to bring you back. There's nothing like good food for making friends," Gar smiled. 

After a few more bites, Phill got down to business, "I stopped by to recruit you for a mission. Master Mt'z asked me to look after you and take you on missions until you meet your Master."

This caught Gar's attention, "Really? I had no idea. Let me check something." Gar pulled out his iPad-sized vidscreen and searched through his missions tab. There was a mission to serve as SHIELD consultant as an investigator and in aggressive negotiations. "You're right, I received a message from Master M'tz. What's the mission?"

Coulson caught Gar's excited look. He really was a kid, "There's a group of enhanced terrorists who may be planning a major attack on US soil. We are being deployed to investigate and partake in any aggressive negotiations that may follow." 

Gar choked on his drink and looked at Coulson, "Aggressive negotiations?" 

"Yes, Master M'tz liked to use it when referring to fighting, so it caught on at SHIELD. I thought you would be familiar with the phrase," Coulson's bemused look made Gar feel strange.

He cleaned up the mess on the table, "Of course, I'm familiar with it, but it's a Jedi joke. A Jedi's first goal is to handle disputes peacefully, but when that doesn't work we have to resort to our lightsabers. An aggressive negotiation refers to negotiations conducted with a lightsaber. 

"Lightsaber?" Hill asked between bites. She and Coulson looked at him.

Gar reached under the table and unhooked his lightsaber. He showed them the lightsaber and activated it, swinging it around a few times. The "wer, wer. wer, zih" sound was hypnotic. Then he deactivated it and returned it to his belt.

"That's an amazing piece of technology," Coulson said.

"Yes, but how does that help you against a gun?" Hill asked.

"Would you like to see?" Gar teased.

Agent Hill wasn't bothered, "Yes, please show me."

Gar took the last bite of his Nerf steak, wiped his mouth, and walked to the middle of the room, "Both of you can shoot at me, I can see your guns. Shoot as much as you want."

The two agents looked at one another, against their better judgment they stood up and unholstered their weapons. The pair encircled him, one off to the side and the other behind Gar, "How far should we go?" Coulson asked.

"You can be as close or far away from me and fire at any time --" Hill was the first to fire followed by Coulson. The lightsaber lept to Gar's hand and became alive. He deflected some of the shots near their origins while he dodged other bullets. 

The agents watched in amazement as Gar deflected the bullets and moved with smoothness. He kept moving, but when they emptied their clip, he extended his hand and brought each gun to him. 

Coulson and Hill were quiet and contemplated their experience. Gar held their guns for a few moments, "What do you mean by enhanced?"

"Hmm?" Coulson awakened from his every. 

"You said there was an issue with some enhanced individuals. Do you mean they're like the people we fought when we attacked the Widow base?" Gar asked.

"Yeah, only those were mostly artificially enhanced, Mutates. The group we're referring to are mutants. Their enhanced abilities develop around puberty. They're naturally enhanced," Coulson explained.

Gar looked hesitant, "I don't mind helping, but the mutates I fought a couple of nights ago nearly killed me and my friends. I don't know if I'm enough to help."

Coulson realized Gar hasn't had time to catch his breath and he's already asking for help in a potentially more deadly situation, "You won't be the only enhanced. There's a group of mutants SHIELD works with from time to time when we're fighting enhanced. They're waiting for us."

"Why do you need me if you already have enhanced?" 

"Your Master M'tz and my Director have a relationship. Master M'tz is one of the few people the Director trusts. Two of the enhanced are powerful telepaths. Master M'tz said you could help protect us from their intrusions," Coulson replied to Gar like he was already a trusted member of his team. 

"Oh, then let me collect a few things," Gar said. Surj entered the room followed by a couple of pit droids. 

"Pardon me, Master Finn and esteemed guests. I received a few packages just delivered. Where should I put them?"

"Oh, nice, put them on the ground next to the table, I'll take a look at them," Gar walked to the table took the plates, and placed them in a dishwasher-type device. Surj instructed the pit droids and they put the packages on the ground. 

Gar returned and looked at the delivery. Excitement swelled within him, and he grabbed a package, "Perfect timing, thank you Surj." 

"My pleasure, sir, if you need anything else I will be near the medical room," Surj turned to leave but was stopped by Coulson. 

"Gar, is it possible to bring Surj with us? Having a medic on standby is always a good idea," Coulson smiled.

"You just want to spend time with my droid. Fine, I understand, it is a waste for him to wait here. Surj, have R3 prepare the Rancor and gather any medical equipment and supplies for a battlefield."

"Understood, Master Finn," Surj left to do as he was commanded. 

"What's an R3?" Hill asked.

"He's my astromech. They're like droid mechanics. They can work on anything from other droids to spaceships. Right now, my speeder, the Rancor, has a droid slot for R3. He can pilot and repair the speeder.

"What's a speeder?" Hill asked.

"You know what, less talking more seeing. I'll show you and I'm sure you'll get it. Let's go down to my garage," Gar's infectious smile spread to Coulson who heard garage and couldn't wait to see what the Padawan was talking about.