Allies: Jedi and Force traditions: Jedi: Individual Jedi Masters and Knights

From the initial pairing of Kaskutal and Timpel, the Antarian Rangers organization grew rapidly, meaning that news of assistance for Jedi Knights on missions must have spread fast within the Order – after all, it was not the first time that a paramilitary organization closely helped the Jedi (Freedom Warriors, Freedom’s sons), and Council’s initial position may have been favourable.

However, given the emphasis in the literature on “Jedi Knights”, it may be possible to extrapolate that the Antarian Rangers really did concentrate on helping Jedi Knights rather than the Jedi Order as such. “Many Jedi Knights trusted the Antarian Rangers with their lives” or “many work closely with them [Antarian Rangers] and truly value their services”, “a few of them anyway (...) but some of them appreciated”. Exactly how many is a question difficult to answer, as Hershey et al. and Rodney & Thompson seem to contradict Allston on this point. However, given the timeframe, it is possible that each author be right at a certain point in time. To be sure “the opinions of individual Jedi vary”.

However, beyond the “loyal and reliable warriors” working alongside Jedi, some Antarian Rangers were also seen with the eyes of love. Bearing in mind that “Jedi (…) deal with a small group of Rangers with whom they are familiar, and rely on the same Rangers repeatedly. Some Jedi actually have semi permanent Antarian Ranger companions who (...) assist them in a fashion similar to the Padawan-Master relationship,” it should not come as surprise that “in the days when rules on emotional attachment for the Jedi were lax, some Jedi and Antarian Rangers intermarried. As a result, Jedi occasionally have family, as well as ideological, ties to the Rangers.”

Sources: Hero’s Guide, The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide (p.66), X-wing: Wraith Squadron (p.185), Tales of the Jedi Companion (p.173)