Entry 23

We woke at daybreak. Byson and Kyler said they were going to trade the leftover meat for other items they might need. Meanwhile, Norro would give me the rundown on the prison, its residents and maybe help me find Sheel.

As Norro showed me around I was surprised at how incredibly upbeat he was for a child that spent his entire life in such squalor. He was also fairly intelligent. He spoke basic, understood a little Shyriiwook, Bocce, Mando'a and claimed he knew every Huttese swear word (I took his word on that one). Unfortunately he didn't know how to read.

"We don't get many books here in the prison," he said sounding self-conscious.

I wanted to promise I would teach him to read, but I knew I would probably be gone within a day or two. Instead I gave him a reassuring smile and and told him to not worry about it.

As we walked around I made sure to avoid anybody I questioned while dressed as an Inquisitor. It wasn't hard. The colony was huge with tens of thousands of inmates living in horribly crowded conditions. I saw a few women among the throng of male convicts. Each woman stayed close to a large male or sometimes a small group of dangerous looking men. I could see anger, envy and desire boiling up from the unattached males as the women walked by.

I asked various people if they saw a female Togruta that may have come to the penal colony a few weeks ago. There were a number of Togruta men that arrived, but nobody remembered a female Togruta. I am hoping this means she is at Sister Central and not high in orbit working on a construction crew.

Norro would point to various men and give me whispered warnings. "That guy's nicknamed Pounder. Watch out for him. He's a rapist. Even virevoles aren't safe around him." He motioned toward another brutish convict. "He's called Ratlick. He's into things I can't repeat without dry gagging. Let's just say it involves bodily fluids." Norro shuddered and I decided I really didn't want to know more than that.

He introduced me to what he called his 'contacts'. These were people who could acquire items like medicine, spices or a little female or male company for an hour or two. Of course to do this you needed to barter with something they valued, usually food, drugs or alcohol. He also showed me the areas to avoid.

"That zone over there belongs to the Wookiees…not that there are many there now."

I looked in the direction he indicated. "What happened to the Wookiees?"

He pointed up to the sky where we could make out the outline of the space station construction. "Every able-bodied Wookiee was rounded up and sent to work in space. I heard one of the guards saying one Wookiee could do the work of three humans." He dropped his eyes to gaze at the shantytown. "I'm not sure if I should envy them or not."

He gestured to the edge of camp. "The latrines can be found at the outskirts of the camps. They are just slit trenches with a privacy blind made out of branches. You straddle the trench and squat. There's a pile of dirt next to the trench. Throw enough dirt in to cover your waste. Otherwise the smell will be overwhelming. It still stinks, but not as bad as it could. Be careful at night. Not only can you run into thugs, but you can possibly fall into the trench in the dark."

The way Norro blushed made me suspect that might have happened to him at least once. "That sounds like the voice of experience."

He chuckled. "In my defense it was not only dark, but raining. It is something I never want to happen to me again."

I covered my mouth and tried to hide my amusement. "I bet Byson and Kyler loved having you come back to the shelter like that."

He shrugged. "They don't smell much better."

"What do you do all day?" I asked, curious as to their daily routine. "Do the Imperials put everybody on work details?"

Norro ran a hand through his dirty hair. "No…at least not yet. Prior to this construction project that showed up a year or so ago, there wasn't much to do. Even now, it appears only certain prisoners are being tasked with the space station construction. Wookiees do the heavy work. I heard some political prisoners with engineering skills were dispatched to work in space. Usually we don't see the workers again unless they come up lame. They live in some of the larger ships near the construction project. It is cheaper than transporting them from the planet and into orbit every day." He gave me a worried look. "Are you really going on the raid tonight?"

I nodded. "I need to find my friend."

He shook his head. "The women work together. They will kill you if they get a chance. If you find your friend you can't stay there with her. If you want to be together you will be forced to take her back here. She's safer at Sister Central. If you really care for her, let her stay there."

"I just need to know she's safe." I couldn't tell Norro that I didn't intend on leaving Sheel on this planet for one second more than I needed to. I still had the communication device in the heel of my shoe, but I haven't used it. The use of any signaling device would be risky and we all decided we would hold off using the communicator until one of us found Sheel. Obviously the women have not found her yet.

As we walked around the prison colony I grew somewhat fond of my scrawny companion. I had a hard time believing this foul place hadn't stomped the life out of the boy. I was always told maximum-security prisons bred monsters. Why Norro hadn't become hard, uncaring and duplicitous over the years is beyond my understanding. I guess there are exceptions to every rule. The boy's cheerful demeanor made me more determined to see him freed from Despayre. He wasn't a criminal. He shouldn't be here at all. Perhaps Pol Haus knew a shrewd lawyer who could convince Imperial Corrections to release him.

As the sun set my new friend showed me where the hunting party usually congregated and once again tried to convince me to stay away from Sister Central. I told him this was something I needed to do. His face wilted into a disappointed frown, but he said he understood and wished me luck.

I sat on a rotting log in an open area near the edge of the encampment. Over the next hour men came to the area, many with improvised weapons in hand. There was a lot of posturing and bluster among the convicts. The felons bragged as to what they were going to do at Sister Central and declared a litany of vile acts they would inflict upon the women—it was a list as cruel and licentious as it was imaginative. Two large shirtless men covered with prison tattoos got into a tussle over which was the most dangerous. When one man drove a shiv deep within the other prisoner's side, it became obvious which of the two had won that argument.

I didn't interfere with the mayhem. I watched knowing nothing I did would prevent these men from killing each other tomorrow or next week. I felt like a wildlife holovider who has to stand by and watch Edan Snow Tigers stalk and kill harmless arctic hares. Of course in this case it is more like a Snow Tiger fighting a Wampa…both are exceedingly dangerous.

The murder prompted more violence and soon floodlights from an armored gun platform floating overhead hit the meeting place. I looked up shielding my eyes from the bright light. I could see the outline of Stormtroopers pointing their blasters down at the group. A voice amplifier bellowed out orders for all convicts to disperse or aerosol irritants would be sprayed over the area. The voice sounded like Sergeant Tokk, Pol Haus' friend. I gave a slight grin knowing he probably was doing his best to protect Magash and Sacha from marauders.

The men scattered and I decided to go back to the boys' hut. The only reason I wanted to go tonight was to protect my team from the raiders. Since they were not going to attack the women's encampment, I would continue to search for Sheel among the men's area and hope the women would contact me letting me know they found her…then we would make our escape.