Entry 30

I walked out of the 'fresher and down to the galley where the women and I-Five had gathered. I could hear Den and Kwan talking on the flight deck further down the corridor.

Sheel waved me over to a table where she was sitting with Magash and Sacha. "How is your little friend?"

I slid into a booth seat next to Magash with Sacha and Sheel sitting across from me. "He's still cleaning up. It might take a few buckets of warm water to scrub the dirt off him."

Sheel reached across the table and put a hand on my arm. "That was a wonderful thing you did for that boy." She turned to the others in the room. "And what you did for me. I can't believe you came to get me. Thank you."

"We couldn't leave you there." I wasn't sure if Sacha or Magash told Sheel that Yimmon didn't order the mission and I didn't want to get into that now if they didn't. Instead I turned to Sacha with a slight grin. "So…Sacha. I am grateful that you were able to deliver me from the clutches of the women of Sister Central without bloodshed…but would you mind telling me how you knew about a certain birthmark?"

Sacha's face turned a beautiful shade of mortified red. "Simply by accident." She took a deep breath. "Do you remember when we were on the ship and you came out of the 'fresher after taking a shower and your towel slipped? I saw it then."

My brow furrowed as I tried to member that incident. When I did, I frowned. "You were all the way on the other side of the ship if I recall correctly."

She gave me a shrug of her shoulders. "Yes, that's true."

I shook my head. "Then how did you see a birthmark that small from that distance?"

Magash was next to me and I could feel her body shaking as she tried to contain her laughter.

"What's so funny?"

The usually stoic Magash burst out laughing at that comment. "What's so funny? I assumed human and Zabrak humor was similar. The entire situation is humorous." She pointed to Sacha who now had her head buried in her hands. "Sacha has a cybernetic eye that can zoom in and tightly focus."

"Shut up Magash," Sacha moaned.

I-Five leaned up against the wall next to the table. "No, please, tell us more. I find this story extremely interesting. Where exactly is this birthmark?"

"On his buttock," Magash chuckled.

I-Five's head swiveled toward Sacha. "Why exactly did you zoom in on Jax's butt?"

Sacha put her head on the table and wrapped her hands over her head. "Sometimes my eye has a mind of its own. It reacts to various stimuli involuntarily…if I'm startled or if I feel endangered. It's a reflex response."

A deep chuckling sound resonated from I-Five's droid vocalizer. "You felt endangered by Jax's butt?"

Sacha looked up and glared at the droid. "No…it's just that sometimes the sensors can't tell the difference between surprise from danger and surprise from…" She trailed off.

"Shock? Joy? Excitement?" I-Five offered.

Sacha glared at I-Five and started to stand. Not knowing her intentions I stood and put a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, calm down." I turned to I-Five. "Let's forget about it. It's not a big deal."

Sacha dropped back down to her seat and refused to look at me. The resulting silence soon became uncomfortable. "I think I'll check on Norro." I moved out of the booth and walked back down the hall knowing I would have to talk to Sacha privately and let her know there was no need for embarrassment. I didn't want things to become uncomfortable between us.

After five pots of warm water Norro came out of the 'fresher looking refreshed and clean. I gave him a pair of my trousers and tunic to wear, but soon realized I would have to find smaller sized clothing. The tunic hung over Norro's bony frame like a drop cloth. He gave me a grateful smile. "I haven't felt this good since…forever."

"Good." I put a hand on his shoulder and led him to the galley. "Let's get some food in you." I motioned to the vacant seat at the table. "Go ahead and sit down." Norro slid in next to Magash with a smile and a nod of the head.

"Thank you."

I looked through the galley refrigeration unit and located some chocolate ice cream. "Would you like some ice cream?"

"I've never had any before, but considering my last meal was a dead virevole, I'd be happy to try some."

I scooped out half a bowl and put it on the table in front of Norro along with a spoon. "Dig in."

Norro greedily shoved a spoonful of the frozen dessert into his mouth. He smiled for the first few seconds but then his face contorted into a mask of pain. His cheeks bulged out and his eyes started watering. He tried to talk but with his mouth full of a frozen confection all he could manage was to point to his forehead.

"What's wrong?"

I-Five leaned in to examine the boy. "I believe he is having a body response humans refer to as an ice cream headache." The droid stood back and turned to me. "Intense cooling of the sinuses causes capillaries to constrict followed by a rapid dilation as they return to normal body temperature. These actions stimulate nerves that is interpreted by the brain as pain."

I grimaced. "Oh, sorry Norro. It'll go away in a few seconds."

The young man closed his eyes as he tried to swallow the large scoop he ingested. Eventually he opened his eyes and looked at me questioningly. "It taste good, but why do you eat something that makes your head hurt?"

I chuckled at his statement. "It doesn't cause pain if you eat is slowly." I reached out to take the bowl away. "Here, let me get you something else."

He brought an arm around the bowl protectively. "No. I'll eat it."

He took another big scoop and I grabbed his arm stopping him. "Slowly!"

He nodded and ate at a slower pace.

Den came out of the flight deck to meet the new passenger. "I'm Den. Please to meet you." When he extended a hand out to the boy Norro startled in his seat. I think he thought Den was going to steal his food. After a second he realized what was expected of him and reached out to shake his hand.

"I'm Norro."

Den looked up to me. "What's your plan for the young man?"

I pursed my lips in thought. "I thought we could drop him off with Pol Haus. I'm sure he knows people who provide homes for orphans."

"What?" Norro protested. "You are going to drop me off with strangers?" There was despair in his voice and I could see his chin tremble slightly.

"Norro, I told you I'm a Jedi. I have a death warrant on my head. Being around me is dangerous. My friend Pol can find you a nice normal family to live with."

"Dangerous? More dangerous than spending thirteen years on Despayre?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but then closed it. Despayre was much more inhospitable than any other mission location I ever traveled to. "Norro, you need a family. A mother and father who can care for you. I can't provide that."

"Why not?"

I was getting a little frustrated with this line of questioning. "First of all I have no experience raising a teenager and I don't have a wife to mother you."

He looked over to Sacha, Sheel and Magash. "Maybe one of these ladies can fill that position."

That got a response from the ladies. Sheel laughed softly, Magash grinned and Sacha blushed.

I reached up and squeezed the bridge of my nose. "It doesn't work that way."

Norro put down his spoon and gave me a long, searching gaze. "There is no way I could live with normal people and be part of a normal family. I don't know normal. I'll be a freak. No one could understand what I've been through unless they've been on the prison planet." He paused for a moment. "I want to fight the Empire. I want to help."

I shook my head intending to say no, but Sacha intervened. "I'll look after him."

"We both will look after Norro," Magash agreed.

"I'll help also," Den chimed in.

I-Five raised a hand. "I will also offer assistance."

It was four against one. I thought about it for a second. I know I detected Force potential in the boy. Not enough to train like Magash and Sacha, but his ability to sense a person's intentions might be an invaluable tool to the Antarian Rangers. I threw up a hand in defeat. "Fine. We'll drop off Sheel on Coruscant and then bring him back to our base."

Norro grinned like a fool. "Thanks!" He then shoved another big spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

I smiled warmly. It looks like my family of friends is growing bigger every day.