As the four undercover Jedi made their way through the bustling streets, Jerek breathed deeply. It felt good to be off the cramped and crowded troop carrier, even the smoggy air of Nar Shaddaa felt cleaner somehow. It was a liberating sensation, and added to the fact that his Master was up and with them on their trek, Jerek felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.
He felt happy.
It was strange, cerebral feeling, like the calm in the center of the storm. It was as if the walls of chaos still raged about his calm center, a peaceful moment that would inevitably pass. The youth turned his head about, gazing in turn at the companions around him. He peered at the unfamiliar Kolinn in front, whose dogged determination was guiding them forward. He looked at his master, Vor'loch, behind them, and felt his heart leap with the joy of seeing the Noghri up and about. Finally, the padawan gazed at Erin, graceful in her poise a stride, a sight in which the sandy-haired boy soon found himself lost.
A moment later, the youth realized that he had been left behind as the boy caught sight of Vor'loch's form retreating into a bar called Smuggler's Waterhole. Jerek followed him inside, and was at once assaulted with the dank and noxious tavern air. As he waded through the stink of alcohol, unwashed bodies and the smoke of cancer sticks, the boy wondered about the appeal of the bar scene. It certainly wouldn't be his first choice for a night out, but tailing Vor'loch into more than one such place had taught the padawan their importance for gathering information or holding a neutral meeting.
Jerek reunited with his companions just as Kolinn began to engage with a pair of seated patrons, the smaller of whom gave haughty looks to Erin while the size of the larger just made the boy nervous. The large one spoke, callously warning of what happened to naive strangers on Nar Shaddaa.
To say that Jerek was scared at that moment would have been an understatement. He was on a foreign planet, the Smuggler's Moon to be exact, in a disguise. Despite three of his fellow Jedi around, the fact remained that they were fugitives, were anyone to recognize them, they might wind up captured or dead. The large patron's callous warning struck a chord with the boy, the fearful outcome he painted resonated firmly with the youth's own uneasiness. Despite his fear, the disguised padawan stepped forward, placing himself between Erin and the large one.
"Have some respect," the boy snapped, at once surprised at the forcefulness of his own comment. With the attention on him, the sandy-haired youth continued, "This is—" He stopped himself before the words, "a Jedi," could form. He closed his mouth and forced it into a wan smile. "This is the daughter of Lord Arazel of Alderaan," Jerek announced, almost believing his own charade for a moment. "And I am her..."
The hazel-eyed youth looked at Erin as he searched for the right term, pleading for her help with his eyes.