As Jerek stood before the tank in which his master hung, suspended in the glowing haze of the healing bacta, the youth realized that he had no answer to his master's question. No way to alleviate his disconnect from the other Jedi. Erin, on the other hand, seemed to answer with expert ease, joking lightly with the Noghri Jedi. 

[i]Erin sure has a nice voice.[/i] The thought popped suddenly into the boy's head as he listened to the cadence of the other padawan's voice, finding himself lost in the older girl's tones. Blinking furiously, the boy forced himself to focus, to listen as Erin filled in his master on the plans to travel to Nar Shaddaa.

The padawan considered his companion's report with a curious expression. From his studies and rumors, Jerek knew that Nar Shaddaa was a place of shadows and risk. If Coruscant was a place of reason and law, then Nar Shaddaa was the opposite, ruled by fear and power. Few on the so-called [i]Smuggler's Moon[/i] were friends to the ways of the Jedi or the Republic, if the ideals of the defunct government truly had any supporters left. After a moment's consideration, the sandy-haired youth could see the reason to travel there, the same reasons that made Nar Shaddaa a dangerous place would make it ideal for fugitives like the Jedi. A place to regroup, to breathe, to heal. 

He felt the eyes of the room's occupants fall on him, the expectation clear. He was supposed to give Vor'loch a clue of what the Jedi had been missing, a taste of life outside his tank. It should have been an exciting tale, some virtuous exploits that the padawan had accomplished all by himself, that his master had missed out on. It should have been like old times, as master and apprentice after a mission to one of the many worlds ravaged by the Clone Wars. This time, however, Jerek had no story, no adventure. 

"Not much," the youth mentioned, shrugging his slender shoulders. He glanced toward the older padawan, hoping she might have something more to say, only to find the same expression on her face. "We've been doing the meditations, and some exercises. Actually, a lot of exercises. I think the masters want us to think everything is normal, even though it's not."

Turning back to his Noghri master, the padawan questioned him eagerly, "How much longer will you have to stay in the bacta tank, master?"