Jax had looked up when Jek arrived as he was speaking to the man, saying that they couldn’t just jump in to help, but if there was anything they could do, they would, adding that they would need a plan in place to do it. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?” he asked, knowing that the others were probably not too happy that he was so ready to help, but it wasn’t like he promised they would absolutely save her, just that they would try if they could. That was okay, wasn’t it?<br/><br/>He might not be a Jedi anymore, but being a Jedi wasn’t the reason he saved anyone. He’d always been this way. He couldn’t, or at least wouldn’t, ignore someone in need. Usually that was focused on his friends, but it had always extended beyond that. Whether it was a small animal in need of help, another child at the orphanage, or a random stranger on the streets. It was just who he was. It was one of the few times when he would act somewhat impulsively, rather than just following along with the others. He was a protector. It would have been more out of character if he’d just ignored the man.<br/><br/>He watched as Aeris walked away, and Jek gave the responders instructions on who needed help most before he went after her. An-Lok had gone to get the recruits, so he guessed that they would be heading out again soon, so he went to work gathering all of their miscellaneous items from around, including whatever was left of their first aid kits, Jek’s cloak, Aeris’s gloves, and a few other scattered items. “Yeah,” he nodded when An-Lok returned, placing a hand on his arm and asking that he help her into the speeder.<br/><br/>He followed her to the speeder, handing the first aid kits off to one of the recruits before he helped her into the speeder, as he had the first time, smiling when she snuck a kiss before settling into the seat. “Of course,” he nodded, resisting calling her princess with their recruits around. He chuckled when she added that she was hungry, hurrying to the other side of the speeder where he tossed Jek his cloak and Aeris her gloves before hopping into his seat and getting the speeder started. Once Jek was ready, he would follow him to the last recruit.<br/><br/>Aeris looked over at Jek when he placed a hand on her shoulder, asking if she was alright. She gave him a weary smile but nodded, “I’ll be fine,” she told him, placing a hand atop his. She felt that he was trying to share some of his energy with her, and she accepted some, but she knew that he had expended plenty of his own, and she could meditate at least for a short time on route to the next recruit, so she could draw some energy from the Force, where he would need to focus on driving. “Yeah,” she replied when asked if it had to do with her visions.<br/><br/>She smiled, leaning his way just a little when he kissed her hair while rubbing her arm. “I’ll tell you more about it later,” she added, seeing Jax help An-Lok into the speeder. When An asked if they could get the last one, she gave a nod, smiling a little when she said that she was hungry, which was something Aeris still wasn’t used to hear. She caught the gloves Jax tossed her way, “thanks,” she told him before hopping into the speeder and settling into a comfortable position so that she could meditate as they drove.<br/><br/>When they arrived at the next destination, Jax hopped out of his speeder, “I’ll take this one,” he said as he headed to one of the apartment buildings, up the stairs to the second floor, and stopped at the first door. The building was older and looked like it was in sore need of repairs, so he gathered that whoever lived here was likely struggling to make ends meet. When the door opened, it was an older middle-aged woman who answered the door. “Can I help you?” she asked, looking at him and then around, as if to try to gauge if he was here to harm them, and if there were any others with him.<br/><br/>He shook his head at her question, “No, but perhaps I can help you. Is your oldest son here?” he asked, looking past here to see at least four other children running around playing. “Yes, but what do you want with him?” she asked, and he quickly explained that they wanted to train him to use his Force abilities, that he would travel with them, learn, become stronger, before adding that he would have a place to stay, the things he needed, and that he wouldn’t ever go hungry. He could see that the woman was holding back tears, “Is that really true?” she asked. “Yes ma’am,” he replied with a bow of his head, “Please allow him to accompany us.”<br/><br/>The woman called for her son, and soon a tall and rather gaunt looking young man appeared. Jax noted that the younger children seemed to be a little more well-fed than he did, so he could guess that the young man probably shared whatever food he received with them to make sure that they had enough. The calluses on his hands gave away that he worked hard, too, probably trying to help bear some of the burden. That was probably why the woman seemed so grateful for the offer. She just wanted him to take care of himself.<br/><br/>“What’s going on?” the young man asked, and Jax briefly recapped what they had talked about. “But what about you?” the man asked his mother, clearly worried that losing whatever meager wages he brought in would leave them in a tough spot. “We’ll be fine. You’ve done enough. Please, go, do something for yourself for once,” she told him, hugging him. Jax stayed quiet, watching as they spoke a little longer before the young man finally nodded and left to gather whatever he would take with them.<br/><br/>When he returned not long after, he said his goodbyes to the other children and then to his mother before walking out the door. As they were about to walk away, his mother and the other children surrounded them both in a group hug, making Jax laugh a little. “We’ll take care of him, don’t worry,” he assured them, waving a little when they were finally allowed to leave. He told the young man to store his things in the trunk and then hopped into his seat. “Alright, I guess that means we’re done. Let’s get back,” Jax said to the others as the last recruit climbed into the backseat and settled in.<br/><br/>Once they made it back to the shuttle, Aeris hopped out and gave the soldiers orders to help the recruits get their things loaded into the shuttle, and for two of them to return the speeders once they had been emptied. Jax directed the recruits to load up into the shuttle, waiting for An-Lok before he did the same. Once all the recruits were loaded, Aeris headed into the shuttle as well, instructing the pilot to take them back to the cruiser once the last two soldiers returned.<br/><br/>When they arrived on the cruiser, Aeris really wanted to skip the tour and just head to the mess hall, but since showing them the barracks wasn’t much out of the way, she decided to just get it out of the way. She told the soldiers to make sure that the recruits’ things were delivered to their quarters and then gestured for them to follow, telling Jax that he and An-Lok could go ahead, knowing that An-Lok was hungry and Jax would have to get something from the mess hall to take back to their quarters for her.<br/><br/>From there, she led the recruits on a quick tour that ended at the mess hall, where she told them to go ahead and get something to eat, knowing that at least two of them could really use it. She got something for herself and then found and empty table for herself and Jek where she took a seat before taking a deep breath and sighing heavily, as if she were decompressing a little. She then set to eating her food. She wanted to eat quickly, so that they could get back to their quarters, but she forced herself to eat at a normal pace and just enjoy being there with Jek for now.<br/><br/>When Aeris suggested that he and An-Lok go ahead so that he could get her something to eat, he nodded before leading An-Lok to the lift and taking her to their quarters, where he gave her a brief kiss at the door. “What do you feel like eating today?” he asked, not daring to go inside yet, in case she decided that she wanted to skip the food, which he didn’t wish to allow. Once he’d gotten an answer, he headed up to the mess hall and got food for both of them, careful not to get himself anything with too strong a scent that would bother her. He then headed back up to their quarters and placed the tray on the desk. He hung his cloak by the door, shed his boots, and hung his belt up so that he could get more comfortable before taking a seat by the desk and gesturing for An-Lok to come and eat.