Silent Jedi

The Market

There had never been a day like this one. This was the first time Norman Ranger saw his daughter Jett, age four, light up. While she normally played with her toys behind the counter of her family's store, Jett was up and on her feet. Little Jett's pigtails bounced up and down while she stood by the door.

"Choy do u stuka, Jett?" Norman said in Huttese.

He went beside her. Everything outside their store was normal. The streets of Mos Espa were packed to the gills with the Boonta Classic pod race coming up. Norman shook his head and proceeded to grab a broom. Sand was starting to cover the floor.

"Hello there, young one. Was that you making all that noise?"

Norman quickly whipped himself around to see what all the ruckus was about. He saw a man with long hair and light robes kneeling down to Jett, who was stamping her feet with glee.

"It's nice to meet you, Jett," said the man. "How old are you, Jett?"

Norman watched as Jett stared at this mysterious man.

"And you have a baby brother? That's very exciting!" said the man.

"Hey, get away from my daughter, creep!" Norman said to him in Galactic Basic, but his words flowed with a thick accent. He'd spoken Huttese his whole life. He pointed the broom at this crazy stranger. "Leave this shop. Now!"

"I'm terribly sorry. She called out to me," said the man.

"Nonsense! She doesn't speak. She can't say a single word. No way she called out to a stranger," Norman said.

"Mmm! Mmm!" Jett said, tugging on the man's robes.

Norman was profoundly perplexed.

"Norman! What's going on out there?" Cal, his wife, emerged from the back room. She was holding their three-week-old son, Ohdiz, who was crying up a storm. "I'm trying to put the baby down for a nap."

Cal gazed at the man in the light robes and gasped. Norman looked at the man's side. He saw it, too.

"You're a Jedi! Are you here to free us from the Hutts?" asked Norman.

"Sadly, I'm not. I'm here looking for parts for my ship. I was trying to find a junk shop, but Jett called me here. I have a feeling there isn't anyone here who can understand her," said the man.

"Not at all," Cal said, putting her free hand on Jett's shoulder. "Jett is nonverbal. She can make some noises, but no words."

"Not in your form of communication," the man said.

Just then, a customer came in.

"Please, come with us to the back room," Cal whispered. "Zarf! Zumar!"

Two of the Ranger's slaves emerged from the back room. Cal ordered them to finish sweeping and help the customer. They obeyed, and everyone else shuffled into the back room.

"She really...spoke to you?" Norman asked.

"Yes, she did," said the man.

"I believe it. Or at least, I believe something. She really likes you. She doesn't even hug us like that," Cal said.

They all looked down, seeing that Jett was now clinging to the strange man's leg. She was crying. Both of her parents began to panic.

"She says she's very happy," the man said.

"Oh my..." Cal said, clasping her hand over her mouth.

"Could she really be?" Norman asked.

"Yes. I definitely think Jett could be force-sensitive," the man said.