TIME~Zone

Prologue

Isander hid in the closet, and peered out through a crack in the door. He could see his mother looking for him, and he smiled, satisfied.

"Sandy?" Krystal called, knowing Isander hated to be called that. "Where's my big boy? Where are you, sweety?" She dug through a pile of boxes in the corner, and looked under the bed.

Isander narrowed his eyes darkly and sat down in the closet with a thump. He hated being called Sandy. He kicked the door.

Krystal smiled privately. She pulled open the closet. "There's my little boy!" She picked him up and patted the back of his head. "Mommy was getting worried."

Isander lifted his head and tried to bit her hand.

Krystal smacked his mouth lightly. "No, Isander," she growled from between her own fangs. "We only bite mean Jedi men. Do I look like a mean Jedi man to you?"

Isander smiled and nodded. "Bad!"

Krystal blinked at Isander. She didn't know who he was calling "bad", and she didn't really want to know. "Let's go see Fenla, okay?"

Isander got up. "We see Fen."

"Yep," Krystal replied, and smiled at her son.

Isander ran out of the room. "Fenlaaaaa," he cried.

Fenla emerged from her bedroom. "Hey, Isander! How's the little tiger doing?" She squatted down on eye level with him, looking up at Krystal briefly. "Hi, Mom."

"I'm bad," Isander told his sister proudly.

Fenla tousled his hair. "That's what I always thought." She grinned at him, showing almost normal teeth.

Isander nodded. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Fenla shrugged. "Nothing. " She ran her fingers through his hair.

Isander moved away and slapped at her fingers. "I don't like it." He frowned.

Fenla rolled her eyes. She was used to her bad tempered nephew/brother by now, and she had learned to ignore him in moods like this. Fenla stood up, and said, "You behave, little boy."

.~*~

Randon sat on Echolyne's bed, brushing her hair. "Almost done." She commented.

Randon put the brush down and set her daughter on the floor. "Ok, you can go play."

Echolyne giggled and ran around the room once. "Wheeee!" she said, though a Gungan tadpole could have outrun her.

Randon shook her head and smiled. "Silly girl, what are you doing?"

"Run, run, run!" Echolyne panted, collapsing on her mother's knees.

Randon looked down at her and blinked. "Let's go see if your niece and nephew want to play."

Echolyne reached up her hands. "Hold you, hold you?" she pleaded. "Please?" She grabbed her mom's hands, trying to get her attention.

Randon picked her daughter up and walked out of the room. "I wonder where Fenla and Isander are.

"Fenny, Sanda?" Echolyne asked excitedly, clapping her hands. She loved her niece and nephew, and Krystal spoiled them all anyway.

"Yep." Randon walked down the wall.

Echolyne listened for her playmates.

"I hear them." Randon remarked hearing Fenla's voice.

"You behave, little boy," she heard the voice say.

Echolyne stretched her arms towards the voice. "Fenny! Fenny!"

Fenla ran around the corner in the hall. "Echie! What's up, little girl? Come to play with Isander?" She hugged her aunt and her step-grandmother in the same motion.

Randon hugged Fenla too, and then put Echolyne down. "Hi Fenla, Krystal. Hey Sander."

Isander sat down and stared up at everyone. "I don't wanna play."

"Too bad, then, Isander. You're missing out." Fenla tapped Echolyne's shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" Krystal smiled as Echolyne lurched after Fenla and they scampered down the hall.

"I'll get Echie." Isander finally said, not wanting to be left with the mothers. He ran after Echolyne and Fenla until he found his aunt, she was hiding in the vent.

"Sanda?" Echolyne's voice came from inside the vents. "Are you coming in?"

"Yes." Isander said. He crawled in and saw her. "Hi."

"Hi!" She grinned, and covered her mouth with her hands. "Fenny can't get me." She giggled, and crawled back farther into the small vent.

Isander frowned and crawled after her. "Why is that funny?"

"Because I'll win the game!" Echolyne snickered. She crawled faster, making a sudden turn around the intersection.

"That's silly." Isander said and sat down.

"You say that 'cause you can't have fun," she said. "You're a grown-up already." She smirked mockingly back at him.

"So." He frowned and slumped, kicking the vent.

"You're boring!" Echolyne exclaimed. "You can't help it, but I want to take a nap when I see you." She made a large yawn for emphasis.

Isander blinked, and then started to the opening of the vent.

Echolyne watched him go. "Wait!" she called. "I'll be lonely if you leave!" She lay down on her stomach and rested her chin on her propped-up hands. She kicked the side of the vent, shuddering at the hollow banging sound.

He paused and turned. "Why?"

Echolyne shrugged. She honestly had no idea, and she was too lazy to pursue the thought further. "What do you want to do, Isander?" She looked at her hands and wiggled her little fingers. "When you grow up, I mean?"

Isander stood there and blinked. "I don't know." He had never thought about it.

Echolyne leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "I want to be like Mommy. Or Daddy. I want to be powerful, and kill all the bad guys."

Isander cocked his head. "I think, I just want to kill all of everyone. Or maybe just hurt them. I want to make a lot of trouble."

Echolyne looked at him, a spark of interest suddenly flashing in her now green eyes. "Really? You want to be a bad guy? I can kill you now?"

Isander gave her the 'shou' look inherited from his father. "I'd like to see you try!"

"I'm not allowed to touch lightsabers yet!" Echolyne protested. "But when I am, you just wait, Isander!" She glared at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to look threatening. She couldn't perform the "Shou" look well, and Isander knew it.

Isander just rolled his eyes. "Ready and waiting."

"Good, then." Echolyne smirked at him. That, she could do.

~*~

Ailana landed the ship and jumped out. Moni stood, awkwardly waiting. "Moni, I'm so glad to see you!" she cried as she jumped off the side of the landing ramp. She stopped short and looked him up and down. He stood still, feeling her gaze on him. "Captain Moni, sorry. I'm impressed." A gentle tease emerged in a smile.

She looked around briefly. "Take me to the bridge, get us out of here."

"No one followed you, Terest made sure of that," Moni said, noting her nervousness.

Kiana walked into the room. "Lady Ailana?"

Ailana whirled around, hugging the suitcase to her chest. "Kiana!" she cried, happy to see a familiar face among all the space pirates. Moni really was no help.

Kiana smiled gently. "Hullo, want me to show you your room?" she inquired.

Ailana held Matlin to one hip, and let her suitcase fall to her side. "Yes, thank you."

"Come on." Kiana led her to a small room, not far from Taliena's. "Will this be ok?" Kiana asked shyly.

Ailana looked around. "Yes, it'll be fine." She looked up at Kiana. "Um, Kiana? Where did Moni go? He seemed a little stressed when he greeted me earlier. What's wrong?"

Kiana shrugged. "He just got back. I don't know what's wrong."

Ailana opened her suitcase and began taking her clothes out, putting them away in closets and drawers. "He just got back? That's weird. I must have left Ethtenchartea a lot earlier than he did."

"You were on Ethtenchartea?" Kiana asked standing in the middle of the room watching her.

"Oh, yeah. It wasn't anything to be proud of. I got Ty into a duel to the death with Lord Kure, and Ty got pretty mad at me. I think I might have had a heart attack, if Dameon and Moni hadn't been there." Ailana snapped the suitcase shut and slid it under the sleepcouch.

Kiana listened rather confused but nodded and made sympathetic noise, as if she understood. Then she pushed her hair over her shoulders and asked. "Would your son want to meet Taliena? I presume you now who she is.."

"Your daughter? Of course he would. He'll probably sleep throughout the entire thing without Getta here. She's the only one who can wake him up when he goes into the dark world. Does Taliena have her father's... talent?" Ailana asked.

Kiana fell silent and nodded, and then she asked. "Who's Getta?"

Ailana froze. "Getta? She's... a girl at the complex. Used to be DT's, I think."

"Oh..." Kiana shrugged. "I'll go get Taliena, or do you want to come with me?"

"I'll go with you!" Ailana said quickly. She walked with her to the other room, not wanting to be alone, just her and Matlin, for even a second. She could not fall into believing she was back home.

Kiana opened the door to the room and touched Taliena's hand. The little girl looked up. She made the sign for Thank You. Her mother laughed. "This is Taliena. Taliena, this is Lady Ailana." Here she made the sign for lady, making Taliena repeat her. "And this is her son, Matlin." Now she did the sign for boy.

Ailana smiled at Taliena. "Hello, little one. How are you?" She had learned some sign language during her short time in the Temple, but not much. She signed "hello", then was content to watch.

Taliena watched the Sith Lady's fingers, fascinated, and then repeated the actions. Kiana smiled, proud of her daughter.

Ailana brainstormed for a second, and then signed out a staggering "good". Matlin watched the girls, bored, hooded eyes dangerously close to falling shut.

Taliena began to bounce and then she saw the other child. She stretched a hand out to him.

Matlin looked at her hand, and then at her. He tilted his head, and watched his mom. She made a shooing motion. Having the expression of an embarrassed teen, he made a bored and sloppy "thank you".

Taliena smiled sweetly. She scooted her self over to him. She touched his shoulder and made the sign for boy. She looked at her mother for approval. Kiana nodded. Taliena turned back to Matlin beaming.

He tapped her shoulder back. He glared at his mother, and slowly, deliberately made the sign for "hello". He then scooted back, and lay down on his side.

Taliena stared at him and then for some reason thought of her father. She looked around for him. He wasn't there. She began to cry. "Taliena!" Kiana picked her.

Matlin blinked at her. He signed "good" like his mother had. She picked him up and stared at Taliena worriedly.

"Taliena, its ok." Kiana rubbed her daughter's back, trying to sooth her. "I don't know what's wrong," Kiana said hesitantly after a minute more of crying.

"Do you need me to go in her thoughts?" Ailana asked softly, reluctantly. Matlin watched her, wondering what was going on and why the girl was crying.

"No.." Kiana said quickly. "I'll just give her to Moni. Maybe he'll know."

She left the room with her daughter and went to find her husband.

Ailana watched her go, and cradled Matlin. "My little boy." She paused. "What wrong with you? Even your father doesn't sleep this much." Matlin was certainly average for his age, and Ailana could not figure out why he slept like a Marcunean sloth on pain medication.

Moni watched his wife approach with wailing little Taliena. "What's wrong, baby?" Moni asked, reaching for her. His subconscious mind barely registered the alarm going off in the hangar. One of the crew members would have to deal with that.

When Taliena caught her father's dark eyes, her crying ceased. She reached for him, and Kiana handed her over.

Moni took his child and held her tight, rocking slowly. "Oh, Taliena."