I was in the neighborhood...

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Of all the people in the Galaxy, Zandra knew she could count on Keter to still be around. Never changing. He was always as she remembered. A little older, sure, but they all were. She especially. She doubted he'd even recognize her. Well, okay. He'd still recognize her. she hadn;t changed that much.

"Hey there, blondie!" Zandra grinned at the screen a she sent her message, "I was in the area, so I thought i'd drop in. You're home, right? Who am I kiddin'? Yer always home! Anyway, I'll be landin' soon, so, make sure you're ready for company!"

The transmission ended and Zandra slouched in the pilots seat. Baby Corrin, or just Bean as Zandra liked to call him, slept in a little basket strapped in the co-pilots seat. Not the safest, but she had to make do. She and Cal didn;t have much between the two of them. Work was scarce for a while before she had the baby. Cal didn't want to let her go anywhere too dangerous while she was pregnant, and all the best jobs were dangerous.

Well, while Cal was out being Cal, going after some 'Verd' person, Zandra was going to go out and be Zandra... with the baby. Okay, so maybe she couldn't be Zandra that much, but she could finally do something she wanted to do since the day Corrin was born. She wanted to talk to the only space magician she knew. And now was the perfect time. The windstorms had died down for the time being. She could land without dying now.

"Stay asleep, kiddo," she murmured as she carefully brought the ship down through the atmosphere of Imerria.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

The galaxy spun on, and he was still there. Retirement from the adventuring life was a tad more boring than he had expected. Still, someone had to keep an eye on Dis. With Feena off on Naboo being all Queeny and so on, and Barnabus hunting down his rogue nephew, it was down to him to hold down the fort. It was a lonely job, but he was used to being alone.

Plus he made sure to message Feena every day. Keter may have lost his teeth, so to speak, but he still had some way of having fun. And today was turning out interesting already - an old acquaintance was popping by to say hi. Well, that may have been a stretch. He didn't know Zandra all that well, but even in his youth the blond had been fond of meeting new folks.

Sitting in his office in Dis, Keter smiled as he sent an approach vector to Dis' hangar and headed down there himself, wondering what Zandra wanted. No one just dropped by Immeria. Even Grayson had come by to see his family.

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

By the time they landed, little Corrin had woken up and was silently watching.... something. Sometimes that really did disturb the Echani. How the child would just lay there, silent as death and watch the air. Sometimes she'd catch a giggle, Sometimes he would reach up for nothing. Maybe that was just a normal baby thing? But Cal, who had been around enough little ones in his time, didn't seem to think so. Was this odd behavior something to do with that... what did the droid call it? Mid-ee- clorans? Whatever it was it detected in the baby's blood tests.

"Common, Bean," she murmured, lifting the child to her chest, making sure to wrap him entirely in a warm wool blanket, covering his head to protect him from any stray dust that had managed to follow them into the hangar. The baby was still silent, big blue eyes staring over her shoulder as they made their way down the ramp.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Clad in a simple shirt and pants, leaning against the wall with his arms folded, Keter's eyes whirred as they focused on Zandra as she exited her ship. She certainly seemed to be doing well for herself. She seemed different somehow. It took the man a moment to place it. Content. Her spirit was content. Well, more content than the first time he had met her certainly. He shook his head and pushed off from the wall, heading across the hangar to meet her.

"So! What brings Lady Luck to my door?" he asked in greeting, before spying the little bundle in her arms. For some reason, he knew his life was about to get a touch more complicated. Of course. Nothing could ever be simple could it. Huh...maybe it was a good thing Feena wasn't here. She definitively would have jumped to the wrong conclusion about this...

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Ah. There he was. The baby squirmed as she approached the older man, tried to turn his face to look at him. The poor thing wasn't quite strong enough to do that yet, so his mother turned him around to face Keter.

"Hey there," she greeted, shrugging as the baby spit up a little on her shoulder, "You've handled these before, right? Mind holdin' him for a sec? I gatta wipe this off before it stains."

She held the gurgling infant out to him, eying the new stain on her top with a touch of regret. She probably shouldn't have worn her favorite shirt. Oh well.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Reluctantly, Keter took the child in his arms, remembering once holding Felicity and Celeste exactly the same way, That was a while ago now. Years. The blond sighed and shook his head. Now they were heading off on their own adventures, and he worried about them. Still, he knew if they got into any real trouble they would let him now. The blond smiled. Yes, his girls knew exactly who to call when in trouble. Still...

"Uhm...who's the lucky father?" he idly asked, despite knowing it couldn't be anyone he knew. At least he hoped so. That would be weird otherwise.

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra dabbed at the new stain with a cloth from the baby's bag. Little ones needed so much... stuff. She wasn't used to this, being held down. Complications weren't exactly her thing.

"Oh, the father? Calico Tal'verda. 'E's a Mando," she let out a soft laugh, "my mom would kill me if she knew. You know how Mando and Echani are. Bitter rivalry, at each others throats... stabbing each other..."

She put the rag away, reaching to take the child back. She didn't like it when she wasn't holding him. Not that she didn't trust Keter not to strangle her baby, it was just that Zandra was a surprisingly protective mother. She'd been keeping the child relatively secret, hidden. No magician was going to snatch her kid. Not ever. She wouldn't give them a chance.

"I think mom'd be even more ticked if she knew I married 'im too."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Right, some mandalorian he didn't know. Phew. Thank goodness for that. He handed the child back carefully, surprised at how Zandra was acting. Last time they had met, he would have never figured her for a...well, responsible parent. And here she was, proving him wrong. The blond smiled at that. THe universe loved to prove him wrong. He hadn't turned out to be the villain, he hadn't died alone, he wasn't alone...huh...interesting. He shrugged the thoughts aside and laughed. "Well, parents never approve of their children's spouses. It's the law of the galaxy," he pointed out with a wave of his hand. His own family, if they had been still alive would probably have been horrified he had married a Queen of all people.

Not horror at his happiness or Feena's station, but the fact they would have to regularly interact with royalty. Keter shook his head before focusing on his guest again. "Alright, so what brings you here with your little one?"

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra grinned at Keters casual explanation. Parents never approved of spouses. Seemed about right.

"Well, I came here for advice, really," she held the baby close, "You've had kids. You know how to raise them. Especially the... unique kids."

She bit her lip, looking down at little Corrin. He was staring again. Just staring. At Keter. Why? It made her so uncomfortable. Must have been a force thing.

"Err... can we go inside and talk?"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

The blond laughed as he indicated for the woman to follow and headed for the dining room. "Every child is unique Miss Fenni...or should that be Mrs Tal'Verda?" he idly asked as they left the hangar.

"And my wife helped me a lot. She had had children before, so she knew what to look out for and passed that knowledge onto me. Still, I can understand the anxiety in raising a child. I remember looking after Felicity...luckily I had Barnabus and Slevin to help." Although only Barnabus had had any experience and had done his best to impart further wisdom onto the two other men.

Those had been the days.

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The young mother followed, listening to her old friend talk. Nothing she could use so far.

"How do you raise a space magician?" She asked suddenly, "Corrin, he- well, he's one of you. His blood tests... im scared keter."

She was almost babbling. Taking faster than she needed to. Little corrin seemed to sense his mother's distress and babbled something into her shoulder.

"I dunno what ta do with him. They take kids. Those Jedi. Sith too. You got 'em too. Force kids. How do you keep em safe? "

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

He pased and turned to face the woman, glancing at the child in her arms. He hadn't realized. he was somewhat dull when it came to sensing the Force. Just one of those things. The blond sighed and shook his head. "We kept them safe simply becuase Feena was a Jedi Council member. The Order didn't dare take them from her," he shrugged. "Of course, there is also the chance that no one realized they were sensiitve. After all, my girls grew up here - and no one comes here." That was certianly true. "Or maybe they didn't sense them becuase they were always around me or Feena - think of it like holding a candle next to a lighthouse," Keter explained, wincing at his antiquated example, but hoping it would let Zandra know what he was thinking.

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The new mother hugged her child closer than ever, ignoring the way his little hands tugged at her hair. It was hopeless then. They didn't live in a place like Imerria where people would actively avoid. Neither her nor Cal were influential. And they weren't magicians either, like Keter and his wife.

"What do I do, then?" she asked, "Is it hopeless?"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter rubbed the back of his neck as he pondered the issue. "Well, nothing is hopeless. I mean, the obvious answer is that you ahve nothing to worry about. I take it you haven't settled down anywhere and are still blitzing your way through the galaxy?" the blond asked,s miling slightly.

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra was a little less than amused. Why did he think this was a joke? Didn't he understand how serious this situation was? No. Of course not. He didn't need to worry about people wanting to take his children away. That powerful wife of his keeps them away. But with Zandra it was just her and Cal. What could they do if the Order came for Corrin?

"This ain't a joke," she snapped, "We're travelers. We prob'ly always will be. Safest place for Corrin would be Mandalore, I think. They never did trust Jedi. But with me bein' what I am 'n all, Cal don' think we can fool anyone for long. I've been tryin' to think where else we could go, but I got nothin'."

She tried not to sound as frustrated as she felt, but she knew he would be able to hear it. She was desperate.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"WHat I mean is," Keter quickly siad, raising his hands in defence, "was that you probably don't need to do anything." The echani were warriors, and even with a babe in her arms, Keter uspected Zandra could drop him to the floor with a well placed blow. Suppressing a wince he offered her a smile. "Come on, since you've come this far it would be remiss of me not to offer you some proper hospitality," he said, turning his back on her again and resuming walking.

"Now keep in mind the galaxy is a big place. And the Order would not take a child away from it's family against their wishes - that is not how it's done," the blond said as he headed towards the cafeteria. "And of course, the big thing is firstly realizing a child is sensitive in the first place. Simply put, unless a Jedi senses the child's potential, they are hardly going to hunt for them. There's no point. Many trust that the family will offer them to the Order once the child has grown somewhat so that they can learn to use their abilities without hurting themselves or others."

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The echani bit her lip. She hoped everything be said was true. She really wanted to think her son was safe from them. And maybe the Jedi weren't the monsters calico thought they were. But even if that was true, the Sith were not above kidnapping. And was she supposed to hide her child forever?

"But if I hide 'im... will he need training? You think he might hurt someone some day?"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"There's no way to really tell. Not all Force users do the whole telekinetic thing or lightning from fingertips. Ever hear of the Agri Corps? Jedi who have barely any Force powers at all, and so serve as farmers. Seriously," the blond pointed out as they walked down another hallway. "Most of the time, both the Jedi and Sith focus on training those already under their rule, rather than seeking out new inductees. Many come to them of their own free will after all."

He stroked his chin before glancing at Zandra. "I think the question is, would you be alright if your son chose to go to them once he is older?"

[member="Zandra Fenni"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Little Corrin blew bubbles into his mothers hair, playing with it with his little stubby fingers. The Echani didn;t seem to mind it, or if she did mind it, she said nothing and did not move to stop him. He seemed happy enough pulling at the white strands.

"When he's older, he can do what he wants," she answered almost immediately, "But nobody gunna tell me what to do with him until then. It's his life, yes, but i'm his mother. I gatta worry. It's my job."

She kissed the top of the boys head, rubbing his back protectively.

"Hows your family?" she asked suddenly, "Just you here?"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter smiled warmly at her. "You'll be fine," he said with a nod, stroking his chin as an idea occurred to him. "Tell you what. I can try to see if my wife's contacts with the Jedi are still good and get your son registered under my name. Basically, he'd be logged as my responsibility, and I would have to 'monitor' his growing powers," the blond explained, throwing in air-quotes for emphasis. "That way no one from the Jedi should bother you, at least with anything resembling official business."

They entered the dining room and Keter waved absently at one of the chair. "Feel free to take a seat. And my family? They're fine. Felicity is going through her rebellious phase, but I've got Barnabus keeping tabs on her. Her uncle Zander is also making sure she's safe, or so I hear. Feena's pretty much up all night worrying about her, and only her duties as Queen stop her storming off to find her herself," he laughed. He wasn't angry at Felicity - travelling built character, and they had taken all encessary precuations to keep their little princess safe. Besides, children needed space apart from their parents to fully grow.

Some things just couldn't be taught.

[member="Zandra Fenni"]