Residential Towers

*There was so much to take in that Roma almost couldn't process it all! Every single sight she witnessed was so unlike anything she'd seen before that she wore a constant awed expression as she followed her mother and grandfather through the white halls of the temple. The closest point-of-reference she had was the inside of the ship, with its flat floors and walls, as well as the "doors" being mostly of a similar design, but that was clearly made with different materials.

But beyond the architecture, Roma was most interested in all the people! There were so many kinds of them! Even the humans—and there were a lot of those—looked so much different from each other, all with their own hair colors and styles, skin colors, eye colors, faces, heights, and shapes! And then there were the other species; no Felucians, as far as she could tell, but there were species with similar-looking skin! While a lot of people had at least a similar shape to humans, some had their own unique shapes! She spotted a few that looked like walking insects! But the most common non-human species was, by far, the furry kind, but even these all looked so much different from each other!

They were all so fascinating! They seemed just as fascinated by her and Mama too, but mostly Mama for some reason.

Grandfather led them into what he called the "residential towers," where all inhabitants of the temple lived when not elsewhere in the temple. Fittingly, there was a lot of traffic in the area, much of it taking interest in the pair of newcomers. Once more, they seemed to be mostly fixated on Mama, but a furry, pointy-eared child—at least, Roma thought it was a child—seemed more interested in her. Noticing this, she grinned at them and released her grandfather's hand, running up to them and stopping with her hands folded in front of her.* "Hello!"

*The furry one seemed surprised; Roma even noticed their fur rippling subtly.* "H-hello," *they said back, in a slightly-gruff voice.* "A-are you new here?"

*She nodded.* "Yep! My name's Roma!"

"Kasyr," *they replied, before leaning to the side, looking around her back.* "Is that a skullblade?!"

*Roma glanced back and nodded.* "Yep! Mama taught me how to, um, infuse it!"

*Kasyr seemed genuinely impressed before briefly looking past her at her company.* "Oh, um, the Grand Master's with you, so you probably have something important to do. Will I see you again?"

*Roma started to answer before frowning and looking back at her mother and grandfather.* "Will I?"

*Both laughed, her grandfather nodding while her mother said,* "Probably!"

*Grinning, she looked back at Kasyr and said,* "Bye!" *before rejoining her family.*

"Bye! N-nice to meet you!" *Kasyr replied.

A moment later and she found herself within a "lift," a name true to its purpose as it immediately began to lift them higher up the tower. She only briefly wobbled from the sensation, but it didn't take long to get used to it. A few more moments, however, and she nearly stumbled again as it came to a stop.* "Mama, I feel dizzy..."

*Mama took her hand, the dizziness subsiding after a few seconds, as her grandfather led them to a specific door. As it slid open with a faint whooshing sound, he stepped beyond the threshold, asking,* "Who's home?"

"Hi, Dad!" *said an excited voice, belonging to a girl with wavy brown hair who came to greet him. Her smile changed to confusion when she saw his two followers, however.* "Who're—"

"Lucy... ?" *said Mama.

The girl's eyes widened.* "Morgan?!"

"Wait, our sister?" *asked another voice, belonging to a blond boy Roma only now noticed sitting on the furniture within the room. He set aside a tablet he was holding and approached them, then suddenly grimaced and turned away.* "M-maybe I shouldn't stare..."

*Mama laughed.* "Hello to you, too, Alvis..." *With a wistful tone, she added,* "You couldn't even speak at all last time I saw you..."

*This made him turn back around, seemingly surprise by this. Glancing around, Morgan noticed the woman in the room with curly, sandy-colored hair, who also stared at Morgan in shock, though seemed hesitant to approach. Another whooshing sound, this time in front of them, revealed a third, blond female, who was not quite adult but nor quite a child. With wide green eyes she approached; despite seeming younger than Mama, she was slightly taller.*

"Hey, Mina," *said Mama.* "Still don't talk much?"

*Mina opened her mouth as though to say something, closed it, grinned, shook her head, and then embraced Mama, who returned it. When they released each other, Mama looked over at the woman and said,* "Hey, Mom."

*Eyes widening, Roma stepped forward and said,* "You're my grandmother!"

*The woman didn't immediately react to this statement other than to stare at the child. Finally, she smiled and nodded.* "I am, s-sweetie."

"Morgan had a kid?!" *Lucy asked incredulously, staring at Roma..*

*Ignoring her, the woman finally came closer, the hesitance slowly vanishing, before she knelt down in front of Roma and asked,* "What's your name?"

"Roma!" *she replied, before embracing her the same way she had her grandfather.*

"Oh!" *the woman said in surprise before returning the embrace.

Looking at Mama, Mina asked,* "How?"

*Mama grinned.* "What, was Dad too scared to give you that talk, too?"

"Hey now," *said Grandfather,* "I got better at it."

*With a small smile, Mina shook her head.* "Father?"

*Looking between the two, Mama sighed.* "I'll... tell you later."

*Roma frowned, wondering why Mama didn't want to tell them that story, but once again the whooshing noise drew her attention. This time it was the very door they entered, and another blond-haired woman appeared.* "I knew it!"

"Michelle!" *Mama exclaimed before they embraced.

After a moment, Michelle released Mama before asking,* "What took you so long?!"

*Mama didn't answer.

Glancing down at Roma, Michelle nodded to her and asked,* "That your kid?"

"You're a great aunt, now,"

*Michelle tilted her head back as though a blow had been struck.* "Oh, just turn all my hairs gray already, will you?" *Releasing Mama, she knelt down before Roma and said,* "Hey there cutie! What's your name?"

"Roma," *said Lucy.

Michelle mock-pouted at the other girl.* "Thanks, Luce." *Looking back at Roma, she asked,* "How old are you?"

"I'm six!" *Roma replied proudly.

Michelle smiled.* "You even sound like your mom... Well, like she said, I'm your great aunt. Your grandfather's sister. Though really, Morgan and I were so close in age it was more like we were sisters. So... just call me your aunt, okay?" *She winked at Roma with a grin.*

"At least you're not the old man," *Grandfather teased.*

"Yeah, well... Yeah."

"Hey!" *he replied, before sharing in laughter.

Looking at Mama, Michelle asked,* "Get your own place yet?"

*Mama shook her head.* "We literally just got here."

"I'll take care of it," *Grandfather replied.* "I... may have specifically requested the adjacent quarters be left available."

*Mama smiled at him for a moment before asking,* "How's Laney? And the others."

"They're getting along fine. I think I'll leave further explanation to them." *Noticing her look, he quickly added,* "Nothing bad! They're all fine. They just... miss you, you know."

*Mama's mouth trembled and she turned towards the door.* "I should go now—"

"Don't," *said Grandfather.* "We missed you too. And besides... we should probably get you both something to wear."

*Michelle laughed.* "That habit didn't change!"

*Mama sighed and walked further into the room, removing her bow, quiver, and whip before plopping down on the furniture.* "Fair enough... I bet she's probably already looking for me anyway."

"I mean, I did!" *said Michelle as she sat down next to her.* "I may have left a Padawan with a training droid to come see you, but I did!"

"You did what?" *asked Grandfather, standing by one of the single-person seats.

Michelle spread her arms defensively.* "Look, Morgan's back, okay? I considered it more important! I told him I'd be back!"

*Grandfather rolled his eyes then shrugged as Roma climbed up onto Mama's lap. Mama responded by removing her bow and arrow from over her shoulders and setting them by her own weapons, then holding her against her.* "Better get used to this, Roma, it happens all the time."

*Mama sounded exasperated, but it must have been a joke. Roma had felt nothing but love and energy from this small family the moment they began talking, and it had only escalated as soon as Michelle had arrived. If this was family, if this was truly what a home was like, then she'd happily "get used to this."*

*It was almost ironic, the intrusion by Jair. Not like one more "witness" truly mattered, other than the fact Aerandir expected there to be no more in a private home. It wasn't even that aspect that truly bothered Aerandir, but he still stepped between Jair's view and Morgan—even if the former was already diverting his attention.* "Mina, take Morgan to your room, I'm sure you'll have something that fits her."

*Mina nodded and gestured for Morgan to follow, who did so while leading along Roma by the hand, even as the little girl asked,* "What's he sorry for? Did he do something bad?"

*When Mina's bedroom door slid closed behind them, Aerandir took a step back and sighed, a slight smirk on his face.* "Most people knock, Jair."

"Hi, Jair!" *said Lucy with a wave.

Her brother instead bowed, greeting,* "Hello, Jedi Crawford."

"Thanks," *was all Aerandir said as he took the datapad, glanced over it, then lowered it as Jair asked how everyone was doing. Glancing over his shoulder at the closed door, he said,* "Well a lot better now, that's for sure. I'm sure she'd love to say hi just as soon as she's dressed." *He raised an eyebrow.* "You won't believe who the kid is."

*Aerandir started to answer, paused a moment, then closed his mouth. His initially-planned answer repeated in his mind, as he was still finding the truth hadn't fully set in yet. Finally, with a small grin, he said,* "What if I told you I'm a grandfather?"

"I don't know yet. She only now just came back to us." *Despite how overjoyed he was at his daughter's return, he couldn't help but sigh still.* "Been too long... there's a lot to catch up on, but I didn't want to bombard her with questions all at once." *Glancing down at the datapad and looking at Jair again, he asked,* "Something you needed? I can tell this—" *He indicated the datapad.* "—wasn't all you came for."

*Aerandir frowned; long-awaited reunion or not, he didn't have the heart to ignore a friend in need.* "Well if you want to talk—" *Beeping from his own datapad interrupted him, and he barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes. Aerandir was a diligent man, but a father first and foremost, and he'd be damned if his attention was needed just after his daughter had returned home.* "One second," *he told Jair with an upheld finger before pulling the datapad from his pocket and stepping aside.* "Go ahead."

*The message was from Culex, who said,* "It's that Riddick guy. Looking for a landing. Didn't know if— Oh for code's sakes. It's been like thirty seconds, keep your pants on. Unless you're not wearing pants, in which case, please put some on. Unless you prefer skirts. Point being, there's additional steps I'm dealing with. ... sorry, that was for him, he seems impatient. Anyway, didn't know if you were interested, after... ya know."

*Truth be told, Culex was absolutely right. At the same time, it would be an ample moment to address it... but his eyes found the door through which Morgan—and her daughter, his granddaughter—had gone. It would happen, but not yet.* "Let him land, send someone to meet with him, but let him wait, if he wants a meeting with me. Something more important requires my attention at the moment."

"Understood, doing the thing."

*As Culex ended the conversation, Aerandir slipped the datapad away and approached Jair again.* "Sorry about that. Anyway, I mean it, if you want to talk, say the word."

*The raid... that felt like so long ago, now. The damage done had honestly been minor, all things considered, and the temple they now stood in was proof that the event had only made them stronger. No, the true damage done had been the loss of Morgan; the raid on the base had been partially responsible for her self-exile, and he knew it.

But she was home now. Apart from that, he was supposed to be listening to Jair explain his dreams. When the door behind him opened, however, he couldn't help but look over his shoulder as Mina, Morgan, and Roma reappeared. Morgan donned one of the very few dresses Mina wore, though it still seemed slightly big on her; a sight that was both amusing and heartwarming, that even as an adult Morgan was outgrown by her younger siblings. It wasn't nearly as over-sized as the tan t-shirt draped over Roma. While it sagged off one shoulder, it certainly was effective as a covering, though the girl seemed to be constantly examining her new trappings curiously.

He returned his attention to Jair as he concluded his words, speaking of an "ethereal" plane rife with the dark side. A place Jair couldn't be sure was a memory.* "A vision, perhaps?"

*Aerandir cupped his chin thoughtfully, knowing better than to doubt Jair's feelings on the matter. Looking back up, he asked,* "Weren't you with someone when this happened? Any chance they might know something?"