Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoy the first chapter.

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Earth; Seattle, Washington; 2242

"Don't go too far, sweetheart."

"I won't!"

Roksana smiled as her daughter Laken chased butterflies by the edge of the lake. It was so easy to feel happy when she looked at the child, as it had been since she was born ten years earlier. There were some exceptions, of course. Her eldest daughter Abilene had disappeared when Laken was five, and to this day, Roksana didn't understand why. She'd left her home planet of Ryos when Abilene was one, hoping to make a better life for them both. It wasn't that her first husband was cruel, but he expected her to always stay in the home while he worked in interior design. So one day, she simply took the infant to Earth and never looked back.

But still, why would she…?

Even after Laken was born to her and Jack, the love of her life, Roksana didn't show Abilene any less attention. The young Ryosian was loved, and never wanted for anything. Despite all this, not long after she turned twenty-two, Abilene was gone without a trace. And after all this time, Roksana had no inkling of where she might have gone. The Ryosian High Powers had no record of the young woman landing on the planet, nor had the Human officials found her. If Abilene were dead, her mother surely would have felt their bond break. But it hadn't…not yet. Until it did, she would hold onto her hopes that wherever her firstborn was, she was safe.

Still, Roksana was able to find happiness through her Human husband and their daughter, who was a wonderful mix of them both. There were the physical features, of course. Ryosians were almost Human at a glance, save for the colored bands lining their bottom eyelids. Each individual was different, and children's bands depended on the colors of their parents'. While Jack wasn't a Ryosian, his blue eyes combined with Roksana's yellow bands resulted in Laken's eyes being lined with a light green color. The girl had also gotten her mother's curly red hair, along with her love of music. They would often dance in the living room to all sorts of songs, including various classical pieces from the distant past. Laken inherited her intense love of exploring from her father, who enjoyed hiking whenever he wasn't working in the nearby archives. She was such a fascinating little girl, and somehow, Roksana was able to use her love for one child to deal with grieving the loss of the other one.

"Excuse me, miss, do I know you?"

Roksana turned around from where she was sitting, immediately standing at the sight of her husband. A rush of joy propelled her into his arms.

"Are you looking forward to your birthday dinner tonight?"

"Oh, don't remind me."

Jack was somewhat sensitive regarding his age, though he was only thirty-five. But Roksana figured the real reason was that he knew he wouldn't live as long as she would. Most Ryosians usually lived to be at least two hundred years old, and she was only forty-seven. But most wouldn't realize this. Ryosians all stopped physically aging between thirteen and eighty Earth years, and by a funny coincidence, Roksana was thirty-five when she stopped aging. Her husband had caught up to her.

"No worries," she told him, kissing the tip of his nose. "I'll always love you, no matter how old you get."

"Daddy!"

"Oh, there's my girl!" Jack lifted Laken into his arms with a cheerful laugh, forgetting his insecurities. "You remember what tonight is, right?"

"Mom's taking you to celebrate your birthday."

"Exactly. We won't be too late getting back, but you'll be good while we're gone?"

"Yes."

"Which means…"

"I'll brush my teeth and be in bed by eight on the dot."

"That's right. We'll make sure to come in and kiss you when we're back."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

The three of them took one last look at the lake and headed back to their humble abode.

OOOOOOOOOO

"What's the matter, Rok?"

"Oh," the woman scoffed, looking out the shuttlecraft window. "You know I hate it when you call me that."

"No, really." Jack came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. "Something's wrong."

"I was just thinking of Abilene today."

"Sweetheart. You can't keep beating yourself up. I miss her too, but…I don't know. Some things can't be explained."

"Well, most telepaths aren't used to that."

"I know. Is there anything I can do to make it better?"

"Keep being you." Roksana turned around in his arms, looping hers around his neck. "I wouldn't have survived without your support."

"You're stronger than you know, Roksana."

"We're stronger together."

They went in for a kiss, but were quickly ripped apart when the shuttlecraft took a dive.

"Take evasive ac—"

The loudspeaker was cut off by a piercing bang. Jack saw a fiery flash from the corner of his eye, and though she instinctively knew all was about to end, Roksana vainly held onto her inner bonds with every bit of her strength.

Abilene…Laken—

OOOOOOOOOOO

The redheaded girl suddenly sat up in bed, pulling her stuffed dog Fluffy to her chest. She hadn't heard anything, but an unsettling feeling had rippled down her spine. It felt as though something had snapped like a worn-out rubber band. Though her parents' rules about staying up late were prominent in her mind, Laken shakily scrambled to her feet, put on her slippers, and wandered to the kitchen. The clock said it was almost eleven.

That's late. Are they still at dinner?

She turned on the small screen by the gas stove, fumbling for something that would take the anxiety away. But what she saw on the screen had the entirely opposite effect.

"…a fatal collision of two shuttlecrafts that occurred earlier this evening. There were no survivors from either vehicle, and authorities are still trying to identify any passengers. So far, we have obtained records that a local married couple was aboard one of the crafts. The names: Roksana and Jack Naftali."

Laken didn't let herself take in the newswoman's words, but when pictures of her parents showed up in front of the footage of the wreckage, something fell apart.

Their ID photos…

She pulled Fluffy even closer, feeling her whole essence cave in. Not even bothering to turn off the screen, Laken backed into the living room. Her blue eyes darted around, trying to focus on anything but the truth. A picture of her sister soon entered her vision. She remembered the day Abilene vanished, just as (like all other Ryosians) she remembered every second of her life since her moment of birth. She remembered her mother's smile upon glancing at another nearby picture, along with the sound of her father's laugh. Things she would never see or hear again…

Without thinking, she ran out the front door of her apartment, scurried down the stairs, and propelled herself into the night. It was raining now, but she didn't care. All she could do was run, clutching the dog to her heart. She didn't notice when she finally stopped around a familiar broken-down corner. Her vision had darkened, making it difficult to see the streetlights. Laken knew what was happening to her, but she welcomed it at this point. Ryosians were susceptible to extreme sadness, and without someone to support them, they could slip into a grief trance. If another Ryosian, or at least a being with telepathic powers, couldn't bring them out of the trance within three weeks, they would literally drown in the darkness of their own heartbreak. The child's last conscious thought was of her parents, and how she would soon be with them again.

OOOOOOOOOO

Amanda Grayson fastened the cloak around her shoulders as she stepped out onto the street. It was hard to get used to Vulcan clothing again, but her two-week visit with her aunt and cousins had to end at some point. Besides, she longed to be reunited with the husband and son that awaited her on the far-away planet. The older woman wondered if she would find a shuttlecraft nearby that would take her to the Vulcan-bound ship, but something suddenly distracted her.

A young girl was sitting on a crate just around the corner. She seemed to be clutching a stuffed animal, but otherwise, there was no sign of consciousness. Amanda tentatively wandered over and knelt in front of the child.

"Honey, where's your mom and dad?" No response. "Sweetie?"

She went to take the child's shoulder, but she soon noticed that her irises and pupils were completely green, just like the lines beneath the small eyes.

"Noticed, huh?"

Amanda turned around to see a boy going through the trash.

"What?"

"That kid's parents burned up or something. Officers say they've been looking for her for two weeks, but you're the first that's actually stopped to look at her. I'd have told them, but…just looks so sad, doesn't she?"

The woman wondered why she hadn't heard of this, but then again, her aunt didn't believe in staring at screens all day.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I dunno, some sort of misery trance. Heard somewhere that only aliens with mind powers can wake them, or they'll die."

Realizing the planetary origin of the child, Amanda's heart ached as she stared down at her.

She can't be any older than Spock, probably younger. Poor thing…

"Lady, unless you're a mind-reader, you probably can't help."

For the next several moments, Amanda battled with herself. There might've been other beings like this girl on Earth at the moment, beings that could fix her condition, but she felt personally responsible for her. Whoever this little one was, she no longer had a mother or a father. If the same thing were to happen to her own son…she couldn't even fathom it. With that knowledge in mind, the choice quickly became clear.

"No, I can't help her. But I know someone who can."

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