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| - Jacida was born two minutes and eighteen seconds before her brother Devida. The two were just as much alike as they were different. Dianna and Terran could not have been happier to have the two, they could tell that the two were going to be inseparable. As the years past and the newborns became ever growing toddlers, Terran decided that he needed to move his family. He was being offered a Diplomatic position that he could not pass up. The money and happiness that it would bring his family was just too much. Having taken his position with the Senate, Terran now rarely saw his family, but when he did he made the most of it. It was clear that his children loved him and now at five, they would be starting school in a few months. He would have to find a way to work out that schedule as well. Dianna wanted to home school her children, but Terran insisted that they be put in public school. Since the two were determined to get their own way, a compromise was made and Jacida and Devida were placed in private school. The two would hate it, but get through it with each other’s help, and get into trouble with each other’s help. As they finished their 4th grade year, Jacida began to act differently, make people feel differently and Devida was the most influenced by her. While it was normal for Zeltrons to be able to project emotions, it was becoming clear to Dianna that her daughters empathy was going to develop far beyond what they had expected. As they grew older, the two children became inseparable tweens, and the moment that Devida would start to feel down, his sister would be there as quick as time would allow and he would be smiling again. Everyone had expected them to have a connection of sorts, for crying out loud, they were twins....but what they had went beyond that. One summer, Jacida was sent to Zeltros to visit with parents and a tutor that would help her hone in on her abilities. That summer was the most devastating for the family, more so for Jacida than anyone would have thought. They were four weeks into summer, Jacida and Devida had been keeping in contact with each other as best they could. They spoke daily, but one day turned out a bit different. In the middle of her training, Jacida lost all focus and immediately the room was filled with dread, sorrow and pain. The dog began to wine, the plants began to wilt as if the life had been sucked out of them. Jacida screamed and curled into a ball, yelling her brother’s name, the pain eventually became to much to bear and she passed out. Immediately Mariphe took her to his shuttle and carried her home. Her parents were not at all amazed to see her there, they knew she would be there shortly. Jacida though wanted nothing to do with them, she wanted to see her brother. She yelled at them to take her to the hospital, to take her to see him, told them that she could fix him....Terran shook his head. “You talk like he is already DEAD!!! He isn’t, trust me on that. I can help him, I can ease his pain, make him strong so the doctors can do what they need to. For once TRUST me!! For once let me do what I do!!” “She’s only 12 Terran.” They turned to Mariphe and he nodded letting them know that she was ready, that they had to let her try to what she could. He turned to her and held her head in his hands. He told her that she was going to have to be exceptionally strong with Devida, that she would not be able to shed a tear, show him weakness or fear, not even feel them. Jacida nodded and dried her tears, putting her shoulders back, she straightened her hair and walked towards the door waiting for her parents to follow. On the way to the hospital, she took deep breaths, calmed her senses and filled her head with joyful thoughts of their childhoood thus far. She sat with him for the better part of two weeks. The doctors were amazed at his progress but she was still only prolonging the inevitable. She knew that she was going to lose the closest person to her in the world, but she had to do what she could to make it as good as possible for him. He was smiling and laughing, strong enough to go through treatments that gave him the best chance of survival, but proved to be nowhere near as helpful as they had all hoped and prayed for. When he passed, Jacida escaped into her mind, she shut everyone out and did nothing but train. She felt as if she had failed even though she had succeeded in areas that the doctors could have only dreamed of. Mariphe took her parents aside and spoke to them about options for helping Jacida to cope but they wanted to hear nothing of it cause they had just lost one child and refused to lose another. As the years passed, Jacida became more and more independent, lonely and introverted. She cared for no one else and wanted no one to care for her. She pushed friends away, pushed family away and even started asking to go away for every school break to train and be tutored by Mariphe. By the time she was into her late teens, Jacida was a stranger to her parents and what few friends had tried to stay close to her. This time when she came home, Mariphe told her parents that they had no choice, her talents were beyond his training capabilities and if they had any hopes on a future with their child, they were going to have to let her go before she was old enough to leave them all together. After much convincing from Mariphe, Terran and Dianna agreed. A few weeks later, Mariphe took Jacida from her home, with hopes that she would be accepted even at her age, which he knew was extremely rare. Only time and Jacida would tell.
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