A Shadow at Dusk

Chapter 7

"What the hell kind of game do you think you're playing, Talon Karrde?" Shada snarled.

Talon glanced through the open doorway of the cabin and was relieved to see that Enee was some distance away. She had seemed so excited about them staying in her parents' cabin that he didn't want her to know that they weren't as pleased about it as she was.

"I had no idea that they were going to do this, Shada," he explained patiently, going over to the door and closing it. It wasn't any need to broadcast their...eh...discussion to the entire village.

She gave him her patented 'I don't believe you' glare. Shada had what could be called a fiery temper. He had witnessed it on many occasions, and even had it directed at him a time or two. But it was the type that started at a flashpoint and then settled down to a slow burn. If he could just hang on through the explosion, he probably wouldn't suffer too much damage.

"Look, I didn't have a clue." He put up his hands in the universal sign of innocence and shrugged. "Skywalker and I were staying in a small hut on the other side of the village. I didn't know they planned to move us."

"And they just decided on their own to pair us off together?" Shada asked acerbically. She went over to the small table in the center of the room and put down the basket of foodstuffs that Enee had given her.

He took a step toward her, but she shot him a fierce glare and he stopped. He sighed. "Shada, Vashi knew that Skywalker's wife was coming...I suppose he just assumed that you...eh...that you were my wife."

"Your woman, you mean," Shada corrected him, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He shook his head. "It doesn't mean anything. It's just the way they speak." He took another cautious step toward her. "Shada, if I wanted to get you in bed with me, I think I would be a little more subtle than this," he tried to joke.

A dark eyebrow lifted sardonically. "Oh, like that kiss out there?"

Talon couldn't help it. A faint tinge of color appeared on his cheekbones. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I was just glad to see you."

Now it was Shada's turn to be uncomfortable, and she turned away. She and Talon had worked together closely for almost two years. They traveled together on his many business trips and even when they had been on Coruscant for the seemingly endless meetings with the New Republic governmental hierarchy, they had still spent an inordinately large amount of time with one another. Yet, there had never been any ... affection between them. Shada couldn't even remember anything as simple as a hug when they had greeted each other after an absence. And now, for him to kiss her like that, not a little peck on the check as a welcome, but a kiss, a real kiss... A kiss that left her totally confused.

Seeing Shada lost in her thoughts, Talon took the opportunity to look about the cabin that Enee had given them. It was considerably larger than the one that he and Skywalker had been in, although it was still a single room. However, a small wall that didn't reach all the way to the ceiling ran about three-quarters the length of the room. He wondered briefly what it concealed.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Shada asked, breaking the silence.

She had turned to face him again, and he got caught up in just looking at her. She really was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, and it brought to mind the first time that he saw her. It had been ten years before at the Whistler's Whirlpool tapcafe on Trogan where Talon had met with several different smuggling lords in an attempt to form an alliance to resist the new threat posed by Grand Admiral Thrawn.

She had been with the smuggler Mazzic, and Talon had thought for a while that she was Mazzic's new girlfriend. He learned later that it wasn't so, that she was a professional bodyguard who had worked for Mazzic for some time. She wore a red and silver dress that day, tight and sleek, fitting her lithe body like a glove. It was short, leaving her long, shapely legs exposed and Talon had had real difficulty keeping his mind on business every time his eyes wandered in her direction. Her gorgeous dark hair had been piled on her head in rows of plaitlets that were held together by half a dozen large enameled needles.

Talon smiled faintly, remembering how she had slung those needles with deadly accuracy into the throats of several of the stormtroopers who had made the unwise decision to interrupt their meeting that day.

"Well?" Shada asked again, breaking into his reverie.

"Well what?" he asked, trying to regain the course of the conversation.

"I asked you what we were going to do about our accommodations. I'm not staying here with you, Talon. You need to ask them for another cabin." She spoke determinedly, but stared at him curiously, wondering what he had been so lost in thought about.

Talon looked at her for a moment and then shocked her by shaking his head. "No, I think we need to let it stay as it is."

Shada's mouth dropped open, then she sucked in a sharp breath. "If you think I'm going to live with you here..."

Talon lifted his hand. "Just wait and hear me out."

Shada fought down an urge to flatten him like an insectoid on a landspeeder windshield. Sometimes he just drove her insane with that calm, detached attitude of his. Always reasonable, always practical, always...infuriating! And he usually did it when she was feeling her most irascible.

He came over to her and took her elbow in his hand. "Let's sit down. We need to talk." He led her over to the side of the room where a wooden bench ran the length of the wall.

They sat down and Shada slid an arm's length away from him along the bench's surface. He gave her a sideways glance, but didn't say anything. There had never been anything between them that should cause Shada to have to worry about his intentions toward her, but that kiss had certainly raised a new area of contention. He sighed. "I know you're not happy with this situation, but it's the way things need to be."

Shada moved impatiently and opened her mouth again, but he cut her off. "You see, Shada, there is a good chance you're going to become very ill. In fact, it's more than a good chance, it's almost a certainty."

"How can you be so sure? I know that a disease has been ravaging the planet, but what makes you think I'll get sick?" she asked doubtfully.

"It happened to me, to Skywalker, to everyone in this village that has...had reached maturity." He thoughtfully scratched his neatly trimmed beard and then told her solemnly, "Most of these people have died, Shada."

She stiffened, watching him closely.

"Someone needs to be with you at all times," Talon said softly. "The disease is caused by spores that invade your body. We're not exactly sure yet how they do, but once they're there, they attack without warning. One moment you're fine, the next, you're extremely ill. You'll need someone to watch over and care for you. And that someone needs to be me."

"But surely, Mara and I could stay together and watch..." Shada began.

Talon laughed. "I don't think so, Shada. Mara may consider you a good friend, but she's not going to want to share a cabin with you when her husband is around. In fact, I doubt that you could stick a sheet of flimsiplast between them at this very moment!"

Shada fought the color that wanted to rise in her cheeks, but she admitted he was probably right. "I know. She's been worried sick about him. They deserve some time together alone. But Talon, we don't have to stay together...in this hut," Shada insisted. "You can check on me in the mornings and..."

She trailed off when she saw him shaking his head. "You don't understand," he told her. "I must know the moment you fall ill. What if you became sick during the night? It would be hours before I found you. No, I need to be here, with you, at all times." He decided to inflict a little guilt between friends on her. "Shada, you know you can trust me...when have I ever given you any reason not to?"

Her anger at his earlier liberty was still fresh in her and shaded the trust that she otherwise would have felt. So, she didn't buy it for a minute. "It's all just a bit too convenient, don't you think, Talon?" She stood up from the bench and walked back to the table. She turned and looked at him, resting her hands and her slim hips against the side of the table. "I don't know exactly what you're up to here, but I think you know me well enough to know that I won't put up with any ... silliness," she finished, her gray eyes pinning him to the bench.

He drew in a deep breath, not all that surprised that she was reacting this way. Sith, he had never made any ...eh... romantic overtures toward her, and then to just grab her and kiss her like that. No wonder she was viewing the whole situation with suspicion. "I've never lied to you, Shada, you know that," he told her softly. "Like I said before, I would appreciate it if you'd just trust me on this."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, then Talon stood, walking over to the door. "Why don't I show you around the village? I think then you'll understand more about what we've been up against here."

Shada nodded reluctantly and followed him out the door. They walked in silence until they came to the huge communal hut in the center of the village. Talon stood aside and motioned for Shada to go in.

The room inside was huge, the carved trunks of whole trees interconnecting as enormous rafters. Along the rounded sides were rows of cots, many of them empty, but a few still occupied a few young adults.

Talon walked over to a young man, about eighteen, lying in the first cot. He was propped up with a small stack of pillows behind his back and was eating a piece of fruit with which Shada wasn't familiar.

"Well, Yannis, you're looking much better today," Talon told the young man who grinned up at him.

"Yes, I am very well, Talon Karrde. Master says I should be fine soon."

Talon nodded and patted the young man on the shoulder. Luke probably wanted to keep the boy in the communal hut for another day or so just to watch for any reoccurrence of the spores.

"Are they all so young?" Shada asked, glancing around at the other occupants.

Talon face twisted into a slight grimace. "Actually, you're looking at some of the oldest people in the village at the moment."

Shada looked at him in shock.

"The adults are all gone," Talon continued, rubbing the tight muscles in the back of his neck. "Have been for several months now. When Skywalker and I arrived here the last of them was very ill. Even with his Jedi skills, Luke couldn't save them all; there were just too many."

"And these...these children are operating this village?" Shada asked. She couldn't believe it as she glanced around the hut, but things were running smoothly, efficiently, no one seemed to be wasting time or effort.

"Yes, children are very adaptable I've learned," Talon said, taking her arm and turning her toward the door again. "And if they have good leadership, they can function quite well, at least to their abilities."

"Vashi and Enee?" she asked, stepping with him out into the late afternoon sun.

"They are two truly remarkable young people." Talon turned to her enthusiastically. "They're not even the oldest in the village, but they have been trained since their births to be leaders. It's the tradition here, quite like royalty in the rest of the galaxy."

Shada smiled slightly at his eagerness. Sometimes when he became enthused about something, he reminded her of a young boy excited over presents on Life Day. "I've noticed that they seem quite capable."

"Yes, Vashi has constantly amazed me since I have been here. He's a fine, fine young man. I'd be proud to have a son like him someday."

Talon wasn't looking at her when he spoke, but in a rather odd way, Shada felt the words were directed at her. She glanced down, suddenly interested at the dirt road under her feet. He had never mentioned wanting a family before to her. What had come over him since he had been on this planet?

They walked along the street for a while, Talon pointing out the different styles in the huts and cabins and explaining that the social status of the occupant determined how the huts were built.

As they turned a corner, they saw Vashi at the huge communal well.

"Vashi," Talon called and strolled over to him, with Shada trailing in his wake.

"Hello, Talon Karrde," Vashi said and then inclined his head to Shada who smiled in return. "I hope you found your new hut to your liking?"

"It's very nice, Vashi," Talon answered, and then raised his eyebrow at the boy. "But wasn't that Enee's parents' hut? We wouldn't want to upset her by staying there."

"You're not, Talon Karrde," Vashi assured him. "It was her wish that you and your wom..wife stay there. You have pleased her very much."

Shada had drawn in a deep breath again at the mention of Talon's wife, but without looking at her, Talon casually took her hand in his and squeezed it gently in warning. She subsided, though he could still sense her resentment.

"Then we're happy, too," Talon said. "Please tell her for us."

"I will," Vashi nodded.

Talon turned and looked back at the communal hut. "Have the Master and his wife seen the patients this evening?"

Vashi shook his head. "Master checked them just before your women arrived. He and his woman have not come out of their hut since they first went in." Vashi's smile widened and he murmured, "Master was very glad to see his woman." Vashi seemed to have momentarily forgotten the word, wife, and he looked at Talon and Shada as if he were wondering why they hadn't stay in their cabin also.

A muscle in Shada's jaw jumped and she pulled on her hand, but Talon only tightened his grip, taking her hand and putting it onto his arm. "I think that we're going to retire for the night too," he told Vashi calmly. "It's been a long and eventful day."

It wasn't even quite dark yet, but Vashi nodded politely and turned back to his work.

There was an uneasy silence between them as Talon and Shada walked down the main thoroughfare of the village. As soon as they were some distance from Vashi, Shada pulled her hand from Talon's arm. He glanced at her, but she stared ahead resolutely.

Twilight had descended on the village, and the light was fading fast. Talon sighed and glanced over at her again as she walked quietly by his side. The evening light caressed the angled planes of her face and he thought again what a truly beautiful woman she was.

Suddenly, a small form darted out from a hut and attached itself to one of Talon's legs. He never missed a step, though a smile began to play about his wide mouth.

Shada glanced down in complete surprise, only to meet the biggest pair of brown eyes she had ever seen on a child. The little girl, about three years old, wrapped her arms tightly about Talon's leg and let her tiny rear rest on the top of his foot. She giggled continually as Talon walked and called out happily, "Tawon Karrt! Tawon Karrt!"

"I say, Shada," Talon began, a little louder than normal. "I must be more tired than I thought. My legs are feeling very heavy for some reason."

Although still annoyed with him, Shada caught his laughing eye and decided to reply teasingly, "Really? I can't imagine why." She had to admit that she was astonished at him. She couldn't recall seeing Talon around children very much. Once or twice, they had attended gatherings where the Solo children had been, but Shada couldn't remember much interaction between Talon and them. But he was obviously enjoying himself with this child and was accustomed to her rather unusual mode of transportation.

Talon suddenly stopped, patting his hand down his sinewy thigh until it landed on the child's head. "What?" he gasped. "What could this be sitting on my foot?"

The child convulsed with laughter, hugging his leg tightly. "Tawon Karrt!" she screamed again.

Talon leaned down and pulled the child up to him, where she locked her thin little arms around his neck. "And how are you today, little Roza?" he asked, nuzzling his face against her fine, silky blonde hair.

She grabbed him by the hair and gave him a smacking kiss on his cheek. Giggling loudly, she turned in his arms to peer curiously at Shada. "Woman?" she asked.

Shada stifled the impulse to roll her eyes. That word again! She had just about heard it enough! But she smiled at the child and said, "Hello, Roza."

The child beamed happily at her and Talon said, "Roza, this is Shada."

"Shaaaydaaa," the child repeated, drawing the name out in long syllables. "Pretty," she pronounced.

Talon was watching Shada and he murmured softly, "Yes, she is, isn't she?"

It was one of those moments when time seemed to literally stand still, and they stared at each other over the child's head. Talon finally opened his mouth to say something when a voice called out from behind them, "Roza? Roza? Where are you?"

With one final long look at Shada who couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from his, Talon turned and called, "Enee? Over here. I have her."

Enee hurried over to them, wiping her hands on a small rag. She had been in the midst of preparing the evening meal. "I'm sorry, Talon Karrde. Adah said she just darted off again."

The child held out her arms to Enee and Talon handed her over. "Roza, you mustn't run away from Adah," Talon told her firmly. Adah was one of the girls in the village. Only eighteen, she had been very ill when they first arrived but Luke had managed to clean the spores from her body quite quickly. There were a number of smaller children in the village and once she had regained her health, Adah had taken to watching over the children while the others worked. But Roza was a problem, prone to dart off as soon as Adah's back was turned.

"Tawon Karrt," the child whispered, grinning again. "No run away."

He touched a finger to Roza's cheek, caressing it gently. "That's good. You must be a good girl and stay with Adah now."

The child nodded happily and then buried her face in Enee's neck. Enee laughed and then looked up at Talon. "We are almost ready with our evening meal. Would you and ...eh..."

"Shada," Shada said quickly before the dreaded word, 'woman' sounded again.

Enee smiled at her and repeated, "Shada. Would you like to join us?"

Talon glanced at Shada who just lifted an eyebrow, letting him make the decision and he turned back to Enee. "I hope you won't mind, Enee, but I think we'll prepare a meal in our hut tonight. We're both a little tired."

Enee glanced from one to the other and smiled faintly. "Of course. We will see you in the morning then."

She was about to turn away, when Talon stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Enee?"

"Yes?"

"Shada and I would like to thank you for the use of your parents' hut. That is extremely kind of you," Talon told her.

Enee smiled. "I wanted you to have it. My parents would have been pleased."

Talon squeezed her arm, and she turned and left, gently scolding Roza again for running away.

****************

Luke came up from one last drowning wave of passion and slowly slid off Mara to the side, pulling her with him until her head lay on his chest.

They lay gasping, trying to take in big gulps of oxygen. "Sith, Luke, maybe I should let you go off for a couple of weeks more often," Mara finally murmured, her heart still pounding heavily in her chest.

Luke nuzzled his face against hers until he could find her mouth and covered it with his, kissing her long and deeply. He groaned deep in his throat and eased her to the side so that they lay facing one another. They kissed for a long time, until finally Luke pulled away, pressing her face against his throat and resting his chin on her head.

"I've missed you so much, Mara," he whispered, sliding a hand along her slim hip.

She chuckled weakly, her breath warming his throat. "Obviously, Farmboy."

He pressed an open-mouth kiss to her forehead and they lay there, simply holding one another for quite some time.

"I'm so glad you're here, Mara," Luke finally whispered. "I'm feeling a bit guilty, though."

"Why guilty?" Mara asked drowsily. She was very close to falling asleep.

In a low, soft voice, Luke told her of the disease and what it had done to the planet. He explained that she and Shada would probably be feeling the effects of it within the next few days, if not sooner, and how to prepare herself to deal with it.

"So, it's relatively easy to find these spores within the body?" Mara asked quietly.

"Yes, they're quite open, and no problem to eliminate. Just a little squeeze and they're gone," Luke assured her.

"What's the symptoms?"

"Headaches, dizziness, nausea...those are the preliminaries. Then, if the spores aren't caught soon enough, the pain will start. It's severe and crippling."

"Oh, joy," Mara mused, gathering the Force to her and running a quick check through her body.

Luke grinned. "You don't have to do that. I already have. Twice since you've been here; the last time only a few moments ago."

Mara pulled back to look into his earnest blue eyes. "Did you find any?"

He nodded. "A few, but they didn't have a chance to attack. They're gone now."

She smiled gently, figuring that she should have known he would already be taking care of things.

"I love you, Luke," she whispered.

"I know," he said, somewhat smugly.

She punched him lightly in the stomach, and they both laughed.

Then Mara sighed. "We'll have to keep a close watch on Shada."

Luke laughed again. "I think Talon has that under control. I told him to let one of us know the minute she shows any symptoms."

"That will only work if they're speaking to one another," Mara giggled and snuggled closer to Luke.

Luke laughed too, playing gently with a strand of her red-gold hair. "Well, maybe they will make up soon."

Mara sighed. "I hope so." She turned in his arms so that she was lying on his chest. "What are we going to do about this planet, Luke? These people are going to have a very hard time of it without some help."

"Obviously the New Republic will have to take some action, but we have to figure out a way to rid the planet of the disease or find something that will counteract it."

"Any ideas?"

"Talon mentioned that Vashi told him about some wisemen that lived in the foothills. Apparently, they had technology similar to ours and it stands to reason they were probably the ones who sent out the distress code. I think we should start our search for the source of the disease there."

Mara nodded, then rested her chin on his chest. "All right. When do you want to start?"

"In a few days," he said, running his hand along her back and down across her buttocks. "I want to make sure everyone here is well before we leave." He didn't say it but he was talking as much about her and Shada as he was about the others in the village.

"You sleepy?" he asked softly, his hand caressing her gently.

Mara took a deep breath, conscious of the tingles he was causing in her body. "A little. Why?"

"I'm hungry."

Mara smiled. "You're always hungry, Farmboy. I suppose we could look in the basket Vashi gave us."

She sat up and started to move from the bed, but Luke tightened his hold on her.She looked down at him in surprise. "I wasn't talking about that kind of hunger," he told her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Mara opened her mouth, then closed it again. "Luke Skywalker," she finally said in a low hiss. "We've already..." she stopped and then exclaimed, "And more than once!"

He reached up, sliding a hand under her red-gold curls to the nape of her neck. Then, very gently, he pulled her down on top of him. "All the more reason to continue while we're onto a good thing!" he whispered.

On to Chapter 8