"Shada, aren't you going to protect me?" Talon, standing before the mountain called Booster Terrik, let out a pleading request when he saw the anger in the older man's eyes.
Shada patted his shoulder as she passed and threw a wink at Booster. "You dug your own grave, dearest, by not telling your friends you planned on letting Fett murder you. I'm visiting with my friends, who have sympathy for my plight as a merry widow."
He watched her greet Mirax with a hug and they each took a baby from the nanny and disappeared. "I did it for them, you know." He looked at Booster, still standing with his legs apart and arms folded. "Sooner or later someone would have tried to collect on that bounty. If you offer me a drink I'll tell you all about it." Talon hoped if he kept talking, Booster would forgo hitting him. As a gesture of friendship, he put a trusting hand on Booster's shoulder.
Booster couldn't help himself and planted a fist in Talon's exposed stomach, bending him over with an, "Oooofff, you bastard," as he sank to his knees. He stayed down, hoping Booster's wrath was satisfied. It wasn't. Booster grabbed him by the front of his tunic, picked him up effortlessly and slammed him into the side of his own ship. He landed on his left side and was sure he heard a crack as ribs imploded. His knees buckled again and he saw stars. Lying on the deck, his thought was, 'I'm the great Talon Karrde and it doesn't look good having me in this undignified position.' He closed his eyes, hoping Booster would go away so he could crawl inside and hurt in privacy.
"I didn't hit you that hard." Booster kicked him in the left side, but his wrath abated enough to pull his punch. "You let me think you were dead and I won't forgive that."
"The years away from Kessel haven't softened you any, that's for sure." Talon reached a hand up.
Booster grabbed it and pulled him up, drawing him into a tight hug where Talon let out a cry and curse. "Don't you ever pull that again if you want to set foot on my ship." He let go and snagged Talon as he was heading for the deck again.
Talon leaned against him. "It was too large of bounty not to try and find out who did it and neutralize them. Are we going to stand here hugging or do I go back into my ship for a much needed drink."
"My office is re-open to you." Booster slowed his pace when he saw Talon was favoring his side and walking slow. "Do we need to stop by sickbay?"
Talon's response was to cough up a handful of blood.
"Kriff, you pussy. Can't take a love tap, come on." Booster grabbed his arm and issued an ordered to several crew waiting for the turbolift, "Take the next one, injured man here." They parted and let Booster through.
Talon was guided into the lift feeling dizzy. "I think you got a lucky hit and broke a rib into a lung." He started to slide to the floor and Booster held him up.
"I only meant to bruise you a little. You really are a wimp; definitely not Corellian." With Booster's help, he made sickbay, barely listening as Booster yelled in a loud voice for the doctor while being helped to a bed. The doctor took over while Booster pulled his boots off. He moved to Talon's waist, unbuckled his holster and slid it from under him.
"He needs to go into bacta right now," the doctor explained to Booster. "This is a fresh injury. What happened?"
"I was welcoming him home." Booster grabbed Talon's arms and sat him up. "Do I need to cut your shirt off?"
"No, I like this one." Talon struggled to lift it over his head with Booster's help. He stood and undid his belt and pants, letting them fall. "Tell Shada I won't be home tonight, but downplay what happened. I don't want you to end up next to me." He sat down and let Booster pull his pants and socks off and watched as they were thrown carelessly on the floor. A hoverchair appeared, pushed by the doctor and soon he was medicated into oblivion and pain forgotten as he floated.
Booster stood outside the tank and shook his head. "He spends so much time in my bacta I'm going to have to give him a cut rate." He didn't mean for that to happen and pulled his comlink. "Booster to Shada."
"Go ahead."
"Where are you?"
"At Jari's quarters."
"Okay." He cut the link and headed in that direction. He found her with a very pregnant Jari and Mirax. The babies were present and women having such a good time catching up and talking babies. He hated to ruin it.
Shada saw him enter when Mirax jumped up to answer the door for Jari. She was surprised, however, to see him alone. "I figured you and Talon would be into a bottle by now. He was looking forward to getting back here and relaxing. It's been a stressful month. Where is he?"
"Bacta."
"I thought he was kidding about you hurting him. What did you do?"
"Father, you didn't hurt him did you?" Mirax added.
"I didn't think I had, but I'm still stronger than I know and he went down and has broken ribs. He's in bacta and I'm drinking alone tonight unless Shada wants to put me in bacta also." He stopped explaining and waited.
"You didn't mean to hurt him, did you?" Shada wanted to be sure.
"I meant to shake him up like he did me, that's all."
"How long will he be under?"
"He'll be moved to a bed tomorrow about four in the morning."
"And you still don't know what happened to us on our trip?" Shada dug him.
"You could let me make it up to you by buying you supper and fill me in."
"No way. You're going to hear it from him or not at all. Don't tell him." Shada looked at Mirax and Jari.
"He's not getting anything out of us. Serves you right for hurting him." Mirax shook her head at her father.
"I deserve that." Booster left, feeling horrible. He went to the bridge and told Nawara what he did.
"You going to need an attorney?" Nawara relinquished the captain's chair with a toothy grin.
"I need a drink. That's all Talon wanted." He turned as Lando entered in a rush.
"I see the Wild Karrde birthed; where is he?"
"Bacta."
"He got hurt?" Lando pleasant smile converted to a frown.
"He survived Bobba Fett only to be laid low by Booster." Nawara laughed.
"I gave him a love tap and broke a rib. I keep forgetting you pansy boys aren't durable like Corellian's. I wiped the floor with Corran one time and he got up and walked away, broken leg and all."
"Only one time?" Lando let his breath out. "I was hoping for a drink and story. I sent Tendra to find Shada to get her out of the way."
"It will have to wait until tomorrow." Booster stood and started pacing.
Talon felt himself returning to consciousness and floated up where a medic was waiting.
"Sir, you are to be put in a bed with a bacta patch for another day or two, or I can put you out again."
"How long have I been here?"
"Ten hours. It's four in the morning."
Talon twisted and felt a slight pain, but not the sharp, poking pain. He climbed out and headed to the showers. He saw clean clothes for bed when he got out from under the forced air blow dryer.
Shada was sitting in a chair and held his briefs out to him. "Booster feels horrible."
"He should. You didn't spend the night did you?"
"I might have."
"Shada, you need rest. Go to bed." He pulled his pajama bottoms on.
She placed a large bacta bandage on his left side. "Not until you're in bed." Taking his hand, she led him into the main sickbay area.
"Why don't you lie down beside me." He moved to the edge.
"You need rest."
"Spoon next to me or I'll come home. You know the doctor hates his patients walking out on him."
She acknowledged her exhaustion and toed her boots off. She removed her holster and slid close to him, leaving her jump suit on. His arm pulled her close and she succumbed to sleep immediately, as did he.
"At least he didn't check himself out," the doctor droid commented to Booster a few hours later when he stopped by to check on him and found two people crowded on the narrow bed sound asleep.
"Let them sleep," Booster rumbled softly and left after pulling the droid away from the bed and giving a further instruction. "Don't let anyone wake or disturb them."
About ten, Shada woke and the place was still quiet. She figured Booster had been there and the doctor confirmed it. She went home to check on the babies.
"Left side again," Talon grumbled to Gillespee an hour later when he woke to the sounds of his lieutenant arguing with the doctor. "Did you get everyone off?"
"They wanted to stay and see your sorry carcass for themselves, but your message to them was convincing enough you were indeed alive. Aves loaded your undelivered bacta on his ship and headed to Coruscant this morning. He checked on you last night and filled me in on what transpired. You got the star destroyers and bounty in one fell swoop; has to feel good."
"For six months, I wasn't sure when or where they would strike. Now I can get back to running my business. Anything happen I should know about? And I need caf." He used the remote and raised the head of the bed.
Gillespee looked around and grabbed his comlink. "Rickett, bring a large cup of caf for the boss to sickbay, and hurry." He pulled a chair up. "Faughn's pregnant."
"What? Who?"
"She wouldn't say, but seems happy."
"She can't pilot a ship and be pregnant. I'll have to ground her and you know how that's going to go over. Is the father one of my people you think?"
"Time will tell. We'll have to see if anyone steps forward to take responsibility."
"DNA at birth will give us the answer if she doesn't."
Gillespee's crewmember showed up with caf. He swung a table up and over the bed for Talon.
"I'm off to Rishi. Any instructions?"
Talon thought. "You pulling the supplies out of the swamp?"
"I am. I thought you wanted them moved to Ukio and sold."
"It's components for agridroids, and Ukio is close." Talon took a sip of caf. "You retiring again on Ukio?"
"I still have my place and am thinking about it."
"You could take Faughn back there. Good place for a kid to grow up."
"Are you suggesting I retire or we split up?"
"Either that or you could still do runs for me on the side, enough to make living expenses. I'm just giving you options, Samuel."
"And if I want to stay where I am?"
"That's okay too. I'm giving the Faughn situation to you. She was with you first. I'll find someone else to pilot the Starry Ice."
"I'll give it thought on my run." Gillespee stood and held his hand out. "Good to have you back, Boss."
Talon sipped his caf waiting his next caller and thinking about Shirlee. He just got her trained and she was a good pilot; he hated to lose her. He would talk to Shada about it.
Booster and Lando came in with lunch on a tray. "Better food than the doctor would allow. He has a horrible sense of what tastes good."
"I remember from my last stay. I thought he was giving me some of his lubricant." Talon took the lid off and saw soup and a sandwich from his home planet. He didn't mention Booster's baiting of him and started eating.
Lando found another chair and they listened to the story. "I knew something was different about the Karrde that went down that ramp. I just didn't think of a clone. I thought there were no more facilities."
"Pellaeon has one for special occasions. That was my mysterious trip, to visit him. We planned it together and he brought Fett in. That was a brilliant move."
"Very believable," Booster conceded. "His reputation is such that nobody would identify him with a ruse."
Shada entered with the nanny in tow. "The boys wanted to see Daddy and asked for you all morning."
"They did?" His face lit up in a broad smile.
"When you didn't kiss them goodnight, they were fussy and woke up cranky saying Da, Da repeatedly and pushed me away."
Talon's smile became a grin. "Put them down here." He pushed his table out of the way as the nanny sat the boys to his side. "I'm here, boys."
D'ukal tried to crawl up his chest while Terrik patted his arm.
"You do nothing but kiss them goodnight and it's you they want." Shada pretended to be perturbed.
"They need a dose of Daddy daily." He carefully pulled each boy up and kissed him.
Booster laughed. "It's just a phase they'll outgrow in sixteen years when they discover girls."
Talon glibly replied, "And you have a granddaughter for them to practice on."
Booster's smile turned frosty while Lando chuckled. "Tweny-six years maybe."
Nawara pushed Jari through the door in a hoverchair yelling, "Doctor, get over here or I'll sue your circuits out of existence."
"The baby," Shada exclaimed while the doctor took the mother to be into the nursery and shut the door.
"My ship is gaining a crewmember today," Booster stated the obvious while smiling.
Mirax rushed in with Jysella in her arms. "I was having lunch with Jari and she told me it was time. I called Nawara like she asked." She looked at her father. "Shouldn't you be in there, midwife?"
"Watch your smart mouth." He took his granddaughter, as he knew she was getting heavy for mom to hold for too long.
They talked and watched the babies, who were set on the floor to crawl around. Finally, Nawara came out with a huge sharp tooth grin, his lekku twitching. "It's a girl."
"How come you didn't get it sexed?" Mirax asked him.
"Tradition; it's considered bad luck to know the sex."
"Another girl for my boys to play with in sixteen years," Talon joked, "like Booster's here."
"When can we see her?" Shada was anxious and cut off any reply from the offended men.
"They're cleaning her up." A droid similar to Nana, but looking like a Twi'lek entered with a bag. Nawara looked relieved. "This is Meta, the baby's nanny." Everyone looked at the four-armed version of Nana, but with lekku and blue skin. "Lando designed her for Twi'lek's and she's also a combat droid, like yours."
Lando looked pleased. "Any glitches in the language?"
"Nope, it's perfect, as are the Twi'lek songs."
"Good, I'm sending a demo to Ryloth and was waiting for your report."
"Hold off for a couple months until we've had a chance to put her through a few tests."
Lando nodded.
The doctor entered with a small bundle in its arms. Nawara hurried over and took his daughter. Returning to anxious people, he pulled the blanket off her face, beaming with pride.
"She's beautiful." Shada let the baby grip her finger. "Such beautiful lavender skin. Will that be her color?"
"It will. My mother is lavender and we'll name her for the paternal grandmother whose name is Ryma'ven. Since the name has been through the translators, we don't have to submit it for nuance verification. The baby will be called, Ryman for short."
"I thought you said her name was Ryma?" Mirax was getting confused along with everyone else.
"The n at the end of the given name indicates she's a second in the family of Ven with that name. When my mother dies, her name will be upgraded to Ryma."
"I won't even pretend to understand." Booster held his hands out to take her. He looked closely. "Where are her lekku?"
"They won't start growing until she is about three and will finish by age fifteen."
"One by one the women held her. Lando refused as did Talon." He looked for his boys and saw the nanny had all three in her arms. In the excitement, they forgot about the crawlers that were now sound asleep.
Talon felt himself growing sleepy and closed his eyes.
Booster was the first to notice his friend was asleep. "Let's take this to the nursery."
Shada filled the women in on Terrik's medical problems. Booster went and took his namesake who didn't wake. "I didn't mean to hurt your daddy. I'll be careful with him from now on."
Jari was released within two hours. In her quarters, she reclined and held her new baby. Nawara went to get them food with instructions she wasn't to move until her trip to the bacta tank that evening. He returned with traditional Twi'lek fare.
"I was secretly hoping for a daughter," Nawara confessed.
"Most men want a son."
"I'm not most men."
"No you're not. I'm happy we got together and am sorry for holding you at a distance for so long."
"You were right to be cautious. I hope Ryman is like you in that regard."
Later, Shada made sure Daddy said goodnight to his sons and put them to bed.
His ribs were sore and he wanted painkiller and his own bed. Struggling up, he looked for a shirt and found none. He grabbed his bottle of pain medicine and padded barefoot down the corridor to the lift.
"Running away again." Booster caught up with him.
"My bed is more comfortable and has a naked woman in it."
"The one in your bed this morning was overdressed I noticed." The turbolift opened to the Diamond Level and Booster put a hand on Talon's shoulder. "I am sorry for hurting you."
Talon chuckled and grimaced as a reminder pierced his side. "Not like you didn't owe me one."
An expensively dressed human woman stepped into the turbolift, whose door was still held open by Booster. She looked at Talon's bare, muscled chest with its large bandage and wearing only pajama bottoms. "If you're looking for a bed to go to; come with me. I'll make you forget all about your injury."
Talon exchanged a smile with Booster. "I'm going home to take care of my infant sons, as in two." He stepped around her.
"What a waste." Her gaze shifted to Booster. "Any dirty diapers waiting at home for you?"
"Just a ship full of sniveling brats." The door closed on their dialogue and Talon didn't hear her reply. "Maybe Booster will get lucky. He doesn't get laid enough," he muttered as he made his quarters. "Dearest, I'm home," he called out.
She emerged from the boys room. "I'm not surprised; to bed with you also."