New Chapter. Enjoy.
Kia sat quietly on the sofa in her apartment, placing the few personal items she owned into a small transport container using the force. Most everything in the apartment had come with the place, so she really didn't have much to pack. It was another benefit to being a Jedi, having few material possessions. Not to mention the ability to pack using the Force.
Kia's mind was mostly focused on the meeting she had set up for the next day with the Jedi council. She was breaking the Jedi code left and right, but she hoped, considering the current climate, she'd be allowed to stay with the Order, regardless. There were too few Jedi left for them to shun her, or so she hoped. She had been a model Jedi, save for her relationship with Jace, and now her pregnancy. They already knew about Jace, but the baby was going to be a surprise.
A knock at the door pulled Kia from her musings. She yelled for whoever was at the door to come in and opened the door with the Force. She was only mildly surprised when Elara walked in. Jace was being overly cautious and had obviously sent one of his people to check up on her. Captain Dorne had been an obvious choice, given her medical background and close relationship with Kia's sister.
"Am I interrupting you, Master Jedi?" She asked.
"Not at all." Kia said, waving towards the chair across from the sofa. "Please, sit. I see Jace is being paranoid. I'm guessing he told you everything?"
Elara smiled shyly, sitting. "Probably not everything, but he did say you're pregnant and asked me to check up on her."
Kia thought about it for a moment, then smiled. It felt good to have Jace so open about the relationship. It looked like his efforts to make their relationship work were starting to pay off.
"That's the gist of it. As you can see, I'm not over exerting myself. I think Jace sometimes forgets I'm a Jedi. I can pack everything in this apartment without moving a finger."
"You might want to take it easy with the mental processes, as well, Master Kia. You're part zabrak, so you most likely have headaches from being pregnant. Overexertion using the Force might aggravate them."
"First off, Elara, please call me Kia. You don't need to be so formal with me. I never did like being called master, regardless of it being an accurate and earned title. Second, I didn't know you knew about zabrak pregnancy." Kia said.
"I'm not proud of it, but when I was still in the Empire, I was tasked with completing a study of interspecies fraternization. The government wanted evidence of how hybridization of species caused weakness." Elara chuckled. "My findings were never published, since in almost all cases, hybridization actually made people stronger. Hybrids were shown to be highly resistant to some conditions that favored one species over another. There were some examples of weakness, but not enough for them to even consider making them public. As far as I know, my findings were deleted and the project was erased. I'm sure they simply made up negative findings to feed to the masses."
Kia scoffed. "They didn't want it to become known that what they considered a weakening of bloodlines was actually a strengthening. Typical."
"Another reason to defect. At least in the Republic, they don't try to hide or fabricate medical findings, just to keep the population ignorant."
"So, do you have any advice for a pregnant, one eighth zabrak?"
Elara thought about it for a few moments, then nodded. "I'd say, try to relax. Overexertion, physical or mental, will only cause issues with the pregnancy and increase headaches. I'm assuming you're getting headaches. Are you getting any nausea, as well?"
Kia nodded. "I've experienced both. The nausea I can eliminate through meditation at the beginning, but I really don't get nauseous anymore, but the headaches are being stubborn. Anything I do only dulls the pain. The doctor gave me some medication, but I'm reluctant to take anything that might hurt the baby. I'm currently working my way through the standard methods of pain relief discovered by other pregnant zabrak. Some have helped a little, but I'm not to the end of the list yet."
"If you get to the end of the list, let me know. I'll try to help wherever I can. I think Mia would want me to help you." Elara stood. "And speaking of helping, what can I do to help you pack."
Kia stood as well. "Actually, I'm pretty much packed. If you could arrange for someone to come and take everything to Jace's apartment, that would help. I need to contact the owner of this building. I haven't informed him I'm leaving yet." Kia pulled out her holo. "After that, you could help me unpack. It's kinda nice to have someone around to talk to who isn't Jace."
"Whatever you need, Kia."
"I'll need to tell Jace thanks for sending Elara. I'm sure he's worried I might be mad about the gesture." Kia thought to herself as she picked up her holo to make a call.
To Be Continued...
