Mara seemed to lose track of time over the months, but her body told her otherwise. After that night gathering with Luke, Han, and Leia, Mara had basically gone into hiding on Karrde's fleet. She had busied herself with work as an excuse not to see any of the New Republic members, instead only gathering with the neutral smugglers like the old days.
But one day in th middle of her sixth month of pregnancy, Karrde figured out the game she was playing, and she could no longer fool the clever man. They were sitting in his office, going over the latest stock they had received when he suddenly brought up the matter.
" Mara, are you by any chance pregnant?" she paled slightly at his oh so casual comment and nodded.
" Yep." she went back to running over the charts in front of her.
" Ah, might whom be the father of the child?" she smiled slyly at him and winked.
" I am impregnated with your baby Talon. I carry the fetus of your resemblance in my woumb." he plucked her nose with his thumb and pointer finger, but she only laughed harder.
" We have not, nor ever will conceive, so don't even begin to joke about that." Mara shot him a 'thumbs up' sign and went back to the work before her, a smile lingering on her lips. Karrde plucked at her worn jedi robes and fowned.
" Darling, you are not going to wear these robes the last months of pregnancy. We're going shopping, now." he grabbed her hand and pulled her up to her feet, ignoring her protests.
" You do realize I was in the middle of filling out those forms. Plus if I wear maternity clothes the other smugglers will notice."
" Oh Mara. The ones who are actually smart enough to figure it out, don't give a damn. So quit bitching and lets go."
000
They broused though different shops on Naboo, finding gorgeous and suitable clothes for both of their tastes, even though she was wearing them. Karrde even caught her wandering into the baby section, and they started the round-up of necessary items for the expectent.
Karrde seemed more thrilled by the baby than Mara was and, to show his glee he was buying all sorts of baby items. If she had a camera, she would have filmed every moment of him during his frilly escapades, because nobody would believe the business-man Talon Karrde acting this way.
Sometime in the late afternoon, they stopped for lunch.
" Now Talon, I want the truth, why did you want to come so badly?" he smiled sheepishly and tugged at his long hair.
" Wow, I guess I forgot. I wanted to get my hair trimmed. Do you think the salon would still be open?" she looked at him stunned, her mouth hanging open with food showing. Mara quickly swallowed what was in her mouth, and finally found words.
" First of all, don't ever let me hear the word salon come from your mouth ever again. And I guess it would be. We can go see if you want." He grinned brightly at her as she tugged on his long dark hair.
000
The building looked way too girly for Mara's tastes, but she went in, for Karrde's sake. The Emperor had never trained her for what to do in this situation, when about five women, all decked in pink, just ran up to her, rubbing her stomach and talking about what they wanted to do to her hair. If looks could kill, Talon would be a pile of smoking ash by this point, for Mara's impenetrating glare was set upon him.
Her jade eyes still lingering on the older man, she realized the reason for coming, atleast the real reason. A cute young blonde pranced around him as she prepared to trim his long dark locks. Mara Jade had to hold in her psychotic laughter until they were outside, until then, she kept her mouth tightly shut.
Every time one of the stylists tried to come near her hair, she'd make a sound that resembled a vicious and wild animal. That night they returned to the ship, Mara cackling wickedly, and Karrde just simply embarrassed at her behavior in the salon. He left her to her work after half past twelve, too tired to see anthing.
Abandoning her paperwork for a moment, she walked over to the wide window, her eyes searching the stars for Coruscant. Immediately she noticed it, shining as bright as usual, even thoough it should have been dark at this hour of the night. She watched it in sorrow, wondering if he was thinking about her, if anyone did. Turning out the room's lights, she headed down the hallway to her own bedroom. On the nightstand beside her mattress, a framed holograph sat upright, showing an old photo from the Jedi Academy. Leia Organa-Solo was pregnant, standing besides her brother who had his arm around the still living Callista, and then sitting at their feet, smiling brightly for once, was a younger and skinnier Mara Jade. She kept laughing at something one of them said, whereas Callista looked snottish and bitter.
Taking in one last look of the happier days, Mara rolled over and let sleep consume her.
000
On Coruscant, Luke Skywalker lay awake in bed, his thoughts wandering away from the usual problems and to Mara Jade, wondering why she had been avoiding him. Had he done something to upset her? Or did she just not have time for anything besides Karrde's work, like she had said. Luke no longer mourned over Callista's death, accepting that she had hated him and feared him when she had died. Instead his mind always wandered to the mysterious Jade, and it angered him to know that his reveries on her were more painful than his thoughts of the dead Callista.
He picked up the holograph from atop his desk and absorbed the younger faces staring up at him, the same picture Leia and Mara had. His eyes lingered on Mara's laughing features for a moment before throwing the holo against the wall, finding comfort from the shattering object. He was turning into something crazy and insane. What was wrong with him?