A/N- Well, this is a new story for me. It's not connected to the series Scenes from a Pecular Affair. I will be adding a couple more stories to that in the future, but I need a break before I dive into the Yuuzhan Vong period.

I hope you enjoy this. It may prove to be quite long.

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness;
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

Tales of a Wayside Inn, Pt. III, The Theologian's Tale: Elizabeth, sec. IV- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Setting: Six months after The Last Command by Timothy Zahn

One Night on Satyatwena

Part 1

Shada always insisted that Mazzic sit with his back to the wall if at all possible.

As was customary she was sitting with Mazzic in a booth along the back wall of the cantina with a good view of the entrance. They had come to this cantina near the spaceport on Satyatwena meet a contact. After his business had been concluded, Mazzic had been sucked into what was proving to be a marathon session of sabacc.

To be honest she was more than a little bored. Watching someone play sabacc wasn't nearly as interesting as playing yourself. Not a single being who could remotely be considered a threat or even particularly interesting had entered in quite some time until Talon Karrde and Mara Jade came in. She could see them scanning the patrons of the cantina as they stepped through the door. Karrde's eyes settled on her and he gave her a brief nod of acknowledgement. Shada leaned close to Mazzic and whispered into his ear, "Talon Karrde and Mara Jade just walked in."

Mazzic looked up from his cards as both Karrde and Jade approached their table. "Karrde, Mara, good to see you when we're not dodging Imps. What brings you to Satyatwena?"

"You know better than to ask something like that, Mazzic," Karrde told him with a sardonic smile. "Or will you tell me what brings you here as well?"

Mazzic grinned, "This and that."

"The same for us," Karrde said dryly, then he turned to Jade. "Mara, I don't believe you've met Shada D'ukal, Mazzic's- ah- companion."

"No, I haven't." She nodded in greeting, her green eyes scrutinizing Shada closely.

Shada returned her shrewd assessing look evenly. Then she smiled up at Karrde, "I'm surprised you remember me, Captain Karrde."

"I tend not to forget beautiful ladies who hold me at blaster point."

Mazzic cleared his throat, probably not wanting a reminder of being taken in by Thrawn's scheme. "Join us for a game? We could use some fresh blood."

"Not today I'm afraid. Perhaps another time. Good luck." Karrde nodded goodbye and he and Jade made their way to another booth along the side wall.

The game resumed and Shada kept her eyes open for trouble as they played. Almost every time her gaze drifted to Karrde and Jade's table his eyes met hers. Mazzic seemed to notice that too. "Looks like you've got an admirer."

Shada snorted. "Hardly. I imagine he doesn't really trust us after you nearly fell for Thrawn's ruse."

Mazzic shrugged, returning to his study of the cards in his hand. "That's fine. I don't trust him either."

Shada allowed Mazzic to kiss her. Even though she didn't kiss him back, he had a look of drunken triumph when he broke away.

"Mazzic, I'm your bodyguard not your lover," she told him her voice low and deadly. "If you ever do that again you will regret it. I promise you."

"Oh, c'mon, Shada," he said almost pouting. "Let's have a little fun."

"Do you want me to embarrass you in front of Karrde and Jade? You know I can."

He scowled, "You need to lighten up."

"You need to sober up. I'm not dealing with you like this." She stood and walked over to the bar leaving Mazzic alone in the booth.

She smiled at the bartender as he came up and she ordered a drink that was more pretty than alcoholic. She caught Ihbotson's eye. He'd been hanging out at a table near the door guarding their exit. He casually got up with his empty glass and walked up to the bar beside her to order another drink. "Stick to Mazzic," she told him quietly. He nodded and when he had a fresh drink he sauntered over to the table where Mazzic was gathering his winnings. Ihbotson was one of the more reliable men Mazzic kept around for muscle and was well versed in keeping his boss from getting into too much trouble.

A short time later, Mazzic with Ihbotson in tow had swaggered over to a table with a Twi'lik female and a human female both dressed even more scantily than Shada was and flirted shamelessly with both men. Mazzic kept casting looks in her direction as if seeing if their attention was making her jealous.

Shada flatly ignored him of course. Just once she'd like to get an employer that didn't try to drag her to bed. Honestly, Mazzic wasn't as bad as most. He only got a little handsy when he reached a certain stage of drunkenness and he'd never tried to kiss her before. She figured the elation of winning the game combined with his drunkeness and perhaps wanting to show off in front of Karrde made him try to take things further than he normally would.

She glanced over at Karrde's table where he and Jade were in a deep discussion with a Sullustan. She wondered if Jade had the same sorts of problems with employers as Shada did.

Karrde and Mara watched Mazzic and his associate leave with their arms around the Twi'lik and Human females.

"Well, that's certainly very interesting," Mara commented.

"Isn't it though?" Karrde looked over at Shada still seated at the bar and chatting blithely with one of the bartenders. "I understand she put one of Mazzic's men in a neural reconstruction facility for a month after he attempted to accost her."

"Did she now?" Mara looked impressed which generally wasn't easy. "You'd have thought Mazzic would have learned from that."

"Obviously not."

Mara drank down the rest of her drink. "Are you ready to head out?"

Karrde looked down at his empty glass then looked back at the bar. He couldn't help but be intrigued by the situation. "I think I'll stay for one more drink. You go ahead."

"Okay." Mara followed his gaze to the figure in red at the bar. She stood. "Just tell me one thing before I go."

Karrde looked up at her. "What's that?"

"Is there any planet in particular you'd like to be buried on?"

"Pardon?" Karrde asked as if he didn't get her meaning, but a smile twitched at his lips.

"She might not out right kill a coworker or her boss, but I doubt she has any such qualms about you."

"Mara, I'm shocked that you think I would give a lady any reason to get violent with me."

She shrugged. "It's your life. I'll be by the morgue in the morning to identify your body."

"Get out of here," Karrde waved her away with a grin.

"May I join you?"

Shada knew the deep rich voice coming from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Karrde standing there as she expected. She gave him a cool assessing look. "If you like," she told him keeping her tone bored and indifferent.

Karrde took that as an invitation and sat on the stool beside her. "It seems both our companions have abandoned us," he said conversationally.

"What do you want, Karrde?" she asked her voice cold. She didn't feel like playing games with him.

He gestured to her empty glass. "Merely to buy you a drink and have a few minutes of companionable conversation. Is that permissible?"

"You can buy me a drink, but I won't tell you anything about Mazzic or his organization." She wanted to curtail whatever he was angling for.

He gave her an amused smile. "I have no interest in Mazzic or his organization."

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Well, I won't tell you anything about me either."

His smile broadened. "That is a shame, but understandable. I'm not fond of discussing myself either."

"I'm sure."

Just then the bartender came back over. "What would you like to drink?"

She shrugged. "Whatever you're having."

"Whyrens?"

"That's fine."

The bartender brought back two generous glasses of Corellian whiskey and Karrde paid for the drinks along with a nice tip that no doubt accounted for the substantial portions.

Karrde held his glass up in a silent toast and she clinked her glass to his. She took a long sip, eyeing him while trying to discern anything from his pleasant faintly amused expression.

"Seriously, Karrde, what kind of game are you playing at?"

"I thought we said no personal questions."

"So we did," she conceded. She was curious about what he was after. He didn't seem interested in pumping her for information. Was he trying to pick her up then? "I suppose I'll just see how this plays out then. I should give you fair warning that I don't like to be trifled with."

His expression turned serious. "I have no desire to trifle with you."

"Good. I'd hate to have Mara Jade come by to pick up the pieces of you."

He smiled again at that, apparently greatly entertained by her threat.

"How do you find Satyatwena?" he asked politely.

"I haven't exactly seen anything other than the spaceport and various cantinas," she told him. That was pretty much all she ever saw with Mazzic.

"Would you like to walk along the waterfront? It's quite lovely at night."

She gave him a suspicious look and he returned her look evenly if not exactly guilelessly. He was trying to pick her up she decided. There was a part of her that almost wanted to let him. She supposed Karrde was what was termed 'rakishly handsome' with his piercing blue eyes, his long silver shot black hair, and neatly trimmed goatee. He was rather taller than she was which as a tall woman she'd always found particularly attractive in a man. She thought it might be pleasant to be seduced by him.

If she was honest, there was also a part of her that wanted to teach Mazzic a lesson.

"Sure," she agreed drinking the last of her whiskey. She stood and he took the cloak from the back of her stool and settled it over her shoulders.

"Shall we?" he offered his arm.

"A gentleman. How novel." She slid her arm through his.

"Just because we're smugglers doesn't mean we have to be barbarians."

"You are a rare breed then."

They strolled for a long time along the waterfront talking of inconsequential things. She found Karrde surprisingly good company and his wry commentary frequently made her laugh. There seemed to be some sort of festival going on at the far end. They wandered around for a bit perusing the wares displayed in the stalls, mainly local crafts and food.

At one stall she admired a pendant with an unusual looking native flower preserved in crystal. Before she could produce the credits from her pocket to purchase it, Karrde beat her to it.

"Karrde…" She truly didn't know what to say. She was torn between being insulted and charmed.

"Allow me to provide you with a small souvenir to remember seeing more than the spaceport and cantinas. Satyatwena is famous for it's flowers. You should see the High Garden Districts."

She decided to be charmed. "Thank you." She turned her back to him. "Will you put it on for me?"

He draped the necklace around her neck and connected the clasp. His fingers softly caressed her neck. It was the first time he'd touched her tonight.

Next they decided to go to one of the food stalls and try some the local delicacies. They settled on a bench overlooking the bay and away from most of the crowd. They ate and watched the distant lights of the spaceport and ships coming and going. As they finished off their wine she began to again wonder what he was about. This wasn't what she had expected at all.

She turned to him. "Aren't you going to try to seduce me?"

"Try?" he asked looking offended.

"So you think you would succeed?" she challenged him.

His smile was full of easy confidence. "Yes. I do."

"That's rather arrogant."

"Not at all. I'm merely confident in my abilities." His expression turned serious. "Do you want me to seduce you?"

Karrde had been a constant surprise to her all evening, turning over nearly every expectation she had. She suddenly realized she very much wanted to see what he had in store next, so she answered, "Yes."

TBC