Imperial times- Coruscant

"Hold him still!" the medic said, trying to get an injector close enough to Tarik�s snarling form to administer the shot.

"I�m not putting my hands near those teeth!" the assistant said, backing away. Minero stood in the outer room watching them through the open door. He almost started laughing at the ridiculous yet dangerous situation in the med room.

Tarik had finally had enough of their poking and prodding him, trying to figure out what species he was. He snapped at the medic, an empty movement but an obvious threat. The sight and sound of those jaws snapping shut in his direction sent the medic scrambling. Tarik snarled as they finally moved away from the padded table he was sitting on, orange eyes glowing.

"That thing is insane," the medic said to Minero, pointing at Tarik with the injector. There was a quick snapping sound and the hiss of compressed air being released before he realized what he�d done and yanked his hand away from Tarik, the remaining half of the injector in his hand. Tarik hissed menacingly, spitting out a shard of plastic that had gotten stuck in his teeth. He dropped what was once the other half of the injector to the ground beside the table.

"He�s not insane, he just doesn�t suffer fools," Minero said, crossing his arms across his chest. "Especially fools with too many gadgets and not enough common sense," he said, glaring at the medic and his marginally-more-competent assistant.

Tarik growled his assent, crossing his arms in an imitation of Mr. Minero and snorting.

"Stupid humans," he rumbled only half under his breath. "Dumb tralak droids be better doctor," he snarled, glaring at the medic. "Droid no poke you in behind for no reasons," he muttered, glancing around a bit embarrassed. The purple welt on his tail still stood out against the vibrant green of his skin, despite the doctors� assurances that it would be gone by now.

Blood tests, genotype tests, anything they could stick a needle in him for tests, one more test and he�d bite their hand off, not just whatever instrument they happened to be pointing at him.

"Fix bandage and we go," he finally snapped, tired of playing nice with the dumb hairless monkeys. The medic and his assistant looked reluctant to approach him now, looking at each other nervously. Tarik�s tail switched impatiently, a low growl carrying into his throat. He flexed his claws out to their full length, making the medic even more reluctant to come near him.

"Tarik, That�s not helping," Minero said, unnerved by the sight of the claws too, but hiding it. Tarik retracted the claws to their normal length, which was still none too comforting.

"Would it help if they promised not to poke you with any more needles?" Minero said, sounding like he was trying to talk a child into a bath before bedtime. Tarik growled, but he looked slightly less hostile.

"And no more smart remarks," Minero glared at the medic�s assistant, the one who was stupid enough to mention the words �mutant rancor.� Another growl, but a softer one, with a look of warning at the assistant. Minero thought for a moment.

"Cheesecake?" he said, knowing Tarik was probably still hungry, and that he loved cheesecake. Orange eyes focused on him like a weapons lock.

"With berries?" Minero added. The expression remained hostile, but the tail told the truth. Tarik�s tail twitched back and forth, betraying the fact that he was definitely considering it, but the deal was going to have to be a little better for him to let the medics near him again.

"And whipped cream?" That was it, Tarik chirruped happily, the vicious expression gone and the chirping, cute-lizard version of Tarik was back. The medics looked a little relieved, but not much.

"One condition," Minero said, interrupting Tarik�s happy moment. "Behave, don�t bite the doctors, and don�t move until they�re done fixing you up," he said, pointing at Tarik as if he were a child.

A wary look was cast in the direction of the medics, then the tail wrapped itself nervously around the med table leg, considering. He finally grunt/chirped an agreement, coiling his tail tighter around the table leg. He whined nervously as the medic picked up another injector and loaded it with the same dosage of topical anesthetic.

"Really need that?" he whimpered, backing away a little.

"Unless you like the feel of someone cutting open your leg to get that bone straightened out," the assistant said, keeping his distance. Tarik made a panicked chirring noise, then made several soft ticking noises as the medic approached more carefully this time. He whined again, digging his claws into the table and closing his eyes. The sound of his claws piercing through the table pad, then through the metal table beneath sent a shiver through Minero. He closed his eyes, trying not to imagine what those claws could do to a person.

The quiet yip of pain and then the surprising quiet in the room made him open his eyes again. Tarik was just sitting there, looking confused and a little disoriented. He chirruped in a strange tone, blinking his orange eyes slowly.

It took Minero a moment to realize that hadn�t been a topical anesthetic they�d given him. They intended to knock him out completely, and it was working, and little too well too. Tarik wavered in his seated position, looking around blankly, as if someone had turned off his senses.

"There he goes," the medic said as the assistant rushed to catch Tarik before he hit the table too hard. Tarik dropped over like a stone, out cold and completely dead to the world.

"I think you used a bit much sir," the assistant said, setting Tarik�s head down on the table pad.

"No, that was a standard dose," the medic said. Both the assistant and Minero looked at him strangely.

"For a Wookiee," the medic finished, a slight smirk on his face from his little joke.

----on to Part 6 of Chapter 1---

© 2000 Michelle Petrosky

-Back to Tarik's Page

Return to the Main Page