Imperial times- Coruscant

The Stormtrooper knocked a paper-weight off the desk as he rifled through the files and papers strewn across the desk top. The chief medic at the South Street Clinic stood in the hallway, looking dumbfounded and scared. Other Stormtroopers were busy shuffling through the files in the computers, collecting and destroying everything he�d collected on the creature he�d treated a few days ago.

Still others were rooting through every piece of equipment and talking to every person who�d been here that day. The last few simply stood around looking menacing, which was unnecessary considering the imposing figure in black standing in the room, watching over the shoulder of a Stormtrooper as he copied and deleted every file mentioning the creature named Tarik.

The paper with the Imperial identification code had been the first thing confiscated when they had arrived. The rest of the office had been second, followed by the detention of anyone that had been present when the scaly green being had been brought in.

The restaurant owner, Mr. Minero, hadn�t been found yet. Luckily he seemed to have heard about the soldiers before they arrived at the restaurant and disappeared. Unlucky for the medic, who was now afraid for his life as the ominous presence turned his attentions from the holo-screen to face him.

"You are certain that the creature was able to speak?" he asked, an aura of veiled menace to his voice.

"Yes sir," the medic answered, swallowing hard as the black-robed figure studied him.

"Intelligibly?" he asked "He could form rational sentences and ideas?"

"He seemed intelligent enough when I spoke with him," the medic said, trying desperately not to seem as terrified as he was. The dark figure returned his attention to the holo-screen, studying one of the test results.

The troopers had shown up only hours after the medic had coaxed one of his slicer friends into digging through the imperial database in an attempt to match the project numbers from Tarik�s wrist to a file in the database.

Their search had turned up some unpleasant top-level security protocols, locking them out and alerting the imperials to their search.

He had shown up nearly ten minutes after the Stormtroopers, striding through the door like death itself. Now, the medic�s curiosity had dug up more trouble than he�d ever wanted to experience.

The figure in black finally backed away from the holo-screen thoughtfully, then turned toward the medic.

"Why is it listed in your files as �Tarik�?" he demanded, folding gloved hands behind his back. The medic swallowed nervously again.

"That was the name I was told when he arrived," he said. "Though he doesn�t seem to like it very much," he added, shifting his weight uneasily.

"This creature has a gender?" the man in black asked, seeming surprised.

"Well, yeah, he�s definitely male, and extremely defensive around the loincloth," The assistant from Tarik�s visit said from a corner of the room where he�d been ignored until now. The figure in black nodded oddly, lost in thought.

"They were supposed to be neuter," he mumbled, the words almost lost under the helmet�s respirator. A beep from the holo-screen distracted him.

"Lord Vader, something you should see," the trooper at the keyboard said, gesturing toward the screen.

He leaned over the trooper�s shoulder to see the screen, studying the screen intently.

"Damage to your medical equipment?" he asked without looking up.

"Ah, yes sir, he, um, well," the assistant stammered.

"He bit an injector in half, then sank two-inch claw-marks into the exam table," the medic said, glancing at the assistant.

"Yet you still treated him?" Vader asked.

"Yes sir, he calmed down enough for us to sedate him and finish treating his wounds," the medic said. Vader looked over at the medic.

"How was he calmed down?"

The medic glanced at the assistant nervously, unwilling to bring up Minero�s name again.

"Apparently he likes cheesecake," the assistant said. "Mr. Minero offered him a cheesecake if he didn�t bite us while we were fixing him up," he added, shrugging hesitantly. Vader looked at him strangely, then glanced back at the holo-screen.

"Finish this here, I have other business to attend to. Make sure you gather everything, I want all evidence of it�s..." he paused, "..his presence here noted, copied and taken with us. Then I want all the original evidence erased." Vader turned and left after a glance at the medic and his assistant.

The medic suddenly wondered uneasily if they counted as evidence as the Stormtroopers continued combing through his office and his records.

----on to Part 2 of Chapter 2---

© 2000 Michelle Petrosky

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