Imperial times- Coruscant

Tarik cowered under a rusted awning as the wind found its way through every snag in his cut-off pants. He�d been happy to have long pants for a change, but in just a few days they�d been reduced to tattered and patched shorts that had to be cut off at the knee to save the rest of it. The chill rain had been falling for an entire day straight now, and it was threatening to turn into snow with the approach of evening. He crouched under the leaking panel shivering, arms and tail wrapped close in an attempt to keep warm.

He chirruped softly to himself, miserable, orange eyes darting about, hoping the rain would stop long enough for him to find shelter. Tarik idly wondered if Mina still had his present in her pocket where he�d left it while she slept. He doubted the Stormtroopers would know what the Jedi medallion was if they found it on her. He hoped they didn�t find it, he�d left it for her, not them.

He shivered again, rubbing his arms in a vain attempt to warm them. Water dripped from the points of his ears and ran down his neck from his soaked hair. he�d lost his staff somewhere along the past few days, he couldn�t remember where.

The rain slowed slightly, giving Tarik enough time to bolt for a bigger covering across the street. He sneezed as the rain intensified upon his reaching new shelter.

A pile of what he�d taken for garbage suddenly moved as he stepped on it.

"Oof, watch it, big feet!" a female voice that sounded as old as the city itself exclaimed from beneath her shelter. Tarik backed away in surprise. The figure sat up, revealing a woman dressed in long robes that were camouflaged with strips of cloth ripped and sewn on to look like garbage. A small green snout half-buried under a blanket next to her wiggled with the introduction of cold air. She looked down as the other creature stirred, cheeping like a baby bird at the disturbance.

"Go back to sleep, little Zah�lyn," she said gently, placing a long finger on the infant creature�s shout.

"So, who you be to be running about in the rain, Hmm?" she said, turning her glittering gaze toward Tarik. He snorted, making a soft ticking sound to himself as he thought of what to say. The small figure in the blanket chirp/ticked in response to his noises, a little pudgy green hand poking out of his blanket as it mewed. Tarik�s long ears snapped forward, suddenly curious about the little bundle. He made a soft rumbling chirp, receiving another ticking noise from the little bundle.

"Like mees!" Tarik suddenly gasped in surprise when a little tail rolled out of a fold of the blanket. The robed figure looked from Tarik to the bundled creature.

"Well I�ll be a Wookiee�s aunt," she said, laughing lightly, "You are a bit similar," she smiled, jewel-like eyes looking back to Tarik.

"This is Zolyn," she said, picking up the squirming bundle and holding him close. The infant squeaked and chirped, its tiny tail pulling back into the blanket. Tarik chittered in a nonsense noise that made the tiny alien coo back at him.

"And you have a name?" she said, raising a brow-ridge at Tarik. He twitched his tail, growling to himself.

"No speak too good, hard to say," he muttered, looking embarrassed.

"Well, try," she said, blue eyes like star sapphires glimmering at him encouragingly.

"Ter.. Tarrrr....Tarik," he said, grinning as he finally managed to pronounce his name.

"Nice to meet you Tarik, my name is Taja Noryyce, but most people call me Ryyce," she said, smiling gently.

"Hi," he said, suddenly shivering again as a chill wind blew through the alley. "No place warm?" Tarik asked, curling his tail around his leg and shivering.

"Not yet, do you have somewhere to go?" she asked, holding the squirming Zolyn closer.

Tarik looked around, wary of trusting someone so soon after his rebel friends being betrayed by one of their own.

"Yeah, not big, but warm, maybe still dry," he admitted, looking up toward the thin ledge they were hiding under. "Up, little climb, wall too wet, claws no grab hold," he said, crouching against the wall. She nodded.

"Maybe if you used the stairs?" she said, nodding toward a door in the side of the building.

He growled softly at the idea, "No like indoors, too easy get caught," he said, uncurling his tail and wrapping it around the other leg.

Noryyce nodded, "Hence the reason I stay out here as well." Tarik looked down at the robed alien woman.

"You running too?" he said, then sneezed again.

"Yes," she said, "I have been for quite some time," she looked down at Zolyn. "Too long by most standards, but I�m still here," she looked up at Tarik, "So, who are you running from?" He ticked to himself again, looking around nervously.

"Better no say," he muttered.

Noryyce leaned her head at an angle, looking at him inquiringly. Tarik sighed, leaning against the wall.

"Man in black hunts me, Drathan hunts me, Troopers hunts me, take pick, all want kill mees," he said, sniffling. Noryyce stiffened visibly at the mention of a man in black.

"What man in black?" she said, a sudden uneasiness to her voice. Tarik shrugged sadly.

"Drathan in black, bad magic, kill all likes me, no others now but mees," he said sadly, chirping at the end of the sentence.

"Vader," Noryyce gasped, barely above a whisper. Tarik looked over at the mysteriously haunted look that had suddenly filled her features.

"Rrryyce?" he asked, startling her from her memories.

"Hmm? oh, nothing to be concerned about, just an old woman and her memory," she said, rocking the little Zolyn in her arms as he started squirming again.

Tarik looked up again, sniffing at the air. "Gonna get colder," he said, studying the makeshift roof above them. Noryyce looked at him questioningly. "Maybe stairs worth try?" he said, cocking his head at her.

"Perhaps," she said softly. Tarik stood, looking at the door as if it were a dangerous animal.

"Wanna come?" he asked, looking back uncertainly.

Noryyce smiled, "Perhaps," she said, looking down to the little bundle as he chirruped. Tarik studied the door for a few moments before working up the courage to reach for the door handle. He timidly slid a clawed hand around the handle, hoping it wasn�t security-coded to call the Stormtroopers if he opened it.

He flinched as he turned the handle, surprised that the door had opened without eating him or having a Stormtrooper behind it. Noryyce smiled as Tarik poked his snout around the edge of the door, sniffing. He turned back to her with a look of accomplishment of his green face.

"Safe," he announced, his tail twitching happily. Noryyce drew her robes closer around her, standing up.

"In that case, I will accompany you," she said, making Tarik snicker at her regal tone of voice.

-----------------

Darth Vader sat in his office, yet again reading reports that he didn�t want to be seeing. The creature had disappeared completely.

Winter usually didn�t mean much to the inhabitants of the upper levels of Coruscant, it was just another season on the calendar. To those living out on the streets, winter was a harbinger of many things, death and starvation among the highest concerns. Frostbite and being eaten by giant mutant sewer rodents were among the lesser concerns.

Tarik had gone into hiding somewhere, and so had Riker. He hadn�t been back to the palace yet, giving some poor excuse about following a lead after Tarik so he wouldn�t have to face the Emperor. Vader wanted to simply have them both put under a death warrant, but the emperor wouldn�t let him. Riker was one his favorite toys at the moment, a sort of pet fool he kept around for the enjoyment of seeing him make an idiot of himself. Eventually, he�d grow tired of his plaything once he found a new toy to play with.

The unfortunate thing was, he�d already found it.

The Emperor had some new pet project for a space station capable of destroying a planet. He was ecstatically pouring over every detail of his new toy with its designer, some scientist named Lemelisk. He�d practically forgotten about Riker and Tarik, leaving both his renegade pets running the streets unfettered. Vader intended to have them both back on a leash very soon.

Every piece of information he�d collected in the past week showed that this Tarik creature was at least as intelligent as a human, and certainly more intelligent than Riker. He was a capable fighter, an expert at evading pursuit, and a dangerous being in general. He�d even managed to sneak up on Riker and leave him unconscious instead of killing him, which showed an amazing amount of intellect and strength of personality for a creature bred to be a mindless assassin.

This creature even showed an uncharacteristic loyalty to the rebels he�d briefly befriended, standing by and risking his own capture while watching them be led off. And on top of that, he�d had the wisdom to realize when to fight back and when he was outnumbered.

Vader didn�t know whether to be proud of their creation or terrified out of his wits at what they�d let loose in the galaxy. Either way, he was going to have to finish what he�d begun years ago and kill the scaly creature.

If it didn�t kill him first.

----on to Part 2 of Chapter 3---

© 2000 Michelle Petrosky

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