Imperial times- Coruscant

Minero spun in surprise, hearing the distant echo of blaster fire. Mina and Derek were escaping in the lift, they were going down instead of up. The lift had apparently been locked from going higher than this floor just recently, and Tarik had a sneaking suspicion why, and who�d told them to.

"Hold it right there!" a Stormtrooper ordered. Tarik yanked his arms back into the shaft as one of them fired at him. He dropped through the opening and found himself knocking down one of the troopers that had gotten too close.

He slid the staff off his back in a single fluid motion as he hit the floor, catching the one he�d knocked to the floor across the face-plate in the motion. He backed away from him with a snarl as he moved defensively away from Minero, who was already surrounded and being dragged from the room.

One of the troopers came too close, trying to hit him with a stun-stick, but ended up with a set of claw-stripes across his helmet and a staff against his head. Tarik growled menacingly at the remaining troopers as they either backed away from him or approached to attack.

He lowered into a more defensive stance, ears and eyes flicking from one target to the next, watching for their movements to betray their actions.

Three attackers, one blaster, and a lizard in a loincloth with a stick taller than himself. It didn�t look like much of a fight to the other troopers outside the door, but they�d never seen Tarik fight a Stormtrooper before.

He snarled at the closest trooper as he poked at Tarik with the stun-stick, missing him but bringing him close enough to be classified as target number one. Tarik used the same trick he�d used on Drekano�s guard, grabbing the staff past the active point and yanking him forward before he realized what was happening.

He smacked the trooper in the faceplate with the butt of his staff as he stumbled forward, knocking him back the way he�d come. The other was a little more careful with his stick, but way too defensive after that little trick.

Tarik lashed out, kicking him in the chest before he could aim the stick. He whacked him along-side the head with his staff for good measure, sending the trooper sprawling, stunned. He snarled in adrenaline-induced glee at the panicked trooper that he�d attacked first.

The third trooper decided against using the stun-stick, reaching for his blaster instead. He leveled the muzzle of the rifle at Tarik, not bothering to check the power setting, which might mean a stun-blast, or it might mean extra- crispy Tarik if he didn�t move.

Tarik growled at the third trooper as he started to squeeze the trigger. Everything started to feel slower all of a sudden, the rifle�s point wavered as Tarik watched it. The trooper�s heartbeat had slowed, but so had his, he vaguely noticed. His breathing sounded like an echo to himself as he finally decided to move. The trooper squeezed the trigger in slow-motion, but Tarik was already moving.

He swung his staff toward the Stormtrooper�s arm two-handed, hoping to disarm him before he could fire. The vague impression that his disarming the trooper before he could fire was impossible flickered into Tarik�s mind, but he ignored it.

The staff moved with maddening slowness through Tarik�s eyes, striking the trooper�s rifle just milliseconds before the end glowed bright red and white with expelled energy. He continued the blow with the staff even as the lethal energy streaked toward him.

The shot went wide, Tarik felt he had all the time in the universe to dodge the shot if he�d wanted to, but he hadn�t needed to. He felt rather than saw or smelled the shock from the Stormtrooper as his rifle flew out of his hands with the impact of Tarik�s staff and the shot missed him by a yard.

He lifted his orange eyes from the stunned trooper to the congregation outside, which was experiencing the same sense of disbelief and stunned shock that the first trooper was. Tarik�s swing ended back in a position flat against his arm and partially behind his back, one hand still outstretched after letting go of the staff after disarming the Stormtrooper. He looked from trooper to trooper, feeling confused by their surprise.

Everything suddenly felt so natural for him, even the odd feeling of warmth that flooded through him, making everything so quiet to his hyper-sensitive ears.

A sudden flicker of danger from the floors below startled him, bringing the world around him back to normal speed and shattering his feeling of things just being right for once with his disproportionate form. He suddenly felt cold, worried, afraid for his friends and nervous that the troopers might recover and come after him any second.

He cheeped weakly, suddenly turning around and leaping up into the hole in the ceiling and scurrying through the ventilation shaft away from the troopers. He grabbed his staff with his tail and dragged it behind him, he didn�t have the room or the time to sling it back in position across his back.

He ticked to himself nervously, approaching the vertical shaft he�d come in through.

Minero was gone, Mina and Derek were in danger, Nyan was missing, and he had just scared the tralak out of himself with whatever he�d just done back there. This was not going well.

Tarik was starting to wish he�d stayed in bed the morning he�d gone to see Drekano instead of getting mixed up in all this. But then Mina and Derek might be dead from Steve�s treachery, or he might never have betrayed them if it weren�t for Riker.

Riker, now he recognized the scent he had caught, it was Riker�s burnt fish and cheese sandwich. The Drathan was here already, he�d betrayed him. Tarik froze at the edge of the air shaft, staring over the edge. He sank his claws into the metal, snarling. He was going to keep his promise and tear Riker apart piece by piece until he passed out, then he�d....

No, Tarik closed his eyes, not gonna kill him, not unless I have to, he snarled, fighting off the boiling rage that wanted him to rip out Riker�s throat. He slid over the edge of the shaft slowly, carefully.

Have to save Mina and the others first, then worry about him after, he thought to himself, calming down. He slung his staff back over his shoulder, carefully stepping onto the first weld joint. It was a long way down, he had to get moving.

--------

"Ow, let go, you�re hurting me," Mina cried, but Riker held her with his arm wrapped around her neck even tighter. The rebel named Derek was unconscious, and the old man, Minero, was bound and gagged, sitting on the floor next to the unconscious Derek. He squirmed and kicked angrily, swearing at Riker in at least a dozen different languages that were muffled by the rag in his mouth.

"You hold still, I didn�t kill two Stormtroopers to get you here to have you wriggle loose on me," he said, pointing his blaster at Minero. He stopped struggling, looking at Mina, then to the unconscious Derek.

"That�s better, I don�t think Tarik will like it very much if I have to kill you," Riker said, tightening his grip on Mina while addressing Minero. "He�s apparently very fond of you three," he said, looking down at Mina.

"Though I can see why, at least with you," he said, grinning. Mina elbowed him in the stomach, loosening his grip enough to twist free and take a few steps away before he grabbed her by the back of the hair and yanked her backwards. She cried out in pain as he pulled harder.

"I hope Tarik rips you in half and bites your face off," Mina hissed at him, grabbing the back of her head as he yanked her backwards again. Minero shouted a muffled something best left interpreted as a �me too�, struggling against his bonds again.

Riker clicked the setting on the blaster to �stun�, pressing it into Mina�s back.

"On second thought, he�s going to be a while before he gets here, so why don�t you shut up for now," he said, squeezing the trigger and letting go of her hair as the blue stun bolt hit her in the small of the back and knocked her to the floor unconscious. Minero fought and cursed at him, using expletives that would have made a dead man blush. Riker leveled the blaster at his forehead.

"You wanna take a nap next, old man?" he said, keeping the weapon pressed to his forehead. Minero stopped struggling again, looking at the blaster uneasily. Riker backed it away from him,

"Good boy, now shut up and watch your scaly friend die in peace," he said, sliding the weapon into its holster and leaning against a cargo crate.

----------

Tarik squeezed out of a ventilation grille and into a large storage area. He smelled Mina and the others close by, but he couldn�t tell where just yet. He snuck along a row of storage boxes, ears twisting in all directions to locate his friends. Something wasn�t right.

The source of the creepy feeling from upstairs materialized from behind a stack of boxes ahead of him, igniting his lightsaber. Tarik backed up with a surprised chirrup, orange eyes going wide in fear.

The man in black from the lab. He whined, looking around at the boxes around him, searching for some way around him to find the others. He backed up instinctively as the dark figure approached, weapon aimed at him.

Tarik hit the wall of crates behind him before he even realized they were there. He chirruped again, looking over his shoulder at the wall, then back to the approaching being.

He closed his eyes panicked, trying to figure out something.... anything. Jump, climb, the words were in his mind as if he�d been told what to do. He spun quickly, just as the man in black brought his weapon up to strike down at him.

Tarik leapt up as far as he could go, sinking his claws into the plasteel boxes and pulling himself up and out of reach just as the blade swung down at his previous position.

Vader looked up, mildly impressed as Tarik clung to the boxes for dear life.

He scampered up and to the top of the stack, looking down at Vader nervously, as if wondering whether to run or fight. Run was the better option, and the one that he needed to save his friends. Tarik hopped off the boxes on the far side, landing on another stack that was shorter.

Vader walked around the other boxes calmly, watching Tarik�s jumps from stack to stack. Tarik looked over his shoulder as his feet hit the floor, far from Vader and close to the door. He ran over, only to find it sealed shut.

No, Mina!, he clawed at the door in desperation, only making lines and scratches, no real damage. He hissed, slamming a fist off the door in an expression of frustration. Vader watched curiously, as if confused that the heartless killer the empire had designed would think saving his friends was more important than fighting him.

Tarik turned as he approached, pressing himself against the door and chirruping in fear. He shut his eyes as the mechanical hiss of Vader�s breathing got closer. He sniffled and chirruped, bracing himself against the door.

"No let Riker kill Mina, please," Tarik begged quietly, his ears drooping as he pressed harder against the door. Vader�s lightsaber was only a few inches from his throat, but at the mention of Riker, he backed away.

"So, you can speak," he said, keeping his lightsaber aimed at Tarik. Tarik nodded, opening his orange-gold eyes, a look of desperation in his eyes.

"No let kill, them no do nothing," he said pleadingly, "Riker traitor again, gonna kill Mina," he said, digging his claws into the door behind him with an unintentional screech.

Vader paused, thinking, "Riker seems to have a tendency to betray people it seems," he said, studying Tarik again, now that he was closer.

"Killed people, good people, they no do nothing to him," Tarik said, cheeping as he swallowed hard. "You kill me?" he said quietly, ending in a frightened squeak.

Vader seemed to be considering his answer when Tarik suddenly chirruped in panic and stood straighter.

"Him shot Mina!" he screeched, feeling the cry from her as she fell into unconsciousness.

Vader looked at him, surprised, he�d felt the little flicker of the call too, he�d detected earlier that Mina was latently force-sensitive. Tarik suddenly growled, orange eyes flashing in rage.

"Move!" he snarled, taking a swipe at Vader with his claws. Vader leapt back in surprise at the change in the creature before him. Only a mere moment ago, this creature had been begging not for his life, but for his friend�s lives. Now, he was willing to tear Vader in half to get to them and help them. The change was startling, and a bit unsettling, even to Vader.

"Lemme out," Tarik snarled, swishing his tail angrily. "Lemme outta here!" he roared, suddenly lunging after Vader. Vader dodged easily, backing away, trying to decide which was the lesser of the two evils, letting Tarik go or letting Riker live.

One look at the snarling creature before him told him he was the worse of the two, but the motive behind it instantly said he was the lesser.

Tarik roared menacingly, ending with a threatening hiss as he extended his claws. Vader felt a tinge of fear at looking into those blazing orange eyes, something no one had made him feel in quite some time.

If only for that, this thing should die, Vader thought. A swipe of claws that wasn�t intended to hit slashed through the air far too close for Vader�s comfort.

That�s it, I don�t care what your reasons are, you�re not leaving this room alive, Vader snarled mentally at the hissing green creature before him.

Someone was not leaving this room in one piece.

----on to Part 4 of Chapter 4---

© 2000 Michelle Petrosky

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