Weapon of the Empire. (Tarik's Tale)
Chapter Five, part six.
Imperial times- Dantooine
Riker South brooded unhappily at a dark corner table of what was in all likelihood the worst bar on Coruscant.
Dreu Kirunne�s youngest son, Kyel, was at a table not too far away, cheating some poor Rodian out of his credits. Kirunne seemed to be enjoying every moment of the Rodian�s despair as he lost each carefully-played hand.
The deranged young man with wild dark hair and intense dark eyes grinned maliciously across the table. Riker sipped his drink quietly, watching the young man win another hand against the Rodian. The green-blue alien squawked something in outrage, standing and yelling at him.
"Hey, that was a legal hand, I can�t help it you screwed up!" the boy retorted, then reached for the pile of credit chips.
The Rodian snapped an insult at him, and Riker saw the boy�s stare turn to black ice.
"What did you call me," he said in a quiet malevolence that would have chilled even Lord Vader�s heart, if he still had one under all that armor.
The Rodian repeated the comment, adding that he was also a liar and a cheat. Kyel stood up slowly, shoving his short ponytail back over his shoulder.
"That�s what I thought I heard," he snarled. The Rodian squawked another comment, reaching for the pile of credits.
His hand never reached the chips.
Kyel�s azure-blue lightsaber ignited while his hand was in motion from his belt. He slashed the Rodian�s arm off just below the elbow and seared a line across his chest with the tip in one swift, dizzying motion. He snarled in malicious triumph as the green-blue alien shrieked and backed away, clutching what was left of his arm.
Kyel snatched the credits off the table with a quick drawing of the force, closing his hand into a fist as they jumped in one clump off the table top and into the open pouch he�d left on the table. He calmly hooked the lightsaber back onto its unseen clip at his belt, picking up the pouch and walking away.
No one even dared do much else but stare in confusion and terror at him as he walked toward the door.
Come on, this place is lame, he called to Riker telepathically as he walked out the door. Riker smirked, swallowing the last of his drink and waiting just long enough to make sure no one thought they were together. He walked out the door, grinning all the while. The boy may be psychotic, but he had talent and style, though not the brains to control his temper.
"That was unnecessary and stupid," Riker said aloud to the shadows of the alley beside the bar. The boy materialized out of the shadows.
"Don�t patronize me, South," he warned, stepping closer to him.
"Boy, I know the rumors about your family and believe me, you�ll never be the next Exar Kun, so don�t even try scaring me," Riker said, then turned away from him. He heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber a split-second before the luminous blue point came to rest in the air over his shoulder.
He froze.
"The moment I stop liking you is the moment you stop living," Kyel said quietly in that cold voice again. Riker fought off a tinge of fear, forcing himself to look as fearless as he�d boasted. He swallowed hard.
"We made an agreement," he said quietly, fighting to control his voice. "You help me, I give you a weapon capable of destroying Vader, remember?" Riker said, feeling the warmth of the blade�s energy waver closer to his face in the cool alley.
The blade deactivated, and Kyel let out a restrained breath. Riker closed his eyes in silent relief, relaxing from his frozen position.
"All right, let�s go find your weapon," Kyel said, returning the lightsaber back to his belt. Riker glanced at him as Kyel walked past him out of the alley.
"It�s off-world," Riker said. Kyel spun, the previous dark fire burning suspiciously in his eyes.
"You said it was down here somewhere," he said, taking a step closer.
"It left, he was taken off-world by a bunch of rebels," Riker said, then took a step back as the fire neared a boiling rage toward him.
"What?" the boy hissed.
"If you hadn�t been so dren interested in hacking your sabacc buddy in half, I�d have told you before," Riker defended. Kyel fumed.
"So what do we do now?" he said with an impatient shrug.
"I have another idea, one that�s almost as good, and probably a lot more willing," Riker said, smirking again. He pulled a datacard from his sleeve, holding it up.
"What�s that?" Kyel asked, the fury fading to curiosity.
"This, dear boy, is the map to and floor plan of the lab were out scaly green friend was created," Riker said, grinning. "And according to the records, he wasn�t the only one they made," he said, holding the card up to the light, admiring it like a jewel.
"So? you said Vader killed the others," Kyel grumbled.
"And burned the lab, and erased almost every mention of the project," Riker added, sliding the card into his inside pocket.
"But your daddy has the biggest biochemical and genetic research corporation in the galaxy, doesn�t he?" Riker said, raising an eyebrow.
"And genetic replication," Kyel said, beginning to understand.
"We find one little sample, and you�ll have an entire army of those hideous things at your beckon call," Riker said with another sick grin. Kyel smiled, chuckling malevolently.
"I think I like you, Riker, you�re almost as bad as my father," he mused with a cruel smile.
"Of course, we might have to tinker with the design a little," Riker said, walking away.
"Hmm, tinker, daddy dear does love to tinker with things," Kyel said, laughing. "Living things especially," he added, pulling up the hood on his cloak.
"I think I�m going to enjoy meeting your father," Riker said, placing a hand on Kyel�s shoulder
in mock affection as they walked back to their apartments.
-----
Tarik woke suddenly, looking up at the night sky. The breeze ruffled the grass on the hill around him, making the only noise.
Something was wrong. Something felt wrong. The something wasn�t here, it was something far away...something he couldn�t place.
He snorted, yawning widely and snuggling back against the warm ground. The rustling of the soft breeze in the tall grass slowly lulled him back to sleep.
Whatever the danger was, he�d fight it after a good night�s sleep and a decent breakfast. Maybe fish again, the fish in the stream to the east made a good breakfast. No, too salty for that early. He�d have to barter with the little native child that he�d rescued from drowning for some bread or something. They seemed to like him for now, or at least tolerate him.
The silence of the night slowly quieted his mind, returning him to his sleeping dreams.
~~~~~~~~
The second boy from the desert wasn�t a boy anymore, he was an adult, dressed in strange orange
clothes. There were others dressed the same, and many others not like them.
They�d just won
something important, but he couldn�t see what. It was in the air, far above the celebration. Something
good, something happy, and someone familiar.
This would happen soon, that�s why he only saw a little bit. Something else was watching the
celebration, something that didn�t belong there, a blob of energy that didn�t like their being happy.
The familiar scent of the second boy from the desert and someone else he knew were caught in the humid air,
among dozens of others.
He recognized the other familiar scent just before he woke up.
Mina.
~~~~~~~~
Tarik jolted awake, then realized it was mid-morning already. He looked around, confused. He rubbed his head, grumbling to himself. Too many weird dreams, he thought sourly, scratching his ear.
His new friend from the tribal clan was lurking around the stand of trees at the base of the hill, waiting for him to wake up. The alien child smiled as he saw Tarik was awake.
He waved enthusiastically, hopping up the hill toward him. Tarik waved back, wondering what the boy�s parents thought of his strange new friend.
Whatever they thought, they were nice enough to let him bring Tarik some bread and cooked vegetables for breakfast. The child wasn�t afraid of him, like children back in the city had been. He seemed to accept him as either just some new animal or a really weird person.
The other people were superstitious and a little wary of him, but they accepted him because he�d saved the boy�s life.
Tarik chirruped happily, bringing a giggle from the child. They both sat in the grass and ate the
breakfast the boy had brought, not caring for a moment that they didn�t understand each other�s
language.
This was home.
-----------End Chapter 5----------
© 2000 Michelle Petrosky