The Clawdite, Nuri! It had been two years since Boba had last seen him. That was on Aargau. The shapeshifter had been smaller then. So had Boba. But Boba was definitely bigger now - bigger, and stronger, and heavily armed. And this Clawdite had betrayed Boba. Boba had trusted him. In return, the shapeshifter had stolen what remained of his father's fortune. "Nuri," Boba said in a low, controlled voice. He saw the Clawdite's eyes narrow. "You owe me."
"Owe you?" The Clawdite did not recognize him. His gaze shifted uncertainly from Boba to the passage behind him. "That's right," said Boba. He drew his vibroshiv. He lunged for the shapeshifter. As he did, Nuri's form seemed to melt. His neck grew longer and longer. His arms and legs shrank into nothingness. His head narrowed. Long, knife-sharp teeth filled his mouth. Feathered scales covered his body. Where the Clawdite had been, a huge arrak snake drew back to strike. Its glittering green eyes fixed on Boba. Then, hissing furiously, it wrapped its coils around him. "Not so fast!" Boba yelled. He struggled against the thick, powerful serpentine shape. The arrak snake's coils began to tighten. Boba fought for breath. His vibroshiv fought to discover some weak spot in the snake's scaly armor And found it! Just beneath the snake's fanged jaw there was a patch of flesh unprotected by scales. Boba plunged the vibroshiv there when once again the shapeshifter's form changed! In place of the arrak snake was a copper-colored dinko. It had crushing jaws, and pointed talons the length of Boba's arm.
Its jaws snapped at Boba. When he kicked back at it, a foul-smelling spray squirted from the dinko. "Ugh!" Boba staggered backward. For a moment even his Mandalorian helmet was no help the fumes choked him. Then his secondary filters kicked in. Coughing and shaking, Boba struck back. The dinko snarled, lashing at him with one long, pointed talon. Boba's hand fumbled for his blaster. He grabbed the weapon and was just raising it to fire, when the dinko abruptly faded. Going, going... gone. "Hey!" Boba blinked, trying to find whatever the shapeshifter had become. And saw a giant fefze beetle, the same color as the walls. It crawled through the toxic Xabar fungus. Then it scuttled into the shadows. "No!" Boba shouted and lunged after the escaping insect. But he could barely see it in the darkness. Desperately he took aim with his blaster. No, wait Boba shook his head. That's what he wants! If I fire, I'll alert everyone in the fortress assuming there's someone here! He shoved his weapon back onto his belt. He could just make out the beetle skittering down the tunnel. Boba took a step back, then took a running leap. As he flew through the air he leaned forward, keeping the black shape in sight. Uuumph! With a grunt Boba fell. The slimy floor beneath him shuddered. His hand grasped at darkness for the beetle And got it!
