Dwayne found himself hitting the floor hard. He groaned slightly as he stopped and looked up to see Czarina hovering over him.

"Everything's going to be alright Lieutenant," she told him.

He watched as she climbed to her feet and hurried away from him. Jo hurried up to him and the two glanced at each other.

"Why would Hapar fire at us? They're after Tera, not the people. At least that's what I first thought," Jo told him.

"Remember that he also wants to take over the planet. To do that, he needs two things. One; to get Tera back to his side and two; to destroy Big Guy and Rusty. I think he's trying to bring them out again and or Tera out into the open," Dwayne suggested.

Jo nodded in agreement, helping the lieutenant to his feet. Garth and Mack both climbed to their feet, brushing the debris off of themselves.

"What are we going to do about him? By the time we get to the Big Guy..." started Garth.

"There is no time to get to the Big Guy. We'll have to deal with him here and now," Dwayne replied.

The three stared at him with incredulous looks. Jo glanced over at Czarina, who was standing next to the broken door. It looked like she wasn't paying any attention to them. She stood there, intently watching the alien outside.

"Where is she? I know she's here somewhere!" yelled Hapar.

He stormed back and forth around the area. He noticed Czarina standing in the doorway, Jo running up behind her. He gasped once he saw the two. They soon ran back to Dwayne, Garth and Mack. They were trying to find a spot were the lieutenant could be out of the way but he was protesting.

"It's you! I know you!" he quietly told himself. "How did you get here?"

He ran towards the small group. He stared at them, his breath visible as snorted through his nose. He pushed the two women aside before he grabbed the lieutenant by the throat and yanked him from his friends.

"Dwayne!" cried Jo.

Hapar stared at the lieutenant, who was gasping for air and trying to free himself from the alien's grasp. After only a few moments, Dwayne passed out and the giant bug subsequently dropped him to the ground.

"Be warned! I know you're here somewhere! I have your precious doctor! If you want to see her alive, come out now!" Hapar yelled.

Jo gasped as she looked at Garth and Mack, who were also surprised.

"They have Doctor Slate," Mack muttered. "Terrific."

"But who is he talking to exactly?" Garth wondered.

"Yeah, us or Tera?" agreed Jo.

"You have been warned! I will kill him!" Hapar cried out.

The three mechanics looked over at Dwayne, who was not moving on the pavement. Jo glanced around the area to see where Czarina was to find that she was nowhere to be seen. She sighed as her shoulders slumped a bit.

"Great, the lieutenant's hurt and now Czarina's gone. What next?" she muttered.

"You know, for someone you went to school with, I'm not surprised," Garth told her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Jo.

She gave her co-worker a glare and he slightly flinched because of it. The two turned back to the scene before them.

"More importantly, how are we going to get Dwayne out of there? He's pretty well taken captive. We can't get to the Big Guy and Tera's nowhere to be seen," Garth told her.

"What's Tera got to do with this?" Mack asked.

"I don't know but I think if she were around, she'd get him out of there," Garth replied.

Jo didn't say anything as she watched the scene. She became horrified once she saw Czarina run towards Hapar.

"Czarina!" she cried out.

Jo immediately darted out to help her friend. Garth and Mack tried to stop her but she was just out of reach. The two friends reached him at about the same time and he grabbed them both around their waists. His stare went between them.

"I've seen the two of you before during my last visit here. How nice to see you again," Hapar snarled at them.

00000

"This way!" whispered a voice.

"Coming," replied the other.

The two figures quickly, yet quietly, ran down the corridor of the ship. They passed through several rooms yet they couldn't find what they were looking for.

"Where is she? We watched as Hapar kidnapped her. Too bad we didn't see where he took her," the other replied.

"How could we help that? We really can't interfere too much with these people Justin. We know what has to happen for Tera to be free of this curse," Jennifer replied.

Justin looked at her before his stare turned towards the floor. He sighed and nodded in agreement.

"I know that and we both know who has to be involved, they just don't know it yet. You know that just as well as I do," Justin told her.

"But when do we tell them? That's the problem! We can't just yet and neither can Tera! Not until the time is right!" Jennifer protested.

"I have a feeling it will be soon that we will have to though. It can't stay secret from them forever. We've already asked him but we we won't his answer until we meet him again. Now let's get going!" Justin told her.

He grabbed Jennifer's arm and they silently hurried down the corridor, looking for the doctor. They soon came across a room filled with guards.

"This one is to be taken care of as soon as Hapar says so. He has a feeling that she will give us trouble in the future. Until then, no one is to touch her," the dog told the two.

They nodded as the canine left the room. Justin and Jennifer both ducked until he was out of sight. The two ran up to the guards and knocked them out cold. Doctor Slate looked between them.

"You two again. Why are you here to help me?" she asked them.

"We're here to help all of you, not just Tera but she needs more help than what you realize," replied Justin.

Slate appeared surprised by this statement. She headed after them once they started to walk down the hallway.

"Would someone mind explaining this to me? As far as I can understand, she's in danger, we can somehow help but no one's asking for it. Now tell me what's wrong?" Slate demanded to know

"I'm sorry Doctor, but now is not the time but we will tell you soon," Jennifer told her.

Justin grabbed the Doctor's arm and he began to pull her out of the ship. She struggled the entire way. Jennifer became slightly angry and they stopped. He firmly held onto her arm as she continued to pry herself from his grasp.

"Let go of me!" Slate cried out.

"Do you or do you not want to get out of here Doctor?" Jennifer wanted to know.

"I do but you're not helping," Slate replied.

"Yes, we are. It's you that's not helping. If you keep this up, everyone on board will know we're here. I have one simple question for you. If we told you exactly how Tera could be helped, would you do your best to make it happen?" Justin

Slate was a bit surprised with the question but she soon nodded. Jennifer shook her head as they began to head down the corridor.

"That's why we're not telling you. The help she needs is specific and we can't force you to help," Jennifer explained to her.

Slate's eyes perked up in interest but she didn't say anything as she found herself being led out of the ship.

00000

Hapar glanced between the two before dropping them to the ground.

"The two of you aren't worth my time. I'm not after you. I want to find her and you wouldn't know where she is," Hapar growled.

The alien turned his back on them and began to walk away. Czarina stood up and ran over to him again. She jumped onto his back and he tried to get her off.

"Jo, get the lieutenant out of here! I'll stay here and distract him!" Czarina yelled at her.

Jo glanced at the lieutenant, Garth and Mack kneeling next to him. She hurried over to her friends and they began to take Dwayne out of harm's way. Jo glanced back at Czarina one more time before deciding to stay and help.

"Take Dwayne and get him out of here. I'm staying to help Czarina," Jo told them.

"What? You're crazy!" Mack cried.

"Well, it rubbed off a friend of mine," Jo replied.

She hurried back to help Czarina, who was suddenly thrown to the ground. Czarina began to back away from Hapar, slight fear in her eyes. Hapar saw Jo out of the corner of his eye.

"You will die human. Both if you will die," Hapar snarled at them.

"Get away from them!" came a voice.

Hapar twirled around to find Justin and Jennifer standing down the street and both were aiming guns at him. He noticed that Slate was standing directly behind them and he growled.

"So you found her, did you? You two were always annoying! Always in the right place at the wrong time! Why do you always have to help them? These are not your people. They're not even your friends!" Hapar demanded to know.

"Because you have no right taking them as prisoner. This planet is not for your taking and neither is Tera. She will be free," Jennifer replied.

"It has been mine ever since Tera joined my forces all those years ago. It wasn't until now that it was ripe for the taking," Hapar replied.

"Get away from them or else I will shoot," Justin warned him.

"I'm so scared Justin," Hapar sarcastically told the two. "I'm shaking in my boots."

Justin fired the weapon and it hit Hapar in the shoulder. He cried out in pain, grasping his injury. He growled as returned his stare towards the two felines.

"You will pay for that!" he snarled.

He pulled out a gun himself and aimed it at them. Jennifer snickered as she shook her head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she told him.

"And why not? You just shot me," Hapar wondered.

The next thing he knew, he found himself on the ground and unable to get up. A weight kept him pinned to the ground. He glanced up to see Czarina and Jo sitting on top of him.

"That's why," Jennifer said.

She hurried towards the doctor and began to lead her away from the scene. Slate tried to watch but couldn't when she found herself being pulled around a corner. Jennifer placed her weapon on her back and walked down the alleyway.

"What about Czarina and Jo? Are you just going to leave them there?" Slate demanded to know.

"No, we aren't. Justin's there to help. You know that. I thought it was best if I got you out of the way," Jennifer replied.

Slate narrowed her eyes at the comment. She noticed that the cat seemed quite agitated. Slate didn't know if it was because of the situation or not.

"What of will become of Tera?" Slate finally asked.

That got Jennifer's attention. She stared at the doctor in disbelief.

"What of Tera? She is a prisoner, just like a lot of other innocent people," Jennifer said. "She needs help but not just anyone can help. You must understand this."

Slate nodded before she allowed Jennifer to take her back to Quark. Inwardly, Slate was hoping she could soon understand the entire picture instead of the vague clues that they were giving.

00000

Justin walked up to Hapar, who was still pinned to the ground. He looked up at the cat before pushing Czarina and Jo off of him. The two stood face to face.

"You win this time Justin but be warned, I will be back. You managed to find the doctor and surround me," Hapar snorted.

He began to vanish into thin air and Justin shook his head as Hapar did so.

"He'll never learn. Tera's not part of his army and never was," Justin muttered.

He glanced over at Jo and Czarina before walking over to them.

"Thank you, for helping us deal with him. You don't realize how much this means for us," Justin told them.

"No problem," Jo replied. "Let's go Czarina."

Justin watched them leave the scene. He soon gave a sigh before leaving the premises himself.

00000

Dwayne coughed before opening his eyes. His eyes came to Jo, Mack and Garth before giving a weak smile.

"Don't worry Dwayne. Everything's going to be fine. Rusty's functioning properly again and those two cats are being as mysterious as ever. Doctor Slate thinks that more is going on than what they're letting on when it concerns Tera," Jo told him.

"I have faith in them. I firmly believe that they'll explain everything sooner or later," Dwayne replied.

"Yeah, but when?" Jo asked.

TBC...