Stardate: 52039.5


   Ensign Hindman's eyes slowly opened. His vision was
very blurred, he could barely make out the shapes of
people. He heard faint voices and his head throbbed
with pain. Hindman's vision cleared and he saw the EMH
or the Doctor as he was so frequently referred to.
Jack slowly sat up and rubbed his temples.
   The Doctor turned away from a patient and stared at
the ensign. "Oh, ensign," the hologram said. "I almost
forgot you were there."
   Hindman yawned, making his head hurt worse. The
Doctor turned on some sort of instrument (Hindman
never knew what kind of medical instruments were used.
Otherwise he would have gone to medical school) and
ran it down the length of the ensign's body.
   "Well, you seem to be fine," the Doctor said. "How
do you feel?" Hindman rubbed his head again.
   "I feel like I have a hangover," he said with a
smile. "How long was I out?"
   "Around two hours," the Doctor replied. The ensign
climbed down from the table. The hologram put his hand
on his shoulder. "Maybe you shouldn't go," the Doctor
said. Hindman turned to look at him.
   "I'll be fine. I've missed some work so I'd better
make it up," the ensign said. He turned to leave. That
was when he noticed Lieutenant Jarrod. Two nurses were
draping a sheet over him.
   The Doctor shook his head as Hindman left the
Sickbay.

   Jack Hindman walked into the turbo-lift, his head
still throbbing. "Deck 17," he said and the lift
started up. It stopped shortly and the ensign walked
out. Hindman looked up at the warp core, it seemed
fine. Jack spotted Ensign McOwen at a console. Hindman
clamped a hand on McOwen's shoulder. "So, is everything
fine?" Hindman asked. McOwen turned to look at him.
   "Oh, hi, Jack," he said. "Are you feeling okay?"
Hindman rubbed his eyes and said, "Yeah. I'm fine."
Jack turned to walk away when McOwen called back to
him. "Oh wait, Jack. There have been some problems,"
the ensign said. Hindman turned to face him.
   "What's wrong?" he asked. McOwen turned to face
Hindman. "Well, a few consoles have been losing power
and dying and we can't figure out why," he said.
   Hindman rubbed his eyes again. "Is there something
wrong?" McOwen asked. Jack looked up. "No, I'm fine,"
he said. That was when he saw it. Just a blur at first
and then a shape, a figure.
   It was by the turbo-lift door. The creature stood
on all fours and it looked very lizard-like.
Everything seemed to fade out of Hindman's mind. Only
this thing remained. He heard McOwen's faint
voice. "Are you alright?" it asked.
   Jack wasn't listening. He advanced toward the
creature's position. It seemed to have spotted him
because it looked right into his eyes. The door to the
turbo-lift opened and it ducked inside. Hindman rushed
in after it.
   It was just the two of them in the lift. He stared
at it and it stared right back. No one else had seen
it except for him. Then, it spoke to him. Not out of a
mouth but out of it's mind.
   <So, you can see me>
   "Yes," Hindman replied. He came forward, toward the
creature. It raised it's pointed tail and hissed.
   <Don't come any closer or you will be dead in two
seconds> The creature slowly moved toward the door.
The lift stopped and the creature darted out. Hindman
chased it through a corridor. People dodged the ensign
as he raced through the halls. Then Hindman saw an
officer with a phaser at his hip. The ensign grabbed
it and chased after the creature again.
   He fired at the creature that was just ahead of
him. The phaser shots blasted monitors in the
hallways, throwing sparks. The creature rushed around
a corner and Hindman tripped. The phaser went off and
hit someone in the leg.
   Hindman did not notice this. Something drove him
toward the creature, he didn't know what. All he knew
was that it was dangerous. That was when three
officers tackled him. Jack hit the floor, the phaser
spinning out of his hand. He broke free and grabbed
the phaser again.
   He only ran a couple of feet when the three
officers tackled him again, for good. Jack went limp
and dropped the phaser.

   The officers dragged Hindman out of the turbo-lift
and into the brig. Lieutienant Heaton stared as the
officers dragged Jack toward one of the cells. "What
happened?" Heaton asked. "He starting going crazy! He
was shooting at everything," one of the officers said.
   Hindman saw Kyra Draven in one of the cells. The
officers pushed Jack into a cell and Heaton activated
the force field. Ensign Hindman was trapped.
   "There was a creature! I saw it!" he yelled as the
officers left. He collapsed on the floor, exhausted.
It would be coming for him. Somehow he knew that it
would be coming. And he would be waiting.