Stardate: 52043.2


   Ensign Hindman awoke to a pain in his lower back,
where he was hit by the phasers. He hissed through
clenched teeth as he pulled himself to his feet. Back
in his cell. A guard stood outside of his cell.
   You were a moron, he thought to himself. Idiot!
   Hindman hoped that Beeg would be all right,
unfortunately that thing was still loose. The door to
the brig hissed as it opened. A man stepped in though
Jack couldn't see his face.
   "Where is the prisoner?"
   "In there sir," the guard gestured toward Jack's
cell. The man deactivated the force field and stepped
forward.
   "Captain," Jack said as he stood upright. "Sir, it
was all a misunderstanding--"
   "I know," Mason said.
   "You do?"
   "Yes. Our sensors detected an alien vessel that had
been following us for quite some time. They had used
very advanced shielding."
   Hindman then asked the question that had been
bothering him.
   "Is Beeg okay?"
   "He'll be fine, though he is a little drained,"
Mason said simply.
   "That creature killed her," the ensign told the
captain.
   "We know. Heaton found it after it had tried to
pass through a force field. Obviously their cloaking
technology doesn't exactly work when it comes to force
fields."
   "Sir, do I have permission to leave?" Jack asked.
   "Yes, ensign, you do. I suggest that you take a few
days off, away from work."
   "No, I don't think so," Hindman said as he exited
the cell. "Work is the only way I can relax."


   The knight raced toward him, broad sword swinging.
Hindman leaped out of the way just as the mighty blade
swung through the space that the ensign had just
occupied. Jack rolled to his feet and drew his own
sword which was a short.
   After a few seconds, the fully armored man turned
his horse around, yelled, and charged once more toward
Hindman. This time Jack hit him squarely in the neck,
decapitating the knight and ending the duel.
   "Computer, end program."
With a loud beep the medieval world was replaced with
the metal walls of the holodeck. The ensign wiped
sweat from his brow as he entered the hallway.
Actually there were more than one way that he relaxed
other than work. The holodeck or a good novel.
   He was going to the brig to try and communicate
with the alien being.

   The creature was sitting down in one of the cells,
its upper lip curled back over its razor sharp teeth.
Force fields had been modified to contain the beast.
Hindman stared at the creature as its tongue darted in
and out of its open mouth.
   "Why are you here?" the ensign asked, arms folded
across his chest.
   The alien said nothing.
   "Why are you doing all of this?"
Still no answer. After what seemed like hours a voice
suddenly boomed in the ensign’s head.
   <We are here because we choose to be>
Then:
   <We must hunt prey to survive. It is a good
explanation>
   "Why are you on our ship?" Jack asked sternly.
   <To take control of it. You are all fools. We have
hundreds of ships throughout this galaxy and many
others. We will win>
   And with that, the creature through back its head
and shot its long tongue down its throat. Jack ran to
deactivate the force field when the creature
shuddered, gagged and fell to the floor. Dead.
   That was when a shudder ran through the ship,
followed by an explosion. Heaton, who had been
standing nearby, tapped his communicator and spoke.
   "What's happening?" he asked.
   "The alien ship. It's attacking!" a faint voice
cried, then static.
   "Just great," Jack muttered to himself.