Stardate 52051.3

     Ensign Hindman sat in his quarters reading a twentieth century Earth 
novel.  It was written by an author from that time named Stephen King.  Hindman
was about halfway through the book when a loud beep sounded in his ears.
     "Come in," Jack said.
     The door slid open and Tate, a member of the engineering staff, entered,
"Hi, Jack. I just came to ask how your appointment with Counselor Malar went."
     Jack stood and put down his novel, "Well, Malar was a lot like a counselor
I had when I was a kid," he replied, "In other words I thought that she was a 
waste of my time."
     "Are you still having those dreams about that alien?", Tate inquired.
     "Yeah, they're getting worse."
     Tate and Hindman walked to the turbolift.  Jack sighed, "Deck 9," he said.
The computer beeped and the lift began to move.  "I hope you're hungry," Jack 
said.
     "I'm famished," Tate replied. 
     The lift stopped and they walked out.  The Equilibrium was packed with 
people.  Everyone was chatting, laughing and pretty much having a good time. 
Jack and Tate got their food and sat at a table.  Tate stared at the chicken 
in front of him.
     "Mmm, looks good," Tate commented as he took a bite out of the cooked 
bird.
     "This is I'danian spice pudding, right?", Jack asked, staring down at his
plate and prodding the cup of pudding with his fork.
     "Looks like it."  Tate was eating a baked potato now.  He glanced briefly
at Jack and then resumed eating his meal.
     Jack silently ate his pudding and drank his black coffee.  Soon, they had
both eaten their meals.  They left the Equilibrium and started their day of 
work.

     The day was just like every other work day, dull.  All Jack did was make 
sure everything was fine and that everything was at peak efficiency.
     "What I wouldn't give for a problem to brighten up my day," Tate said, 
taking some readings.
     "I know what you mean," Jack agreed.  Suddenly, all of the sounds and 
noises around Jack began to fade.  Tate's voice was nothing but a murmuring 
blur.
     "Are you okay?" Tate's blurred voice asked.
     Everything began to spin and blur.  That was when he heard it.
     <Did you miss us?>
     They were everywhere!  The reptilian creatures had taken over without 
anyone knowing.  There had to be at least thirty of them if not more.
     <We will feed on your entire crew.  The ones you see are only a fraction 
of what is really onboard.  We warned your Captain.  He was a fool.>
     "Get out of here!", Jack yelled.
     Tate and a few others were gathered around him.  One of the reptiles 
suddenly grabbed Tate.  Jack saw him begin to struggle.
     "No you don't," Jack said, tackling the creature.  It fought with its 
claws, scratching and biting.  Jack punched it in the face three times, 
knocking it out.  But the others had already begun to attack the engineering 
staff.
     Hindman spoke into his communicator, "Ensign Hindman to Bridge.  They're 
here! Oh, god, they're here!"