Stardate 52051.3 "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!" Mull looked puzzled as he watched his console, "Sir, there's no sign of any intruders." Mason said, "Ensign, who's here?", there was no answer, "Ensign Hindman, respond." Suddenly, Ensign Wood, who was filling in temporarily at tactical, clenched his neck and started gasping for air. The Ensign was seemingly pulled to the floor, his skin turning a pale color. Captain Mason quickly pulled out a hand phaser and began shooting randomly around the Ensign, hoping to hit his invisible attacker, but he was unsuccessful. Ensign Wood's struggling finally stopped. Enoz ran over to him as soon as she saw the Captain lower his phaser. She realized he was dead and backed off quickly before the creature got her, too. Elea turned toward the two and said, "Reports of crew members being attacked by invisible intruders are coming in from all decks." The Captain yelled, "Red alert! Mr. Mull, I want security and medical teams dispatched to all sections. Enoz, try to locate the intruders and scan for any ships in the area. We also need to find a way to.." He snapped his head forward when Mull suddenly yelled as something grabbed hold of him. Elea jumped from the neighboring station and tried to fight off the alien as Mason and Enoz rushed to help. In Engineering, Syxx was struggling toward the console in front of the warp core. The creature was pulling him away. As soon as his hand reached the button, he hit it and ducked. A burst of plasma exhaust came spraying from the core. He heard the creature yell and felt it let go as the searing gas hit it. Syxx reached up. The back of his head and neck were burned badly, but at least he got the creature off of him. He backed away and pulled out his phaser. All around him his Engineering staff were being attacked by the creatures. He started firing. The rest of the staff were too busy fighting off their attackers to pay much attention. Out of luck, he hit one just as it was diving toward an injured crewman. The creature shrieked and was knocked to the floor. For a moment, he could see it. It looked like a scaly lizard, with sharp, curved claws on it's tail and legs. It glared at him with narrow eyes, then vanished again. Elea succeeded in throwing the creature off of Mull. Captain Mason immediately punched where he thought the creature had landed, but ended up punching the floor. It jumped on top of the Captain. Enoz quickly kicked it off. The alien made a quick leap toward Elea. As soon as she felt it hit her, the cyberdroid tossed it toward the side of the bridge. The crew saw the briefing room doors open then close again. Mason yelled, "Computer, seal the briefing room!" There were a couple of loud thumps from the other side of the door, then it stopped. No one said anything at first. Mull was rubbing his neck, the Captain was returning to his chair, and Enoz was just trying not to look at Ensign Wood's dead body. Elea broke the silence, "Is everyone all right?" Before anyone could answer, the tactical station started beeping. Enoz ran over to it, "We're being hailed. They say they're here to help us." Mason looked at Enoz, "Did you send a distress signal?" The Oblokoni shook her head, "No, sir." Mason stood up, "Well, either way we need their help. Open a channel." A man appeared on the viewscreen. He had a wide, elongated nose, two arcing ridges on either side of his face, and his red hair flowed up into a distinctive curl. His smooth features made him very friendly looking. He spoke quickly, "The aliens have infested your ship?" The Captain nodded, "Yes, can you help us?" The man nodded in return, "Just a moment." He pushed some buttons on the console beside him. His ship emitted a distortion pulse. The pulse almost looked as if it was bending the bulkhead as it passed through. Mason took a step back when he saw it, but it passed harmlessly through him. Then the bridge crew heard a loud shriek from the briefing room. The pulse swept quickly across the ship. In Engineering, the aliens stopped attacking as it hit them. They fell to the ground shrieking. It passed right through everyone else, except when it hit Jack Hindman. Hindman was knocked across the room into the wall, then lay there unconscious. The pulse also revealed four of the aliens' ships around the Equinox. As they were detected, the ships beamed their crews back and fled. The Captain looked at the man on the viewscreen, "Thank you for your help. I'm Captain Frank Mason of the Federation Starship Equinox." The man looked pleased, "Federation. We've heard of the Federation but we've never encountered any of your people before. I am Antal of the Goulavar Republic. I am glad I was able to help. The creatures who attacked your ship are very dangerous." Mason said, "We had never encountered them until two days ago. They threatened us and then attacked our ship." Antal said, "They're called the Wiansani. They periodically attack ships in this region. Though they are only looking for nourishment, we've developed ways to detect and repel them." The Captain said, "We're very grateful. Is there anything we can do for you in return?" Antal nodded, "We only want to learn more about the Federation. What brings you here? Are you explorers?" "In fact, we are. Our mission is to explore the unknown, to seek out new life and new civilizations," Mason said. Antal looked at the Captain for a moment then said, "We are explorers as well. We recently made contact with a race called the... Firangi." Mason smiled, "Ferengi." Antal tapped his finger against one of the ridges on his face, "That's it. It was from them that we learned of the Federation. I, personally, couldn't understand the Ferengi obsession with money. That's something my people have risen above." The Captain seemed very much at ease by now, "It seems our peoples have a lot in common." Antal nodded with agreement, "Indeed. My people have an outpost not far from here. I would like it if you and your crew would join us as our guests. We'd like the chance to learn more about the Federation." Mason agreed, "And we would like to learn more about the Goulavar. Lieutenant Elea, set a course to follow Antal's ship to the Goulavar outpost." In Engineering, the EMH was treating some of the wounded crewmen. Some of the injuries were minor enough that he was able to treat them there, but Syxx had been ordered to sickbay. From a corner of Engineering, Jack Hindman regained consciousness. He jumped up and looked around. They were gone. He didn't see them anymore. Maybe this time it was finally over. Then he heard one of them. The reptilian voice crept into his mind again. Why couldn't they leave him alone? The voice hissed and said,