*More will come I promise : ) *





"I am unable to get a clear bio-reading on the life form on the planet. The sensors seem to be malfunctioning." T'Pol informed the captain as Reed left the bridge.

"Understood. Security team to transporter for back up." They then began the wait to see exactly what it was they were inviting on board.

"I'm at the transporter sir, beginning transport now." Reeds voice sounded through the bridge.

And then nothing.

"Mr. Reed, report."

Still nothing.

"Archer to security team.'

No response.

"I'm guessing this is really not good." Maggie muttered under her breath as she gingerly rubbed her soar arm and tried to resist the urge to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Since there was really nothing there she didn't want to look pathetic. Not that any one would have notice they all seemed actively employed in the act of not panicking.

"Archer to engineering."

"Tucker here." The response came immediately.

"Trip meet me at the transporter."

"Aye sir."

Archer headed for the lift and was followed by T'pol. Maggie felt like she was being left behind and so at the last minute, she also entered the lift.

"What are we going to do now?" Archer was looking at her as if she had suddenly sprung and extra head.

"You should have stayed on the bridge." He looked like he was not too happy that she hadn't done just that. But what the heck, this wasn't her time; he wasn't her Captain, what had she to lose. Her life maybe, but that was beside the point.

"I'll keep that in mind I maybe next time I'll do just that." She was looking him straight in the eyes, why should she be intimidated, no reason at all.

He sighed deeply and shook his head in resignation.

The lift opened and Trip entered the slightly cramped area.

"Pick up an extra passenger did we?" he asked good-naturedly as he passed out the weapons he had brought with them. Everyone got one with which to defend their very lives, except Maggie of course, but hey she was new.

She felt the lift come to a stop and they all faced the door again with her in the rear and barely able to see over the Captain, and Trips shoulders.

What she did see though wasn't all that promising. The hall was dark and trashed. The overhead lights were blinking spatially and components of this and that littered the floor, while more liquid substances spattered the walls.

She saw Trip and T'pol share a look before they exited the lift with weapons drawn and pointing in different directions. She exited right behind the Captain and heard the doors close very closely behind her. From the way he moved she guessed he thought she had remained inside, fat chance.

She then stepped in something decidedly not pleasant and began to think this was not the brightest idea she had ever had.

Trip and T'pol were in the lead systematically checking each room and then moving on to the next with graceful efficiency. Maggie carelessly tripped on a metal something or other and fell in to the Captains back, startling him considerably and causing all firearms to be instantly pointed in her direction. She righted herself and straightened her shirt before shrugging innocently.

"Sorry." She mouthed. Trip smiled at her, T'pol simply raised an eyebrow, and if looks could kill, the Captain would have done way with her several times already.

There was then a noise from one of the rooms up ahead that had yet to be checked. The three of them moved to check it out, the captain motioning rather forcefully for her to stay put. That she had no problem with. The more she saw the damage the less she wanted to meet the cause.

They took positions on either side of the doors. Trip on the far side and T'pol and Archer on the other. Trip nodded slightly to T'pol and they both moved in to the doorway at the same time, followed closely by the captain.

She heard a muffled moan from inside the room and some one whispered, "Its ok now, we'll get you to sick bay."

Good, she thought, no monster just wounded. It had probably been a systems failure of some kind. That was known to happen on big ships. Well at least it was on big ships in her time, which was 150 years removed from this time. But logic was logic and if that's the way her mind saw it, well then that the way it was. She heard scrapping sounds from inside the room and assumed they were helping the injured to the door.

She would help if she didn't think it would later get her yelled at.

And that was when she felt the breath on the back of her neck, and then it growled. One of those low menacing growls that you just know comes from something three times your size. Three large bony fingers then proceeded to rest themselves on her shoulder.

Maggie squeezed her eyes shut. This was not happening. She couldn't scream, she wouldn't scream. Maybe if she was still she could will the thing to just go away. Something sniffed near her ear, something smooth and long and sharp, if the nick on the tip of her earlobe was any indication. She tried to hard not to move, so hard.

"No" she didn't even realize she was whispering it. But she was over and over and over again. As if she could make it be nice simply by saying those two letters again and again.

The growling started again and the hand gripped a tighter hold on her shoulder.

This was it. She was going to die. She had seen her share of alien movies, of creepy killing things that come in and sniff and terrify seconds before they proceed to disembowel. This was always the part where she closed her eyes. But in this case that didn't seem to be helping. She still heard the growl, still felt the fingers, still heard the breathing near her head, still felt the slight scratch on her lobe. This was way to real.

The monster, the creature, the alien, was backing up, and due to its grip, so was she. Oh now it was taking her someplace to store her body for later. She had read somewhere that this is what the crocodiles did, or was it alligators.

'Oh come on Maggie that's neither here nor there!' she reprimanded herself. She figured she was now officially in shock. She had thought she was before, what with the being thrown through space and time, but no that was nothing compared to this.

She felt something slither around her waist. She wasn't even going to guess what that was. Instead she settled for merely whimpering. She no longer had the strength of mind even to repeat 'no' anymore. This was really bad. This Bad Ugly Bad Thing was dragging her who knew where to do who knew what and all she could do was whimper and cry and let it.

She opened her eyes slightly to try and judge exactly where it could possibly be taking her. She saw the lights still in the room where the wounded were. They were probably still making there way to the door. She, unfortunately, wasn't going to be there when they returned. The Big Ugly Bad Thing, which her mind had officially decided to label it, was backing in to another of the open doorways closer to the lift. Even though she was offering it no help, or resistance for that matter, it was having no problem dragging her silently with it.

She looked down. That was when her brain registered that her feet where no longer on the ground, and the thick orange scaly thing around her middle was holding her up. She slowly, and against her better judgment, looked at her shoulder. Yes there were the three decidedly ugly looking fingers, with, what could only be described as talon at the end of each. They had to be seven inches easy even with out the claws added in.

She felt the breath near her ear again as she lost sight completely, of the hall and was dragged to the far corner of the room. The lights were completely out in this room the darkness in the corner was all encompassing in its totality. Another not good sign.

She ventured her gaze farther over her shoulder and took in what could only be a beak, hawk-like in shape and huge in size.

'Ok I don't want to see any more' she franticly thought as she determinedly faced forward again and tried to slow her breathing so she wouldn't pass out and die. Although unconsciousness could almost be a good choice about now.

The Big Ugly Bad Thing looked up suddenly, its huge beak grazing the side of her head in its hast. She looked up as well on instinct and saw a second skinny but powerful orange arm reach up and dislodge a panel above their heads. Before she even knew what was happening she was thrown in to the opening and the creature, jumped, flew, something, in after her shutting it behind them.

This was a situation she really didn't want to be in. and with all her degrees and knowledge, and movie watching to back her up, she could think of not one single thing to do to save her life.

So instead she went with unconsciousness. Hey when in doubt sleep, that's what she always said right. She probably should have laid down first…ouch.

And the world went black.



*I know its short but I'm trying to update once a day so they may be short, but hey, their there. : ) And thank you so much for the feedback, I just can't stop smiling whenever I read some. I dedicate this chapter to Jill…thank you!!