AN: Thanks for reviewing, here's the next chapter. I've know exactly where I want this to go, so finally I have a whole story in my head. Now all I have to do is work it out. Enjoy and tell me what you think!

Chapter 3: Eyes.

Trip and Hoshi seemed entirely unconcerned about the whole ordeal. They walked passed several shop, various smells came from them, mingling and making together an odor that made Malcolm feel slightly sick. He didn't feel anything like how they seemed seemed to be feeling. Something about the whole situation felt wrong. Maybe it was just his good ol' paranoia, or maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, it damn well made him incredibly nervous.

A slight headache troubled his train of thoughts, however, and he felt like he was being watched again. But not like the first time with the cat-like creature. No it felt like somebody was looking directly through him. He turned to look over his shoulder as Hoshi babbled on about all the souvenirs she had bought. Through the masses of people, his eyes were caught by a flash of green. He was surprised to see the same alien he had met in the bar. He seemed to muttering himself. Or was he holding something in his hand? The alien looked up and stared directly at him. When he saw Malcolm staring, he jumped a little and did a step back. He looked around, before quickly vanishing behind one of the stalls. Malcolm squinted his eyes.

"Malcolm!" Trip's voice pulled him back towards his friends' conversation. Hoshi giggled when he turned back startled.

"Finally! We thought your brain had died. Ya were far away there for a second." Trip commented and smirked. Malcolm looked at him questioningly. "I asked if you still had some extra money left." He pointed towards a building on the other side of the hall. A large light-board was hanging above it, lit up by red lights. The alien words flashed across it and a large picture was painted on the wall. Anyone could see what kind of building it was.

Malcolm raised his eyebrows. "I thought you were joking when you were talking about a movie theater." He said and his eyes shifted back towards the chief engineer. "You were really planning on going in there?"

"Sure! It'll be fun....It'll be a 'new experience'!" He added when he saw the skeptical look on the Lieutenant's face. "Besides, they have food in there. And ah don't know about you, but ah'm gettin' mighty hungry."

Though Malcolm wanted to protest, he was getting quite hungry himself. Agree but not acknowledge defeat. That might do it.

"I have some extra money." He said, and quickly added; "I, for one, don't spend all of it on ridiculous toys, or souvenirs that will just be thrown away." Hoshi's face reddened a bit, but Malcolm hadn't meant her. He was looking at Trip. The chief engineer had spend half of his money on weird alien technical stuff, or 'toys' as Hoshi had referred to it. Trip loved to take a look at all of them when he was back on Enteprise. Which meant, of course, take all of it apart one by one.

Which really isn't such a bad thing. Malcolm thought. It will keep him busy for a few days, which means I won't get dragged along to Movienight again.

Trip, however, didn't seem to mind the 'attack' on his hobbies from the armory officer. It just meant that Malcolm was to stubborn to acknowledge his defeat. He smirked. Armory officers. You just got to know how to handle them.

"That's the spirit, Mal!" He frowned while they made there way towards the building. "Though Ah think Ah'll let Hoshi do the translating of the menu's. Wouldn't want to get somethin' alive and still squirmin' on my plate."

Hoshi raised her eyebrows. "You sure commander? What about that 'New Experience' you were talking about?" She said, winking at Malcolm.

"'Broaden you horizons.' Sure! But how compelling that sounds, there are limits, ya know." Trip answered, his face twisting a little when he thought of eating such a 'dish'.

"Of course there are. Of course." Hoshi replied when they entered the building.

The alien cursed when the three Starfleet officers disappeared from view. With so many people inside he would probably never get the proper 'view' of one of them. But from what he had seen, they seemed to be very promising. Maybe they were the ones he was looking for. He swiftly moved towards the building.

Hoshi had quickly translated all of the movie names for them. Between names like 'The life of a Katanga.', 'Living on a planet like this.' and 'Boom! They blew us up.' they had quickly chosen a name that didn't sound so horribly boring or bad. Though Trip had seemed to be looking forward on seeing alien movies for a change, he was also beginning to have his doubts. They had agreed to eat after the movie, which seemed only to last for about 40 minutes. They had noticed that the films would all be played in the same room, though you would only pay for the right 'sound-chip'. The chip would be placed into the headphones that were waiting for them in the room. This way none of the visitors would be troubled by the other movies' sounds.

"Wait a second." Malcolm said after they had purchased their sound-chips. Hoshi looked up when she had just wanted to go down the stairs into the room. "Er...I'm going to get us some snacks." He quickly said when she looked at him questioningly, and pointed towards the bar. Hoshi nodded. "That would be nice. Try not to get anything poisonous, though." She said and grinned, before following Trip into the room. Malcolm breathed a sigh of relief. He cast a look at the bar before heading the other way.

The alien waited outside the building for a while, trying to guess the time the three would take to pay for a movie. He looked through the glass, pretending to be interested in the movies. The woman and the blond man were now sitting in the movie room that he could just see through the glass. The black haired man, however, seemed to have disappeared. After a few more moments of waiting, he inhaled deeply and his eyes darted towards the entrance. He would have to take the gamble..He quickly stepped inside.

Malcolm grabbed the alien by his shirt when this one stepped inside. He quickly pushed the shocked man outside again, and around the corner. Hidden by the shadows and thus unnoticed by anyone who passed by, he glared at the alien.

"What the hell do you want from us?" He hissed. Throughout his friends' conversation he had kept an eye on the alien. He had noticed him following them, creeping behind them, giving them looks and never letting them go from his sight.

The alien first seemed to shocked to say something, but he quickly recovered. "You are more observant than I expected, Malcolm Reed." He squeaked, not intimidated by the lieutenant's behavior. "That doesn't happen often. I rarely underestimate people."

"Well I bet I'm also a whole lot more dangerous than you thought I was. So you better speak up!" Malcolm hissed again, feeling slightly uncomfortable by the alien's reaction, though not showing it.

The alien laughed, a nasty little laugh that gave the Englishman the creeps. "I do hope so, Lieutenant. Or else you'll rather be a disappointment." He said and grinned, his tooth were yellowish. "But I thank you for saving me a whole lot of trouble." And with that he grabbed Malcolm's wrist. The alien possessed a lot more strength than he expected, and that's saying a lot. He let go as he felt that the alien might break his arm in two. The man fixed his gaze on him and stared at unblinking. For a moment he seemed to look very concentrated, and then pain exploded behind Malcolm's eyes. Even before he had the chance to cry out in pain, darkness engulfed him.

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