Unwelcome Visitors

by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

All characters copyright their creators

<ALERT, INTRUDERS IN THE HOLODECK> Kalith fairly screamed in Snowaters comlink.

Shaking her head, the now human snow leopard threw herself into the Corinthian leather upholstered command chair (courtesy of Doodles the Great, Djinn for hire) and snapped on an internal monitor. As the screen came to life she rubbed her head. When 'Lith yelled, it was always painful.

<Three entities, one with an energy weapon, neutralized, one with a personal force-field> the wandering beachball reported.

Nodding her understanding Snowaters flipped on the sound-link, wondering where these three had come from, and just why the Star Diamond was rapidly becoming Grand Central Station. "What's the field settings on that

force field" she sub-vocalized, knowing her implanted communicator would transmit her thoughts as easily as if she were yelling.

<Oxygen, Nitrogen intake, Carbon Dioxide, water vapor exhaust> came the report, almost before she finished asking.

"Humm, they never learn, do they" she whispered, flipping a switch to flood the monstrous holodeck with Nitrous-oxide.

Suzi finished pulling out her largest blade, still wondering at the featureless cavern they had landed in. "I'm ready, what about you two" she asked, searching for an exit.

"I think I should have worn my leather flight jacket" Crissi answered, her hoofs barely making a sound on the strange caverns floor, "What happened to our door?"

Melissa finished checking her small scanner, shoving it in a pocket. "I'm not sure, but something shut it down a few seconds after we arrived." Swinging up her particle beam projector, aimed it at a nearby wall and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. “Uh oh, I think we have a event here" she whispered, swinging the weapon around into a club, stepping forward slowly. Suddenly she giggled, stopping herself and glancing at the others.

"Umm.. (giggle).. we better (ha ha) get (ha ha ha) out of... at this point she broke down, falling on the floor with laughter. In moments the room rang with laughter, slowly subsiding as the three succumbed to the effect and fell asleep.

"They don't appear to be dangerous" Snowaters said to herself, carefully searching each of the three sleeping women and making a pile of their possessions, her voice muffled by a gas mask. "In fact, other than this funny knife and that primitive particle cannon their unarmed."

<True Snowy,> Kalith answered, <But ones a rat. There's no way she didn't catch your scent before the gas affected her. Are you sure you want to send them back?>

Sitting beside Melissa Snowaters rubbed her still aching head. "We don't keep people against their will 'Lith, and I won't kill them, so our choices are rather limited." She opened each knife blade, one at a time, marveling at the strange emblem on its handle. "Its too dangerous for innocents like these to just wander around. Lets give them a class A scare, then let them 'escape'."

<One class A B-Movie scare coming up. Temoving the gas, they should wake up in a few minutes>.

Snowaters nodded, moving out of sight of the trio as a classic B-Movie horror scene formed around them, constructs picking them up and placing them within the scene. "Better film this, somehow I get the

feeling its going to be priceless".

Melissa woke slowly, her head feeling like a trip hammer had run away in it. Slowly opening her eyes she got the shock of her life. Crissi was hanging upside down by chains, a boiling vat of some kind of wax beneath her. Suzi was in what could only be called a dissection chamber, hundreds of small knives on articulated arms waiting just above her defenseless body.

A scratching sound brought her head around to face a strange robot, oil leaking from different areas, its petroleum smell washed over he like a tide.

"Sozzzz.. Last pretty pretty wake up." it intoned, its voice rough, slightly distorted. "Masserrr wants know what you make tick" It held up a lethal blade in one arm. "Thennss Farspam1 invade yoursss planet.. Masserrrr eats well tonight.. Rats good fooossshhh..."

Melissa screamed, jerking at the bonds strapped across her chest and legs. Horrified she watched as the blade descended, feeling the straps, and her dress, part under the razor sharp blade.

In an instant she rolled off the table, finding a strange gun lying seeming forgotten in the muck covered floor. Spinning around she pointed at the obscene robot, pulled the trigger, then fell backwards against the wax filled tank behind her as the gun kicked.

The robot, half its upper caprice shattered into microscopic fragments, fell on the table she had just vacated, crushing it to the floor. Scrambling up the rat ran to Suzi, firing into the knife welding robot that had just started attacking her. It exploded as well, the round sizzling past Suzi's ear impacting a huge unit just behind her.

There was a pop and the doorway home reappeared.

"Get Crissi" Suzi screamed, pulling a dangling chain attached to the centauris. "And lets get out of here".

Melissa aimed as carefully as she could, alarms were screaming all around her, brilliant strobes blinding her. In desperation she closed her eyes, pulling the trigger and praying for luck.

There was a heavy thud as Crissi slammed into the ground. Suzi ran to her, pulling the remnants of chains from around her hoofs, the rags of her clothes flapping freely as she moved.

Melissa turned to the heavy sound of boots. Fully twenty bipeds with red flashing eyes were running towards her. Screaming at the other two to run for it she charged the enemy.

"Kills rat girl, capture human mate, fry horse" they screamed as they advanced.

Melissa started firing, she could smell the energy bolts as they fried past her, hear the impacts behind her. In a hailstorm of fire she found herself forced slowly back, then her weapon ceased bucking. She was out of rounds. Throwing the useless weapon at the three remaining aliens she turned and dove through the door, feeling it close behind her as Captain Joany screamed orders.

Moments passed as she just breathed, then she felt someones hand on her arm. Looking up she saw a worried Suzi looking down at her.

"You know" Melissa managed, slowly catching her breath. "That was fun, wanna do it again?"

On board the Diamond, Snowaters was laying on the deck, her laughter peeling across the now empty chamber. Slowly she managed to regain control, standing carefully lest she stumble. "That rat showed an awful lot of courage. More than I ever expected from the species" she gasped, wiping tears from her eyes.

<True> Kalith answered. <But remember the saying about a rat cornered> it reminded her.

"Yes, but still it was a different kind of courage. Not the vicious kind of a coward cornered, but the kind of a hero protecting friends."

<Maybe. I will have to re-run the tapes and study them>.

Reaching an exit Snowaters looked back at the empty chamber. "Make me a set Kalith, of all the funny things I've seen, to paraphrase an old friend, that's comedy."