First of all I want to thank all of you who have read this series and sent me all the nice comments and votes! Hope you will enjoy the next chapters as well, and please continue sending me suggestions on how to improve my writings.
A special thanks goes to my editor Smy3th for providing such useful suggestions and corrections on the text. Thank you so much for all your patience when dealing with my countless mistakes when deciphering the English language. If not for you, these chapters would still be filled with errors.
**********
Earth, present
The annual Christmas parties were on. The worst part of the season, as Teri considered it. Tonight's party was an absolute low point in her career as hotel manager. The hotel was flooded with party-goers in all kinds of outfits. The only thing they had in common was ridiculous clothes and too much to drink. Way too much.
Already she had been abducted by a pirate and clubbed in the head by a caveman. The evening could not get any worse. And it was still 3 hours left before her shift ended and she could return home to her cosy apartment and put her feet up. She could not wait for that to happen, she thought dreamily.
"Excuse me, Miss?" She turned around. Oh no, not another one. This time a member of the Star Ship Troopers had landed.
"Are you Miss McKenzie?" he asked politely.
Almost soberly. But, he had to be totally drunk, she concluded, especially considering the way he was dressed. Talk about skin-tight clothes, she thought while giving him a bottom-to-top look, noticing all the bodily contours. Very nice, she thought while contemplating a fit set of muscles, variously placed all over his otherwise slim body. Good-looking fellow. Polite, but still a bit young looking for her taste.
"Yes, what is it? she replied instead in a businesslike tone. "Have you lost your room?"
"Room?"
"Yes, I assume you're part of the group?"
"Uh, no. I was told to bring you along," he replied weakly.
"Along where?" she asked suspiciously.
"If you don't come voluntarily I've been allowed to use force," he said majestically.
She just laughed. "Another abduction? Not again. This is only my third this evening. Originality is an art form fast becoming extinct, it seems. Maybe you should think on that once you've sobered up?" The guy must be much more inebriated than he looked, she thought. "So, what's your room number, then?" she continued.
"Huh?"
"Your room number," she said slowly, emphasising each word carefully. "This is the reception. You tell me your name or your room number. I give you the key. You go and sleep it off. End of story." This one was particularly dense, she thought while stamping her left heel in the pavement with impatience and awaiting a miracle dropping some brains into this fellow.
***
"Have you got her yet, Private?" Captain Hamilton's voice beamed into his earphone. He sounded impatient – as always.
"No, not yet. But I'm getting there," the young man replied hastily.
"Well, get on with it then!"
"Uh well, she's not very cooperative."
"Just beam her up and be done with it," the Captain replied disinterestedly.
***
"Talking to yourself?" Teri wondered. "Or is your space ship wrongly parked?" She just laughed at the lunatic so involved with living out his role. "By the way, was Captain Picard all right?" she asked.
He just stared at her.
"Man, you've seen way too many sci-fi's," she concluded. "Maybe you should try for the vampire style next year. No, wait a minute. Perhaps not. It would be a bad idea since you get so involved in your roles. We can't have a guest running around sucking blood from other guests, now can we?"
Confused, he just continued staring at her before finally reaching a decision and pointing a flashlight at her. Immediately her entire body was frozen stiff. What the heck? she thought, before loosing consciousness.
***
"What took you so long?" the Captain asked. "I said to just beam her and be done with it. And what was the lecture about anyway?"
"Uhm, I think she did most of the lecturing," the Private explained nervously.
"Saints!" the Captain swore. "Don't let the females run all over you. Women prefer a firm hand. Not all this gentlemanly behaviour. How am I ever going to get something useful out of you when you continue to walk around saving damsels in distress," he growled at the rookie.
The woman was starting to rouse. A few moans were heard before she tried to stand up, and almost fell down again.
The rookie jumped to prevent her fall. He led her by her arm to the nearest chair and made a lot of soothing noises while doing so.
The Captain just looked sky-high and sighed. This young man would never be a good soldier. That was for sure. Morgan, his second in command only laughed at their familiar display. The Captain shook his head at the misfit that was supposed to be one of his most trusted crewmen. The rest of the squad had remained home due to the secrecy of this mission. Hopefully they would not have to do more than just travel leisurely back home. Otherwise they would never get out alive, he sighed.
Now the victim had awoken completely. She quickly dragged her arm away from the rookie and stared at the three large men towering over her. They were all dressed in the skin tight suits the drunken guest had worn. The suits did not leave any details of their bodies to the imagination, and she shook her head as if trying to clear her eyes.
Staring at their enlarged crotches and the massive amount of muscles bulging on their chest and thighs, she must be hallucinating, Teri thought. No man looked like that – at least none she had ever come across before. It must be the angle that created a false impression she thought and raised her body up to a standing position. Nope, it did not help at all. They were still bulgy and hard looking at all the right places. She rubbed her eyes to check if she was really awake, or if this was just another wet dream featuring her and three hunks having a hell of a good time. If that was so she was not sure she cared much for waking up.
Hmm, they were still there. Strange. Very strange. Maybe she was awake after all? She peered more closely at the man right in front of her. That must be some chest plate, she thought while contemplating the texture of the bulges on his chest.
She looked upwards. He towered above her and a very nicely chiselled face was looking down at her. High cheekbones and a broad face. Very male and comforting at the same time. Probably some calendar boys out to earn some extra cash, she thought. Well, she would not mind having them plastered on her wall for the rest of the year.
Maybe she should buy two calendars and one for each of her friends as well. They seemed in great need of some cash to spend on some extra fabric for their uniforms. She was sure they would tear if they flexed their muscles too suddenly. The thought made her salivate even more.
She looked right into the chest of the nearest man again and noticed his suit was more expensive looking than the others. Also, he had some strange finery on his shoulders. Stripes, of course. This must be the Captain. Of course. The tallest and meanest was always the captain. He had such a wonderfully gruff expression plastered on his face that she could not help herself from smiling at him. He was just perfect, she thought. Perfect for the wet dream she planned to have very soon. As soon as she got away from these loonies.
"Captain Picard, I presume?" she asked with a sarcastic voice. "Of course. I should have known." Then she turned to the man on his left. That face she knew. The jerk that had shot her with his flashlight.