One Starry Night

My hands cover my tired eyes, my mind dwelling on all the pages of text on my monitor. A minute before, my fingers were gliding across the keys like water rushing over rocks, silky smooth and swift, my thoughts keeping time with the clickety-click of nails meeting keyboard. It is a soothing sound, though to some it is annoying. But I don't care... I am alone now.

I gaze back at the screen and suddenly moan "No"-- the sound piercing the darkness of the room. I fear the worst, my mind punctuated by the reality of this nightmare. Could it really have happened? "Why?" I cry. "Why?" Frustration wells up from deep within me, escaping my throat in a cry of despair. At last, the truth washes over me--my computer has crashed on Netscape. I stare out my window into the starry night and ponder what to do next. Who could possibly help me now?

It is then that I hear the door creak open downstairs. Who is there? I wonder. Where is my cat? "Mouse, here kitty-kitty, puss-puss," I call, a barely audible whisper above the steady hum of my monitor. The stairs begin to moan and squeak under pressure. I yank my mouse out of the computer, breaking its umbilical cord of connection. Wrapping the wire tightly around my hand I proceed towards the bedroom doorway, my breath held tightly as if the mere whoosh escaping my trembling lips would alert the intruder to my presence.

Suddenly my eyes see several shadows dancing across the wall above the stairs, huge and menacing. "Now what?" I think to myself, but I do not have to wonder much longer for they enter the dim light of my doorway and I can see their faces.

I stare in disbelief at the sight before me. A hand reaches out to me and I shake it out of habit, feeling the awesome strength of its grasp. " I don't believe what I am seeing," I mumble, my eyes growing as large as oranges.

"I can tell," says Spock nonchalantly, his big pointy ears twitching as if in acknowledgement. He releases my hand and then I turn to the other man standing nearby and ask, "Captain Kirk, what brings you to earth, and my house of all places?" I wait anxiously for his reply, tucking a wisp of hair behind my ear in an attempt to compose myself, though I can feel a deep flush of heat rising in my cheeks.

"Well, we were flying by your atmosphere when Scotty picked up your plea for help over the Enterprise's audio laserbeam sensors. So, we had to investigate. How can we can help you?"

I pause for a long minute, and then suddenly grin, asking, " Do you have room for a Graphic Artist on your ship?" Before anyone can answer, my eyes fall upon the third man, Scotty, and my heart skips a beat. He returns my gaze by looking back deep into my mesmerized eyes, and smiles as he reaches for his communicator and speaks, "Thees iss Scutty. Raddy fer trunspourt." He stares back at me once more and quietly asks, "You're nut married arrr ya miss?" I nod "No" in stunned silence and then grin from ear to ear as he pulls my fingers into his big strong hand and finishes requesting transmission, "Beam us up! Over and out!"