“Well if you” Rixx turned to Alcyone “Can’t sense them, and you.” he turned to Renn at that. “Can’t scan them,” And you won’t let me sense them, he thought but didn’t speak. “I suppose the only answer is to go find them.  Whoever they are.”

“That… looks to be the case.”, Renn agreed. “Unarmed as we are.”

He sighed, staring at the group. Yes, Risa had sanctions against weapons, but he didn’t expect hesitation from Starfleet officers. Besides, thus far he seemed to be the only one besides Nestira who believed that these alien whatevers were actually hostile.

“Do you want me to lead, or is Miss River still doing the talking?”

“You’re a civilian.”, Renn frowned, then looked at Alcyone. “And you are… well. Shall we call it ‘retired’?”

“You can call it that.”

“I’ll lead.”, she said eventually. “Sorry River.”

River shook her head. “It’s fine. Not exactly what I signed up for as it is.”

Slowly, they made their way down the corridor. They had moved a good bit when River grabbed Renn’s arm, her eyes wide – she had sensed it before the others could hear it. Someone screamed in fear, pleaded for mercy, and there were hasty footsteps somewhere far ahead. Then, the sound of phaser fire, and the cries stopped.

River and Renn glanced at each other in quiet understanding – the understanding that they had a problem. They couldn’t turn back – perhaps the explosion had been an attack, perhaps it had been something else. And they couldn’t move forward because whatever was happening, they were ill-equipped to deal with it.

“I’m going to guess they’re hostile.” Rixx said lightly, with the tone of a man who had faced more armed criminals than he ever cared to count. “What’s the plan?”

The plan?

They didn’t have one. And before they could come up with anything, time was up. They knew that when the footsteps started moving towards them. Armored, helmeted, something that obscured facial features.

Rixx frowned, staring at them, wondering if he knew this species. He moved to the far back, not looking forward to a disarmed altercation in the slightest.

“What the hell are they?” he murmured to Nestira,

“I… don’t know.”

“INTRUDERS!” the tallest of the armored individuals pointed weapons at the group of Starfleet officers.

Ironic, since the armor individuals were almost certainly the primary intruders, but now was not the time to argue semantics.

Rixx pressed himself into a doorway nearly fading from sight as the armed individuals focused on the front Starfleet officers.

Five of them. Heavily armed, barking orders in a language the universal translator struggled to fully translate. But they could hear the word “Starfleet” once they noticed the badges on River and Renn, and without a further word, both were grabbed and dragged into opposite directions.

Divide and conquer.

When they turned to Rixx, Alcyone and Nestira, he knew what was coming. And that he couldn’t do anything to stop them. Even his telepathy wouldn’t help him here.
Once more accosted by a ‘transient’, Rixx and his young new friend were grabbed and escorted along a corridor – and didn’t notice that Nestira wasn’t with them when they reached their destination.