Idle Hands

**DISCLAIMER: Fan fiction only. NO money is being made off this story and no infringement on copyrights is intended with respect to aired and theatrical Star Trek.

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Idle Hands

Chapter 1

"Welcome to our little gathering." The aqua-skinned woman’s touch was warmly inviting as she grasped Hoshi by both hands and drew her over the threshold of the vast meeting room. "I am Mileena, your facilitator. Come in and make yourself comfortable. We hope to make your experience on Iope VI one you will always remember."

"Thanks…but to tell you the truth, I’m not sure I really belong here," Hoshi said self-consciously. "I sort of wandered in here by mistake."

"Your reasons for coming aren’t important," Mileena assured her. "Many of our participants are drawn to us by motives even they don’t fully understand. What does matter is what you can learn about yourself here–as long as you are willing to open your mind to it. Can you do that?"

"I…I guess so," Hoshi said uncertainly. "Maybe." Inwardly, she berated herself for her hesitance. They were here on Iope VI to enjoy Shore Leave, after all. Many people she could think of back on Earth would pay most any price to sample the renowned spa-like facilities she could now partake of for free. Maybe a self-actualization workshop–for lack of a more descriptive term–wouldn’t normally be her thing, but it did beat standing around while the male crewmembers got addicted to the elaborate virtual reality games offered in another section of the complex. As far as recreation went, that kind of thing sounded even worse than a couple of hours of create visualizations and meditative breathing.

"You’ll feel more certain once we get started." Mileena’s long, graceful fingers threaded through Hoshi’s and led her farther into the room. Hoshi saw now that it was filled with other participants, both humanoid and other species, consisting of men, women, and a few that were of an indeterminate sex. No one was seated; it was almost as if she were walking into a calisthenics class. Some of the beings glanced in her direction without much interest. Clearly, it was Mileena they were focused on. Apparently they knew more about what to expect than she did.

Mileena led her to a spot in the middle of the floor, near a scale-covered man who flashed her a beaky smile.

"I hope I’m not getting into something I’ll regret," Hoshi whispered, emboldened by his friendly expression.

"Nothing to worry about," he whispered back. "This is my tenth session with Mileena. I know little about Terran brain capacity, but trust me, you’ll never forget it."

"I’ll take your word for it," she said, quirking a brow. For some reason, his reassurances made her more nervous rather than less…especially when she happened to notice that the crotch of his coppery jumpsuit was inexplicably twitching.

Luckily, she had the chance to drop the conversation when Mileena had mounted a small podium at the front of the room and signaled that the proceedings were about to begin. When she lowered her arms, she began to speak in a clear and powerful voice that Hoshi immediately found calming.

"Many years ago–centuries, by the standards of some worlds–I traveled to a distant world and studied the secrets of the mind with a race some of you would find astonishing, even magical. Though no outsider could ever hope to master the Talosians’ extraordinary abilities, I came away with enough understanding of their techniques to perform some of the same feats on a very limited scale. It is those techniques I will use for your benefit today. It is my wish that all of you leave this room both refreshed and enlightened about our essential natures–something we are forced to deny every day."

With that, Mileena let her arms drop to her sides, tilted her head back, and let her large, petal-like eyelids drop.

"Assume a stance of complete openness," she advised. "Let yourself imagine what you will. Immerse yourself in the first fantasy that comes to your mind. When you are ready to begin your journey, you will know. You may experience several brief false starts. This simply means that you are descending to the deepest levels of your subconscious. It is as it should be."

All around Hoshi, the other participants either got into the same slightly awkward pose as Mileena or took on one of their own. Some sat, some lay on the floor, and a few crouched down in pairs, facing each other. Hoshi herself decided not to be creative and simply tipped her head back, then brought it up sharply when she felt herself losing her balance.

Quickly she returned to her original assessment. This hadn’t been a good idea. If she’d been closer to the door, she would have slipped out. However, given the large number of relaxed bodies between her and the exit, there seemed little else to do but play along. Maybe she could even fake it.

Planting her feet more firmly on the ground so she wouldn’t fall over, she let her head lean back. Tentatively, she closed her eyes.

That was when the image, totally unbidden, flashed across her mind with a clarity that almost frightened her. Herself, naked in the middle of what looked like a lush Brazilian rainforest. And she wasn’t alone.

The image was so real, so precise in every detail, that she actually caught the scent of the exotic flowers, heard the distinctive calls of birds and monkeys, felt the urgent pressure of the man’s arms around her knees. Most of all, she felt the tickle of his shallow, aroused breath between her legs.

"Whoa!"

Her head came up, her face sweaty and hot. Why was it that when someone said the word "fantasy," just about everyone thought of sex? Okay, maybe the idea of this bizarre workshop was that they would become more open and free of hang-ups, but Hoshi was embarrassed at the kinds of things that came running through her mind with only the slightest stimulus. The whole point of the training she’d received at Starfleet was to maintain discipline and focus. Was this kind of exercise a good idea?

Maybe it would help if she could see what Mileena was doing. A little guidance would be nice here. She looked over at the podium, and stopped in shock. Mileena, along with everyone else, had vanished from the room. Instead, she was encased in a sort of booth made of crystalline walls–large enough only for her to stretch out her arms without touching the surface. When she started forward, it was as if a kind of force field were holding her in place. Yet, somehow, it never occurred to her to panic–sort of like in the dreams she sometimes had, when she always knew at some level that the bug-eyed monster chasing her represented no real threat.

The barrier, however, was not impenetrable, as she discovered a moment later when it opened to admit a tall, familiar figure.

"Captain Archer!" Hoshi gasped in shock, and actually looked down to make sure she wasn’t as naked as she’d been in her dream, or vision, or whatever she was supposed to call it. Fortunately, she wasn’t–like him, she was draped in casual civilian clothes purchased at one of the many shops that lined the resort complex’s corridors. Satisfied on that point, at least, she gazed up into his concerned face. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"Trip and Malcolm mentioned that you were going to check out some of these personal development seminars," he said, obviously as embarrassed as she was. "I wanted to ask you something, and I found myself in here. I tried to get out, but Mileena told me the activity had already started, and I’d have to wait until the end so I wouldn’t disrupt anyone’s–ah–meditation."

"Yes, Mileena’s recruiting techniques can be very persuasive. What did you want to ask me?"

Archer scowled and shook his head. "I–well– I can’t remember what now. It’s like my mind has gone blank."

"I know the feeling."

Again her eyes traveled over his loose-fitting, off-duty attire, and the warm flesh and hard muscle beneath. Suddenly Hoshi felt very warm.

"Go ahead, Hoshi. Enjoy your fantasy. Whatever happens, it will never leave this room. Touch him, if that’s what you want." Mileena’s voice echoed from somewhere behind them. As before, it soothed her jangled emotions in a way she couldn’t quite fathom. Or was she talking to herself?

In the end, rather to her own surprise, she decided that it didn’t matter. Without agonizing over it for another moment, she did exactly what she wanted to do. Reaching out, she cupped her hand around the crotch of Archer’s trousers.


to be continued...!