Fuck Space

"Command, this is Engineer Adams. I have successfully made my way down to the Reactor control tunnel, and I am not seeing shit." Command had sent Adam's to this maintenance tunnel due to heat control going off the charts and at present, he was unaware of what could be causing such a crazy reading. Flashlight in hand, the Engineer moved about the tunnels quietly, illuminating the darkness as he did so. A young man in his 30's, Adams had been stationed on the USG Henkan for years now. He knew the ships bowels better then the other newbies and he was happy to go down in the dark and hot tunnels to search for things. Today however seemed like a massive waste of time, and he wanted command to know it.

"I swear Doyle, if you misread another heat reading, I am going to kill you when I get back." The USG Henkan was a massive industrial ship, destined to mine out whole asteroids and even small planetoids. It was not the biggest Planet-Cracker class ship in the CEC fleet, but it was one of the fastest. Relatively freshly built, as far as massive industrial ships go, the USG Henkan had just finished up cracking a planet and was currently en route to the planet Hailol, where the crew would receive a good six-month station rest. It was incredibly needed, as the crew had been space-bound for over 2 years, cracking planets left and right in the Milkyway.

Watching him from the darkness, a small creature stalks Adams. An unholy monster born and bred from madness itself, the creature followed the Engineer down the hall, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce. It's goal? To infect the engineer with an alien disease that would one day conquer the galaxy. This strain of the virus was very different however, and was developed quite oddly when compared to the others. It's true test had finally arrived, and it would remain to be seen if it would be as successful as its makers intended.

Adams attempted to open up comms again to Command, but only static responded to his hails. This deep into the ship caused issues like this from time to time, so he would just wait until he got to the service elevator. Suddenly, a loud clunk could be heard from behind him. Spinning on his heels, his flashlight illuminated a grisly creature, with slight wings and flesh-colored skin. Unable to form words, the Engineer backed up slowly as the creature stayed still. Adams was encountering alien life for the first time ever, and he was absolutely terrified of it. Adrenaline pumped through his body as he slowly moved, hoping that he was faster then it. The service elevator was close-by at this point, and if he could book it fast enough, he could make it back to the engineer station.

Spinning on his heels and screaming towards the elevator, Adam's ran as fast as he could. His heavy metal boots clinked against the walkway as he moved, not knowing if the creature behind was even following him at this point. Before he could contemplate this further, the creature smashed in him from behind, his wings folding over Adam's body. The head reared up as a massive proboscis slid out from underneath its body. Adam's screamed as hard as he could as his body slammed into the ground, the creature weighing him down and making it incredibly difficult to move.

He would be the first infected on the USG Henkan, but he would not be the last.