He must be living a nightmare. It was only that and nothing else. And yet, here he was, hiding within the barricaded confines of the cafeteria from the screaming, disfigured husks of his former crewmates. How could security have missed that one person? That one carrier? He let out an irritated growl and smacked himself in the forehead several times with the palm of his hand. How could they have been so stupid? With a sigh, James B. Hayes – the last living human aboard the USMS Einstein, tucked himself away in the corner of the meat freezer, which he was thankful for being empty, and that he was wearing a respirator. Otherwise, he'd be suffocating in the stench of rotting and spoiling meat. Of course, how is that different from hiding in the vents out there, where the air itself is poisoned? He shuddered and hugged his knees to his chest, an AS-95 sidearm at his side on the thawing, damp floor.

It all started back on Earth. It was in total chaos. World leaders were squabbling amongst themselves and fighting whatever precious resource humanity had left on their homeworld. Mars and the Moon had been colonized in 2128, but those were more of a luxury trip that most people could not afford. Sickness and illnesses ran rampant through the streets of cities and towns alike. Citizens dropping like flies left and right, riots and recurring violent protests; all were ignored by the government as they found their own interests more important than their citizens'. Finally, on April 17, 2131, all hell broke loose. A pathogen, known only as 'PX – 092', swept through the already-stricken streets, alleys, and sewers and infected everyone and everything at an alarming rate; enough to get the attention of the world leaders, but too fast for them to do anything about it. Corpses rotted, and flies and rats feasting on the bodies transmitted the pathogen from one healthy person to another. Crossing from state to state, nation to nation, through or over closed borders and infecting anything that breathed air. Wildlife, humans, flora; nothing was spared.

The air method of transmission could be stopped when an individual wore a respirator; a gas mask. But the filters only lasted about ten minutes due to the large amount of contaminated particles in the air. Soon, that failed, and more bodies piled up. But then, something happened. Changed was a more accurate term. But that didn't mean it was a good thing. Instead of dying from fluids filling the lungs and other vital organs, the victim would suffer from internal bleeding, a brain hemorrhage, and rapid necrosis. The result was a horribly disfigured person, poisoned blood pouring from its mouth, eyes, and nose, with the skin mottled and barely clinging to the bones. Some used the term 'zombies.' Others said 'Crazies.' Either way, the infected in this state were extremely dangerous. The mutated pathogen spread quicklier and had to be dealt with appropriately. Too bad nearly three-quarters of the entire Earth population had been wiped out.

If they were still alive, the only viable option that anyone could see was out in the stars, with rushed security checkpoints and panicked crowds pushing through and over each other to get to safety. James was one of those fortunate enough to get onto a ship first before the groups came and with them the infected hot on their heels. Military personnel such as James's father directed the hopefully healthy crowd onto the seven colony ships that would blast off into the cold, dark 'safety' of space. Only three vessels made it out untainted, with the other four atomizing themselves to prevent the infected from reaching the other two 'colonies.' The Einstein and Mecca bore the brunt of the survivors. At the same time, the Tokyo was barren save for some several thousand or so military personnel. Including James's father. His family was on the Mecca, but they didn't know where James was. They panicked and searched everywhere for him. All the while, he was running, hiding, and occasionally fighting for his life.

A single person, asymptomatic until the very last minute, managed their way onboard the Einstein. Once they had been herded into a crowded barracks room, they underwent a violent transformation. Coughing and vomiting blood and other contents, the carrier pounced on the nearest victim, and the infection spread from there. Like wildfire, it jumped from person to person via bites, scratches, or contaminated fluids such as blood and saliva. The captain notified the Mecca and Tokyo of the situation before making the decision to make a blind jump to somewhere out of humanity's reach. Anywhere away from the colonies and the rest of the human fleet. Before, during, and after the jump, citizens, crew, and soldiers alike fell victim to the infection or were simply torn to shreds and their mutilated corpses left to rot until James was the last one standing. The infected searched everywhere, looking for that one 'untainted' victim that needed to be cleansed.

Bang!

James jumped and was snapped from his thoughts as a disturbance occurred right outside the blocked cafeteria doors. Screams, shrieks, and even hooting chitters* were just on the other side of the makeshift barricade. They had found their next and final victim, and they were hungry for fresh meat. James quickly checked his gun; five rounds left. He cursed as he rose to his feet and started looking for an alternative to direct confrontation that would surely lead to his demise. He spotted a vent behind a meat shelf that was missing just that. He didn't mind, though. It made moving the piece of furniture out of the way even more manageable. And he did, although it wasn't until after that that he realized he couldn't reach the vent. Another curse slipped from his mouth. He moved the shelf back again, climbed it, opened the grate, crawled in, and slid the grate closed behind him with his foot.

Through the cramped space, he crawled and shimmied as quietly he could. He hated small spaces, such as this one, but did not have a fear of them. He was small enough to have plenty of room to maneuver around, being at 5' 8", and easily make his way through the veins of the Einstein. With the AS-95 in his right hand, and a respirator securely fastened over his face, James made his way to the medical bay, where he figured there would be plenty of filter cartridges ripe for the taking. Then he would head over to the armory via the vents again and rearm himself with some more effective weaponry. While the AS-95 could hold its own, being chambered in .50 AE and having an experimental miniature mass accelerator built into the length of the barrel, it wasn't entirely effective against hordes of half-dead infected. A capacity of 8 rounds with ammo belts and being only able to hold around four clips. The XM-91 Assault Rifle was the go-to choice for most soldiers and militia alike. Including James. It fired a 5.56x31mm round at almost breakneck speed, allowing quick kills from range and eliminating the risk of CQB engagements that nearly decimated Earth's military against the Separatists during the Colonial Wars from 2129-2130.

And despite the infected being almost nothing more than husks, each of these weapons was very effective against them. As long as there were a manageable number of them. This was not the case, however. The nearly five-thousand crew were infected and roaming the bloodied halls and corridors of the colony ship, with James supposedly being the only survivor.

After crawling for almost five minutes, James finally came upon the grating that led to the medical bay with his air running low. The room below was dimly lit, which could mean anything from being empty to having infected hiding in the shadows. But James needed those cartridges, and fast. With a bit of reluctance, he kicked open the grate and almost inaudibly dropped down to the floor. He quickly glanced around pistol at the ready. There was nothing dangerous down there from what he could see. Perfect, he thought to himself. Rising to his feet from the crouched position, James walked over to the emergency cabinet and opened it up. He found seven filters, each one lasting almost ten minutes. He grinned to himself and stuffed all but one of the cartridges into his hip pocket. He replaced the spent filter in his mask, and immediately he could breathe just a little bit easier. With his air replenished, he scoured the rest of the medical bay for any more valuable items.

He found some additional magazines for the AS-95, but he became very wary of this find. He searched for any signs of a struggle. He didn't have to look far. A single corpse was slumped against the wall, and a massive blood splatter behind it and a handgun loose in a lifeless grip in its right hand. If James was the squeamish type, he would've lost his lunch. But he wasn't, and he didn't. He only shook his head and paid his respects to the deceased before scavenging more loaded magazines from its person. James resumed his search, adding the ammo to his stock in the pockets on his thighs and hips. Nothing was left after finding the body, so he decided it was time to go.

Satisfied with his find, James climbed back up into the vents and continued on towards the armory when he had a sudden thought of realization. Pulling out his communication device from his back pocket, he turned it on, and a holographic image of the Einstein's inner workings was displayed in front of him. "Crap," James muttered under his breath, eyeing one particular room that was directly above him by two decks. He let out a curse and shut off the device, and put it back in his pocket. "Great, just great." James sat in the cramped space pondering what to do next and how to do it with the infected running all over the place. He could just stay in the vents and make his way to the elevator shafts, ride a cabin up to the designated floor, and then climb into the maintenance access vents from there. Theoretically, it could work. But he didn't, couldn't risk his life on theories, especially in a life-or-death situation like this. As he weighed his options, he was unaware of a lone infected tracking his scent from the hallway below.

It stopped in its tracks and looked up, following its mutated sense of smell to the vents above. It let out a low snarl, shuddered violently, bent its legs to jump, and launched itself at the vents directly where James was, screaming wild, bloody murder as it leaped towards its prey.

Fox kept quiet for the entirety of the trip to the alien ghost ship. General Pepper and the two captains were briefed on the situation, including the spotting of five Venomian vessels in Sector X. General Pepper, however, wasn't too concerned about that anymore. He was more interested in the other ship Star Fox had discovered. She sent images of the colossal ship to Pepper, who had studied them closely in his office before contacting her and the two captains. Captain Casey, a male cheetah of about 50 or so and ready for retirement, and Captain Damara, a female red squirrel with a rather curvy and very busty figure, protested the idea of launching a 'rescue operation' on a ship of unknown origin for just one individual. They had concerns, which was a more accurate term. And while General Pepper acknowledged them, he stated that "We [the CDF and citizens thereof] cannot pass up an opportunity to meet a hopefully non-hostile alien race for a change." They reluctantly went on with the operation and selected 50 of their best troops, 25 from each ship, and Casey handpicked Fara Phoenix as the commanding officer of those troops. Star Fox provided additional reinforcements and firepower and was promptly sent out along with Lieutenant Fara's soldiers.

And so, it was then that Fox found herself on a dropship with fifteen other CDF soldiers, both benders, all different species, all different ages, and nearly all with an itch to get into a real fight. She couldn't blame them. Most of these soldiers were fresh from the academy and from boot shortly after the Anglar Blitz and had never seen a lick of combat. But, at the same time, she worried for them all. Who knows what lies ahead of them on the ship?

She sighed and watched the hulk of metal loom ominously as the dropship approached it from the side towards what was presumed to be a hangar of some kind. She shouldn't think about that right now. Just worry about getting onto the ship first.

And so, they finally did. With a capacity of twenty each, three dropships touched down inside the alien ship and deposited its cargo of armed troops, Star Fox among them. The group of fifty broke into groups, each tasked with searching one of the four decks on the ship. Wolf and Panther declared they'd be going alone together and separated from the leading group. Fox didn't even bother to protest or change their minds. With everyone given their 'assignments,' they split and began their search.

Wolf let out a huff and tucked a stray strand of her mane back and behind her left ear before adjusting her mask. "This is a load of shite, Panther. There's almost literally nothing here except for some toxic air." She turned to the black-furred feline and gave a quick jerk of her head in the direction they came from. "I say we go back and wait fo' the others."

Panther quickly shook her head. "No, I don't think that's a good idea, considering we agreed to work for McCloud, and we do anything she and/or General Pepper says. So," she shrugged. "Yeah. Plus," she did a quick glance at the hallway around them. "this place is creepy. The last thing we need to do is go back the way we came. Who knows what's lurking here?"

Wolf snorted and rolled her eye at her. "Please. If there's only one life form on this ship, what are the chances that the rest of the crew are a bunch of robots or something?"

Panther shook her head again. "You forget that I was there when ROB gave the scan results. 5,739 people, Wolf. Five-thousand. And out of that one survivor. Something bad happened here, Wolf. And we need to figure out why. And find that one survivor."

Wolf chuckled and kept walking. "Whatever you say, lass. I'm not buying it. Not one. Single. Bit of this 'ghost ship' shite—"

She was cut off by an unearthly shriek, followed by a metallic bang, like something struck metal. Wolf turned white, and the butterflies in her stomach began to stir. "Okay, I take that back."

Another shriek and the two females drew their pistols and aimed in the direction of the sound. They heard footsteps, heavy and thudding against the floor rapidly as if someone was running. Panther and Wolf exchanged glances with one another and waited for whoever the footsteps belonged to show themselves. It wasn't long before a figure clad in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with pads on the knees and elbows turned a corner – skid around it was more like it – and run towards them. When they showed their face, it, and Wolf and Panther, froze. "What the hell is that?" Wolf said, looking to Panther, who shrugged. The…alien looked just as dumbfounded as they were. It started to take a step back when another pair of footsteps came from behind it. The alien whirled around, a weapon in its hands and at the ready. Then it looked over its shoulder and shouted at the two females, its voice muffled.

"Run! Get the hell out of here!" Wolf and Panther were stunned. But they obeyed nonetheless and turned tail and ran back the way they came, with the alien and whatever was chasing it behind them. The alien caught up with them in almost no time, stopping when they came to a T-intersection and aiming down the hallway. Wolf and Panther took this brief respite to catch their breath from the sudden scare and to get a closer look at the alien.

It wore a mask, a gas mask, to be precise, and had no fur anywhere on its body except for the top of the head, where it was a messy mop of blonde hair. As the two females observed more closely, they discovered that it was actually a he. He wasn't athletic in any way, shape, or form, but he wasn't fat or thin either. He had some muscle here and there in the arms and maybe in the chest, but nothing more from what they could see due to his clothing and the mask he wore. Wolf and Panther looked at each other with bewildered expressions until the latter gave the former a sly look and wriggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh feck off, Panther," Wolf said with a mixture of disgust and annoyance. "We just met him, and already you want to get in his pants? The feck's the matter with you?"

The alien glanced at Wolf and Panther quizzically before his, and their attention was drawn to the second pair of approaching footsteps. The duo-turned-trio aimed their weapons down the hallway, waiting patiently. Then, the creature appeared. The alien wasted no time in firing his gun, much to the very loud surprise of Wolf and Panther. A loud bang was heard, and their ears started ringing from the near-deafening sound. An instant later, the creature, face bloodied and body falling apart, had its head explode in a pink, gory mist of flesh and brain matter. The headless corpse fell backward and lay still. Wolf and Panther were shocked and shocked at the spectacle that took place in front of them.

"What the bloody hell was that thing?!" Wolf exclaimed almost frantically, looking at the alien. "And how the hell do you know our language?!

The alien looked at her curiously. "Don't know, even though some of them would call them zombies. And I could ask you the same thing. English is the main language of humanity."

"'English'?" Wolf repeated, her face screwed up into obvious confusion. "Sounds like a bloody rash or something. Over here, it's 'Cornerian Common.' Nearly all of the Lylat System speaks it."

"Could y'all wait until after we get out of here to exchange numbers or something?" Panther interjected in a slight panicky tone.

Wolf whirled on her and barked. Literally and figuratively. "Oh, you're one to talk! You bloody gave him the 'do me' eyes!"

A chorus of shrieks and roars snapped the two females from their argument before it could go any further. "Come on!" the alien said, waving his weapon at them. "We've gotta get out of the halls. They're too much of a death trap against those things."

Wolf nodded, following after him with Panther next to her. "There's a couple ships out in one of the hangars. We can escape from there. Speaking of which..." She brought her left wrist to her front and spoke into it. "Pup. I've got the survivor. We're getting the hell out of here. There's a whole bunch of..." she hesitated on the word, "zombies running around the ship."

"So you've found that out too, huh?" came Fox's crackled voice, along with a hail of muffled blaster fire. "We're on our way back to the hangar. We've sent a few scouts ahead of us to secure it. They're there right now. Hurry."

"Will do, pup. O'Donnell out." She looked to the alien with a curious glint in her one eye and said, "What's your name, lad? Might as well introduce ourselves if you're going to be sticking with us."

He looked back at her with silvery-blue eyes through the eye-holes in his mask. "Hayes, James Hayes. Nice to meet you, Miss..."

"O'Donnell," Wolf finished for him. "Wolf O'Donnell. And this is Panther Caroso. And none of that 'Miss' business, 'kay? I'm not one for bloody formalities."

"You never were," Panther muttered underneath her breath with a teasing grin. Wolf glared at her.

"Shut up."

"Nice to meet you both," James said, looking forward before hanging a right and then a left, with Wolf and Panther on his heels. "We're almost there. Just a little more to go."

His comment was met with sounds of gunfire further ahead, along with the shrieks of the infected crew and citizens. "Come on!" Wolf shouted. "We need to get there before we're cut off!"

The trio broke into a mad dash towards the hangar and sounds of combat. When they arrived, a CDF soldier was jumped by one of the zombies and bit in the neck between his helmet and uniform collar. He cried out in agony and attempted in vain to get the creature off of him. Then it wrenched its head back, tearing a chunk of the soldier's neck out with its mouth. The soldier gargled as blood filled his throat, and he bled profusely from the wound. Wolf quickly dispatched the zombie with a single shot to the head, creating a smoking crater in its skull. But she was too late. The soldier fell to the ground, letting out his death rattle as the metal floor pooled with his crimson blood. Wolf cursed but pressed on, with James and Panther trailing not far behind her. As they entered the hangar, they found it was empty save for the three dropships, two of which had lifted their ramps and were already taking off. Fox and Fara were at the last one, waving to them frantically. "Hurry!" they heard Fox say.

Being slightly taller and having more leg power than James, Wolf and Panther made it to the dropship while leaving the human behind in their dust. He arrived five seconds later, heavily panting as he fought to catch his breath through his mask. The shuttle jumped and shuddered as it lifted off and shot out into space, away from the danger on the overrun ship.

"Okay!" the pilot said over the comms a few moments later. "The air's clean!"

Everyone – excluding James as he was not tuned in on their radio frequency, and the pilot because it was required of them to wear at all times when behind the controls – took off their helmets with an audible hiss of depressurizing air as the headgear came off. Most, if not all, of them, let out sighs of relief, glad to get a breath of fresh air and that their ordeal was done and over with.

Fox, Fara, Wolf, and Panther then looked to the strange being whom the latter two had found and 'rescued.' Tall, slender, and with a little bit of muscle on the arms and chest. Fox and Fara were the most intrigued out of the four.

"So," Fox spoke up, looking over at Wolf and Panther for an answer to her upcoming question. "Who, and what is this?"

The lupine and pantherine exchanged glances, then the former, with a gesture of her gloved hand waving towards him, said, "Why don't you ask him yourself? He can speak our language pretty fluently and with little to no problem."

Fox and Fara blinked at her in disbelief, then both of them turned to the masked figure almost expectantly. He appeared to sigh in resignation and reached a hand up to his face mask and pulled up on it. It came off with a few struggling tugs and resulted in his blonde hair becoming unruly and unkempt, not that it wasn't, to begin with. But that wasn't what caught the two vulpines, and everyone else on the shuttle, by surprise and off guard; it was his face that was underneath that mask:

Bare, fleshy, and furless, his face was slightly oval, but his jaw was also squared somewhat, giving him a masculine appearance and confirming that this 'alien' was indeed a male. Around his mouth, lining his jaw all the way around, were dark dots that looked rough to the touch. His silver-blue eyes captivated nearly everybody who had diverted their attention to him, including Wolf, who was slowly being inflicted with a case of the butterflies. And when he spoke, those who hadn't heard what Wolf said about him fluently speaking Cornerian Common were further taken aback.

"I'm James, James Beckham Hayes. And, I would like to thank you all for saving my butt and getting me out of there."

The troop bay fell silent, jaws touching the floor. Then Wolf broke the silence, letting out a short chuckle. "Well, how about that? A bloody ape that isn't fecking ugly as hell."

James proceeded to glare at her, but he said nothing. And neither did anybody for the remainder of the flight back to the Acolyte.