He walked down the corridor with an air of combined confidence and anger. Fear did not occur to at that instant – in fact, he was so overcome by anger at being duped into believing they were all in danger, that the images of the ship, the eggs and Regan's mangled body had merged into a blurry cloud. A cloud that had, for now, become buried at the back of his mind.

Barnaby finally reached the control room, and opened its doors. As he stepped in, the first thing that struck him was a blast of cold air that blew dispassionately into his face. He stepped aside, and glanced up at the source of his sudden discomfort. A pipe that had previously been part of a familial array of others lining the ceiling had come loose, a portion of it torn and jagged, allowing for a steady-streamed hiss of air to escape.

From his basic knowledge of gases being used in ships such as these, Barnaby guessed that it was most likely some carbon dioxide being expelled into the atmosphere. The pipes were being directed into the main ventilation system, where carefully calculated amounts of atmospheric gases – similar to that found on earth – were released on board to ensure proper breathing conditions for the passengers. For now, it was no immediate concern of his. Eventually, if allowed continue, Barnaby believed it likely that a drop in pressure could cause some slight malfunctions in the ventilation system. He made a mental note to get it fixed after he got everything else up and running.

He walked up to the main console and sat down. He scratched his head – operators almost always had some kind of pass key to access control or flight information, and he wasn't an operator. He would have to either find Yuya or go back and demand that kind of access from Jarreck. Barnaby bit his lip and cursed silently to himself. Shoulda thought of that before you stormed out of there, he thought. Too late now, unless...

He hit the transmit button on the intercom and spoke calmly into it. 'Reuban, I'm gonna need Jarreck's pass key to get into the system.'

There was static for a few seconds, and then a clear voice spoke out. 'Barnaby?'

Barnaby sighed. 'Yes, it's me. I haven't been mauled alive by the phantom alien. I'm here...sitting in the control room, waiting for you lot to muster up some guts and come help me.'

He heard someone's garbled voice in the background and then, 'There's a problem. Jarreck went out after you about thirty minutes ago. He was supposed to check in with us at every comm. panel he reached, but we haven't-' Reuban was cut off.

'He what!' said Barnaby, frustrated. 'I don't need a goddamn babysitter, Reuban! Especially one with such a dysfunctional psychological background as Jarreck!'

A pause.

'Listen, he...uh – I haven't been contacted by him.'

'Oh great.' said Barnaby, burying his head in his hands.

'It's not him, David. I know what you're thinking, and he isn't like that... My point is – my point is that something else is out there, and ever since somebody's gone outside of this room, they haven't come back.'

'I'm here. And I'm fine. Actually, no...I'm not okay, now that I know that your axe-wielding friend is out here with me. Look,'

'-Barnaby, listen – you should probably stay in there. Get the door-locks turned on from the inside and stay there.' said a worried Reuban.

'Stay here and wait for the cavalry?' spoke an anxious Barnaby, and then more softly, 'No. Look, I think I'm gonna change my mind and head back to you guys.'

'I think that's a bad idea,' argued Reuban.

'Well then, it shouldn't spoil the mood.' And he turned off the comm.

Jarreck leaned his head against the wall and swallowed hard. His head, together with his heart and the blood in his veins was throbbing hard. For several minutes, he sat, slumped up against the wall, saying nothing.

'So now we've seen it.' said Lexington, finally, breaking the silence. 'We know what it is.'

'What is it?' croaked out Jarreck.

Lexington was silent, staring out at nothing in particular. 'We were right. It grew.'

'What! The egg?'

'No...that thing that came out – that came out of Regan. It's grown into...that.' he gestured vaguely to the corridor outside the room they were hidden inside.

'How do we kill it?'

'Guns maybe. I don't know.' replied Lexington.

'My laser?' said Jarreck, with little hope.

'It has an exoskeleton...' muttered Lexington, more to himself, as if he'd noticed that for the first time.

Jarreck didn't respond, thinking about what Lexington had said. Insects. Insects usually possessed hard coverings made up of an organic compound known as chitin, which offered them protection from predators. As insects matured and grew, they would shed this outer skeleton and develop a new, larger one. Everything was suddenly falling into place, creating a hollow feeling in his stomach, and dryness in his throat.

He opened his tired eyes in an effort to think clearly. 'Lexington, listen...there's gotta be some way to kill it. If it gets into that room...'

Lexington nodded as Jarreck continued. 'We'll use my laser rifle. Best shot we got right now.'

'How do you propose we hunt it down? And secondly, what if your rifle fails to deliver? What if it's immune?' spoke Lexington, leaning forward.

'Don't we have to kill it somehow?'

'Okay...we just have to calm down for a moment and think. We don't know how to harm it. We're currently assuming it's a predator, and will most likely kill us in an encounter. I say we don't use weapons here. At least not when it's just the two of us against it. We have to find our way back to the room, and let everyone else know, and then think of some way to deal with this.'

Jarreck nodded. 'So. Um...Yuya, is he...?'

'I don't know.'

Barnaby took a deep breath and stepped outside the control room, and back into the corridor. Crazy. This whole ship contained nothing but a crew that needed to be committed into an asylum for the seriously deranged. On the outside looking in, it could possibly be a situation one might find ironically funny. But he wasn't outside, was he? Barnaby felt afraid. His senses along with his fears were now heightened, every little bump and brush became amplified, resonating loudly in his brain.

For a wild second, Barnaby thought that he should run – make a break for it as fast as he could towards the safety of the room he was previously in. Get a grip, he told himself, reconsidering. He started thinking of something else. His favorite food. His favorite films. But his mind refused to focus, and he grew increasingly agitated as each moment passed. The trip that previously took him a short five minutes now seemed like an eternity.

He walked into a corridor intersection, and stopped in his tracks. His eyes darted to and fro rapidly, and his mind began to recognize the unfamiliar route as being potentially worrying. He hadn't come this way before. I know this ship, for God's sake! He couldn't have made such a blunder... Barnaby swallowed and turned back. Okay, retrace your steps and calm down. Breathe. Breathe in slowly and think.

The pipes, remembered Barnaby! The pipes above him were all color-coded, and most pipes lead to a distinct room. He looked up and squinted in the poor lighting. If he recalled correctly, the yellow-striped one should lead back to the control room. He followed it with his eyes, and walked forward slowly simultaneously.

A moment later, he stopped suddenly, noting that some of the pipes had contorted into a bulky mass now protruding from the ceiling a few yards before him. A bigger problem than we initially imagined, he thought to himself, puzzled. His puzzlement then changed to fascinated horror as he watched this mass move ever so slightly towards him. Its movement was so timely and slow, that it gave the appearance of almost not moving at all, keeping his eyes transfixed and his feet planted on the ground.

It was so surreal that he imagined it to be a dream. Some kind of morbid dream that he would soon awaken from. Any minute now.

That minute never came.

AUTHOR'S NOTE (05/04/05):

Sorry for yet another delay – got caught up with the holiday festivities and work to follow. Also must apologize for this chapter being shorter than usual. Anyways, hope you all enjoy it.

There is a slight possibility that I may add more to it instead of creating a whole new chapter. We shall see.