A/N: This is a really weird thing I came up with after reading Alien. If any of
you have watched or read Alien, you probably know where this is going, but don't
worry, there won't be any chest bursting. I couldn't kill Fayt off like that.
Anyway, if you don't like aliens, especially aliens sticking tubes down people's
throats, or people being infested with parasites, don't read. That's all I have
to say. And of course, if you know my writing style, this will involve Albel
sooner or later, and most likely sooner. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own any star ocean character…but I own Nexus. Muahaha! A
whole planet belongs to me!

"This is Captain Cliff Fittir of the Eagle. We are experiencing engine failure.
Nexus Planetary Control Tower, please respond."

Cliff angrily slammed the radio broadcaster onto the control panel. "Not close
enough to Nexus. Nel, hit the local broadcasting switch."

'Yes, captain," Nel said smoothly. She switched the frequency to contact nearby
ships."

"This is the Eagle. Any ships in range, please respond. We're having engine
trouble. Do you copy?"

"Sir, the primary power system has failed," Mirage informed him crisply. "All
functions are null."

"Not this too," Cliff growled. "Alright, go back to the engine room and fix it."

"I'm not qualified as an engineer," she protested. "I only monitor the ship's
integrity."

"Nel?"

"Communications only."

Cliff sighed. "Okay, where's Fayt? He seems to be the only one qualified for the
job."

"You sent him to reroute the inventory system to register our passenger as
cargo," Nel reminded him.

"Okay, page him for me, Nel."

Nel grabbed a hand-held device rarely used because of the speakers installed in
ever room.

Fayt wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of one hand. Being the ship's
mechanic was tiring. Normally, the ship's computer system who would guide him
towards any problem, but when the engine cut out, the computer started
malfunctioning and sounded a warning that the ship's cargo was missing. After
Maria, the warrant officer, had checked to see that Roger, the diplomat's son
was still on board, she had ordered him to fix the warning malfunction. Fayt had
spent most of the morning arguing with the computer that Roger actually existed
before dismantling it and working by hand on the warning terminal. He had almost
reached the source of the malfunction when the communicator at his belt beeped.

Fayt swore and angrily threw a wrench across the room. He scooped up the
communicator and shouted into the pick-up. "Damn it, I'm not taking any more
jobs until I finish this one!"

"The captain wants you to abandon that and focus on something more pressing."

"But I'm almost done," Fayt protested.

"The primary power has failed," Nel informed him. "The captain needs it back to
contact Nexus for assistance."

"Son of a bitch," Fayt grumbled. "I told Cliff that used generator was a piece
of crap. I knew it wouldn't last long. Alright, Nel, I'll get working on it and
see what I can do."

Still complaining to himself, Fayt grabbed his tools and headed down the hallway
to the engine room. The lights were still working because they were powered by a
secondary generator so mechanics could see to make repairs.

The engine room was divided into the core room and two cells, one on either side
to house the two generators. Fayt made his way into the primary room. As he bent
over the generator to start his work, the lights abruptly cut off.

"Fayt!" Cliff's roar echoed through the ship.

"God damn it, I'm working on it!" Fayt shouted back.

Grumbling under his breath, Fayt made his way into the auxiliary power cell. He
slid the glow stick off the chain on his neck and snapped it over his knee to
activate it.

Fayt held the stick over the generator and grabbed his small laser cutter. "Just
some chrome build-up on the wires. No problem."

A slight rustling sound to his right caught Fayt's attention. He stopped and
played the light over the walls, carefully stepping close to the pile of boxes
stacked against the wall to investigate. He relaxed. "Just those god damn spare
parts that Cliff needs to transfer to storage. One of the boxes must have
shifted."

Fayt turned back to the generator, but was stopped cold by the monstrosity
blocking his path.

The creature was slightly taller than Fayt, with slimy grey skin that seemed to
be partially ooze on one side of its face. It had four tiny red eyes, each no
bigger than a pebble and a slit for a mouth. It had two hand-like claws with
long bong fingers ending in sharp nails. The arms connected to powerful bat
wings at the shoulder. Its hind legs ended in huge lizard-like feet with sharp
talons. It also had a long tail with a mace end. Overall, it looked very
muscular and threatening.

Fayt yelped and dove for the case containing the emergency stun gun, but the
creature was faster. It pushed Fayt aside with a swipe from one claw and then
shoved him against the unyielding surface of the generator. Fayt's light stick
dropped and skittered across the floor.

Fayt struggled and kicked. The creature's grasp merely tightened around his
shoulders as it slammed him back against the generator again and again. The
creature let go with one hand as soon as Fayt seemed winded and brought the
curved claw up to slice Fayt's face.

Fayt grabbed the arm and wrenched it back, earning a shriek from the alien
monster. He continued twisting until the wrist snapped and a trickle of yellow
blood seeped out.

The alien kicked out with its powerful hind legs and sent Fayt flying across the
room to crash into the pile of boxes. Almost instantly, the creature was on him,
ripping at his chest, tearing at the tough space fabric. It paused, the hideous
face close to Fayt's, examining him carefully. One red eye blinked.

Fayt saw the wickedly spiked tail raised to strike. He screamed and desperately
shoved the monster aside.

The alien grabbed Fayt's shoulder and slammed his head against the hard floor.
Fayt was momentarily stunned.

The creature flexed its jaws and let out a few inches of a thick fleshy tongue
which wriggled snake-like. It probed the inside of Fayt's mouth with the tongue.

Fayt instantly jerked back to consciousness, feeling the foreign entry into his
mouth. He bit down hard on the offending limb.

The creature howled in pain and reared back. Fayt kicked up hard and got to his
feet, racing towards the doorway.

Again, the creature was faster, even wounded. It grabbed Fayt's wrist with its
good hand, spun him away from the door and pushed him back to the floor. Before
Fayt could get up again, it stomped hard on Fayt's stomach and Fayt groaned with
pain, too weak to move.

The creature descended on Fayt and wrapped him in a leathery wing so the boy
could not fight back. It tightened a claw around Fayt's neck, choking off his
air. Fayt struggled desperately as the weaving tongue stroked his lips and the
eyes watched him impassively.

Fayt kicked wildly with his feet because his arms were bound tightly to his
sides. He couldn't aim his kicks well enough to actually hit the alien. His
vision was swimming without oxygen and his body was getting weaker. Fayt let out
a choked cry, feeling sure it would be his last.

Surprised, the monster slightly loosened its grip on Fayt's throat. Its tongue
darted instantly into Fayt's mouth. The creature carefully eased its hold on
Fayt's neck and rested the claw on Fayt's jaw, in case he tried to bite again.

But Fayt was beyond biting. The probing tongue slipped down his throat, thick,
slimy, and wriggling-just like a worm. Somehow it had overridden Fayt's gag
reflexes. Fayt's chest heaved with panting breaths, his eyes widened. He wanted
to scream or even throw up, but he couldn't. He could feel the squirming
abomination traveling deeper into his chest.

"God, it's going to suck out my insides," Fayt though wretchedly. The alien
continued to feed more tongue into his body with no sign of letting up.

That's when Fayt noticed the tiny row of sharp teeth. "Or maybe it's going to
pump me full of sedation and then eat my face off." He squirmed feebly at that
thought.

The alien brought its face closer to Fayt's. The red eyes seemed to glow. The
creature bit down on Fayt's bottom lip, sinking its teeth in, causing Fayt to
bleed. Fayt winced, but stayed still.

The alien let go and the tongue stilled. A shudder passed through its body. Pain
constricted in Fayt's chest, a feeling like steam rising up in his lungs.

With a deft flick of its head, the monster yanked the whole length of its tongue
out of Fayt's body and into its own mouth. The skin that had once been oozing
now completely melted and Fayt was covered in a thick goo that threatened to
smother him. Fayt panicked and struggled in it.

The ooze slid off Fayt and traveled a few feet across the floor where it slowly
solidified back into the alien. It flicked its tongue at him in farewell and
darted town the hall, leaving Fayt covered with sticky slime.