"Captain's log, 6012.8. The situation aboard the Excalibur is much worse than I would have believed. At first believed to be nothing more than what remained of the war games, something much worse has happened since then. There are two survivors, a man and a young girl, seemingly impervious to our sensors. Without contact from the Enterprise, the situation does appear grim."

The young girl, despite warning the young captain, was still apprehensive. She couldn't be too careful about those who wanted to hurt her. Kirk solemnly looked at the body of what was once his security officer. Blood and viscera only added to the grisly site. He didn't know Braxley very well, but he was still a member of the crew. Turning back to the young girl, Kirk placed his phaser back at his side. She backed into the wall, just below the viewscreen which showed nothing but the darkest region of space.

"Please...don't hurt me." The girl whimpered, closing her eyes and turning away.

"I'm not here to hurt you. We need to get off this ship soon otherwise the air will run out." Kirk cocked his head as the girl didn't acknowledge him. "Did you hear me? Miss?"

"I heard you." She responded, continuing to cry.

"Come on, let's get you to your feet."

Kirk helped the girl onto her feet doing his best to make sure that she was at least not afraid of him. Now that she was more exposed to the lights of the bridge, Kirk could see that she was pale with blood streaks across her left cheek. Using his thumb, he wiped at it and was relieved that it wasn't an injury, just a mark from something else.

"What's your name?"

"Hailey." She responded, finally facing him.

"My name is Jim Kirk. I'm the captain of a ship not too far away. Do you remember how you got here?"

The girl paused for a moment, attempting to remember to the best of her ability.

"Yes, I do. I was with my father and a few other crewmen. He told me that we were looking for a ship that was lost and thought it would be good father-daughter bonding. When we found this ship, he seemed excited to bring it back. He...He wanted me to stay behind because it was dangerous, but I didn't listen. After they beamed over here, I waited for a little while before coming over myself. He was so mad at me." Hailey sniffled as she remembered. "The only way out was through the shuttle bay, at least that's what he said. We kept trying to go down there, but those...monsters kept coming out of the shadows. They killed everyone and I don't know where my father is."

Kirk rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "I'm sorry. I believe we may have met your father or someone from your crew. If you come with me, I can take you to him.

Hailey's eyes perked up. "You did? You found my daddy?"

Kirk sighed. "We don't know yet. Let's go."

Nodding her head, she followed Kirk's lead as they walked back towards the turbo-lift. Without Braxley's help, opening the door took a bit more effort on Kirk's part, but he was able to open the doors. As they walked inside, the body of Braxley twitched as his jaw clicked and clacked so loud that Hailey had to cover her ears. Kirk was quick to grab his phaser once more, still set to his least favorite setting. Once the turbo-lift doors started to close, the former security officer stood to his feet and stumbled towards them. Kirk and Hailey could hear the distinct sounds of snarling and pounding on the doors. It was terrible, like a violent animal trying to get at them.

Kirk twisted one of the handles inside and simply ordered, "Deck 5."

…

Ensign McNeil groaned as he recovered from the blow to the back of his head. Slowly sitting up, the young man's vision was hazy. All he could clearly make out was the open doors that led into the hallway. The sounds of shuffling feet could be heard, alongside sounds that could only come from an insane man. Against medical recommendations, McNeil stood quickly, almost falling back over from dizziness. Peering out into the hallway, the look of horror that McNeil gave only appeared one other time in his life. The same look he had given the second he had seen the gruesome site of the sick bay. Monsters, or creatures as McNeil preferred, had gathered together in the hallway, clearly aware of their presence. Obviously, the man that had escaped knew something, but all that mattered was safety. Looking down to the unconscious body of his mentor, he knew what to do.

"Dr. McCoy!" McNeil called as he attempted to shake the old physician awake.

McCoy groaned as he felt the back of his head; drips of blood having fallen out onto the once clean and sanitized floor.

"Where is the man?" McCoy asked, hissing in pain.

"I don't know, sir. But we need to close this door, now! Those things are coming!"

Although McCoy knew that McNeil was acting manic, he trusted the young ensign. What reason would he have to lie? They both approached the door and took a side, trying as hard as they could to close it. After a moment, only a small crack remained, but the creatures had closed the distance in that time, desperately trying to pry it open.

"Doctor! Watch out!" McNeil called, pushing McCoy to the side.

A creature had just managed to pull the door wide enough to sneak its head through to try and take a bite out of the old doctor. It instead latched into the arm of the ensign. McNeil yelled in pain, trying to desperately pull it off. He succeeded, but not without losing the chunk of flesh he had since birth. With one final push, McNeil was able to close the door in time; his only reward being the desperate screams. McCoy was quick to reach for a nearby medical tricorder sitting on a small table, similar to his desk on the Enterprise. He scanned the injury and read the readout that the tricorder had given him.

"Is it bad?"

McCoy lifted an eyebrow as he looked up towards McNeil. "You're gonna have a serious scar, but there is no indication of serious bleeding. Let's get that wrapped up."

…

Spock continued to sit quietly in the command chair, watching the Excalibur ever so closely, ensuring that it didn't veer off too far. Without full power, he was left with very little options. It was logical to wait for Mr. Scott to make the necessary repairs.

The Enterprise had a hard time sharing the same sentiment as the science officer. She was young and a hard time waiting. She admitted to herself that she was impatient, despite her love for the crew. They did the best they could and she was selfish to believe that it wasn't enough. Scotty was doing everything he could for her and that was more than enough to cause her to calm down. Turning away from her sister would make it easier.

"Mr. Spock. Are you there?" Mr. Scott called from the chair communicator.

Spock responded with a small click of a button. "Yes. Have you been able to initiate the proper repairs?"

"I have been able to restore partial main power. I have been able to bring the impulse engines back online, as well as communication. We should be able to make contact with the Captain."

"Has there been any progress on the transporters?"

Mr. Scott paused for a moment. "That's part of the problem, sir. It seems that the console overloaded from the unique fuel source that we used. Unfortunately, we lost Lieutenant Morrisey. That overload is what caused many systems across the ship to go down. It'll take me at least six hours to get it working and its anyone's guess if it would be working properly in that time."

"The Captain and the others only have about forty-five minutes of total air left. If you are to initiate repairs, I would suggest starting right away."

"You're asking the impossible! I told you, six hours is the best I can do. Jury-rigging can only get you so far, Mr. Spock. At that rate, it would be a gamble if they make it back at all."

"A gamble leaves them with a higher probability of survival than staying aboard the Excalibur. Do what you must, Engineer." Spock finished, switching off the communicator.

Mr. Scott groaned as he walked away from the wall communicator. He muttered to himself, "Sometimes, Mr. Spock, a little gratitude would go a long way."

…

Kirk and Hailey walked down the corridor with caution. She stayed at his side, keeping slightly behind him. Kirk kept his eyes trained on the path in front of him and paused every time he heard the terrible noises. At one point, they paused for a few minutes, hiding in what used to be the quarters of a former crewman. A small group of creatures, all falsely wearing the familiar red Starfleet uniforms, had passed them by. One of them was once a beautiful young woman and Kirk couldn't help but look at her with sorrow. So much young life and virility had been stolen from the former crew of the Exalibur. Kirk looked back once more, watching them turn the corner, seemingly searching for something they desired.

"Stay with me, Hailey." Kirk whispered, gesturing for her to follow him.

She obeyed and followed the captain. As they turned the final corner to the sickbay, they looked in horror as the creatures screamed and bellowed as they punched the doors. Kirk could only think of the possibility of McCoy being murdered in cold blood. These things were no longer Starfleet officers, as much as the uniforms attempted to convince him otherwise. He had no other option.

Kirk fired and forced many of the creatures out of his physical realm. The last creature turned to look at Kirk; drool falling from its chin and glassy eyes with a desire for flesh. This only confirmed the captain's suspicions about these things and their purpose. With the power of the phaser came serious ramifications with the power supply running out. He had one good shot left and he used it, eliminating the creature forever. Kirk tossed the dead phaser onto the ground and walked over to the sickbay doors.

"McCoy, McNeil, are you alright in there?" Kirk called.

"Yes, Jim. We're alright. Is it clear out there?" McCoy asked, his voice muffled by the door.

"I hope so. Help me get the door open."

Within a minute, Kirk, McCoy and McNeil were able to open the door. They all exchanged pleasant looks; happy to see one another still alive. Hailey couldn't feel the same way as she stared at the injury that McNeil had suffered. Blood had soaked through the gauze and slowly dripped from the bandage. The red liquid had formed into a shape that she was overly familiar with. Crooked top and bottom teeth marks.

"Shoot him!" Hailey yelled, pointing at the ensign.

Kirk tried his best to calm Hailey down, but she continued to breathe heavily. Almost to the point of passing out.

"Why? What's wrong?" Kirk asked, trying to keep her still.

"He's...bitten." She said in between breaths.

"But there's no serious injury, young lady." McCoy added.

"If you get bitten, you turn into one of those things." Hailey said. "I've seen it happen. It's gonna happen to you."

They all looked at her with shock. Her claim was a terrifying prospect to consider. If that was true, would McNeil suffer?

The thinning oxygen wasn't making the situation any easier for the captain. They needed to get off the ship. They needed to escape now.