Monster's Inc. "
By: M'Ressha Mikaht, Pilot , [RNPC]
Maxine Lucinda Tapert, Computer Specialist, [PC]

Stardate: 58205.28 1935

It was like deja vu all over again thought Blitzer as he gripped his phaser rifle. They had to get Max's decoder program to the Zion, and so once again found themselves staring at the station's access hatch.

He nodded at Max, "ready?"

"No... Do I have a choice?" Max asked the question even though she didn't expect or give him time to answer. "A'roight. Ready," she finally nodded.

He activated the manual overide causing air to rush in to the void of the access hatch. He stepped inside the treadway which was filled with misty fog that began to wisp into the runabout. Amber lights flashed their warning along the floor.

"Y'know... fog is an atmospheric condition... And inside here it's just damned creepy," Max told him as she moved to the door to unlock it, going through the same procedure as before.

The door opened with a hiss.

"Really damn creepy," she repeated and stepped inside behind Blitzer.

Blitzer looked and listened. It wasn't the fog that made him feel uneasy. Something was wrong with the atmospheric settings, fog was everywhere inside the station and the air was much cooler. What Blitzer didn't like was the subtle scents in the air. They were different from when they where here just two hours ago.

He hunched over as his nose sniffed the air, and as he did so he walked 5 paces toward the ladder. He pulled a small flash light from his utility belt and shined down through the floor grates. "What are those?" He said pointing at something on the lower level.

Max was practically attached to him at the hip as she moved with him, crouching down to look through the grating and then at him. "I can't tell from here..." Her voice was that creepy whisper because she just felt too creeped out to talk any louder.

He looked at Max, "I'll be right back," he said as he slid down the ladder.

"Uuuhhhh..." Max blinked and watched him go... Then she looked around the level she was on and almost didn't breathe as she tried to peer through the fog...

It was when the hair on the back of her neck stood up that she practically tumbled down the ladder with a squeak in her rush to get to where Blitz was, only to be forestalled by his bulk.

Blitzer had not even stepped off the ladder yet and Max was practically on his shoulders.

"Uuuuhhhh.... Next time warn a girl when you're gonna leave her alone in the creepy fog," she muttered as the pair continued down the ladder to the lower level.

Blitzer pulled out his tricorder and scanned a dozen cylindrical objects. The ends appeared to be blown out. He knelt down and picked up a fragment and examined it at the end of his light.

"They appear to be some sort of shipping containers," he said handing Max the fragment, eyeing her when she nearly climbed on top of him.

She took the thick leathery object, turning it over in her fingers and wrinkling her nose at the fuzz on one side. "Smells funny. And it's nothing I've ever seen before...."

"According to the tricorder, its...not organic," he said turning his tricorder so Max could see it.

"Yeah? But what *is* it?" she studied the readings, still quite perplexed. "Unidentified.... what the bloody 'ell does that mean?"

Blitzer shined his light into the fog. It was really dense on the lower levels. He looked down through the grates, the fog was even thicker. Near Max's foot was something else, "What's that?" he said pointing.

Max dutifully looked down and then practically jumped onto him. "What is it??" she squeaked. Unidentified things at your feet and shrouded in fog were not something you wanted to stay near.

Blitzer picked it up and looked at it. "It is fragment of an arm bone," he said.

"Uhhh... Okay.... There's something really, really wrong with finding an -arm- bone, y'know..." she pointed out and was stuck to him like glue at the moment.

Blitzer nodded his agreement and let it fall onto the grates. It clanged and reverberated throughout the deck below. Blitzer winced at the stupidity of what he had just done.

"ACK!" Max jumped again and a shudder moved through her. "W-warn me next time!"

"We should see if there is anything else down here," he said moving several steps into the fog with Max right on his heels.

"Uuuhhh... wait a sec..." she tugged on his sleeve, not wanting to go *down there*.. "Uhh... don't you think we should get the message sent first??" she asked as her eyes darted around the fog-shrouded semi-darkness and goosebumps raised the hairs on her arms. "We need t'get the bloody 'ell outa here." Her hands tugged harder on his sleeve and she was about a hair's breath from dragging him.

He could smell other stranger scents down here. Including the scent of fear from Maxine, and after a moment, agreed with her. "Yeah, you are right," he said, and they climbed back up to the main level where he nodded toward the terminal, "Okay Come on, let's get this over with," he said with a weak smile.

Max followed behind him, sticking close enough that he could feel her breath and warmth on his back.

His ears picked up the sound of scampering across the deck above, and he spun, training his phaser rifle at the point where the ladder disappeared through the deck above.

Max jumped at his movement and stepped into his space, her body lightly touching his back now as she sought out the safety of his bulk. "Uhh... Wh-- What is it?"

"I don't know," whispered Blitzer, "I-I didn't hear a noise like *that* before." His ears scanned everywhere, he hefted his rifle closer to his chest. A long moment passed and he slowly turned and looked back toward the console. "Let's hurry up and get out of here."

She swallowed and nodded. She was still VERY close to him, close enough that her fingers had unconsciously found purchase in the material of his uniform. "Uhhh... Just... Just don't leave again, okay?" Max was pretty spooked by now. Blitz's unease had increased her own, tenfold. She moved towards the terminal, casting constant glances back towards him to make sure he didn't get too far away.

She jumped at the sound of her own feet and then chastised herself for the foolishness. Her hands shook as she quickly made the hookup with the computer again and breathed a shaky sigh as if she'd expected something to reach out from the terminal and grab her. "I'm in," she told him, looking back to see how far away he was before turning to her task. "It'll take me a moment to send it. I'm not sure where the Zion is," she told him in a whisper. "So I'm sending in a wider pattern..."

"Okay," said Blitzer not really comprehending what she just told him.

Suddenly, from near the airlock came a loud sound of clanging and bending metal. Blitzer gulped hard.

"What was that!?!" Max jumped at the sound, still trying to whisper, but her voice was a squeaky sound laced with fear.

Blitzer couldn't see anything, it was too far away and obscured by the power converter device in the center of the room and the haze of the fog.

"I don't know... " whispered Blitzer, "Is the program uploaded?"

Max blinked and refocused back on what she was doing. "T-two more minutes.." she told him.

"W-wait here," Blitzer slipped his sandals off and padded softly across the deck. His phaser rifle was held high and pointed in the direction of the sounds. As he approached the spot where he could see through the grated catwalks on the end of the deck, the sounds stopped.

"W-what?" she squeaked and watched him practically disappear into the fog. "What do you mean, 'wait here'??" But she was asking the swirling fog now because she couldn't see him at all. Her hands trembled and the hair on the back of her neck became almost painful.

Blitzer approached the edge of the deck. Something was still there. He could smell its scent, the likes of which he'd never smelled before. His heart was pounding. He could see nothing except mangled grates as if something had been trying to get through. Movement in the corner of his eye caused him to turn to his right, toward the ladder.

Blitzer took several steps back and pointed his phaser rifle. Long hairy, spidery appendages as thick as his arms probed the circular hole in the deck where the ladder ascended to the deck above. His jaw dropped slightly and his pupils dilated.

Suddenly something dropped through the hole, landing with a thud on the floor. It it was black and looked insectoid. A thick exoskeleton covered its back. Its face consisted of large eyes and a deadly looking set of mandibles for a mouth.

Blitzer swallowed hard unmoving.

Max heard a noise from where Blitzer had disappeared and wasn't about to wait here by herself any longer. She inched forward to the power converter in the center of the station and peered cautiously around it. What she saw had her screaming and clamping her hands over her mouth. It looked like a 3 foot long hairy cockroach, only much more sinister. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes wide with fear, and her heart was pounding in her chest now. She looked wildly around for Blitzer...

Suddenly the creature turned and began moving toward Max very rapidly. Blitzer instinctively set his phaser to kill and fired at the creature, sparks of plasma showered from it. Max screamed again as it continued moving toward her undaunted, and she tried to scramble back up, but her legs wouldn't move and fear held her paralyzed to the spot as she watched helplessly.

Blitzer turned his phaser up to setting 7 and sprinted after the creature, he continued to discharge his phaser, targeting the point of the creature's body where its appendages attached. Max let out a blood-curdling scream as more showers of sparks and several appendages blew off of the creature serving to slow it down. Blitzer caught up to it in a hurry. Like a wounded animal it turned and began limping toward him with angry sounding shreiks. He turned his phaser up to setting 8 and fired it. It blew the monster apart and pitted the deck it stood on. Max covered her face from flying debris and let out another scream

Blitzer, covered in shards of exeskeleton and guts from the creature, waved away the smoke. "Its dead." he said.

"A-Are you sure?" she peeked out through her fingers and then blinked as she spotted small egg pods spewed about. She watched with growing horror as they started hatching foot long spiders immediately. "Uuuhhhhh!!!!" She pointed and shook and pointed and let out a screech before Blitz found her plastered to his side.

Suddenly there was more clanging and banging on the far end. Blitzer could see several of the creatures dropping through the ladder access while others began dropping through the holes they had now chewed in the floor grates.

Blitzer ejected the power clip and inserted a fresh one, it would take several seconds to charge. "Run!" Blitzer yelled as he pointed in the direction across from the terminal.

Run? He wanted her to run??? She couldn't even =move=!!! But his firm hand pressed into the small of her back spurred her out of her fear-induced paralysis and her legs started to move. Her hands were shaking as she finally managed to get her pistol out of its holster.

As they ran Blitzer and Max both discharged their phasers in the direction of the creatures. They stepped into a storage locker which was merely the same grated material that comprised the deck on the far end.

He could hear the clamoring of the creatures as they scurried across the deck. Through the grates he could see there were 5 of them.

Blitzer set his phaser to setting 9.

Max's eyes widened as she watched him change the phaser setting. "That's too dangerous," she hissed and was holding onto him now. "You'll blow a 'hole in the station..."

Blitzer panted a deep breath and huffed, "yeah..not good." Then he spotted a pair of grav boots, "I have an idea," he said with another huff.

He nodded toward a console on the wall. "Can you deactivate the grav plating? "

"W-what???" she squeaked. Was he nuts? "Yeah... but... why??"

"If they are floating around it will be an easy shot," he said, checking the power clip.

"OH!" Max blinked and nodded. "Roight... Hang on a sec..." She got into a position where she could access the computer and then nodded.

Before the pack got close, Blitzer opened the door to the storage locker and stepped out. He aimed his phaser and fired it. He managed to wound one of them at a distance. The others continued their approach, stalking like a pack of wolves. They seemed to be communicating to each other. Blitzer felt very worried by the display of intelligence.

"'Oly shit!!" Max screamed and tried to back up as far away from the creatures as she could. But when Blitzer ran with cat-like grace and speed away from where she was, she screamed at him, not stopping until she saw three of the creatures follow after him. She was scared spitless and then noticed that one had remained near the ladder at the far end.

When he put some distance between them he turned and fired, killing off the wounded one. His shots spurred Max to inch to the open doorway of the storage compartment and fire at one of them, her hands shook as she took aim and it was only blind luck that had her actually hitting it. Max was pretty sure she'd just made it angry.

He placed the grav boot on the bulkhead near by and yelled toward Max, "Now!"

A moment later Blitzer floated up off the deck. He smiled as he used his foot-paw to grab onto the grav boot. The Alien creatures floated up as well, He took aim and began blasting away at one. Sparks and smoke as well as debris floated around the creature. It shrieked as it died in a cloud smoke.

Suddenly through the fog and smoke came another creature. Blitzer's heart stopped beating as he realized it was propelling its self using some sort of internal gas discharge and a combination of wings. "Big mistake," said Blitzer, dazed by the profound realization that it was faster flying through the air than it was scampering on the ground.

"Max! Turn the grav plating on! Turn it on! Turn it on!" yelled Blitzer as two of the creatures zeroed in on him rapidly. Blitzer let go of the grav boot and kicked himself off the bulkhead at the last minute. The monster bugs crashed into the spot he where he had been.

Now Blitzer floated helplessly in the air. He fired his phaser at one of the bugs but it was too fast, he missed it as it circled in for the kill. Sparks rippled from the panel on the wall he had destroyed. It was a good thing he didn't have it set on '9.'

One of the bugs flew directly at him. With felinoid agility he used his feet to intercept the bug and propel himself sideways like a matador and an angry bull. The impact sent the bug tumbling through the air.

Suddenly the gravity came back on. Blitzer landed on his feet, the bug did not. Blitzer ran to it as it tried to right-end itself. Blitzer aimed from the hip and fired a pulse from his rifle into the softer underside of the bug. It splattered all over.

Max calculated the distance between them and in a mad rush, made it to his location where she smacked him on the arm and shoulder. "DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN!!" She was scared. Even her voice trembled. She hated bugs.

Rivulets of greenish gases floated in the air from the aliens propulsion organ. Blitzer cupped his nose, "..ewww"

"Oh!!!" Max waved her hand in front of her nose and gagged as she coughed from the foul smelling gas.

Blitzer looked down at the smoldering carcass and studied it. It too had spewed thousands of small cylinder like egg sacs. He looked up from them and over to the last one which appeared to be guarding the ladder.

He leveled his phaser at it and held the trigger. Sparks of plasma and debris showered from the creature. Blitzer released the trigger, several moments went by as he remained frozen until the smoke cleared. The creature had some sort of wings which it had used to shield itself. The phaser had caused damage to them, but it was still very much alive.

"I hate bugs...." Max said from directly behind him, her face close enough that he could feel her breath on the back of his neck.

Blitzer's ears were trained on the creature, he listened to the sounds it was making. Suddenly his ears quirked slightly, There was another sound. "Rah Rah Rah," The sound of a pixie practicing her cheerleader routine. The creature turned slightly toward the airlock. "Oh, oh" gulped Blitzer, "pigtails."

Blitzer brought the phaser rifle up to his chest and pointed it at the airlock. It was too late, in the blink of an eye the creature vanished into the runabout and Blitz and Max were left to slowly follow it towards the hatch with Max's fingers clinging to his uniform.

"Pigtails? Uh-oh?" But as soon as they reached the airlock, Max knew what he meant because she could hear Krystal screaming. "BAD BUG!!! BAD BUG!!! DON'T EAT ME!!"

"Oh my god...." Max jumped and started to move, stopping when Blitzer motioned for her to stay put while he quietly entered the runabout and walked to where the entry way connected to the central corridor. He peered around the corner to the left, toward the flight center and he could hear commotion as the creature seemed to be chasing after Krystal.

He ducked back down the short corridor and out the airlock closing it behind him. He was surprised when Max grabbed a hold of him again.

"Krystal is keeping it busy, We can stay here until the Zion can rescue us."

"What?" she squeaked and looked towards where Krystal was even if she couldn't see anything. "I don't think so. I'm not leaving that thing in there with her," she told him.

"She'll be alright. She's just a holo..." Blitzer stopped mid-sentence when his eye caught something over her shoulder. thousands of small spider like creatures were now devouring the larger dead ones. They seemed to be increasing in size with each bite. Blitzer couldn't speak because it felt like his heart had jumped up to his throat and was choking him.

"I don't care! She can be tra---" Max's gaze had followed his and with a little shriek that cut off her words, she moved closer to him, practically pressing against him in fear. "I hate bugs..." she whispered again, flinching at the sickening 'eating' noise they made.

Even as they watched for a moment, dozens of them began moving slowly in their direction. Blitzer grabbed the mechanism for the hatchway but it was stuck. The bugs began to buzz loudly and started crawling toward them in swarms, their bodies clamoring over each other in an effort to reach their spotted 'prize'.

Max hopped up and down and screamed as she watched them approach. She reached out to frantically help him, her hands slipping and grasping at his and the mechanism. In spite of her uncoordinated helping, they managed to get the hatch opened but now it was stuck that way.

"Oh gods... oh gods.... IT WON'T SHUT!!!" Max screamed and kept frantically trying to close it once they'd slipped through.

Blitzer began to blast ineffectively at the swarm which closed in on them. "W-we need a containment field," he said as the bugs reached the edge of the deck, disappearing into the thick fog that still hovered over the floor.

From head to tail, Blitzer's fur was standing on end. He had always thought he'd be blown it bits in his fighter craft. The thought never bothered him. Being ripped to shreds alive by hordes of alien spiders terrified him.

"A what??" she squealed and jumped as one of the bugs got close enough to nearly reach in and touch them. "OH! 'ang on!!" With hands that shook she hooked up to the computer and erected a force field. "'Ow's that?" She was back to being plastered to his side again.

Blitzer looked down at 3 small spider-like aliens, about 6 inches across. It creeped defiantly toward them. He pointed the rifle at them from arm's length and obliterated each in turn.

The spiders gathered and waited for an opportunity should the forcefield fail. All the while mutating and growing.

"I hate spiders more than I hate bugs!" Max squeaked, shaking with fear now, his hair on end only making her own terror seem more real.

Blitzer held Max close, "its gonna be okay," he assured her.

"It better be..." she jumped and clung to him at the sound of their claws clacking on the grating.

Now trapped between the airlock of the runabout and the inside hatchway of the station, Blitzer searched his head for a plan. "We need to get to the galley so we can beam it out. The runabout is too confined to be blasting on setting 7." Blitzer paused as he finished formulating his plan, "Here's what we'll do, you stay in the lock, I'll lure it from the flight center to the end of the corridor, I'll lock myself in the galley. There, I'll be able to beam the thing out into space."

"You keep leaving me!" she smacked him on the arm again. Definitely not enough to hurt, but enough to make her point. "Damn you anyway," she grumbled and was still shaking. "Do you think it'll work? Okay.. maybe it'll work. I hate bugs. Did I tell you that I hate bugs? And I hate spiders. I really, REALLY hate spiders," she rambled. "And I really, really, REALLY hate that you keep leaving me to be bug fodder!"

Blitzer made a "shhh!" gesture as he looked through the porthole to make sure the creature was not on the other side, waiting for them. He pointed his phaser as he nodded to Max whose head had been next to his peering though the porthole along with him. She trembled and nodded as she quietly opened the door... All was silent....

He crept down the short corridor to where the runabout's entry access connected to the main corridor. He looked left around the corner toward the flight center. It was quiet. He took a few quiet steps forward and his ears caught the sound behind him. He turned, rifle at the ready despite not wanting to shoot it in the runabout.

Max watched helplessly, her head constantly swiveling back to check on the containment field and the spiders on the other side who'd finished what they were eating and were now turning their attention to the promising meal Max would make.

The creature in the runabout was down in the Galley now. Blitzer looked back at Max who was watching intensely from the view port behind the hatch. He pointed down the corridor toward the galley.

He held his breath and quickly paced the 50 feet down the length of the corridor to the galley. Having soft pads on the bottom of his paws was a definite tactical advantage. The monster was definately in there and Blitzer peered inside to see it eating the pizza he'd left on the table for a snack.

He reached over and pushed the access panel, bringing the door closed.

As soon as the creature realized it was trapped it bashed itself against the door. Its strong mandibles began to tear and scrape at the door. Blitzer knew it wouldn't hold it for long and he raced back to the hatch and opened it, "Its in the Galley," he said, "come on!"

He didn't have to ask Max twice. She was out the door as soon as it was opened and then hurrying to shut it again before the spiders broke through the force field and crawled all over her.

Blitzer raced to the flight center which was trashed. The LCARS display was Smashed, he cursed in Caitian tongue. Max was right behind him, nearly running into the big Cait before screeching to a halt and seeing just why he'd been swearing.

She kept glancing back to the airlock and the gallery cause any moment she was sure bugs and spiders were going to be breaking though. "Wait... wait..." she was holding onto him now, just incase the bugs did manage to get through. "I can access the computer through my PADD," she told him.. "Just give me a second...." She already had it out and was working her way into the system. "I'm in..."

It was several tense moments before she looked at him helplessly. "I can't get a lock on it... It's exoskeleton is interfering with the signal..."

"Plan B," said Blitzer, "I'll go down to the Galley and open the door. I'll run to the mission module and close the door there. Its 20 feet from the Galley. I should be able to get the door closed in time. Once I'm inside, you make enough noise to lure it the rest of the way down the corridor. I'll unlock the docking clamps when it is by the entry junction. That should suck it out into space."

"What??? Lure it? Okay wait... WAIT.... I don't like this plan-B at ALL!" she told him. "Dammit I don't want to be bug food!" she squeaked and fwapped him again. "I'm so gonna hate you if I get bug ate," she warned him.

Blitzer hugged her, "Don't worry, It will work."

Blitzer turned as he walked out, "Make sure you get the flight control hatch closed," he said patting the door.

"Oh sure.... Roight... close the flight control 'atch. Just YOU make sure you don't get sucked out with the bug!! I can't fly this damn thing, y'know!" she hollered after him and then jumped when she heard metal scraping and tearing. "'URRY UP!" She closed the hatch, securing it and then just waited... And waited....

Blitzer stepped quickly down the hallway. He stopped by the mission module and opened the door. He proceeded down the corridor but he was 10 feet from the galley door when suddenly it collapsed and the monster bolted from its confinement. Blitzer reeled backwards, slipping off balance. He didn't have time to fire his phaser, he scrambled to his feet and ran back toward the mission module.

He jumped inside and activated door panel for 'emergency close' but the doors closed too slowly. The monster wedged itself in and began to force the door back open. Its long spidery legs prevented Blitzer from getting near the terminal next to the wall to unlock the docking clamp.

He turned on his comlink, "Max, you need to unlock the docking ring..NOW!"

"A'roight!! A'roight!!! Don't' you dare get sucked out!!!" she called back even as she followed his instructions and unlocked the docking ring.

--bullet time--

Decompression was like an explosion and the air seemed to become crystallized. Everything frosted instantly. Adrenaline pumped through Blitzer's veins making everything seem like it was happening in slow motion. He jumped toward the door. His paw activated the door mechanism to open it. But the monster used its 6 legs to hold itself in place. It had the scent of its prey and wasn't about to let Blitzer get away now.

There would only be a few moments until the ship's pressure was gone. Blitzer instinctively kicked at the creature in an effort to dislodge it. It worked, but not before a wickedly hooked claw protruded from one of its appendages and caught Blitzer in the calf muscle right above the hock. He fell backwards as the creature was sucked out into the corridor, his arms flailing for anything to grab hold of.

As the air vacated the runabout the creature was rapidly pulled along down the corridor, dragging Blitzer with it. The big Cait's claws scraped the smooth deck, searching for something to bite into. It was useless. He looked down at the creature, its mandibles snapped back and forth menacingly . He could see they were rapidly approaching the junction where the entry way to the airlock joined the central corridor.

His eyes locked onto the edge of the bulkhead which formed the corner and he realized that grabbing it was his only chance to keep from being sucked out into space.

The monster was sucked around the corner. He knew for the monster it was all over. He still had one more chance. He lunged.

Blitzer managed to hook his claws around the bulkhead as he passed it and clutched himself close. Excruciating pain rippled through his body as the monster's hook ripped free of his leg. He hung on like a flag in a strong wind, looking down at his feet he could see the void of space, the cloud of air and water vapor and the creature... floating away.

Soon the pressure dissipated. He landed on the floor and rolled over on his back. He struggled to draw a breath. There was little atmosphere left in the corridor. He wiped his paw over his uniform, it was still covered in bug guts and goo. He held it in front of his face, "Uhg," he said out loud.

His vision became blotchy and he started to feel the deck spin out of control, making him dizzy, he didn't know what was happening now but he was powerless. He could no longer hold his arm up, it dropped to the deck, his eyes became unfocused as he blacked out.

Maxine had been motoring the sensors, reading the life signs of both the bug and Blitzer. She monitored their progress, the computer able to get a good reading on Blitz at least. As soon as she realized what was happening, she went to work. His form shimmered into the blue of the transporter beam a moment after he blacked out, reappearing in the flight deck as Max had him beamed in.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! I'm too late!" She fell to her knees and grabbed hold of him, shaking his form with a strength that was belied by her size. "Blitz! Blitz! Don't you DARE die on me!!! Wake up dammit!!!" When he remained utterly still and unresponsive, she stopped shaking him long enough to press her ear to his bug-gut covered chest......