FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Corona

**********

Disclaimer: The following story involves the interaction of males coupling of the sexual nature, transformation from human to an anthropomorphic humanoid, the growth and expansion of muscles and the great adoration of the male body. In short: this story contains M/M sex scenes, muscle growth, transformation and lots and lots of cock! There are some additional, kinkier themes but they are to be mentioned in the future. If any of these themes do not appeal to you or, for that matter, you are not of legal age in your country/state or continent, please turn away now, delete your browser history and wash your eyes with soap.

Also note that while following story does not explicitly contain the above themes, further instalments will. This is just a build up! The foreplay, so to speak.

The author does not take any responsibility for the corruption of minds, unexplainable feelings and possibly the change of a sexual orientation.

Otherwise, please enjoy!

Fun Fact: Take the first letters of every capitalised subheading to find a special message.

**********

---Hard Arrival ---

ISIS Perdition

01:13:34:59

Her name was the ISMMP Corona, one of the oldest and most decorated Mobile Mining Platforms in the entire Inter-Space Fleet. As the Inter-Space Insertion Ship Perdition slowly came into view of the enormous star ship, Private Colin Cox couldn't help but gasp in awe at the enormous hulk that had been the Corona.

Just three days ago, the Corona was on a routine mission to drill into a mineral rich asteroid hovering close to the Standler Ring, an asteroid Belt standing between Tyrant III and Tyrant V. Scientists claimed that the Standler Ring was actually the remnants of Tyrant IV before some catastrophic event hit it that no one could explain.

Just after the Corona began drilling, all operations came to a stop. Choppy reports from the ship claimed that they had hit something. Something they weren't expecting. Whispers of alien artefacts circulated around the nearby space station known as the Rig. By nearby, of course, that meant three days of travel and as time went by, it would only get further and further away as the Corona drifted along the asteroid's orbit.

Then... the Corona went dark.

The Perdition was instantly sent with a troop of six marines.

Private Cox was one of them.

Their mission was simple. Get to the ship, see what happened, secure it and then wait for reinforcements. The communications sent by the Corona were on an insecure channel and any space pirate or well-funded mercenary group would be after whatever it was that the Corona and its crew found.

"This is it boys," Captain Matthew 'Mauler' Delacruz announced. The still strong, middle-aged marine picked up his helmet and shoved it over his grey, crew-cut hair. "I assume I won't have to hold your hands. This is serious business. We -"

"Holy shit!"

What would have been a stirring speech was interrupted by Lance Corporal Tyler 'Bee' Bancroft. The pilot of the Perdition leaned forward against the glass windshield of the ship, peering out into the barely illuminated hull of the Corona.

Cox instantly knew what got the Lance Corporal so riled up.

As they flew closer to the Corona it soon became clear why the ship had gone dark. While enormous claws kept the ship firmly attached to the gargantuan asteroid that dwarfed the 3 kilometre ship, it became apparent that not all 3 kilometres were still attached to the ship itself. A large chunk of the hull had been torn completely off the ship's flank, literally hanging by a thread of cable.

"Fuck... What could've caused that...?" Bancroft murmured.

"It's an asteroid belt, genius," Lieutenant Shane 'Sandman' Putz grunted, his accent thick with his Russian origins. "Think it over."

The Captain placed an encouraging hand on Bancroft's shoulder. "Think you can get us in there, Corporal?"

A grin was the Captain's reply. "Sure, sure," he answered casually.

Bancroft guided the Perdition through a thick minefield of debris and wreckage. What surprised Cox the most was that there were no bodies floating around in space. He envisioned some frozen son-of-a-bitch would suddenly slam against the windscreen, face permanently frozen in a look of agony. He shook the thought out of his head, reprimanding himself for watching too many B-grade alien movies.

"Okay, team," the Captain said. "It's a big ship. Keep in contact. A hole that big, there's bound to be places with zero gravity and no oxygen. Suit up."

Cox nodded and slipped on his helmet, letting it slide over his strong, square features. His short, brown hair remained firmly enclosed in its confines and the clear shield that protected his face gave the inside of the Perdition an otherworldly, green glow. Displays flashed in front of his soft, blue eyes.

"This is Mauler. Sound off."

"Sandman here."

"This is Bivouac. Call me if you need me, boys."

"Solder reporting for duty, sir."

Cox took a deep breath. "Crossfire ready, sir."

"And this is your friendly pilot telling you all to sit the fuck down_because it's gonna be a bumpy ride!"_

True to his word, the ship rattled and shook as it swerved through the hailstorm of debris. Cox was thrown to the side, crashing against the towering hulk of Sergeant Walter 'Bivouac' King. The big, ebony skinned man gave him a warming smile and pushed back into his seat with a gentle motion.

The Perdition groaned in protest as it rattled and shook, getting closer and closer to the Corona. Cox could see small chunks of the asteroid bouncing off the kinetic shielding of the ship. He braced himself, gritting his teeth tightly.

Then, there was a sudden silence.

"Phew!"_Bee announced proudly. "We made it folks! Welcome to the_ Corona_. To your left, you'll see the dilapidated ruins of what seems to be a frantic attempt by the survivors to escape. To your right, countless gruesome bloodstains. Enjoy your visit and we hope you come back soon to fly with Air Bee."_

Cox rolled his eyes and unbuckled himself from the seat. Like the rest of the marines, he grabbed his preferred weapon, a pulse rifle. Bivouac was the heavy weapons expert of the team and he picked up an intimidating chain laser gun that he had to hold in his two, meaty, metal-covered hands. Solder, jumpy and excited as always, picked up his mechanic tools and a combat shotgun. Sandman picked up the quantum rifle capable of picking off an enemy not only from half a kilometre away with deadly accuracy but also through walls. Lastly was Mauler who picked up two laser pistols that he placed at his hips.

"You know the drill, boys,"_Mauler announced gruffly. _"Bee, keep the scanners on. Drop probes and make sure we know if anyone else is coming."

"Aye, aye, captain my captain!"

"Everyone else, keep it tight. Look for survivors. We don't know what hit this place." The Captain turned to his team as the Perdition closed its doors to them and took off once more. "Okay. Bivouac, Crossfire, get the power running to as much of the ship as you can. Wandering around in the dark won't do us any good. Solder, you're with me. Let's get some oxygen running in this place again. The nearest cruiser is still a week away and twelve hours of air won't get us through a week no matter how long we hold our breath. Sandman, stay here and secure the landing zone for Bee."

The marines saluted before quickly parting ways. All five had memorised the layout of the ship an knew exactly where they were going.

Cox glanced over at Bivouac. The Sergeant gave him a reassuring smile through that helmet. They exchanged a quick nod and proceeded down the darkened tunnels of the derelict Corona.

---Maintain Elevation---

ISIS Perdition

01:13:11:26

Bee got his name not because he was nosy or hyperactive but because of the way he flew. Before joining the marines, he was a pilot for the navy and he excelled at carving through the skies in high-speed fighters. At the height of his assignments, he was the sole pilot of a frigate, the ISF Bumblebee. She was fast, stung hard and was in and out before pirates knew what hit them.

That was, of course, until one fateful mission when his eyesight was permanently damaged.

The navy wouldn't let you fly if you had damage to your eyes.

The marines were a little more slack about not having perfect twenty-twenty vision and more than anything, Bee wanted to fly. Sure he had to crawl around the mud and grunt with the rest of the meatheads back at Fort Briggs but he bore all the scrutiny, hard-assed drill sergeants and days with little or no food while trekking through wild wildernesses on alien planets just to get the opportunity to fly.

And now... he got to fly the Perdition.

Just sitting in the pilot seat, watching the stars flit by and weaving his way casually through the swarm of debris gave him a sense of peace and serenity that no ground-based mission could ever give him. The marines understood this and Captain Delacruz more than anyone else. Whereas most Captains would demand he get off his ass and help Sandman secure the landing zone, Mauler let him have his peace. Naturally, it had to be productive peace but it was peace nonetheless.

Bee guided the Perdition with a practised hand, dropping off probes every so often. He made a broad orbit of the asteroid and the dilapidated Corona ensuring that the probes had maximum coverage. If anything or anyone came within fifty clicks of the site, they would know about it. He took his time about it. There were a lot of probes and Mauler was patient. Unless there was an emergency, Bee didn't see any reason to be rushing back to the Corona.

_"Hey Bee, I just had a thought."_It was Sandman.

The hotshot marine had the biggest mouth in their little detachment both literally and figuratively. There were rumours around the barracks that. Sandman could fit anything in his big, full, rosy lips. Including another guy's cock. Such rumours were never confirmed, however and most people were less than enthusiastic to confront him about it. A guy from the backwater world of Tyrant IX usually had the biggest attitude and thrived on insults.

"What is it, Sandman?" Bee asked, rolling his eyes freely.

"You know how it looks like everyone tried to run away from this place?"

"If they had a pilot like me, they wouldn't have crashed," Been replied with a faint snort. "But yeah, what's up?"

"You see any escape pods out there? Or at least an engine trail?"

That was a valid point. Most engines these days did leave a faint trail that could be traced with the appropriate filters. Bee switched on those filters. His entire vision was enveloped in an eerie, blue glow. Bright red trails crisscrossed the blue field.

"Well shit..." he muttered. "Either they don't know how to fly or they were just leaving in a hurry."

"No shit Sherlock. Do you actually see the pods or ships?"

Bee tried to keep his temper down. "Nope. Most of the trail just vanishes off to space. Maybe they just made a jump."

Sandman was as abrasive as his name suggested. "Think with your head, flyboy, and stop masturbating with your control stick. If they made a jump, we'd know about it. The briefing said there were no jumps."

"You're lucky I don't just abandon you on that hulk fucktard." Bee dropped off the last of his probes and began flying back towards the Corona. "There's a lot of debris out here. Those ships might -" He caught himself as a faint red flash twinkled to his left. "Wait... What's that?"

"My intelligence seeping away. I can't see what you're seeing, genius."

Bee held his tongue for a little longer and navigated the Perdition towards the faint, flashing, red star. As he drew closer, he could see the red light washing over the black surface of an escape pod.

"Hey Captain, I found an escape pod."

Mauler was quick to reply. "Good job, Bee. Check for survivors and do a sweep of the area. There might be more pods out there. Also check why its distress signal hasn't been activated."

"Sir, yes sir."

Bee guided the Perdition slowly towards the pod. The large capsule-like ship had its windows fogged over and it looked severely damaged. Small droplets of gold fluid streamed out from a vicious gash to its side. Its fuel lines seemed to have been cut, perhaps a reason it didn't make it far. Bee opened the rear doors of the Perdition, making sure the airlock separating the cockpit between himself and the cargo bay were secured.

With the hand of a practiced pilot, he slowly manoeuvred the Perdition backwards so that the ship engulfed the escape pod. A camera positioned inside the cargo bay gave him a good view of his activities. Once he was sure it was inside, he closed the doors and reactivated the artificial gravity. The escape pod dropped to the ground with a heavy thunk.

He hoped no one was injured.

Bee shut off the engines and quickly headed into the cargo bay of the Perdition. He brought a small pistol and suited up himself. The heavy military armour was something he was unused to and while he did train with it for a long time, it was still an alien feeling considering how he spent most of his time flying.

He took long, laborious steps into the cargo bay and stared at the battered and bruised escape pod, slowly approaching it with his gun raised. He peered through the windows and frowned at the fogged up glass. Frost on the outside of the glass was acceptable but fog on the inside?

Unless the life support system had failed and there was no air conditioning...

A burst of desperation hit him

Quickly, he pulled the escape pod door open. A wash of mist exploded from the interior, flooding the floor of the Perdition's cargo bay.

Bee frowned.

"Um... Captain...?"

"What is it, Bee?"

"There's... something weird in this pod..."

_"Don't worry, Bee, that's just your reflection,"_Sandman chimed in.

Both Mauler and Bee ignored him. "What is it Bee?"

"Um..."

Surprisingly, it was Solder who spoke. "Is it big, red, fleshy and looks like a giant cock?"

Bee blinked and glanced off to his left. "Err..."

---Light and Illumination---

ISMMP Corona

01:12:24:26

"Err..."

Solder couldn't believe what he was seeing.

His first thought was 'alien'.

The odd, fleshy substance was crawling all over the Corona's life support system. A network of veined patches criss-crossed the gratings and vents that would have fed the entire ship with air. Much had even crawled onto the keyboards and monitors, tiny tendrils of red flesh seeping between the keys and into the blank monitors.

Perhaps the creepiest aspect was the enormous cocks that hung from the ceiling and walls. Perhaps they weren't cocks but they certainly looked like it to Solder. Thick, seven foot tall fleshy tubes that pulsed and had thick veins crossing its surface dripped a clear liquid from their large, mushroom-like heads. Two orbs hung at the base of each tube, softly emitting a gurgling sound that made Solder sick to the stomach.

Mauler came into the room a second later. "Shit... What the hell is that stuff?"

There had to be at least twenty of the cock-like tubes in the small control room but the red substance had crawled all over the floors, walls and ceilings. Solder tentatively touched one of the flesh, covered walls. His metal gauntlets bounced off the substance easily.

"I think it's... alive..." he admitted softly "Captain..."

"Crossfire, Bivouac, how close are you to restoring power to this place?"

"Close Captain,"_came Bivouac's low rumble."We're in the generator room right now. But..."_

"Please tell me there isn't more of that stuff down there."

"Okay. I won't."

A strained silence.

"Shit," Mauler muttered. His deep, brown eyes turned towards Solder. "Can you get that shit off the vents?"

The engineer turned towards the consoles and frowned. "I don't think so." He tugged at the substance. It was rubbery but very taut almost like it was thick, veined flesh full of fat. "I'm hesitant to burn it too. Who knows what this stuff is. If we torch it, it could become airborne."

"I've watched way_too many alien infection movies to know that's a bad idea,"_ Crossfire muttered.

_"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend,"_Sandman laughed.

"Look who's talking!"

"Shut it," Mauler snarled. His eyes locked back onto Solder. "What's your recommendation, lieutenant?"

'Lieutenant' was such a loose term. Solder hated it. Lower ranked soldiers looked up to him and thought he was some sort of hero for getting such a prestigious rank. In reality, he just fixed things and because he could fix things, he got promoted for it. He didn't let the thought cloud his judgement, however.

"My recommendation? Get the hell off this place and nuke it." The look Mauler gave him said that was far from an option. "Barring that, if this console is still working, I can probably get the system to isolate all infected areas in the ventilation system. We'll get air pumping again but it'll take a little more time before every area is breathable. Considering how half the ship is blown off though, I'm guessing it won't be too long."

Mauler gave him a nod in confirmation. "Good. Bivouac, Crossfire, the power?"

"Just... A little... longer..."_Bivouac answered. _"There!"

The lights flickered on and the console sprang to life. Solder went immediately towards the screens and ran his armoured hands over the keys. The main screen asked for identification and he gave it his military-level access codes. All marines had one. It was sort of a skeleton key that allowed all military personnel to access. It was controversial but the Inter-Space Alliance was very tight about its civilians going out into space without protection. More researchers have gone missing in space in the years since the ISA separated from the Terran Empire and many suspected it was Earth trying to weaken the vast, space-based federation.

So, the ISA military maintained a firm grip on all ships produced by ISA sanctioned companies. These codes were evidence of that.

"Good work, Bivouac," Mauler said. "What's it look like, Solder?"

The engineer nodded at the vast array of data that flashed before him. A schematic of the Corona appeared before his eyes. A huge, red chunk appeared that signified the section of the ship that had been torn off. Funnily enough, it was only about an eighth of the ship that was missing. The rest was relatively intact.

He called up a scan for all sectors of the ventilation system that had blockages. No blockages, apparently, but he knew that wasn't true.

Whatever the substance was, it wasn't blocking the vents.

"I'm powering up the maintenance drones," he reported. "See if we can manually search for the reach of the infection. It'll take a while."

"Keep an eye on it, Solder. We need to -"

A voice erupted from the speakers. "Hello? Is anyone there? Did you just switch on the power? Dear god, please be human..."

Solder exchanged glances with Mauler then turned towards the speakers. "My name is Captain Matthew Delacruz, Inter-Space Alliance Marines. We're from the ISIS Perdition, sent here on a reconnaissance and recovery mission. Who am I speaking to?"

"My name is Gordon Hamel. I'm a scientist here."

"A scientist?" Solder repeated. "This was a mining ship. What's a scientist doing here?"

"If you think the Corona_was just a mining ship, you've clearly not been briefed on this place. Look, I'm in the observation tower. If you can get here, I'll tell you all about it. In the mean time, shut off all the power! And for God's sake! Keep the temperature to near freezing!"_

"What?" Mauler shook his head. "Look here, Hamel, we don't have much air. From what I remember, the observation tower is halfway across this ship. Without the tram system working, it'd take us hours to navigate through all the debris just to get there. We don't have that much air. The power stays on."

A sigh rippled through the speakers. "Fine. Fine. Just keep the temperature down. I'll be waiting if you can get here."

The speaker went dead.

Solder exchanged glances with Mauler. "Well... What now, Captain?"

Mauler shrugged. "We go looking for the guy."

--- Safe in Isolation---

ISMMP Corona

01:12:09:26

"Bivouac, Crossfire, I want both of you to go to command centre. See if you can switch on the distress beacon. We'll need to tell any nearby cruisers that we're ready for pick-up and we have a survivor. Also, check if the automated defences are online. Don't want any pirates on our asses."

Sergeant Walter 'Bivouac' King nodded, looking up at the enormous mass of red flesh that had grown all over the walls of the generator room. The crawling corruption had avoided the generators themselves as if knowing that latching on to them would lead to electrocution. He shook the thought out of his head, returning to reality. He could see that Crossfire was already concocting all sorts of crazy alien conspiracy theories in his head and while it was amusing, he needed to keep his head 'in the game'.

"Sandman, keep an eye out for Bee. Bee, look for any more pods. You've got two hours. After that, get back in here."

Everyone voiced their acknowledgement.

"Well, Crossfire," Bivouac said, nudging the shorter corporal, "let's get going."

Crossfire hung unusually close to him, rifle raised and pointing at the huge cocks that seemed to twist and writhe in the flashes of lights and electricity that the generator gave out. It didn't help that they were constantly oozing what appeared to be precum.

"You know... I'm half-tempted to just shoot these things," the corporal stammered. "You just know there's some sort of alien in there... The sooner we get them out of the way, the less hassle we'll have."

Bivouac decided the play along. He knew Crossfire's type. Joined the military at a young age with his head still full of comic books, movies and dreams of glory. He grew up, somewhat, more disciplined, but give him the littlest hint of alien or government conspiracies and he'd go into a 'nerdgasm'

"You could. But then you know if you shoot them, every one of those bastards will wake up. Then what? They've got us outnumbered and we don't know what they're like. Next thing you know, we're going to be dragged into one of those cock things, get tentacle raped and them come out all alien-like."

Crossfire paled. "We're fucked, aren't we?"

"Keep your head about you and we'll be fine," Bivouac rumbled. "Now come on, champ. We've got a long way to go."

Like any ship on the ISA fleet, the Corona came fitted with a tram system that made travelling to any of the ship's many segments easier. With the power once more operational, Bivouac and Crossfire jumped into one of the trams and let it take them towards the front of the ship, towards the control centre.

The tunnels of the tram system were barely illuminated but Bivouac didn't mind the moment of still silence as he sat down on one of the seats and patiently waited arrival.

"Okay guys,"_Solder reported,"oxygen levels are up. Save your air."_

Bivouac pulled his helmet off his head and took a breath of the sweet air. The air always had a different 'taste' to it after he pulled off his helmet. Crossfire, however, kept his helmet on adamantly, staring at Bivouac with a look of mixed horror and calculation.

"You're going to suffocate in there, you know," Bivouac warned.

"Better than being infected by some airborne contagion," Crossfire answered in a quivering voice.

Bivouac rolled his eyes. "Okay, kid, think clearly. Solder has made sure none of the areas that are infected by the stuff has air flowing through them. Right, Solder?"

"Right. You can take off your helmet Crossfire. It's safe."

"That's what they always say!" Crossfire cried. "Then we're growing tentacles, coughing up blood and who knows what else!"

"Oh for God's sake..." Bivouac got up, marched towards the corporal and forcibly yanked the helmet off. Crossfire theatrically held his breath but after three minutes, he was forced to take a breath. "There, now we're both infected."

"Are you crazy!" Crossfire yelled. "Now we're going to die!"

Bivouac rolled his eyes and patted the young corporal on the shoulder. "Kid, I know this shit seems weird, but we're going to make it out of this alive. There are no aliens. All this stuff is just -"

The tram abruptly shook and swung from side to side.

Bivouac turned just as the window beside him shattered. An enormous figure burst into the tram and before he could bring up his gun, it bowled into him. He was thrown boldly out of the tram, dazed and confused.

The last thing he could see was Crossfire's look of absolute terror.

The last thing he could hear was his name being cried out...

---Never Fear---

ISMMP Corona

01:11:43:11

"Bivouac!"

Sandman looked up from his position in the observation deck of the hanger. After the others had left, he had found his way up to the deck. It was the perfect sniping position and with the automated turrets he had set up around the hanger, he had created the perfect kill zone.

"Crossfire! Kid!" he barked. "What the fuck happened!? I swear, you better not be shitting me!"

"Oh fuck!"_the young marine shouted. _"This... This thing_just came out of nowhere and tackled Bivouac right out of the tram! Shit! Shit! Shit-shit-shit-shit!"_

"Calm down, Crossfire,"_Mauler said. He tried to remain calm but Sandman could hear the fear in his voice. _"What happened? Where's Bivouac now?"

"Fuck if I know! He just dropped!"

A deafening creak followed and a low, feral growl.

"Oh shit... There's more of them! Fuck!"

Gunfire rippled out of Sandman's headset. "Hang on kid! I'm on my way!"

_"Stay where you are, Sandman,"_Mauler barked.

He wanted to protest. Okay, so he was an ass to all his teammates but that was just how he told them he cared. Warped as it was, he wouldn't kid around with people if he knew they would punch him for it. No, the reason he called his teammates names and why tormented them with words was because he knew they could take it.

"But sir -!"

The gunfire went silent... followed by static.

"Crossfire. Crossfire! Are you there!?"

Mauler's words were met with silence.

They waited a minute.

Two.

Three...

Five minutes later, Mauler spoke.

"Okay team, it looks like this has become more than just a simple rescue mission. Sandman, I want that hanger secured."

"I've already set up two auto-turrets."

"I want more. Set up two more. Fuck, set up twenty_if you have to. I want traps and mines. I want to make sure that if we're getting out of here in a hurry, we don't have to worry about watching our backs. Solder, you still monitoring those air levels?"_

Sandman hesitated. Mauler had left Solder? Alone?

Crap... Now they were all separated.

If he was whatever was out there, he would pick them off one by one. With everyone separated, that would be even easier.

"Yes sir. I'm keeping an eye on the vents and have a pretty good view of them place through he maintenance bots. The one place I can't_see is the tram lines. I can see the stations but not the lines itself."_

"Shit..." Sandman swore. "It's like they knew..."

"Don't go spouting conspiracy theories on me now, Sandman,"_Mauler warned. _"Keep it up, Solder. Bee, you still out there?"

Silence.

A chill of fear ran through Sandman's system. "Shit..."

"Still here, Captain!"_Bee suddenly exclaimed. _"Sorry. Had to concentrate. I'm finding a lot of these escape pods out there. All of them have the same stuff inside them. I'm starting to think they weren't used to escape. They were used to throw these assholes out of the ship."

That certainly made sense. Perhaps that was why a good portion of the ship was now blown apart and hanging by some meagre tethers. Maybe the crew had seen the infection, attempted to isolate it and blown the part that was infected out of the ship.

Sandman shook his head.

No, that didn't make sense. The infection was here.

So maybe the other survivors were on the part of the ship that was flowing halfway into the asteroid field?

"Get back to the Corona_ASAP, Bee. We're going to make the hanger our base of operations. I'm going to get this Hamel guy and I'll meet you back there in an hour."_

Everyone gave their confirmation and Mauler shut off the conversation.

Sandman, rigid and filled with fear, peered down the barrel of his quantum rifle, just waiting for something to happen. He took a deep breath and shifted from one foot to the other. His blood was pumping and the stress was starting to get to him. Focus was hard to obtain when his mind was filled with possibilities and his heart full of fear.

He needed to clear his head.

Sandman closed his eyes for the briefest of instances and thought back to his backwater home back on Tyrant IX. Sure it stank and you were likely to get shot but it was home. He remembered the old pad that he and his dad shared. His dad had always been so supportive of him. They had a celebratory dinner when Sandman had been accepted into the army. Then that drunk driver decided to run his old man over.

No more daddy.

No more apartment.

Sandman lived in the military now.

"Fuck..." he whispered softly.

That was not easing his heart. It boiled his blood instead.

He needed to focus... and if there was anything he learned back in the ghetto... there was one sure fire way to clear your head.

He glanced down at his groin.

"Fuck it."

---Enlightenment ---

ISMMP Corona

01:10:01:43

The doors sprang open and Mauler burst into the observation deck, dual plasma pistols raised.

"Wait! Don't shoot!"

A tall man dressed in a white, blood-splattered lab coat staggered towards him, glasses shattered and loose, blonde hair haggard and messy. The man had his hands lifted into the air.

"Gordon Hamel?" Mauler asked.

"Captain Delacruz?" Hamel replied, lowering his hands. The scientist approached cautiously and pressed the lock button behind Mauler. Those same doors shut with a heavy clang.

"I'm here to get you out, doctor."

Hamel laughed bitterly and slumped into a nearby chair. "Captain, this is my hell. The only way you're going to get me out of this place is to shoot me."

Mauler lowered his pistols. "Cut the melodramatic shit, Hamel. What the fuck is going on here? I've lost two good men -"

"You haven't lost them, Captain." Hamel cupped his own chin in a hand with a glistening gold ring on his finger. He glanced off to the distance. "In fact, I suspect in under twenty-four hours, you'll meet them again."

His patience was running dry. Mauler stormed up to Hamel and pressed his plasma pistol against the scientist's forehead. Hamel barely flinched. "You better start talking, doc! Is this some sort of alien invasion? A fucking infection that's going to turn us all into some monsters!? Zombies!?"

Hamel laughed his bitter laugh. "You've got one half of it right. We'll all be turned. Eventually."

"Into what!?"

Hamel closed his eyes, rubbing them under his glasses. "Them."

"And what are they?" Mauler kept his pistol levelled at Hamel, backing away slowly.

"We've decided to call them Canimorphs. They were a product of plausible research meeting military ambition merging with fantasy shitting in god's face and then colliding with pure idiocy. They are what will end the human race. They are what some of my colleagues would call 'the next step in human evolution'. I call them a side-step in human evolution.

"They are what's going to fuck you over, kill you and then bring you back as one of them."

Hamel absently tapped a few keys on the console in the vast, circular observation centre. They stood on the upper platform where the overseer of the centre would have sat. Hamel occupied the officer's seat. Branching out to the left and right of the high deck were flights of stairs that led to three tiers of decks filled with smaller consoles for all the other officers offering a 360 degree view all over the Corona.

With every tap of Hamel's fingers, screens on those consoles sprang to life. The one right in front of Mauler showed what appeared to be a... a...

"A werewolf?"

Hamel laughed bitterly. "If only it were that simple. This is a Canimorph, Captain. A creature of all muscle, all canine instinct and built for war."

The creature looked to stand over eight feet tall and had a very impressive muscle structure. Thick veins criss-crossed its flesh under thick fur. A defined eight-pack protected its abdominal muscles and its straight posture simply oozed command. Interestingly, a set of eight appendages sprang from its back, looking very... tentacle-like. Their tips were blunt, however, and they seemed to be arrayed into the shape of wings.

"We call this particular Canimorph a 'Mastermind'," Hamel explained. "My research into it shows that those tentacles on its back form a sort of neural link with other Canimorphs. Upon inserting it into another Canimorph's anal cavity -"

"Excuse me!?"

Hamel smirked softly. "You heard me, Captain. This big bruiser sticks those tentacles up another Canimorph's ass and effectively issues orders to that other Canimorph. Talk about a 'mind-fuck', huh?"

Mauler shook his head in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I wish I was." Hamel gestured at the Mastermind. "This guy is the leader. You've seen the substance on the walls, correct?"

"Yes..."

"That's like an extension of the entire Canimorph body and mind. That thing isn't quite alive in the traditional sense but it is a functioning, single-minded organism that is controlled by the Mastermind. The Pack, I've decided to call it, can transmit orders from the Mastermind to other Canimorphs so long as they have contact with it. Oh and have no delusions, Captain, that thing is growing."

"What did you say?"

"The Pack grows."

Mauler shook his head in disbelief. "Start from the start, brainiac. How did these things come about?"

Hamel sighed heavily, lowering his hand and his head. "They came about by the meeting of the two things that make humanity such a brilliant species: human ingenuity... and human stupidity."

---Closing in---

ISMMP Perdition

01:09:49:00

Bee listened closely to the doctor. He opened the last of the escape pods and, once again, saw the big, red cock staring at him sitting inside the pod, more of 'the Pack'. He shook his head, wondering at just how disgusting the thing was and hurried back to the cockpit.

He sat down in his chair, set the Perdition to fly him back to the Corona and listened in.

"The Corona_was not just a mining vessel, Captain. It was a secret military delivery ship. Its mission was to fly to this asteroid where a secret weapons research facility was being constructed, drop off some supplies, and then fly off again. Only this time, some_ civilians_were included in the operations. Some executives. They wanted to see their money put to work. So they forced the_ Corona_to start drilling."_

"Back up,"_Mauler urged. _"What kind of weapons was this facility trying to research?"

"There were four branches of military research being undertaken inside this asteroid. The first was biological research. I was part of this branch. We were actually trying to find a way to cure the common cold. We were fascinated by the cold's ability to adapt year by year, environment by environment, and hypothesised that it preyed on humans specifically. If there were humans around, the cold would survive. We tried cracking that code.

"Another branch was the animal research component. They were researching canines. Like us, they were fascinated by canine's ability to interbreed, adapt and effectively mutate at an alarming rate. Evolution for them is really quite fast. Above all else, they were looking into ways to extend a canine's lifespan. As you may know, Captain, there is no such thing as a 'natural' death. People's organs and bodies simply fail due to one reason or another. Researchers were looking into a way of fortifying a canine's body to extend their lifespan and perhaps extend this research to humans."

"And the other two?"

Bee heard a soft clunk from behind him. He glanced back and saw the empty stairwell leading into the cargo bay of the Perdition. Like Crossfire, he had seen too many B-grade movies to know that the minute her turned around again, he'd be attacked by some alien that he had unwittingly let onto the ship. He was half-tempted to jettison the cargo but some part of him knew the Captain wouldn't like that at all.

Instead, pressed a few buttons. Large doors would have cut the cargo bay in half, locking the part that would be thrown into space should the rear doors be open away from the rest of the ship. Another set of doors shut the stairwell and the third closed the cockpit off from the rest of the ship.

There, now he was safe.

"Nanobot research and weapons research. Those I wasn't too familiar with but from my understanding, one team was looking into finding ways to introduce nanotechnology to ships. We already have nanobots that can enter people's bloodstreams and aid in the repair of the body to be absorbed into the body as additional nutrients after use but we wanted to apply this to ships as well. Imagine ships that could literally heal_in front of your eyes."_

"That would be handy."

"Right. The weapons research I'm even more unfamiliar with. All I know is that they were working on some sort of cloaking device and some form of sonic weapon."

"Great. So some badass research was being conducted down here. Then what?"

Hamel sighed heavily. Bee took the moment to peer out the windscreen of the Perdition. He was pretty far away from the Corona but was drawing closer and closer with every moment. He couldn't wait to be back with his team. His heart had pounded when he heard both Bivouac and Crossfire go down. A bit of him was tempted to just turn tail and get out of there but he was not about to abandon his team.

"Well, those mining executives, in their utter brilliance, decided to drill down into the asteroid."

"Yeah, you told me. Then what?"

"We had planned for that eventuality. We made sure the drill came nowhere near_our research facility. It was noisy and the place shook from time to time but it was bearable. Of course, that's when human stupidity came in."_

"What do you mean?"

"For no apparent reason except for 'because we can', one of the executives decided to adjust the drill a little to the left. Now this wouldn't have been a problem. But a fight broke out between the executives about protocol. Fighting occurred in this very room. Two executives brawled and knocked the controls about, steering the drill at full speed and off course.

"I was twenty feet away from Carlos when the drill came shooting out of the ceiling and ground him into a human slushie. He was lucky."

"Jesus..."

"That's not the worst of it. The drill tore through all four levels of the research facility. When it hit the weapons department, the bottom floor, it hit something explosive. The facility went up in smoke and we abandoned our posts. Now I want you to think of something, Captain... Imagine a super-adaptive, self-replicating virus like the cold virus mixed with hyper-intelligent nanobots mixed with canine DNA."

"You're fucking kidding me..."

"Nope. Now... imagine them with guns. Experimental_guns."_

---Tales ---

ISMMP Perdition

01:09:35:13

_ "What happened?"_Mauler asked.

"Well... Nothing at first. The captain of the ship had the executives thrown in the brig and the rest of us tried to recover our research. That is, of course, until we realised there was an airborne contagion flying about in the research lab. At first, no one gave it any mind. No one appeared_sick._

"Except..."

"Except what?"

Hamel sighed heavily. "Would you believe... an overactive sex drive?"

"... Come again?"

"The infection is very... unique. When it infects your body, it starts mutating it. Particularly your reproductive organs. Understand that the Corona_and the research facility was comprised entirely of an all-male crew so we don't understand the effect on females. From my studies, the infection actually starts_ purging_your body of what it considers as 'impurities' and collecting them in your testicles. At the same time, it starts causing your libido to go into overdrive to purge your body of said impurities. The result is that you find yourself ejaculating ridiculous amounts of what you might consider 'semen'."_

"You have got_to be kidding me."_

"I kid you not, Captain. And here is the worst bit, that semen? It isn't semen. At least not in the initial stages. It is the makings of a cocoon."

"A what_?"_

"You know those cock-shaped growths on the Pack? Those are cocoons. You cum and cum and cum. The infection starts twisting your mind and you can't stop cumming. Eventually, you just become lost in the sex. At first, it just seems like you orgasm once or twice a night. Then, it goes to three times. It starts plaguing you at work. Then, one night, you just can't stop. You just lie there and jack off uncontrollably for what seems like hours. You orgasms grow more and more powerful, producing more and more semen until you're completely covered_in the stuff._

"You go to sleep... and the next thing you know... Well, the next thing others_know is that they walk into your room after three days of not reporting for duty and they find your walls crawling with the Pack and a big cock-shaped cocoon on your bed."_

"So... Those things... They have people_in them?"_

"I'm afraid so, Captain."

"What's happening to them?"

"They're turning into Canimorphs. There are multiple ways to be transformed, you see. There is the airborne infection where you make your own cocoon. Then... there are the Canimorphs I've decided to call Devourers that... well...I'll leave that to your imagination. Suffice to say, Captain, that the Canimorphs have all the adaptability of the cold virus, carefully constructed abilities of nanobots, the sex-drive and strength of canines and_the intelligence of humans._

"In fact, how many consoles do you think are in this room, Captain?"

"I don't know... Ten?"

"Twenty-seven, Captain, including this one. Over the past three days, I've managed to document a different species of Canimorph. One for each console."

"Fuck me..."

"They intend to. One of their favourite methods of infection is to force you to ingest their seed with whatever orifice is available."

"What do they want?"

"Who knows? We made them. By accident, but we made them. And now... Well... Now, they've taken over the ship."

There was a pause.

"Okay... Run this by me again,"_Mauler said."We have two tasks here to keep our humanity. One, don't get fucked. Two, don't jack off. Right?"_

"In essence."

"You got that, troops?"

Sandman gulped loudly. He stared at his cum-covered armour and at his cock which almost seemed to stare at him sheepishly, dripping some left over trails of cum onto his chest.

"Oh fuck..."

--- Endeavour ---

ISMMP Perdition

01:09:20:13

Bivouac woke with that feeling of having slept on the wrong side of the bed. He groaned softly and rubbed the back of his head. He heard the soft muffling of voices in his ear and he shook his head, trying to focus on those voices.

"You got that, troops?"

It was Mauler.

"C - Captain...?" he stammered.

There was a strained silence.

_"Bivouac? Is that you?"_Sandman sounded concerned. If Bivouac wasn't in some dark tunnel that was barely illuminated, he would've picked on the guy.

"Yeah... It's me. I'm alive... Somehow."

"We last heard you were thrown off the tram by a... a... what did he call it again?"

"A Canimorph,"_Mauler supplied. _"Listen Biv, we've got a situation. There are some experiments gone wrong down here. We're not alone. Where are you?"

He glanced around and as he slowly got to his feet, he became aware of a strange, salty taste in his mouth. He must've been out for a while. He rubbed his lips and felt a sticky substance against his flesh. The faceplate of his helmet was shattered, depriving him of low-light vision so he could barely see where he was going. Thankfully, the flashlights attached to the shoulders of his armour was still functioning.

"Looks like the maintenance shafts under the tram lines..." he murmured.

"Maintenance shafts... Solder, think you can guide him out of there?"

"Sure thing, Captain. Biv, just stay where you are. I'm coming to get you."

A low growl rippled from somewhere behind him.

"No time, Sol. Looks like I got company." Bivouac turned tail and bolted down the empty shaft as fast as he could. "Fill me in, what exactly are we dealing with here?"

A dry laugh came from another voice he didn't recognise. "Well, Bivouac, was it? They're aliens. Aliens made by the secret research team positioned in this very facility."

"This is no laughing matter, Hamel!" Mauler barked. "Bivouac, get out of there!"

Heavy thuds echoed from behind him. He could heard heavy footfalls and the clicks of... claws on the metal floor of the tunnels. Bivouac didn't care about that. All he knew is that he was royally fucked if he couldn't get out of there!

"Solder, get me out of here!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying! Fuck... where are you... Shit... I'd ask you to slow down but then you'd die!"

"Run as fast as you can, Bivouac,"_Hamel chuckled. _"Hold onto your humanity for as long as you can."

"Who the fuck is that guy!?" Bivouac bellowed.

A tremendous roar erupted from behind him. On some instinct he couldn't identify, Bivouac ducked. Something big, huge and furry shot over his head, glistening fangs just barely missing his skull. Bivouac didn't waste as second. As the creature crashed into the ground, he vaulted over the beast and kept on running while it remained stunned. He felt hard muscle resisting his weight and he knew if that thing caught up to him, he was dead.

"Gordon Hamel,"_the voice replied. _'I'm a scientist that worked here."

"Talk, Hamel!" Mauler barked. "How the fuck do we stop them?"

"Long story short, Captain. You can't. Remember, they have the adaptive abilities of the cold virus mutated. The nanobots fused_the virus DNA with the canine DNA and further fused it with human DNA. The result is highly adaptive canine anthropomorphic monsters who have an insane libido. They continuously mutate, adapting to their surroundings and growing stronger as time passed. If you shoot them, they simply regenerate because of the nanobots in their bloodstream_ that they produce_. Furthermore, they are capable of_ absorbing minerals. More than once, I've watched them devour_metal. In fact, the Pack is actually devouring the ship slowly while replacing its internal workings with its own body."_

"Fuck! So it's a living ship!?"

"More or less."

That roar came again and Bivouac was sure he couldn't dodge a second time.

"Biv! There's a hatch to your left! Take it!"

Bivouac had no time to think or even wonder if Solder had the right coordinates. He just trusted his team mate, threw himself to his left and prayed. He burst through a metal grating and slid down a tunnel. He gave a cry of horror as the tunnel suddenly tipped straight down and he plummeted downwards for what seemed like an eternity.

"Ooooooh shiiiiiiit!"

BOOM!

He landed... dazed and with stars flashing in front of his eyes.

"Bivouac!"_Mauler cried. _"Are you still there?"

Bivouac shook his head, clearing his vision. "Erm... Yeah, sir... I'm here."

"Where are you?"

The big soldier stood up and frowned.

"Probably the worst place to be right now."

The words 'Darwin Research Facility' hung on thick, fleshy tendrils in front of him.

Suddenly, a new voice erupted into his microphone.

No... It wasn't his microphone... It came from the speakers... Loud and clear.

"This is Private Colin Cox of the Inter-Space Alliance Marines! I repeat, this is Private Colin Cox of the Inter-Space Alliance Marines!"

--- Distress ---

ISMMP Perdition

01:09:00:00

Crossfire stood at the top command centre, his bloody finger pressed against the 'call' button and his helmet askew. There were bloody gashed across his armour but none of the blood was his own. He had heard every word of Gordon Hamel's explanation of the world around them but he hadn't been able to communicate. The fight with the 'Canimorphs' had damaged his helmet.

Somehow, he managed to get to the command centre.

"To all ISA ships in the vicinity of the ISMMP Corona. We are in need of help. I repeat, we are in dire need of help. A viral infection from the results of weapon and biological research has spread across the ship. The crew is either dead or infected. We are requesting immediate extraction. Our small group of six Marines isn't enough to hold these guys back! We need help!"

"Son-of-a-bitch,"_Sandman shouted. "Crossfire! Get off that damn radio! You don't tell them how many guys we've got! Who knows who else is out there!"_

Crossfire pulled his finger off the button and realised his mistake.

"Crossfire!"_it was Mauler this time. _"Glad to see you're alive and great initiative there but for fuck's sake, do not_say another word!"_

"Yes Captain..." he murmured, despite knowing Mauler couldn't hear him.

A soft sigh followed but it was from a voice he had heard over the past few minutes. Hamel's voice.

"Oh Private Cox... Why did you have to go do that? Now more of your burly marines will be flying through that hanger and entering hell. You could've saved lives, you know."

"Don't listen to him, Crossfire,"_Mauler said. _"You did the right thing. Meet us at the hanger. Bivouac, think you can make it there?"

_"I'll sure try, Captain,"_Bivouac rumbled.

"Good. You have an hour. After that, I'm coming to get you."

"Sir -"

"Don't make me come and get you."

"Yes sir."

"And you_,"_ Mauler said, probably turning to Hamel. "When we get off this rock, you have a lot_to answer for."_

Hamel laughed. His voice filled with bitterness. "Sadly, Captain, none of us will be leaving this ship. None of us will want to."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Captain... Have you even stopped_to ask yourself_ why_I of all the people survived? I was at the epicentre of this disaster and yet I miraculously survived. Furthermore, it's been three days. There was no air flowing, no power and I'm dressed in nothing but a lab coat. Now I'm not sure how far humans have evolved since my hibernation but I doubt they can hold their breath for three whole days."_

Crossfire held back a scream and lunged for the controls. He pressed the 'call' button.

"Cap -"

His words were cut off when a big, furry hand curled around the lower half of his face and spun him around. Crossfire found himself staring at a pair of big, yellow, feral eyes and an array of sharp fangs.

"Oh shit..."_Mauler whispered."You're..."_

Hamel's voice suddenly began deeper and obtained a feral edge. "Captain, welcome to Hell."