"Just what HAPPENED back there!?" Captain Kirk demanded as Shang-Chi and Thor were attended to. "I thought for a minute that it was an enemy attack!" 

"We don't know either," Shang-Chi said with a frown, wincing when a particularly deep wound was medicated. "We got a distress call as well from that place, so we decided to drop by to ensure no one was hurt."

"The good that did us," Thor muttered angrily under his breath. "We found no one alive, so we considered calling for backup to help clear out the bodies, but..." 

"People began getting sick. That's not a hard thing to imagine since we had been working non-stop these past few weeks. So many people were dropping like flies onto beds, and soon there were a few of us able to take care of them. Duck, your mother was one of them."

Duck felt his stomach open up like a sinkhole. "W-What happened to her?" 

"What happened to all of them, you mean," Spock corrected. "This is quite a unique circumstance, so I must imagine it has something to do with what we encountered back there." 

"You would be correct," Thor said. "That illness took down everyone but the two of us for some reason."

"Either way, things went south really quickly. We thought it would be fine, but it wasn't. The people who dropped suddenly stopped breathing. Their pulse was gone," Shang-Chi said. "We thought they were goners, and the bodies kept piling up everyday..." 

"But that wasn't the case. We thought they were dead... But they were becoming the undead." Thor's fists tightened. 

Duck's entire complexion turned multiple shades of white. 

"T-The undead?" He barely managed to squeak out. 

"Zombies," Captain Kirk said with a surprised face. He hadn't expected that of all things.

"Zombies," Shang-Chi confirmed. "It was absolute **** these past few days. The others who had been with us when they began to hunt us down... they all fell too and soon it was just the two of us..." 

"We've been trying to get by, but the dock of the ship had been completely hijacked. We couldn't get out without a spaceship, so we just had to hope no one came over." 

"Unfortunately when you docked up, they sensed it and played dead before attacking you all." 

"Not us, we got hit by a mist of sorts," Captain Kirk said while shaking his head. 

"Indeed. It was quite the experience." 

"It was scary," Duck confirmed. "I really was scared for my life back there." 

"Cause of...?" Shang-Chi got a nod as a reply. "That makes sense." 

"Either way, we must make a cure," McCoy said while getting up. "I managed to snag the papers and some hardware to study. Hopefully, it will give us clues to what they were doing in this shady place." 

"Most probably illegal stuff," Sulu answered. "Why else would it get out of control like this?" 

"A lot of other factors need to be accounted for as well, so maybe it wasn't illegal stuff, just something that got out of hand," Captain Kirk corrected. 

"It will take some time to decode, though, so we may have to wait a while," he warned. 

"I'll head back in there. Some of our crew members haven't returned from the expedition so we have to go and find them," Captain Kirk said while trying to get up, only for a loud sound to cut them off. 

"W-What was that?!" Uhura gasped while Duck rushed to the surveillance camera system and checked out the one to the docks. 

He couldn't stop the colour from draining on his face. "Guys... we may have a problem..." 

"What on earth could possibly go wrong NO-" Spock's words died in his mouth as the others gathered around the screen. 

Hordes of zombies were trying to break through. To make matters worse, these were superpowered zombies, which only made the process easier for them as they penetrated within MINUTES. 

"****!" Captain Kirk cursed. "You guys get out of here! I'll hold them off!"

"Do not count me out!" Spock said. "We must prioritise understanding this disease first and foremost! Therefore, the two of us shall protect you as much as we can!"

"We'll distract them! Get them out of here too! Thor and Shang-Chi aren't able to fight as they are right now!" the officer added. 

They all shared a glance, but McCoy nodded while helping Thor up. "We'll take care of things from here, so you better come back, you guys!" 

"Don't worry, we know!"

"You must hurry! It is but a matter of time before they reach the main hall!" Spock warned. 

Uhuru and Sulu worked together to carry Shang-Chi between them as the rest began to file out, but Duck looked back. "Please... come back. I don't want to lose anyone else to death anymore..." 

"We'll do our best, kiddo," Kirk said while giving a thumbs-up, and Spock simply nodded, a determined look forming on his face. "So get out of here and keep them safe!" 

He nodded back and rushed out of the room, but even as they turned to face the horde that had begun banging against the door, Spock paused when he saw James' eyes. 

There was none of his usual confidence. No, Spock saw one thing, and one thing along. 

Fear. Genuine fear of what was to come.

As someone who had died before, Spock knew what death was like. Cold, unending numbness. He never wanted his commanding officer, his friend, to experience that in his life. He remembered all too well the feeling of losing organ after organ, until even breathing was a monumental challenge. He could tell that like Duck, James feared losing anyone he cared for. 

He refused to let him doubt himself during this crucial time. 

"Admiral, we will not falter here." The door was slowly giving in. They had to get ready. "We will not fall here. I swear on it." 

"Spock..." His eyes widened, but soon the fire he had come to associate with Admiral James Kirk revved back up in place as he gave a grin. "Fair enough. Let's get going and kick some ***!" 

Spock himself smiled. As much as he feared dying again, he was prepared to go down fighting to protect the people still alive. 

He could only hope that McCoy, the competent doctor he was, could save them before it was too late. 

Something had been bothering McCoy since he heard about Kirk and co.'s meeting with the mist. His mind kept on going back to that case as they walked away, making sure to slow down for Shang-Chi and Thor's sakes. Assuming that the gas contained the virus, they should have been infected right away with the sheer viscosity of the mist making it nigh impossible to see.

So why hadn't they been infected? 

Curious. All so curious. Bones knew he had to do more research into this if he ever wanted to save those zombies, and utilising the body's internal healers would do the trick. 

... In normal cases, he supposed. But this was the undead. He wasn't sure if their bodies were still capable of healing themselves when most of their organs were dead. Spock had experienced that before, and if the stuck-up man could experience raw fear at death...

Then again, Bones got it. He too feared death to some extent. All humans did because death was this inevitable thing. He knew that trying to avoid death was impossible when even the internal healers failed. 

He sighed. Still, to interrupt that cycle and force these people to remain standing in between... Just what dastardly deed had been done aboard this ship? 

McCoy was determined to find out and put an end to all this madness, no matter what. 

They reached the medical bay soon enough, and he looked over their wounds with a frown. Not too severe, and they seemed immune to this virus as well. They just needed rest, but before that... 

"Shang-Chi, Thor, did you experience something similar to James, Spock and Duck?" he decided to ask them. 

The two Avengers shared a surprised glance. That was an unexpected question, but...

"We have been locked in one of the laboratory rooms at one point," Thor confessed. 

"It wasn't pleasant," the Chinese agreed. "Very thick and hard to breathe in, but once we got out we felt a lot better." 

Feeling a lot better once they left the room? Surely it wasn't just because of the relief. 

He turned back to the briefcase, opening it up to look at the files with a critical eye. He skimmed through the information, looking for the aim of the experiment-

"To allow people to adapt to any environment at a rapid pace, which in turn will help avoid the symptoms of jet lag and similar conditions," he read aloud, his eyes growing wider with every word. 

There it was! The thing that connected everything together! Now everything made sense!

He couldn't believe it. He made sure to look over the entirety of the files. No details were left unscrutinised as the excitement bubbled up in his chest. This was just downright illuminating! "Very very intriguing, if I do say so myself!" 

"What's so intriguing?" Sulu looked confused by his behaviour. 

Duck looked hopeful. "Did you find a cure?" 

"That I did, Duck. That I did," Bones said as he grinned widely. "I have to say, this is truly exciting!"

"Well, out with it!" Uhura said, still not understanding his excitement. "We don't have much time!" 

The reality of their situation finally sinking in, Bones immediately straightened, adopting a professional tone while addressing his audience. "This mist was meant to allow for quicker adaptability, but as it is still a foreign substance to our body, our internal healers reject the virus and react violently to it, causing symptoms akin to death when it is only meant to heal. As a result, we must expose more of this substance to the zombies, allow their internal healers to register this new substance as beneficial!" 

"So it's like exposure therapy?" Shang-Chi realised. 

He nodded. "Most likely that is the case. Therefore the best course of action is to gather them up and allow their internal healers to act."

"That sounds so crazy, it may just work!" Duck said, relief coursing through his veins at the realisation that his mother was going to be safe. 

"Indeed, but we need a place to allow them to be more exposed while also rescuing Captain and Spock," Sulu pointed out. "I doubt it will be easy."

"It will not be easy," he agreed. "But between all of us here, we may stand a chance. The only issue withstanding is that we will need bait. And of all of us present, only one is immune and able to fight back."

Everyone's face went pale. Heads slowly turned to face the youngest member of the group right now. 

Duck himself shivered. The thought of coming face-to-face with death against his dad's passing was downright horrifying. And on his birthday, no less. 

But even with that fear, the human already knew his answer. He couldn't afford to lose his mom and the surrogate family he had found aboard this here ship to a fate worse than death. He... 

He would fight to protect them. He would face that fear and come out of it if it meant he could keep his loved ones safe!

Looking up at McCoy, Duck told him, "I'll... I'll be the bait. I won't lose here, so promise... p-promise me that you'll bring them back."

Bones looked at this kid with admiration. He was willing to face his thanatophobia for the sake of others. That was no small feat, and he respected him for that. 

It was why he nodded and said, "Kid, stay safe. Please."

Duck nodded back, breathing deeply before he met McCoy's eyes. No matter what, he would push through for those he cared for!

"What's the plan?" He asked, and Bones gestured for the rest to gather around. 

Time to save the zombies!

SilverEyesCharlie Admittedly it's late but I do hope it's good!