DocTomoe
Well-Known Member
Jihi-Class Hospital Ship – YSS Ficus – Outside of UX-5 System
A slow and steady sigh came from a Nekovalkryja nurse as she slumped against a corridor wall and looked to the ceiling... which was also the floor in the zero gravity space within the hospital ship. She was exhausted, as were many of the other medical staff which came and went through the corridor. Twenty vacuum exposure cases, fifteen of them with amputated limbs, twelve of those with scalar inflicted burns, and all of them remaining unresponsive despite being healed. The nurse and her colleagues worked for hours to make sure they all survived, they even worked to try to save the SS Pod which was found nearby, but had mysteriously been wiped of all data. Even with her longer lasting NH-29 body, she was exhausted.
It was the end of her duty shift, and with that bit of comfort in her mind, the nurse made her way to her quarters, but as she drifted a vibrating feeling was felt against her leg. Her hand slipped into a satchel which she carried with her, and from it she pulled a non-regulation communication device. A little something she had to keep in touch with her friends aboard the ship. “Moshi?” She said into the receiver of the device which she attached to her ear.
“Nuime-chan, its Ichigo.” Came the voice over the communication device. “I just wanted to tell you we're getting together with some of the survivors we picked up. Going to have dinner in the mess and make them feel comfortable until we can get to port.”
“Ahhh, Ichigo.” Came the reply from the nurse Neko named Nuime. “I see, I see... I'm going to get changed out of this hemosynth soaked uniform and maybe I will join you.” The nurse spoke as she drifted through the corridor with the aid of her gravity manipulation, which made her feel exhausted even more so.
“Haiiii.” Came the reply over the communication device. “You sound tired Nuime-chan, why don't you have some of those cookies I snuck to your room while you were working today?” The voice over the communication line spoke.
“Cookies? Really? You remember the last time you did that?” Nuime spoke.
“I was forced to clean every single person's quarters, as per their instructions, for a week. I don't care though Nuime-chan, I like making things easier for people.” Ichigo's voice spoke over the device, sounding quite happy and enthusiastic...
I guess she hasin't done her duty shift yet... her tone will change then. Nuime thought as she spoke once more into the device. “Alright, I'll have some cookies and I'll see about heading over. Nuime out.”
“Oookay! I'll see you later! Ichigo out!” Came the voice before the line was closed.
Another sigh escaped Nuime's lips. That silly girl... I don't know if she likes me, or just wants to be helpful... The nurse thought as she opened the door to her quarters and stepped in. The smell of cookies hit her immediately. She quickly closed her room door and let out a grumble. “Damn it Ichigo... If any of my superiors were to smell this, I'd be toast... I better get changed and eat before someone comes snooping around.”
With that decision, Nuime went about the quick task of changing her attire. It was a sloppy affair to deal with the uniform she wore during her duty shift. A sloppy sound of wet fabric sounded through her room as she peeled the material off of her body. She was fortunate that the uniform was able to keep the hemosynthetic blood off of her body. It was a quick matter to change into another uniform. Since her preferred uniform was now blood-soaked, she decided to wear her Type 30B uniform. She never did like the skirts though, terrible considering the zero gravity corridor travel.
The nurse paused a minute in front of a mirror she kept in her quarters. A full length mirror, quite antique in appearance... But actually made from reprocessed matter, handled by the nodal system of the ship. That did not matter much though, the proper amount of KS had been pulled from her account to pay for the bit of furniture. She did not mind, the purchase was worth it, she thought of the matter briefly each time she looked into the mirror, but seeing the wood-framed image of herself made Nuime smile, even when she was exhausted, and wearing a uniform she did not enjoy much.
“Now for them damned cookies.” Nuime muttered as she stepped to her desk, where a plate of cookies sat. The full sized dinner plate had at least two dozen cookies piled onto its surface. It was just so much, but the neko knew that if her superiors spotted this, she'd be the one to get the heat for it, not Ichigo. “That girl is going to make me get over stressed.” Nuime quietly whispered as she sat down at her desk and began to eat a cookie. It was delicious! Her teeth tore into the next bite as she let the taste play over her mouth. Her belly rumbled as her synthetic tissues urged her to eat more as they began the process of replenishing her stored energy. “Maybe...” She bit into another cookie. “Maybe she is not that bad... I'll have to thank her...” Nuime mumbled through a mouth full of oatmeal and raisins.
Fifteen Minutes and Twenty-Four Cookies Later
A freshly changed and somewhat bloated Nuime sat her desk, a content look on her face as she looked at the plate which only had crumbs scattered upon it... and a note which was hidden beneath all the cookies.
“Call me when you're done – Signed; Ichigo” The note read in the neat little script which the other Nekovalkryja wrote in.
Another sigh escaped Nuime as she pulled her communication device out from her satchel and set it on her desk before turning it on. “Nuime to Ichigo, I finished the cookies, you wanted me to give you a call?” Nuime spoke into the device as she felt her body digesting the food into energy which made her feel more alert.
“Moshi-moshi Nuime-chan!” Ichigo spoke in her usual tone... the clatter of dishes sounded in the background, standard sounds of the ship's mess. “Were the cookies good?” Ichigo asked in her usual excited tone.
“Haaaai.” Nuime replied, a little irritated about having to eat twenty-four cookies to keep them out of the sight of her superiors, but they were good none the less.
“Great! Now that you have a full belly, I can say what I wanted to say! Which is... ah...” Ichigo trailed off for a bit, letting the communication between the pair go a little fuzzy.
“What is it?” Nuime asked.
“Well... ah...” Ichigo lost her usual bouncy-tone, but then she just blurted out her next bit of speech. “I-want-to-go-out-with-you!” she said rather quickly.
That explains it. Nuime thought as she rubbed the bridge of her nose... a relationship, a relationship with a bubbly girl at that. “I'll... I'll think about it.” Nuime said, putting off the decision for the time being.
“Ahhh.... I... I see.” Ichigo replied, her voice obviously losing a large sum of its spunk.
“Oh don't sound like that Ichigo, I have not decided yet. Are we still getting together in the mess to talk to the survivors?” Nuime asked as she swirled her finger over the crumb covered plate on her desk.
“Yes, and some of the ones that were treated are ambulatory, so they're coming in too.” Ichigo stated as she sounded distracted near the last part of what she was saying. “Oh, I got to go Nuime-chan, some of the survivors want to show the crew something they managed to save from their ship.”
“Oh, okay Ichigo, I'll be there soon.” Nuime spoke in reply before finishing up her message. “Nuime out.”
Ichigo did not even bother to finish off her communication with 'Out', the line simply went dead as Nuime sat at her desk. A small frown crossing her features as she thought about how often over the last few months Ichigo had gone out of her way to do nice things, or spend more time with her. “I guess... I guess it could not hurt to try her out.” Nuime spoke as she stuck a crumb-covered finger in her mouth and sucked off the last remains of the evidence of cookies.
After finishing the cookies, Nuime stood up from her seat and dusted off what few crumbs clung to her uniform. “Ah, there we go...” She spoke as she stepped in the direction of the exit of her room. She paused a moment before the doors opened as she eyed her uniform gunbelt, and sidearm which were coated in hemosynthetic blood. I'll pass on those... my shift is over. With that, Nuime left her quarters and made her way to the mess, but not before putting her own personal satchel over her shoulder which carried some of her personal belongings and tools of her medical trade.
A Few Minutes Later
Nuime stepped into the mess, and looked about. She spotted a number of the survivors which her ship had picked up, and a few of her crew mates... A bit less than she expected to see, but she did manage to spot Ichigo. She made her way to the other side of the table which Ichgio sat at, and sat across from her before she spoke. “So, how went that talk with the survivors?” Nuime asked.
“Oh it went fine! They're doing so much better now that they were able to get some food in their bellies! The same goes for me too!” Ichigo spoke as she smiled at Nuime before one of the yellow paneled crew stepped up and placed a plate upon the table before Ichigo. “Arigato, itadakimasu.” With that, Ichigo picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table and went about digging into the freshly prepared meal.
Nuime smiled, she was glad that Ichigo seemed okay, and with that she deiced she would tell Ichigo her decision about going out with her. It seemed as good a time as any... however Nuime's thoughts were disturbed by one of the Nekovalkryja patients which had been picked up and worked on by her not even an hour ago.
“Hello, I understand you worked on patching up my damaged arm.” The nekovalkryja spoke as she sat down beside Nuime.
“Yes, I only assisted. The doctor did most of the work in placing the proper hemosynth in place and getting it to grow quickly.” Nuime spoke as she looked to the neko.
“Oh, don't be so modest. I know that nurses do a large amount of the work. I just wanted to thank you for your efforts.” The neko continued as she smiled at Nuime with a sincere expression of kindness and gratitude.
“Ah... it was nothing...” Nuime looked away, a bit embarrassed by the gratitude. She was not used to it at all since she was a mere nurse, in comparison to the doctors which did a large sum of the mending and work. As she looked away though, she watched Ichigo eat her food... and something caught her eye.
The plate before Ichigo consisted of a pile of noodles, rice, sauce, and meat... But the meat was what caught Nuime's eye as she focused in on it. She saw something out of place... a finger nail. Why the hell is that there? Then, Nuime took a short glance around... there were none of the ship's Nepleslian crew present, nor Geshrin. They had a hefty sum aboard, after all, the Star Army preferred them to be on support ships and not combat ships. Nuime looked at the plate again, and she realized that the finger nail was not alone... it was on a finger. The finger was then picked up by Ichigo's chopsticks before it was plopped into her mouth, where she bit into it happily.
A look of horror crossed Nuime's face as she realized what had happened to the other crew members. “By Chiharu...” She whispered before something, something deep in her gut told her to look over her shoulder, and she saw it, a creeping mass of legs and a disgusting brown body. Her hand was quick as her built-in Nekovalkryja instinct took hold. Her fingers curled around a steak knife which was on the table, and with a swift swipe she cleaved the insect-like beast in half before she rapidly got up from the table, holding the knife at the ready. “What is going on here?!” She exclaimed as she slowly moved in the direction of the exit, her eyes never leaving Ichigo and the survivor.
“Nuime-chan! We're just having late-lunch! The survivors gave us whole new outlook on meals when they stuck our new friends to us, and now we have lots of friends... everywhere.” Ichigo spoke as she got up from her seat at the table... and when she stood up a writhing swell could be seen just below the panel of her uniform, her belly bulged with something which did not belong. The once innocent Nekovalkryja then did something very uncharacteristic... she leaped onto the table then made a leap at Nuime.
A small conflict took hold in Nuime's mind... Medical personnel programming, and the programming of combat which was instilled into every Nekovalkryja. The muscle memory of basic however took hold above all else as Nuime jammed her knife-weilding hand upward and into the belly of her friend and woman which she thought of having a relationship with. The knife quickly plunged through fabric and hemosynthetic flesh as it tore into what was inside of Ichigo as well. Nuime however did not stop as she dragged the knife upward, spilling what was within Ichigo's abdominal cavity.
“Aaaaarnnng---Gluurk!” Blood poured from Ichigo's lips as she released a painful cry, then, she shuddered as she began to sob. “It hurt... it hurt so much... thank you Nuime... I'm better now...” She whispered, even as blood continued to pour from the sizable wound.
“Ichigo?! Ichigo!” Nuime spoke as she dragged Ichigo out from the mess, as the other crew members went about finishing a last few bites of their meals before getting up to handle the one which slipped away.
“Nuime-Chan... I feel okay now... real---” Ichigo was cut off by a gurgle of hemosynthetic blood.
“What happened Ichigo?” Nuime asked as she continued to drag her bleeding friend down the corridor.
“They.... they put something in us... they held us down and put things in us... I am okay now... it is not controlling me anymore... I'm... I'm... okay...” Ichigo trailed off.
When Nuime felt Ichigo go limp within her grasp, she knew that her friend was dead, there was no hope of saving her as she let go of the dead mass of hemosynth and a uniform. Now, Nuime knew that she had to do something, but she did not know what... The command staff, tell the command staff! Nuime realized, and with that thought she broke away to rush to one of the sound powered telephone stations.
A moment later, Nuime scrambled to dial the bridge number. The line was picked up and a reply came over the line...
“Bridge here.” Came the voice of the second-in-command of the YSS Ficus.
“This is Joto Heisho Nuime. I have just discovered that the survivors we picked up from that wreckage are infested with some sort of parasite! Nurse Ichigo is dead, and so are a number of other crew men. Send some help, please!” Nuime spoke into the phone, her voice bordering on hysteria.
“Hey, relax, maybe you'll live through this.” Came the reply from the other end of the line before a tell-tale click of the phone being hung up sounded in Nuime's ear.
“Hello? Hello?!” Nuime spoke into the dead line, but in her gut she knew what had happened... There had to be survivors... some way for her to keep from becoming fodder for what came for her. With that thought, Nuime reached to where her side-arm should have been... But where it was not. “No... no...” She mumbled... and then she looked down the corridor and saw them.
A portion of the group from the mess hall came down the corridor, their NSPs raised and their expressions one of malevolence. They made their way for her, at a rather hefty pace as one of them raised their weapon to take a shot at Nuime with the stun setting of the weapon.
Nuime was not entirely interested in finding out what setting the weapon was on. Instead, she rushed into an intersection of the corridor. Quickly making her way for the nearest lift. She had to get away, go somewhere, do something to be safe. She was running purely on instinct now as she went to where she felt familiar... the place she headed was the Hospital Command Center of the ship.
The lift doors opened and Nuime rushed out onto the deck of the command center. She looked about and realized something was wrong once more... No one was around, no one in the entire command center. She stepped through the area, a feeling of dread in her belly as she approached the closed off office of the chief medical officer. “Hello in there! Its Nuime! Please open the office!” She called out, her voice was carried over by a monitoring device. Then came the reply...
“No! Go away! You're like the others I know it!” Came the panicked voice of the Yamataian medical officer. His voice trembled with fear as he cowered under his desk, a NSP in hand as he refused Nuime's request.
“Please... please help Sensei...” Nuime spoke as she realized the futility of the situation. With that realization, she began to lose her instinctive rush for survival, and feel the grip of panic and fear. She staggered away from the command area and made her way back to the lift. Everyone is dead... or hiding... they won't help me. Nuime thought as she got into the lift and sat down upon the floor of the tiny space. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she put her mind around the situation. “M-M-MEGAMI.” Nuime spoke out of desperation for someone, anyone to help her.
“Nurse Nuime, what is your request?” Came MEGAMI's voice in reply to the nurse.
“MEGAMI... thank Chiharu you're okay.” Nuime spoke with utter gratitude in her voice as she got up from her seat on the floor of the lift. “Please, please tell me what your sensors see inside of the ship. How many people are there that don't have parasites in them?”
“I'm sorry Nuime, I am not authorized to provide that information.” The MEGAMI stated quite flatly.
“Sonna-no uso-yo! ! Why?!” Nuime shouted at the disembodied voice of the machine.
“I have received instructions from a KAMI to refuse instructions, requests, and inquiries from individuals who do not have a designated life-form present within their body, and individuals who do not conform to the registered life-form signs which designate valid users.” The MEGAMI replied, but the tone of the machine seemed stressed, as if it were struggling against something. It was a small miracle that the MEGAMI said as much as it did. The crew of the YSS Ficus worked hard to make the ship's MEGAMI feel valued and cared for, and it showed as the computer core made a valiant effort to argue logic with the KAMI above it, the KAMI which had authorization codes from Emperor Uesu's fleet.
“I... I see... I'm sorry MEGAMI. Good luck.” Nuime spoke as she realised that she was even more alone than ever. She knew now that since she was alone, she had to fend for herself. The realization drove her to utter her next command to the lift. “Power Armor Deck.”
Moments passed as the lift traveled through the ship, and soon the doors parted to reveal something which gave Nuime a sliver of hope... piled up husks of damaged power armor, with armed crew members huddled around in the middle of the pile using the inoperable armor as a defense line. Her hope however was halted as she was shouted at by one of the Nekovalkryja huddled in the pile.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!” The voice shouted as the red haired Nekovalkryja held her old Type 28 SMG at the ready. “We must confirm you are friend or foe!”
What the hell... Oh... that makes sense... Nuime quickly thought as she looked at the neko. “How do you propose I do that?” Nuime asked as she held her hands behind her head.
“Get out of your uniform quickly, and show us your body, and press your hands against your belly. When that much is done, you can come forward and our medic will give you a quick exam.” The red headed Nekovalkryja explained as she kept her SMG at the ready.
Nuime listened to the instructions. Normally, she would call the whole concept absurd... but in this case she realized exactly what kind of situation they were faced with, and so she unzipped the back of her uniform and stepped out of it without hesitation. The faster she completed this portion of getting to safety, the faster she would be able to have the help of friends.
The red-headed Nekovalkryja looked over to the other blue-paneled crew member beside her, spoke for a moment, then the red head shouted again. “Underwear too, then step over here slowly and kick your uniform over. Do not bend over to grab it.”
It was awkward to say the least... Being in utter fear for life, limb, and the sanctity of your conscious mind. Having a crew mate shouting at you while pointing an SMG at you did not help in the slightest as Nuime felt tears streak down her cheeks again. None the less, she summed up the will to drag her feet over the deck, kicking her uniform along as she kept her hands up, leaving her body vulnerable and exposed. Embarrassment, remorse, fear... A lovely combination, just lovely.
Once Nuime crossed the outer portion of the crudely constructed defense line, a purple haired Nekovalkryja grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down before a medic rushed over and knelt beside her.
“I am going to confirm that you are not infested by a parasite. Do not struggle or you will be disabled.” The Yamataian medic spoke as she pulled a glove over her hand, then began to feel over Nuime's belly, sides, arms, and legs. Then she repeated the same feel down over her back... and then came the greater embarrassment as Nuime soon felt glove-clad fingers penetrating into her body, probing deep into her. Then again she felt the fingers enter her, and this time with far more pain as the medic probed as deep as she could into Nuime, checking for anything which may be nestled within her. A scream built up in Nuime's lungs, but then the purple-haired Nekovalkryja's hand clamped over her mouth, and all which came out was a muffled cry as the medic put her hand into places which simply were not designed to accommodate the appendage. After a sickening slurping sound, the medic removed her glove and spoke. “She is clean, get her dressed and armed.”
Nuime soon felt the purple-haired Nekovalkryja loosen her grip before she felt her uniform get tossed against her quivering body. It took a moment for Nuime to regain her composure as she fumbled about with her uniform, putting it on and feeling ever so disgusted with the event which took place.
“Joto Heisho...” Came the voice of the red-head from before. “I am Nito Juni Ara. I am sorry for that, but we have to act quickly. Most of the ship's crew is infected except for the armor squad.” Ara explained as she knelt down beside Nuime and handed the nurse her satchel, and a NSP. “What can you tell me about what happened on the other decks? All I knew was that me and my squad were being shot at out of the blue, and most of our armors were sabotaged before we even had a chance to scramble... and tell me your name.”
“My name is Nuime... and the other decks... they're lost.” Nuime spoke through a shaken voice as she began to explain what she saw. Everything from the cannibalized crew, to the gutting of Ichigo, to the suppressed MEGAMI.
“I... I see.” The Nekovalkryja spoke as she looked up at the ceiling and let out a somber sigh. “Then we don't have a choice, we're going to have to escape. No point in taking back the ship if we can't even use the MEGAMI... we're going to have to blow it up too to dislodge the SS Pod so maybe the crew can be saved.”
“Blow it up? We can't initiate the self-destruct, and the bridge is under their control!” Nuime exclaimed as she looked at the Nekovalkryja.
“Hey... I'm assigned to this ship as a soldier, not a doctor. I think of these things, you don't.” Ara spoke as she tapped Nuime on the shoulder and gestured for her to follow as she crept along beneath the edge of the barrier made of half dead Sylph, and Mindy armors.
Nuime took in a breath before she obliged and moved along with Ara.
“Here is the fact of the matter Nuime. You're the next highest in rank other than me to evade the bugs. Right now we have seventy-six personnel out of five-hundred-ninety here with us and not under the control of them.” Ara stated as she moved in the direction of a breached bulkhead which separated the corridor from the shuttle and armor bay.
At the statement of the numbers, Nuime could not help but to stop for a moment to grasp the concept before she scrambled to catch up with Ara.
“At this time, we have managed to secure nineteen Sylph, twenty-five Mindy, and we have been forced to destroy the LAMIA completely due to several turning on us before we realized what was going on. We still have the shuttles, we managed to catch onto the bugs before they could do anything to our Fox.” Ara stated as she went through the breached bulkhead and stood upright as she got into the other side. “With your news, that seals what we need to do... I am going to order the non-combat personnel to evacuate on the Fox, while what combat personnel I have left go about the task of blowing this ship into nothing.”
“What... how? Are you crazy? MEGAMI and the ship defenses would stop you.” Nuime spoke as she kept her gaze on Ara.
“Well, you underestimate the urge to survive...” Ara pointed to a nearby armor, which had a cluster of three technicians huddled around it. One of the technicians had one arm plunged into the guts of a Mindy, the other arm though... was just not there, the stump was tied off, leaving hemosynth to dribble out as the wound slowly closed. “They're working on disabling the communication functions of the AIES. After that, we will be able to launch and conduct operations against the ship... I hate to say that, but its true. Right now we are holed up in what is now an enemy stronghold.” Ara stated as she slouched somewhat, letting her shoulders relax.
Nuime looked perplexed as she heard Ara speak. “Enemy stronghold? But what enemy? You make it sound like these bugs are something organized.”
Ara chuckled softly “Organized? You haven't figured it out yet have you? Pretty dim for a medic... come with me...” Ara gestured for Nuime to follow again as she stepped to a nearby storage closet. “You may not like what you're going to see.” With that, she pressed the panel by the closet, causing the door to open.
Within the closet was the huddled mass of a Yamataian. Her body shivered and trembled as the tatters of a uniform clung to it. That did not seem to concern her though as she breathed heavily and her hands fumbled about out of sight. The heavy breathing continued before she let out a soft moan, then came the sound of sloppy motions of where her hand was nestled. “Motto douzo... souhou...” the Yamataian gasped out. Under the tatters of the uniform, the thinest signs of tentacles sprouted from her body and writhed about. The body was clearly showing the signs of some sort of horrible infection. Despite the infection though, the Yamataian continued to pleasure herself as a puddle formed beneath her of her own secretions, along with those from the tentacles which sprouted from her shoulders.
Nuime sounded a gasp as she looked upon the Yamataian within the closet. It was apparent now. “The SMX? They're behind this?”
“Sure looks like it. When we discovered the parasite, it was too late, her mind had been damaged beyond repair and her body was... changed.” Ara spoke as she closed the closet again, locking it in the process as she turned to Nuime. “Now do you understand why we need to destroy this ship?”
“Yes... yes I do.” Nuime replied after not even a moment of thought.
It was settled, the YSS Ficus would not continue onward to see the next day as the crew within her plotted to destroy the ship.
Thirty Minutes Later
It took some time, but the engineers which survived the catastrophe which befell the other decks had managed to once again aid their own survival as they managed to effectively break the ties between the Mindy and Sylph which resided aboard the doomed YSS Ficus. Now, the armors stood ready, crewed, and prepared to be deployed to their various tasks. At the same time, non-combatants took the controlls of shuttles which were prepared for deployment. The last remaining free-minds of the crew were now set to destroy the ship which they called home.
At the same time, an armed group of infected Nekovalkryja made their way to the power armor bay and shuttle bay, escorted by a number of LAMIA which had escaped the wrath of the armor squadron. A burst of pure white was all that announced the assault as the LAMIA cut through bulkheads to get to the group... but they were moments too late as the YSS Ficus survivors made their move.
Bursts of radiation and heat slammed through key portions of the Jihi-Class hospital ship as several Mindy went about the process of teleporting into key compartments. Once inside their target locations, they began to lay down fire upon key systems, access points... and whatever and whomever moved.
Infected Nekovalkryja made their best attempts to subdue the attacking power armor. In some cases they managed to leap onto the armor to attempt to rip the helmet from the shoulders of the machine to get to the pilot... their only reward for their attempt was to be blasted by the shoulder-mounted scalar emitter, reducing the Nekovalkryja and the parasite within into ashes and dust, or in some cases, merely a blob of charred flesh.
Other Mindy units teleported to highly populated portions of the ship with Ke-W-3000 model aether Gatling rifles in tow. It was a brutal slaughter as Mindy units used the element of surprise to lay fire down upon the gatherings of the infected. Bodies were clearly sliced in two by Gatling fire as dozens of the conquered were destroyed... Victory however would be more difficult than it seemed as the Infected Nekovalkryja responded quickly, drawing NSPs and laying down fire upon the attacking Mindy armors. It took many hits, but soon some of the armors fell, leaving their pilots to crawl upon the deck while attempting to continue to slay those who were once their comrades in arms. It was futile though as heavy setting NSP fire tore through the plates of the armor, and into the pilot within... Which sadly would not know death at that moment... but would instead know what it was to be robbed of one's self as parasites were inserted through the breaches in armor, where they found their way into the flesh of the valiant defenders of the Empire.
The operation against the YSS Ficus however was not aimed at the crew... that was simply a distraction... the true operation took place in two places. Engineering and the ship's armory... The engineering job was carried out by none-other than Ara herself, the armory was handled by her direct subordinate. Aether fire and scalar fire played over the most critical portions of the ship as explosions soon rocked the interior of the craft once meant to be a symbol of mercy...but was now a slaughter as the interior of the ship was turned into a brutal inferno. As the ship tore itself into nothingness, a small flight of shuttles made their escape. Their cabins were packed with those who were seemingly untouched by the infestation. Those shuttles made their move to what seemed to be safety as they made their way for Kazumi Outpost.
However, the occupant of one of the shuttles, the medic which examined Nuime, thought of the Outpost as just another place where she could spread the will of her sisters in arms... The medical officer stepped from the cabin to the cockpit, where the good nurse Nuime was seated. “Hello Nuime, what is the status of the Ficus?” She asked as she leaned against the back of Nuime's chair.
“Its gone... Ara did it, she managed to get rid of them...” Nuime spoke in a distant tone as she looked into the space ahead as she brought the shuttle into faster-than-light speeds.
As Nuime worked on piloting, the medic went about her own task as something creeped out from the sleeve of her uniform... then began to crawl upon Nuime's shoulder.
A scream was the first response from Nuime as she turned to see the parasite, which she quickly swatted off. Her hand moved for her NSP... which was missing... until it was found in the medic's hand, not aimed at her, just held away from her. “Why?! What do you want!?” Nuime screamed at the medic, her mind racing through anger, fear, and hate.
“What do I want? I want more sisters to lay down their lives with me for the new offensive against those who work against our superiority... Simple enough.” The medic spoke, her voice quite hollow as she moved for Nuime, another parasite in hand and ready...
Nuime had only seconds to do something... anything... and soon her hand darted into the satchel which she always wore, and from it she drawn her laser scalpel, which she turned on and quickly moved over the Medic's hand, slicing it cleanly in half along with the parasite she held. Another swipe, and another, Nuime's swings were furious and hurried as she cleaved into the body of the Medic, and the parasites which spewed forward from her insides.
A hand was felt on Nuime's shoulder though, and a voice soon spoke. “Nuime-chan... That is not how you hold a scalpel.” Came the hollow echo of a voice which Nuime knew.
Nuime stopped and turned in a startled panic as she dropped her laser scalpel and looked to the figure which laid her hand upon her shoulder... It was Ichigo... her belly was still torn open, her uniform hung in two flaps... and on her shoulders were a pair of parasites, one dug deep into her flesh, and the other skittering down the front of her blood-stained uniform.
“Silly Nuime-chan, I won't leave you, even if you stab me and kill me... Not so long as our sisters loan their blood to my body... now it is time for me to loan their blood to you.” The 'Zombie' of Ichigo spoke as she grasped onto Nuime firmly.
The last thing which Nuime spoke before the parasite was shoved down her throat were two words; “I'm sorry.”
The shuttle continued on its course for the outpost. The other Fox shuttles were oblivious to the subversion which took place within Nuime's shuttle, their AIES were blind, deaf, and dumb and unable to call ahead to let anyone know what had taken place... and to find out that the same fate had befell many other places in their beloved Empire... an Empire which just may find itself uttering the same last words as the simple nurse, which now had a parasite wriggling down her throat, stinging her with its barbed tail, but bringing not pain... but pleasure. Pleasure which was the precursor to becoming a 'Sister in arms' to the newest invading force... the NMX.
A slow and steady sigh came from a Nekovalkryja nurse as she slumped against a corridor wall and looked to the ceiling... which was also the floor in the zero gravity space within the hospital ship. She was exhausted, as were many of the other medical staff which came and went through the corridor. Twenty vacuum exposure cases, fifteen of them with amputated limbs, twelve of those with scalar inflicted burns, and all of them remaining unresponsive despite being healed. The nurse and her colleagues worked for hours to make sure they all survived, they even worked to try to save the SS Pod which was found nearby, but had mysteriously been wiped of all data. Even with her longer lasting NH-29 body, she was exhausted.
It was the end of her duty shift, and with that bit of comfort in her mind, the nurse made her way to her quarters, but as she drifted a vibrating feeling was felt against her leg. Her hand slipped into a satchel which she carried with her, and from it she pulled a non-regulation communication device. A little something she had to keep in touch with her friends aboard the ship. “Moshi?” She said into the receiver of the device which she attached to her ear.
“Nuime-chan, its Ichigo.” Came the voice over the communication device. “I just wanted to tell you we're getting together with some of the survivors we picked up. Going to have dinner in the mess and make them feel comfortable until we can get to port.”
“Ahhh, Ichigo.” Came the reply from the nurse Neko named Nuime. “I see, I see... I'm going to get changed out of this hemosynth soaked uniform and maybe I will join you.” The nurse spoke as she drifted through the corridor with the aid of her gravity manipulation, which made her feel exhausted even more so.
“Haiiii.” Came the reply over the communication device. “You sound tired Nuime-chan, why don't you have some of those cookies I snuck to your room while you were working today?” The voice over the communication line spoke.
“Cookies? Really? You remember the last time you did that?” Nuime spoke.
“I was forced to clean every single person's quarters, as per their instructions, for a week. I don't care though Nuime-chan, I like making things easier for people.” Ichigo's voice spoke over the device, sounding quite happy and enthusiastic...
I guess she hasin't done her duty shift yet... her tone will change then. Nuime thought as she spoke once more into the device. “Alright, I'll have some cookies and I'll see about heading over. Nuime out.”
“Oookay! I'll see you later! Ichigo out!” Came the voice before the line was closed.
Another sigh escaped Nuime's lips. That silly girl... I don't know if she likes me, or just wants to be helpful... The nurse thought as she opened the door to her quarters and stepped in. The smell of cookies hit her immediately. She quickly closed her room door and let out a grumble. “Damn it Ichigo... If any of my superiors were to smell this, I'd be toast... I better get changed and eat before someone comes snooping around.”
With that decision, Nuime went about the quick task of changing her attire. It was a sloppy affair to deal with the uniform she wore during her duty shift. A sloppy sound of wet fabric sounded through her room as she peeled the material off of her body. She was fortunate that the uniform was able to keep the hemosynthetic blood off of her body. It was a quick matter to change into another uniform. Since her preferred uniform was now blood-soaked, she decided to wear her Type 30B uniform. She never did like the skirts though, terrible considering the zero gravity corridor travel.
The nurse paused a minute in front of a mirror she kept in her quarters. A full length mirror, quite antique in appearance... But actually made from reprocessed matter, handled by the nodal system of the ship. That did not matter much though, the proper amount of KS had been pulled from her account to pay for the bit of furniture. She did not mind, the purchase was worth it, she thought of the matter briefly each time she looked into the mirror, but seeing the wood-framed image of herself made Nuime smile, even when she was exhausted, and wearing a uniform she did not enjoy much.
“Now for them damned cookies.” Nuime muttered as she stepped to her desk, where a plate of cookies sat. The full sized dinner plate had at least two dozen cookies piled onto its surface. It was just so much, but the neko knew that if her superiors spotted this, she'd be the one to get the heat for it, not Ichigo. “That girl is going to make me get over stressed.” Nuime quietly whispered as she sat down at her desk and began to eat a cookie. It was delicious! Her teeth tore into the next bite as she let the taste play over her mouth. Her belly rumbled as her synthetic tissues urged her to eat more as they began the process of replenishing her stored energy. “Maybe...” She bit into another cookie. “Maybe she is not that bad... I'll have to thank her...” Nuime mumbled through a mouth full of oatmeal and raisins.
Fifteen Minutes and Twenty-Four Cookies Later
A freshly changed and somewhat bloated Nuime sat her desk, a content look on her face as she looked at the plate which only had crumbs scattered upon it... and a note which was hidden beneath all the cookies.
“Call me when you're done – Signed; Ichigo” The note read in the neat little script which the other Nekovalkryja wrote in.
Another sigh escaped Nuime as she pulled her communication device out from her satchel and set it on her desk before turning it on. “Nuime to Ichigo, I finished the cookies, you wanted me to give you a call?” Nuime spoke into the device as she felt her body digesting the food into energy which made her feel more alert.
“Moshi-moshi Nuime-chan!” Ichigo spoke in her usual tone... the clatter of dishes sounded in the background, standard sounds of the ship's mess. “Were the cookies good?” Ichigo asked in her usual excited tone.
“Haaaai.” Nuime replied, a little irritated about having to eat twenty-four cookies to keep them out of the sight of her superiors, but they were good none the less.
“Great! Now that you have a full belly, I can say what I wanted to say! Which is... ah...” Ichigo trailed off for a bit, letting the communication between the pair go a little fuzzy.
“What is it?” Nuime asked.
“Well... ah...” Ichigo lost her usual bouncy-tone, but then she just blurted out her next bit of speech. “I-want-to-go-out-with-you!” she said rather quickly.
That explains it. Nuime thought as she rubbed the bridge of her nose... a relationship, a relationship with a bubbly girl at that. “I'll... I'll think about it.” Nuime said, putting off the decision for the time being.
“Ahhh.... I... I see.” Ichigo replied, her voice obviously losing a large sum of its spunk.
“Oh don't sound like that Ichigo, I have not decided yet. Are we still getting together in the mess to talk to the survivors?” Nuime asked as she swirled her finger over the crumb covered plate on her desk.
“Yes, and some of the ones that were treated are ambulatory, so they're coming in too.” Ichigo stated as she sounded distracted near the last part of what she was saying. “Oh, I got to go Nuime-chan, some of the survivors want to show the crew something they managed to save from their ship.”
“Oh, okay Ichigo, I'll be there soon.” Nuime spoke in reply before finishing up her message. “Nuime out.”
Ichigo did not even bother to finish off her communication with 'Out', the line simply went dead as Nuime sat at her desk. A small frown crossing her features as she thought about how often over the last few months Ichigo had gone out of her way to do nice things, or spend more time with her. “I guess... I guess it could not hurt to try her out.” Nuime spoke as she stuck a crumb-covered finger in her mouth and sucked off the last remains of the evidence of cookies.
After finishing the cookies, Nuime stood up from her seat and dusted off what few crumbs clung to her uniform. “Ah, there we go...” She spoke as she stepped in the direction of the exit of her room. She paused a moment before the doors opened as she eyed her uniform gunbelt, and sidearm which were coated in hemosynthetic blood. I'll pass on those... my shift is over. With that, Nuime left her quarters and made her way to the mess, but not before putting her own personal satchel over her shoulder which carried some of her personal belongings and tools of her medical trade.
A Few Minutes Later
Nuime stepped into the mess, and looked about. She spotted a number of the survivors which her ship had picked up, and a few of her crew mates... A bit less than she expected to see, but she did manage to spot Ichigo. She made her way to the other side of the table which Ichgio sat at, and sat across from her before she spoke. “So, how went that talk with the survivors?” Nuime asked.
“Oh it went fine! They're doing so much better now that they were able to get some food in their bellies! The same goes for me too!” Ichigo spoke as she smiled at Nuime before one of the yellow paneled crew stepped up and placed a plate upon the table before Ichigo. “Arigato, itadakimasu.” With that, Ichigo picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table and went about digging into the freshly prepared meal.
Nuime smiled, she was glad that Ichigo seemed okay, and with that she deiced she would tell Ichigo her decision about going out with her. It seemed as good a time as any... however Nuime's thoughts were disturbed by one of the Nekovalkryja patients which had been picked up and worked on by her not even an hour ago.
“Hello, I understand you worked on patching up my damaged arm.” The nekovalkryja spoke as she sat down beside Nuime.
“Yes, I only assisted. The doctor did most of the work in placing the proper hemosynth in place and getting it to grow quickly.” Nuime spoke as she looked to the neko.
“Oh, don't be so modest. I know that nurses do a large amount of the work. I just wanted to thank you for your efforts.” The neko continued as she smiled at Nuime with a sincere expression of kindness and gratitude.
“Ah... it was nothing...” Nuime looked away, a bit embarrassed by the gratitude. She was not used to it at all since she was a mere nurse, in comparison to the doctors which did a large sum of the mending and work. As she looked away though, she watched Ichigo eat her food... and something caught her eye.
The plate before Ichigo consisted of a pile of noodles, rice, sauce, and meat... But the meat was what caught Nuime's eye as she focused in on it. She saw something out of place... a finger nail. Why the hell is that there? Then, Nuime took a short glance around... there were none of the ship's Nepleslian crew present, nor Geshrin. They had a hefty sum aboard, after all, the Star Army preferred them to be on support ships and not combat ships. Nuime looked at the plate again, and she realized that the finger nail was not alone... it was on a finger. The finger was then picked up by Ichigo's chopsticks before it was plopped into her mouth, where she bit into it happily.
A look of horror crossed Nuime's face as she realized what had happened to the other crew members. “By Chiharu...” She whispered before something, something deep in her gut told her to look over her shoulder, and she saw it, a creeping mass of legs and a disgusting brown body. Her hand was quick as her built-in Nekovalkryja instinct took hold. Her fingers curled around a steak knife which was on the table, and with a swift swipe she cleaved the insect-like beast in half before she rapidly got up from the table, holding the knife at the ready. “What is going on here?!” She exclaimed as she slowly moved in the direction of the exit, her eyes never leaving Ichigo and the survivor.
“Nuime-chan! We're just having late-lunch! The survivors gave us whole new outlook on meals when they stuck our new friends to us, and now we have lots of friends... everywhere.” Ichigo spoke as she got up from her seat at the table... and when she stood up a writhing swell could be seen just below the panel of her uniform, her belly bulged with something which did not belong. The once innocent Nekovalkryja then did something very uncharacteristic... she leaped onto the table then made a leap at Nuime.
A small conflict took hold in Nuime's mind... Medical personnel programming, and the programming of combat which was instilled into every Nekovalkryja. The muscle memory of basic however took hold above all else as Nuime jammed her knife-weilding hand upward and into the belly of her friend and woman which she thought of having a relationship with. The knife quickly plunged through fabric and hemosynthetic flesh as it tore into what was inside of Ichigo as well. Nuime however did not stop as she dragged the knife upward, spilling what was within Ichigo's abdominal cavity.
“Aaaaarnnng---Gluurk!” Blood poured from Ichigo's lips as she released a painful cry, then, she shuddered as she began to sob. “It hurt... it hurt so much... thank you Nuime... I'm better now...” She whispered, even as blood continued to pour from the sizable wound.
“Ichigo?! Ichigo!” Nuime spoke as she dragged Ichigo out from the mess, as the other crew members went about finishing a last few bites of their meals before getting up to handle the one which slipped away.
“Nuime-Chan... I feel okay now... real---” Ichigo was cut off by a gurgle of hemosynthetic blood.
“What happened Ichigo?” Nuime asked as she continued to drag her bleeding friend down the corridor.
“They.... they put something in us... they held us down and put things in us... I am okay now... it is not controlling me anymore... I'm... I'm... okay...” Ichigo trailed off.
When Nuime felt Ichigo go limp within her grasp, she knew that her friend was dead, there was no hope of saving her as she let go of the dead mass of hemosynth and a uniform. Now, Nuime knew that she had to do something, but she did not know what... The command staff, tell the command staff! Nuime realized, and with that thought she broke away to rush to one of the sound powered telephone stations.
A moment later, Nuime scrambled to dial the bridge number. The line was picked up and a reply came over the line...
“Bridge here.” Came the voice of the second-in-command of the YSS Ficus.
“This is Joto Heisho Nuime. I have just discovered that the survivors we picked up from that wreckage are infested with some sort of parasite! Nurse Ichigo is dead, and so are a number of other crew men. Send some help, please!” Nuime spoke into the phone, her voice bordering on hysteria.
“Hey, relax, maybe you'll live through this.” Came the reply from the other end of the line before a tell-tale click of the phone being hung up sounded in Nuime's ear.
“Hello? Hello?!” Nuime spoke into the dead line, but in her gut she knew what had happened... There had to be survivors... some way for her to keep from becoming fodder for what came for her. With that thought, Nuime reached to where her side-arm should have been... But where it was not. “No... no...” She mumbled... and then she looked down the corridor and saw them.
A portion of the group from the mess hall came down the corridor, their NSPs raised and their expressions one of malevolence. They made their way for her, at a rather hefty pace as one of them raised their weapon to take a shot at Nuime with the stun setting of the weapon.
Nuime was not entirely interested in finding out what setting the weapon was on. Instead, she rushed into an intersection of the corridor. Quickly making her way for the nearest lift. She had to get away, go somewhere, do something to be safe. She was running purely on instinct now as she went to where she felt familiar... the place she headed was the Hospital Command Center of the ship.
The lift doors opened and Nuime rushed out onto the deck of the command center. She looked about and realized something was wrong once more... No one was around, no one in the entire command center. She stepped through the area, a feeling of dread in her belly as she approached the closed off office of the chief medical officer. “Hello in there! Its Nuime! Please open the office!” She called out, her voice was carried over by a monitoring device. Then came the reply...
“No! Go away! You're like the others I know it!” Came the panicked voice of the Yamataian medical officer. His voice trembled with fear as he cowered under his desk, a NSP in hand as he refused Nuime's request.
“Please... please help Sensei...” Nuime spoke as she realized the futility of the situation. With that realization, she began to lose her instinctive rush for survival, and feel the grip of panic and fear. She staggered away from the command area and made her way back to the lift. Everyone is dead... or hiding... they won't help me. Nuime thought as she got into the lift and sat down upon the floor of the tiny space. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she put her mind around the situation. “M-M-MEGAMI.” Nuime spoke out of desperation for someone, anyone to help her.
“Nurse Nuime, what is your request?” Came MEGAMI's voice in reply to the nurse.
“MEGAMI... thank Chiharu you're okay.” Nuime spoke with utter gratitude in her voice as she got up from her seat on the floor of the lift. “Please, please tell me what your sensors see inside of the ship. How many people are there that don't have parasites in them?”
“I'm sorry Nuime, I am not authorized to provide that information.” The MEGAMI stated quite flatly.
“Sonna-no uso-yo! ! Why?!” Nuime shouted at the disembodied voice of the machine.
“I have received instructions from a KAMI to refuse instructions, requests, and inquiries from individuals who do not have a designated life-form present within their body, and individuals who do not conform to the registered life-form signs which designate valid users.” The MEGAMI replied, but the tone of the machine seemed stressed, as if it were struggling against something. It was a small miracle that the MEGAMI said as much as it did. The crew of the YSS Ficus worked hard to make the ship's MEGAMI feel valued and cared for, and it showed as the computer core made a valiant effort to argue logic with the KAMI above it, the KAMI which had authorization codes from Emperor Uesu's fleet.
“I... I see... I'm sorry MEGAMI. Good luck.” Nuime spoke as she realised that she was even more alone than ever. She knew now that since she was alone, she had to fend for herself. The realization drove her to utter her next command to the lift. “Power Armor Deck.”
Moments passed as the lift traveled through the ship, and soon the doors parted to reveal something which gave Nuime a sliver of hope... piled up husks of damaged power armor, with armed crew members huddled around in the middle of the pile using the inoperable armor as a defense line. Her hope however was halted as she was shouted at by one of the Nekovalkryja huddled in the pile.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!” The voice shouted as the red haired Nekovalkryja held her old Type 28 SMG at the ready. “We must confirm you are friend or foe!”
What the hell... Oh... that makes sense... Nuime quickly thought as she looked at the neko. “How do you propose I do that?” Nuime asked as she held her hands behind her head.
“Get out of your uniform quickly, and show us your body, and press your hands against your belly. When that much is done, you can come forward and our medic will give you a quick exam.” The red headed Nekovalkryja explained as she kept her SMG at the ready.
Nuime listened to the instructions. Normally, she would call the whole concept absurd... but in this case she realized exactly what kind of situation they were faced with, and so she unzipped the back of her uniform and stepped out of it without hesitation. The faster she completed this portion of getting to safety, the faster she would be able to have the help of friends.
The red-headed Nekovalkryja looked over to the other blue-paneled crew member beside her, spoke for a moment, then the red head shouted again. “Underwear too, then step over here slowly and kick your uniform over. Do not bend over to grab it.”
It was awkward to say the least... Being in utter fear for life, limb, and the sanctity of your conscious mind. Having a crew mate shouting at you while pointing an SMG at you did not help in the slightest as Nuime felt tears streak down her cheeks again. None the less, she summed up the will to drag her feet over the deck, kicking her uniform along as she kept her hands up, leaving her body vulnerable and exposed. Embarrassment, remorse, fear... A lovely combination, just lovely.
Once Nuime crossed the outer portion of the crudely constructed defense line, a purple haired Nekovalkryja grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down before a medic rushed over and knelt beside her.
“I am going to confirm that you are not infested by a parasite. Do not struggle or you will be disabled.” The Yamataian medic spoke as she pulled a glove over her hand, then began to feel over Nuime's belly, sides, arms, and legs. Then she repeated the same feel down over her back... and then came the greater embarrassment as Nuime soon felt glove-clad fingers penetrating into her body, probing deep into her. Then again she felt the fingers enter her, and this time with far more pain as the medic probed as deep as she could into Nuime, checking for anything which may be nestled within her. A scream built up in Nuime's lungs, but then the purple-haired Nekovalkryja's hand clamped over her mouth, and all which came out was a muffled cry as the medic put her hand into places which simply were not designed to accommodate the appendage. After a sickening slurping sound, the medic removed her glove and spoke. “She is clean, get her dressed and armed.”
Nuime soon felt the purple-haired Nekovalkryja loosen her grip before she felt her uniform get tossed against her quivering body. It took a moment for Nuime to regain her composure as she fumbled about with her uniform, putting it on and feeling ever so disgusted with the event which took place.
“Joto Heisho...” Came the voice of the red-head from before. “I am Nito Juni Ara. I am sorry for that, but we have to act quickly. Most of the ship's crew is infected except for the armor squad.” Ara explained as she knelt down beside Nuime and handed the nurse her satchel, and a NSP. “What can you tell me about what happened on the other decks? All I knew was that me and my squad were being shot at out of the blue, and most of our armors were sabotaged before we even had a chance to scramble... and tell me your name.”
“My name is Nuime... and the other decks... they're lost.” Nuime spoke through a shaken voice as she began to explain what she saw. Everything from the cannibalized crew, to the gutting of Ichigo, to the suppressed MEGAMI.
“I... I see.” The Nekovalkryja spoke as she looked up at the ceiling and let out a somber sigh. “Then we don't have a choice, we're going to have to escape. No point in taking back the ship if we can't even use the MEGAMI... we're going to have to blow it up too to dislodge the SS Pod so maybe the crew can be saved.”
“Blow it up? We can't initiate the self-destruct, and the bridge is under their control!” Nuime exclaimed as she looked at the Nekovalkryja.
“Hey... I'm assigned to this ship as a soldier, not a doctor. I think of these things, you don't.” Ara spoke as she tapped Nuime on the shoulder and gestured for her to follow as she crept along beneath the edge of the barrier made of half dead Sylph, and Mindy armors.
Nuime took in a breath before she obliged and moved along with Ara.
“Here is the fact of the matter Nuime. You're the next highest in rank other than me to evade the bugs. Right now we have seventy-six personnel out of five-hundred-ninety here with us and not under the control of them.” Ara stated as she moved in the direction of a breached bulkhead which separated the corridor from the shuttle and armor bay.
At the statement of the numbers, Nuime could not help but to stop for a moment to grasp the concept before she scrambled to catch up with Ara.
“At this time, we have managed to secure nineteen Sylph, twenty-five Mindy, and we have been forced to destroy the LAMIA completely due to several turning on us before we realized what was going on. We still have the shuttles, we managed to catch onto the bugs before they could do anything to our Fox.” Ara stated as she went through the breached bulkhead and stood upright as she got into the other side. “With your news, that seals what we need to do... I am going to order the non-combat personnel to evacuate on the Fox, while what combat personnel I have left go about the task of blowing this ship into nothing.”
“What... how? Are you crazy? MEGAMI and the ship defenses would stop you.” Nuime spoke as she kept her gaze on Ara.
“Well, you underestimate the urge to survive...” Ara pointed to a nearby armor, which had a cluster of three technicians huddled around it. One of the technicians had one arm plunged into the guts of a Mindy, the other arm though... was just not there, the stump was tied off, leaving hemosynth to dribble out as the wound slowly closed. “They're working on disabling the communication functions of the AIES. After that, we will be able to launch and conduct operations against the ship... I hate to say that, but its true. Right now we are holed up in what is now an enemy stronghold.” Ara stated as she slouched somewhat, letting her shoulders relax.
Nuime looked perplexed as she heard Ara speak. “Enemy stronghold? But what enemy? You make it sound like these bugs are something organized.”
Ara chuckled softly “Organized? You haven't figured it out yet have you? Pretty dim for a medic... come with me...” Ara gestured for Nuime to follow again as she stepped to a nearby storage closet. “You may not like what you're going to see.” With that, she pressed the panel by the closet, causing the door to open.
Within the closet was the huddled mass of a Yamataian. Her body shivered and trembled as the tatters of a uniform clung to it. That did not seem to concern her though as she breathed heavily and her hands fumbled about out of sight. The heavy breathing continued before she let out a soft moan, then came the sound of sloppy motions of where her hand was nestled. “Motto douzo... souhou...” the Yamataian gasped out. Under the tatters of the uniform, the thinest signs of tentacles sprouted from her body and writhed about. The body was clearly showing the signs of some sort of horrible infection. Despite the infection though, the Yamataian continued to pleasure herself as a puddle formed beneath her of her own secretions, along with those from the tentacles which sprouted from her shoulders.
Nuime sounded a gasp as she looked upon the Yamataian within the closet. It was apparent now. “The SMX? They're behind this?”
“Sure looks like it. When we discovered the parasite, it was too late, her mind had been damaged beyond repair and her body was... changed.” Ara spoke as she closed the closet again, locking it in the process as she turned to Nuime. “Now do you understand why we need to destroy this ship?”
“Yes... yes I do.” Nuime replied after not even a moment of thought.
It was settled, the YSS Ficus would not continue onward to see the next day as the crew within her plotted to destroy the ship.
Thirty Minutes Later
It took some time, but the engineers which survived the catastrophe which befell the other decks had managed to once again aid their own survival as they managed to effectively break the ties between the Mindy and Sylph which resided aboard the doomed YSS Ficus. Now, the armors stood ready, crewed, and prepared to be deployed to their various tasks. At the same time, non-combatants took the controlls of shuttles which were prepared for deployment. The last remaining free-minds of the crew were now set to destroy the ship which they called home.
At the same time, an armed group of infected Nekovalkryja made their way to the power armor bay and shuttle bay, escorted by a number of LAMIA which had escaped the wrath of the armor squadron. A burst of pure white was all that announced the assault as the LAMIA cut through bulkheads to get to the group... but they were moments too late as the YSS Ficus survivors made their move.
Bursts of radiation and heat slammed through key portions of the Jihi-Class hospital ship as several Mindy went about the process of teleporting into key compartments. Once inside their target locations, they began to lay down fire upon key systems, access points... and whatever and whomever moved.
Infected Nekovalkryja made their best attempts to subdue the attacking power armor. In some cases they managed to leap onto the armor to attempt to rip the helmet from the shoulders of the machine to get to the pilot... their only reward for their attempt was to be blasted by the shoulder-mounted scalar emitter, reducing the Nekovalkryja and the parasite within into ashes and dust, or in some cases, merely a blob of charred flesh.
Other Mindy units teleported to highly populated portions of the ship with Ke-W-3000 model aether Gatling rifles in tow. It was a brutal slaughter as Mindy units used the element of surprise to lay fire down upon the gatherings of the infected. Bodies were clearly sliced in two by Gatling fire as dozens of the conquered were destroyed... Victory however would be more difficult than it seemed as the Infected Nekovalkryja responded quickly, drawing NSPs and laying down fire upon the attacking Mindy armors. It took many hits, but soon some of the armors fell, leaving their pilots to crawl upon the deck while attempting to continue to slay those who were once their comrades in arms. It was futile though as heavy setting NSP fire tore through the plates of the armor, and into the pilot within... Which sadly would not know death at that moment... but would instead know what it was to be robbed of one's self as parasites were inserted through the breaches in armor, where they found their way into the flesh of the valiant defenders of the Empire.
The operation against the YSS Ficus however was not aimed at the crew... that was simply a distraction... the true operation took place in two places. Engineering and the ship's armory... The engineering job was carried out by none-other than Ara herself, the armory was handled by her direct subordinate. Aether fire and scalar fire played over the most critical portions of the ship as explosions soon rocked the interior of the craft once meant to be a symbol of mercy...but was now a slaughter as the interior of the ship was turned into a brutal inferno. As the ship tore itself into nothingness, a small flight of shuttles made their escape. Their cabins were packed with those who were seemingly untouched by the infestation. Those shuttles made their move to what seemed to be safety as they made their way for Kazumi Outpost.
However, the occupant of one of the shuttles, the medic which examined Nuime, thought of the Outpost as just another place where she could spread the will of her sisters in arms... The medical officer stepped from the cabin to the cockpit, where the good nurse Nuime was seated. “Hello Nuime, what is the status of the Ficus?” She asked as she leaned against the back of Nuime's chair.
“Its gone... Ara did it, she managed to get rid of them...” Nuime spoke in a distant tone as she looked into the space ahead as she brought the shuttle into faster-than-light speeds.
As Nuime worked on piloting, the medic went about her own task as something creeped out from the sleeve of her uniform... then began to crawl upon Nuime's shoulder.
A scream was the first response from Nuime as she turned to see the parasite, which she quickly swatted off. Her hand moved for her NSP... which was missing... until it was found in the medic's hand, not aimed at her, just held away from her. “Why?! What do you want!?” Nuime screamed at the medic, her mind racing through anger, fear, and hate.
“What do I want? I want more sisters to lay down their lives with me for the new offensive against those who work against our superiority... Simple enough.” The medic spoke, her voice quite hollow as she moved for Nuime, another parasite in hand and ready...
Nuime had only seconds to do something... anything... and soon her hand darted into the satchel which she always wore, and from it she drawn her laser scalpel, which she turned on and quickly moved over the Medic's hand, slicing it cleanly in half along with the parasite she held. Another swipe, and another, Nuime's swings were furious and hurried as she cleaved into the body of the Medic, and the parasites which spewed forward from her insides.
A hand was felt on Nuime's shoulder though, and a voice soon spoke. “Nuime-chan... That is not how you hold a scalpel.” Came the hollow echo of a voice which Nuime knew.
Nuime stopped and turned in a startled panic as she dropped her laser scalpel and looked to the figure which laid her hand upon her shoulder... It was Ichigo... her belly was still torn open, her uniform hung in two flaps... and on her shoulders were a pair of parasites, one dug deep into her flesh, and the other skittering down the front of her blood-stained uniform.
“Silly Nuime-chan, I won't leave you, even if you stab me and kill me... Not so long as our sisters loan their blood to my body... now it is time for me to loan their blood to you.” The 'Zombie' of Ichigo spoke as she grasped onto Nuime firmly.
The last thing which Nuime spoke before the parasite was shoved down her throat were two words; “I'm sorry.”
The shuttle continued on its course for the outpost. The other Fox shuttles were oblivious to the subversion which took place within Nuime's shuttle, their AIES were blind, deaf, and dumb and unable to call ahead to let anyone know what had taken place... and to find out that the same fate had befell many other places in their beloved Empire... an Empire which just may find itself uttering the same last words as the simple nurse, which now had a parasite wriggling down her throat, stinging her with its barbed tail, but bringing not pain... but pleasure. Pleasure which was the precursor to becoming a 'Sister in arms' to the newest invading force... the NMX.
