Suzuka Yukari
Ah! Yukari swung her SMG around at another open door.
Neko!
She quickly swung it away again after confirming what was beyond the door.
Another. Her brain shuffled itself automatically, putting the memory deep in her secondary. The images would not be forgotten, but they could not hold her back now. Pure luck had led the ancient one and her to pass a closed room with "survivors" -- Yukari felt her heart sink at the label. But it was what they called themselves. One was an NH-22C like her, who had used her telepathy to call out to anyone who was close. The Yamataian and her Geshrin two crewmates had been present when the Neko in the shuttle bay had shot herself.
The Yamataian said:
"She started grabbing her arm first, then her head. She was in so much pain ... I could feel it! She was thinking it to me, even though she didn't want to. I can't describe it ... it hurt like nothing else I know. Then, it was gone. My eyes must've been closed or something because I suddenly saw her on the ground, dead. We didn't know what to do, so we ran back toward the supervisor's office. We found her the same way. That's when we saw an aether blast ... so we closed the door and locked it."
The fear in the Yamataian's thoughts had been intense. Yukari was used to telepathy as a way of talking privately, a way of expressing
good emotion words could not capture. It had taken a minute for her to capture her breath, let alone her mind. Yukari kept her eyes away from the ancient one, who thankfully did the same for whatever reason. The Taii wondered if the ancient one was even listening. The Yamataian and her crewmates chose to stay in the room, which seemed to suit her fine. Yukari kept her thoughts to herself as the pair pressed onward.
Things became quiet not long after leaving the shuttle bay's deck. Unable to get down because a lift was in the way, Yukari went up, the ancient one following her with weapons in hand. Slowly, surely, she could feel herself stabilize.
Finally.
A bright light. Yukari saw it in the distance as she quietly pulled the lift door open from inside the shaft. Poking her head out, she saw the light move the other way. She clicked the light off on her SMG and flew quietly out of the shaft, landing softly on her feet. She could not see very well without her light ... but she could see well enough to notice a second, smaller object appear behind the light slowly, about twenty meters away. Yukari ignored the ancient one, focusing on the smaller object. It seemed to be taking something out, a two-pronged something --
Oh no.
With barely a breath, Yukari fixed her eyes on the light and thought the only thing she could think of.
Corro Adlich
The sight that greeted Corro was a grisly one.
Many doors were shut. In rooms with open doors, at least one Neko was usually there, head destroyed. Some were surrounded by other Nekos in a similar state. Others had slaughtered Geshrin along with a Neko or two, heads or arms missing or scattered somewhere inside the room. Blood, understandably, was everywhere. Nothing in the rooms was out of place, however -- no torn-up chairs or couches, broken lamps, tossed items. There was a measure of serenity in the violence, somehow. Only the flesh of the dead needed to be put where it belonged.
As he approached a crossway, a human-looking woman flew by, clutching an NSP. Seconds later, something that looked like a Nekovalkyrja flew by as well, as if to chase the woman. The Neko's battle tentacles were out from its hips, but in the light from Corro's helm, he could see they weren't as well-formed as they should be, as if the Neko's hemosynthesis wasn't working properly. Also, its head looked ... bigger. And flatter. Grotesque-looking teeth poked out from the Neko's mouth, with a few driven through the lip. She didn't stop or turn to look at Corro.
At that same moment, however, a thought penetrated his brain. It was not like the Neko's -- it was reasoned, purposeful.
It was also urgent.
"
Look out!"
Kurodai Ryuuza
The NH-12 followed Ryuuza under stealth again, tiny teeth flashed in a bloodthirsty smile. She was impressed by the feral ability of the foreigner.
He's not so civilized after all. She patted her aether rifle as she watched Ryuuza's nails swing through the air in the light. It was if she were hunting a beast. A beast with claws of bone! The thought delighted the LAMIA's pilot. The world shifted in her computer-generated brain. Jungle everywhere! And it was dark and rainy too. What fun!
"
On your right, NH-12." Ichiro-sama? What did he want?
Ryuuza, in his instinctual desperation, had found a passageway leading from the mess hall. He had not seen the sight Ayano had witnessed, and was too busy trying to find a defensive position to look to his right down the passageway. He could, however, hear her scream.
Ayano said:
Then, fire. Nothing but fire.
Hatsubutai Ayano
"A princess, father. It is what she is." Ichiro watched Ayano's emotions play catch with each other in a remarkable display of humanity. He absorbed every new detail he learned with every new contortion her face made. The thoughts through her mind were beautifully innocent. The lovely, toddler-like mental plea for the ruined weapons to come back to life and reassure her as if they were mothers. The desire to understand her world, and how it had malformed into a scrap yard. Her childish anger at being confronted with further reality.
And the pistol throw. She even threw like a princess. "She is perfect," Ichiro thought. "Do you not think so, father?"
The father only smiled.
"I thought you would, despite your xenophobia." The foreigner had just passed by the hallway Ayano was in. "That one will make a fine dog for her to experiment with. The greatest engineering of all is genetic." He frowned at the NH-12's thoughts, how even after being created one of his brothers the sprite could be so flawed. It deserved to be made into an example of concentration.
"On your right, NH-12."
In the hallway, the LAMIA facing Ayano brought its aether rifle to bear. The NH-12 inside did not reply to the sheepish laugh. The Neko had already proven herself a failure of a weapon and soldier, so there was no need to say anything.
Bye bye, princess.
It was strange, the NH-12 thought as she squeezed the firing stud. NH-29s were supposed to be the pinnacle of war and peace brought together. Instead of a mere weapon, the NH-29 was supposed to be the best of both sword and plowshare. Yet, at only eight inches tall, she was killing one.
The NH-12's arm twitched against her will as the stud broke. The aether bolt blighted the hallway with intense heat as it seared past Ayano's right side, her hair becoming a brilliant dark green in the pure light. The shot was wide enough to give her a bit of a "sunburn" before it went cleanly through the torso of the LAMIA behind her. If the light of the aether beam did not draw colors across Ayano's vision, the power armor exploding would. More heat came from behind her, and a piece of shrapnel sliced across her left forearm.
"
Princess Ayano," a Japanese voice said to her through the pain. "
Turn around and fly to the explosion. Your dog is to the right. Hurry, Princess."
