The nearest crab that Bastilen engaged flailed in agony as the hot metal melted through its carapace and into its inner flesh on impact. The HPAR rounds also had the added bonus of slicing through one of its legs, causing it to crash onto the deck. Phaedra's twin plasma rounds finished off the Crab Mishhu in explosive style.
Behind her, Rayne and Leon had blown the NMX Shocktrooper apart with their shotgun rounds at close quarters. The trio of plasma rocked the Shocktrooper's shields, overloading and collapsing them as the single solid round that Leon had fired drove through the soft rear that it presented to them. The Mishhu flopped to the deck, its metal and fleshy hide making an odd combination of metallic ring and squishy plop.
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Sawyer's plasma fire played against the Ripper's shields like a light drizzle and was just as ineffectual. His move, though, had reminded the Ripper to continue its advance, firing at the doorway behind which the Marine had ducked. A single positron blast was enough to destroy the doorway and trap Sawyer within the empty, circular room.
Henry's HPAR rounds were more effective, most of them blew up against the Ripper's shields but enough broke through to destroy both of its shoulder mounted weapons, forcing the Ripper to use its forearm aether weapons to blast at Henry.
The Most Brilliant Medic in the Universe took this opportunity to aim at the Ripper while it concentrated on Henry. Laura grinned at the orders and opened fire at the Ripper with her beam. Her Hostile's synthetic muscles and servos more than compensated for the light recoil on the weapon. It slashed through the weakened shields with ease and began burning off large pieces of its durandium chestplate.
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Things, however, did not go all for the Nepleslians. The rearmost Crab began backing away with the few remaining Nekos but the other two Crabs charged forwards. One knocked Bastilen to his side and began smashing at his armor with his huge claws and combat tentacles. It wrecked both of his monoeyes and tore a gouge in his suit's stomach that cut all the way to his own. It was only a scratch but it also meant that his suit had a gaping hole. If the NMX decided to vent the atmosphere, he'd lose all of his oxygen very quickly.
The other Crab crashed past Leon and Phaedra, knocking both of them down, and threw itself on Rayne to pin him as it did likewise to the Marine. Claws and combat tentacles smashed against Rayne's back, tearing up his backpack unit and one tentacle penetrated all the way into his right leg, tearing through his armor and his flesh. Another tentacle knocked his AS4GS away.
The Ripper had grown tired of blasting at people and flew towards Henry and Rita's position with its Zesuaium blades out. It slashed at Henry, who rolled away. Rita, true to form, charged at it with her sword. The blow was parried by the Ripper as it kicked Rita to the ground. She tried again to drive her chainsword through the Ripper, penetrating part of its armor. If the Ripper noticed, it hardly gave sign as it drove a forearm blade through Rita's arm and severing it, cackling grotesquely.
Farther down the corridor, a wounded Neko saw two Marines enter her room and panicked. They were here to rape and eat her! She pulled out the last plasma grenade she had, pulled its pin and hoped for a quick end. The plasma explosion threw Wulfe at Zyv, causing both to fall out into the hallway with their shields already taxed. Wulfe's HUD reported an issue with the left calf launcher and that it couldn't be fired. Not unless he wanted to blow his leg off.