@black Knights:
The elevator came to a stop and the door's clamshell parts swiveled and collapsed into each other before the bundled up covers swung into a slot in the threshold, opening the way to their destination.
The scenery was the same, and yet different. The elevator's arrival lobby had the same organic, semi-slimy cast as the rest of the vessel, but it had a more corridor-like structure. Nyton wasn't sure of where he was in relation to his last visit, but he knew this layout; it contrasted with the other parts of the ship which had been less ideal for non-humanoids.
Melisson was certainly humanoid.
The corridor ahead was in a L-shape, with both ends leading to circular doors that were triple-seamed in a fashion that was alarmingly similar to cardiac valves of the human heart. The impression that they were getting at the heart of thier enemy's stronghold was getting pretty strong.
"Follow the longer corridor ahead left," Hinoto instructed. "I'm not sure how you can open those doors. Maybe brute force it with power armor strength, or blast through-" The communication cut off with a surprised: "AHH!"
@Bridge:
Hinoto made a ground somersault to avoid the incorporeal tentacles of a second Ghost Mishhuvurthyar which emerged from the vestiges of the main viewscreen. She scrambled away for more space, and that gave her just enough time to evade the swishing tentacles until
Hoshi could respond to Ayumu's plea for help and generate an interphasic pulse through the halls of the ship.
What seemed like a crackling wall of bluish power coming down from
Hoshi's frontal drive system passed through the room. The Ghost Mishhuvurthyar was revelaed 'in the flesh'. Hinoto, now standing on the upper tier of the bridge, drew out both combat knife and her service pistol, her eyes flashing an angry gray, ears flattening back and teeth bared in hostility.
She was not retreating.
@Decon Room:
As Miyoko interposed herself between Kotori and the enemy, she was largely blocking the exit of the shower stall, covering the Taisa but also not giving her much room to get out - the tentacle coverage of the dark-shelled phased mishhuvurthyar made any feasible retreat for the crouched Kotori unfeasible.
Her hesitance to shoot due to allies being close was not shared by her enemy. The Ghost Mishhu had no such compunction, and it attacked, snapping its tentacles in a whip-like fashion through Miyoko with Ayumu's shots unfortunately proving to be little deterrent.
Insubstancial tentacles that went through her, apparently harmlessly... until it inserted three mishhuvurthyar whelps into her. When the tentacles retracted, the three smaller creature phased to solidity inside Miyoko's torso, three fist-sized lumps that suddenly vied for the limited local estate that was the insides of her body.
Miyoko was well aware of the incubating practices of the Mishhuvurthyar, having her plenty of horror stories about tough men coming into hospital complaining about stomachaches only to have the small things bloodily burst out of their abdomen - often with fatal results for the host. Even worse, Miyoko knew the creatures inserted were already born and alive, so they could work their antics in her insides right now, rather than in a few days.
The interphasic pulse swept through the ship, revealing the Ghost Mishhu in all its corporeal glory, the towering black beast now casting shadow over her.
@Defense Line:
As Masako left, it appeared as if her retreat inside could not have been more badly timed. The roar of engines sounded from the two lower tunnels and two Mishhuvurthyar battlepods - actual battlepods
inside the ship! - flew into the chamber like impromptu attack gunships.
Railguns on side turrets started hammering over the position of the defenders, with the powerful underslung missile packs that jetted out and streaked over the defense line.
Explosions rocked their surroundings, cover crumbling, Daisy armors flying aside, barriers depleted at the very least. Masako heard Tsuya cry out. She saw the unit status of Takuma Kimura, her partner and teammate during the
Meng Po boarding action, reveal the yamataian man's death as his Daisy armor was torn apart.
Masako's power armor was the only Daisy around that was still standing. The battlepods' railguns homed in to finish off the fallen. Under them, the zombies and thralls charged.
