@Black Knights:
Energy attacks rippled over the Ripper's armor as it inched around the corner, not slowing it down. The sharp whine of Asher's own should autocannon then came into play, sending deep ripples coursing over the enemy mecha's form.
Before the firepower put to bear on it could collapse its shielding, the war machine raised its blazing aether lance and opened its leg missile packs, ready to strike at the group. Tom had run out of time and seeing that, he preemptively fired his missiles at his target.
The missiles arrowed into their target, sometimes striking the shield, other times intercepting the Ripper's launched missiles in mid-flight. Explosions thundered and some of his missiles finally made it past the Ripper's protection to strike directly at it.
The ponderous machine's momentum halted and reversed some, its armor flaking away ablatively. Asher's gauss shoulder cannon and Yuzuki's SLAG grenades hammered into the Ripper and then it really did totter back with more shards of broken armor raining about.
...and then it felt like the
Shlarvasseroth itself shuddered as a resounding boom had those standing on the floor unsteady - the same for the unbalanced Ripper whom had to brace itself down. Moments later, a thunderbolt flashing the distinctive cobalt of the Himiko-class' particle cannons burst through the armored doorway that had blocked them off from the shuttlebay, sending it flying to pieces as it then plowed into the Ripper and even further past it.
The Ripper hadn't had a chance to survive that shieldless. After the crackling flash of destruction, all that was left of it were the blackened, smelted remains of its extremities. The heat was so that it stung both Nimura and Melisson, despite both having been shielded by their bearers.
Further beyond,
Hoshi spun around itself to present its rear to the shuttlebay it had shattered open before it reversed thrust, easing into the hull breach and jamming its rear inside while deploying atmospheric retention fields to secure the area for those without the benefit of a power armor's life support systems.
Once the gravimetric drives became quiescent and that it was safe to approach,
Hoshi's rear hatch snapped open. "Get in! Hurry!"
@Mara:
Mara finally couldn't help it. With the things bulging into her torso, she began retching out the meal Tom had made for the crew just before the start of all the fighting that day.
She had tried fighting the Ghost Mishhuvurthyar, despite the broodlings in her, but the thing hovered like a taunting specter: just out of reach of her weapons thanks to its phasing and entirely capable of outmaneuvering her in the cramped confines of the wrecked wingpod. It appeared, misted away, threatened to phase out from behind, made it only a feint and then when she got distracted by the things inside her appeared at her flank and attacked.
That's how she lost her helmet - she had to surrender it before it wrapped its coils around her entirely and snapped her neck like another of its kin had done to Miyoko.
Now, she was hunched, spitting bile, her quavering arms barely able to swing her weapons - let alone deal a well-timed fatal strike on her enemy.
She saw it phase in from the corner of the eye. She tried to whirl around and chop at it with her left forearm weapon, but got distracting by an horrid swelling feeling in her lungs. Spontaneously hacking out blood, she couldn't avoid the next clubbing tentacle strikes and crumpled against a bulkhead further away.
Mara tried rising, only to end up collapsing again as an agonizingly painful choking impression filled her upper torso. She froze, no longer even being able to breath, and then laboriously 'regurgitated' out one of the broodlings, bony head leading and its thin almost-filament-like tentacles trailing.
She saw it, she saw the puddle of blood she had vomited out along with it, and whimpered - the horror was not lost on her despite her willingness to save her crew at the price of her life. Practically at the mercy of her opponent, with its offsprings wreaking havoc in her insides, helpless tears trickled down her cheeks. Letting out soggy pants, Mara painstakingly forced herself to her feet.
The Ghost Mishhuvurthyar was out of her sight, hidden in the shadows, and it would dare strike again soon. The aether generator was still unattended and as long as
Hoshi wasn't clear after having rescued the Black Knights, Mara had to find some way of hanging on until then and still be able to perform her job.
