Hier Kommt die Sonne [IC 01: Ich Will]

[Starkindler]

Meanwhile Main Engineering was stinking from flux, burnt plastic and spotted with solder drops, as Ayako made tens of printed circuit boards, in quick succession using her tentacles along the technology, moving them around with incredible speed and precision as she replaced board after board in the control circuitry. She then overheard the transmission on the radio asking her to identify weapons on the dreadnought. She took several seconds to process the request, then extended another mechadendrite to a computer, asking it to scan the vessel.

When the scan results came back in ternary form, she looked over the data, identifying main components of the vessel, and the state of dark matter radiation around their own ship. She then put it in a hologram out on a holoprojector on the bridge, with all the shield generators and main turrets identified of the enemies.
"Captain, The ship has 8 main dark matter cannons, and might have several dark matter based point defense batteries, I couldn't be so precise with a quick sensor sweep. I have marked those in the outline." - she reported on the query, then on her progress. - "ETA to warp jump 42 minutes 16 seconds."

---

Hoshintoko on the bridge did a hearty laugh along with her holographic 'angel', when the scientist mentioned material kinesis. It was true that the nanobots were very advanced, so it was no simple laundry detergent, but that it was THE lost transmutation solution was simply absurd.

"First you claim to have Tezukine enough to kill half a galaxy, then nanobots which can do alchemical transmutation." - she started to levitate - "Next you get out of these ropes, materialize yourself clothes, and levitate next to me. Unlike those bots, I was designed to do material kinesis from the ground up. Having precisely manufactured experimental high performance reactors and computers which can possibly meet the enormous energy and calculations required to do actual transmutations." - she pointed at one of the vials - "How you were able to fit the processing power of a billion human brains and the power output of a red giant there?" - she grabbed his hair, foring him to look at her - "I don't think the captain is interested in fairy tales. And I don't think you want me to help you tell the truth. Besides, medical costs are high..."

Then, she heard Nikhan asking someone to get on the rangefinders. She floated there, typing on the computer, and analyzing information in ternary from the input of several sensors. She then calculated target ranges and positions with approximate position changes, then sent down the data for the Lycanian to help him calculate the firing solution for the main shield generators, and some of the more menacing-looking weapons.

"Shield generators and main batteries." - she said to him - "Burn them to dust!"

[Wolfenium]

Nikhan paced a bit, looking more increasingly agitated as the ship began rocking. His hackles went up along with the fur on his tail as his ears perked and swiveled to every sound. He growled in frustration before stopping and punching a wall. "Fuck it. I'm the specialist and I WON'T sit around while we're being attacked."

Nikhan turned to Eos, activating the shield wall and pointed a claw menacingly. "I'm going to go defend this ship. If you so much as ooze a molecule out of that cell, I'll find something that WILL completely eviscerate your remains." He turned and jogged toward the exit, muttering, "Maybe a big sword or something..."

The wolfman burst into the corridor and promptly fell into a wall as the ship veered, avoiding incoming fire. Dammit! Why didn't the Captain order someone ELSE to guard that damn blob? he thought angrily. Abandoning his assigned duty was nigh anathema to him, but between that and dying, he'd rather risk the wrath of the Captain. Nikhan ran toward his quarters which shared the space with the weapons systems; torpedo tubes, missile pods, and an array of cannon controls and laser batteries could be accessed from there.

Not long after, Nikhan was ducking around hanging missiles and torpedoes while heading for a console in the center of the room. He flipped a switch to key the system and said into his comm unit, "I need coordinates for the targets to calculate a firing solution! Someone get on the rangefinder and get that data!"

Eos dejectedly watched Nikhan leave. The ship shook again, and she stumbled, but caught herself. The soup was helpful, but she really did need to eat something else. And clearly, the others were busy... but she didn't want to go back into space, no! Anything but the cold again... So Eos stayed in her cell, for the moment. However, she did put the food to work regenerating her hand.

"...I should have stuck with singing..."

Grumbling from the hallways, the teal-haired robot was hauling a set of parts in a box, struggling to keep her balance from all the rocking. Among them was a set of restraints for Nikhan to test out, possibly to restrain the goop-like... person... locked inside. Oddly enough, she also was holding on to a piece of leek left rolling on the floor out of nowhere, possibly from the kitchen. Elettra simply thought she needed to put it out the incinerator for disposal. Somehow, the ongoing space battle did not bother her a bit beyond turbulence. It did not seem to faze her she was on the brink of termination. Then again, she had been on the edge since she was 'born'. Of course, she still cared enough to help with their escape. She had to start reloading the weapons' various armaments as soon as she was done here.

"Oi, Wolf Man," she called out to Nikhan, her sight largely covered by the boxes, "I brought some restraining devices for you. I'll leave the box here to take your pick. I need to rush back and-WOOAAAHH!"

Tripping over a ledge after a hard shift of the ship, the robot girl looked visibly panicked when she noticed the empty hallway. No one was guarding Eos, and she was certainly not as capable of dealing with her. Rushing to the intercom, she began barking at the bridge in anger.

"Oi, Captain," she whined over the intercom, banging the panel like a grunt with the leek in her hand, "where the hell is Nikhan!? Isn't he supposed to guard the pr-pr-prisoner," she forced the words out, as if a bit repulsed to call Eos a person, "you don't expect it... her... to keep quiet and watch, do you!?"

[Rupudska]

"We needed people on the frontal turrets. And Hoshintoko, there is no need whatsoever for you to input coordinates into the turret's computers manua-"

THOOM.

Silence, for several seconds.

At the very back of the ship, those with sensitive ears could hear the sound of plasma cutters flicking on and attempting to tear into the cargo bay, the only part of the ship not with a direct access to the sensitive pressurized interior.

"We appear to be being boarded. Ilirra, stay here. Anyone currently manning a turret, stay there. The rest of you, head to the cabins. Wear your pressurized suits."

The captain's chair, naturally, was able to provide a pressure suit on its own. It wrapped around, coiled around Ilyesse's body like living, translucent slime, before pressurizing itself around her. It quickly became hard around her head and clearer than glass. Two bubbles formed behind her, filled with the 32% oxygen/63% nitrogen/5% helium mix of air that mimicked the Lycanian homeworld's atmosphere.

She pulled the kukri and grenade launcher out from within the suit. An interesting mix of technology: So long as it was coated in the same material as the suit itself was made of, it would let anything in. Otherwise, it had the consistency of Kevlar.

"I do not take kindly to trespassers. What say we kindly explain to these imbeciles that fact?"

[The Carlisle]

Alberto looked at the scientist with a smug look. He got near the scientist. "A long distance device?" he said while shaking his head, "The readings I get say something else. You see the residual flux energy I get off that thing vastly exceeds the maximum energy a current flux device can produce. If turned on, the flux energy of this thing would be beyond whatever we could imagine. This thing could probably bend time with what it produces." he put his hand into his vest and drew a large .50 cal revolver. "Now I know that your a scientist, but it is highly unlikely that you could produce this amazing technology on your own. I very, much, doubt that a simple human mind like yours could produce technology that is ahead by centuries!" he said with a slight stagger in his voice. He pointed the revolver at the scientist. "Tell me, where did you get this technology?!" he said. He had madness in his eyes.

Alberto was then knocked down by the force. He rubbed the back of his head. "Damn, a boarding," He said," I didn't want to get my hands bloody today." he reached in his vest and pulled out a small vial with a silver liquid inside. He poured the liquid onto him. The liquid quickly spread all over his body, enveloping him. It contracted and compressed on him, forming a skin tight suit which covered him entirely. He looked like a silver forme of himself.

He bent down and picked the revolver off the ground. He turned to face Ilyesse. "Ready when yu are Ilyesse," he said. He looked over at the scientist. "I'll be back for you later."

[Nachfolgia]

"We needed people on the frontal turrets. And Hoshintoko, there is no need whatsoever for you to input coordinates into the turret's computers manua-"

THOOM.

Silence, for several seconds.

At the very back of the ship, those with sensitive ears could hear the sound of plasma cutters flicking on and attempting to tear into the cargo bay, the only part of the ship not with a direct access to the sensitive pressurized interior.

"We appear to be being boarded. Ilirra, stay here. Anyone currently manning a turret, stay there. The rest of you, head to the cabins. Wear your pressurized suits."

The captain's chair, naturally, was able to provide a pressure suit on its own. It wrapped around, coiled around Ilyesse's body like living, translucent slime, before pressurizing itself around her. It quickly became hard around her head and clearer than glass. Two bubbles formed behind her, filled with the 32% oxygen/63% nitrogen/5% helium mix of air that mimicked the Lycanian homeworld's atmosphere.

She pulled the kukri and grenade launcher out from within the suit. An interesting mix of technology: So long as it was coated in the same material as the suit itself was made of, it would let anything in. Otherwise, it had the consistency of Kevlar.

"I do not take kindly to trespassers. What say we kindly explain to these imbeciles that fact?"

Ilirra looked down at the control panel as a warning sign flashed followed by the location and the type. " A breach?! On my baby?! Oh fuck no, not on my ship!" Ilirra yelled in anger as she jumped out of the pilot's chair. Before she could make a move, the captain told her to stay here. She tried to argue, but she knew down deep that it was the right thing to do. Someone had to stir the ship and Ilirra didn't trust the skills of any of her crewmates. Ilirra sat back down in her chair, a scowl on her face, she was not happy.

[Neo Arcad]

As the disquieting buzz of plasma cutting through the hull reverberated through the cell block, Eos realized something was wrong. There were people trying to board the ship... maybe the same people who killed her before. Fearful at the thought, she decided to ignore Nikhan's previous order. Also, carbon-based organisms are delicious. Eos managed to get into the air vent, which, while far too small for most beings, and a tight fit for her, led directly over the hallway just outside. She slipped out of the other end of the vent, and landed with a soft squish behind Elettra. "P͏şst.͝" she said, likely making the teal-haired synthetic jump out of her skin. "We n͞eed to͟ hun̸t͝ ͟c̷r͜u͏s̡h ̷co̵n͝s͞u͜me҉ ͏t̛he ̸org̡a͠ǹi̶cs ̢who ̨ar͠e t̷r͠ying̛ t͏o͜ ̡b̶óa͏r͘d̀ ̴t͟h͠e ̕s̶hip." she explained to the robot, who probably was too terrified to actually respond coherently.

[Wolfenium]

As the disquieting buzz of plasma cutting through the hull reverberated through the cell block, Eos realized something was wrong. There were people trying to board the ship... maybe the same people who killed her before. Fearful at the thought, she decided to ignore Nikhan's previous order. Also, carbon-based organisms are delicious. Eos managed to get into the air vent, which, while far too small for most beings, and a tight fit for her, led directly over the hallway just outside. She slipped out of the other end of the vent, and landed with a soft squish behind Elettra. "P͏şst.͝" she said, likely making the teal-haired synthetic jump out of her skin. "We n͞eed to͟ hun̸t͝ ͟c̷r͜u͏s̡h ̷co̵n͝s͞u͜me҉ ͏t̛he ̸org̡a͠ǹi̶cs ̢who ̨ar͠e t̷r͠ying̛ t͏o͜ ̡b̶óa͏r͘d̀ ̴t͟h͠e ̕s̶hip." she explained to the robot, who probably was too terrified to actually respond coherently.

Gripping onto the rails, the robot girl tried to hold on as she heard the intercom. She did not take kindly to the news, and certainly not when they were cutting into the one place she would have been had she not left to find Nikhan. However, hearing the eerie blotch drop behind her, her nerves quickly froze up. She could tell the monster was behind her, and she was 'sweating' - if that was even possible for her - out of her mind.

"Y-You do that," she meekly stammered in a bare whisper, trying hard not to look back at the slime woman. Raising a trembling figure at the tumbled box, she blurted absentminedly, "t-t-t-t-take your pick." Inside was a vast array of restraining devices, and even an electric whip for use. Besides which, there was a pistol loaded with depleted uranium rounds, not that she believed someone like Eos had any real need for it. She only hoped the slime leave her alone. She hated to think what would happen if she chose to eat her (metal or not).

[Minroz]

“Roger, Captain.” Daluu respond to his comms as he continued manning his gun, shooting down any hostile spacecrafts who’re attacking the White Zombie. The thrill of the battles makes him feel…excited. As the matter of fact, he missed his times as a general of the Norr Empire. Anyhow, this is one of the few ways to relieve his stress and boredom.

The Norr merc laughed maniacally, watching one of the enemy ships burnt into explosion. “Thank the thousand gods! I love this! Bwahahahaha!”

“Take this, chunhuo!” he shot one.

“And that, dirtbag!” he shot another one down.

“How about another heated boom for you!” Daluu is now shooting the enemy dreadnought. “Let’s see the fatass of your ship can save you now! Bwahahaha!”

[Starkindler]

In Main Engineering, Ayako cut right through a circuit board while the ship was shaken by impact, and observed as a large electric arc passed through the main reactor, traced back to the shield surge feedback system designed to absorb the punishment the shields have to stand for. As well as the computer displayed a hull breach warning, notifying the engineer robot that although a part has lost pressure, emergency force fields contained the depressurized component, and no organic being was spaced. She decided to double her efforts on the warp drive, aiming to get minimum function up as soon as possible, since she didn't think the ship's systems could survive another blast like this. And also, the marines on the dreadnought would provide the challenge for the battle-hardened crew.

---

Hoshintoko on board had felt the ship shake, too, noting the hull breach. However, it was in the storage space, where the logistics officer were most likely to be due to her function in the crew. And she knew that sudden depressurization would account to her being spaced. Having no idea of her workings, but knowing how intricate she is, she was worried that either the sudden loss of pressure would break her, she would have problems with overheating due to the loss of convective cooling in a vacuum, or the vacuum of space would cause other problems with her operation. She opened her wings slightly, and engaged her thrusters, flying through the corridors to the impact site, where emergency force fields were visible displaying negative pressure, suffocation, and space warnings, which she, being space-rated promptly ignored. She couldn't see Elettra around, however, she didn't want to charge head first onto the area, even with cloaking on, as she assumed it was already overrun by military. So she decided to wait for backup, sword out at the still locked door, and in stead call Elettra.

"Elettra-chan, are you all right? Did you get spaced in the impact?"

[Malshan]

Nikhan growled as he slaved away at the console, attempting to lock one of his two available dark matter micro-warheads onto the dreadnought. It fought back against his attempts, throwing out jamming radiation and counter-intrusion hacks. Nikhan had already bypassed the safety interlocks on the torpedoes to allow them to launch without authorization from the bridge. The way he saw it, it was either blow the dreadnought into the next dimension or get captured by a group of corrupt interstellar police.

Finally, Nikhan got through their firewalls and immediately bombed their system with a tracking program, embedding it into so many ports that the system would have to wipe itself and reboot to rid itself of the malevolent code that was now broadcasting its position to the seeker tip in the DM warhead.

"This is Weapons Officer Nikhan Minerais." he said into the PA system. "I'd like your go-ahead put one of THOSE missiles into their dreadnought up ahead, Captain."

Of course, he didn't NEED approval. But it would be nice regardless.

[Rupudska]

Ilyesse slid open the door to the cargo bay's air lock, then stepped in. She didn't close it behind her until everyone else who was heading into the cargo bay was inside.

"That would be fine, Nikhan. Careful not to allow the missile to get hit, and make it count. Might I suggest the starboard ammunition bay? It should be full of antimatter, considering the age of that behemoth."

The air lock clicked as it finished draining the compartment of air, then the cargo bay door opened.

"Time to begin. Fan out. But first..."

She reached behind her and withdrew her grenade launcher. Now, the thing about photonic grenades was that they were silent except for the crescendo whine as it sailed through the air and charged up. Ilyesse's launcher emitted two such sounds as it fired two gamma-ray photonic grenades into the cargo bay, bathing the area in gamma radiation that, thankfully, did not stick to any cargo. Nor did it reach the crew, it lacked the strength to send gamma rays in dangerous across the entire cargo bay, though it could cover most of it when it was empty.

"It is not a party without a proper welcome, now is it?" She rushed into the room.

[The Carlisle]

Alberto jumped up and glided over to a stack of crates and took cover behind them. He checked his flanks, seeing if anything snuck up. All he saw was the gamma fog which dominated a section of the room. In his hands he wielded both of his revolvers. His signature weapons, both .50 cal, able to take down any foe with a single shot. They were currently loaded with API rounds. He had them up, ready to take down anything in his line of sight. He had a wide grin on his face.

"After this we'll have cake and then play pin the antlers on the Norr!" he said with a half mad cackle.

[Wolfenium]

Hoshintoko on board had felt the ship shake, too, noting the hull breach. However, it was in the storage space, where the logistics officer were most likely to be due to her function in the crew. And she knew that sudden depressurization would account to her being spaced. Having no idea of her workings, but knowing how intricate she is, she was worried that either the sudden loss of pressure would break her, she would have problems with overheating due to the loss of convective cooling in a vacuum, or the vacuum of space would cause other problems with her operation. She opened her wings slightly, and engaged her thrusters, flying through the corridors to the impact site, where emergency force fields were visible displaying negative pressure, suffocation, and space warnings, which she, being space-rated promptly ignored. She couldn't see Elettra around, however, she didn't want to charge head first onto the area, even with cloaking on, as she assumed it was already overrun by military. So she decided to wait for backup, sword out at the still locked door, and in stead call Elettra.

"Elettra-chan, are you all right? Did you get spaced in the impact?"

However, Elettra was not in the cargo bay, still facing the mutant slime girl in the brig in abject horror. Unable to hear Hoshitoko's voice so far away, she had no idea of her concern for Elettra's safety. Needless to say, her thoughts at the moment were what Eos was planning to do next. She only hoped that thing would not devour her, if it was even possible for the gelatinous dessert woman from hell to digest her titanium-based frame.

[Neo Arcad]

Hoshintoko on board had felt the ship shake, too, noting the hull breach. However, it was in the storage space, where the logistics officer were most likely to be due to her function in the crew. And she knew that sudden depressurization would account to her being spaced. Having no idea of her workings, but knowing how intricate she is, she was worried that either the sudden loss of pressure would break her, she would have problems with overheating due to the loss of convective cooling in a vacuum, or the vacuum of space would cause other problems with her operation. She opened her wings slightly, and engaged her thrusters, flying through the corridors to the impact site, where emergency force fields were visible displaying negative pressure, suffocation, and space warnings, which she, being space-rated promptly ignored. She couldn't see Elettra around, however, she didn't want to charge head first onto the area, even with cloaking on, as she assumed it was already overrun by military. So she decided to wait for backup, sword out at the still locked door, and in stead call Elettra.

"Elettra-chan, are you all right? Did you get spaced in the impact?"

However, Elettra was not in the cargo bay, still facing the mutant slime girl in the brig in abject horror. Unable to hear Hoshitoko's voice so far away, she had no idea of her concern for Elettra's safety. Needless to say, her thoughts at the moment were what Eos was planning to do next. She only hoped that thing would not devour her if it was even possible for the gelatinous dessert woman from hell could even digest her titanium-based frame.

Pudding comparisons notwithstanding, Eos had other things on her mind. Even simple metals were basically like eating tree bark to her; carbon was the easiest thing to consume. Luckily, most lifeforms, humans and their branches included, were carbon-based. "C̡o͢me͞ oǹ,̧ l͠et͜'̨s̵ go͠.̡ I̷'m hưng҉ry.͡" explained Eos, not helping things at ALL, as she headed for the cargo bay and the delicious human meats contained therein.

[Wolfenium]

However, Elettra was not in the cargo bay, still facing the mutant slime girl in the brig in abject horror. Unable to hear Hoshitoko's voice so far away, she had no idea of her concern for Elettra's safety. Needless to say, her thoughts at the moment were what Eos was planning to do next. She only hoped that thing would not devour her, if it was even possible for the gelatinous dessert woman from hell to digest her titanium-based frame.

Pudding comparisons notwithstanding, Eos had other things on her mind. Even simple metals were basically like eating tree bark to her; carbon was the easiest thing to consume. Luckily, most lifeforms, humans and their branches included, were carbon-based. "C̡o͢me͞ oǹ,̧ l͠et͜'̨s̵ go͠.̡ I̷'m hưng҉ry.͡" explained Eos, not helping things at ALL, as she headed for the cargo bay and the delicious human meats contained therein.

"W-W-Wait," she blurted in a rapid flurry of words, feeling a tentacle wound around her as Eos hauled her off, "where're you going!? Where're you taking me!? Help! Help! I'm being kidnapped by a mutant agar!Somehow, that sounded very strange. Help!!!"

[Minroz]

"After this we'll have cake and then play pin the antlers on the Norr!" he said with a half mad cackle.

“I heard that! That is if you survived in one piece, Tharanix.” Daluu retorted on the radio as he downed one striker fighter. Swinging his turret to other side, he aimed at the engines of the enemy warship and fire. The warship exploded like fireworks, much to the joy of the Norr mercenary.

“Hey Illira! How long we shake off these bastards down!?” He asked the pilot of White Zombie. “They sure bring a a lot of firepower just for one ship!”

He can smell something not right with this situation.

[Malshan]

Ilyesse slid open the door to the cargo bay's air lock, then stepped in. She didn't close it behind her until everyone else who was heading into the cargo bay was inside.

"That would be fine, Nikhan. Careful not to allow the missile to get hit, and make it count. Might I suggest the starboard ammunition bay? It should be full of antimatter, considering the age of that behemoth."

NIkhan nodded to himself and pressed a button. Not only did it load the missile into the launch tube, but it also began playing a Lycanian equivalent to heavy metal. The 'music' echoed around the ship, spamming everyone's minds with loud, discordant sounds. Nikhan bobbed his head to the beat while his tail swung back and forth. He hit a lever, launching the missile.

A holographic display popped up on the console and NIkhan set his hands to it, causing the missile to bob and weave through space as its omni-directional thrust package sprang into life. The projectile boosted its speed as it cleared the tube, quickly bypassing Mach 4 and ascending into the hypersonic range. Anti-missile systems popped up on the dreadnought, spraying flak and shrapnel blasts through the cold void of space. Nikhan expertly maneuvered the energetic through the maelstrom of fire and howled at the top of his lungs as the music hit a crescendo.

Thirty kilometers away from impact, the missile shuddered and began to disintegrate as it threw a lot of debris in all directions. From the chaos, however, sprung a cluster of anti-matter submunitions which dove into the side of the dreadnought, burrowing deep until they activated. They expanded rapidly, converting the material around them into pure energy as their own materials were consumed. Finally, the orbs of collected energy exploded, sending a shockwave of plasma and debris flying out from the side of the wounded behemoth.

Nikhan howled and pumped his fist. "Hell yeah!"

[Rupudska]

Unfortunately [Or fortunately, depending on who you ask], the attacks made by Ilyesse and Alberto merely slowed down the oncoming military troops. More continued to pour out of the now-complete holes in the cargo hull.

Ilyesse slashed the throat of one with her kukri, then used him as a shield when another soldier started trying to pepper her with a SAW. A few blasts from her pistol solved him quickly.

There certainly are a lot of them... she thought. Were those cruisers modified to orbital assault ships?

"Hoshintoko, scan the cruisers. See if they are hiding anything. A landing craft, perhaps. Nikhan, do you think you can patch that track into the main speakers?"

She got behind another mook and stabbed him repeatedly with her switchblades. Another made the mistake of pulling her tail. This is a very good way to get punched by a regular Lycanian, so he should not have been surprised to have his midsection introduced to Ilyesse's foot in a painfully forceful manner.

And they still kept coming.

She withdrew her grenade launcher and fired another at one of the entryways. That would plug it up for a while at least. Until they moved the bodies, anyway.

Another soldier up beside her. A hard chop to the back of the neck brought him down easily. Another was brought down by a severe pistol-whipping to the temple.

"Ayako, if you rush yourself, how long would you require to repair the FTL drive?"

They have to be orbital assault ships. Well, at least these bodies will provide plenty of hydrogen.

[The Carlisle]

Alberto grabbed he ears and yelled crazily. He recognized this noise as heavy metal, the worst music in existence (IHO). It was sung in common Lycanian, the worst language to sing in the universe (again IHO). "WHO IS DOING THIS!" he screamed. Fire from the enemies brought his attention towards them. While he was barely sane, he knew he must kill off the invaders if he ever hopes to find out who was blasting the terrible noise. He brought his revolvers up and shot both of his revolvers. The shots struck two enemies. They collapsed like marionettes who had their strings cut and quivered in pain. Alberto laughed loudly in enjoyment. The joys of killing things help supplement for the pain of listening to the horrible music. He continued mowing down the oncoming invaders, laughing at each death.

[Neo Arcad]

And then Eos arrived, and shit got bad. For the boarding party, that is. The first one didn't even know what happened to him. Eos noiselessly slid behind him, her mouth opened like a python's, and she just ate his head, helmet and all. The helmet was ejected from her mouth shortly, sans organic bits. Regenerating her limbs fully, she flexed and performed the Umibozu equivalent of cracking one's neck. Then she went to town. Leaving Elettra behind, she simply walked into oncoming waves of soldiers. None of their projectile weapons had any effect; even a flamethrower would have been useless in the low-air environment. Several bladed weapons of various types managed to hack off her limbs or otherwise damage her, but with the rate at which she was consuming organic matter, it was hardly relevant. If there were sound in the cargo bay, it would have been apparent that she was making some sort of... noise. As it was, the vibration hardly carried. But nevertheless, the crewmembers that had previously become susceptible to Eos' pseudotelepathy would hear it.

[Rupudska]

For fifteen minutes, the soldiers continued to come without end. Ilyesse was certain that, by now, the dreadnought had begun to close in on them. Or perhaps they had called in reinforcements, or both. Though why they would call in reinforcements for just one ship was quite beyond her. Even she wasn't worth that much.

Please, Ayako, hurry and finish repairing the faster-than-light drive. I do not know how long I can last against this horde...

It was possible that no reinforcements had arrived, of course: The soldiers were falling in through only three holes, soon to be four by the sound of things, but the cargo bay could only hold so many bodies before they had to push back. And Ilyesse wasn't sure that all of the bodies were soldiers. Three minutes prior, she could have sworn she heard the bizzare shrieking of a dying Kalmidian.

Another soldier popped up behind her, whom she dispatched with a blow to the head from her grenade launcher, which had long since run out of ammunition. There was no time to get more, they just kept coming.

The ship rattled slightly as it collided with something. Judging by the severity of the shaking it was probably a small missile.

We need a third gun at the bow, apparently.

This was promptly followed by a much more powerful rattling and a powerful explosion that knocked out the ship's lights, master thermal control, and master gravity control: Characteristic signs of being struck by a dark matter warhead.

Oh no...

The few soldiers still attempting to pour into the ship were forcefully sucked back into the cruisers as the gravity difference pulled them in. Only six made it in before the cruiser's air locks automatically sealed themselves so as to not have the gravity well overwork itself.

There were twenty-eight soldiers remaining as the scientist's flux device activated with a sound not unlike the groaning of a metallic ship being simultaneously torn apart and crushed. Instinctively Ilyesse reached for a handlebar on one of the cargo bay walls, tied a lifeline to it, and held onto it for dear life.

When the wormhole would close, in an entirely different supercluster and 71 trillion years prior, there would be eleven corpses missing from the cargo bay, spat out by the wormhole's titanic forces.

---

[World of the L O T O P H A G I]:
keine lust

When Ilyesse awoke, she did not know quite how long she had been out. Wormholes tended to be worse the further back or forward you went. 71 trillion years was an unimaginable distance even with her era's technology, so in fact she had been unconscious for almost a full six hours.

What she did know was that the stench of corpses wasn't the only thing assaulting her nose: The atmosphere inside the ship had somehow become intensely humid and heavy, with the smell of acidic earth and a strange cocktail of sweet flowers and rancid animal shit.

She rubbed her head, shooing a strange insect away from her twitching ear. It resembled a large, fat Earth cricket, but with stalked eyes and orange wings, with a green-brown spotted body. It was also quite loud, emitting a steady drone as it flew about.

The cricket again tried to fly at her ear, and Ilyesse had had enough. She took both hands off the guardrail and smashed the cricket between her palms. Satisfied, she wiped the guts off on the rail and placed a foot down...

And nearly fell several Standard meters to the ship's rear below her. The ship had apparently landed stern-first at a 60-degree slant, thankfully it did not seem too heavily damaged. Ilyesse made a mental note to give Ilirra a very large paycheck when payday rolled around again.

She slowly climbed down the wall to the floor, soon finding the source of the odd smell amongst the corpses and spent grenade cartridges. Plants. Not just any kind of plants, but Green world plants, of the most fertile kind, and soil that could only be found in tropical jungles.

She nearly fell on her tail in shock. I'm dead. I am dead and have somehow made it to Paradise. That is the only possible explanation.

[Malshan]

Nikhan, working hard at trying to avoid blowing himself and the ship to the next century with the remaining warheads in the magazine, didn't notice the sudden change in atmosphere when the dark matter warhead struck the ship. He DID notice, however, that the ship suddenly wasn't where it was supposed to be any longer. That is, that he had been thrown clear across the bay into one of the torpedo tubes and had promptly and unceremoniously been whacked in the head by the corresponding tube's door.

The wolfman awoke in complete darkness with a massive headache, a bruised tail, and the largest case of 'what-the-fuck-happened-last-night-and-where-are-my-pants' he'd had in a very long time. Except instead of missing his pants, he was missing about six hours of time according to his internal chronometer. He reached out with a clawed hand and hit the door of the tube with a sound akin to a steak hitting the floor. He whimpered in pain, discovering that he had apparently sustained injuries during the event. Nikhan probed around, slowly discovering two broken carpals on one hand, an aching tail, and an assortment of cuts and bruises. "What the hell happened?" he said, his voice echoing slightly in the chamber.

Nikhan clicked on his comm unit and said, "Owwwwww...." before he could stop himself, having accidentally used his broken fingers. "Uhhh....what the hell happened?"

"Also, help. I'm in a torpedo tube."

[The Carlisle]

As the ship was impacted by the dark matter warhead, Alberto went blank. All other thoughts and actions stopped. His mind was screaming "OH SHIT" over and over again. He remembered what the scientist said about the time bending flux device and dark matter. He flew over to the cargo bay wall and jumped onto the wall. The silver suit fused with the wall, making him stick to it. Then the time warp happened.

---

Alberto was on the ground with a notepad and quill studying the flora. At this point had been up for 5 hours. He was in his normal form, the silver suit nothing more then a pool of liquid on the ground. He was stable again, no longer insane. In fact, he was in quite a relaxed mood. In his ear was a small earbud which seemed to be playing music. He was looking at this particular flowering plant which spat an acid when touched on the petals. He turned around and looked at Ilyesse who had just hit the ground. "Ah your awake Ilyesse. Be careful around the flora. I'm studying what each of them do," he said. A barbed vine wrapped around Ilyesse's right leg. "That one is what I call a snare vine. Best you get it off of you before it pumps you with its paralyzing poison."

[Nachfolgia]

Ilirra moaned as she came to. She was still strapped in the pilot's chair, thankfully, because if she wasn't she would be in a lot more pain or worse. As she started to open her eyes, the sunlight coming in blinded her. She grunted as she closed her eyes tight and put a hand up to shield her eyes. " Someone put the blind down, the sun is hurting my eyes...wait, sun?" Ilirra said as she opened her eyes and look through the window, squinting to protect her eyes from the sun. All she could see was clear, blue skies with a couple of distant clouds. The only thing that came into view was a bird like creature flying overhead. " Blue skies? Clouds? Birds? Where the hell are we?" Ilirra said as she started to press buttons on the control panel. None of the systems were responding, the navigation, calendar, and long distance communications, all shot. The navigation and radar screen was flickering as it tried to show the location. It flickered some indication of where they were, but ilirra could make it out before the screen went blank.

Since the systems weren't responding, Ilirra turned to the engine diagnostics computer. She pressed a few buttons and the screen popped up although it was flickering just like the others. She could tell that the engines and parts of the ship were damaged, but before she did anything else, the screen went dark. " fuck!" Ilirra exclaimed as she punched the computer. " I can't believe we crashed...again. I'm sure the others will try and blame me, if they do I'll punch them in the face." Ilirra said as she clenched her fist. " Speaking of which, where are the others?" Ilirra said as she unbuckled herself. As soon as she did, she fell. She tumbled through the ship until she slammed into a wall towards the back of the ship. " owwww" Ilirra moaned in pain as she laid against the wall for a couple seconds. She then stood up and braced herself against the wall. Through the hatch that she just slammed into, she saw the captain standing in the cargo bay. Ilirra immediately climbed down towards her. " Captain, what the hell happened? All the systems are down and I can't..." Ilirra stopped as she saw what the captain was seeing. All the luscious green plants, spanning as far as they could see and the most fertile soil they have ever seen. " Whoa" All Ilirra could mutter as she looked on in astonishment.

[Neo Arcad]

Eos was already awake and completely fine when the others began getting up and moving around. Well, okay... completely fine might be a bit of an overstatement. Being squishy and hardly liable to be bruised or break bones, she sustained no injuries in the crash. But spacetime warping has an unusual effect on the Umibozu. It causes a reaction not unlike being drunk, in other species. So Eos might have been fine, but she was having trouble walking in a straight line, and her eyes kept recombining and separating despite her best efforts. She nonetheless climbed along the wall, turning her head around to look at the captain. "T̕he̢͞ w̡͡͠e̢̢a̧̕͟th̕e̡r҉ ̧͟is̷̸͟ ̶͠f́í̕͢ne̡̢ ̶ų̴p͘ ̛͠h̡͜e͜ŕ̡è҉!҉̧" she said cheerfully, although the greater difficulty in speaking was probably analogous to slurring. And then she fell off the ceiling, hitting the slanted floor with a squish. "Ì͝'̨͜m̀ ̸̡b̛̀͝a̴̡d. I ͢͟l̛e̡f̸͘t,̛ a̕ń͠d̢͞͞ ̨N̴͢i̶̡kḩan ̷sa̵͝i̡͘d̀̀ ̸̨Ì͟ ̸́͡c͠ò͠u̶҉l͘ḑ͘n'̷́t̴̛ ͏̀g̵o.͟͞͠.͠.̸̶̨ h͡e͏ ̡͘s̷a҉i͟͜͝d ̢͝i͝t.̀.͞.͜͏ ͢͟nò̧o҉́ó͠.͜.́͘.̶ ̸͝s͠h̢͞o̢u̸͠l̶d͞͝ ̕I͏̶͠ ́g̀ǫ ̡a͏́nd ͟f̷͢į̛n̨̨͠d͏ ̧N̶ik̀̕͞ha̶̡n̵̨ ̢̧̛a̢͜͟n̷͠d̶͏̴ ͠t́͢e̸͝l̸͞͡l ̧h̶im҉ ̀͡I̛͟'͏m ͝b̛a̵͘͞d̢̕͝ f̡͢͝or̵̸̀ ҉g̸̵̨o̕i̸ņ̕g ͏ou҉͏͏t͘ ̢͠o̢f̡ ͜͡m҉y̷̴ ̨̕c̸͝e͜ĺ̨ĺ,̴ ̵́Ç͝a̸p̴̛ta҉̸i͜n?́" she asked.