>>5959170“With conventional weapons, sure. But they’re not well stocked on breaching charges, as they’re having to blow through every door they reach. So they’re likely heading to the armories to get more explosives. Speaking of which, the armory staff represent the smaller group of concern. There’s around a dozen grunts per group, both of which have begun arming themselves and establishing defensive works. If the covenant marines reached them, they would likely form a useful auxiliary for them, but nothing more.” Diana replied, this time bringing up a camera feed from inside the armories, where the stout aliens were busy moving plasma turrets from shielded rooms, and setting them up behind portable barricades. Taking them would be difficult to say the least.
“And the final group?” You ask, shunting your tactical concerns to the back of your mind for now.
“The last group of concern are surviving members of the engineering staff. Much of the engineering aboard the ship appears to have been done by their drones, which died when we poisoned the air. But the surviving engineering staff have rallied and are the only group actively fighting my intrusion into the system. There are two groups, one of eleven personnel and one of seven. The larger group is staying put around the engine room, while the other is making its way towards the bridge.” Diana continued her explanation, her expression growing dark as she highlighted their positions. One group was indeed in the engine room, but the other was almost halfway to the bridge already.
“They’re hauling ass. I thought those doors were meant to be sealed?” You asked, once again hoping to prompt the AI into speaking her mind.
“I did.” Diana snapped back at you in an unusual display of emotion, before leveling her voice. “Both groups contain one alien that I haven’t been able to identify, which are causing significant issues in trying to contain the engineer groups. I don’t know what these things are, but every time they reach a locked door or system, they interface with the door and unlock them locally. They’re forcing me to overload the door electronics in order to slow them down, but they’re just fixing the damage and going through regardless.”
To illustrate her point, Diana pulled up a camera feed of one of the groups, showing a small gaggle of grunts milling around a corridor while a familiar, squid-like alien floated near a door. One group of tentacles held a wall panel, while the others poked and prodded at the circuits behind it. “Whatever these things are, they’re good.”
That floating alien… you’ve seen one of them before! From the jackal raider!
Diana turns her avatar back towards you, and simply raises an eyebrow at you. Shit, she must have picked up on how you recognized the floating aliens.
