“Maybe that was a different model of mini-kaiju,” Callie said. “Maybe this one has a tank of dissolving acids where its stomach should be, and Lantern is lying, or the system is lying to her. With that in mind… Shall?”

“Yes, Callie?”

“Go feed yourself to that giant bug and report back.”

“The things I do for love.” The hull repair drone raced along a gantry, then leapt into the open air. The bio-drone extended a long neck on a vine-like stalk, and the “head” opened up like a blossoming lily. Elena shuddered at the memory of Hans and Ibn falling into that bloom, but Shall maneuvered himself with thrusters to plunge straight into the open maw. The blossoms folded in after him, shoving the drone into the hollow stalk of the drone’s neck.

Shall spoke almost immediately. “I’m in a sort of fibrous canal. The sides are quite yielding but also tough, a kind of organic mesh. Now it’s pushing me downward, using peristaltic action. My sensors aren’t detecting any corrosive chemicals wafting up the shaft from below, but there could be some kind of flap or barrier. If I dissolve, remember me fondly.”

“If you encounter something deadly, do try to blast your way out,” Callie said.

The bug didn’t wait to digest its food. It flew toward them through the zero-gravity, and unfolded great iridescent wings. Weightlessness, plus atmosphere, and wings for maneuvering: the miracle of flight made simple, even for something the size of a bus.

“I’m at the bottom,” Shall said. “I was just expelled straight into a dark space with the same kind of fibrous walls on all sides. It’s roomier than the inside of the canoe. If I had to guess I’d say, yes, it’s meant as transport.”

Callie sighed. “We can always try to shoot our way out. All right. Into the belly of the beast. I liked that phrase better when it was metaphorical.” She reached out for Elena’s hand, squeezed it, then launched herself into space toward the approaching bio-drone. The kaiju unfurled its blossom and snatched her out of the air like a bird snapping up a bug, and Callie made a long, loud, disgusted noise over the comms. “Now I know how my oatmeal feels.”