Well, yeah, I was thinking about mouth-like protrusions and then created this weapon dish. I'll probably get back to the mouth. The ship is, like usual with me, a mix of several things. First, a very vague reference to an organic-looking ship in A Fire Upon Deep, if you've read that. (And if you haven't, you definitely should. One of the best books to come out in the Nineties.) Maybe Startide Rising, too. Plus possibly to Stan Sakai's Space Usagi. BTW, I didn't get the references to Lexx or dust mites. :-)

-- erlik