Dawn looked around in silence as the others collected themselves after the EM pulse; at first, the alien air muffled her thoughts and she had to steady herself with a hand to stop herself from fainting. She rubbed her head as the painkillers Morimoto had given her began to ease some of the ache in her muscles. If she was lucky, the drugs wouldn’t impact her focus. If they did, it could mean trouble down the road.<br/><br/>She slipped back into her armour as she listened to Genie’s description of the insect on the hull, wincing slightly at the added weight. Painful or not, it was better to have more protection than less, at least against giant bugs. Her grey eyes glanced toward the roof, slightly out of focus. After a moment, she shook her head.<br/><br/><span style="color: teal">“I can quiet my weapon,”</span>she said simply, her voice not giving away any of her pain or fear. She gestured to the dead marines lining the walls.<span style="color: teal">“Should throw a corpse out of the shuttle as bait, see if the insect reacts.”</span>She lowered her head for a moment; she knew her suggestion sounded cold.<span style="color: teal">“If it does, I can kill it,”</span>she finished, with alarming finality.<br/><br/><i>Use one to save the many,</i>she told herself.<i>Donovan... Hannah... I’ll get us through this... I promise you.</i>There was no time to mourn. Not yet. Her only option was to live.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>