The haze of adrenaline was slow to fade. She distantly remembered gunfire, countless drones, mutilated bodies, smoke burning in her chest. Survival instinct and years of training had guided her rifle and her feet through battletorn hallways and over the corpses of the fallen. She wasn’t sure how many drones she’d destroyed, or how many marines she’d been able to save. What ever the number, it hadn’t been enough. The reactor was done for, and she had seen many more dead marines than living on her way to the shuttles.<br/><br/>Through the pounding in her head, Dawn wondered if the other carriers had fared any better. They would have had twice as many defenders, but that just meant that the drones had twice as many bodies to mow through with each laser sweep. She couldn’t imagine that it was pretty, especially not after how easily the Greys had broken through to the reactor. And even if one of the other carriers managed to fend off their drones, they still had to refuel before they could flee anywhere worthwhile.<br/><br/>Not to mention that the Greys were likely to fire upon any shuttles attempting to reinforce the other carriers. They could easily be shot down regardless, but they would be in much more danger if they headed toward the rest of the battle. But what did that leave? Where could they go?<br/><br/>The planet. Maybe the bioluminescent world was their only hope. She sighed. There really wasn’t any way to tell what would happen. Live or die, she’d know soon enough. With a tentative glance around the shuttle, she strapped herself in and hoped for the best.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>