The blood that had seeped from the exit wound gave Emmerding's torso a crimson hue, clashing against the otherwise dim color of his armor.
Alisa knelt beside him, occasionally checking his vitals on her Omni-Tool. An almost flat line, only interrupted by jumping up and down faintly in a steady rhythm. His chest rose and sank weakly, almost unnoticeable.
She closed her Omni-Tool again as she stood up. Around her, both Alpha and Bravo Team had begun different tasks.
Since Peter had established a connection to the Poltergeist, Paul and Kajira were huddled around him, filling the Commander in and debating their next steps. Gash, the drell Kel and the human Dvorak had started to pile up the bodies of the Husks, forming grotesque heaps of limbs and faces.
She had stayed with Emmerding the whole time, as she was told. She had to smile a weak smile – the first mission in a long time, and right of the start someone almost dies. The ridiculousness gnawed on her.
Just when she started to look around, Dvorak walked over to her and spoke up.
"Hey, how's he doing?"
She was taken aback. After the incident in the lounge, she'd thought he wouldn't want to talk to her or Paul again. She hesitated and glanced over to Paul. The latter shot her a grim, short look while slowly shaking his head.
That made her angry. She wasn't a child, needing to be told who to talk to and who not. She faced Dvorak again.
"He's not good, but he is stable. We just need to get him out of here as soon as we can."
"We will. No doubt about it."
The unfiltered optimism made her grin. It reminded her of herself, or a version of herself. A long time ago.
"You seem certain." She said, smiling.
He let his hands glow in a soft, blue light. "We're never defenseless, aren't we?"
She let her body glow blue in response. It made her feel good, reminding her of her strength, boosting her confidence.
"Yeah, you're right." She let the glow fade again. Dvorak smiled and turned around to get back to piling bodies.
She wanted to thank him, talk to him some more. "Hey, Helf-"she stopped midsentence and corrected herself. "Dvorak!" He turned around.
"Thanks. And … sorry for the thing on the ship. He's really not that bad, you know."
Dvorak nodded, then turned around and rejoined Gash and Kel.
Alisa stood there for a moment. Although she was surrounded by death, being reminded of her strength made her feel better, calmer. Even Emmerding seemed peaceful, like in a deep sleep.
The glow of Peter's Omni-Tool faded, and Kajira and Paul straightened up.
"Alright, People, listen up." He sounded in his usual, confident tone. The rest of the two teams gathered around them. "Command confirmed what should be obvious to anyone with eyes right about now. This was a trap."
Some nervous laughter ensued. Paul continued.
"Now since Command wants to study the jammer …" he glanced at Dvorak. "We're not gonna blow it up." Gash let out a disappointed grumble.
Kajira chimed in, stepping forward and speaking up.
"We can use the Poltergeists firepower. There are still too much reapers on the station for us to handle, but if we lure them into an open field, we can call in artillery and take out a large chunk of their forces."
"Lure them out? How are we going to do that?" Alisa spoke up. Kel nodded in agreement. Peter answered.
"There is a plaza, not far from where we are right now, where Alpha Team touched down. According to the Poltergeist's scans, the majority of reaper-forces are on our level, so if we can get them on that plaza, the 'geist can blow them to hell!"
"And how are going to get them there? Ask them nicely?" Dvorak said.
"What's the matter, lapdog? Afraid to get your hands dirty?" Paul taunted spiteful.
"Lapdog?" Dvorak replied, more confused than insulted. Before the argument could start, Kajira continued.
"Commander du Pont is sending down a shuttle with a specially prepped emitter. It continuously sends out a high-pitched frequency, which is picked up by husks and other reaper-forces. That should lure them where we want them. The shuttle is landing in fifteen minutes. We secure the emitter, distract the enemy as long as we can and make sure the Poltergeist can get a lock. Any questions?"
"Yeah, what about him?" Alisa spoke up, pointing towards Emmerding.
"He needs medical attention ASAP, so we'll send him up with the carrier-shuttle.
The two teams nodded in agreement. Gash picked up the still limp Emmerding and threw him over his shoulder, causing Alisa to scold him to be careful.
The teams went out of the breached door. When only Dvorak and Peter remained, the latter strapped something onto the jammer and hurried back to the door to catch up to Dvorak.
"What's that?" the Biotic asked.
Peter waved around a metallic gadget with a trigger on the backside. "Just in case …" he grinned when both men stepped outside.