Ringing. Ringing. Ringing.

Elina's head rung for what seemed like an eternity. Her breath was ashen, her face split and burnt. Her skin felt numb and exploding with sensation at the same time, hot and cold in one.

When eternity ended, slowly, very slowly, so did the burning pain. Other sensations trickled through, other sounds. Screams and gunfire mixed with the ringing, people crying out in anguish and anger. Du Pont fumbled at her helmet, clawing at it, grasping for a release hatch. The air inside choked her, mangling her throat, poisoning her lungs. Something loud washed over her head, followed by two strong hands grabbing her. Elina tried to resist, but there was no point. She was brought to her feet when finally, she found the hatch. She pulled it, shedding the burnt husk from her head, coughing violently.

Reality came rushing back. Breathing heavy, she remembered. The mission, the ambush. Him. The hostages. The bright flash. Then Pain.

Darkness surrounded her. She could make out movement in the shadows, but didn't recognize anyone. Were they her team? Or the Cerberus-Soldiers, cleaning up what was left of her friends. The figures gathered before her, silent. Du Pont slowly reached for her pistol, but it wasn't in her holster. Her mind began to race, searching desperately for an escape route.

As if on cue, the room was dipped in crimson. Red emergency lights, not burst by the flash, flickered to light, revealing who was standing before her.

She recognized the young Turian. The Drell. The Asari and even the Quarian.She smiled, but her face hurt doing it, so she stopped. Holding her cheek, Elina tried to say something, but only violent coughing came out. Kajira stepped forward, mandibles twitching, a look of worry in her eyes.

"C-Commander?" her voice vibrated like Elina had never heard before. The ringing in her ears was nearly gone. "Your face … you … you're injured!"

Du Pont stroked her own cheeks, ignoring the pain, and looked at the gauntlet. A red-and-black slush covered it. It took her a moment to realize what it was.

"Ma'am, we have to get you to the med bay." Kel offered. He looked equally banged up, breathing heavy, shotgun firmly in his hands.

"Agreed. I'll call the Poltergeist." Kajira quickly said. But before Du Pont could object, she spoke up again. "Damn, my connection is down. Anybody else got a link?"

Du Pont wanted to say something, anything. She was neither hurt nor a child, so patronizing her like that really ground her nerves. But she only managed to cough more.

"I don't have a link, either." Alisa exclaimed, followed by the same by Kel. "I think that EMP fried our internal electronics."

"What?" Kajira asked angrily. Oran took a step back and raised his hands apologetically. "Hey, don't look at me! If it weren't for that flashbang, we'd be dead!"

Kajira paced back and forth, angrily. But eventually, she relented. "I guess you're right. But the problem is still there. The Commander is wounded, this 'Preacher' still has the hostages, and we-"

"I'm not dead yet, Lieutenant Iryn." Elina finally croaked. Her throat hurt.

The team turned to her, surprised.

"With all due respect, ma'am… Yes you are. You need medical attention."

Elina was getting annoyed. Every minute they kept talking, Preacher was gaining to get away.

"I'll visit sick bay when we're back on the ship. Now let's get moving or our target will slip away." Du Pont hobbled towards the door. She reached down, grabbed a rifle from a dead Cerberus soldier, and pressed against the wall.

"What are you waiting for, team? Form up, move it, move it!"

It hurt to speak, but she had to push through. Preacher wouldn't get away this time. Not again.

The others hesitated. Kajira spoke up again. "Ma'am, please. You're in no condition to fight! You'll get killed!"

"Yeah, I gotta agree with her, Commander. You need to-"

"ENOUGH!" du Pont shouted, louder than she anticipated. Her lungs burnt, her vocal cords felt like they would snap any second, but Elina had enough. "Kaj, listen to me. You all listen to me: As long as I draw breath, I will hunt that son of a bitch down. I will not sit in some med bay while he gets away. Not again. Not this time. And you all need to promise me something. Even if I do drop dead in the next few minutes, you need to promise me something. You need to kill that bastard."

She leaned on the salvaged rifle and made a fist with her free hand. "No matter the cost."

A strange silence fell over the scene. It felt like eternity, but after a moment, Kajira gulped, closed the gap between them, and whispered "Okay."

"And rescue the hostages, right?" Alisa added, hesitantly.

"Uh. Of course. The hostages. Rescue them, too."