Rick held Elise's hand once he saw that scene unfolding in front of him. Elise herself didn't like skinship coming from men, but at that moment she needed someone to show support to her.
For anyone that wasn't familiar with the situation, what happened there could be something normal. However, for Nemesis' folk, everyone knew what that meant. They all felt their hearts getting squeezed upon seeing that scene.
"As we thought, we lost...", Rick said, lowering his head. He couldn't look forward anymore.
Elise gritted her teeth and squeezed Rick's hand tightly. She was at a loss on what to do. Everyone was.
Of course, some people who supported Nero's actions were quite happy about that result. But they were the minority among the others. Most people living in Nemesis were there for the sake of science. Live in Nemesis was a method to get near the privileged information about "Willpower" and "Chaos".
