"Ah, don't worry about that. We're gonna trigger the device first." The captain gestured to Mei with a blue gauntlet, powered servos whining almost inaudibly as his fingers moved. "She'll head in with R-Three." He looked straight at R3's optical sensor. "Keep their attention on you. If you gotta kill their Mech, so be it. Mei's got a separate job to do. Smith? If you wanna go on, feel free, once their incapacitated, and we've got em by the balls. Remember, when the charge goes off, their life support is out. Keep your helmets on, visors down, rebreathers active." He paused, looking R3 up and down, before adding, "Their guns will be mostly inactive. But be ready for any asshole still packing old-fashioned heat. I'm talking revolvers, I'm talking .22 Long rifles, hell, I'm talking Mossberg fucking 1014s, for all I know. And uh, there are some folks on there who won't be as susceptible to the EMP as others." He turned away from the group, to face the main viewscreen. "Vee, throw it onscreen. File nine one six, title four oh four."

[i]"Onscreen, Cap."[/i] The image of two armored figures appeared onscreen, each wearing the grey and white camoflage of UEA Marines, and each bearing a badge on their chests: a golden eagle, over blue flames, "404" emblazoned over it.

"These two are Hyperscouts. You may recognize that symbol. These two are from the specialized 'preemptive strike' company, the 'Fighting 404'. These are the same guys my squad fought off at Allegheri Station, a couple hundred kilometers outside Pluto's orbit. These guys are no joke." In a snap, he whipped his pistol from his belt and shattered a beer bottle on the other side of the room without looking at it in a flash of white light. There was no hesitation. "Think that was impressive?" Frothy beer foamed across the floor, carrying with it bits of broken glass. "They're even faster. If they're still using the same training and equipment, which I'm sure they are, their suits will be lead-lined. This means that while the EMP will damage their powered-motion systems, their personal life support and tactical AR systems will still be functional. I don't know how they're armed. But even unarmed and crippled, they're dangerous as all hell. Kill them. I don't care how. I don't even care if you kill 'em like a coward. Unless they die, they're dangerous. And the others will have someone to rally behind." He sat back down in his chair, ignoring the beer rolling across the floor. "I'll clean this up. Smith, get the bomb ready. You all know your places. Sorry to keep reiterating, but I'm pretty fucking nervous."

"Vee, can you hack their comms?"

[i]"Negative, Cap. All I can get are snippets. And it sounds like they're using code. I'm not programmed for decryption, but if I had to guess, it sounds like Latin."[/i]

"You're fucking kidding me."

[i]"Big fat negative, Cap."[/i]

"Team, if you need a show of force as a sign of, uh... Good faith, let me know. I'll be on the comm the whole time. [i]Smith, you ready with that charge?[/i]"