"Primary control center is locked down," she said. "The enemy has moved the bulk of its force into the complex and is holding the base command personnel hostage…we think. They aren't making any demands, so they're probably already dead, to be honest."

"Cheery," Walker muttered next to Enders.

"We don't have the numbers to retake the command hab and hold it," Pritchett went on. "Fox Company will be leading the mission to secure and hold the emergency com center we're hoping the enemy doesn't know about. Easy and Able will be securing power distribution, and Baker will be backing us up."

The rest of the briefing was short and to the point. Apparently, there was a backup com center that only a select few knew about, the Colonel being one of them, and unless the base commander or XO gave it up, it should still be up and running. The center seemed like it was added as an afterthought, however, since it had one fatal flaw. No redundant, standalone power source. It just took power off the base grid, which was now in a shambles and vulnerable.

If the enemy figured out what they were up to, they may be able to kill power to the room. The Marines would try to mitigate that risk by sending two companies out to secure major junctions and have their techs disable the remote shut-offs. The com center pulled a heavy enough power load that it would be using mechanical load contactors that could be manually closed and locked.

Once Pritchett gave her mission brief, the remnants of 2^nd Platoon mounted up to start marching back down to the lower levels where they'd meet up with the rest of Fox Company. The major didn't want them bunching up too early on the way to the objective so as not to give away the game too early. Enders was more worried that, this close to the Command and Control hab, their single platoon might run into a sizable enemy force and be wiped out.

Since Enders had the most experience against the enemy, limited as it was to a few skirmishes, 1^st Squad was put on point. Pritchett smartly sent each squad out in five minute intervals so they were close enough to be able to provide support but not so close a booby trap or ambush would take out the entire platoon.

They moved quickly through the staging areas, which had been repurposed from administrative space inside of Hab Complex C, and into the enormous, arching transfer tunnels that connected all the hemispherical habs and factory spaces. There were also some highly classified areas deep beneath the complex, but the recon teams sent to check it out reported that the Marines stationed down there reported no enemy activity.

When the com network went down, they had decided to sit tight until a runner came. Once the first explosions started, they triggered the armored security doors and stood ready. The colonel decided to leave the small team down there to defend whatever the hell was behind those doors.