Behind him, he was vaguely aware of sounds of gunfire as his squad opened up on the enemy who had been in position on either side of the entryway. He was nearly around the table when someone, either his Marines or the enemy, lobbed a flash-bang grenade into the mix, further confusing an already chaotic scene. There were screams and shouted orders from both sides as two more squads of Marines pounded up the tube and into the fray.

Enders came around the edge of the desk just as his quarry stood. The man was wearing the ubiquitous coveralls the technical crews did sans name tags and service designator or corporate logo that would usually be there. Time slowed down as the man turned and looked completely surprised Enders was almost on top of him.

The Marine fired twice, the 10mm projectiles ripping into his target's torso. Enders put one more shot into the man's chest before kicking him out of the way and pawing around on the desk to find the room's lighting controls. He found the slide-switches under a blood-splattered clipboard and shoved them all the way up, bathing the vestibule in blinding light.

"Get one of these bastards alive!" Lieutenant Pritchett shouted above the din.

Now that the full force of 2^nd Platoon was there, the matter was no longer in question. The ambush had been hastily set up and once the element of surprise was lost, the receiving area they'd chosen had turned into a killing zone with no cover and only one route of escape. They'd tried to hold the area with less than fifty people, none of them wearing armor or carrying anything more than standard infantry weaponry. It had likely been put in place to catch small patrols or stragglers not a full platoon of Marines moving through the area.

As the last couple of survivors were rounded up, stripped, and hogtied, Enders bent down and picked up the weapon the man behind the desk had been carrying. It wasn't Federation issue, nor was it from any of the civilian manufacturers he was familiar with. It didn't have any sort of identifying marks on it, but when he popped the magazine out, he saw it used 5mm projectiles and a compressed gas fuel to propel them.

There was only one military that used that sort of antiquated system: The Asianic Union People's Militia. They were a home defense force used to handle internal disputes and policing actions within the AU. What made it more confusing was that the ESA, of which the Asianic Union was a part, used the standard electrically fired, caseless ammunition.

"Enders! Wake up!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Enders said automatically, turning to see the LT had been trying to get his attention. He'd been partially zoned-out inspecting the weapon and partially deafened from the close-quarters firefight.

"Get your squad over there and secure that entryway." She pointed at the closed double door at the end of the room. The lock panel was still glowing red, indicating it was active and the door was still secured. Apparently, the enemy hadn't bothered trying to force their way into other areas of the base, focused entirely on getting to the command center.