"Nice kit your Marines are carrying, Colonel." Enders heard Captain Blackburn, commanding officer of Fox Company remark.

"Latest and greatest from Fleet R&D," Beck said. "The Wolfpack Detachment was given an unlimited budget. I even brought down a team of NOVAs attached to my command for this op."

"NOVAs?" Blackburn asked. "I've never even been on the same planet as any of them, much less seen them in action."

"They're good," Beck admitted in what sounded like a begrudging tone. "But for a mission like this, why use a laser scalpel when the plan calls for a sledgehammer, am I right?"

"You're not wrong, Colonel," Blackburn said. "Lieutenant Pritchett, once Colonel Beck's force has advanced, move in 2^nd Platoon after them. The rest of Fox will stay outside to secure this lane of retreat. Bravo and Easy will assault the main entryway again once the enemy redirects its forces towards you."

"Sergeant Enders…you're up."

"Aye-aye, ma'am," Enders said. "1^st Squad! Mount up!"

Enders moved up closer to the breach, nodding to a Wolfpack corporal who stood nearby. If the Marine noticed him, Enders couldn't tell thanks to the menacing black helmet he wore that fully covered his face. The sounds of fighting intensified as the Marines pushed back the enemy holding C&C. From the sounds of the screams, it was largely a one-way battle, the enemy shocked by the tactics and ferocity of Beck's force.

"Go ahead, Sergeant," the corporal at the breach said. His voice came out of the helmet sounding modulated and flat. "Take the perimeter corridor around, and your squad will help hold the main entryway."

"Thanks, Corporal," Enders said. He turned and waved to his squad, most of them replacements from the tattered remains of 3^rd Squad, added to his own to fill out the numbers. "We're moving in now, LT."

"Copy," Pritchett said over the platoon channel. "We'll be coming in behind you."

"Holy shit!" Enders wasn't sure who muttered it over the team channel, but all he could do was agree with the sentiment. The enemy had managed to take the base defense force by surprise and had obviously studied them for some time. They understood the Marines' strengths, numbers, and armament and had prepared for them accordingly.

The Wolfpack Detachment had come in with gear Enders had never even heard of—when the hell did Fleet start issuing suits of armor?—and obliterated the unprepared force holding C&C. The perimeter corridor looked like a slaughterhouse. There was blood and gore painted on the walls, and ceiling and dozens of bodies littered the floor, most with horrific wounds caused by the large-bore weapons Beck's people carried.

On their way to the entry hatch they were assigned to hold, Enders counted thirty-seven enemy dead, no Federation casualties and only a handful of Marines being treated for wounds. He had no doubt the people watching on the security feeds would adjust their tactics, and the Wolfpack Marines wouldn't have as easy a time trying to push up to the command deck.