Chap four;

A crackle of static preceded Parsi's voice on the intercom. "OK male lifeforms. Ten minutes for weapons and armour checks. The first scans of the drop zone should be in about five minutes. I'll let you know when to come up front A.P.K."

"Ok gents. Full weapons run through first then we check each other's armour. Call out if you need anything. Get to it." So the three companions went to work checking their firearms. Jonto checked his M15 Vindicator extremely quickly and turned to see the others still toiling with theirs when he gasped audibly causing Keung to look up mid weapon check.

"What is it Kid?"

"Sir…" Jonto stammered and pointed at Wit's hands.

Wit turned at the commotion and Keung saw straight away what the fuss was about. Wit held in his right hand some kind of new pistol. Jonto was the first to ask.

"What exactly is that?" He indicated the small white weapon.

"This is the latest STG pistol." He said offering it to Jonto before continuing. "Only just entered production before this war started. It houses a four round clip of high explosive projectiles. It has a low velocity so it's not great for moving targets but it's very effective at crowd control!"

Jonto seemed momentarily stunned into silence so Keung was the first to speak. "Can't wait to see it in action."

Wit smiled and reached over his shoulder. Pulling a small handle from his back he held it out and flicked its tiny side switch. A thin blade began forming from the handle grew until he held a beautiful short sword. "This..." He announced "is my real weapon. Used with my cloaking tech I can put most enemies down without them ever knowing I am there."

Keung leaned back against the hull of the craft, sheathed his pistol and asked. "Is that your main approach to combat?"

"Yes. Stealth and close combat were the areas of my specialist training with the STG."

"Anything else I should know before we hit the floor?"

"Well my sword is programed to charge, via my omni tool, whenever I hold it in my right hand. After charging it holds a massive electrical load until I release it with a small trigger on the side."

Keung nodded thinking quickly of all the ways such skills could be put to use in combat. Then he turned his head to Jonto. "What about you kid?"

"Well… ergh… I have my vindicator… and ergh… oh! I have this." And with that he tapped his Omni-tool and a short tube appeared on his forearm. He held it up for the others to see.

"This is my own personal invention." Pride filled his voice. "A short range EMP cannon. Its recharge isn't that fast but this can knock a shuttle out of the sky. I originally built it to handle the Geth but I've only ever tried it against VI's and personal firearms."

"That's an impress thing to build by yourself. How long did it take? Keung questioned.

"Ah well… it did take me a few years of tinkering, and it's not totally finished yet. Like I said the reload time is not optimal. I've got it down to about two minute's depending on what else my Omni-tool is doing."

Now wit spoke up. "How about you Agent Keung, what do you carry into battle?"

"I carry my two oldest and most reliable friends." He took an item from each hip and allowed them to unfurl in his hands. He held two Carnifex pistols both showing some serious scrapes and scares. "These gents are my weapon of choice. I have one out fitted with armour piercing rounds and the other with an extra-large clip and damage mods. They deliver quite the punch!"

"No tech or biotic skills?" Wit seemed surprised.

"Nope. Just my guns a couple of grenades and whatever I can make use of at the time… anyway gents if you will excuse me I have to talk to Parsi about our LZ and area scans."

"Talk amongst yourselves if you like. It won't be long now." And with that he knocked on the cockpit door entered and left them to it.

"Parsi, Scans?" He helped himself to the empty co-pilot seat and sat watching its display screen.

"That's one of the things I've always liked about you A.P.K. You're great at small talk!" Her voice laced with sarcasm she waited a moment before Keung was about to respond then interrupted him. "OK scans are live in three… two… one… and our initial scan says there isn't a single living creature down there for five miles. This could be a quick mission!"

"Give me a look at the layout please." Parsi tapped some keys and an orange 3D model appeared on the screen.

Keung frowned. "It looks more like a slum than an engineering facility!" A moments silence hung in the air as they both scanned the area. "I'd like your opinion on the best two LZ's please."

"First one's easy. Right here look there's a shuttle drop zone. Probably for the people who used to live or work here before they fled. Second one is tougher. Look at all the multi layered structures." She pointed at the general layout of the complex. All kinds of builds stacked on top of each other. Some seemed connected but others were just stacked on top of each other for no reason Keung could see. Overall a difficult place to land a shuttle due to the closeness of the buildings and all the connecting wires, cables and sub structures.

Parsi left the shuttle on auto pilot to have a better look at the 3D scan in front of Keung. After about sixty seconds she stopped and pointed to a small rooftop.

"Ok. How about here?"

Keung considered it's potential and Parsi explained her choice.

"You see I can hover on this side giving me cover from anything at ground level. There aren't any power cables or stair cases I can fly into and if this route is blocked." Her elegant light blue finger traced what looked to be the easiest way to the top of the structure. "You can take this route instead." She indicated a second.

Keung considered her choices and decided they were the best they could do. He downloaded the 3D image and made a few personal modifications then uploaded a copy to Parsi's Omni-tool. He turned towards Parsi.

"The rooftop LZ is our back up. We will go to the backup landing if we call for it or we are on the ground for more than six hours after we touch down. After we touch down I want you to circle the area and hot drop some ammo boxes down in the surrounding area, then I want this shuttle way out of our combat zone before you land. Keep the ship idle to hide yourself but I want a new scan as often as possible, let us know if something big happens. Got it?"

She nodded her head whilst keep her eyes forwards. "Ammo boxes, land safe scan and report if shit happens. Got it."

Keung stood and slapped her on her shoulder armour as he left. "Give us a thirty second warning and the count us in from ten. See you later… hopefully."

Keung walked back into Wit and Jonto and found them discussing the technology behind Wit's new pistol.

Keung interrupted them. "Check your Omni-tools please. You should have a new file. A 3D scan of the area and our objectives as they are at the moment. Note please the two blue circles on the map. These are our two options in terms of LZ's…" Keung continued to fill them in on all that Parsi would do whilst they were on the ground.

The next interruption was Parsi on the intercom. "Thirty seconds to dust off. Area still looks clear."

Keung shut down his map which they had all been looking at and stood at the side door holding the rail above for stability. "Ok guys. Here we go. As soon as we hit the ground I want you to follow me into the nearest cover until the shuttle has left. Got it?"

"Yes sir! They repeated in unison.

Parsi's count down began. "10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2…"