It was time to get the coalition AEP units briefed on the situation. 04 from Magnetic and Erosion Clans were chosen for the mission. This was because their leaders were more than a little embarrassed to be represented by AEP units under such heavy human influence. They all had human names instead of numbered designations after all. I did not care how they wanted to run things as long as they were competent. Water Clan and Pierce Clan also had new AEP units I had not seen before. They were the new additions to the Researcher faction. Sonic Clan chose Alex for the mission. They three with battle experience did not need to be expended on something like this. It was a cynical way to view the rest of the coalition. That was probably true though. Why waste your best resources!? Hunter came from Heat Clan and I pat him on the right shoulder. He looked the most nervous of those chosen to come. Cold Clan sent us a representative as well. They were even more cynical because they actually called in a member of our clan. Paul, Brett and I had to choose one of ours to go: Cameron.
Getting representatives from Lightning and Toxic Clans were just overkill at this point. They sent over 07-008 and 10 from Toxic Clan. Even if it was not needed, the show of force would be great for cohesion in the coalition going forward. Neither the general nor the head researcher were going to go down with them. The commandos and 3 researchers trained with handguns were going to go. I was not going either. We had to hold the area. That was the more strenuous task. We did have a large operation center going from a large military vehicle. It had lots of screens. All of the representatives were giving a live feed from their eyes. The humans on the expedition also had body cams and radios on them. Because Paul and Brett had tagged along, they offered to be the ones to go in and clear out the shop. Everyone thought it was crazy for the 2 of them to go in alone. It was not. It was a giant overkill for even one of them to go handle this. They just wanted some credit and to stave off boredom. No one was going to get in the way of their fun time. They were allowed to do so, but only after 8 o'clock.
Having to wait was a bit nerve wracking. I knew what was coming. So did Marion, Nancy and Terrance. Their 3 coworkers had heard their stories, so they were also a bit tense. They still could not know what they were getting in for. I walked over to them. "Are you guys, ready? I am getting the jitters and I know I'll be able to handle it." I laid my cards on the table. Nancy just looked at me. "How do you think we feel!? We're inspectors. We do groundwork and investigate." she snapped. Marion nodded his head in agreement. "That's why we're staying in the big armored vehicle this time." he explained, gesturing around. It certainly did look safer than being on the street. If I actually had the know how, I might have asked to join them. "Yeah... That battle was something we will never forget. It made our careers! We still don't like getting shot at by advanced cyborgs that can literally melt into nanite soup and then still kill you in 132 different ways." Terrance added. I just nodded my head and grumbled under my breath. "Lucky." I said, upset. I walked away. That was when Magnetic Clan 04 approached.
