Falco's narration drew everyone into the heart of that breathtaking assault.
"The infiltration itself wasn't smooth," his tone remained steady, but the content was fraught with tension. "Elysium's security systems were tighter than anticipated. Despite having an inside contact and forged identification, our ship was flagged for anomalies at the final checkpoint. Alarms instantly shrieked across the entire sector."
The imagery shifted, showing the view from the ship's porthole—countless red dots, like a disturbed swarm of hornets, taking off from various points on the Elysium station. These were the AR-series robot guards responsible for internal security. They were sleek in design, armed with energy weapons, and closed in at high speeds.
"The battle erupted immediately," Dorio took over, her eyes sharp, as if returning to the battlefield. "Our ship's firepower was meager. We could only barely hold our own by relying on the point-defense systems Pilar had hastily installed and Falco's piloting skills. The Iron Hounds piloted by Valerie and Jackie couldn't deploy within the cramped interior of the ship, so we had to hold our ground. The situation was critical."
"Fortunately, the area where we landed was near the edge of the station, a relatively secluded cargo dock," Pilar added, his tone carrying the excitement of a tech enthusiast. "I jammed the local communications and surveillance in that sector, buying us a few precious minutes."
"And then?" Asuka asked impatiently. She was completely immersed in the story, even forgetting the beer in her hand.
"And then," Maine's deep voice rang out, carrying an unquestionable power, "we broke out."
Combat footage—non-sensitive clips from the squad's tactical recorders—began to play. The cargo ship's hatch was forced open amidst explosions and laser beams. The first to charge out was Maine's massive figure, covered in heavy armor. The heavy bolters on his shoulders roared instantly, shredding the front line of robot guards into flying scrap. Dorio followed closely behind, her movements fluid and lethal, coordinating with Maine to clear out enemies in close proximity.
Rebecca had taken a high vantage point. Every roar of her shoulder-mounted large-caliber weapon obliterated squads of robots attempting to focus fire from a distance, along with their cover. The sheer ferocity of her firepower seemed impossible for someone of her petite stature to wield.
"Sasha, Kiwi, and I were responsible for protecting the data access points and finding a path to the core servers," Falco explained. "The interior of the station was as complex as a labyrinth, and new robots kept pouring in from all directions."
In the footage, Maine's squad acted like a white-hot knife, carving a path through the cold metal and gleaming lights of Elysium's interior. Robot wreckage piled up behind them. Beams from energy weapons and the glare of explosions flashed constantly in clean corridors and grand halls, looking entirely out of place in an environment designed for luxury and serenity. Occasionally, panic-stricken Elysium residents in fine clothing could be seen screaming and fleeing, their faces filled with disbelief and terror; they had clearly never experienced such a violent intrusion.
"Their defensive forces, aside from their numbers, weren't particularly strong," Dorio evaluated. "The robots' tactics were rigid, and they lacked experience in dealing with high-intensity assaults. The real difficulty lay in finding and controlling the core."
"We finally localized the core servers deep within a high-security zone in the central bastion," Falco continued. "The defenses there were even tighter, including reinforced robot models and physical isolation barriers."
"It was Jackie and Valerie who solved the biggest headache," Rebecca interjected excitedly. "In one main corridor, we were pinned down by several heavy guard robots and automated turrets. The firepower was so heavy we couldn't even lift our heads. Then, the two Iron Hounds used their heavy assault cannons and melta-guns to blast through the side walls and literally tore through the path! Haha, those tin cans were completely stunned!"
Shinji imagined the two massive Iron Hound prototypes rampaging through the space station, tearing down walls and smashing barriers. He felt a shiver of fear, yet also a strange sense of awe. Rei tilted her head slightly, appearing to contemplate the tactical applications of the Iron Hounds.
"After breaking the final line of defense, Sasha, Kiwi, and I—the three of us—linked into Elysium's core system," Pilar said, his tone carrying the satisfaction of a difficult mission completed. "The firewalls and encryption protocols were incredibly complex, but the architecture contained things that could be called 'backdoors' or design flaws. Perhaps they were for maintenance convenience, or perhaps the builders were overconfident. Working together, it took us some time, but we eventually bypassed all defenses and secured master administrative privileges."
"And after you got control?" Asuka pressed. "Did you... round up all those rich people?"
Maine shook his head. "No. Our primary target wasn't those people. After controlling the system, we did one thing—we rewrote Elysium's core protocols."
Falco pulled up the record of the final operation. "We deleted the access permissions based on wealth and status, redefining Elysium as a 'Common Heritage of Humanity.' The most critical step: we opened all medical platform access to Earth and instructed the automated systems to begin receiving and treating everyone on Earth who needed medical aid, prioritizing based on the severity of their condition."
The imagery shifted to a view of Earth from space. Countless tiny points of light, like reverse meteors, began to rise from every corner of the planet, heading toward the Elysium station. These were emergency ships carrying critically ill patients, traveling unimpeded toward the heaven that was once unreachable under their newly granted security clearance.
"We also abolished the privileges of the Kruger company, disbanded its armed forces, and transferred management of the station's production facilities and agricultural modules to a provisional committee composed of representatives from all sides on Earth," Dorio added. "The subsequent reconstruction of order and resource distribution was left to them. Our mission was complete."
The room fell silent. Asuka, Shinji, and Rei all processed this information. Maine's squad hadn't chosen to kill or imprison the wealthy; instead, they fundamentally changed the rules and broke the isolation. It was a way of solving a problem they had never imagined.
"So... what you brought back from that world was that miraculous medical technology?" Asuka finally returned to her initial point of curiosity.
"Yes," Maine nodded. "The technical blueprints for the 'Med-Bay' and samples of several core components. Magos Osiris himself expressed interest in this technology."