Free Skybreach (The Reach #3) by Mark R. Healy

Knile said.  “When it becomes obvious that they don’t have legit passkeys, they won’t be able to proceed any further.”
    “They won’t have to,” Silvestri said.  “They’ll already be behind the Redmen.”
    “Once we’re there, we just have to figure out how to take out the Consortium comms,” Iris said.  “Otherwise the techs will contact Habitat One about the attack.”
    “If I can get access to the comms units,” Yun said thoughtfully, “I could probably disable them.  It will take some time, though.”
    “Time we don’t have,” Silvestri said.  “And I doubt they’re going to stand aside while you rummage around in their gear.”
    Knile rubbed at his chin.  “How about an EMP?”
    Iris shot him a curious glare.  “EMP?”
    “Yeah, an electromagnetic pulse,” Knile said.  “That’s probably the quickest way to get the job done.”
    “It’s old school,” Yun said, “but it just might work.   Where are we going to get one?”
    “I can put one together myself,” Knile said.   “Should be able to source the parts right here in Gaslight.”
    “Can you build one with a limited range?” Yun said.   “We don’t want to cook everything on the roof .  We won’t be able to launch if that happens.”
    “Yeah, I can do that,” Knile said.
    “So, after the EMP, Team Omega follows through, packing the heavy artillery,” Silvestri said.  “We’ll have the Redmen sandwiched on the roof.  That will give us the best chance of overpowering them.”
    “My brawlers don’t have the firepower,” Holger said, shaking his head.  “Not to take five Redmen head on.”
    “What about the RECS?” Remus said excitedly.  “I’m pretty sure I know how to locate them–”
    “We went over this last month, Remus,” Silvestri said, sighing wearily.  “Emil told you not to bring it up again, didn’t he? ”
    Remus shrugged.  “Well, we’re under new management now, so I thought I’d give it a shot.”
    “If those things even still exist, they’re not going to be functional,” Silvestri said.  “They’re a waste of time, and right now time is in short supply.”
    “Am I missing something here?” Knile said.  “What are these RECS?”
    “Old defensive systems,” Remus said, his eyes shining passionately.  “Every space elevator installation had them, back in the old days.  They were superseded, sure, but I think we could–”
    “No,” Silvestri said, and there was a note of finality in his voice.  “We’re not going down that path.  Holger and his men will do the job, right?”  He stared pointedly at the brawler.
    “Yeah,” Holger said after a moment.  “We’ll do the job.”
    “So when we reactivate basic comms on the roof, keeping audio and video feeds disabled,” Silvestri said.  “We tell the habitat there’s been a malfunction with those systems.  After that, what’s our play?”
    “As long as we have the launch codes,” Aksel said, “Habitat One won’t know the difference.  We just tell them there was a power outage and that only basic systems came back online.”
    “Can you get the launch codes?” Silvestri said.
    Aksel nodded.  “Yeah , no problem.”
    “So we all get on board?  Is that the idea?” Holger said.
    “No, there’s not enough seats aboard the railcar for everyone to fit in,” Silvestri said.
    “So who goes up first?” Knile said.
    “The brawlers and anyone else who can fight,” Silvestri replied.  “They’re going to have to get through the Redmen once they reach Habitat One.”  He turned to Lazarus.  “Can you tell us how many of the Crimson Shield are stationed there?”
    Lazarus shook his head.  “It has been many years since I saw the habitat.  I could not say with any certainty.”
    “So we’re going up there blind,” Holger said, disgusted.  He gestured to Aksel.  “Can’t boy wonder here tell us something about it?”
    “I haven’t been able to hack that far into the system,” Aksel