Her gun clipped to a tactical sling across her body armor. It was pre–machine phase and heavy. There were nineteen other Marines in the containment vessel, and everyone thought Alice was an idiot for lugging such a weapon around. She looked at them now, each equipped with a standard-issue plastic centrifuge gun. They were lightweight, battery powered, and maintenance free. Alice had fought long and hard to use her own gear, but it was worth it. While her platoon would be hosing people down with tiny aluminum pellets, she could put a fist-sized hole through someone at a thousand yards. No one would be getting up and filing an HR complaint after that.