The fifty Citadel armored personnel carriers sat silent and stalled in the dense river fog of the northern bridge approach, their electrical starter motors dead and showering blue sparks.
"All electronic ignition circuits remain completely unresponsive to standard restart commands," Jax reported, checking the fried diagnostics screen on his tactical tablet.
"The EMP surge created a localized electromagnetic dead zone spanning four hundred yards around the bridgehead," Vasa added through the battery-powered auxiliary comm link.
"The power conduits embedded beneath the roadbed discharged a massive pulse that vaporized our primary micro-relays," the chief mechanic explained, wiping soot from his visor.
"How long will our portable diagnostic tools need to isolate the fried control boards?" Captain Miller inquired, inspecting his vehicle dashboard.
"We need at least twenty minutes per transport if we work without interruption," the mechanic answered with a grim frown.
