All I can say is this group was specifically designed to fight Dark Siders.
This isn't some band of pirates Adelmo sent after us. This group knows what they are doing.
They also knew about the Eperian guard posts, how to get past our security systems, and have someone block someone as powerful as Rand from knowing their presence.
Which means this group is well backed with resources, also because they have some sweet toys. And they must have had insider information on us from somewhere.
Also I feel like this is almost a distraction, cause if they wanted us dead couldn't they have just put a bomb inside the base and killed us all? Or would we have sensed that?