The terrible descent was just getting worse. Aquilla flinched as he heard the cries of anguish, as various members of the parachute team were picked off, one by one, by snipers. Then there was the horrible moment when the guy Bakari had managed to rescue fell, probably to his doom, even with his anti-grav. Far too high to help, unless he managed to land in an unoccupied cave on the side of the Pit, and called for help. Well...O-U-C-H! - What was THAT?

Something had without warning shoved him about twenty yards due east of where Bakari was still descending. There had been a brief electronic flash, then he was moving in the wrong direction. Signalling briefly to Bakari, Aquilla adjusted the ropes of the 'chute, checked his wrist compass, and glided back the way he had come. What it was, he realised, was a bullet striking his Personal Shield. The forcefield had held, mercifully; it must have been a low velocity bullet. That would make sense, for them to use low velocity, he thought, less risk of rebounding if they were shooting towards a cliff face.

Hearing more mayhem on his radio, Aquilla wondered how many of the team would make it to the ground. And whether he would be one of them.