Kiuga called the new rule before Taziraka finished rising from the cracked stone, refusing to let panic write the next three moves for the whole squad.
"Nobody rescues anybody alone," Kiuga ordered, voice hard, "pair up before you move, then wait for my signal before you break from cover."
Ulekai paired with Bukata near the ditch while Zazarie fell back toward the marker, leaving Kaka to hold the center alone until someone reached him.
'That rule feels like abandoning him,' Kiuga thought, watching Kaka square his stance against Taziraka's rising weight, 'but the last rule already cost Ulekai a rib.'
Taziraka's fist swept toward Kaka's ribs, and Kaka rolled beneath it rather than retreat, coming up hard against the broken pillar behind him.
Zazarie's cable shot out on Kiuga's signal, hooking Taziraka's wrist and buying Kaka the half second he needed to clear the pillar's shadow.
