The third warning was an order to land his vehicle immediately or be shot out of the sky. The spacefield was now within easy view. Alain pretended to comply with the order, slowing his speed and dropping his altitude until he was hovering just slightly above the ground—but he was still moving forward toward the base. A group of patrol copters were flying out to meet him.
Suddenly he shot up to full speed, zipping along barely a meter above the ground. He and Laya were buffeted about inside the cabin as he guided the vessel on a crazy, zigzag course. The patrol copters swooped down and commenced firing; their shots were tearing up dirt all around Alain’s craft. The invading copter shook at one point as a shot from the defenders ripped off one landing runner; the craft listed to one side th
