Right from the start, it was apparent that the enemy was planning around the dangers of long sightlines. They kept low and moved between cover as much as possible. Vreta had a feeling that it was not himself that they were worried about, though even with their precautions, Athena did show why they gave such respect to her. With just a slight opening, she managed to take out two of the soldiers supporting Carthage. Vreta too was tracking Carthage, and as she was rushing into the apartments, he did manage to tag her shields with a shot from his rifle. Unfortunately, his weapon did not have the same power of Athena’s, so one shot wasn’t enough to breach the shield. 

Careful movement was not the only way that their opponents were planning to deal with the sniper. Before Vreta had even taken his position, they had tossed a grenade over. Though, the explosive was closer to Athena than himself. It kicked up dust and struck Vreta’s shield with some distant shrapnel, but not enough to force him to reposition right away. The dust did obscure his vision, though in all honesty, that was more to his advantage at the moment, as it also obscured him from the enemy. The arena was not too large, and especially with the ”buildings” on either side of the street to reflect sound waves, his echolocating ability could see where his eyes could not. Even through the dust, his implant could overlay terrain an enemy positions onto his HUD. Thanks to the acoustic effects of the buildings, he could even see around many obstacles in the street. 

Vreta had not been able to take out Carthage, but eliminating her support in the first engagement was the next best thing. Kjartan had a whole team with him, so even Carthage would not likely be able to deal with him without sufficient support herself. Athena had already taken out two, and Vreta could keep his position long enough to challenge those trying to make it into the building behind her. Vreta tracked one about to make his move and marked him on his HUD. Even with only small openings to take a shot, the fact that Vreta could track positions through obstacles meant that he could time his shots just right to hit between even small gaps. The first hit did not slow the soldier down, as it easily could have been a stray. The second hit came as he was making the run for the door, and by that point, it was too late to turn back. Vreta hit his third shot just as the Human was a few steps from the door to send him back to his spawn.