Aboard the cargo jet, the rear ramp lowered with a deep hum and air rushed through the hold.

Major Kat Argo stood before her platoon, all of them clad in their full black body armor, helmets, rifles strapped across their chests, parachutes on their backs, goggles and oxygen masks over their noses and mouths.

For 30 minutes before the jet ascended rapidly to over two miles high, the team had been pre-breathing to prepare for their jump. Taking in 100% oxygen, they flushed as much nitrogen from their systems as possible in order to try and avoid decompression sickness, also known as "the bends". Suddenly rising up to a much lower pressure environment would otherwise cause nitrogen gas to form bubbles in their bloodstreams, which could lead to death.

Kat, and all of her soldiers, would mu...

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