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Halo Lighting System First Strike Games User Manual

Page 129

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ERIC NYLUNO

125

MJOLNIR armor. Blood and hydrostatic gel bubbled from

Kelly's wounds.

"I volunteered to be the fail-safe option," she told Kelly. "In

the lower levels of these caverns are enough high explosives to

level the facility—in case we were ever overrun by the enemy.

I'm here to make sure no one gets access to our technology."

Dr. Halsey injected a local anesthetic and inserted a flexible

laser-tipped catheter into Kelly, carefully monitoring her progress

on the MRI. She pulsed the laser, fusing the lacerations in her

liver. Dr. Halsey then inflated her lung. Kelly would lose half of

that organ, regardless of her treatment. The tissue was already

turning blue and mottling necrotic brown.

"Kalmiya, prep the flash clone facility and retrieve Kelly's

DNA sequence from the archives. I'd like to get a new liver and

right lung started for her.

"You're fine for now," Dr. Halsey lied. "I just want to get replace-

ments made for you, in case we're down here for a long time."

"I understand," Kelly rasped.

Dr. Halsey wondered if she did—if Kelly understood that

getting shot and burned and having your internal organs trauma-

tized wasn't supposed to happen to you every day... unless you

were a Spartan. She wished the war were over. She wished her

Spartans had some measure of peace.

"Doctor?" Kalmiya whispered through the tiny private speaker

bud in Dr. Halsey's glasses. "There is an anomaly in

SPARTAN-087's DNA files. You may want to review this in

private."

Dr. Halsey sealed Kelly's injuries with biofoam, removed the

catheter, and cauterized the incision. "Rest," she said.

"No, ma'am. I'm ready to—" Kelly tried to sit up.

"Down." Dr. Halsey set a hand on her shoulder. She had no il-

lusions that she could have stopped Kelly with the gesture—but it

reinforced her words and her will. "Doctor's orders."

Kelly sighed and lay back.

"I'll be in my office just over there"—she pointed to the next

room—"if you need anything."

Dr. Halsey left Kelly and moved to her office. Two walls were

covered with giant displays; old disposable coffee cups littered

the floor; a holographic projector flooded with data, lines, rotat-

ing graphics, and unanswered correspondence overflowed her