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Kelly watched the screens. There were no fliers. She was going to assume, though, that they had already spotted her.
There was a bump and the engines whined down.
Kelly yanked the laptop and tossed it into a duffel. She unharnessed the Doctor and gently threw her over her shoulder. She palmed the release hatch. The door eased down, becoming a gangplank.
The terrain outside was more swamp than meadow. Insects buzzed, but nothing else moved. She ran for the trees, covering the distance in ten long strides.
In the dark of the jungle she set Dr. Halsey against a tree and rechecked her vitals. Still strong and steady.
Kelly scanned the sky. No company.
She considered moving back to the ship and camouflaging it, but that might not be necessary The matte-black stealth craft blended almost perfectly with the shady tree line.
Kelly tried her COM, clicking on the E-Band.
"—expect an immediate threat response. This is automated
general distress code Bloody Arrow. All UNSC personnel heed and stand to. We are under attack and require assistance. Camp Currahee and the northern peninsula have been invaded by unknown, possible Covenant, hostiles. Suggest orbital bombardment of the northern region as these entities are equipped with high-heat-output beam weapons. Our forces will remain under cover. Land in force and expect an immediate threat response—"
Across the swamp came a whisper rustle.
Kelly took cover, leveled her MA5B, and held her breath.
Two figures emerged from the jungle. Humanoid. Covenant? They were shrouded in active camouflage. Their textures adjusted, and they looked like they were part leaf, part shadow. She'd seen Orbital Drop Shock Troopers experiment with this technology… but they'd never gotten it to work in the field.
The two figures halted. It was difficult to tell, but it looked almost as if one made a hand signal, thumb pressing into palm and other fingers inwardly curled.
That was the Spartan signal for "Unknown ahead. Wait."
She'd take a chance. If they were human and wearing the latest UNSC armor, they should be nonhostiles.
She eased one hand out from cover. She flashed her index finger once, and then again, and then the "come forward" gesture.
There was more rustling around her—flanking units.
Of course, no one was going to close across open terrain. Even friendlies.
Still, Kelly's combat training clicked on. She had to reposition, but that would mean leaving Dr. Halsey vulnerable.
One of the unknown was near; she couldn't hear it… just a tickling in the back of her mind, a sixth sense that told her she was being watched, and whatever was doing the watching was now too close for comfort.
There was motion in Kelly's peripheral vision, a blur.
She spun and saw a ghostly figure, moving toward her— faster than any human could move.
Kelly sidestepped, grabbed the arm, twisted.
Her opponent reverse-twisted and countered the lock.
Whatever it was, it wasn't human; otherwise Kelly would have ripped its human arm from the socket.