Name: Maci Durramee
Year: 2560 February
Gender: Female
Age:22
Rank: Minor
Location: Planet Desia
Curiosity Killed the Cat
A rumbling came from beneath the ground as the machines and people around the dig sit retracted back, both in fear and excitement. Snow started to cascade down the hole that was being dug, the roar like sound almost vibrating through the air and ground as Maci felt her own feet feel the vibration. Everyone was at ease, nobody fired or said anything but watched as snow bit by bit started to fall back opening the hole in the ground further out, that former metal tip started to reveal something much more and as the snow within the hole went further down, it seemed to almost lift what was hidden.
Gears turned and churned as Maci recognized the sound but she did not hesitate to grab her hilts from her sides just in case, standing close to Jagoree. Then the sound stopped, all was silent, especially the Scientists, a final pop sound echoed through the air and then everyone started to swarm around. Fast on her feet Jagoree rushed off, her tea cup had been smashed to the ground and Maci had to jump after her. It was too late though, everyone was surrounding the large hole and gasps and faint murmurs where all that could be heard as Maci finally came beside Jagoree. All The scientists stood gathering around, gasping in awe as they looked down below.
Just beneath the snow was a large building of sort, almost like a machine, it was large and wide but there was still much more of it hidden under the snow however it was clear within the hole that it was within some sort of Cave structure that must have been caused over time and years of the weather pattern. Everyone was still holding their breaths while others scattered around, nervous but trying to figure out what was going. A voice on one of the Communications boomed out almost startling everyone.
"What's going on down there!?"
Commanded the Supreme Commander, he was still aboard his ship not caring to come down and see the anticipation of the dig sit its self. It was rather stand-offish like of him to do so, but nobody could say or do something. Nearby a Field Marshal grabbed the com and pressed a button pausing for a moment as if to think before saying anything. All of this was so strange and Maci for the first time was baring witness to what could be called a new and exciting expedition find.
"Sir we found it…The Scientists…We found the Artifact"
Silence was all that could be heard on the other end, nobody else was paying much attention to what was being said, everyone was so overly thrilled by this new find, some of them even preparing to celebrate. However Maci couldn't help but feel tense and nervous, the Commander came off as a male who knew everything, who put himself above all others, and of course he was all of those things which made Maci envious however it was his silence that startled her even more. She knew little of the male himself, only his last name which Maci had forgotten, yet two weeks on the ship with its crew and she grew to know the Supreme Commander held his title for a reason. He was as ruthless as they come in the sparring room as Maci had overheard, he didn't just have the brawn but the brains as well, his strategies always on point it seemed. So why was he now silent, could he be perhaps on a shuttle down here to see what was going on? Something felt off but Maci tried to push her paranoid mind out of that tunnel and into another as she refocused on the metallic building below. A machine of sorts, but they all called it an Artifact, yet to Maci's eyes she could clearly see that this Machine was a part of something much bigger, something hidden even deeper underground covered by snow over the thousands of years perhaps even centuries.
After a few more minutes of talking and debating between each Scientist, Jagoree being the most prominent in yelling over the others as they took their time in figuring out what was to be done. Some of them which included Jagoree, wanted to investigate the inner part of the hole, yet others debated saying that it was dangerous with the structure possibly being unstable. Through such times everything was still quiet in regards to the Commander and communication its self was slow as Maci leaned against the outer part of a nearby tent, her eyes focused on Jagoree who was pointing at another scientist trying to silence them with her own theory.
From behind footsteps in the snow crunched before the young female felt a hand tap her on her shoulder the sudden strange weight on her armour made her shift and turn her head swiftly until she caught the glimpse of Xen alone. From the looks of it he was tired and frustrated and had probably been scouting, they were taking routine shifts between piloting the drop ships and scouting and no doubt they must have had Team Delta on ground now scouting the areas on foot rather than in the air.
"I see they found whatever they were after"
Xen Said in a soft mellow tone, it was strange as she felt him remove his hand from her shoulder before Maci turned her gaze back out towards the group of arguing scientists. Still something screamed within Maci's mind, she felt that there was something more to all of this, the fact that what the Scientists where after, a Machine of Forerunner technology made her curious but the Planet Desia was empty, lifeless, perhaps some of the halo rings had been activated out this way as well destroying most of the flood for there were no sign of the parasite.
"It would seem so. How is the Team holding up?"
"They are good, catching their breath before we head back out"
"Has there been much word from the Commander?"
Although her question was harmless and her tone was almost emotionless but soft, the question itself seemed to catch Xen off guard as he raised a brow looking at her and then back out towards the group of fighting Scientists. It took him a while as she could hear the male behind her take in a deep long breath as if he himself was questioning the same thing.
"Nothing at all. Just our alarms going off"
"I'll head out with the scout soon, I have a feeling it will take some time before any of us here have a clue what we are doing"
Chuckling softly at her reply Xen motioned for her to follow him as he started to walk back through the tents and into another lone one, it was small and Maci could see that Delta had taking up the tent for them as they were lounging around trying to rest up what little they could. A few of them looked up at Maci but no one said a single thing, it was as if they had no sense of motion or even curiosity to find out what was going on, though perhaps they were all just reigning themselves in as best as they could.
"Females keeping to Females?"
Cocky as ever Joha looked up at Maci, he was lying on his back on one of the small rows of seats; he was looking at her upside down as she raised a brow up at him before the male gave a grin that turned into a faint laughter of sorts. However Maci didn't bother reply back to him, he always tried to start some sort of challenge with her and she didn't like it, but she could tell everyone was tired of running around and it made her question how everyone was managing to hold up in here on this strange foreign planet.
"We'll leave soon"
Commented Xen as he strolled around the room taking up as much note as he could within the short few minutes they had. There was a huff sound from Besan, clearly he didn't want to be here and neither did anyone else, especially Maci for a sudden itch in her brain had started to begin, all she wanted to do was get back to the ship and figure out why everyone was keeping to a minimal chatter, yet it was the Commander that intrigued her the most. Startled Maci jolted up when the comm-link crackled with static in her ear drum before a voice came through.
"Re-join with your team and come back to the ship, we are sending down others to replace you"
With a sigh of relief Maci slouched down in her seat, all eyes were on her as she realized her team mates where looking at her alarmed, that's when she realized that they couldn't hear what she was hearing. Clearing her voice she sat back up and tried to act professional before replying.
"On our way"
Another crackling sound and the communication seemed to die out as Maci stood up and stretched out her arms, Xen was already on cue with what was going on as he grabbed his weapons commanding the others to do so too.
"Looks like we can kick back for a while on the ship"
Maci said to everyone else, they had a glimmer of hope in their eyes now as if this was by far the best news they had heard all day, however Maci knew that within the next few hours they would be sent back down for more scouting, or at least Delta would, Maci felt that she was being kept close to Jagoree for a lot of reasons and it was comforting but Maci also had the urge to stretch her legs a little, scouting would be good for that.
Within minutes a drop ship hovered down and Team Delta boarded with ease as they took their seats and felt the ship hover for a brief moment before heading upward. Nobody said a thing as there was little to no grumbling because everyone just wanted to sit down for a few minutes while they recharge and get something to eat. Even Maci herself could feel her stomach grumble in hopes of a nice hot meal to make up for the cold weather she had just been within.
Aboard the ship everyone exited into the hanger bay, each of them taking in deep breaths relaxing and moving in a slow fashion out of the area. It seemed dead inside with just a few ships, most of the phantoms and ghosts had gone out below to patrol and pick up, the routine was simple, going back and forth but Maci felt that her job was a little more complicated, she felt separated from her team mates and even though it was an honour to be by Jagoree's side, she wished that she also could have Team Delta there too, it would make sense adding that extra protection but it felt like there was something missing.
Rubbing her forehead and removing her helmet to reveal her face fully, Maci slouched in the cantina table as she kicked her feet back, Besan and Xen did the same while the other two went off and grabbed food. Who knows how long they would get the chance to sit back and relax like this, but for whatever reason it was Maci enjoyed it, allowing time to pass over her as she let her brain settle and push aside all the confusion she had. Within seconds the whole entire team had their own meals, stuffing their faces without a second thought, and it was nice in that moment to feel nice and fuzzy on the inside after having a hot meal to help recharge. However everyone was regretting it when they felt stuffed, Xen occasionally burped and sighed while the others just decided to head back to their bunkers and relax for a bit.
As for the young female whom sat in the almost empty cantina room, she felt still an urge to question what was going on. Sure it was nice going on a planet, being the first female among many but even so someone like Maci could tell that there was something missing, something that she could not put her finger on. Standing up the female motioned to head back to the bunker, Xen remained seated and instead of burping he was now hiccuping. On second thought Maci also didn't feel like heading to the bunker, but she wouldn't tell that to anyone as she exited the cantina and made her way through the various passage ways until she found a nearby empty terminal where she began to search through the data files in hopes something would help ease her curiosity.
A/N: This chapter was rather small but I hope you guys enjoyed it as well as the release of Halo 5 Guardians
I have also officially released the Cover art for this story, so go and check it out
art/Tales-of-a-Durramee-Cover-Art-568541577
