>>> CENSORED FOR: "ARTIFACT ON CORAL." - ESKO KORPIJAAKKO
[UNSC ADJUNCT ORION ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION] >>> My Dearest Carrie,
I know things are tense at home, so I hope this letter finds you and Oscar
well, or at least bearing up. Our work continues apace, and while we are alone out
here, at least we're busy, and this system remains unmolested by Covenant.
We've been joined by a UNSC science team, and what I believe are ONI agents.
They're actually quite helpful, if secretive, and have supplied us with excellent tech.
However, they're most definitely NOT archaeologists and have very different ideas of
how long a dig should take.
There are things they don't wish us to discuss on open channels, and I'll respect
that, but this artifact is truly remarkable.
The object on Coral was discovered during routing quarryying. Explosives
revealed the top of the object, blasting out a depth of around 30 meters.
Surrounding rock and dirt were evaporated - but this object wasn't even scorched.
It's undeniably alien. For one thing, it is made of a material we can't identify.
It's a metallic crystal, although its mode of manufacture is unexplained. It's
architecturally perfect. Walls are identical in height to a near-atomic scale.
Symmetry is impossibly accurate. Yet it's rich in detail, and adorned with what
appear to be purely decorative, artistic motifs.
We know that the eighty or so meters we've uncovered so far are likely the tip
of the iceberg. There seems to be a complex of galleries and vaults beneath, but so
far, its secrets remain sealed like a tomb.
Incredibly, it may not be of Covenant origin. I fear however, that its age may
mean its mystery is lost to time. I just pray that we find some clue, some data that
can help in the war.
I love you and I miss you. Kiss Oscar for me.
Ever yours, Esko.