The past two days have been uneventful, nothing new came up; nor any information from Snow about the expedition.
The morning after the conversation, I had a meeting with the board. They pretty much told me the same thing she did, I signed the document like I said I would. I was told that any findings would be mostly under my name as the lead explorer considering I was the one who led them in the right direction.
Other than that everything's been pretty normal, today was the same as any other. Walking in small chat with Sam before getting back to my work. Now I sit and wait in anticipation for the items to come in.
And just like clockwork, Dr. Snow walked into the room with a grin on her face:
"Welp you've waited long enough, it's about time we get to some real action."
Walking through the door behind her a few people in hazmat uniforms walked in carrying the sword and shield, the two items were wrapped up and sealed in a box. They were being kept from contamination, till they got to us.
(Smart.)
A smile appeared on my face as they set everything up in the lab we kept specifically for days like this; when we got the chance to examine something truly remarkable.
Of course nothing good truly comes without cost, like a moth to a flame a lady walked in right behind them. The eagerness to get started written all over her face, as she stared at the artifacts with stars in her eyes.
My face dropped as soon as I saw her, my smile faded into slight annoyance as she walked in with that smile on her face. I felt like a child upset because they were being told to share their toys.
"Fix your face."
I looked beside me to see Snow standing there with a grin on her face, I could already tell she was going to enjoy this more than anyone.
"Sorry."
I quickly put a smile on my face before anyone else could notice, which made her snicker to herself.
The lady was so fixated on the artifacts, it wasn't until they were nearly done setting up the she snapped out of her daze. It's like she had just awoken out of a dream as her head snapped to our direction and her smile grew even larger.
"Oh, I am so sorry. Sometimes I can just go into this trance when things excite me, I lose complete awareness of the things around me. It can be quite the problem, I'm working on it, I promise.
Anyway it's nice to meet you I'm Dr. Sofia Bryne, you must be Dr. Maria Snow, I was told to consult with you personally if I had any issues while I was here."
Maria smiled at her as Sofia shook her hand frantically, she let go after realizing she was basically trying to rip her arm off.
"It's nice to meet you too, and this is..."
"Oh, and you must be Dr. Michael Sun. Don't worry I read all about you, and your notes on this expedition, in the report. I can't wait to get started, I hope you won't mind me being here. I know I can be a bit much at time but I'll try not to get in your way.
You're young but I can tell you know what you're doing, I'll do my best to follow your lead here and during the outing."
She grabbed my hand before I could even put it out, it felt as if she was trying to shake my brain through my ears as she shook it while she spoke.
It wasn't till after she stopped talking that she realized she was doing it again. Letting go she apologized and went right back to watching the others set up.
"She talks a lot that might be a problem for me."
"Nah, you'll be fine. Besides we could use that sparkly personality to balance us out."
(Yeah, two open personalities in one room, this should be fun.... Huh, remember the prize at the end... damn.)
It took a while before everything was ready and prepped, they had to sterilize the room before opening everything and putting them onto the table. The whole time Sofia stood watching behind the glass like an energetic puppy.
I just sat in my corner waiting as I worked, but I found it hard to focus because of her endless shuffling and excited giggles.
Snow didn't have that problem, seeing as she was tinkering away at one of her projects. Every now and then I could see her glimpsing at me, smiling everytime I would get distracted by the random noises.
A few long minutes later and the door to the lab opened and the four of them stepped out. The lady infront holding what looked like key cards.
As Snow and I walked over, Sofia was handed the spare key to the lab by the man on her right. The lady infront handed the three of us the key card, so that our time in there could be kept track of.
The key was set up as an extra precaution, in order to get into this specific lab there were three authorization methods. Retinal scan, fingerprint scan, as well as the key. All three were required to be done at the same time.
We thanked them for their help, and waited for them to leave. As soon as the door closed behind them Sofia was the first to rush in, luckily for her, her information had been registered the day before.
She rushed in looking over them in amazement; trying her best not to touch anything. I guess she was waiting on us to come in first, before doing anything.
Next Snow walked in, and checked the report that was left beside the items, it was pretty much the same stuff we already talked about from the small expedition.
I was next up, I took a breath as I walked up to the door, I looked into the scanner as I placed my finger on the pad. Turning the key, a green light showed above the door as the mechanisms unlocked.
My hair stood on end as I walked in, there was this slight unease that washed over me as I looked a the table.
Trying to shake the feeling, I walked over and inserted my card; marking my entry. Walking towards the others, the unease grew slightly, the closer I got.
The two were waiting for me by the artifacts, ready to open the last bit of wrapping. We all looked at one another as I slowly reached my hand for the zipper.
I gulped as I unzipped it and the other two started taking them out, as they were unsealed a wave washed over me; causing me to stumble back and fall.
"You uh... you ok?"
Snow asked as she saw me fall over. She came around the table to help me up, as I stood I grabbed the side of my head for a moment; as I grabbed my bearings.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost my balance is all."
"Here, your nose is bleeding."
I raised an eyebrow as I looked at Sofia, I touched my lip as it began to drip down. Looking at my finger, I was confused, I took the tissue from her and blew my nose; thanking her as I threw it away.
"You good to go, Sun."
"Yeah..., lets get started."