trans_9 | Archaeology, Natural Disasters and You [Closed]

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Archaeology, Natural Disasters and You [Closed]

The trip down revealed that Taleen was going to be of several things, none of which were pleasant. Arid, pale with a light dusting of red from the rocks, and yellow-white grass that extended in plains all the way towards far off mountains . There was a giant gash in the land near the orb landing area, which resolved itself into a massive canyon as the party drew closer. Spider webbing out across the top of the canyon were signs that a civilization had once flourished here. Traces of broken pillars and half submerged buildings, as well as what looked like a downed ship that had embedded itself in a massive building. There was no movement visible amongst the ruins now. As the dry wind blew through the stonework, it would became clear that they were walking into a mass graveyard.

Not somewhere you'd want to spend your vacation.

For some people, this was going to be a field day.

According to the scans and what little records they had, there hasn't been a sentient being around for hundreds of years. The majority of native wildlife had moved out of the area, seeking refuge. The land looked dead already. In the sky above, several specks of light twinkled in the sky, growing bigger with each passing hour. In a few days, it will be raining fire.

[Closed to Daniel, Eleventh Doctor, Sofia, Jamie, Hoshi, Howard, Billy, the Master, River Song, Cassie, Tom]

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Taleen was one of the most desolate planets Daniel had ever been to, and he'd been all across the globe and then some. Then again, most of the planets he'd actually gone to, the Goa'uld had helped terraform it to support conditions for their slaves.

It didn't look like anyone had tried to terraform Taleen. Or if they had, the results were long gone. The initial scans reported back that the planet was a bombarded from orbit by a massive meteor shower, almost like clockwork. If it weren't for the fact that they'd picked up residual energy from the planet, or the ruins, Daniel wouldn't have risked it. The fact that something had survived all these years was enough to make it worth a look. And it would be a downright crime if this site wiped out without any investigation.

Stepping down the ramp, Daniel took a moment to actually look around. He could feel his eyes drying out already in the arid heat, the sun baking the earth under his feet. Not so much endless sand dunes like Abydos, Taleen appeared to be made up of rock and bleached grass plains, and a massive canyon that sliced into the earth. It looked like it could go on for miles. Several cracked buildings and statues, desolate and abandoned, rose up from the ground like silent sentinels. Or giant tombs.

He was all but bouncing on his toes. Daniel could practically smell it. After being swept up as a hostage for a religious fanatic, and then the mess with Galilee and the terrorists, this was like a breath of fresh air. Well... it probably wasn't fresh. It felt kind of thin. Stale. There was a stifling sensation to the air, as if it was trapped in and recycling in on itself, and there was a good chance that he was breathing in hundreds year old remains... but that was neither here nor there. The point was that this was what he lived and breathed. Not tactical maneuvers or getting shot at. Not treating a gun like a loved one. No politicians or officials from the Pentagon breathing down their necks.

Daniel looked back at the alien crew that was starting to pour from the ship, carrying crates. The crew, for lack of a better word (he wasn't sure what they were called, only that the Doctor seemed to have some familiarity with them. He wasn't calling them "bugs") were something Daniel was going to be eternally grateful for. Having extra hands on a dig was always a plus, and especially at this one. The last thing Daniel wanted to do with his limited time was spend precious time on the camp. Unfortunately, he couldn't take off, even though everything in him wanted to get started. Daniel began to help unload.

As digs went, this was going to be the fastest one he'd ever been involved in. Most of the time, the digs he'd been on had been limited to certain conditions, like a dwindling budget, how short the volunteer's patience was, how long those very volunteers were willing to stay, and weather or in some cases, warlords in the area. He'd never had to worry about a meteor bombardment on their heads.

[He can be found at any location wandering around]

Edited 2011-09-16 12:42 (UTC)

Cassie had never done anything like this before, but she was eager to begin. Who knew what kind of mysteries they might find beneath the ground? There was so much that could potentially be learned here and that was a pleasant thought.

She'd brought some tools out with her, mostly various size shovels and brushes, to help with the excavation, but, as she laid out her tools, she found herself very nervous. What if she did something wrong? Deciding quickly that it might be best to ask for advice, she looked around. A man that she didn't recognize was approaching, so she smiled and called to him. "Hello? Sir?"

(OOC: If I'm doing this wrong then please let me know. Thanks.)

He was almost done with the clipboard. So far, and this was a first for a dig he'd been on, everything had made the trip in one piece. Everything had also been set up perfectly, and Daniel's opinion of Captain Eneesh and her crew was soaring to an incredible high. He'd never see a people who were so efficient. They might as well live and breath it. Not one wasted time if they could avoid it, and actually, the only one he saw wasting time was the Doctor stealing Eneesh's time by arguing. One you got used to their aversion to tall people or being called "fleshling" all the time.

Sorry, but Daniel had to say it, the SGC and the Air Force might have a thing or two to learn from these aliens.

He looked up, to find a young woman setting up on the ground, and if he was reading her right, looking lost and trying not to look it. She seemed to come to a decision because she suddenly caught sight of him, and smiling, called him over. Daniel, tucking the clipboard under his arm, came over.

"Hey, what's up?" Daniel crouched next to her, trying not to stir up too much dust. "It's Daniel Jackson by the way. Daniel. You don't have to call me 'sir' or anything."

Cassie smiled pleasantly as she straightened up and offered Daniel her hand. "I'm Cassie. It's nice to meet you... you'd like for me to call you Daniel then or is there another way that you'd prefer?" She didn't want to risk insulting her new companion.

Her eyes darted back to the tools laid out in front of her at his question as her mind came back to the situation at hand. She smiled a bit worriedly. "I've never really done anything like this before, so I was wondering if you might be able to give me a few tips. I'd like to learn."

Daniel shook her hand and smiled back. "Nice to meet you too. Daniel's fine."

Ah, so this was the problem. She had everything she needed to start excavating, but it was like handing wood and nails to someone and telling them to build a house. Daunting didn't even begin to describe it. Cassie at least, had the sensibility and modesty to admit she didn't know and ask questions. He wished half his students had followed her example, or even some of his peers. Rather than admit they might not know, he'd seen several archaeologists blunder ahead, giving out bogus theories and nearly disrupting a site, or mislabeling something and throwing the entire process off.

He hunkered down on the ground. "Well, we could start with some basics first, before we start on the tools. You've never done a dig before, right?"

Cassie nodded and grinned. "Then Daniel it will be."

She was glad that her new friend wasn't upset to learn of her inexperience in this matter and she was thrilled that he appeared to be willing to teach her. The last thing that she'd wanted to do was risk messing something up by beginning before she had a firm grasp on what was needed. Cassie was well aware of how much damage can be done by even well intentioned ignorance with things of a delicate nature. After all, bandaging an animal's limbs when you didn't know how to do so properly was only likely to make the situation worse.

She shook her head. "No, never."

Edited 2011-09-17 04:31 (UTC)

Cassie's willingness and patience was refreshing, especially since he couldn't find too many people back at Cheyenne Mountain who'd listen to him when it came to the finer merits of archaeology. And actually listen, not zone out on him or tune him out like Jack. Sam tried, bless her, but he could tell her heart wasn't quite in it.

"We're going to be excavating, which in this sense, is exposing, processing, and recording archaeological remains. What we're doing these three days is what's called 'rescue' archaeology. It means we're surveying and excavating as much as we can, as quickly as we can," Daniel explained.

This probably wasn't the time or place for a full lecture. Ordinarily he'd go into the finer points of the science, but with less than three days left, there just wasn't time.

"We won't have much time to process or record what we find until we get back to Stacy. So we'll be excavating mostly and packing for shipment." He went on quickly. "We'll have to remove these deposits with either a trowel or mattock," he paused, motioning to each tool. "The Captain's crew will help remove the loose dirt, but we're trying to carefully reveal shards, bones, or any other artifacts."

Come to think of it, he should go over again how to properly pack and ship with Eneesh's crew. Just in case.

Edited 2011-09-17 11:05 (UTC)

Cassie listened intently, eager to learn. Archeology was a fascinating field, even if it wasn't necessarily her calling in life. She was very grateful to Daniel for his kindness and patience.

"I see," she murmured. She'd known that they would only have three days for this mission, but seeing how large the site was, it seemed like far, far too little time. "Do we know where the best places to start would be or are we just making our best guesses?"

Cassie nodded along, sorting through the new information quickly. "Is there anything that we should try to record now or should all of that just wait until we return to Stacy?" She tilted her head as she further considered what she'd just learned. "And what's the best approach if I actually find something. Is there a proper way to take something from the ground?"

"I'd say our best bet is this site all around us before we turn to the structures. It looks like this was the location of a large battle, so we should come up with some stuff in in the ground. Easily," Daniel refrained from pointing out that there was a good chance the buildings could be structurally unsound or booby-trapped. Leave those to the professionals. "The Captain has her people cordoning off the areas they can see, so start there."

Daniel settled back on his heels, pleased that she was both asking questions, lots of them, and pleased that she was catching on so quickly.

"If you see something that absolutely needs notes, sure. But our priority right now is excavating and shipping as many as we can, without damaging them." Daniel said. "Use the brush and trowel. If you're not sure where a piece ends, remove more than you think might be necessary. Or get myself or Doctor Song. Better safe than sorry, you know?"

Edited 2011-09-18 12:30 (UTC)

"Alright," Cassie responded agreeably. She glanced over at the shaky looking buildings that stood in the distance and frowned. Daniel didn't have to worry about her entering them on her own. She'd probably take some coaxing if it actually came to going into them. The structures definitely didn't look welcoming. "Thank you. That helps a lot."

She smiled at Daniel's enthusiasm. It was clear through his actions and attitude how much he enjoyed this type of thing. It was wonderful when people had the opportunity to do what they loved.

"Of course. I understand completely," she nodded. Cassie most certainly didn't want to risk damaging any of the precious artifacts. "Is there anything else that I should keep in mind while I dig? Anything in particular that I should look for?"

Edited 2011-09-18 22:55 (UTC)

"Your welcome." Daniel, dusting his legs off, got to his feet. Cassie was a quick study, and while cautious, seemed like she could handle things on her own once she got into the rhythm of things.

Daniel's eyes went distant for a second, running over everything he knew. The problem was that there were a lot of different things to look for, and they were dependent on so much else. At this point, it was better to be careful and just get started.

"Anything else I can think of at the moment is mostly case by case. If anything looks or feels dangerous to you, don't try to handle it, get someone else. You'll do fine."

Cassie smiled, feeling much more confident then she had at the start of this endeavor thanks to Daniel's advice, and stood up to see her new friend off. "I'll be careful," she promised. "Thank you again for all the help. I wish you luck with your work and I hope to see you again soon. Maybe we'll get the chance to work together."

(OOC: I'm so sorry that this response took so long.)

Edited 2011-09-22 01:32 (UTC)

River wouldn't have missed this for the world - and all of Stacy as well! Archaeology was her profession, after all, she had a passion for it. At first it had just been a means to finding the Doctor as he traveled about history, but soon enough it had become something she enjoyed. This was probably due to the fact that she has a knack for crawling into dark, mysterious, and potentially monster-infested spaces.

"Daniel Jackson, we meet again." She had nearly bumped right into him out on the arid landscape of Taleen. She had a safari styled hat ontop of her head, something to keep the heat from beating down on her. This was someone who knew how to handle the conditions of a harsh landscape. "I must say, I'm eager to begin."

Daniel managed to miss being bumped into by a very narrow margin, face still buried in another list. The only thing that saved him was a flash of curves and a pale hat out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and looked up.

Nice hat.

"Doctor Song," he brightened immediately. Daniel reached out, offering a hand in greeting. As far as he knew, the only other actual archaeologist in the entire team. They had their work cut out for them, between the actual excavation, instruction and supervision of the dig. That was if archaeology wasn't vastly different from where she had been pulled from. "I know what you mean. It feels like it's been firefight after firefight."

River Song has an unusually bright smile on her face. One might even say she was radiant and glowing with excitement. Oh and the hat? The Doctor is either going to be totally jealous or upset that she gets to keep her hat and he got his fez shot off.

She shakes his hand, it was good to know that another professional was heading this thing. "You really have to tell me how you got the Doctor to go along with this. He's not the biggest fan of archaeology. Thinks it's silly." She muses with a sly smile. Part of the reason for her current occupation, obviously. "I understand this is a rushed operation. More of a rescue archaeology mission. You can place me wherever you want me." And yes, that's a total flirt.

You know, he was doing fine, professional even, in Doctor Song's presence up until the last thing she said. Daniel paused, a brief, surprised beat in the air. He looked up into the sly smile gracing her face.

She was older than he was by quite a bit, but frankly, time and genetics had been extremely kind to her. There was something about River that was magnetic, and topped off with her excitement at being here, it was contagious. She looked as excited to be on this mission as he did. Maybe the only other person on this entire planet who actually got the same appeal of getting down and dirty in the-um-- the dirt. For artifacts.

"Yes, right. Um." Okay. This wasn't the first time he'd been flirted with. He wasn't born yesterday. Daniel was just going to pretend he didn't hear the subtext under there. "Maybe you can supervise or help the others with proper procedure. Hopefully we'll get them on track enough that we can work on the harder stuff."

Like the main buildings around them, and if they had time, they could start scratching the surface on the canyon ruins.

"I'm not even sure what he's doing." he had to admit. Or much less why the Doctor tagged along if he didn't like the practice. They'd had an entire ship of people to get help from. He looked for the Doctor, and found him, predictably enough, not excavating or doing anything archaeology related. Actually, it almost looked like the man was trying to hide from Captain Eneesh and her crew, which looked as successful as the Doctor trying to fold himself behind a blade of grass. "What does he have against archaeology anyway?"

Edited 2011-09-18 04:38 (UTC)

Oh, go on. Ignore her flirtations. Be oblivious to them like the Doctor seemed to be. She'll just keep right on flirting. Hell, River Song will flirt with just about any man, woman, or alien that she finds to be remotely interesting. Her heart, however, belongs to the Doctor. Daniel might think of her as a cougar, given how mature she looks, but if he really knew how much older she truly is compared to his age, he'd probably be quite startled.

"I can do that. I'm used to supervising as well as doing the work myself." After all, the Doctor had told her that she would be a professor someday and she could think of no other profession she would teach.

"Oh, by the looks of it he's trying to be inconspicuous and failing at it as much as he usually does." She follows Daniel's gaze, watching the Doctor for a few moments with a softer smile on her face. "I'm not quite sure. He's never told me, but I suppose it comes out of the arrogance of being a time traveler. He's seen so many archaeologists interpret the past wrongly and he gets to see the real thing with his own eyes."

{{{ would it be okay if we leave the time travel thing at that? Might want to do more with it later, so it's better Daniel doesn't know that much about it right now}}}

"If he's such an authority on it, why doesn't he say anything to the academic community?" Not that Daniel thought the Doctor ncessarily had the authority as the be all and end all of human history.

Time travel again. With John going on about the 45th century, and River with the 51st earlier, Daniel was starting to think they weren't quite joking. But that was impossible. Wasn't it? He wasn't into quantum theory but just supposing it was possible, why didn't they stop their own universes from being destroyed? Maybe the Doctor was a time traveler in the sense that he was constantly pulled from his timeline at different points, just like Stacy was pulling everyone else. This might be another day at the office for the Doctor.

Maybe if they actually had an actual time machine present, he'd have a ton of questions. More than questions, he'd be beside himself. If anyone ever got time travel to work, there were so many possibilities for an archaeologist! They could go see the construction of the Colossus of Rhodes. Or Stonehenge or the Pyramids. Even Babylon at its height! For now, Daniel let it drop. Imagination was one thing. He got the feeling that if he did ask about how it worked, if it could actually work, he'd get the Sam Carter, hard science version. Daniel tried, and sometimes he kept up with Sam when she got excited. Most of the time, it ended up being incomprehensible jargon that left him with the same blank stare that Jack gave him all the time.

She described the Doctor perfectly. He watched the Doctor do just that, fail at being incospicious. From across the camp, Daniel could see Captain Eneesh's head lift and track the man. If her eyes could narrow, he was sure they would have. Despite how vastly different she looked from a human, she had the air of a dissapproving mother. It was like watching a lion lazily watching its next meal. Or a professor watching a student who might be slacking off during a lecture. Daniel almost felt sorry for the Doctor. Although whatever happened next was going to be his fault, considering it was the Doctor's choice to wander like a lost patrol.

"I really appreciate your help by the way. You're a lifesaver. If we end up with some extra time tonight, would you like to join me on that structure?" Daniel motioned towards one of the buildings, half sunken into the ground. Parts glistened in the sun, either glass or ceramic mosaic reflecting light. Maybe inlaid crystal.

Realizing it sounded like he was asking her out, Daniel hurriedly went on. "It's one of the better preserved buildings. It could have served in a government or other public function role, so I think we have a better chance of finding writing or records there."

{{Sure, I thought he already knew about it}}

"The Doctor isn't an academic. He's rather like a child. He just wants to see and experience the wonders of the universe. That's all."

The subject changes, thankfully, to the site that is being set up as they speak. She's glad, really glad, that Daniel is here. Finally, someone who appreciates the finer points of ancient alien culture and material remains. Together, she had no doubt that they could accomplish this mission.

At his suggestion that he join her later tonight, her grin widens. Typical flirtatious River Song. If she wasn't making men blush or trip over themselves, then she wasn't doing her job right. "Absolutely. I was going to sneak out there myself later on and see what I could find. Great minds think alike."

{{{So far he only thinks the TARDIS is a spaceship and Camille and I managed to avoid the time travel thing mostly. It might be a plot point for a mission later, that's all. Sorry for the trouble!}}}

"That explains a lot," Daniel said. Sort of. At least what the clone had been talking about, with the way he picked up people. He wanted to show them those wonders too. What was the good of seeing so much of the universe if you couldn't share it? "How do you know him anyway?"

Speaking of which, it looked like River was more than willing to come along. Daniel couldn't remember the last time someone had jumped at the chance to check out ruins, for anything besides a chance at finding something on the Goa'uld or ancient technology to benefit the United States. River really was something. Daniel grinned back. If she hadn't said yes, Daniel had been about to do the same thing. Sneak out and investigate on his own.

"I was going to do that too," he admitted. "Unless anything comes up, I'll be over there at sunset. Sound good?"

Edited 2011-09-20 02:27 (UTC)

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