Archaeology, Natural Disasters and You [Closed]

[hi_there_aliens]

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]

Comments

[makeherblue]

"I am?" The Doctor asks before he realizes it's a silly question. Right, backwards-forwards time with them. It's gone past regular timey-wimey into super timey-wimey. "Well, it is a bit silly, isn't it? Dusty and usually so wrong it's just...well! It's wrong."

The Doctor wishes he could say that was another piece of the River Song puzzle falling into place, but it's not much. He hasn't made it much of a secret how he doesn't care for archaeology, after all. Give him an afternoon or two and he could probably cover some of the basic reasons he tends to roll his eyes at it.

He shades his eyes as he glances back toward the huge structures set into the wall. They're old, very old, and they probably have no idea that in three days time there's not a big chance there will be anything standing at all. The Doctor motions at one of the closer buildings, towering over head with sweeping arches.

"Well?" He holds out his elbow toward River. It almost looks like an invitation.

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

"Not all of us have a time machine so handy. We have to make due to theories and interpretations of what we find, sweetie." River Song had long since given up trying to get the Doctor to respect her chosen field of expertise. In fact, she found it downright amusing how much he seemed to dislike archaeologists. He threw that name around like a swear word most days.

Hey, if River Song wasn't such a puzzle, where would the fun be in figuring her out?

"I thought you'd never ask." She smiles as she links her arm with his elbow. Trying her best not to laugh as they stroll towards those ancient looking buildings. "I wonder which is older. You or them?

[makeherblue]

He does find it odd that of all the people to become an archeologist, it had to be River Song. Last he'd seen of the woman before Stacy, she had a perfectly functioning vortex manipulator. It wasn't as if she couldn't take a few choice peeks around time and space to satisfy that curiosity of hers.

The Doctor returns the smile, always probing and interested despite himself because River Song is that sort of woman to get his attention. He leads her into the building.

"Who knows?" The Doctor could always take a taste test and find out here and there, he supposes. "I'll have you know that in the grand scheme of the universe that I'm not that old."

Compared to trees that were thousands of years old, nevermind strains of bacteria there were even older, and he liked to think that he was hardly the longest lived species out there in the universe. Or any universe. It helps to make him feel less alone if he thinks of it that way, putting it into perspective and focusing on the pluses. He pauses just inside the sweeping door way as the ceiling vaults up overhead into darkness. It's quite massive. No wonder Daniel and the others are all over the moon for this place. It's quietly beautiful, in that way that dying civilizations sometimes are, the Doctor regarding the great big columns and the thick layer of dirt over the marble floor with a thoughtful expression.

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

Yes, but River hadn't always had that vortex manipulator.

"Whatever makes you feel young, sweetie." River rolls her eyes at him, a cheeky little grin on her lips. At least he wouldn't always have to feel so alone. River could quite possibly ease some of that want of companionship, of someone who understood the curse of the Time Lords.

She breaks from his side and runs her hands over the architecture in an almost reverent gesture. Like she was paying homage to the ancient civilization that had built this. It was her duty to learn as much as she could about them while she was here.

[makeherblue]

The Doctor exchanges smiles with River. She has it more right than she can possibly know, he thinks, except then he remembers that oh yeah, he doesn't even have an idea just how much exactly she knows. Enough to know his name, obviously. It's a bit scary. Scary and interesting and that's Doctor Song for you all over again.

"Have you seen anything like this before?"

He joins her at the relief in the wall, turning to watch sidelong as she caresses it like an old friend. Maybe something more. It's a side to River he hasn't seen very much -- this love of the old and the dead civilizations out there, despite being a time traveler. Maybe because of it. Come to think of it, he doesn't even know the how or why she decided to become an archaelogist or why she even uses time travel. Former Time Agent, like Jack? The Doctor's eyes drift back to the relief. It depicts some sort of ancient hunt, a great big, impossibly huge beast being pursued by aliens on gliders and if it's life size, well. "Huge" doesn't do it justice.

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

If he ever dared to ask, she would most likely have to say 'spoilers'. Her reason for becoming an archaeologist should be clear enough. How else could one ever hope to meet up with the Doctor as he traveled through time and space? She'd studied well during her time at the Lunar University. Everyone thought she was crazy. Archaeology was a dying profession. Why bother when everyone was so obsessed with the future or here and now?

"Oh, every culture has a distinct personality and cultural traits. This is one of the great ones, but it doesn't rank my top five." She's no longer paying much attention to the Doctor. Too busy feeling the wall of the structure. Also, feeling for any hidden passageways. "An extinct race of grand architects. Wonderful builders, this lot."

[makeherblue]

"Have to be for it to remain this intact after all this time."

He trails off, for a moment falling silent in one of those rare Doctor magpie moments that isn't filled with chatter about every single thing he sees. Of course she could appreciate architecture. He follows at his own pace, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a torch so they can have some light. Never go without one, even if this is...smaller than he usually carries. One of the downfalls of having pockets that aren't quite as large as they used to be. River's search will eventually turn up something: as the Doctor watches, one of the curves of the relief suddenly presses inward with an electronic click and one of the warships creaks and folds into itself.

"Nice job," he says as he comes up behind River. He leans in close. "And what, Doctor Song, are your top five? I can't imagine you're easily impressed.'

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

Trust the Doctor to bring a torch. Even a small one. Well, River had thought of the hat and he had brought a torch, so she supposed they still made a good team. Always would, at least, she liked to think so.

Her interest definitely peaks when a hidden entrance way is revealed, "Oh, good. For a second there, I was afraid I'd triggered a trap." Don't you just have complete confidence in her now, Doctor?

Having him lean in close from behind her is nice. He usually seemed so skittish of her. Especially after learning she knew how to properly kill a Time Lord and would willingly kill the Master if he stepped out of line. Which, he would, just give him time.

"Oh, the Time Lords are definitely the most interesting. I've never been to Gallifrey of course, but you always liked to tell me stories of it. The Ancient Egyptians on earth are fascinating as well."

[makeherblue]

He'd been afraid of that too. Concerned. Not afraid. The Doctor liked "concerned". It sounds far less scary and not likely to make anyone think about panicking or actually going out and panicking and -- yes, right, ancient civilizations. He shoots her a look as she mentions Gallifrey. Of course she'd know about it. Future Him had a bit of problem with keeping things close to his hearts, between that and his real name and who knew what else and really, the Doctor almost feels like he ought to give Future Him a good talking to about this sort of thing.

The Doctor cranes his head, taking in that incredible ceiling vaulting up over their heads.

"Then I'm sure you and Daniel Jackson can have all sorts of interesting talks about pyramids." He pauses. Of course he can't resist poking his nose around. "I could go first."

He nods at the secret door. After all, he's the one with the torch.

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

"Oh, is that what he specialized in? Ancient Egypt? How fascinating! I really must chat with him sometime." Now Doctor, just look what you've started! River and Daniel are going to be talking and hanging around each other a lot more often. Putting their heads together. Brilliant heads. Talking about history and archaeology.

"No, you hold the torch and stay close behind me. I'll keep both of my hands free just encase something comes flying out at us." She turns back to look at him and tosses a sly wink at him. "I want you close enough to feel your breath on the back of my neck. I'm the one who is more used to handling traps and dealing with whatever comes out of ruins and tombs."