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

Re: Day 1 || Daniel Jackson (subthreads)

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

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."

Re: Day 1 || Daniel Jackson (subthreads)

[hi_there_aliens]

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."

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

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.

[hi_there_aliens]

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?"

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

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."

[hi_there_aliens]

{{{ 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."

[hullo-sweetie.livejournal.com]

{{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."

[hi_there_aliens]

{{{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?"