An archeological meeting

[Oliver Shaw]

Location: Jakku, archeology dig site

Jakku, a planet known for its massive junkyards, outlaws and where the first Galactic Empire fell. Many believed that the planet wasn't worth much, if anything. Fewer, still, would believe that there was more than just Star Destroyers buried beneath the sands.

But here, in one of the great deserts of Jakku, was an excavation site. Several tents and small buildings surrounded a shallow pit where archeologists and hired hands diligently unearthed the remains of a lost civilization. For several weeks, they had been here carefully removing layers of sand and dirt. All while being surprised by Mr. Hilmar, the man funding the project.

Oliver made his way through the encampment at the edge of the excavation site. Dodging around workers and archeologists alike as he took everything in. This was an exciting day for Oliver, not only was he beginning the journey to see the galaxy, it was also his first time off world.

The young man finally made it to the large tent that was being used by Mr. Hilmar as his 'command' post of sorts. Hilmar was an older gentleman of tall stature, broad shoulders and graying hair. He was a man who had spent a lifetime exploring the galaxy and making a fortune discovering lost civilizations and other ancient relics. Oliver found the man pouring over several datapads and maps. Clearing his throat, Oliver spoke. "Mr. Hilmar?"

The man straightened as he turned around. Spotting Oliver by the entrance, he gaze a wide smile. "Ah, Mr. Shaw." He took several steps forforward and offered the young man a handhandshake. "It's good to see you've finally arrived. I trust the trip went well?" Oliver returned the mans handshake. Hilmar may have been an imposing figure at first glance, but he was an honest and good natured man who was slow to anger. "Yes sir. The trip went well."

"Good, good." The older man said as he lead Oliver out of the tent towards the edge of the excavation site. "Now, I know you're probably eager to get to work and all. But, I'd rather you have a tour of the area to get to know things. First things first, we need to get you settled so you can stow your gear. Except your rifle, you may need it." He came to a stop a the edge of the dig site where several small canvas tents sat. "Unfortunately I have business to attend to and can't show you around myself. But.." Hilmar glanced around for a moment till he spotted someone close by. "Ms. Raxis. Would you come here a moment, please."

[member="Achani Raxis"]

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani had been here how many weeks now? The expedition on Jaku was tedious, hot, and generally exhausting. But, they were close to something big - Achani could feel it in her bones. The lost civilization that was buried under the sands of the planet. Really, this was one of Achani's most exciting prospects.

The buried civilization. Scans had shown all sorts of anomalies going on under the shifting sands of the planet. But what mystery did it hold? Would it would help her bring her mom back or bring some relief to her family? The troublesomes, they call themselves... Causing, well trouble everywhere.

Achani stood a bit behind Mr. Hilmar, carefully dusting what best could be described as a vase. Her eyes glanced up to hear Mr. Hilmar speak to a newcomer - some guy in a hat. Pretty cute, she noted, before she got back to archiving the vase into a datapad.

She listened carefully - ah, he was the hired gun. They really needed that, especially as they dived deeper. Who knew what kind of lifeforms lived under there?

But what she hadn't expected was Mr. Hilmar asking her to give [member="Oliver Shaw"] a tour about the encampment. She blinked for a second before giving a small nod and a small. It couldn't hurt, right? And she had applied sunscreen just an hour or so before, so she could easily do some walkin'.

"What's up, Mr. Hilmar?" She said with a smile as she walked up to the two with a smile. Her reddish-brown hair was placed in a bun, although big strands fell around her cheeks. She wore a full length dress - khaki in color, with brown boots. She gave Oliver a smile. "I'm Achani, a pleasure."

 

[Oliver Shaw]

A tour sounded like a good idea to Oliver. He could get to know the lay of the land and some of the people who worked there. Also being able to stretch his legs after such a long flight would be a nice change of pace.

His attention turned to the woman Hilmar called over to them. The sight of the woman made him pause for a moment and give her a quick once over. To say she was pretty was one way of putting it. He wasn't the best at talking to girls his own age. So when Achani introduced herself, he almost stumbled over his words. "O..Oliver Shaw. Pleasure to meet you as well."

Hilmar clapped his hands together eagerly, as he gave a small smile at the two. "Right. Ms. Raxis, would you be so kind as to show Mr. Shaw here around the excavation site, along with where he'll be staying? He will need to know his way around if he's to do his job successfully."

[member="Achani Raxis"]

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani gave the man a smile. He seemed to stumble over his words, and she noted an accent when he spoke. He wasn't from around the parts of the galaxy she usually visited. "Oliver. I'll be sure to remember, I'm sure we'll be working closely together for a bit," she said with a bright smile as she glanced to Mr. Hilmar. For all his positives, Achani scowled at him frequently. He micromanaged a bit, which was annoying but something she wasn't willing to fuss about.

"Of course, Mr. Hilmar. I'll show him, no problem." She said with a smile as she gave him a small, brief curtsy. "Let's go? I'll show you where your sleeping, the little bar that's popped up, and some general eating and relaxing areas. We have a couple of fabricated buildings, but if you have any personal items you may want to set up a little tent somewhere. You get a locker in the quarters, but it's pretty small."

"Come with me," she motioned to him as she began to walk out the command post and towards the first building - the sleeping quarters.

[member="Oliver Shaw"]

 

[Oliver Shaw]

"Yes, thank you." Oliver replied as he followed after Achani. He took in each building the woman pointed at, trying to remember each in turn. The plus side is that he didn't bring a lot, so a locker wouldn't be a problem. "I look forward to working with you Ms. Raxis."

The entire operation was far more active than he had expected. His eyes fell on Achani for a moment, she really was attractive. Realizing he was staring, he broke the silence. "This is quite a big excavation. I didn't expect it to be this large...or this far out in the desert."

[member="Achani Raxis"]

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani gave a smile as she walked up to the sleeping quarters, opening the door and motioning for him to enter. "There is also plenty of sunscreen and blockers and the like here. Gotta stay healthy and all that," she replied with a nod. "I'm looking forward to working with you too."

"It is... But once in a life opportunity. There is something big down there, if we can just get to it. We've already found so much, learned so much." She sighed in almost mesmerized fashion. Indeed, this would be it. It being something she couldn't detail yet.

"What brought you out here, Mr. Shaw?"

[member="Oliver Shaw"]

 

[Oliver Shaw]

Oliver followed Achani into the sleeping quarters. Honestly, it was better than some places he had slept. He found an empty bed close to the entrance and set down his duffel bag. The way Achani spoke, and the look in her eyes, told Oliver that this was something big to her. A feeling he knew very well. "Sounds like this is really special to you Ms. Raxis."

A small grin appeared on Oliver's face when Achani asked what brought him out here. "The adventure I suppose. Grew up on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. Didn't really want to spend the rest of my life staring at livestock. Don't get me wrong, I'll go back one day. Just...wanted to see the galaxy a little before that happened."

[member="Achani Raxis"]

 

[Achani Raxis]

"I haven't been alive long but this is what I was called to do," she commented after a second. "You can call me Achani," she said after a moment. She didn't really like her last name. Her deadbeat dad gave her a last name but that was the most he was good for.

Becoming a hermit and abandoning her... Yeah, she was done with him. "Oh wow... Sounds like you're looking for an adventure," she commented as she walked out, and towards the bar. "The cool thing about this is you'll see a little bit of the galaxy that's been completely forgotten. That's wild, isn't it?"

She motioned to a camp of tents, along with several rugged out buildings. "But right there is the big spot," she pointed towards a large hole in the sand, where metal stairs had been placed and various hovercraft with people in them moving about. "Something is down there, if we can get to it."

[member="Oliver Shaw"]

 

[Oliver Shaw]

"I can respect that." Oliver said with all honesty. Finding ones place in the galaxy was tough. But when you did, you just had that gut feeling that it was right. "And you can call me Oliver."

Oliver gave a small laugh at Achani said he must be looking for quite the adventure. "I guess I kinda am. Was sorta unplanned. Got offered the job one day and didn't hesitate to take it." He followed Achani out of the tent and towards the bar. She began to explain with great enthusiasm about how some of the galaxy was completely forgotten about. "Never really thought about it that way. Then again, beings have been exploring and living in parts of the galaxy for thousands of years. So it makes sense that quite a few might have been forgotten."

His gaze turned to the large pit in the ground when the girl pointed at it. The edges of what looked like several buildings, or the foundations anyway, were peeking up through the sand and dirt. Everyone was working diligently to uncover whatever it was. The more he looked, the bigger the object seemed. "Whatever it is. It looks pretty big."

[member="Achani Raxis"]

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani gave a nod. At least she was pretty sure she got his name down. Her eyes briefly hovered around his before they left the tent and towards the bar. "Sometimes it just takes that one thing to make you realize the galaxy is so big." She shot another smile to him. She realized it when her mother died - the day that replayed in her mind frequently. "And so many things in it. Granted, there's a lot of bad. A loooooooooot of bad. But when you find the good, you can't let it go to waste, you know?"

She paused in front of the bar as she wiped her forehead, squinting her eyes as the sand picked up. "Yeah, the galaxy is so wild and weird and exotic. It's so fun to figure out and learn about all these things." She said with another nod as she crossed her arms.

"Anyways, let's get you back to Mr. Hilmar. We'll probably be going into the actual dig site soon. And that big thing? It isn't everything. Scans show there's underground tunnels and big lobbies and such."

 

[Oliver Shaw]

Oliver's briefly caught Achani's eyes before she turned and left the tent. He didn't miss the tone in her voice as she put an emphasis on the amount of bad there was in the galaxy. This made him wonder if something bad had happened in n her life.

The mention of Mr. Hilmar reminded Oliver that he had a job to do. "Right. He'll probably have something for me to do. Especially for how busy everyone is." He eyed the large structure buried in the pit. This wasn't even all of it. "Sounds like you almost have a whole city under there Ms. Rax....Achani."

[member="Achani Raxis"]

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani gave a nod. "Yeah, it's still early kind of in the day. Not sure if you'll get a chance for any rest today," she teased playfully. Nah, surely Mr. Hilmar would give him today off to adjust to the new planet and such like that. The good thing about a new employee, though, was that their dinner would be absolutely outstanding.

"I wonder who or which group you'll be assigned to protect," she commented idly as she walked towards the tent.

Nonetheless, Achani entered the command tent with [member="Oliver Shaw"] at her back. "Mr. Hilmar, I have shown Oliver around. Anything else you need me to do with him or...?" She asked, not meaning to sound like she wanted to get back to her work but... She did. After all, they were on the verge of something.

 

[Oliver Shaw]

"No rest for the weary, right." Oliver stated as he followed after Achani. He was kinda torn on the matter for some reason. Getting straight to work was something he was looking forward to doing, but he also wanted to talk to Achani more, even though he just met the woman. "He hasn't actually mentioned groups yet. So who knows."

Mr. Hilmar turned at the sound of Achani's voice and gave a curt nod. "Back from the tour already? So are you well versed with the area Mr. Shaw?" Oliver stiffened a little at the question. "Yes sir....I mean somewhat...but I'll do my best to remember." Hilmar gave a hearty laugh and dismissed OliverOliver's stumbling with a wave of his hand. "It's okay my boy. All this will take sometime to learn. Don't worry none yet."

Hilmar's eyes turned to Achani when she asked if there was anything else to do. "Ah yes. There actually is something....now where did I..?" He began searching through a pile of scattered papers and datapads. Finally he found a small stack of papers with what looked like underground readings. He handed them to the young woman. "Here we are. One of the deep ground penetrating radars just finished a recent scan directly beneath the center of the dig site. According to them there could be something big under there. Something...."

His words were cut off as the ground gave a small shake. Objects on the tables rattled or fell over, while hanging lantern began to sway. Hilmar straightened and glanced around, before he could speak, the ground shook again. This time was much more violent. Equipment began to fall over, stacks of data scattered to the ground and everyone held on to keep from losing their feet.

Just as quickly as it started, it came to an end. "What the blazes was that?!" Hilmar exclaimed as he quickly exited the tent with Oliver and Achani on his heels. To his surprise, thin columns of dust rose from the dig site. Workers darted about trying to pick up fallen equipment or checking on other workers. Hilmar quickly gathered his wits and set about giving orders. "What happened did something collapse? Is any hurt?" A passerby shook his head that he was unsure about either one of those questions. "Mr. Shaw, Ms. Raxis. Help get those people out of main dig site, please. I'm going to organize the heads of the departments to get everyone away from the dig site incase it collapses. Hurry now, incase another tremor hits."

With that Hilmar was heading at a brisk jog towards another section of the dig where several large tents were stationed. Oliver just barely had time to nod in agreement before the man was gone. He then turned to Achani. "What's the quickest way down there?"

[member="Achani Raxis"]

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani gave a brief, warm smile to Oliver. She didn't know it but she wanted to keep talking with him too. He had a certain charm about him that most people in her life didn't. To be fair, most of the people in her life were walking hulks of metal with no facial expressions due to said metal. So maybe it wasn't that surprising.

Nonetheless, Achani smiled. "I'm more than happy to make sure he gets to where he needs to go until he learns it," she chimed in happily to Mr. Hilmar and Oliver. It wasn't often that she felt... This way. Yeah, he was attractive, but... Look at her, already like a lovesick puppy. She mentally shook her head as she watched Mr. Hilmar dig through papers, datapads, and the like.

"I wonder what it is," She whispered as one hand reached to take the papers from Hilmar. She bit her lip as her eyes scanned them. "There is something down there. Look at the side tunnels, too." She place dit on the table as she pointed at the outer part of the scan. "I wonder how fa--"

In what felt like eternity, the ground began to shake. Objects were on the ground or over and Achani gripped onto the table. "What in the Force," she muttered as she glanced outside - naturally worried about everything out there. Indeed, she followed Mr. Hilmar and Oliver right out of the tent - where huge dust rose from the sky. "O-ofcourse," she whispered as she gave a quick nod to Oliver.

The fastest way down? Well, she ran over towards where one of the scaffolds held - it looked as several had collapsed. Her eyes examined the sand - it was going down in a fairly low slope. "Quickest way down?" She took a deep breath as she jumped, sliding down the sand - and doing her best to keep her dress from flying up.

Oliver Shaw

 

[Oliver Shaw]

Oliver had to admit, Achani's approach for reaching the bottom of the dig site was straightforward. He had to admire the woman for that. Not only was she pretty, but quick to action when neccessary. Oliver shook the thoughts from his mind, he had other things to think about at the moment.

He jumped down the side of the dig site and slid down the sand after Achani. Sliding past people scrambling towards the top or by those trying to help others. Oliver hit the the end of the slope almost at a run before he could stop himself. All around was toppled scaffolding, research equipment and other machines. Pillars of dust and sand slowly drifted from the ground. From the looks of things, the ground had shifted or something under it did. There wasn't much time to question it incase it decided to start again.

Ushering the workers out of the pit went quicker than expected. Fortunately no one was seriously injured and everyone could climb out on their own. One by one, Oliver and Achani directed people out or helped them get back on their feet. Almost ten minutes later and the dig site was empty, aside from Oliver and Achani. "I think that's everyone."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when the ground began to shake again. The ground began to upheav then sink. Oliver had just enough time to grab Achani and pull her close before the earth swallowed them whole. Everything was dark, it was hard to breath with all the sand and crush dirt around them, but somehow they were still moving. Then, all at once, they were free and falling. They fell a few feet before hitting the ground, Oliver landed on his back with Achani on top of him. Oliver didn't have time to catch his breath before they were moving again. Down a worn stone tunnel, not much bigger than Oliver's arm spread. They slid down the tunnel at a fast pace, twisting this way and that along its path. Smaller pipes stuck out here and there, but they stayed with the larger one. Small streams of light shone through cracks to light their way.

Oliver held Achani close to his chest as they slid down the tunnel. He could feel how smooth the tunnel was beneath his back. Which proved problematic as he tried to dig his boots in to slow them down. The tunnel finally straightened out into a long stretch, a long stretch that abruptly ended into a dark chasm. Doubling his efforts, Oliver finally found sound traction to dig his boots into. They were slowing, but not quick enough. Oliver's heels hit the lip of the pipe and came to a stop. The force brought him into a standing position as it tried to launch him forward. Reaching up with his left hand, he placed it on the top of the tunnel as hard as he could. The two came to a stop right when Oliver's hand reached the lip of the tunnel. Now the two were on the very edge of the tunnel staring into a dark abyss, with Oliver clutching Achani closely to his chest with his right hand so she wouldn't fall. Very carefully, Oliver shuffled back until he was able to sit down without risk of falling off the ledge. He sat down before falling onto his back, Achani on top of him, to catch his breath. Then, out of nowhere, he gave a soft chuckle. "Well, I guess we know what those readings were."

Achani Raxis

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani sighed with relief that her plan worked. She had to shake sand out from not very nice places, but they made it - and man, were people freaked out. Everyone was running around, grabbing equipment and datapads, and just running into each other. "Hoh boy," she whispered mostly towards herself but likely loud enough for Oliver Shaw to hear.

They got lucky - no one was hurt, and with their teamwork, they had evacuated every person that needed to be accounted for. "We got lucky," she replied. "No ma--" And suddenly, another shake happened. Achani glanced to Oliver. They had accounted for everyone - except themselves! They were the last ones on the ground and they missed their chance to escape.

She felt Oliver grab her and pull her to his chest - she nestled her head against his chest as the felt her feet in air. It became dark, and she coughed with the sand and dirt suddenly rushing around them. This was probably one of her worst fears but she knew it would probably happen. The hit on the ground for her was cushioned by landing on top of him. She moved up, but just barely as her eyes were widely staring into his.

But it was seconds later that they were flying down some sloop. Achani tried to catch sight, see where they were coming from but the sand and dirt made it hard to see. And it was already dark.

Kark, how where they going to survive this. Achani decided to close her eyes and hunker down onto his chest as they slid down through the tunnel. Her arms quickly wrapped around his chest as they flung up, her ears catching the sound of his arm grabbing onto a pipe. She glanced behind her - staring at the dark abyss that laid before them. A second late and they would be squashed...

She fell ontop of him as she tried to catch her breath, her hands propping herself up enough for her face to be a few inches away from him. She stared for a moment before her cheeks turned a deep pink and she rolled over onto her back. "Well... Welcome to the Galaxy." Nothing like being stuck in an ancient tunnel, next to a death trap. "We'll have to figure a way out of here," she muttered as she glanced around. She felt through the Force and opened her palm, a light slowly growing which helped illuminate their most immediate surroundings.

"Kark, wish I could've seen how that tunnel went..."

 

[Oliver Shaw]

Oliver stared up into Achani's eyes for a moment, completely transfixed on them despite what had just happened. His cheeks turned a matching pink as the woman rolled off him. "Y..yeah. It's been...quite the welcome."

Achani was right, they needed to find their way out of this death trap. First, however, was to figure out how to get out of the tunnel. His train of thought was interrupted when Achani's hand began to give off a soft glow. This was definitely a surprise to be sure, it wasn't everyday that someone's hand glowed like that. Regaining his senses, he turned to Achani. "How are you doing that?"

Achani Raxis

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani took a moment to examine their initial route down the tunnel. "Can't go back the way we came," she muttered. "Way too steep." They would be fine, she instinctively had a knack for finding the right path. She gave a little shrug, "I suggest we keep walking along this edge until we find another tunnel. Keep an eye out for water, too."

They didn't know how long they'd be down here, to begin with.

Achani perked a brow at Oliver Shaw . "My hand? It's the Force. Ever heard of it?" Everyone in her family had some freak connection to the Force (or sometimes complete lack of.) She liked that it was useful, most of the time, anyway. "I'm not the best with it, but can do some stuff." She commented as she began to walk, carefully along the edge.

 

[Oliver Shaw]

The force? That was something he had heard of before, very few actually had. "Y..yeah, I've heard of it. Just never met anyone who could use it." He stood up and began to fish around in the side pocket of his pants, before pulling out a glow stick. The small device gave out a bright green glo as it cut into the darkness. Directly in front of them was the steep drop into the abyss. Even with the light from the glow stick, he could barely make out the bottom.

Oliver began to follow Achani along the narrow ledge as they searched for a way out. "Maybe these tunnels were made to transport water. I mean, they're to steep for walking." As they scooted along, Oliver spotted another smaller opening. "Look over there."

Achani Raxis

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani shrugged a little. "It's useful sometimes, like now." It was also the thing that tended to be evil, even if they were so called Jedi. The Sith, the Jedi... All who use the Force in some holy name, usually in the worst of ways. Nonetheless, she extinguished the light as the green glow lit up the area.

Going along, she gave a nod as she found the opening that Oliver mentioned. "It's a bit small, but I think we could get through it." Water, huh... "Yeah, could be water. And if this is for actual people, they may have been of a shorter species." Force help them if the Jawas somehow built this instead of their machines.

Oliver Shaw