skin, bone, and arrogance

Bracing herself against the railing of the yacht Iris, Natasi felt as though she had all of Halm in her gaze, from the distant city on her extreme left peripheral to the mountains on the extreme right. In between were the vast planes of dunes, in places battered by sandstorms, in others calm and serene. But taking up the largest portion of her field of view, some distance dead ahead of her, was the ancient city that First Order historians had identified as Abydisia, the mythical lost city of the ancient Halm civilization. Natasi was not a historian, nor was she a scientist who could make sense of the strange energy readings emanating from certain portions of the city, but she had always taken an interest in Halm, from negotiating its entrance into the First Order to overseeing the construction of New Heliopolis to building a home of her own there. Even this yacht was a commitment to Halm; the expensive, impressive craft designed to navigate the broad, deep waters of the Equitorial River was often used to entertain diplomatic officials and businessmen to entice them to enter a relationship with the First Order. Currently, it served as the mobile headquarters of the First Order's expedition to Abydisia, moored at the nearest point along the river. A makeshift motor pool and security perimeter had been set up around the yacht's position, allowing for easy transport to the dig sites after disembarking, so that the scientists, historians, archaeologists, soldiers, and other interested parties could come and go from the staterooms, mess halls, and supply storage aboard Iris. Natasi had rather enjoyed the last two days she spent aboard; the ship was a central hub of the operation, so she was kept up-to-date on progress, and got to witness the easy camaraderie of the people involved, debriefing around the mess tables over cold ale and simple food.
It was midmorning now; warm but not yet hot. In the distance, Natasi could just see a motorcade of speeders disappearing over a dune on its way to the dig site. A man cleared his throat behind her, drawing her attention. She turned to view the Chief Technician of the Abydisia project standing nearby. "Good morning, ma'am," he said, bowing slightly. "I thought you'd want to know that the last several static generators on their way to the site. Soon, they'll be up and running and the dig site will be safe from the dust storms. It will improve the speed of our efforts if we don't need to stop and then dig out the same sand we just shoveled."
"Excellent work, Chief," said Natasi. "Tell me -- how did you come to determine this was the location? The site has been lost to Halm for centuries."
The Chief, a broad man with a large mustache, gave a toothy grin. "Equal parts diligence and dumb luck, ma'am," he said. "A sandstorm blew enough sand away from the site that we began to detect the electrical signals with our flypasts. We're still not sure what the signals are; ancient technology, maybe. The legends about this site do say this was the seat of an ancient civilization, even older and wiser and more powerful than the ancient Halm we know about -- their ancestors. We know almost nothing about them; even still we can't say for sure they aren't a myth."
"Here's hoping you can write a little history, Chief," said Natasi. "The military is standing by, just in case?"
"Yes, ma'am." He glanced at his watch. "The generators should be up and running in an hour, and we'll complete the first portion of the excavation then."
"And open it up?" Natasi asked, her lips twitching up at the edges in a smile.
"And open it up, yes."
Natasi paused and slid her sunglasses down her nose slightly. She peered over the rim of the glasses at the Chief. "I'd like to be there for that," said Natasi. "I want to see what it looks like before all the tape and strings and barriers go up. You don't mind, do you?"
The Chief did, in fact, mind. After all, it was a centuries-old ruin that may well collapse. "It might not be safe, ma'am. Maybe you'd like to wait until the structural integrity has been verified."
"Don't worry, Chief, I'm made of tougher stuff than all that. Did you know I fell down a shaft in one of these old ruins? Oh, years ago now, but I was fine. You needn't worry about me, and if our fighting men are there I'm sure anything that might happen would be easily dealt with by your men or mine."
The Chief gritted his teeth but knew that he was beaten. "Very good, ma'am. I'll get you a safety vest."
"That's the spirit," Natasi enthused. "I'll wait for your call, Chief."

OOC NOTE:
This is meant to be a fun, pulpy, action-adventure type thread for the First Order.
This will not be DM'd, but anyone wishing to generate a story is welcome to do so!
The location is an ancient, recently excavated city ruin, so it is large enough to have multiple location stories.
Think: Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Indiana Jones, Strange Brigade, The Mummy, etc.
Supernatural is OK! Mystical MacGuffin artifacts are encouraged. Have fun!