Private Unearthing

[Enlil]

Darvannis, Calaron Sector
0900 Local Time​

The heat beating down harassed many of the expeditionary team into sluggishness. Ketaris was a long way from Hutt Space, and the exact opposite in terms of climate. There was a river system close by that thankfully gave them a reprieve from the overall harshness of Darvannis' relentless arid nature, but it was nowhere near the cool, albeit humid world they were accustomed to.

These were the trials that came with research into alien culture and the distant past. In particular, the possibility of Rakatan influence on a world who's history only apparently dated back to the Old Republic. The Hutts were generous enough to offer their blessing- at a premium, of course- for the effort, because whatever the University team managed to uncover might bring more traffic to the world.

Darvannis suffered from a lack of tourism that made their economy sparse and drove the locals into conditions skirting poverty. Only the riches of the Cartel kept them afloat, and only due to their willingness to submit to less than ideal demands.

The Hutt in power, Gorba, knew he was pissing away money. He needed to do something to bring the world back from the brink so that they could pay the exorbitant protection tithes he expected, that the Cartel exacted unflinching. King Enlil of Ketaris approached with an enticing proposition.

Darvannis had no shortage of ruins and vast desert to be picked over. With his great interest in civilizations that matched those particular criteria, he was happy to enlist the funding he received for the University to strike the deal. Now, the King stood watch over a team working in one of the planet's many ruins.

"Aren't you exhausted from the heat, my lord?" one of the researchers asked. "This world is a bit harsher than I thought it would be."

"It reminds me a great deal of my own world," Enlil responded, his arms folded. Notably, his gaze never left the ruins: stone, arches and craftsmanship that seemed extremely ornate even though they had been eroded by time. "When I look at these carvings, I remember how very different things have become. There was nothing strange about walking great distances between places, nor was it particularly irregular for one to live in a house cut from stone."

"It's such a strange thing to think that you are living History, my lord," the man shook his head. Stranger things had happened, and with the involvement of Rakatan technology, space-time anomalies weren't even out of the question. "Still, other than things you have told us, we have no records of any civilization that matches that information. It's like an entirely forgotten world. I truly want to learn more about it, and to close the distance that you crossed to live in these times."

The King managed to smile. "As do I," he said softly. "The reports have indicated that there may be a subterranean tunnel network. Do we have plans to excavate it in the works?"

"A team of experts on loan from another University," his aide confirmed. "Specifically, for this project, a Xenogeologist. We want to be certain to not damage any potential findings in the excavation process, so she is working to find a means to deal with the sediment that's covered up the site."

Enlil glanced to the man finally. "No need to rush," he smirked. "We've come this far. I've waited a very long time. I can wait a day or two more, if necessary."

Imoten | Asori Soto​

 

[Asori Soto]

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Location: Ruin site aurek, Darvannis
Wearing: xxx
Tags: Enlil / Imoten
---

The aforementioned xenogeologist strode up to where the king stood conversing with his aide as if somehow cued. She adjusted a pair of dark but dainty sunglasses on her nose bridge with one hand, while the other remained at her side holding onto the horizontal handlebars of a hand auger. "Your Majesty?" she called out, assuming such an address proper. "Asori Soto, doctor of xenogeology and alumna of the University of Sanbra, at your service. I've been analyzing the sand in our way. I don't foresee much difficulty removing it at all."

She came to a stop and swung the individual drill up into her palm and turned it so that the king if he so desired might gaze through a slit in the bit to the boring within. It was all golden sand of more or less the same color throughout. "Lithosols, Majesty - soils in the very loosest definition of the word." Ones that were little more than regolith. They hadn't had enough geologic time or else circumstance to establish themselves at all into the typical horizons. Surely, the grains were barely even consolidated and not at all well-sorted. The shallow depth of their accumulation would make them easy enough to remove, relatively that was, but it would still be an enormous labour.

Would it be worth it? Asori thought very much so. If all that kept them from a wealth of culture and scientific knowledge was a gilded leaf of quarts and calcite, of course she was going to tear it away.

"The sand doesn't seem to run deeper than a meter or less across the site." She glanced off to the side, gazing over yonder desert. "Though my assessment is also that the lithosols often get replenished via sandstorms." It looked calm now, but she wasn't sure when or if that would change whille they were here. Her specialty wasn't in desert studies.

 

[Enlil]

Admittedly, modern sciences were well beyond the King's grasp. He understood some of the concepts simply through experience, but when she spoke the words he could only listen and had very little to offer beyond 'mmmm,' 'ahhhh,' and "I see." What he did ultimately understand of what she said distilled itself in her summarizing statements.

When she lifted the drill, his gaze fell on it and he examined it for a moment. The tool resembled something rudimentary that he had seen used once, long ago, and then again on Ketaris. The sand that she showed him was, of course, extremely familiar.

"It is a pleasure, Doctor Soto," he smiled.

In all, the sand was shallow and was not apparently a large obstacle in the path of discovery. That was what she said. Barring a sandstorm, nothing would impede them. "I thank you for the work you are doing, Doctor," he said as he reached up to stroke his chin, gaze affixed still on the ruins. "Admittedly, my skillset does not extend much further than matters of state. I am humbled by those who have dedicated their lives to study, because it is their efforts that continue to advance society and uncover secrets that have been lost."

He spared her further exposition on the matter than that as he turned his gaze sidelong toward her. Asori was tall for a woman, and her demeanor was not visibly passionate, but through her words and the dedication she placed into even this seemingly small task, Enlil gleaned that she cared very much for what she did. He did not want to seem patronizing.

"We have radar experts working to assure the safety of the team in tandem with locals. Should a Sandstorm occur, we should be aware of it well ahead of time." Such natural occurrences ought be allowed to happen; rather than using his command of the environment to put such a weather pattern down, he would join them in a struggle to preserve their efforts.

Trials and tribulations were part of the human experience, and a King ruled not by miracles, but by leading the way through hardship. "As the resident expert, I defer to your judgment for such a contingency," he told her without a readable expression. It was neither kind nor stern, simply a statement of fact.

Asori Soto | Imoten​