LtCmdr Jovenan – Isn’t it funny that something interesting always happens around us, like we were the main characters or something?
Jovenan
((Archaeological Survey Site, Serein Basin, Rylor))
It was going to be a nice day, Jovenan could see that. The sun was shining upon them, the air was filled with the scent of dust, people’s jovial and excited chatter carried over to her ears. There was a distinct lack of any of the elements the previous missions had consistently thrown at her, so much so that she didn’t even bother to take notice of that or name what was missing. There were no previous missions. Just the present day, a field of sand and stone, a trowel and a lot to learn. She hadn’t expected to run into Cole in there, but she didn’t mind at all. Perhaps she could learn more about the person behind the tactical manoeuvres that saved the ship a few missions back. Engaging in things like archaeology – even if for the reason of avoiding PADDwork – was already a thing she had learnt of her colleague. It could be a sign of mental curiosity and desire to learn something new, after all, Cole could have just as easily chosen to go for a beach or a party or whatever else their crewmates were doing. It was a good sign in Jovenan’s mind.
With trying to set all the stress of the missions aside come trying to ignore anything Starfleet. It wasn’t easy, given that they were Starfleet officers regardless, supervised by a Lieutenant, but Jovenan had opted not to introduce herself by rank. The last thing she wanted to do was imply taking over leadership or responsibility in any way, or to make anyone uncomfortably stiff due to her higher rank. However, there was no reason to hide the fact that she, too, was a scientist, especially since she thought her prior skills might prove helpful.
Jovenan: I haven’t done archaeological work before, but I’m familiar with rocks and digging. I’m a planetary scientist. Would that help at all?
Their supervisor’s smile got a tad wider. It seemed that Jovenan’s daring assumption that her expertise in a non-related field being useful hadn’t come across as an insult to the professional archaeologist.
Tal: That helps quite a lot, actually.
Lt Tal crouched to the edge of the trench. Jovenan noted how clear each bedding planes were, separating each layer to distinct strata. Perhaps that was a part of the reason why the dig site was opened to volunteers: it didn’t take much effort to count how many sedimentary beds there were above a discovery, making it easy for a layperson to mark down vital information about the supposed age of the object or structure.
Tal: We’re working through late-period habitation strata – mostly structural collapse and household debris. Stone, ceramics, occasional tool fragments.
Jovenan nodded. Although she wasn’t well-versed with the methodology and jargon of the Lieutenant’s field, she recognised the similarities to her own schoolwork from years ago. Sediments was a treasure trove and the easiest environment to work for a geologist, palaeontologist, climatologist… and to an archaeologist, it seemed.
Tal: Your knowledge will help us avoid accidentally cataloguing ‘interesting dirt’ as something archeologically significant.
Letting out a little laughter, Jovenan bobbed her head around a little. She supposed she could tell if a dirt sample was a part of the naturally developed local lithology or something that originated from somewhere else or was artificial in nature. Whether stone dust was made by crushing by hand or by centuries of erosion was probably something of interest for an archaeologist, although she didn’t know what they would do with such information.
Their supervisor turned to Cole.
Tal: And you… the posture. The sharp eyes, constantly scanning. I’m going to say… Intelligence, Tactical, or Security. Am I close, or am I close?
A detective, too. Not a bad trait for a science officer. While the two Lieutenants were talking, Jovenan allowed her gaze to wander past Lt Tal. Lines separated different plots, probably to mark where each person was to dig and so that catalogued findings could be placed to a specific part of the site later on. There were a few other volunteers at their respective plots already, dusting something.
Cole: Security. I was aiming for “mysterious volunteer,” but apparently I missed the mark.
Tal stepped aside, giving them an uninterrupted view of the area. Jovenan scratched her chin; she could see where the layers had been interrupted, either by the ancient people of the site or later on. She assumed that the professionals had scanned the area thoroughly before inviting volunteers, because she for certain didn’t know how much information they wanted her to write down by hand – probably not a lot, to be fair. She turned to Cole to see if her study partner had spotted something interesting, before returning to their supervisor.
Jovenan: What kind of findings can we expect?
Tal: This section belonged to a settlement that predates Rylor’s early orbital expansion. Probably agricultural – possibly trade-related.
Tal crouched down, demonstrating how to brush dust from the ground. She, like anyone who had been in a profession long enough, made it look easy, but Jovenan suspected she could find a way to do it incorrectly anyway.
Tal: Most of what we’re finding are foundation stones, storage fragments, and the occasional domestic artifact.
Cole: Domestic artifacts, huh. There’s something nice about that. Not monuments or battlefields, just evidence that people lived here.
Jovenan: People write down what happen in wars and in politics, and big monuments stand time better. It’s the life of the average people that get lost, I suppose. ::looks closer to the layers, points some of them:: I’ve noticed that the strata in these layers are well-defined and repetitive. Frequent influx of new matter covering the topsoil, perhaps.
Jovenan turned to see how Tal reacted to her geological guess. There was no point in her starting to analyse the area for the people who had already spent plentiful time studying it, but it was still nice to notice something and figure out what it meant. Tal seemed to agree with her hypothesis, given the nature of the look she received from her.
Tal: Exactly.
She gave them room to see the layers.
Tal: Seasonal flooding most likely. It sealed the earlier habitation layer before erosion could scatter everything.
Seasonal floods made so much sense. It would produce exactly what Jovenan was describing. In addition, it would also recharge the ground water and make the ground more fertile by bringing more nutrients to the soil. That likely increased the yields of the farmers’ fields, making the civilisation-building in the area easier. And, if the layers suddenly stopped forming or changed, it could mean that the locals had figured out irrigation or build a dam, or the river might have dried out. Well, it wasn’t Jovenan’s task to figure out such details, but she could see the appeal of the area to the archaeologists.
Tal brushed the topmost exposed layer, revealing something paler beneath it. Something of interest, perhaps. Jovenan raised her eyebrows. If the place was that full of artifacts, no wonder they asked volunteers for help.
Tal: ::wry wink at Jovenan:: Nature occasionally does archaeologists the courtesy of preserving things for us.
A smile rose to Jovenan’s face. She was liking the job already, and they hadn’t even started. It was lucky they got such an engaging person to guide them, too.
Cole: Nature doing anyone a courtesy feels statistically suspicious, which feels kind of exciting.
Jovenan: Sure does! A lot of stuff must have got buried over time. I guess we have a good chance to find something interesting today.
Tal: Depends on your definition of exciting.
Fair. Many a planet was full of cool rocks, but Jovenan had few colleagues that would have spent cataloguing every single individual rock of a world. In a place like this, they might find so many identical, small objects that the archaeologists would refer to them as a group rather than taking note of each individual.
Tal: If you mean culturally significant artifacts, intact structures, or historical data that changes our understanding of the settlement ::pause:: approximately three percent.
Cole: ::looking over the square:: So you’re saying there’s still a chance of some kind of discovery. Interesting.
Jovenan: Three per cent is a lot more than zero per cent. We’re almost set to find something.
Tal handed them tools.
Tal: Then let’s test the hypothesis.
She pointed at two empty plots in the digging area.
Tal: Jovenan, you can take C-8. Cole, right beside her at the edge of the trench in C-7. ::small, amused glance:: Perimeter awareness may prove useful if any aggressive pottery fragments attempt an escape.
Jovenan laughed a little as the archaeologist kneeled back to her own work. Tal seemed like a born guide for volunteers, fun and eager to teach people of her job. Jovenan wasn’t sure how she would have survived doing something similar herself, or most of the Science department personnel on the Artemis. Some scientists preferred locking themselves in the dusty chambers with books, others, it seemed, were every kid’s dream teacher. Cole responded to her joviality with a smile, gesturing her to come with her to their plots.
Cole: Understood. I’ll secure the area and neutralize any hostile ceramics.
Jovenan: Set phasers to stun. We want to make sure they make it intact for interrogation.
Tal: Response
Walking to her plot, Jovenan made a quick look of everything in the square. Some rocks, some sand, lot of just soil. Nothing that was obviously a buried treasure or anything of that sort, not with the first sight. That was to be expected; even if Tal had made finding something seem easy, Jovenan couldn’t expect to just walk in there and pull out a sword from the stone. She kneeled and brushed the dirt to try out how it worked. It was okay, although if she was to clear the entire square of the soil with just the brush, it would take days to find anything. Swapping to the trowel, she started digging, carefully but not overtly cautiously. She could see doing this becoming even meditative. Dig. Dig. Dig. Fun!
Cole: You know, I can see the appeal. There’s something nice about work where the goal isn’t to stop a disaster, just… uncover what’s already there.
Jovenan: Now you know how I feel before my perfectly good space dust mapping mission is ruined by transuniversal invaders, or something silly like that!
That time had been a particular disaster. She had just been appointed the Assistant Chief Science Officer, and suddenly the universe itself tears apart. She quickly brushed the memory aside – still not giving her regular work or the stressful disaster any right of presence in her brain. Instead, she focused on how nice it was to hear Cole say that. She was already learning new sides of her colleague.
Tal: Response
Cole: Lieutenant… I think I found something that is either interesting or very bad.
Hm? Jovenan paused her digging and looked in Cole’s direction. Surely nothing bad. Turning to look at Tal first, Jovenan stood up from her spot and stepped closer to Cole’s post. She left space for the archaeologist, instead peeking over Cole’s shoulders.
Cole: It looks like a fitting… or maybe a latch. Which feels like an important detail, archaeology-wise.
Huh. The brush strokes had revealed a metallic object, not so large that a person couldn’t hold it in their hand, but still larger than Jovenan would have expected for their very first finding. She would have expected pottery shards or dice or, dunno, half of a spike from a pitchfork. The latch was definitely interesting.
Jovenan: Have you found a lot of metal objects from this area before?
Tal/Cole: Response
She looked at the loose soil that surrounded Cole’s discovery. The layers were still arranged by as they were, a sedimentary bed above one another.
Jovenan: Doesn’t look like the soil was disturbed before we got here. I don’t think someone would have buried it here, at least not long before it got under the flood soil, or very deep. ::looks closer:: It’s a bit crude, but very sturdy. Could they have bought it from a travelling merchant?
Tal/Cole: Response
Well, a latch was ultimately an instrument of locking, and one of them had some insight into securing things.
Jovenan: If you only one big and sturdy lock, what would you use it for?
Tal/Cole: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11