Lt. JG Natasha Cole - Where the Pattern Emerges
Natasha Schell
(( Archaeological Survey Site – Serein Basin, Rylor ))
Natasha’s eyes followed the geometry Nyra traced in the dirt, but her awareness of how close she’d stepped in sharpened a little too. For a second, she forgot she was only supposed to be volunteering. This was no longer just a dig site; it was a puzzle, and Nyra was showing them how to read it.
Tal: All right. Working theory. ::her tone easing naturally from playful to precise:: We may not be looking at scattered debris at all. ::tipping her brush toward Cole’s square:: This gives us controlled access. Something that opened and closed, meant to be accessed by only the right people. ::tipping her brush toward the seam:: A built boundary – threshold, fitted stone, maybe the edge of a floor or doorway.
Natasha watched as Nyra tipped her brush toward Jovenan’s square, following her own train of thought.
Tal: And here, repeated domestic or work use. Heat, occupation, and routine. ::eyeing Jovenan and Natasha:: Peer review time. Your thoughts?
That was the part Natasha recognized. Not the archaeology exactly, but the moment when disconnected details stopped being details and started behaving like evidence. She went a little still, her attention sharpening as her mind shifted from appreciation to analysis—not dramatically, just efficiently. It was familiar territory because details mattered.
Cole: ::processing what info they had:: If the latch and seam belong to the same system, then we’re probably not looking at random domestic debris. We’re looking at a controlled space people used repeatedly. The hearth makes it feel less ceremonial and more practical, like something people actually worked around. Possibly domestic in nature.
Jovenan: That makes sense to me. In addition, the latch requires someone to open it from the inside. Either there was another entrance, or there was continuously someone inside. The hearth could be there to facilitate the liveable conditions.
Tal: I think that’s right. The next useful evidence probably won’t be dramatic. ::glancing between them:: We’d want to look for continuation of the seam, post settings, compacted flooring, maybe discoloration where repeated traffic or storage changed the soil chemistry. ::mock-conspiratorially:: Which is archaeologist for ‘you are both now officially authorized to get very excited about dirt.’
Cole: You make a surprisingly compelling case for dirt.
Jovenan laughed a little.
Jovenan: So this is what it requires to turn someone into geosciences. Hidden treasures!
Tal: Response
Cole: I’m not saying I’ve been converted. I’m just saying I understand the appeal a lot better than I did this morning.
Jovenan: That counts as a victory for me. I almost feel like we should celebrate that… after we have taken soil samples for analysation.
Tal: Response
For the first time in longer than she wanted to think about, Natasha realized she wasn’t bracing for anything. She was just… here.
Cole: I could get used to this.
Jovenan: May I ask, what got you into archaeology? Did you also go volunteering somewhere and find your passion there?
Natasha leaned back slightly on one heel, letting the question settle. She found herself wanting the answer with a curiosity that had very little to do with the site itself.
Tal: Response
Jovenan: I get that. For me, it was the desire to see new worlds. Didn’t expect so many of them to try and kill us, but I’m still not regretting anything!
Cole: I think the trick is finding the parts that still make it worth coming back. The rest is just surviving long enough to notice them.
For a second, the easy warmth of the afternoon brushed against the memory of how quickly any world could turn. She let the feeling pass and kept her focus on the square.
Tal: Response
Jovenan ran loose dust through her fingers.
Jovenan: There seems to be a lot of charcoal in the soil. Maybe they burned something in here, or something got burned?
Cole: Burn pattern matters. Accident, routine use, or damage all leave different signatures.
The detective in her stirred again: pattern, spread, cause, sequence. Different evidence. Same instinct.
Ta/Jovenan: Response
Cole: I can see how this gets its hooks into people.
Ta/Jovenan: Response
Natasha brushed a little dust from her gloves and looked over the squares again the latch, the seam, the hearth, the suggestion of a place becoming legible one patient clue at a time.
Cole: I’m beginning to understand why people come back. ::glancing at Nyra:: For the dirt, obviously.
Ta/Jovenan: Response
Tags/TBC
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Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240205NC4