Head Archaeologist Enak - No Touchy
Nick Wilcox
((Treasure room, Archeologist “Base Camp”, Surface, Marohu III))
There came a time in every archaeologist’s career, a moment where they had to look at an artifact, and decide if they needed to mark it as a ritual item, or figure out if there was some other reason for its existence.
This was one of those times.
Enak: Yeah, I don’t know how it works.
Forsyth: That's not giving us a whole lot of confidence, to be honest.
JoNz: ::deadpan to Enak:: Really? I hadn’t noticed. ::purrs:: I do mean that in the nicest way though.
Enak heard the Tall Lieutenant cough, but it really sounded like she was suppressing a laugh.
Forsyth: Sorry, dust.
Arlill: That’ll do ensign, thank you. See if you can get some readings on those glowing rocks. Maybe there’s some type of connections we can’t see?
Riley: Non-lethal radiation levels aside, i’m not seeing anything obvious. Scans indicate that there is some kind of capacitor within the rock, but I can’t guess why outside of vaporizing intruders.
Enak: Well, that’s always a possibility. We’re constantly dodging booby traps.
This wouldn’t even be the first time he had dodged booby traps, and definitely not the last.
Hopefully it was the last time dealing with mercenaries.
Forsyth: I’ll help you, ensign.
Enak: Good idea.
Enak watched as the Tall Lieutenant helped Ensign JoNz with scanning some of the rocks.
Forsyth: So now what? Where do we go from here?
Junior Archaeologist: We found another statue! ::to all in the chamber::
JoNz: ::calling over to the other dig group:: Oh gods, please don’t piss it off!
Arlill: Whatever you do, DON’T TOUCH IT! ::beat:: Let’s take as many scans as we can before we proceed, alright?!
Riley: And please, for the love of whatever you believe in, be careful about it.
Sound advice.
Enak: You guys know the rules!
Forsyth: I’m beginning to miss being on the bridge…..
However, after all the talk about not touching things, it seemed like Commander Arlill had done that himself.
Arlill: There was something odd about this newly discovered statue ::as Toxin stepped closer to it:: there was something eerie about it, abnormal to some extent.
Forsyth: Sir, are you alright?
Enak: I’m sure he is. I’ve been touching things around her and I’m perfectly fine.
At least, he thought he was.
Arlill: I don’t know, I mean I can’t really explain it—I was here, but I wasn’t; I was me, but I wasn’t.
Forsyth: Right, does anyone understand that?
Enak: Sounds like he had a vision of some kind.
Everyone else was getting the good stuff from these artifacts. Enak was just getting shot at. Why couldn’t he have any of the fun?
JoNz: I might understand what the Commander is getting at; I was almost dizzy and then smelled flowers for a brief moment.
Riley: I understood the words he used, but not in the context of the sentence he used them in.
Forsyth: Take a deep breath, like this. :: Taking a deep breath, then let it out :: and start from the beginning, sir.
Enak: And don’t leave anything out.
Details were the most important thing in Archaeology.
Arlill: Response
JoNz: It was as if I was right there in a field of flowers, yet I was taking in the smell and not so much being in the field if that makes any sense?
Riley: I might have a theory. Are we welcome to advance them?
Enak: I’m all ears.
It was probably better than whatever Enak had thought of.
Arlill / Forsyth: Response
JoNz: I’d be interested in that theory.
Riley: Out of body experience caused by something within the statue?
Enak: Well, that certainly sounds like a good idea.
Definitely better than anything he currently had.
Arlill / Forsyth: Response
JoNz: What if it’s some sort of transporter…but that makes no sense as I didn’t go anywhere, and neither did the Commander. Or did we?
Enak: As far as I’m aware, you both were here.
At least, he thought he remembered seeing them here, not anywhere else.
Arlill / Forsyth: Response
JoNz: Unless we’re both having an existential crisis? I know what I smelled though.
Enak: I don’t doubt that.
Enak had already dealt with all sorts of weirdness from various artifacts at other digs, so this was just another in a long line of weird things happening.
Arlill / Riley / Forsyth: Response
Enak: I think we need to consider that there was something that happened, but not necessarily physically.
Arlill / Riley / Forsyth: Response
He heard his junior archaeologists chattering about “first contact” with the I-Kiyo, but they seemed to forget that they Dyson Ring was already known to the Federation and that was where the I-Kiyo currently lived.
Arlill / Riley / Forsyth: Response
JoNz: First contact? What if they’re right and we did just experience first contact with the I-Kiyo through…through this statue?
Enak: Well, that would be interesting if the statue caused time travel.
He stroked his chin.
Enak: Because, correct me if I’m wrong, but the I-Kiyo are already known to the Federation, now?
Arlill / Riley / Forsyth / JoNz: Response
He looked back at the statue, pondering what was going on.
Enak: Is it possible that you were looking at some memories of some of the people that were here first?
Arlill / Riley / Forsyth / JoNz: Response
Enak: Well, just thinking, as it’s possible that you did see something, and that something was the past and the memories of those here. That would be really cool to have data on. Almost tempted to touch the statue myself.
He wasn’t going to, of course, that would be irresponsible.
Arlill / Riley / Forsyth / JoNz: Response
Chief Engineer