Atlantians

Chapter 1

Katarina stood up from where she'd been squatting. A bead of sweat slid down her forehead and she wiped it off with an arm dusted with sand. The sun was bright and it made her squint even though she wore sunglasses. Her gaze focused on the valley that fanned out beneath the rock plateau where she now stood. She raised a hand to shade her eyes and gazed intently at the Range Rover that was barreling over the desert landscape towards them. A smile spread across her face as she saw the Star Wars logo on the side of the vehicle. It was her cousin and she had been anxiously waiting his arrival for weeks now. The Range Rover stopped and several people climbed out of it. One of the Englishmen, Arthur she believed, leaned close to speak to her cousin and pointed up at the plateau. Katarina waved at her cousin and then motioned for him to join her on top of the plateau. Katarina couldn't help but laugh at the sarcastic salute that he sent her way.

Katarina moved back from the plateaus edge and moved over to talk to one of the workers on the proper way to handle any artifact that they pulled out of the ground. Katarina was still gently lecturing the worker on the correct way of handling artifacts when her cousin and several people she didn't know stepped onto the plateau. Katarina excused herself from the workers and headed towards her cousin. A big smile broke out on her face as she greeted him with a big hug.

"Hey Anthony! How are you doing?"

Anthony's hug was a big bear hug that lifted her off the ground. "Hey cuz. Long time no see." Anthony set her back down on the ground and held her at arm's length. He eyed her closely before he smiled. "You've grown prettier since last time I saw you."

Katarina blushed and laughingly slapped at him. "Oh stop Anthony. I haven't changed since last time you saw me. The only that's changed since last time is your eye sight."

Anthony roared with laughed before he threw his arm around her shoulder. "How's the digging going?" Anthony asked as Katarina drew him deeper into the dig site.

Katarina shrugged. "A little disappointing really. We haven't found very much yet. Just a few bone fragments and pottery shards. This place looks like it was used only during brief periods of time scattered over several hundred years."

"Well," Anthony drug out the word and glanced sideways at Katarina. He had always done this to her whenever he had a card to play.

Katarina sighed and elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "What is it Anthony?"

"I think I have an answer for your problem."

Katarina's eyebrows reached for the sky. "What kind of answer do you have this time?" Katarina stopped and jabbed him in the chest. "And this better not be another one of those things where you strip naked and do the Macarena."

Anthony held his hands up in surrender and took a step back from her. "What else did you expect me to do cuz? We were both drunk and it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Katarina snorted and ignored the chocked laughter she heard coming from his companions. She turned with a flip of her long dark hair and stalked off in the direction of her tent. She walked a few paces before she glanced at Anthony. He kept pace with her easily and he knew her moods. He knew how long to wait for her temper to cool off.

"Alright Anthony," Katarina sighed in defeat. "Let me hear your wonderful answer."

Anthony turned to his companions and threw his arms open wide like he was showing her something awesome. "Ta-Da!

Katarina gave Anthony a dubious look. "What exactly are two Englishman supposed to help with?"

Anthony gave her a peeved look as he patiently explained why he brought them here. Katarina listened to his logic and couldn't help but shake her head. She held up a hand as if she could physically stall the conversation. "You're telling me that you've decided to bring people who have never set foot on an archeological site and expect them to find what we're looking for."