Michael Wells watched as the forklift lowered the sizeable crate, easily the size of a smaller tool shed, onto the hard marble floor. Soon, a group of men came to open it, extremely careful not to put a single scratch on the contents, as instructed. The lid was lifted, and the rest of the crate pulled apart, letting a fog escape to slowly reveal an ornate sarcophagus. The inscriptions on it were still undeciphered, and the contents were still unknown, but the archeologist had a suspicion that he truly hoped would be confirmed in the coming few days...<br/><br/>Not so long ago, his team of archeologists had begun searching a little-explored area of the Egyptian desert, and what they came across was hardly the usual fare. The vast majority of the tomb they found was concealed by tons of sand, and while it showed no signs of having ever been broken into since it had been sealed, there was little to no treasure to be found. However, the sarcophagus itself, easily the most notable item to be found in it, was an extremely polished affair, with inscriptions carved into it with great care, the finest metals hugging the sculpted stone like an intricate suit of armor... Why go through the trouble of hiding a tomb so far away from prying eyes, for a burial worthy of a pharaoh, but not do it "properly"?<br/><br/>Michael wasn't sure how he could answer that question, but somehow, since they had brought the sarcophagus to the surface, he had begun convincing himself that they had just found her.<br/><br/>Cleopatra.<br/><br/>Cleopatra VII, the one most were familiar with, the famous Queen, no, Goddess of the Nile. Her beauty had captivated people for centuries, and whose image had haunted the dreams of every archeologist with interest in Egypt, including Michael. As he typed reports of their findings on his laptop, he couldn't help but think, with a twinge of regret, that her legendary body was now mostly dust, only a shadow of its former beauty and power. Still, even though the tomb had contained very little gold, and very few treasures of scientific importance, that sarcophagus and its resident may still be the most important and valuable thing Michael and his team had found in their entire careers.<br/><br/>When the dust settled on the revealed sarcophagus, the sound of typing on Michael's laptop came to a halt. Spinning on his desk chair, the team leader turned to face his fellow colleagues. "Well then, everyone. The expedition may be over, but the<em>real</em>work starts today."