Janet Fraiser had recovered relatively quickly, two days being enough to have her moving once again, and it given Tarvek time to jury-rig gear and weapons from his inventory for her. She was a qualified medicus, or doctor of medicine, and had an adopted daughter Cassandra. Along with some degree of experience with the stargate ring-portal that meant she wasn't completely blind to what path might lie ahead of them. It would still be a difficult path regardless, even the fact they had to travel many miles down a mountain, following Tarvek's Compass towards the likely source of a native ring-portal.
Currently she was clad in the green-olive splotchy camouflage clothing she had been wearing when they had been ejected from her reality, along with pathfinder light vest-armour, dull black with hardpoints for the barrier system. Not defence against focused beam weapons, but it was against solid projectiles and might sufficiently block a 'staff blast' to keep her alive. Just as he'd equipped her with a light semi-automatic rifle, after changing stocks and other parts from orc usable, to human usable. Something Janet seemed to, finally, ask about as they moved down hill along a battered but still viable native roadway.
"…surprisingly easy to handle" she was saying as they moved through an alien forest, though it wasn't very…developed. There plenty of young trees, but it did indicate a pretty severe die off several generations in the past that the planet was only recovering from "Why bother carry such weapons that aren't to your….um, size?"
Tarvek didn't look to his side, instead continuing to scan the horizon, and then the forest line, for any dangerous native life. There were predators out there, just as there was wildlife, though none was too threatening so far in this general region, along, a brief glimpse of something else "Pathfinders of the League come are differing species, and the gear in our emergency supply packs are, often, modular to allow cross-usage by any member of the team. Your gun for example was just a matter of a stock change. There is a blade in the pack that is a greatsword to humans, a bastard blade to my hands, and with a shaft attachment a long-bladed spear to shorter folk if needed"
'Though, really, they've daggers and long knives to more effectively use as Isuriel told me often enough' the orc mused to himself, thinking of his lilac skinned gnome friend. The pack had plenty of gear that would suit such of his fellows and was less useful without adjustments to Tarvek himself. But, all in all, it was proving useful so far as they trudged along the edge of the forested road, trying to stay close to vegetation in case there was a need to hid amidst it should a spaceship or starfighter fly overhead. It did make watching the forest harder, but, right now, Tarvek was more worried about getting caught in the open than dealing with dangerous animals.
"That is proving very useful now"
"Aye, it is" he agreed, touching his chest with one hand, concentrating on the Compass a moment to readjust their direction if needed "Learned experience I was told. Travelling the Planes…our situation is not unheard of, and those without supplies oft die on the first realm. With mixed teams, well, you can see why the cost was taken on?"
"Hmm, yes I can see why that might work well" the human admitted, holding the weapon at ease, but in a decently professional manner, moving well with the light pack on her back "I suppose the SGC was starting to get like that as well with varied discipline teams"
"Tis a beneficial structure" Tarvek could but agree, glad to talk about something as they walked and walked downhill on a cloudy day, cold too for Janet he guessed from the extra covering she opted for. He was just glad the weather was dry so far, and that these old roadways seemed to have good drainage yet. Brilliant engineers whoever had been here "More than you would guess for realms beyond, when everything from cultures to diets can be radically different. Even for those dimensions that might be very similar"
"Such as the fact you are hoping for Earth?"
"That…" Tarvek paused in his words, formulating in his head "That, well, is danger, yes, and if not for the fact of finding an Anchor for you, and of the evil god with space fleet here…I would likely have simply taken camp here a time, then tried to move on. Earth is a risk, because humans are a risk. Many earths we encountered are deeply hostile. Several do not have humans as you are upon them"
The Kromagg Imperium with its various earths being one of them "But, again, far better than us attempting to remain here, yes?"
Janet was slow, compared to him, but he judged them making better time than he'd planned, the blasted husk of a city now visible as a towers and buildings in the distance, rather than the core of destruction visible from up in the mountain village. Long abandoned vehicles still dotted the roadways, along with residue of buried bones, indicating the slaughter that took place here long ago. Plasma weaponry, or something to that effect, had been used here and there;- damage clearly visible on the durable roadways the natives had built. Military vehicles too if the destroyed husks here and there might be, for they were built more durable than the oval vehicles that had chunks rotted way. That and they were clearly targeted by weapons of some sort.
"Yes, that wouldn't be good. I'd not want to be captured by Anubis" Janet agreed, shaking her head, then looking around at the overgrown destruction they'd passed "Do you think any survived?"
"The natives you mean?"
She nodded "Yes. This was…we've seen no-one so far"
Tarvek thought on the matter, humming, then answering with his honest opinion "I think we might have. Seen one of those natives perhaps. There was something hunting on the drone footage, and disappeared quite fast…two legged, back into the woods. So I am inclined to think they survived, but they would no longer be civilized. These places have been picked clean of any weapons and useful things"
"There are plenty of vehicles just abandoned?"
"Useless, and dangerous to have, for surviving an invasion as this seems to speak of" he speculated after a minute or so "They were clearly outmatched…those that survived would have those that hide and stayed hidden, and likely not in great number. Without knowing the timeline exactly I'd have to guess a mere handful, or two handfuls, of generations…and the invaders were clearly uncaring of the world with their mining efforts in specific areas"
Tarvek glanced at the skies "Those reasons, and I think the planet was warmer only a hundred or two hundred years ago"
She gave him a curious look "Why?"
"Plant-life growing here, versus what was the image-slates we've passed by" he noted idly. It wasn't his area of expertise, but the images of the past spoke of more warm jungle than the cold forests now here "But that is only a guess. Now, I think we shall take a short rest and then continue on…"
Night fall would last quite long here, just as the day had…
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{The next night and day, by local standards…}
There was nothing left within the great metropolis of the unnamed native species but death and decay. A circle of ruins surrounding a circular blast zone where plant life had started to regrow upon. There was no major water source under or near the area as area looked dry from Tarvek's aerial drone survey, and the long ago 'blast' had 'pushed up' the crater edges into am odd barrier of once buildings. Made from the somehow long enduring rock-metal the natives had created, all in circular and curving architecture that just looked ugly or wrong to the red orc's eyes.
Within were bones, broken and dirt covered…it was clear these areas had been fled from, and never returned too, save maybe for wildlife. Janet was clearly pained by the situation, but he'd other concerns, having her wear a breather mask and coverings for her hands as there were gas pockets here and there within the ruins they now walked through. Whatever had been used long ago had burned some materials and created toxic fog, or maybe liquids that rose as such in the day light, that were concerning. The orc suspected it was something to do with the building materials and how it interacted with the destruction done so long ago. Indeed, it was likely only a few pockets left of what might have been a city-wide effect..
'No matter. Time to leave soon' he reminded himself as the icons on his HUD converged, confirming they had arrived at the ring-portal. Just as he'd located with the drone the ring was half buried on its side, sitting at a roughly forty-five degree angle against an alien curved and flowing design tower. Signs, faded, but still visible had pictures of jungles, beaches, and scantily clad females of the otter-like natives on it. Tarvek could only guess at it's meaning, and that the 'stargate' had been some type of decoration. That and there was a subtle 'difference' in feel to the device here, versus the ones in Janet's realm…older. No…
'Not used in even longer'
The stargates in Janet's realm had been used, frequently, by the Gou'ald aliens, and even Earths, which had only started been used after millennia of inactivity had been used more and more recently than this one. And that was just his immediate feelings as they came to a stop before the device, Tarvek scanning for threats, Janet doing the same at his command. Securing the site came first, as he needed to 'shield' the activation as best he could from the Gou'ald sensors. Otherwise it was simply alerting them to a means of escape – and that would force them to rush through it.
"It's here" Janet said with some relief, even it wasn't here earth Tarvek suspected it was a reassurance of some sort to here "I'd worried after you said…well, that they weren't common"
"Most dimensions don't, but this realm has some similarities and alignment to yours" he offered as he started to pull energy suppression rods from his Inventory, placing them in a circular formation around the half-buried gate as Janet gazed at it "I did say it could be sensed"
"You did" she agreed, looking around "I don't see a DHD, how do you…"
Tarvek placed another rod into the ground "I am able to activate the device with my Compass"
She looked at him "You never…"
"Heh, no, I never showed such" he answered with amusement now "There was no need, but I figured it out over my stay. Some similar means was used by the gate builders I believe. Well, not the same, but some similar means that required no DHD. That appears to have been a later addition. Likely by the Gou'ald"
Which made sense to him, from what he had learned of the worm-hosts. They were scavengers and thieves of technologies more than innovators, and the 'stargates' were a much, much, older technology than their empires were. Placing down the last rod, Tarvek pressed a button on the holo-display of his wrist-comp, activating them, energy beams connecting one to another, runic symbols taking shape above each rod "There, that should shield us from view hopefully when we activate it"
"Do you…plan to dig it out?" she queried, looking at the position "Or to just…clear it by the backblast of the activation?"
"The backblast" he admitted, motioning at her to stand behind, bringing up his displays, one hand over his armoured chest, feeling the Compass beneath it. Then pushing out with magic, touching the ring-portal…watching as it illuminated on the ring structure while his small aerial drone descended, hovering by his right side "Stay there, in case there is anything problematic hidden from any blast"
"As you say" she offered back through her mask comms, stepping to stand behind him as Tarvek willed the ring-portal to life, activating the runic sigils that opened it to earth in her dimension. Not only that but he focused on where he wished to go, feeling the ancient device hum to life, then erupting a towering blast of not-water up and down through either side of the inside of the ring. The long-settled rubble, even the rock-metal, was blasted into energy, then sucked into the event horizon. Focus…focusing…and, unlike with the previous device, the surface shifted from silvery water, to an image of an empty room filled with…stuff?
'Artifacts maybe?' Tarvek wondered, sending through the drone…
Noticing where the gate had formed…
'Oh, that's a nuisance. Just blew a hole in the wall on the other side' he thought, then decided it was best to head in – as soon enough someone would notice that as he saw signs in human English about a museum "We'd best go, and be fast. The ring opening just blew a hole in a wall, and we had best get into hiding before they notice that"
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