Tarvek allowed Janet to run through first, following behind carefully so his own towering height and bulk didn't accidently crush her by a mis-movement on his part. The strange whooshing energies of the ring-portal filled his senses, though this one was…fainter, the only sound where it sounded like one river flowing beside several others in the previous realm. Lack of use by others he suspected, and then he was stepping forward into a dark building, the ring-portal deactivating behind him with a word and a gesture from the orc pathfinder. The weeks of effort learning the workings of the device allowing him this limited control…and further readings to match to the dimensional energies of this realm. Indeed, it was already enough to know the anchor between here, and Janet's he suspected.

Yet there was no time to think on that, as Tarvek stepped into what…looked to be museum if he had to guess, immediately redirecting his drone through the now circular hole in the wall behind them. No alarms had gone off, which was good, and his HUD wasn't showing any readings indicating cameras. The little boxy device whirred softly as it descended, then moved through the hole behind Tarvek as his human companion lowered her weapon, looking around in concern. Perhaps having gone to the next question now they were through, and that being what next, or how was he going to hide?

"…next?"

Next move it was he considered as the drone exited the building, and then ascended to the sky, showing a vehicle parking area beyond, along with more buildings. That was acceptable, along with the deluge of various signals hitting his systems indicating activity in the radio waves "Now we leave here before our entrance is noted and finding a hiding spot"

"Your…ah, size, might be an issue?" she offered, but starting to move with him as he stepped through the hole in the wall. He suspected the ring-portal of the Stargate had been secured to the wall, or maybe had something painted there. Unimportant for now, as he answered Janet.

"I have a means of disguise into human form" he told her simply, the drone highlighting a rough map on his HUD for the area around them, with energy readings "But, first, we need to get to a hiding spot to study the natives so any such disguise is effective. Hold a moment, I will carry you to make ground quickly while under a cloak"

"What, that's…" she protested as Tarvek placed his weapon back into its backpack sheath, then scooped up the squirming human, slinging her carefully over his should "This is ridiculous!"

He ignored the words of complaint as she did lay still, mumbling those complaints as he activated the optical camouflage systems of his suit. It was far from perfect, but it was a cloudy night here Tarvek could see through the HUD, and the city, and it was a small city he was in, was also less active in this region. Probably late night he suspected as this seemed to be city centre, with a river or maybe a pay looking to run at the edge of his drone's sensors as it rose up higher. There was activity now at the edges, some form of nightly entertainment probably, and Tarvek aimed away from that towards what looked like inactive areas. Towards buildings with low energy signs, or, better yet, those with none.

Humans were about, a few here and there as he ran, several of those few around at night, or one sleeping in a vehicle, another on a bench, glancing in his direction. Seeing nothing he hoped, or, at most, seeing a strange blurry haze in motion as his silencer system reduced the sounds of his heavy steps significantly. Something badly needed as he was running now, Janet grumbling as being carried wasn't comfortable, but staying low in that complaining as she grasped his strategy, scanning buildings as he moved. A building site was a bad idea as it would be active within hours, and, instead he looked for empty buildings, glad to see the designs were within somewhat know 'Western-Atlantic' style civilization. Earths with 'Eastern-Pacific' or 'Afro-East' tended towards far more problematic cultural extremes, especially with a human female as a party member.

'Graffiti! No functional alarms! Beer bottles and trash!' he thought, slowing, then stopping before on building with all the indicators of abandonment. Then noted there was an alarm that might work, but clearly wasn't working well as he noted several homeless humans sleeping or drinking around a campfire down a ramp into an underground area. There was a metal security door into a five-story building, with no signs of any activity from within, and all the various windows on ground floor being grated to keep people out 'We have a winner!'

"Hold a little longer, I just need to access this facility" he told Janet over the comms, ensuring silence on the suit's speakers, and she muttered unhappy agreement as he went to a side metal door. Carefully opening it via lockpicking as the alarm itself was fake upon it, parts of the lock actually faintly rusted. Getting inside then proved easier than he had expected, other than having to place Janet down, then sort of half-bow to walk inside himself. Then closing, and relocking behind him.

"That was damn uncomfortable, and…" Janet was annoyed, then shook herself, weapon at the ready again as she unslung it from her shoulder "We secure the building first? Correct?"

"No, I disguise first" he said, as having to stand like he had a broken back wasn't comfortable, activating his wrist-comp and downloading information from the local radiowaves and scanning it. Instead Tarvek's had went to his chest, taking a breath and focusing, chanting softly, Compass whirring against his chest "Please do not react loudly or violently"

"Why would I…"

Then winced at the discomfort as the polymorph took hold. A skilled mage would be unbothered by such, but Tarvek could admit he wasn't that, and instead had only the Pathfinder course disguise training. It was only momentary as his towering form began to blur, then melt like water to the human female's eyes he suspected, Tarvek's own vision and balance shifting downwards as he 'shrunk'. Where moments before had stood his orcish bulk inside a bipedal war-machine, now stood a shorter human male, dressed in clothing his systems deemed 'culturally appropriate' at a glance. In what seemed to be a 'business suit' for his faintly tanned paler body frame.

Janet's eyes starred at him, blinking rapidly "What the…"

"My disguise function…" Tarvek paused, touching his throat. That was a very…less than intimidating voice, now wasn't it "Hmm? Hmm? Not exactly what I'd planned, but it will have to do"

She studied him a minute, weapon lowered….then reaching forward to either touch or poke his suit, then his right hand, frowning "It feels real!"

"It should, though it is only skin deep" he admitted, trying to get used to the disguise's differences to his regular body "Any damage would immediately dispel it, so, please, don't try and test it out"

Janet was frowning as she still ran a hand over his right arm and hand "Where does the extra mass go?"

"Shunted into a dimensional space I think…though I am not an expert. It's bigger on the inside than the outside ability. I am only trained in its usage, not in its theories. Sorry, heh" he replied with an embarrassed chuckle, left hand rising to rub the back of his new neck "I am still in my armour you understand"

She nodded, stepping back, frown "Okay…not the weirdest thing yet. Up there on the list though"

He shrugged, and Janet waited, looking around, at the signs on the walls in English, faded posters and the like talking about cleaning rotas if Tarvek was reading it correctly "Now, where…"

Tarvek sighed, reaching to the wrist-comp hidden behind his disguise, but activating it, the holo-display illuminating the darkness of the hallway they were in. Upon it came the displays of various channels his suit was detecting, and thankfully the dumb AI of his suit had collated what was needed, just as intended, upon arrival and when he was running here "Provisionally? This is an earth, in what is referred to in multiple broadcasts so far as the Commonwealth of Australia"

Janet blinked, weapon hanging down at ease "Why would the Stargate be in Australia?"

Tarvek shrugged "One like myself would have not the least idea I'm am afraid, as how it came to your people is not known to me"

Likely it had something to do with the inactivity of the ring-portal system in this dimension, likely due to these Gou'ald never finding earth as the story he'd heard from the humans spoke of. But that was only a momentary speculation on his part as he looked around, still seeing the world through his HUD's vision. He continued to scrawl through the various broadcasts, local at least, that did indicate that this earth was within very close parameters to pre-League Bastion Earth's former social norms "But the broadcasts my suit detects are marking this as our location. Late twentieth century, limited chrono-effect from transit from your dimension…"

"Chrono-effect?"

"Time shifts. Different planes often run at different timeline….speeds is the best word" he answered as he scanned through the data giving him the answers he'd just given forth "Its, eh, my apologies, but condensing a multi-season course into our talks is difficult. For now, let me say…we could arrive on planes that are Earth, but radically ahead in years, or the reverse in what you would see as the past. This realm is close to yours, so there is not much shift"

He paused nodding at her "But, as you said, we'd best sweep this building and ensure we have a secure location to work from now, and can rest a while"

"Not go around?"

Tarvek shook his now human head "No, the culture might be similar to yours, and what I expect, but it also might not, or have some specific rules that are radically different. Best to study it from hiding for at least a few days before even attempting to interact with the natives. And that is without mentioning the reaction to our arrival"

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