Going with an overwhelming display of close quarters force, then polymorphing into a human form…and then having Janet talking to the terrified native soldiery…
While less than ideal had yielded something resembling good results, the most important of which was access to armed transportation away from the combat zone. That was vital. Largely as the native aerial forces were badly outclassed, even if the not-Asgard appeared to be rather poor in ground combat Tarvek judged based on the continued intercepts. Truth be told…they likely weren't very good at aerial combat either, but their combat platforms in the air were shielded, while the natives craft were not. That was a difficult situation to overcome at the best of times, and this was clearly not one of those situations as he, now polymorphed into a human, stepped out of the cab of the military truck.
The situation for the native human military forces was proving less than ideal, and not so good from Tarvek's point of view as the ring-portal device had been taken…
And an invasion fleet was on the way. That was the simple conclusion of his access to the local earth, and system intercepts of the not-Asgards communications. Days at the most till orbital insertion of a fleet from all indicators. That…was bad. Not just for the native humans of this earth, but from Tarvek's point of view as the not-Asgard had clearly detected him, and allowing them gain access to any knowledge…
Was also bad. Duty also compelled to give some degree of aid to the resistance to such a force, as his and Janet's presence had clearly brought forward any invasion schedule or ensured that such a thing would occur. The second was less likely, as there was an invasion fleet on the way, and those things took time. But there was clearly a change of plans upon activation of the 'stargate' as Janet called it, evidenced by the advanced forces attacking, and seizing, the device. Matched with seeking answers for who'd used it – backed up by sensors capable of finding Tarvek through unknown energy reactions much to Tarvek's concerns.
'Aid then is both honourable as well as pragmatic' he reminded himself, stepping down from the vehicle's cab, looking around at the hurried efforts at a camouflaged encampment out beyond the urban lands. Armed soldiers were watching him warily, but also not truly aware of his danger in human disguise as Tarvek forced upon a faux smile to his face. This was fucked. They were all fucked. But there was Duty to follow for all of them, to greater and lesser extents, so it best to place one foot forward, and then walk the Path. However hard and difficult that Path would be.
"…doesn't look very alien"
'Ah, the leader…or closest local civilian command structure' Tarvek heard said, turning his gaze towards a worried looking human male with greying brown hair in a suit, standing beside another human male clad in military uniform. The actual leader of this nation was currently uncontactable…possibly, though Tarvek had indicators on his suit's comm sniffers that the man was being brought elsewhere right. Away from the attack that just occurred, and away from himself, the strange, scary, shapeshifting alien that had appeared in the middle of an alien invasion 'Best foot forward as they saying went upon Bastion'
"Indeed I am" Tarvek stated, voice from his suit rather than his polymorphed body, startling the human as Tarvek's suit identified the various armed soldiers around as being insufficiently armed, mostly, to deal with his heavy suit. The vehicles would…but they were aimed away for now. That indicated that they were willing to listen at the very least. Then modulated his voiced back to human "In disguise of course, to avoid misunderstandings with your people. Footage was supplied of my status I was led to believe?"
"That is the situation" the military commander answered for the pair, armed soldiers surrounding himself, and Janet as she came out of the vehicle. Not immediately threatening, Tarvek standing calm and stoic, ignoring them for now "We would demand answers be given to the Deputy Prime Minister about why we are under attack, and the nature of the vessels in the solar system"
"We have nothing to do with them" Tarvek repeated what he'd said, several times, to the minions of these native commanders on the way here "Our arrival was through the ring-portal device, the Stargate as it is called, which is a known event to yourselves in terms of timeline, yes? The alien invaders as you would put it, are a different species entirely and were already, clearly, preparing an invasion of your world. The ring-portal, the Stargate, is a transportation device between planets…and they clearly wished to cut such a connection. The prisoner I gifted thee should be able to answer more on such"
The not-Asgard who was taken elsewhere after Tarvek had made the natives aware of what the meat-bag held in Tarvek's hands had been. Largely because they were afraid it might be trackable, while also being aware that Tarvek wasn't going to a laboratory somewhere. He then shrugged "Our presence is entirely unrelated, and we would merrily have stayed hidden upon your earth till our departure in the next few weeks if not for the inconvenient arrival of these unwanted visitors"
It was the other human male, the Deputy Leader that answered now, looking stressed "So you admit to spying on us?"
"Yes" best to be blunt Tarvek decided as Janet stood beside him warily, looking around "Though not for any malicious reasons. We are members of an exploratory team cast adrift by circumstances beyond our control. To be as honest as possible with thee…we simply intended to rest and resupply upon this earth before departing with those supplies. The previous world we were upon was…lacking in such. Being that it was destroyed long ago"
"That is…hard to believe" came the reply "How do we know that you aren't, ah…plotting some…"
"Very little beyond what proof we have already supplied" Tarvek stated, again bluntly "But we have already slain many of these invaders, and my combat gear is sufficient to enable my escape from our current situation if we so choose. Our decision to aid you, in this crisis, should count towards that goodwill. And to be brutal in honesty and assessment…they are far more advanced than your military forces, planet wide. Such elaborate trickery would not be needed"
That much should have been obvious by now as the aerial forces deployed by the not-Asgard…had easily routed the humans' aerial forces that had arrived from land-based bases, as well as 'American' ones that had flown in from sea-borne carriers. Such was the trouble of facing a superior foe in battle when you had no shields or insufficient armour. The ground-based situation seemed much closer in combat capacity, which meant Tarvek had an advantage for now there. Opposite him the human's 'leader' glared, then frowned, engaging in a few clipped words with the military officer before speaking again "Then why did not warn us?"
"Because we did not know they were there" he answered with a shrug "Our method of travel is via dimensional manipulation rather than travelling the stellar void, and this was never an intended mission. Merely an effort at surviving being, temporarily, shipwrecked as you could describe it. The stargate ring-portal merely brought us here for now"
"Which is now lost" the man answered, shaking his head "You are trapped here then?"
"No, we have other methods to leave this plane" Tarvek stated firmly "But the attack on the device was a means to cut off escape routes from this world most likely. Still, I offer what limited aid that can be provided. Aid that will be vital to you in this conflict. Most importantly…access to the invaders' communication network. Or, well, access to the unsecure parts of the system at the very least. I have already captured and provided a prisoner as proof of my capabilities"
"Out of the goodness of your heart?" came the suspicious question he'd expected…
He shook his head, arms folded across his chest "No. We expect payment in resources to support our own efforts, nor should you expect us to commit suicide in battle for your interests. I fight well, and keep my oaths, but do not expect miracles either, nor cheap in service"
Mercenary work was the only recourse now. Either by selling some basic technology to aid the humans of this earth, or by helping in means to overcome the sheer cliff of advantage the not-Asgard possessed. All of which was not helped by the divided nature of this earth…though that disunity at least had maintained some large military forces by his brief analysis since arrival. Overcoming the aerial vehicles might be viable through atomics, though the larger starships would likely shrug off such…but it was better than a one-sided slaughter of being caught unaware. That remained the main issue in his brief moments of thinking, as even if Janet was determined to aid this earth – the truth was there was limited things that could be done.
Still…efforts had to be made. Both for honour's sake, and to try maintaining this earth as a future Bridging Site for any Pathfinder effort to return Janet home. That and it was an ideal base of operations or fall-back point if it stayed free and even partially intact. First came this discussion with the local native polity, and then contacting the major power blocs through them. At best there was a few days, though likely less, before an invasion fleet arrived, and Tarvek could only hope they were as foolish as comms traffic indicated – in that they intended to enter atmosphere and engage the native humans. That gave some degree of a small chance, compared to an orbital force that would bombard out of range of any defenders. One could only hope for the best…
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