Earth, southeast of Pozo Colorado, former Paraguay [2029-12-02]
His adrenaline high, he peeked from behind a tree. Hmm, so it was just a bear. The animal spotted him almost instantly. Shit! I better attack quickly, thought Zeph. His situation wasn’t the best, but he knew he could do it.
“Air Dance, Tiger Spring!”
The buffs worked and, as predicted, he managed to move before the animal could react, even after he lost the element of surprise.
“I cast FIST!” he shouted.
“Ok, use two d12,” Gregory, the GM, said.
“Wait, I leveled this talent up recently. Let’s see…”
Gregory sighed tiredly. “Zeph, I warned you to inform me when you make changes on your sheet! Fuck it, better prepare yourself. Suddenly the bear seems beefier.”
“Oi, that’s unfair!” said Zeph, pointing at him.
“Would you prefer a thunderbolt from the sky?” asked Gregory, smiling sweetly.
“Just get on with it, you are blocking the queue,” Alana said impatiently. “Why do I even play with you? I feel like I am wasting my life.”
“Because the net isn’t reaching this pisshole, and you run out of shows long ago,” Zeph answered, fully concentrating on his dices. “Just treat it like a training.”
“Training my ass. Even if I was going to leave this world, it’s useless!” she said, leaning back on her chair, her hands dangling limply as she sighed in the direction of the ceiling.
“You never know, searching for exploits is a skill in itself. Besides, we need entertainment either way,” Zeph said, finishing his attack on the bear. “Alex, wake up! Your turn!” the fierce battle continued.
A good four years ago, around one year after the Apocalypse, Zeph and a few like-minded individuals formed a group of Fissure Huntsmen, nicknamed the “Apes”. Their main job was to locate newly formed Fissures and check their characteristics, then send a word to clients who could be interested. Their main client, and initially a sponsor, was Logan – an old and very powerful Eltear, who was looking for another ice habitat. It was the reason he spent the last four years on Earth. The first world he ventured into, not opening towards any other besides the Earth, didn’t leave him a choice. Although, the flow of time there was much faster than the average.
Most of the magitech they possessed was from Logan, equipment necessary for their job and expensive as hell. Good thing they were considered his protégés, though before MIE they had a lot of troubles. Even if the gear allowed them to defend themselves, and they visited less populated areas, some people still died. The group now had 38 people, with six field teams, five persons each.
Their team, the “Gibbon Zero”, was stationed in South America, on the territory of former Paraguay, for almost a year now. The climate was hot, the land consisting mostly of savanna and steppe. The frequency of Temporal Fissures showing in the vicinity was high, which meant in around 500 km radius one showed every two weeks on average. A lot of waiting and scanning, a lot of free time to kill.
The good old days of flying between continents, on client request or to confirm rumors and check possible locations of Fissures, were long gone. The “gold rush” came to an end, even before world fuel reserves started to dwindle. Now, most groups had their territory, the MIE making sure all disputes were preemptively solved by higher-ups.
The main goal of the Apes was to find a world with a System to migrate. Most of the people were waiting for a stable Fissure though, to be able to go back in the future. No one could tell if a world was connected further to others, so a one-way trip was risky. But during all those years they didn’t manage to find even one Temporal Fissure with a System, so some people started to accept the possibility that they will not move from Earth. Especially because life was looking better nowadays.
The history of fighting, with wildlife in the Fissures and with other groups, allowed the group to learn much about the use of military equipment. The training was a necessity, and the experience built up. But they were far from finished with learning. After the nice afternoon entertainment session came the time for more professional matters.
Zeph and the rest went to the mess hall. If you could call that the two tables within a small wood and brick hut. The locals sourced some food in exchange for building materials, so thankfully no one from the team was assigned as a cook. Learning survival cooking was one thing, only Zeph tried to learn the proper way to use a kitchen. Sadly, he could eat with gusto anything that wasn’t rotten, so the flavor of his creations oscillated randomly between inedible and almost delicious. Alana, on the other hand, could potentially kill with her dish. The rest of the team considered weaponizing this rare talent, but she rejected the idea. She could make poisons without wasting food.
“Yo!” Jorge was already in the mess hall, eating dinner.
“You are early. Found something?” Alana asked.
“Grab the food first, but yes,” he answered, trying to roll out a flex-screen on the table with one hand.
The rest did just that and gathered around the screen. A second table joined the first.
“There are strong fluctuations of Prana in sector 34, it’s around 200 km away from here. The probability of fissure forming is above 70%. The pattern is unknown, as far as the long-range scanner can tell,” he explained, while everyone was checking the data on the digital map.
“So, an anomaly?” Zeph asked.
“Iguazu Falls, at least it will be scenic…” Alana muttered.
“As close to an anomaly as we can get. But it’s too early to say for sure,” Jorge answered. “We don’t have a proper framework for System-infected” —Zeph made a sour face— ”worlds either way, so it’s impossible to say. But the terrain will be a problem for sure…”
“Really? Did you lose your edge? We don’t even have to patrol anymore because of the scanner upgrades. After so much time I can take something more adrenaline-inducting. I have enough of those hellish plains and daily training,” Alana commented vigorously.
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“Which ‘training’ do you me—"
“We will start the relocation at midnight. Continue normally for today.” Alex said interrupting Jorge and standing up. His meal finished.
“Aye Sir!” Everyone answered together, some not so vigorously anymore.
After the meal and briefing, the training session began for everyone except Jorge, who continued the sentry duty. Martial arts, melee weapons, shooting. Each of the Apes was required to choose and specialize in at least one weapon or style for all three, besides learning the basics in every field. Of course, each team had to have members with complementary skill sets. They couldn’t be called masters, but years of experience and training allowed their talents to unfold.
The first hour was for martial arts. Most trained a mixed style named Mima, prepared by the specialists from HQ. Some unholy combination of Chinese, Korean, Russian, and USA main military styles, with some others mixed in, created to better counter the original styles and learn more about them. It relied strongly on adaptability and reflexes, so not everyone was learning it. Alex specialized in modified Nova Scrimia’s school to better account for dagger-fighting. Gregory used Aikido. Both had previous experience with those styles. This part of the training was least important, as they weren’t expecting any conflicts with human groups anymore, but it was good as a warm-up and as an alternative for melee in the new world in case they lose a weapon. Besides sparring, they had access to an AI teacher and simple sparring droids. The AI program was analyzing a video input to give instructions. The droids were basically a big moving frame with simplified limbs to simulate hand-to-hand combat. They looked really ridiculous, but as the old saying goes, “If it looks stupid but works, it isn't stupid”. Fissure Huntsmen organizations were quite rich, and nothing stimulates development as much as conflict does, so some branches of technology grew quickly after the Apocalypse.
Next was three hours of melee training. It was the most important part, as those skills should be crucial in a new world. They needed a world with a System, so logically speaking intelligent life should exist there. There was a chance a technology level was high on the other side, but before they acquire any worthwhile gear, those melee weapons will give them an edge in any conflict. Firearms should work, but the ammunition will end quickly. Alex trained with knives, Alana with an ax, both also using throwable variants. Gregory with sword and shield combo. Jorge and Zeph with spear, atlatls, and javelin.
The final hour was spent on shooting training. After physical exercises it was a challenge it was meant to be. Alex was a sniper, Alana used an assault rifle, Gregory was a grenadier, Jorge used a battle rifle. Zeph has taken the risks and chose a military crossbow alongside handguns, taking the role of a scout as the crossbow was a silent weapon. He decided to use something that he could build himself. Making gunpowder, and bullets, wasn’t that easy. Most of the time, this part of the training was also a team effort, to drill group maneuvers.
As night came, they started preparing for relocation, packing private items, and preparing their gear. Zeph and Alana also prepared their packs meant for leaving Earth. In Zeph's case, around a quarter of the pack’s volume was taken by plastic micro-printed books. It was the safest bet if he wanted to take some knowledge with him, he didn’t want to rely on his memory alone. Especially because things like a blueprint of a gun or the chemical process of creating plastic weren’t exactly easy to remember. The term "micro-printed" means they require at least a magnifying glass to read. He had chosen knowledge from his specialization – bioengineering, and some academic basics from all other science fields. Also, some potentially profitable blueprints. There was a lot, but most important was knowledge about atomic interactions, as he was quite certain it was the most advanced, yet basic knowledge the Earth population has produced. Some useful stuff was in that part too, like different types of materials and how to make them: metal alloys, bulletproof glass, basic non-flammable materials, etc. The rest of his pack was filled with dry provisions, camping gear, spare parts for his crossbow, some ammunition, a basic crafting kit, and a little gold. He had this pack ready for years now, he really hoped all this would finally become useful.
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Midnight was a flurry of movement. Everything essential was packed in the big truck, ready to be deployed as a temporary base. Everyone had taken a few hours of sleep before departing. A little after midnight, the group was on their way. It would take around 11 hours to make it to the Falls, so they should arrive before noon. In those times, as fuel was a scarce luxury, traveling on land was done much easier and cheaper with hybrid magitech-electric engines. No one was really in a hurry, either. There was no competition after all.
They used old road infrastructure. After the damage done by the Apocalypse, and five years without much maintenance, the roads weren’t in the best state. But new technology and lack of traffic allowed them to drive a little faster than in the old times, not to mention that Gregory was an excellent driver. A bumpy ride that was, through the savanna in the hot sun, but the destination was something completely different. Tropical forest started to surround them two hours before arriving. The air changed, with more moisture and a new fragrance. Heavy, but so much more refreshing air. Or maybe it was refreshing only because of the change itself, after spending so much time in the savanna any change was a positive one. Either way, the more greenery, the better everyone felt.
They heard the waterfalls before they saw them. They stopped southwest of the Falls as the distortion was placed almost directly on them. Setting the temporary base took them the rest of the day. Some local representatives came to get information, help secure the perimeter, and scout. Evening came and with it, the Fissure finally formed.
Strange tension could be felt in the air. The valley started blurring and darkening. A sound, similar to a loud whine of wind mixed with a low sound of a breaking glacier, deafened them. The tension started vibrating, strong wind hit them soon after. White and blue flecks of light came into existence, a proof of Prana and Mana interacting with each other on a large scale. The whole show was very ominous, like horror mist coming to life amidst a mountain-breaking event, and lasted for a good minute. The terrain seemed to squirm as they lost sight of the Falls. They could feel the ground start to shake and heard a vibrating thundering sound, then the tension disappeared entirely. The Fissure started to expand, like a time-lapse of a natural disaster in an ever-changing environment. Before the expanding blur could hide everything, they could see vegetation withering before their eyes, the terrain deforming, changing shape. Strange plants appeared in the previously occupied places, more vibrant in color, seemingly from nowhere.
It took almost 15 minutes before the earthquake and the expansion of the blur stopped. Mana and Prana were still negotiating borders, though. After the breathtaking show, it was time for work. The team started to run first area scans, while the local forces scouted the area around, reporting the visual borders.
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At around 3 AM of the next day, the team gathered in the main tent.
“This looks…strange,” Gregory said, perturbed.
"There is more alien-life activity near the border than normal, too," Jorge added.
“Jorge, are you sure nothing is malfunctioning? Those reads aren’t normal at all,” Alex said.
“I did the troubleshooting three times already. I also tested manually taken samples. The Mana in the Fissure is not only less toxic to Earth’s life, it is in fact being assimilated into some of Earth’s plants. Also, it seems like some species of flora are merging with the alien ones,” he explained.
“That would explain the ridiculous range of this Fissure…” Alana said in low voice.
“The Mana sample still shows the same toxicity outside the Fissure, though,” he added.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The excitement started to overwhelm them. Like during the first love confession received, they all lost themselves for a moment.
They found it. It seems they finally found it.
“…”
“We’ve found it...” Zeph helpfully summarized.
“Let’s not get cocky. It seems it isn’t a stable one… how long do we have Jorge?” Alex rebutted.
“I would say about a week, but it’s hard to estimate without prolonged surveillance,” he answered.
“You all have 3 hours of rest. We are getting in with the first light. But before that, we should finish the report for HQ,” Alex ordered.