Private Infinite Ruins

[Persephone Dashiell]

TRASK | Infinity Gate Ruins

​

Persephone wasn't a major fan of cold environments. Now she could wear incredibly cute outfits but that did not stop her face from freezing. Or any other little bits of exposed skin, something always showed through, even with the best laying job possible. Standing out on a massive ice sheet didn't make things easier. However the only way to get to the gate ruins was through a small cavern in the ice, then head straight down. No risk of thawing at least.

Zee stood behind her, his optical sensors searching for their other half of this adventure, another scholar named Meri Vale .Persephone had heard she was a wizard with linguistics, same as her adoptive mother. She needed the other teenager to help translate what would be found in the gate. The Kwa were long gone and this gate had no exploration or mapping done on it. Surprising but they were far flung out and hyperspace travel was a thing now, no one needed gates.

However, the Kwa suddenly disappeared. Perhaps they would get some answers as to why. At the least the site would be logged and cataloged. Perhaps she could get Kalinda University's fledging archelogy department to take more interest, depending on what was found.

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri Vale had discovered very quickly that there were two kinds of cold: the sort that could be solved with proper preparation, and whatever Trask had decided to become. The wind seemed to bypass every precaution she had taken and settle directly into her bones, leaving her pulling her scarf higher across her face as she followed the ice toward the cavern entrance. The fact that Persephone appeared equally miserable was oddly reassuring.

Pausing at the opening, Meri peered into the darkness beneath the ice.

"I have reached the conclusion that ancient civilizations selected excavation sites based entirely upon how inconvenient they could make future archaeological work," she observed with complete seriousness. "If this place contains frozen staircases, submerged chambers, and thirty-thousand-year-old inscriptions, I believe we may have achieved a nearly complete set."

The humor faded as she studied the cavern more carefully. Unlike most ruins, there was remarkably little known about this one. No reliable surveys, no established translations, and almost no surviving record explaining what had happened to the colony that once lived here. That interested her far more than the gate itself.

"Lost civilizations usually leave evidence behind," she said while adjusting her gloves. "Wars, disasters, migrations, economic collapse. Entire settlements do not simply vanish without a story."

Her gray eyes shifted toward Persephone.

"Which means either the evidence is still here, or nobody recognized it when they found it."

With that, she stepped toward the entrance. The Infinity Gate itself was impressive, but Meri found herself thinking instead about the people who had built it. Someone had crossed the stars to settle this frozen place, lived here for generations, and then disappeared so completely that only fragments remained.

Somewhere beneath the ice, she suspected, the rest of the story was waiting.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"We will have to leave instructions for future generations - not to make the ruins so hard to get to."

Persephone started to descend into the cavern that held the Infinity Gate. Meri Vale would follow and Zee, her droid, would watch their backs by descending behind them at a cautious distance. It was slow going, things were slippery and icy, and while she had small teeth on her boots to assist with grip, moving quickly would end up being a disaster in a small space. Much of where they were going wouldn't open up until they reached the Gate itself.

"You in university? Or do you work on your own? As in your own linguistics business?"

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri followed carefully behind Persephone, one gloved hand occasionally brushing the icy wall beside her as they descended deeper into the cavern. The treacherous footing demanded her full attention, given she had no desire to become the first archaeologist in recorded history to reach an ancient Infinity Gate by accidentally tumbling into it. "Agreed," she replied with complete, unblinking seriousness. "If we discover evidence that the builders intentionally selected difficult locations, I intend to consider it a personal affront."

As the passage carried them further beneath the ice, Meri found herself oddly grateful for the company. She often explored ruins alone, not out of a preference for isolation, but because most people quickly lost interest after the first few hours spent translating damaged inscriptions or discussing ancient construction methods. Persephone, however, seemed genuinely invested in the excursion, a rare trait that made the frigid trip considerably more enjoyable.

When the question regarding her career arose, Meri navigated a particularly slippery section of ice before answering softly. "Neither, technically. I am a student at the academy in Theed, focusing my studies on history, linguistics, architecture, and archaeology. I do not have a business; I suspect I would be very poor at charging people for information once I discovered something interesting." She allowed a faint hint of self-awareness to color her expression as she added, "I do explore independently quite often, though, usually because an obscure textual reference consumes my thoughts until I locate the original source. This has occasionally resulted in questionable decisions."

Turning her gray eyes toward her companion, her tone shifted to one of genuine academic curiosity. "What about you? You seem unusually enthusiastic about investigating a thirty-thousand-year-old ruin beneath a glacier—which I mean entirely as a compliment. Most people become significantly less enthusiastic when words like 'ice cave,' 'forgotten civilization,' and 'possible collapse hazard' enter the discussion."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Theed?" Persephone paused, debating if she knew the surname of Vale. Nothing was coming to mind immediately. "You are part of a noble family I assume? I don't believe I have met anyone who states they are from Theed who is not nobility or who has a family involved with the government. Nice you are allowed to explore independently."

Carefully she was making her way down the icy steps, using the narrow wall for some bracing. Maybe if she did fall she would fall face first into the icey corridor rather than slam down on the steps. Maybe. She wasn't counting on making it down without a scrape.

"University of Kalinda. Didn't really want to go there but it was one of the safer options and my parents convinced me by furnishing an apartment. Couldn't turn my nose up at that. Not that best history and archeology department but its trying. Which means I get a lot of hands on opportunity so I can't get completely upset at how things turned out."

Meri Vale​

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri carefully picked her way down another icy step, more worried about her datapad taking a hit than herself.

"Actually, no," she said easily. "I go to the Academy on Naboo, but I'm not from Theed. I grew up on Panatha. It's gone now." As if Persephone might not already know that.

Her face stayed calm as she moved lower.

"Depends on what you mean by noble, I guess. My family was...well-connected, a while ago."

It sounded like ancient history when it happened within her lifetime.

"These days I'm mostly an archaeology student who sometimes ends up in places most people wouldn't."

She listened with clear interest as Persephone described Kalinda University, a flicker of amusement on her face.

"An apartment is a pretty good reason to pick a school. And chances to get your hands dirty are worth more than most places admit. A lot of programs just teach you how archaeology is supposed to go. Way fewer actually let you figure out how it really works."

That difference clearly meant something to her.

"Besides, a department that's still growing means fewer set ideas. There's something interesting about helping build a field instead of just stepping into it."

She paused, looking at Persephone with real curiosity.

"So what got you into archaeology in the first place? Most people see old ruins and think they're just staring at the past. Archaeologists spend years learning how to ask why those ruins are even there."

Up ahead, the passage dropped into darkness, leading toward a thirty-thousand-year-old Infinity Gate and a lost Kwa colony. Naturally, the idea put her in a better mood.

"Though I'll admit," she added, peering into the cavern, "if this trip shows us why a whole Kwa settlement vanished...I might be weird for a few days."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Well connected back on Pantha? When it existed?" Persephone paused. "Imagine it would translate elsewhere, look at all the Nobles that have fled into High Republic space."

Just a trend she had noticed. More well-connected students around university. Bumping into them at higher-end bars and clubs. She had not got deep into their histories though, many could have been sent to relative safety by their parents.

"Archaeology was more of an interest because I felt going into fashion would ruin my love of fashion. Believe it or not many of the principles intertwine. So instead of selling fashion, I plan to open an antiquities shop after university and continue to explore. Fence artifacts, not slacks. Going to look fashionable doing it too."

Persephone chuckled at her own joke, shaking her head as she continued to navigate down the steps. Narrow, she had noticed. Behind them she could hear Zee coming down, metal scraping against the ice. She imagined her droid was more stable by design than herself.

"Doubt the Kwa secrets are down here undiscovered but crazier things have happened. Hoping we can pick up an ancient piece of technology and bring it to the surface though."

Another pause.

"Why do you do this? Since you asked me."

Meri Vale​

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri picked her way down another icy step, her focus divided between the talk and the very real chance of learning how slippery Kwa construction really was. Persephone's comment about displaced nobles earned a considering look. "Maybe," she said. "Haven't really run into any since Panatha was destroyed." The words came out before she thought them through. A second later, she realized what she'd implied. You don't usually separate nobles from regular people unless you've dealt with them enough to tell the difference. It was a bit annoying, though Persephone seemed way more into archaeology than politics anyway. Her talk about fashion and old artifacts got a faint smile. "That might be one of the stranger career ideas I've heard lately. But I can see the connection. Fashion, buildings, art, and old relics. They all tell you something about the people who made them. You're still studying history. You're just picking a more stylish part of it."

As they went deeper into the cavern, Meri thought about the question more seriously than she expected. "I've always been into how places got to be the way they are," she said. "Even when I was little, I liked exploring. Once I could go off on my own, I spent a ton of time sketching buildings, ruins, and old landmarks. Most people look at something and ask what it is. I'm usually wondering why it's there, who built it, and what they thought was important enough to stick around." A faint smile touched her lips. "Turns out archaeology is pretty much all about asking those things."

She stared into the darkness where the passage continued downward toward the long-lost gate. "I guess I like the thought that places hold onto things even after people have forgotten them," she said, her words hanging in the cold air. "Someone built this colony thirty thousand years ago. They lived here, worked here, probably griped about the weather." Her mouth twitched a little. "And somehow, we're still talking about them now."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"So you do this as a type of legal breaking and entering?"

Persephone chuckled a little at the thought. She could understand a similar sentiment, perhaps that was a bit of the black sheep Dashiells coming out in her.

"Seems to me you like the exploration but also the mystery. I can appreciate that. Maybe in a thousand years some other archeologists will stumble on something we left behind and speculate on us. I doubt it, I mean I am not that interesting but you maybe. Be sure to leave a greasy fingerprint behind on your end."

She wondered if Meri Vale had some type of hangup about being forgotten. Wasn't a major concern of hers. The galaxy was wide and filled with beings far more important and powerful than herself. Eeking out a small piece of the pie in the future was the only goal in sight.

Leaving the corridor they came upon the gate. Persephone paused, wondering if the gate was half buried or it was meant to look like that. There was also the subject of ice damage.

"So this was powered or some force wizardry you think?"

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri smiled to herself as she carefully took another icy step. "I don't think it counts as breaking and entering if the door's already open and nobody's around," she said, completely serious, a flicker of amusement reaching her eyes. "And I wouldn't do it to someone's private property. Ancient ruins are different. If they've been abandoned for thousands of years, the owners aren't exactly expecting visitors." Persephone's comment about leaving fingerprints made her think for a moment. "I suppose archaeologists do leave traces of themselves. Ideally not greasy fingerprints, though." The corner of her mouth twitched. "I like the idea of someone centuries from now finding evidence that two archaeologists stood here together and trying to reconstruct what we were doing. They'd probably get half of it wrong."

Then they entered the chamber, and Meri stopped. The ruined Infinity Gate loomed from the frozen cavern wall like the skeleton of something impossibly ancient, its immense stone frame still commanding awe despite the damage and the ice that had claimed it. For several moments she simply stared, the cold forgotten. "I don't think it was just the Force," she said quietly, stepping closer to study the surviving stonework. "Whatever powered this had to be extraordinarily reliable. You don't build something this large without understanding exactly how it's meant to work. And I don't think it ever stood alone. This wall is all that's left of something much bigger." Her gaze slowly climbed the weathered arch, her gray eyes bright with quiet wonder. "Imagine seeing it when it still worked."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"I think all archeologists get it half-wrong. How many times do we see they were roommates when clearly the evidence points to otherwise. What are two dead people going to do if you call them lovers? Haunt you for slander?"

Always amusing to Persephone when she stumbled upon such a thing. Her own feet drifted to have her stand under the arch, squinting upwards. Built long ago for reasons relatively unknown. Everyone knew it was powered question was more of how and what. Not much of a historian oddly enough, she wasn't aware if this was built around the time of hyperspace travel for the civilization.

"Hypermatter reactor maybe?"

Meri Vale ​

 

[Meri Vale]

Persephone's remark caught Meri completely by surprise. She blinked once before laughing, the sound echoing beneath the arch.

"Okay...that's terrible." She covered her mouth for a second, still smiling. "But I haven't heard that joke before."

Her grin lingered as she looked back up at the ancient structure. "It is a real problem, though." She shrugged lightly. "Most of the time we're trying not to claim something we can't actually prove. If all we find are two people buried together, there are a lot of possible explanations." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Sometimes I wonder if we're so worried about being wrong that we accidentally become...boring." A sheepish smile appeared. "'Close associates' probably explains a lot less history than we'd like to admit."

Her attention drifted back to the arch, curiosity replacing the amusement. She walked a slow circle around part of the base, eyes moving over the seams between the stones.

"Maybe." She crouched slightly to get a better look. "Hypermatter would make sense if this really was a functioning gateway." She reached out, stopping just short of touching the weathered surface. "I keep expecting to find where everything connected together."

She frowned, scanning the surrounding ruins.

"Power conduits. Cooling systems. Maintenance access. Something." She looked back toward Persephone. "Maybe we just haven't found it yet...but it feels like there should be more."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"I think there was probably more. A lot more. However....it was stolen."

Persephone gestured around the space. It was vast and the way things were spaced out made her think there was more than just the gates. Even if she thought about modern technology there was still a good distance around everything. Head craned up backwards, looking for signs of any pulleys or levers that might have been on the ceiling. Tracks for equipment.

"Technology is valuable. Times get hard. Someone turned it in for scrap."

Meri Vale​

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri's expression fell slightly as she followed Persephone's gesture, looking around the enormous space again with that possibility in mind. Suddenly, the emptiness itself seemed like evidence. She had been looking for what remained when perhaps she should have been paying more attention to what was missing.

"That's...actually really sad," she admitted, moving a little closer to one of the bare sections of wall. "Imagine surviving thirty thousand years just for someone to decide you're worth more as scrap." Her disappointment lasted only a moment before curiosity inevitably won out. "But if they took the valuable parts, maybe they left marks where everything used to connect. Mounting points, conduits, something like that."

She raised her light toward the walls and ceiling, following Persephone's example as she searched for anything that didn't quite belong in the otherwise ancient construction.

"We might not need the machinery to figure out what was here."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"I don't really blame anyone...I mean, things are tough out there. If it came between an ancient technology or feeding yourself then...." Shoulders shrugged. "I also blame archaeology programs for not protecting the site. Its clear we weren't the first out here. Been here long before you or I were born. Someone higher up had to know."

Hand brushed against some stone, looking at a mark. Flashlight came out to examine it better, holding it at a diagonal to see if the mark was raised. It was. Head cocked to the side, trying to see what it could be. Maybe she was looking too deep into it.

"Tool mark or animal? Even if tool marks, could have been those raiders we just mentioned. Even previous students like us who got over eager...or private collectors. Lots of real rich folk out there with private art and artifact collections. You would be surprised."

Meri Vale​

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri's expression softened at that, and she gave a reluctant little nod. She didn't like the thought of pieces of the site being stripped away, but Persephone had a point. "I suppose it's easier to be angry about it when you're not the one deciding between preserving history and eating." Her gaze wandered across the vast chamber. "But someone should've protected it once they knew it was here. Even documenting what was left would've given us some idea of what disappeared afterward."

She moved closer when Persephone found the mark, crouching slightly to examine it from another angle without touching it herself. "Could be any of those," Meri murmured, squinting at the raised edge. "I'd want to find another one before guessing. If it's an animal, there might be more around the same height. If it's a tool..." Her mouth twisted thoughtfully. "Then I'd really like to know whether it's thirty thousand years old or thirty."

The mention of private collectors earned a small grimace. "Oh, I believe you. Put something ancient behind glass and it's history. Put the same thing in someone's mansion and suddenly it's a conversation piece." She glanced toward Persephone with a faint smile. "I might be a little biased about that."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"No, I agree. Once a university had been alerted then someone should have came out and secured the site. I've discovered quite a bit that is just out there in the wilds. Even on planets with involved governments."

Using her flashlight, she roughly estimated the height of the mysterious marks then methodically started out searching for the next marks. If there were any. This was the 'boring' part of archaeology for most people. Persephone thought of it more of a game akin to a murder mystery. It was up to them to guess and theorize what may have happened.

"One one hand artifacts should be available to the public." She paused, examining a spot. "On the other it will be nice for me to sell items in the future and I guess its better than some items being destroyed. Kind of like here. Maybe stuff was sold for scrap. Maybe its sitting in some Admiral's office. We can't be sure."

Meri Vale​

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri moved a little farther along the wall, keeping her flashlight around the same height as the first mark while she searched for another. "I think I'd rather they be somewhere people can actually see them," she said after a moment. "But...I guess sitting in someone's office is better than being melted down for scrap." Her nose wrinkled slightly. "Neither one sounds very good, though."

She angled her flashlight across another section of stone, squinting when a shadow briefly looked promising before realizing it was only an uneven patch in the surface. "I don't know if I could sell something I found," Meri admitted. "I'd keep wondering who made it, or what it was for, or if there was something about it I hadn't figured out yet." A small laugh escaped her. "I'd probably end up with a room full of old things and nowhere to put any of them."

The thought of the missing pieces made her look around the cavern again, this time with renewed curiosity. "It would be kind of amazing if some of this stuff is still out there, though." She glanced toward Persephone. "Like we could find a picture someday and realize, 'Wait, that came from here.'" Her smile grew at the idea. "I'd probably get way too excited about that."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"I've sold some stuff I've found. Mainly Jedi or Ashlan Crusade relics. Nothing I was attached to. Nothing groundbreaking. It was just rotting away in some ruins anyway. Might as well make some profit on things less historically significant."

Gaze glanced back at Meri Vale , curious about the other young woman. They didn't know much about one another but Persephone suspected they would be running into one another time and time again. Archaeology in this 'verse seemed like a small field for a universe so large. Maybe more called themselves treasure hunters than actual archaeologists.

"Whats your big goal? Like...when you're a little older? Do this full time? Hunt down a certain piece? Lease out your services?"

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri didn't have to think very long about that one. "Do this full time," she answered, looking around the ancient structure with a smile that made it obvious she meant it. "Definitely. I want to go places like this, study them, figure out who was here and why they built what they did. Maybe find things nobody's seen in thousands of years." Even saying it aloud made her sound a little more excited, and she ducked her head briefly as though realizing she'd started rambling. "I know that's probably what every archaeology student says, though."

She considered Persephone's other suggestions while moving her flashlight along the wall, still searching for another mark that might match the first. "I don't think there's one particular thing I want to find. At least not yet." Meri shrugged lightly. "And I don't really care if I become famous for finding something either. I mean, it'd be nice if people thought I was good at what I do, but I don't need my name in a history book." That idea had never held the same appeal as the discovery itself.

Her smile returned as she glanced back toward Persephone. "I'd rather be the person who figures out something everyone else missed." She paused, thinking about it before adding with a small laugh, "Or find some place everyone insists was used for one thing and prove they were completely wrong about it." There was something much more appealing about that. "What about you? Is there something you're hoping to find someday?"

Persephone Dashiell