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