By Texas-SabreFox

One month, that was how long the voice gave us to prepare because there were five of us and something to do with the next major nexus point for easier transportation of our group and supplies. With one simple term, prepare. for. anything. Which for Raphael and his fellow veterans, that term meant one thing: overkill. It was an eventful but hectic month.

The first two days were spent on planning out what to do and the supplies they would need. It was agreed upon that we needed to standardize on this for the sake of supplies, space, and money. Overkill isn’t cheap after all, everyone sold everything that wasn’t needed for survival and thriving in the world that we were going to. For transportation we were bringing three vehicles and a bike. Military surplus deuce and a half cargo truck with a 400-gallon fuel trailer, Jasper’s deuce and a half RV with a 5ton trailer and motorcycle rack, last and not least Raphael’s F250 converted into a technical with a custom off-roading trailer built around an 8-foot truck bed. Which left the last vehicle being a military surplus diesel powered KLR 650 motorcycle.

In the weapons department, Jasper’s failing gun shop provided the backbone for everything we needed to do from weapons, ammo, and the machining needed to be done. Raphael and the others agreed on four rounds 308 Winchester, 12 ga, 44 mag, and 50 bmg because Jasper had a Desert Tech HTI chambered in 50BMG along with a registered M2 browning and there’s no better way to say fuck you, fuck your cover, fuck the cover and the chuckle fuck behind you than with an M2.

Weapons that we chose to standardize on were the Mossberg 590 shotgun, Ruger Redhawk, and custom made AR10 battle rifles with addition of bolt action uppers for the AR10. Jasper added his MG42 converted MG3, Desert Tech HTI and his M2 as well as the 45-120 sharp rifle he got from his squad back when he was in the SEALs. Jasper also brought paper patch casting molds and related books. For when blackpowder and pure lead bullets became the name of the game again.

Wilson filled a good portion of the library with every single engineering textbook he could get his hands on. Including for some odd reason a computer programming textbook for Nick, but he explained it was to help Nick program any language the locals would use into the computer to show them any movie we brought with us. Which made sense. Nick was a skilled programmer and would have the ability to program new languages into our computers.

Nick set up a drone control station at a newly added computer station and supplied some drone building supplies. The group had to turn down Nick’s pleas to bring along an aircraft engine and propeller so they could build an airplane on the other side, we didn’t have the space, or the fuel and he knew his flying days were over and we all like him more than his memory.

Carla brought enough medical supplies to make an ICU jealous and medical books to help her catch up where the air force medic program left off. Every vehicle had a complete medical pack and filled the medical pouches on the plate carriers. She provided some of the survival equipment as well as the communication equipment in the form of CB, ham, and person to person radios. With help from the group bought flexible radio antennas for the vehicle radios and Nick provided his 80 meter retractable antenna mast and mounted it on the top of Jasper’s RV.

Raphael provided the clothing, armor, and plate carriers. Throughout the month he trained everyone on the use of the revolvers and accompanied speedloaders with his experience training Taiwanese and South Korean resistance fighters in the Third world war and at Frontsight after the war.

For food we bought mainly MREs and canned foods, which would be supplemented by hunting. For money, we went the old-fashioned way, bartering. We bought enough spices and alcohol to fill a convenience store. Hopefully the people on the other side would like to buy or trade it for perishables like fresh meat or bread.

At the end of the month Raphael looked at the little convoy. His F250 took up the lead vehicle position with the 50cal mount in the turret ring on a modified and armored bed rack. Jasper’s RV in the middle with the regular deuce and a half taking up the rear. Raphael and the group were gathered around the front of the F250 enjoying some spiced goat pemmican bars and coffee discussing what the world we were heading into would be like. The ideas ranged from the mundane like the Roman empire but with another species to the fantastical, DND brought to life. Nick was labeled a scaly because he wondered if there would be dragonborn in the world and that he wouldn’t mind dating one.

“Well, I have to say you’ve been quite productive this past month.” Raphael and the other’s jumped at the voice’s sudden dialog.

“FUCKING HELL!!” Wilson barked out barely miss-wearing his coffee. “A little more Fucking Warning next time!”

“Oh, quite so… now we do have a limited time window for the alignment, so I suggest we move on to it.” The voice said with what sounded like excitement with a touch of… exhaustion?

Raphael wrapped up his pemmican and moved to the driver side door of his F250. “ALRIGHT, YOU HEARD THE THING. MOUNT UP!”

Raphael got into his vehicle, setting the large thermos of coffee into the cup holder. Afterwards he started the engine. Carla rode shotgun beside him, and he heard her buckle in her seat belt and hand her the pemmican. “Can you hold this please sis?”

“Yeah sure” Carla answered, taking his pemmican. Raphael grabbed the mic from the radio and pushed the talk button.

“Alrighty everyone, sound off.” Raphael said with a clear voluminous voice of an officer giving clear orders.

“Deucelot, engine hot and ready to rock.” Jasper said over his RV’s radio. Raphael chuckled at the nickname he gave his deuce and a half RV.

“Mule’tard not so young, out of com and still very dumb, ready to roll.” Wilson said from the rear vehicle. Getting laughter from everyone.

“Oh, oh God oh god Ralph. Willy’s fucking brilliant.” Carla laughed out loud.

“Tact-less, hot and bothered” Raphael said over the radio with a very amused smile on his face.

“SG-1 is ready to go, dial the gate!” Nick called out over the comm.

“NNNUUURRRDDD!!” Wilson called back, as it turned out the voice did have a sense of humor as the portal opened up in front of Raphael growing wide enough in diameter for the vehicles to easily travel through.

“As I said before, time is limited and please aim for the center…” Raphael didn’t pay attention to what the rest of what the voice said, gunning the engine and driving through the center of the portal. The travel through the portal was unlike anything Raphael had ever felt. He could best describe it as him doing a halo jumping buck ass naked with a flamethrower hate fucking his ass, back, and every inch of skin facing the rear. Thank God the sensation went away as fast as it came.

On the other side he drove 50 meters and jumped out of Tact-less falling to his hands and knees then proceeded to vomit his lungs out of his stomach when he heard a tree hit the ground. Falling over onto his back after introducing his lunch to the ground staring at the canopy of some really tall ass fucking trees. He smiled at himself; they did it. They really did, they were really on another world. FUCK YEAH! After spending a few more seconds on the ground he got up and looked around seeing Wilson on the ground in not much better shape with Mule’tard stuck over a sapling Wilson ran over to avoid rear ending Tact-less. After some time regaining their composure they grouped together. Raphael started the conversation by asking what was on everyone’s mind.

“Okay, we’re here, now what?”