There were a few attempts at more cheerful topics, but overall no one talked much on the rest of the flight. Everyone had too much to think about. Howard was especially conflicted. The very same person who had dragged him into this was the one who was in the worst condition. He didn’t feel any satisfaction seeing that, though. If anything, it was chilling to see the eternal peacock lose its prideful feathers like this.

The private jet landed somewhere in a desert area right next to medieval style castle that had a giant rocket… Hold on, was that the NASA base Sanders had been talking about? The medieval atmosphere was shoved together with the impressive technological display.

“Hey Sanders, was this place designed by the same person as the last one?” Miranda asked when they disembarked.

“It was, why?” Sanders replied.

“I thought so,” Miranda said, “It has the same twisted taste.”

“I think it looks dramatic,” Selina approved, nodding at the building as if she was proud.

“You didn’t design this, did you?” Miranda asked warily, not wanting to offend one of her idols.

“Not at all. I don’t do that kind of thing,” Selina assured her, “but it does have a striking figure. No one could miss it.”

James frowned. “As a secret base, isn’t it supposed to have the opposite effect?”

Howard agreed with James on this one.

“This isn’t about secrecy, it is about style,” Leon argued, “It’s not like it is going to have much relevance after our mission, right?”

“True,” Sanders agreed.

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Once they reached the door, several servants greeted them in medieval attire. “Welcome home Master Sanders.”

Sanders froze. “Sorry guys, I forgot to specify that was just an opening day event. You are normal employees now.”

“Tch, how boring.”

Howard looked for whoever said that, but it was hard to tell, other than it was one of the workers. Actually, one other thing bothered him.

“There was an opening day?” he asked.

“Doesn’t every decent workplace have an opening day?” Sanders asked, “Kind of like a moving party.”

“Excuse me, but since we are finally here, shouldn’t we get things settled so we can start training?” Natalie demanded.

“My apologies,” Sanders told her, suddenly more polite, “We will start with the tour and then everyone will split off into groups of what it is most important for you to learn. Your rooms have already been arranged for you.”

The tour started. Despite the outside, the inside looked as neat as one would expect from a space station. There was everything from flight training to a Zero-G replicator to a mall-like cafeteria.

They each got their own personal bedrooms, but the beds they would be sleeping on were definitely cots.

“By the way, what are each of your favorite colors?” Sanders asked once they reached the room.

“Royal blue!” Selina announced at the same time as Jonathan shouted, “Rainbow tye-dye!”

Sanders wrote those down.

“Why do you need to know?” Natlie asked.

“So I can have your sleeping bags made, unless you want them all to be the same, dull and boring,” Sanders explained.

“Purple,” Natalie sighed.

“I like red,” Miranda said.

“Black and brown are both fine,” James said.

“Gold,” Leon said.

“Yellow for you then,” Sanders told Leon, “And Howard?”

“...Dark green,” he replied.

“Makes sense,” James nodded.

“Why did you only say that for Howard?” Selina asked.

“You were too obvious, and he is probably missing nature,” James replied, gesturing to Selina’s blue highlights.

She touched her hair. “Touche.”

“I will get your sleeping bags ordered,” Sanders promised, “The experts here can help you with your training in the meantime. I already informed them of your skillsets and positions.”

“What are our skillsets and positions?” James asked.

“You are security,” Sanders told him, “You have a good head on your shoulders, so you should help me keep everyone in line. Miranda will be in charge of cafeteria and storage. Natalie and Jonathan will be in charge of navigation and basic controls. Selina will be taking care of maintenance, and Leon will be learning a bit of everything just in case.”

“What about me?” Howard asked.

“Moral support?”

As usual, Howard was just an awkward add-on, but why was Selina in charge of maintenance? Perhaps it had something to do with her career as an illusionist or something else Howard did not know about her.