"This can't be real. It shouldn't be real."

Faring was adjusting shackles to Cedric's wrists. The metal of their construction felt flimsy, rather weak actually. It certainly wouldn't be an issue to break them if needed. Though out of respect, he refrained - still struggling to process his current situation.

"Well, it kinda is so... Uh, welcome to House Kilik I guess?"

"You know, it wouldn't be an issue to break these cuffs."

"I know you humans are incredibly strong, so I believe you. Would there really be a reason to have to do it though?"

"I suppose not. I will say this now, I do not agree with this."

"I'm sorry! But this was the only way to stop you from getting taken by the imperials. Even then, it won't last forever. There's... A lot you don't know, I guess because you shouldn't exist in the first place."

She began to lead him away from the wreckage. It was a conundrum, figuring out how to give Cedric an ample supply of oxygen so that he could breathe. Faring instructed her charges to retrieve oxygen from the craft they arrived in, and compress it into an air bottle that was normally used by her species to breathe in atmospheres that were not suitable for them. Cedric ran the unique situation through his head several times, and he had not figured out one important fact. Why could they breathe, but not him? All living beings need oxygen, right?

"Why is it you can breathe just fine. Yet when I take a breath, I feel like I'm dying. Probably because I technically was..."

Faring thought for a moment, wrapping the information around in her head herself.

"Well, oxygen is a poisonous gas. Nitrogen isn't. Maybe that's why?"

"You breathe Nitrogen?"

"Yes, all living things need Nitrogen to survive - even plants."

"Everything I know is just getting wrapped around itself. All living things need oxygen, not nitrogen. Plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, which all living things then breathe to survive. Plants intake nitrogen from the ground to survive, and from waste. This is all so strange."

"So you're telling me, that everything that you know of uses poisonous gas to survive?"

"I don't understand - oxygen isn't poisonous unless it's in high concentrations."

Cedric was still struggling to take steps forward, but at least he wasn't falling down to all fours anymore. The sight that beheld him was rather comedic, being led away in chains by a group that was not only half his size - but a small percentage of his apparent strength as well. There was so much that was different than what he was used to, that the time he spent in that pod may have been significantly longer than he previously thought. It seemed, after a quick inspection - that the substance used to keep him alive was at critical levels when he was awoken. Another two hundred years, and that was in an ideal situation, it would have run dry. Not only that, but many cryopods that should have been in his segment of the wreckage was nowhere to be seen - seemingly removed from their attached bolts. This meant that maybe, others survived - but whether or not they were rescued at the same time was remained to be seen. Several of the nutrient storage pouches responsible for supplying an ample supply of nutrition to the cryo'd soldiers was missing. Some detached, some ruptured, and others just plain missing - almost like they were cut out. It just so happened, that a large portion of the substance remained attached to his segment of the wreck. he was on some kind of higher gravity planet, the situation of it was what spurred his muscled growth and lack of old height as a result of his body adapting ever so slowly to the conditions presented. If Cedric was to glean any further information of the matter, he'd need a lot more than some carefully educated guesses based on his knowledge. He'd need some kind of team to begin to puzzle together what exactly happened. All records on the ship were either lost, or corrupted - and with nobody present that was an expert on data and programming - it was nothing more than like kicking a rock and hoping for different result. Similar to the definition of insanity, he couldn't help but notice. He decided then, that that would be his priority as soon as he was afforded the opportunity. He honestly felt like he was a smart person, he just never had the opportunity to prove it - given his isolated nature. Now though, he had no choice but to cooperate with an entirely new species that not only did not speak his language, but had far different values than he ever thought would be possible to really exist outside of popular media and entertainment culture. A fever dream of feeling was ever omnipresent no matter what he seemed to do or where he seemed to go now. Yet, it was all too real. Cedric had even had it in the back of his mind that maybe it was an elaborate program or dream - and the solution was killing himself. He could never, because if it was as real as he felt it to be - death would certainly not be the answer. Killing oneself never is, but in such a delicate and shocking of an experience - it tends to find itself in the back of the mind of its affectees.

"I don't suppose you could tell me where you're taking me?"

"My personal shuttle! I am a noble, after all."

"You... Come off more as an excited college student than a noble."

"I don't know what half of that means, but I will take it as a compliment!"

Cedric sighed. This cheery attitude of Faring was grating. He knew he should appreciate someone with the confidence Faring seemed to have, but it just felt so fake. Nobody in the world could possibly be that happy. It wasn't possible. Or at the very least, wildly unrealistic. Every person wears some kind of mask to get themselves through the day, and they try to ignore all the terrible things around them. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't - all of those bottled emotions must be released at some point to provide a modicum of satisfaction. Completely eliminating the stress of day to day life is probably the hardest thing one can do. Some people just... Figure it out. Maybe Faring was one of those people, Cedric mulled.

"So, what now I just clean your floors and be your errand boy?"

"Yes, and no."

"That... Literally does not answer the question."

"Yes, that's part of the job. Not all of it though. You're also breeding stock for nobility."

"I'm fucking what?"

"Not what you're mating, who you're mating. That is, if you are chosen by someone."

"You realize how fucked up that is right?"

"Not at all, I'm surprised you aren't used to it. Or well, I guess amongst humans it wasn't normal?"

"No, no it wasn't."

"Strange, it's a great way for those who don't have time for love to acquire heirs."

"You're going to need explain pretty much everything to me, or give me a way to find it out for myself."

"Isn't you asking me; a way to find it out for yourself? You aren't exactly literate."

"I AM lit- nevermind, I suppose I wouldn't anymore. I don't even understand your language, all I know is that it sounds german."

"German?"

"Germany is a country, and they speak deutch - or german. Your language sounds like that. I never learned it myself, so I have no idea what you're saying."

"I don't know anything about that. We speak high and low Korellei."

"Korellei?"

"Yes!" She placed her hand on the center of her modest bust.

"We're Korellei, that's what our people are called. We're part of the United Empire. The official you saw earlier is Lieutenant Kern. She's part of House Varkon. They're responsible for supplying well trained officers to the Empire during wartime, or when there is any rebellious conflict."

"Are rebellions common?"

"Surprisingly, yes. However the Empire utilizes a full force policy, and spark of rebellion against the empire is met with a fair share of its forces. Most are crushed before they even begin."

"If House Varkon supplies officers, then what does House Kilik supply?"

"We supply budget equipment. It's certainly not as glorious as the other main houses, but our goods are widespread and varied - usually cheaper than others."

"Seems like your house really isn't all that impressive compared to the others. Speaking of, what are some other notable houses you know of?"

"Well, let's see here..." She pursed her muzzle in thought

"House Rax supplies slaves, House Gran-Dour supplies agricultural goods, House Granby supplies servants like butlers and maids, House Tilmier supplies consumer goods, House Olympia supplies industrial supplies and ships, House Anvila supplies combat vessels, and House Faraat supplies luxury drugs like cigars and tobacco - with some fancy wines thrown in for good measure. There's a lot more, but those are the big ones."

"It's not even the same world I lived in..."

"I suppose it'd feel that way to someone like you - huh?"

Cedric gazed at the bright red sky. It'd look better as a scarlet or crimson, he thought. It was a bleak, sultry red atmosphere with rock and stone as far as the eye could see. He breathed carefully through his makeshift breathing apparatus. So much had changed, it was all so different. Just a little bit ago he was embracing a deep hug from his best friend - excited about waking up and taking the fight to the enemy - a source of grief for regular people just trying to make a living. But now, he was the only person in the galaxy. No friends, no future save as a slave. Why him? Why was he picked to survive? He was quite convinced he was the only survivor. He wondered what Tern would do in this situation, the official he saw before had a very similar last name to hers. Kern. Maybe they're related somehow. Realistically. It was most likely just a grand coincidence. Tern would probably be going on and on about how amazing it was they were in what felt like a whole new universe. Straight out of a science fiction comic. She'd probably be drumming up new exercise techniques to try in the high gravity environment. Always fit to fight, she was. She didn't look bad either. Maybe he should have gone farther with her? Even if he did, it probably wouldn't change his current situation.

Did his prayer reach a god? Or maybe even, God himself? Was he thrust into this situation because of some great prophecy? Ludicrous, he thought. Maybe he was just really lucky, or really unlucky. Positive or negative, it seems he was some variation of the luckiest human in world. Or galaxy, all things considered. Just a little more time to be comfortable in the world he once knew would be nice. He already felt himself running through the stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, seemed his mind was drifting to bargaining. Depression was up next. Acceptance couldn't come soon enough. Who could have predicted this, he mulled. No one, probably. Why did the sky have to be so dreary? If he was pawned off as breeding stock, maybe he'd have some fanciful life. Like a pet. Cedric shook his head, the thought disgusted him - he relished his personal freedom and ability to choose. He refused to be someone else's plaything. He'd find a way out, sooner or later.

"What cha thinking about?"

"A lot of things, Faring. A lot of things."

"Oh. Well, we're almost to my shuttle. Maybe that'll excite you? I'll bet you've never seen anything like it!"

He turned his head forwards. It was indeed... Something he had not seen anything like. It looked like a worse version of the vessels he was used to. More angular, with exposed piping and struts. It was a simple shuttle design, with a shallow nose hosting some sort of cockpit and a relative square backside. Pseudo wings, which he assumed could expand given that it appeared segmented, complimented its sides. Simple, effective. Certainly not stylized like the round, clean designs of the UCSC craft he was used to. Is it possible that the technology of now was actually worse than what he was used to? It sounded so strange, considering how long he'd apparently be out for. So long as it worked, he supposed. Cedric knew he needed to find some way to glean information about what happened while he was frozen. Anything would do, some kind of person to read and interface with data, or some kind of archive to study from.

"It's... Different."

"Huh?! This thing is top of the line!"

"Really?"

"Oh, right sorry. I forget you're a human. I'm sure you're used to just printing giant ships with all that nanotechnology you were raised with!"

Cedric cocked his head towards Faring

"Nanotechnology? Nothing of the sort. Just better looking spacecraft, I suppose."

"What do you mean? Humans were the most advanced race in the galaxy - if the legends are to be believed. Nanotech was kinda your thing. You know, 'Golden age of man'?."

He simply stared

"Oh my gosh - you really don't know, do you?"

"No, I really don't think I do."

"Wow, uh. Okay you are due for a history lesson big time. Anyways, let's head inside the shuttle I wanna show you everything!"

"Okay."

Cedric followed Faring into the shuttle. Upon closer inspection, the exterior of the shuttle appeared to be clean - some tarnish notwithstanding. Maybe this really was the best this day and age had to offer. Finding out humanity had a golden age just made everything so much more confusing. If humanity had reached that point, why wasn't he saved? What happened? He held his hands behind his head for a few moments as he attempted to piece what few pieces of a grand puzzle he had to figure out he could. Unsurprisingly, he just didn't have enough pieces to even remotely conclude what the picture may be via educated guess. There was so much missing that the effort just wasn't even worth it. Hopefully, he thought, he'd find a library or something that would have some record of history - or at least, legends that would allude to what may have happened.

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The inside of the shuttle was just as boring as the outside, but Faring's rapidly swaying tail encouraged Cedric to at least try and appreciate this pinnacle of technology they found themselves in. He saw a lot of logos for Duran Corporation, probably related to one of the houses and what they supply to the Empire.

"A lot of the functions are autonomous, there's even an autopilot on this thing! Don't know how to fly? No problem! It can fly itself!"

Cedric looked around. The interior was lit with orange lighting, a lot of shutter-like doors presumably protecting the valuable equipment - but also providing easy access in the case that repairs were needed. Many cables and pipes decorated the walls, whatever they use for energy and fuel no doubt flowing through them. How were they able to make a space capable craft, but not figure out how solar energy worked? Clearly she understood what it meant to charge something, but she couldn't piece together that solar powered technology was a form of science, and not magic?

"The magineers really went crazy with the magitech on this one!"

"Magineers, magitech?"

"Yeah. Magic engineers and magic tech. Did you not have them?"

"Magic doesn't exist, so no."

Faring replied with a chuckle

"It does too silly! Maybe you had a different name for it or something."

"Yeah, science."

"Science doesn't exist..."

"You're joking, I'm looking right at it."

Faring looked at Cedric with distinct unease

"Science is your magic maybe?"

"No, science is science."

"Uh huh..." Faring was not convinced.

Cedric didn't push the issue, if he went too hard he could get in trouble. He surmised that if she was this intent on believing that technology was magic, there may be a bureau or some nefarious source contributing to that belief. That'd be a one way ticket to never seeing the light of another sun again, or worse.

The shuttle was more or less barebones, the technology residing on the walls and ceiling of the craft with a few seats in the middle. Presumably, the pilot seat and passenger seats. They were all cushioned modestly, and sported small harnesses. Probably to keep the occupants in place in zero G. The floor of the shuttle was an elaborate catwalk that sat above more wires and pipes. It looked more like an industrial or frontier vessel than a top of the line personal transport. If this was the case, then maybe the Korellei technology was in a dark age. Or at the very least, far beyond in progression to what he was used to. The metals were a combination of light and dark greys, easy on the eyes when coupled with the smooth orange lighting produced by the various light sources scattered about. The bathe of orange light was nice to look at without being too bright, perfect for long journeys or even taking a nap during a flight. He wondered how far this thing could travel before needing refueled or recharged. Looking closely, the seats were rather small. The Korellei might be comfortable, but he certainly wouldn't be.

"Well, pick a seat! Yan will be our pilot."

She nodded towards one of the rodentfolk, an older male judging by the looks of his graying muzzle. He took his spot at the front seat with a steering control located front and center. The others took seats behind it, there was about twelve seats and two rows - one on either side. Enough to comfortably seat twenty-four occupants and the pilot. An admirable amount, but partially possible because if their small size. Cedric looked back to the diamond metal ramp he walked on to get into the shuttle, located in the back. He was surprised that he didn't bump his head on something already considering his height. It didn't require a lot of thought to simply crouch underneath the diminutive height of the ceiling. He was partially crouched during his entire mini tour. There wasn't a lot to explore, as the entire cab was open and easy to maneuver about in. Maybe this was part of what made this a luxury shuttle? Assuming it was actually a luxury shuttle and it wasn't just fancy for her family's pay grade. Cedric looked down at the seats - quickly realizing that the most he could place on one of them was a single cheek. This was going to be the most uncomfortable ride ever, he thought. He sat down in one of the rear most seats, catching glances from the uneasy occupants as it creaked in protest. Was the seat being crushed underneath his weight?

Faring was still droning on about all the special features of the shuttle while the pilot prepped for take off. He wasn't able to strap one of the harnesses on, so he prayed his feet would be enough to stabilize him during the flight. Most of the information she was excited to tell was features he was already used to - and unintendedly ignored about half of what she said - lost in thought. Reclining seats, autopilot, reshaping cushions, pull out beds, a food preparation station (that he didn't see any obvious sign of), a mini fridge (that he also couldn't make out), and a collection of a few other things.

"Are you even listening?"

"Oh, uh. Yeah. Mini fridge right?"

Faring harumphed

"Oh, nevermind."

Cedric jangled his shackles.

"Sorry..."

Before he could continue, he heard a whine from what he assumed was the engines. A back and forth between Faring and her pilot ensued, probably just informative discussion. Or so he though, until Faring turned to him from one of the seats.

"Uh. Because of you were close to the shuttle's weight limit, so it'll be a few more seconds."

"Nothing is going to break is it?"

"No, I don't think so..."

Shortly after she said that the shuttle jolted upward, the force of which almost knocking Cedric out of his tiny seat. He already started to feel the pain in the right of his buttocks, expected considering all of his weight was on the one side. He looked down and noticed the catwalk protecting the components had already dented from the weight of his feet on it. Hopefully this wouldn't be a regular occurrence once they got off the planet, and its high gravity.

The ascent out out of the dense atmosphere was surprisingly silent, aside from the occupants mumbling back and forth to each other and constantly stealing glances at Cedric. He surmised it would be as if you were taking a shuttle to one of the capital vessels with Sasquatch chilling in the back seat. A casual cryptid making itself known to their reality. Maybe this was just as much of a fever dream for them as it was for him, but until he learned the language he had no idea what they were talking about - he could only make guesses. He leaned across the front of him to tap Faring's fuzzy shoulder, one of the boars in the seat between them showing distinct unease as his arm slithered to its designated position.

"You wouldn't happen to have uh, translation 'magic' would you?"

"For Ancient? Not likely. If that were the case, we would have deciphered Ancient technology already. Come to think of it, how is it you speak Ancient as a regular language?"

"How did you get so fluent in it?"

"I took it for an advanced lesson season, and just kinda kept learning it on my own. I had hoped it would help for my archeology projects, but I never thought I'd have to actually use it."

"Well, I speak English. That's what we call it. But if what I understand is correct..."

"Humans were responsible for ancient technology? That's not possible, the ancients look way different than you do."

"They do?"

"Well, to be honest nobody knows for certain what the ancients actually looked like. Just that they left behind a lot of magic that we've barely scratched the surface of deciphering."

"It hasn't occurred to anyone that Humans could've been ancients?"

"Ha, well until now humans were just a fairy tale."

He supposed it was similar to if history claimed elves were responsible for the creation of the automobile. Possible? Maybe, but obviously not true since elves were just fantasy.

"I see. I suppose it's not every day your backyard cryptid turns out to be a very real entity."

"Cryptid?"

"Yeah, like a monster from legend or speculation."

"If you put it that way I suppose humans really would be our cryptids. Except for now."

"You're taking this surprisingly well."

"Oh, I was overjoyed when we found you! But, I mean how else am I supposed to act? You're a living, breathing legend! Talking to you though, it's just like talking to anyone else. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around everything but like, this isn't a dream anymore ya know?"

It was Cedric's turn to purse his lips in thought.

"Hm, I suppose not." He leaned back in his chair, taking a glance out the pilot's window. They had started leaving the atmosphere, and Cedric felt the familiar weightlessness of zero-g. It was strangely soothing, a familiar constant from before he was frozen. Nice, even. It also served as a reminder that he was very much grounded in reality, and what he chose to do now would be all his own decisions. For the most part, at least.

"Oh, there it is! Home away from home."

Cedric squinted his eyes, a small vessel rested a respectable distance away. He couldn't make out the words on the side, but it looked very similar to the shuttle he was in, just on a larger scale. Exposed pipes and wiring, a lot of mechanical components bundled together serving whatever purpose they were designed for. Greys and oranges dotted the vessel, but as they drew closer he could make out a large company name on the side of it - illuminated with a dark, white light. Olympia Corporation. Orange and white stripes adorned the plating of the middle of the craft, separating the dark plated underside from the bright plated topside. Several antennas and towers decorated the top and front of the vessel, complimented by various plates and disks responsible for affording the mechanical components some semblance of structure in the vastness of space.

"Olympia? So that's an industrial vessel?"

"Yup!"

"Seems odd for a noble to cruise around in something designed for industrial work."

"Maybe, but like a lot of ships similar to that it's really easy to maintain on the fly because everything is accessible."

"That's a pretty intelligent design."

"Right?! House Olympia makes really good quality magitech vehicles."

"So I have to ask, if that thing runs on... Magic... How do the engineers, or I suppose Magineers, keep it repaired?"

"They use Magictech tools silly! Rotating sockets powered by magic make it easy to take plates off. Then they just replace whatever needs replaced with a spare part."

"So they just... Replace entire parts?"

"Yup! If they tried to fix it any other way, it wouldn't work at all."

"I see."

Cedric began to see parallels between their idea of technology, and what he was used to. You could repair small pieces no problem, but in the military if one tiny piece stopped working on a part, then you'd just replace the whole part and send the rest back to be 'refurbished' - which normally meant that the company responsible for its manufacture would repair the affected piece and sell it back to the UCSC. Corporations were privy to sucking as much money as possible from their military and government contracts, spare whole parts were also a lot easier to repair in space or during an operation planetside, especially by low-skill personnel. Just knock off a few bolts and supports, replace the whole piece, and put it all back together in one go. Tadaa - done and done. It seems they had a similar system here, thinking that each whole piece needed to stay together for the 'magic' to work, else it'd be useless. There must have been some information lost in translation from then, to now. This pretty much confirms that Humans had to be the ancients that Faring's people believed. Something has to be limiting the flow of information, probably something related to staying in power. The entirety of the Empire would have plenty reason to limit information flow, if assuming all the houses are vying for high positions of influence within the Empire as a whole - not including the imperial family. There was a lot to piece together here about how their politics operated, and it seems that Cedric was starting to get the information he needed for that assumption slowly but surely. He wouldn't be around Faring twenty-four seven, so he couldn't rely on her translations. He needed to figure out how to speak the language himself, or else he'll reach a stump in information flow by proxy of the very obvious language barrier. Not including taking orders from his possible future owner. He was a slave, after all. For now, at least.

"We're almost there! The Hwain Gus, one of the House Kilik's capital ships, and my preferred ride when going from place to place!"

The ship was modest in size, hardly worthy of being categorized as a capital vessel. It looked more like a mobile refinery, made sense considering House Kilik seemed to specialize in budget products. If a motorcycle was like the shuttle he was in, then this 'capital' vessel was like an industrial yacht of average size. Enough spare space to fit a few motorcycles and about eight or twelve people comfortably. Instead of fancy bars and decorative, elegant rooms - it held industrial equipment. Actually, now thay he thought about it, all the occupants of the shuttle was probably her crew - assuming Faring owned it. Or at least, her family did. He worried he'd have back problems from having to crouch around constantly in the thing. Maybe the universe will throw him a bone and save his spine...

"Why not use something like a larger shuttle to get from place to place?"

"The shuttles are really short range, and are pretty much just for getting from space to a planet. The larger ships are actually for living on and traveling in."

The silhouette of the modest capital began to loom over the shuttle, the distance betraying its actual size. It was still average sized, but definately suitable to live on for months at a time. Seeing it up close, it was a good looking craft - despite its industrial appearance. It had a certain rugged beauty to it. There was no dirt or rust to be seen on its plates, outside of discoloration from tarnish. It seemed well kept, and in good operation. He shouldn't be surprised - they may not have the technology he was used to, but what they did have worked effectively and was kept in good repair. Cedric began to feel the weightlessness dissipate as they drew closer to the capital vessel.

"Does that thing have its own gravity? It's not big enough for that - or dense."

"All big ships have gravity generators on them!"

This made Cedric's eyes grow wide. Gravity generators? Even the UCSC didn't have that kind of technology. They couldn't figure out the science behind mid quality spaceships - but they cracked gravity?! He vaguely remembered from one of his college lectures about some scientists pioneering the tech, but he never thought it'd be made reality. Could it be they were a lot higher on the technical scale than he previously thought?

Faring's muzzle contorted into a smirk.

"Never heard of magitech gravity generators?"

"No, no I can't say I have. That's incredible."

"That's how I felt about your magic slab generating energy from a sun!"

"To each their own, I suppose."

The shuttle drifted to what he assumed was the back of the Hwain Gus. A large hangar door slowly opened before them, some sort of forcefield sparking to life as the door opened. Most likely for holding the atmosphere in, yet another leap of technology they seemed to have that was only theoretical in his time.

Faring was quick to notice Cedric's awe.

"That's a stasis field, it stops air from going out or coming in. It'll feel tingly when we go through it, make your hair stand up on end. But it's safe, I assure you!"

"So somehow, that thing can stop gas flow. I assume by just bringing it to a stop within the field. I suppose if you cracked gravity tech- magic. Then that wouldn't be too far of a leap. Incredible."

"I knooooow magic is amazing! Imagine if we could actually find and extract more magical schematics from the Ancients' than we already have! A lot of it is just a case of nobody able to actually make their magic work."

"Wait, the Korellei's magitech comes from the Ancients?"

Faring nodded quickly, her tail waving furiously.

"Yup! Pretty much all the magitech you'll see comes from what we've been able to decipher over the last few centuries. Actually making it relies on the magineers to operate factories left behind by the Ancients. They find a site, and if it works, the Empire supports the industrial houses into getting it operational again. There's actually a lot of sites dotted around the Empire's domain, but nobody can get them to work like some of the others."

"So you're repairing old assembly lines and manufacturing whatever they were producing..."

"I guess?"

"This is starting to make sense."

Before he could continue, he felt an odd sense of suspension as they passed through the stasis field. It slowed all of them down considerably, but the force of the shuttle's thrusters carried them through the field. They regained momentum upon appearing on the opposite side, confirming to Cedric his theory on how the field worked. It slowed down everything, not just gas. This meant that it wasn't technically preventing the atmosphere inside from escaping but rather slowing it down to such a crawl that it was essentially a micro-decompression for the duration the hangar doors would be open, ensuring that keeping the door open wouldn't result in a catastrophic incident. Should one hold the hangar open long enough with the field active, it'd still eventually lose all pressure - assuming the life support systems on board wouldn't be able to keep up the supply of air. In their case, nitrogen. Something he noted to keep in mind for later.

"Welcome aboard the Hwain Gus!"

"Yeah, thanks. Sorry about the seat."

"Oh! Hehe, it's fine. Nothing a little magineering can't fix. I think..."

Cedric stepped out of the shuttle, keeping in mind to remember to duck deep to avoid bashing his noggin. He took a look around the hangar. Its interior was much like the rest of what he had seen so far. Orange lighting, pipes, wires, cables, some vents and plates here and there. It was a spacious room, with what he assumed were resource collectors quaintly docked on either side of the hangar - four count, two on each side. They were familiar to him, small twin-manned vessels responsible for extracting ores from asteroids with delicate precision. One to pilot, one to operate the arms. They weren't identical to what he had seen in appearance, but certainly in function. Leading out of the hangar was a modest metal door, similar to what one would use for a car garage. It flipped open, its plates drawing up one at a time to allow passage. The corridor was small and tight, but thankfully tall enough for him to stand straight. Had he not shrunk from the compression of high gravity, he most likely would have had to bend down as to not knock his noggin - similar to entering and exiting the shuttle they arrived in. This was it, his new life as a slave. At least until the officials got ahold of him, if Faring's words were any confirmation. Cedric took a deep breath, his mask blissfully filling his nasal passages with life-giving oxygen. How long would he last in this world so far removed from his own, he wondered.