A few minutes later, Noah found himself on the bridge of the ship, looking at a small spacecraft – a shuttle of sorts – that was currently on standby.
The Traveler was simply too big to enter and leave the Gravity Well of the planet without completely breaking down because of its enormous structure.
The shuttle that would be transporting Noah and a few other VIPs into Neverland was a rounded vessel that looked more like a capsule than a spaceship. From what he had gathered from talking with the robot following him, this capsule was created with one of the latest technologies. It offered unparalleled comfort and relaxation as well as precise heating control that would always maintain the perfect environment for all individuals.
Additionally, they wouldn’t even feel the slightest turbulence or vibration as they entered the atmosphere. They wouldn’t even feel like they were traveling inside the vessel.
This information interested Noah greatly. He was happy to experience such comfort as this would be a unique experience.
The other VIPs in the hangar kept stealing looks, acting in what they believed was a stealthy way of observing him. Only seven were present. Two were male, four were female and the last one looked more like some kind of short reptilian monster so Noah was not quite sure about the gender of the individual.
Out of the four females, one had a snake tail instead of legs. Back on his earth, they were typically known as lamias. The second one had bluish skin and transparent scales covering the right side of her face, while the third woman had elven ears and a certain detached expression as if everyone was beneath her. Her companion, another elf or whatever they might be called here also had a condescending look on his face. One that Noah judged to be punch-worthy.
As outlandish as those people looked, the ones that captured Noah's attention were the last pair of male and female. He could not see their faces as one of them was wearing a black cloak with a white mask and the other was wearing a white cloak and a black mask.
They have the words suspicious and edgy literally written on their forehead.
Noah felt like he was the only one who seemed to be confused as to why two such sketchy individuals were even allowed into the VIP area. Karnax approached from a side door, so he asked, “Am I the only one who finds them strange?” Lightly nudging the Space Orc with his elbow. Noah swore he would do his best to remember the name of their race. This was the minimum he could do for someone who might become one of his genuine friends.
Gor’Khath, was it? However, I might need to work on the way I pronounce those words.
Ignorant of the thoughts filling Noah’s mind, Karnax looked down at his small but courageous friend and shook his head.
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“They are VIPs. This means they were already vetted before boarding. The security of the Traveler is extremely strict when it comes to this. I have more or less seen what everyone can do to circumvent the system, but nothing works. I, myself, even killed a guy who killed actual VIPs to replace them after stealing their skins. Still, nothing really works; their security is ironclad.”
Noah frowned at first. But then, remembering that this ship was most likely a front for Geppetto, he shrugged. Clearly, it truly wasn’t his place to worry about who might or might not be a VIP. If they wanted to hide behind the cloak, they were free to do just that.
After a few more minutes of waiting, a few armed forces entered the room, prompting Karnax to growl slightly.
“Anything the matter?” Noah asked curiously. Despite his large and imposing frame, Karnax did not seem like the kind of man to openly show his hostility in such a way.
Gazing at the new arrivals, all he could see were soldiers entirely clad from head to toe in white power armor with energy rifles held firmly in their hands.
Looking at them, Noah couldn’t help but think of a specific galactic trooper group that was extremely popular back on Earth for their super inaccuracy and he wondered if these guys were the same.
“They are the White Iron Castle. A special group of mercenaries created by a princess that works alongside us as protectors to the Traveler. They should have been fighting the abyssal monsters but the cowards avoided the danger.”
“Oh?” Noah raised an eyebrow, all interest in those white warriors vanishing like smoke out the vent. As someone who was once a soldier, he understood perfectly well just how dastardly those who gave up on their posts in times of danger were.
As they said, it was better to have a smart enemy than a stupid ally that continuously created problems.
“Still, a princess, huh? They seem like a big deal.”
Karnax scoffed. “Nowadays, the term prince or princess means very little. There are more than a thousand princes or princesses in the imperial family alone. All of them are nothing but illegitimate children one of the Kings sired while traveling or are branch descendants with just enough royal blood to not be completely rejected from the genial tree.”
Noah searched his memory and nodded. He had done some research while on Oz about some of the biggest organizations and it was naturally impossible to ignore the Galactic Empire.
From what Noah knew, in the past, the Empire was so vast that many people were given titles left and right for the most minuscule contributions.
Nowadays, the Empire was more stringent about such things but the damage had already been done throughout the innumerable years.
Because of this, to be truly recognized as a core member of the Imperial Family and bear the name Pendragon, one needed to have a very high concentration of imperial blood in their veins.
At first, Noah found the idea of imperialism and nobility in such a developed world, completely absurd.
However, in this world, bloodline could affect the power one had and the Imperial family definitely wielded one of the most potent and dangerous powers in the whole galaxy.
“Hello, Karnax! How are you? I am surprised to see you here, aren’t you guys supposed to clean up the battlefield?” An arrogant voice reached them as one of the more decorated troopers stopped in front of them and took off their helmet.
Under the heavy helmet was a head full of long, lustrous golden hair and blue eyes, and a smile that screamed mean bitch from miles away.
Noah did not like judging people solely based on their appearance. But he had to admit. Sometimes, it could be painfully accurate, and annoying.
