Dr. Cartsman paced across the floor of his office. Today, June 20th, 2091, was the day it would all begin. That wasn’t even what he was truly worried about, though. He’d no doubt sent up thousands of red flags to the government. He just hoped that disabling the tracker in the aircraft and reaching an uninhabited area would be enough protection for the time being. If not, well, the blood of all those involved would be on his hands.<br/><br/>“Sir?” A steady, young female voice spoke from outside his door.<br/><br/>“Yes, Nysa?” He replied hastily, his nervous energy tormenting him as he stood still, hands in his ruffled pockets. He must’ve looked like mess. Hair flying everywhere, eyes wide with worry, stereotypical glasses askew.<br/><br/>“The first craft has arrived, Sir,” The voice stated, as a head of cropped, brown hair and grey eyes peeked around the corner, giving him a reassuring nod, while, at the same time, awaiting further orders.<br/><br/>It took the Doctor a moment to process what she’d said. “Oh. Yes, of course. That time already, is it? Ah, well, come along, Nysa. Mustn’t keep the guests waiting.”<br/><br/>He stepped out of the office into the long, dark, cold hallway, his faithful companion following behind him steadily and obediently.<br/><br/>“Sir, I believe we’ve discussed that I would prefer if you addressed me as agent.”<br/><br/>“Yes, Nysa, and I believe we’ve discussed that I would prefer if you addressed me as David.”<br/><br/>She muttered something underneath her grey guard cap, though the Professor simply smirked and led her into the large great room ahead.<br/><br/>~*~<br/><br/>Verity had never been more excited in her life. She’d boarded the ship very early that morning, giving a sarcastic goodbye to her teachers and a very genuine one to her piano and bookshelves. As soon as the doors had closed behind her, though, she’d nearly forgotten about them.<br/><br/>Everything was a new experience. The pilot of the small, sleek aircraft was a thirty-something male by the name of Jecks. He’d greeted her with a toothy grin, a greasy handshake, and a zipped bag of clothes. She’d thanked him, and had hastily returned to the tiny private area t the back of the room to change out of knee length skirt and button-up. The new clothes were surprisingly comfortable, a worn in t-shirt from someone’s school days bearing the name of an academy Verity had never heard of, as well as some comfortable tight pants probably used for some sort of training. The ship was cold, however, so she’d shoved on her grey school cardigan and left it unbuttoned.<br/><br/>As Jecks carried on through the skies, Verity took a cautious seat next to him, a bit worried to take her eyes off him and a bit too curious to do it anyway. He must’ve noticed, however, because he looked up at her with a smile. “Damn, I must look scary to you. Locked up in there this whole time, and the first site you see is my pretty face?”<br/><br/>He laughed a bit, and they spent the rest of the ride talking about things in the outside world. Most of Jecks answers were extremely vague, though, so it turned into more of a game of “did you know this random trivia fact”.<br/><br/>When they arrived, Verity stepped cautiously out of the aircraft onto a cold rock floor. She looked above her as the ceiling began to close, shutting out the view of skylight above. She looked around as her eyes adjusted, and realized she was standing in what looked like a giant version of the dorm common room, though much more elaborate. Bookshelves lined the walls, an array of furniture sat huddled around a large glass table, and a bright candelier—not one of those light bulb ones, but on of the actual candle lit affairs—hung above her. Her eyes were drawn, though, to one specific feature. A shining black grand piano sat in the corner of the room, just begging her to brush it’s keys lightly with her fingertips.<br/><br/>That would have to wait, though, as a voice chose that moment to echo through the room.<br/><br/>“Miss Verity? Ah, yes, it must be. How was your trip?” A man spoke from one of the entrances to the room. His hair was a light bark brown with the occasional streak of gray, and his eyes were almost the exact same color.<br/><br/>“Very enjoyable, thank you. I’m assuming you’re Dr. Cartsman?” She asked, giving a slight curtsy as she’d been trained to do for so many years.<br/><br/>“No, no, that’s really not necessary. You’d be right in that assumption. I’m the one and only Dr. Cartsman, and this is Government Employee No. 13, or, as you’ll call her, Agent Torvus. Now, I wish I could converse with you further, but I’d rather wait for the others so I don’t have to repeat myself. Feel free to play, read, or sit on whatever you like.”<br/><br/>Naturally, as soon as he returned to the hallway, she was immediately at the piano. She noticed that, at some point, Jecks had silently left the room, probably in pursuit of the next person.