16 Expedition Take-off (2/2)
Linneia reflected on herself at that moment.
She's too full of herself as of late. She needed to adjust her attitude to lead the expedition successfully. The survival of her countrymen or even the whole planet might hinge on the success of this expedition.
As she popped the lolipop into her mouth, she took out the Cerebral Connector's core from the back of her neck with her skeletal steel glove and placed it on the table in between her and the two witches in front of her.
Together, the group of six sitting facing each other viewed the routes charted out by the immortal king on the Linneia's cerebral connector's 3D map and discussed the minute details of their journey seriously. Everyone then took out their own core as Linneia swiped her own 3D map to merge with the other standard maps of the others. The action made all the maps refreshed with the new inputted information.
...
Beside Melati, Professor Rogers nodded his head approvingly as he received his updated 3D map.
The current Dean of the Neverwinter Royal College had long snow-white hair which was tied neatly into a low ponytail. He was not like his retired best friend, Professor Newton, who intently wanted to join the other two research groups. He was a man of adventure and had conquered many snowy mountains to find unique samples for research purposes.
This time, he joined this group as the head of the other researchers. Their main tasks were to counsel the witches in their research and help as much as they could. Even the immortal king had eagerly approved of him. Old experienced hands were crucial in a green team like this.
Although these ladies had some attitude, they did possess the quality of an exemplary citizen of the empire. Knowing their mistakes, they didn't shy away and corrected their ways immediately.
Professor Rogers was deeply moved as his gaze fall on his ex-studentsucking intently on her newly acquired lollipop while discussing with the others.
As a seasoned scientist, he understood the immortal king's arrangement well. It was clear as day that the ancestor of the empire wanted to groom the crown princess into a more matured, well-rounded future leader.
With the uncertain future in front of them, a strong leader with high intellect, strength and character was imperative. The Crown Princess was lacking just a little bit due to prolong peace and harmony in the empire. That was why she needed to be 'reforged' with a couple of tribulations to make her matured faster.
....
Two days later, they finally reached the furthest military outpost connected by the railroad, Lesterchild's Military Camp.
As the team disembarked from the train, they were given two hours rest at the base before directly ushered into the Vulture III, the most advanced aircraft equipped with the latest Vertical Take-Off & Landing (VTOL) technology. The Vulture was a medium capacity transportation aircraft specialized in speed and stability which made it the ideal flying vehicle for exploring naturally complicated regions.
Additional military personnel from the camp had joined their team resulting the headcount to reach 100 pax.
As the Vulture III was further restocked with fuel, rations and miscellaneous research items, the Interstellar Gate Research team joined the mission briefing meeting with the head of the military camp.
Seeing the participants of the expedition team consisted of snow-white haired grandfatherly old men, demure looking maidens and young girls, the camp leader became extremely worried but did not say anything as this was the decision of the top management. Furthermore, when he saw the crown princess and General Raksha, he knew who they were and didn't dare to offend them unnecessarily.
Linneia briefed the team on the objective of the expedition and her role as the expedition leader which made the newly joined military personnel gasped in surprised!
This was then followed by a location-specific briefing on the I-zone restricted area's hazards, personally delivered by the skeptical camp leader to make them understand the graveness of their intended destination. The expedition had been labeled as SS-ranked; the highest difficulty assessed by the higher ups so far. The face of everyone was turning blue when they heard on the anticipated dangers. However, their patriotic heart managed to overcome it. They believed that if the mission required the princess to personally lead it, it must be the utmost importance to their empire.
Thirty minutes later, Vulture III take off without any issues accompanied by the soldiers' salutations. They knew it carried the team who might as well save the people from the incoming peril not too far ahead. They knew that it might be the only chance for their salvation.
Once the aircraft disappear from the horizon, everyone started busying themselves. They too had heard the immortal king's lecture's recording and knew what they should do to contribute.
....