Arrival to Manta Carlos

The swaying of the boat brew up a storm in her stomach that her medicine couldn't calm. Boats weren't her favorite form of travel, but the air conditioning in her room provided much needed comfort in this twelve-hour trip. The one meal she ordered was met with a cloud of cigarette smoke as room service opened her door. The strong scent kept her from vomiting, but had startled the crew when the smoke detectors outside sounded. She had disabled the one in her room, but hadn't bothered with the ones in the hall.

That was the most exciting thing that had ever happened since she got on that ship. Sarah stayed inside her own room, wishing all this would finally end. The discomfort of the seas kept her awake on this rare occasion when she actually wanted to sleep. Normally she would just work on her little projects, but those were locked up with the rest of the cargo.

Thirty minutes after midnight, they finally arrived at the pier, much to her relief. She was the only passenger on that ship. The sense of isolation that gave off was nothing new to her. Sarah made her way to the pier without hassle and sat herself onto one of the benches, her suitcase sitting right beside her.

While the crewmen were unloading the cargo, she kept her eye out for the two metallic crates that she had bought along. One carried a prototype, and the other contained the supplies she needed to finish it along with the tools. The only other thing she needed to look out for was her welcoming party.

@GaugeGrinner

The mechanical sounds that she heard right after she saw a truck rolled in caught her attention. She saw what looked to be a robot that was fully equipped to go into war. However the aesthetics were a bit primitive to her, reminding her more of the 40's than any other time period. Her eyes watched it approached with neither alertness nor caution.

After it called her by name, and introduced itself, she took her suitcase and stood up. She had expected a larger welcoming party. Either she just became expendable or they were confident about this place as her safe haven. Whatever the case she just wanted to get out of the cold. Low temperature environments like her lab were one thing, but out here in the snow, it got a little too cold. She wore a winter coat of course, but she could have done with something much thicker.

Finally seeing her two metallic crates being unloaded, she nodded to her new bodyguard. She reached into her coat and pulled out a remote control. At the press of a button, the crates rumbled before they seemingly levitated off the ground. Each then revealed treads on the underside before rolling towards Sarah and Henry. "I've had better experiences. I believe they told you I was bringing baggage. Lead on," she said to him. She had questions about this place, but there would be more than enough time to talk once they were on the road.

Sarah and her two roving crates followed her armored guard to their transport. She had designed the crates to be as hands-free as possible, though it was for her own convenience than anyone else's.

Lining up to the back of the truck, the two crates revealed another surprise in the form of slim arms that came out of the sides with rubber paddings on the flat surface on the ends that now gripped onto the bed of the truck as the crates pulled themselves in and rolled to the back, where the arms and treads retracted back to its body, making them look like mundane cargo once again.

With some assistance she got into the passenger seat. As her escort got behind the wheel, she reached into her coat and this time pulled her phone. It wasn't branded by any of the well-known companies. No, this one was her own creation. She didn't trust the factory-manufactured models, nor the software that came with them. After inputing a code, the screen showed the map she was given a few hours ago. A lone marker was pinned at the edge of a residential area with its address hovering over it.

Judging by the images of the house and the surroundings that came with it, it was set inside the richer side of the city. It looked like a small mansion to be perfectly honest. A little much for a hideout, but gives her plenty of room to breathe. "This is what they gave me."

When asked about being a smoker, she shook her head. "That strong smell would be me, but I don't normally smoke. The chemicals found in cigarettes damage sensitive equipment, but I needed it to keep my stomach from completely turning during the trip. The strong scent from the smoke helped with that. Apologies if it irritates you." While she was sincere, her tired tone may have made it difficult to tell.

Sarah placed her phone at the front of the dashboard where it could easily be seen. Its casing was made from a high-friction compound, so it shouldn't slide around during the trip.

When they set off, she decided to get a little information about this place. "What can you tell me about this island? It's not on any map, and it looks to be too populated to be ignored." It was just something that didn't add up to her, making her think this island was some sort of facility.

Sarah gave her bodyguard a mix between a raised eyebrow and a squint. Surely he had to be joking, right? Unicorns, robots, demons and magic? Why did her boss give her such a comedian? It would only hurt his sensibilities as she didn't respond to comedy all that well. But surely enough, she saw some things that her eyes couldn't believe, but passed it off as her eyes playing tricks on her.

As a woman of science, she would disregard fairy tales unless there was undeniable proof that they existed. Until she could confirm that things here weren't just a dumping ground of experimentation or the result of mind-altering factors, she would assume that everything here has roots in science.

And magic? The third of Clarke's three laws has stated that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable to magic. It was something she strives for in her work. If this place had "magic" she wanted to study it to uncover its secrets. All of it if she could survive her frail humanity long enough.

"If what you say is true and this island is full of these creatures of make-believe, then I can see why I was sent here." She didn't elaborate on her point. Sarah sunk into her chair with a slightest bit of disappointment. All this research to be done, and it would no doubt be only secondary.

The kind of people who flies over other people's houses were going to be a problem for her to be sure, but setting up defenses against them would only make it apparent that she had something to hide. Unfortunately, she couldn't hide behind wanting privacy since curiosity had a way of making people do the dumbest things. Alas, it was something she would have to put up with.

Henry was talkative, something that her bosses hated in mere security personnel, but she found it pleasant. Despite her distance to other humans, speaking to them was a pleasure, albeit not one she seeks out but definitely something she welcomes.

"I can be considered many things, I suppose. Scientist. Programmer. Engineer. Chemist. When it comes to the sciences, I'm a jack of all trades. What about you?"