The door opened and the group walked through. Inside was a rather beaten looking metal corridor. Some of the lights flickered as if struggling for life, while others shone so bright it was as if they were sapping the light from the others. The walls looked old, too. Certainly sturdy; they could take a hell of a beating yet... However, the paint had long since peeled off, there were cracks here and there, and about a third of the way through the wall almost looked like it was bending inwards. It would have been hard to say for sure without a ruler, or a level.
The facility may have been built to last, but clearly that was a while ago. It likely would not pass an official inspection nowadays.
Seemingly in defiance of this cold, militaristic style, someone had rolled a rug across the entrance and placed a welcome mat right at the door.
The rug barely reached half way, and the mat read "H me Swe t Hom " but it was better than nothing.
Janken wiped his feet on the mat as he passed through, turning his head to face Clara as he walked.
"Ahh, good questions indeed! Not what I expected to be first and foremost on your minds, but then again, Huntsman and Huntresses in training should always be on the lookout for possible danger, eh?"
Janken spun around to face Clara entirely, now walking backwards with his hands in his pockets. He gave the impression that he might have thought this act to be somewhat nonchalant and cool. Christina and the security team, however, gave the impression that they hadn't noticed and didn't care. Nor did they wipe their feet on the mat as they passed.
"Well, as to the secrecy... that's more accidental than anything else. We're all more than happy to discuss our research and development here. We didn't think to broadcast in too much detail, lest another team take up our ideas and finish before we do. We may be trying to help people, but we do also need to eat, and there's not much money in coming second place. Also because we figured that most applicants wouldn't be interested in all the sciencey mumbo jumbo."
Janken turned back to face forward as they neared the end of the corridor. He flashed his ID to a scanner, which opened up into a rather large elevator. He stepped inside while the two security personnel took place either side of the elevator.
"The security, however, has been an issue. Not because of other people, mind you. Our tests are, as I'm sure you've already gathered, very involved with people's mental state. The end goal might be improved ability to help people overcome things like fear and trauma, but we're not quite there yet. In fact, in the earlier stages of development, we made a few missteps resulting in full blown panic attacks over things as minor as dropping food on the floor. As again, I'm sure you're all aware, this kind of negativity is something of an invitation to the Grimm.
We weren't at dangerous levels or anything, but... well, the Kingdom of Atlas wasn't thrilled with the idea of our research adding any strain to the Kingdom's defenses, and that may well be a reasonable concern. You'll understand once you see how the devices we're developing work.
Anywho, that's what the security is for. Also partly why we wanted combat trained testers. We'd have hired actual Hunstmen, or Atlesian specialists, but our budget is already stretched pretty thin just from hiring this place from the Atlesian military. Tight buggers weren't even using it, as you can probably tell.
Anyway, rent costs and refitting and hiring our own security to make sure we don't get killed left little in the way of research funds to pay the full asking rates of fully trained professionals. Public ad for science tests are a lot cheaper, even with all the freebies and transport costs covered. Plus, a lot of them come with baggage from the job, which would only add to the strain on our defenses here."
Janken finished his lengthy explanation, and simply stood in silence, watching the group from within the elevator. After a moment of silence he clicked his tongue.
"Right, well, pile on in. It might be a bit squishy, but we should all fit. Any more questions?"
He leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Once again, he gave off the impression that he seemed to this this behavior was 'cool'