Linaeve and Frayne are on the bridge waiting for me. On the deck, I find out that the ship has already docked. They must have one of those fancy new tractor beams. Or I must be really out of it, because I didn't feel a thing.

"We have been instructed us to proceed directly to the administrative deck," Frayne volunteers.

"I guess the ship has to depart sooner than they expected, so they want to make this as quick as possible." Thank god for small blessings.

"Well then, let's not keep them waiting." I say as I head toward the airlock. Linaeve grabs my shoulder and I start, looking away.

"Your stripes are crooked." she says as she adjusts my badges.

"Thanks." I mutter sheepishly as we pass through the door onto the command ship. The whole place is oddly silent.

Linaeve eerily voices what I am thinking, "That's weird. You'd think that they could spare a private or something to escort us to the administrative deck."

We continue to walk down the hall, approaching the welcoming booth. I get a sense of foreboding as I notice that there is no one there. As we approach, Frayne points to a sign that reads "Gone to play WoW 3000. Sorry for any inconvenience."

"WoW?" I'm incredulous. "Isn't that one of those MMIRPG things? I thought that the Interstellar Addiction Mandate required that all Alliance vessels had facilities to deal with that?" This whole situation is really starting to creep me out. What's next, a defective holographic computer projection to welcome us?

We proceed down the hall, following the signs for the elevator. On our way we pass by a security booth which is also vacated. This one has a note saying "Private poker game. Do not disturb."
I hate cards.

When we finally get in the elevator, I look down to push the button for the 23rd floor and notice that some jackass has pushed all the buttons. Great. Now we get the scenic tour of the amazing deep space phallus.

Continue...