=Somewhere on the Living Dream Hotel= So far, the tour of the Hotel had been long and uneventful. Hours turned into days. While there were a few odds and ends that peaked Rick’s interest, nothing really excited him. He remained patient. Rick looked over at Jo and saw that she was as bored as him. She shrugged as they walked on behind their tour guide Naodo, who seemed to be trying to do his best to please the engineers. When they arrived at what seemed to be the power distribution hub of the station, Rick became more alert. Naodo pointed out a number of interesting aspects of the Hotel’s systems in this area of the station, which Rick took mental note. Still, he wasn’t finding what he was looking for. They passed a closed door as Naodo walked on, but Rick and Jo stopped. “Naodo, what’s behind this door?” Rick asked. “That is our reactor core,” Naodo said. “Can we have a look?” Jo jumped in. “Oh, no,” Naodo said. “It is, what you say, dangerous. Very high levels of radiation. Very dangerous.” “There’s no containment?” Rick said. “What if someone needs to make repairs to the core?” “Then they would wear specialized suits,” Naodo said, who seemed to be trying to get Rick and Jo off the subject at hand. “Now, if you could follow me. We have some interesting developments in holographic technology to show you that I’m sure will be of interest.” “Sure,” Rick said. “Whatever you say. But one of my specialities is reactor cores. I would love to get a closer look at it.” “As I said, very dangerous,” Naodo said. “Yeah, but you also said that you have specialized suits,” Rick said. “I could put one on and have a look around. I would love to see a reactor core that could produce the power that this station seems to produce.” Naodo was looking a little nervous, but he done an admirable job of hiding it. “One reactor core is like any other,” Naodo said. “To an extent, but there are many differences,” Rick said. “I could go over them if you’d like.” “No, that won’t be necessary,” Naodo said. The tour guide then seem to drift away in thought before continuing. “I will have to make a special request to the Hotelmaster,” Naodo said. “Once we’re finished with the tour, I’ll ask him. But that request may take some time to complete.” “Then why don’t you make the request now and we can finish this tour later,” Rick said. “If that is your wish ...” Naodo said. “It is,” Rick said. Naodo nodded and escorted them back to their rooms. “So, what now?” Jo asked as they entered Rick’s room. “We get a closer look at that section of the ship,” Rick said, sitting in a chair. “I may be able to throw together a narrow sensor sweep of that room if I can just get back to the ship.” +tap+ “Rodgers to Chimera.” There was no response. Rick repeated the call, but he was greeted by silence. “Great,” Rick said as he stood and quickly left the room with Jo in pursuit. Once they arrived at the airlock connecting the Chimera to the station, Rick entered only to pop up directly in front of Jo. “What the hell...?” Rick said. Rick tried, and then Jo, but they both ended up back on the station. They both looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces. “Is there a problem?” they heard from behind them. When they turned, they saw Naodo standing there. “I thought you were suppose to be making that request for us with the Hotelmaster,” Jo said. “He is currently ... as you would say ... tied up at the moment,” Naodo said. “Running the Living Dream Hotel can be a busy job. I’m sure you understand. Once he’s available, I shall endeavor to make the request.” “Yeah ...” Rick said. “Anyway, we were trying to get back aboard the Chimera, but are having a little trouble in that department.” “Oh, well, that’s because your ship is no longer there,” Naodo said. That resulted in surprised and shocked looks in Rick and Jo’s faces. “Yes, the Chimera departed almost two days ago,” Naodo said. Rick and Jo just looked at each other. Acting Lieutenant Rick Rodgers Chief Engineering Officer U.S.S. Chimera and PO2 Jo Weathersby (npc) Engineering Specialist U.S.S. Chimera