Any Which Way...

"Let's follow the Quartermaster path," Doc says as he wipes his face down with an alcohol pad. "With any luck we'll find the armory, or Veronica, or both."

The path to follow is an indigo circle. For a short while it follows the same path as the VIP tour, but then breaks off and goes it's own way. The further through the maze they get, the more the other paths merge. Eventually, there are only two ways to go: forward or back.

They see a new set of lights appear on the wall, and hear a path open behind them. A yellow uniformed engineer carrying a toolbox rounds the next corner. He smiles and nods politely as he passes by them, indifferent to their presence.

At length the guiding lights lead them to a door. It is marked only by a series of letters and numbers.

"What is it?" Doc asks.

"No idea," Steve replies. He holds the orange keycard to the scanner. The door opens.

Inside is a spectacularly furnished office building. It's several stories tall, made of glass, chrome and blue steel. Doc counts six mezzanines with cascading stairways like a fountain. A bank of white uniformed secretaries sit behind a thirty foot glass desk, each working furiously to answer calls on their headsets, enter information into the holographic computer displays in front of them, and keeping up the appearance of being well kept and busy.

"Admiral Spaaz's Office, how may I help you?" echoes across the room once every two seconds in a variety of voices, followed shortly by "Please hold."

One young man looks up at them, stands, and approaches. The three black stripes across the torso of his white uniform denote his rank as Spaceman, First class. "May I help you, Lieutenants?"