You are the head of security for a major Space Station. Your men have just returned from a search of the station with ten men unaccounted for.

You stood in front of your senior officers, who looked back at you grimly. "The search was inconclusive, captain. We've found no trace of any intruder, but we've also not located ten of the crew," said Lt. O'Neil.<br><br>"You're telling me that you've search 14 square acres of space station, from inside out, and you've not found a single trace of ten men?"<br><br>"That's correct, sir."<br><br>You slammed your fist down on the desk in front of you. "I want a full list of the missing people on my desk in five minutes, and I want a full review of the internal cameras to see if we can figure out where everyone went. I want the cargo bays searched by hand, I want the fueling bays swept. Hell, I want the goddamn air vents crawled, if that's what it takes to find these people."<br><br>"Yes, sir!"<br><br>You watched your men file out, each as grim as the last. You knew that the chances of finding them alive at this point were dwindling, but you had to try. Space was a hard bitch like that; you play by her rules, she might let you live. You try to play by your own rules, and she'll scrape your organs across the hull of your ship and hurl them towards the nearest sun in a fit of rage.<br><br>A grim smile crossed your face. You had been in space a long time, and you'd seen many deaths. Space was an unforgiving place, and if these ten people had wandered out an airlock at the wrong time, you would be lucky to find enough of them to cremate.<br><br>Your mind wandered as you sat at your desk, waiting for the lists to arrive from your men. You were a career space marine; space was your home. You'd seen countless campaigns, on countless worlds. You'd been assigned to guard countless ships, and countless space stations.<br><br>This station was your last assignment. You were going to retire whether the Union liked it or not, and you were going to use every trick in the book to make sure they let you. You'd been in space for close to twenty five years. You'd gotten out of the Corps after your last campaign, and taken a job as head of security on a few different stations. This was the largest one yet, a joint endeavor between the Union of Earth and Mars colonists to explore deep space as a combined effort.<br><br>And now ten crew were missing, and you couldn't find a single trace of them.<br><br>The intercom on your desk crackled to life, breaking you out of your reverie. "Sir, we've gotten the lists you asked for," said an unfamiliar voice.<br><br>"Bring it in, we'll begin planning search grid alpha in fifteen minutes."<br><br>You took the stack of papers from the young man who walked in, and waited patiently for him to leave. Once he was gone, you began to read through the lists. It was a standard cross-section of the station, with a few Marines, a few technicians, a couple of scientists, and one of the higher ranking officers.<br><br>"Major Brooks?" you muttered, shocked. He was the head of the stations' piloting staff, and a good friend of yours. You had been planning on going to the bar with him after your shift ended. The bar would have to wait; you had to find your friend.<br><br>The intercom crackled to life again. "Sir, we found something odd on the internal security cameras," said the voice.<br><br>"What is it?"<br><br>You heard the man on the other end of the line gulp. "We saw one of the missing people just walking... well, into a wall, sir. Like he was going into a door or something. But there's no door there."<br><br>You furrowed your brow. "Play it back for me, please."<br><br>There was a pause, and a monitor on your desk flickered to life. You watched as one of the stations' techs calmly walked down the hallway outside the hydroponics lab, and into the wall at the end of it. You watched three different times before you called off the display.<br><br>You stood up, and walked to the elevator. You had to see this for yourself. You rode the elevator in silence, your mind working furiously to try and figure out what you had just seen.<br><br>The hydroponics lab was calm and quiet, the only noise the quiet beeping of the monitors and the whir of the nutrient pumps. You approached the wall at the end of the hall, and examined it.<br><br>Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was no hidden panel, no door. The wall didn't even seem out of the ordinary. You stood there for several minutes, trying to decide what to do. Finally, you reached out a hand, and pressed it against the wall.<br><br>Nothing happened.<br><br>You stood there for several more minutes. Finally, in frustration, you pounded your fist into the wall. As your fist made contact with the wall, you felt an odd tingling sensation, like pins and needles. In an instant, you were gone.<br><br>You blinked, looking around. You were standing on a grassy hill, surrounded by trees. A creek burbled past you. You stood there, stunned, as a figure walked up the hill.<br><br>It was Major Brooks. He had a table and two chairs strapped to his back, and he was whistling. He waved at you as he approached.<br><br>"Hey, captain! Come to join me?"<br><br>You stared at him, stunned. "Major... where are we?"<br><br>"Upstairs," he said.<br><br>You shook your head, still disbelieving. "Upstairs?"<br><br>"Yes, sir."<br><br>You stared at him, dumbfounded. He set the table and chairs down, and unfolded them. "Why don't you take a load off, sir?"<br><br>You sat down, still trying to process what was happening. Major Brooks sat down across from you, and smiled. "I'm gonna go get the others," he said.<br><br>As he walked away, you realized that he no longer had the equipment on his back. You stood up, and began to look around. You saw many of the missing people, as you watched. You saw a couple having a picnic, one man reading a book, a few others playing what looked like bocce ball.<br><br>You sat back down at the table, and waited for Major Brooks to return. He arrived after a few minutes, with all ten of the missing people in tow.<br><br>"Hello, sir," said one of the techs.<br><br>You stared at them, still confused. Finally, you found your voice. "Where are we?"<br><br>Major Brooks shrugged. "I told you, captain, upstairs."<br><br>You stood up, and walked forward. "Take me there."<br><br>The major grinned, and turned around. You followed him, and soon found yourself standing at the bottom of a staircase that seemed to go on forever. "This is the way upstairs, sir."<br><br>You looked up the stairs, and gulped. You had no idea where this staircase led, but you were sure you needed to go there. You put your foot on the first step, and sighed heavily.<br><br>Time to go upstairs.