The King’s Throne was still docked at Gateway Station, the last bastion of civilization before one entered the Rim, as it awaited the arrival of the Master.  Unfortunately, the ship was barely in functional condition, and certainly not up to the OCD standards of the Master.  So he sent his Maids ahead with word that he would arrive shortly.  They were to clean up, and clean out if necessary, his suite and library.<br/><br/>The airlock from Gateway Station to the King’s Throne was simple enough, a circular doorway roughly three meters across.  It was open, revealing a short tunnel through the dome, then a beaten down path bordered on each side by nearly a meter high of thick undergrowth.  Weeds, thistles, bushes, brambles, nothing that any sane person wanted to try and force their way through.  Someone, thankfully, had taken some industrial equipment to it, and chopped out a path roughly two meters wide that ran straight like an arrow to the tower visible in the distance.  Of course, to make it even worse, a frigid rain was falling in a constant shower from the dome above.<br/><br/>A wooden bridge, crude by any standard and only two meters wide, connected the path to the tower.  It lay over an algae infested lake, so murky that it was impossible to tell the depth.  The constant rain made it hard to tell, but it did seem like something was moving under the surface of the water.<br/><br/>The interior of the tower was little better.  Dust lay thick on every surface, only disturbed by the track of vermin and workers.  Every surface was in need of a good polishing, and probably some repair, and what furniture was present was covered in cobwebs and other debris.<br/><br/>The Master’s Suite was, if it could be believed, worse.  Someone had clearly been squatting there, living in a bed of rags and cooking food in a campfire in the marble tub!  Where they were was anyone’s guess, but even without the squatter, several rats could be seen scurrying about, and a bat would occasionally swoop through the rusted open windows.  In the distance, there was a loud splash, followed by an ear-splitting screeching noise, then silence.  This is where the Master had chosen to live?<br/><br/>There was little furniture left in the suite, the wooden bed, tables, and chairs had been smashed for firewood.  There was supposed to be more furniture arriving soon, or perhaps down in storage, but the whole place would have to be made spotless before it could be brought up.<br/>