My head…

I groaned, wincing as I felt the pain in my head slowly subside to a dull throb.

It was then that I realised I was lying down on the floor, which was weird considering that I already had been sitting down in the VR Capsule so I should not be on the ground even if I passed out.

I pushed myself up to my feet as my vision came back into focus, revealing that I was standing in a room that was somewhat alien yet not entirely unfamiliar to me.

Wait… This isn’t my room? Where the hell am I?

Right in front of me was a chair overseeing a console with several screens that were currently switched off. Flanking on both sides of the wall were two more console panels each with their own seat in front of them.

In front of the first console were what looked like glass windows looking out into a sea of stars.

It slowly dawned on me where I was.

This was the cockpit of one of the starter ships in the game that you could get by picking a specific trait, the Explorer.

It was one of the better starting ships in my opinion as it was a balanced ship with good mobility, serviceable weapons and adequate cargo space, making it the perfect ship to start with if you have not decided what kind of playstyle you are going for yet.

Huh… So I guess the game actually managed to start after all? But what happened to the opening sequence? Did I actually pass out and skipped through it?

I looked down and did a quick check on my character.

Hands? Check. Smooth, long legs? Check. Long white hair that reaches my lower back? Check. Vagina? Also check. Boobs? Nice. Firm F cups and very squeezable.

What? Like you’ve never seen a guy make a female avatar before. Please.

Hmm… Is it just me or is it cold in here?

Wait… Cold? How can I feel cold here? The VR Capsule should not be able to make you experience temperature changes… So why does it feel cold now?

Was this a new update or something? But the hardware didn't change and there was no news about such a feature?

I flicked my hand to open the machine’s settings menu.

Nothing happened.

Eh? Eh??

Wait, wait… No, no, no… This must be a mistake…

I flicked my hand a few more times but the results were the same.

My head felt a little dizzy and I had to lean against the chair for support.

No way… Did I… Did I get sent to another World? Or in this case… Another universe?

Did I die in my original universe?

…

No, no, no…

Arrgghhh! God damnit! If I had known this was going to happen, I would have made myself a male instead!! Fuuuuuuck!!! My diiiick! Give me back my diiiick!

Hmm… What about the traits I picked though? Do they also--

My thoughts were interrupted when the console in front of me beeped out a warning.

"Warning, detecting high energy signatures approaching."

I turned my attention to the console, the map display showing a blip that was slowly getting closer to my ship.

I reached out and tapped on the screen, my experience with the game kicking in as I switched the display to show the external cameras.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

A red ship with a distinct skull and crossbones insignia on its side was in the midst of docking alongside my ship.

Two figures were already floating out of the hatch towards my ship's external entry hatch.

Great… A pirate boarding event just as I started? At least they were kind enough not to blow me out of space…

I went towards the back of the cockpit where a square metal safe locker was bolted to the side of the wall.

If this was similar to the start of the game, they should have given me some starting weapons in the safe here. Otherwise… I guess I'm fucked.

I pulled open the locker door and thankfully, there was an energy pistol alongside some spare energy cells stashed there.

It wasn't much but it was better than nothing.

I picked up the pistol and cells before heading towards the hatch, making sure to check the gun was loaded on the way.

I pressed myself against the wall close to the hatch, hiding in the shadow of the wall as I heard the sound of the outer hatch cycling closed.

"Are you sure about this?" A voice came from behind the door.

"I already told you, yes. Did you not see for yourself? The scan showed the life support systems were offline. Only the artificial gravity systems were online. This thing is empty."

"But it's completely intact…"

"Then maybe if you find anyone inside just shoot them dead. Is that so hard? Now shut up, I still have one more door to hack unless you want to do it instead."

"Fuck… Fine…"

I thumbed the safety off on my pistol, letting the weapon power up while I tried to press myself even closer to the wall, hoping that they would not spot me as they entered.

There was a hiss and the door started to cycle open.

I sucked in a breath and held it, slowly lowering myself to a squat to hopefully be less visible that way.

The door finally spun open and two pairs of boots stomped in, the two pirates sweeping their gazes around the dimly lit interior of my ship with a casual air.

The one closest to me looked down at a wrist mounted tablet, "Hmm… Looks like there's still air in here but the main power is off. Whoever this belonged to left in a hurry."

With that news, the two of them reached up and took off their helmets.

"Remember. See anyone, shoot first, ask questions later. Got it?" The closest pirate ordered.

They then pulled out their weapons, both of them wielding what I assume to be ballistic assault rifles in their hands.

I slowly levelled the blaster to the head of the furthest guy.

Sorry, but you came here with the intention to kill so expect yourselves to be killed in turn.

I squeezed the trigger.

A ball of blue plasma shot out from the barrel of my gun, hitting the pirate dead in the head.

The pirate closest to me flinched and turned to look at his comrade, the momentary distraction giving me ample time to shift my gun to point at his head.

With another squeeze of my fingers, another energy bullet was fired to hit the last pirate in the head, also killing him instantly.

The two pirates fell onto the ground on top of each other with a thump, their guns clattering onto the ground noisily.

I let out the breath that I had been holding.

Then the smell of blood hit me and I felt my stomach churn.

Oh god… This isn’t a game… The bodies don't just despawn and if I wanted to loot bodies, I actually need to pry it off their cold, dead hands…

I looked down at my hands, finding that they were shivering noticeably.

Yeah… This wasn’t a game… I just took two lives in a span of a few seconds…

I thought that I would be fine since I’ve killed plenty of enemies in VR which would arguably be close to real life but since not all of your senses were replicated in the game… I was still not that prepared for the real thing.

I was brought out of my thoughts when a voice came from the bodies which made me jump.

“Hey, you guys are done with the entry hatches right? Hurry up and open up the docking hatches, we’re waiting over here.”

I almost tried to shoot the dead body again, stopping when I realised the voice was just coming from their communication device.

Right… I’m not in the clear yet… These two were just the advance party to help the others gain entry… There’s no way they would be wanting to transfer the loot they got from this ship by floating across the void of space.

Judging by the size of the pirate ship, I would guess that it should hold around five to six people, which means I might still have four other pirates to deal with…

What… What do I do?

Even though I might have played VR shooters to the point that I felt I’m actually pretty decent at the game, but if I die here there won’t be any respawns or reloading of saves.

I will actually die if I’m killed…

Can I run away?

No… They're currently tethered to me so I can't even run…

I'll need to fight but can I take on four enemies on my own?

I would think they would be on guard if they don't see their friends at the door so I doubt I would be able to use the same tactic again.

Wait… That's it!

Ok, this is pretty risky but it's better than nothing! I just need to move fast and with a little bit of luck I might actually be able to pull this off!

Alright, let's hope they don't mind waiting for just a few more minutes…