Cinthia's gentle voice echoed through the room, "Miss Jane, I'm leaving for now. Lunch is in the microwave if you get hungry. I'll be back after I run some errands, all right?" Jane, absorbed in her expensive simulation pit, nodded stoically without shifting her gaze away from the screen. Her neck-length crimson-tipped bright pink hair bobbed along as she reached for the buttons on the keyboard, her fingers deftly navigating the controls. The soft glow from the trio of monitors mounted in front of her cast a subtle radiance on her features. With a practiced motion, she pressed a shortcut, muting the microphone and speakers, enveloping herself in the serene hum of her high-tech cocoon.
“You don’t have to. I can just reheat something for dinner or order out. You should spend more time with your granddaughter; she’s not going to stay cute forever, you know?” Jane suggested, devoid of any playfulness, hoping that Cinthia would take her suggestion as she simply wants Cinthia to relax and spend time with her family instead of coming all the way over to her house to take care of an adult woman. As she turned to unmute the microphone and speakers to resume talking to her group of online friends, Cinthia's laughter filled the room.
“Oh, but you managed to stay cute after all this time. I’m sure my granddaughter will be just as cute at your age.”
“Cute? You don’t call a woman in her thirties 'cute,' Cin,” Jane replied, her tone still matter-of-factly, her attention promptly returning to the multiple monitors in front of her. Cinthia chuckled and stepped out of the door. Before closing it, she threw in one last remark. “And somehow, you’re still that cute little Miss Jane.”
As the door closed, a sudden “thump” echoed in the room. Jane tossed a small pillow at the door, a mix of frustration from Cinthia's teasing and the embarrassment she felt for still feeling a flutter of happiness. Memories of her childhood flooded back, the times Cinthia had doted on her. Jane cherished those moments, but her stubbornness prevented her from expressing it openly, resorting to a playful pillow throw to chase Cinthia away.
On the other side of the door, Cinthia leaned against the wooden barrier separating the two. She had known Jane since the latter’s childhood and understood that the cold exterior was a manifestation of Jane’s inner struggles. After all, she was present when she saw how the cheerful, beloved little girl slowly losing her light before shutting herself off behind a wall that keeps her emotion hidden. Nevertheless, the affectionate nickname “Cin” lingered in the air, proof enough that Jane still holds affection towards her.
As Cinthia exits the building, she muses to herself that the pillow-throwing was an odd ritual of theirs, but something exclusively theirs. Despite Jane’s cold demeanor, Cinthia knew that Jane treasured her just as much as she treasured Jane. All the teasing she had done was not simple, playful banter but her own way of coaxing Jane to express the emotions she habitually pushed down for she had taken the role of a gentle provocateur, unraveling the layers of Jane’s emotional fortress. She simply longed to see Jane happy like she used to be when she was a child, but she lamented it wouldn’t be easy after all Jane had been through that she now lived like a recluse, not even bothering to take even one step outside her house.
Jane unmuted the microphone and speakers, flooding the room with the lively symphony of laughter and banter. Prior to this, the ambiance had been limited to the gentle hum of her computer, the whirring of the ceiling fan, and the rhythmic clacking of her keyboard.
“Sorry about that, Cin was just leaving. Where were we?” Jane spoke as she reclined in her sim-pit.
“Aww, widdle Miss Jane will be weft aww awone tonight?”
“Don’t start, Lean!” Jane replied sternly to the disembodied voice coming from the speakers, a smile playing on her lips as the room echoed with laughter.
“Anyways, what’s our plan for launch? Pirates, or good citizens for the empire like during beta?” Seria asked, trying to change the subject, erring on the side of caution out of fear that Lean might piss Jane off when they’re so close to the long-awaited launch of their current favorite game.
“I’m against pirate play. It’s soooo boring!” Emry chimed in, interrupting. “How is it boring? We can raid and plunder all the time! That’s fun!” shouted Lean.
“For you! You’re happy if we just drop you into a kill zone. The rest of us want to do other things too,” he pauses. “And Mari’s useless in a firefight."
"Hey! Leave me out of this! I’m fine doing whatever. You’re just mad you can’t nerd out if we’re raiding all the time." Mari shot back; with clear frustration in her tone.
"Now, now, children. Don't make me get the belt," Sugarlily intervened with authority. "Either you be civil, or we can have Jane veto an idea. We all know that last time Jane decided on a group activity, it turned into a shitshow. Don’t make me support her ideas."
"Yes, Dad," the group replied sarcastically in unison, followed by laughter. Jane playfully pursed her lips into a pout in her sim-pit.
"Wow. You fucked up ONE TIME, and they hold a grudge for a lifetime," Jane muttered to herself, loud enough for the microphone to pick up. “One time, my ass,” Lean quips, triggering another round of laughter and giggles from the group. As they composed themselves, Hoard’s voice broke through, "Aww, you know we love you, Janey. That shitshow was fun. Lean was the only one mad, and only because we didn’t win," followed by laughter.
"You just love my ships, dude." Jane bantered back, a subtle smile on her lips. This type of exchange was the highlight of her gloomy days. She can’t remember when it started, but by the time she had realized it, she found herself smiling and laughing when talking to this group of friends that she miraculously made over the years of playing Star Empire’s alpha and beta tests.
"Speaking of ships, we never got to try out the base-builders, right? Why not try city-building this time? Jane has every ship except for capital ships. We can recruit others to mine and process the materials. I’m sure there are plenty of people who want to get their hands on city-building gameplay but don't have the headcount or cash flow for it," Jordan suggested with a measured tone, his excitement palpable but restrained.
The chat fell silent as the group pondered the possibility and repercussions of city-building play. They had always tried something that was more mobile, in a sense. Hauling goods, raiding enemy ships, rescuing downed players on some desolate planets, but never city-building.
"That’s... Yeah, I like it," Scope finally chimed in. Despite her few words, the group always paid attention when she spoke. It wasn’t that she was wise beyond her years or anything like that; the group simply knew Scope had trouble integrating and made a conscious effort to be welcoming, giving her the chance to speak whenever she gathered enough courage. Initially bothered by the attention, Scope now appreciates the group’s efforts to make her feel heard.
“I mean... Don’t you think it’s about time I get to roost in a comfy tower instead of some tall rocks?” Scope tried her hand at telling a joke to match the group’s energy. Her heart was pounding in her chest, anxiety berating her, wondering what she was thinking telling a joke that bad aloud. She feared the joke wouldn’t land, and the group would remain silent. To her surprise, she was met with Hoard’s and Lean’s uproarious laughter.
“She’s right, though. Isn’t it about time we settle down?” Mari cut through the laughter. “Now we can build a house big enough for all of us,” she added, excited about the idea of having a home with her found family, even if it’s only in a video game.
“Are we sure we want this? In romance novels, sure, the duke or emperor main character has all the time in the world to waste on wooing the female lead, and their kingdoms don’t burn to the ground. But we’ll be swamped with the management of the city, you know?” Seria shared her perspective. “Can Lean even survive a day without shooting at something?” She added with a soft giggle, joined by Mari.
“It’s fine. If it’s not fun, we just ditch it and go do something else.” Jane contributed to the discussion; her lack of enthusiasm evident to everyone. She was just going with the flow, as she always did. “I already bought the ship anyway, and Jordan wants to be a mayor or something this time around. So why not?” She sank deeper into her seat, shuffling her legs in front of her for comfort.
“I’m fine with it if any of y’all are wondering. There’s bound to be some dumb fucks trying to pick a fight with player cities. If I can shoot at those idiots, I’m cool with the plan. Actually, fuck that noise. Make me the minister of defense because I'm going to get my dick wet with their blood.” Lean announced while doing her best impression of a supervillain laugh.
“Jesus, Lean, chill out. We got kids here.” Hoard retorted sarcastically, knowing everyone in the chat was of legal age. “I TOLD YOU I’M 18,” shouted Mari, indignant at Hoard’s repeated teases referring to her as a kid simply because they had met before she turned 18. The voice chat burst into laughter once again. They found Mari’s reaction to being called a kid hilarious, and even the usually aloof Jane would occasionally take a jab at it.
Lean rolled her eyes. “You shriek like a banshee when we call you a kid, but when Jane does it, you’re all puppy eyes. Typical,” she retorted with a laugh, teasing Mari about being Jane’s fangirl. Mari was indeed pushed into silence by embarrassment, reacting exactly as Lean had predicted.
Sugarlily sighed, their voice exhibit harmonies that defied the typical gendered cadence. “We’re never going to get anything done if I just let you kids keep roasting each other. So, I’m taking over,” they cleared their throat as a creak of their chair audibled through the speakers. “Seria, you’re good with details, so you’re in charge of the materials. Take Emry and Mari with you. Emry’s at least good at math to make sure we get our mats as cheap as possible.”
“Why do I—” Emry about to protest but found himself muted by Sugarlily, and Mari’s joyful giggle can be heard before she too was muted. “Now, since Lean volunteered, she’ll lead the defenses. And when we get new meat shields, they’ll be under her.”
Before Sugarlily could finish their sentence, Hoard's voice boomed excitedly through Sugarlily’s headphone “Can I get in on the action too? I’d like to be in the frontline when people come knocking.”
Sugarlily chuckled, amused but found it predictable since they knew why Hoard’s volunteering. “Well, I was going to make you take charge of loot anyway, no reason you can’t be up there picking it up yourself,” and that left Hoard’s mouth gaping as the only thing that came out from him was “Oh,” which elicited a rather ugly cackle from Lean who finds it hilarious that Hoard volunteered for additional duty by accident.
“Moving on,” Sugarlily continued, “Jordan. Since you roped us into this, you’re in charge of roping other people into helping us. Go, get us some cheap labor.” As Sugarlily was about to address the remaining unassigned members, Jordan piped up. “Can I still fly the base-builder?” he asked, and everyone could just tell that that question would have been much more animated and louder in volume if Jordan weren’t keeping his excitement in check. “If Jane’s slacking off, yes,” Sugarlily gave a quick and concise answer, and a hyped but hushed “YES!” whispered out of the speakers, and everyone could tell it was Jordan’s.
Sugarlily then turned their attention to Scope, addressing the shadow of the group. “What about you, Scope? Anything you want to do?” They inquired, knowing that the likelihood of Scope telling them what she wanted to do without anyone asking was slim to none. “I’d like to... Be involved with the building part. Or planning. If possible.” Scope answered meekly, fearing she had stepped on someone’s toes with her request. But to her delight, Sugarlily readily agreed. “Okay then. Scope, Jane, and I will take care of city planning and piloting the builder ships. Good thing Jane’s a whale and bought everything, so we have a lot of spare builder vehicles.” Whale, a term meaning someone who spends an obscene amount of money on online games, fits someone like Jane perfectly, considering how much money she had spent on this game alone, not even counting the amount she spent on her top-of-the-line sim-pit exclusively for this one game.
Sugarlily unmuted the previously muted members, freeing them from their timeout as the assignment of duties and roles concluded, marking the end of the planning meeting. Everyone, except Jane, appeared excited about their new plan, delving into a mechanic none of them had experienced before. Talk even emerged about becoming the first player-built metropolis in the entire game, a feat that could bring them fame. At least, that was Jordan's perspective. The group either nodded in agreement or dismissed it as a fantasy, acknowledging the presence of other 'whales' in Star Empire's vast virtual space.
Jane shifted in her seat, leaning forward to stretch and crack a few joints. She hoped it would chase away the weariness creeping up on her. Deciding it was time for nourishment, her slender form stepped up and out of the needlessly expensive sim-pit. She stretched some more now that she had more room to move. Taking the chance to turn towards the microphone, she addressed her friends in the voice chat, "I’ll be right back. Going to get me some grub and coffee."
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Walking outside the room and into the eerily quiet hallway, she made her way toward the kitchen, adorned in nothing but a loose tank top and gym shorts—the fabric clinging to her painfully slender form. Her ancestral home, once a sunlit abode meant for a family, now stood as an empty nest of one shrouded in gloom. Jane had replaced every curtain with pitch-black replacements and forbade Cinthia from opening them, preferring to spend her days in the dark. This choice accentuated the starkness of her malnourished frame
Jane paused as she crossed the living room area on her way to the kitchen, reminiscing about her happy childhood with her loving parents. She remembered the exact spot she was standing in when she told her parents she was a girl. Their loving response spoke of nothing but their unconditional love towards her. “Guess unconditional love only works when you have money, huh?” She muttered to herself, angst and frustration in her voice as she balled her hands into fists.
Staring into the living room for a bit, she stepped away towards the kitchen with increased cadence in her steps, as if trying to run away from the sight before the memories put her down on her knees again.
She opened the microwave and grabbed the lunch Cinthia had prepared for her. It was nothing fancy, just a couple of beef burritos, more than enough for her. Placing the burritos on the kitchen island, she made her way to the coffee maker. Luckily for her, Cinthia had prepared a fresh brew before she left. “God bless you, Cin,” she muttered under her breath, with a hint of joy in her voice. Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she then moved over to where the burritos lay in wait. Grabbing one of the two and taking a bite out of it. Her eyes looked over the dining area across from the kitchen, sunlight breaking in through the gaps in the black curtains.
She had taken merely a few bites out of the burrito before she set it down. Once again reminiscing about her childhood, this time a memory centered around the dining room table, a happy childhood. This house that her parents worked themselves to death to reclaim was a source of pain for her, yet at the same time, the only ties to her parents she had left that she can’t bear to abandon. Leading to a vicious, never-ending cycle of torment deep in her heart. Having lost her appetite, Jane turned towards the sink, washed her hands, and splashed water on her face before rushing back to her room. She left the burritos and untouched cup of coffee on the island with little care.
In her haste to evade her fears, she couldn't afford to care. Rushing back to her room, Jane settled into her seat inside the steel-framed, high-tech cocoon. The hum of the computer and the glow of the monitor acted as a filter from the outside world, helping numb her memories by providing her with ample distractions from the turmoil beneath. She sat there for a few minutes, listening to the chatters of the group chat without announcing her return for she needed a moment to compose herself before facing her online friends.
“Back. What did I miss?” Jane announced her return to the group. The group was well aware of her return long before she had said anything but decided to play along to accommodate her as she had done for each of them. “Oh, we’re just tracking who among us destroyed the most ships we piloted. And you’re winning!” Seria answered with a glee and giggle. “And if you recall, even OUR records were mostly because of Janey’s strats.” Hoard piled on.
Jane feigned a pearl-clutching gasp and mock indignation, “Those were tactical experiments! Shut up,” she shouted with a chuckle. “Jane, girl, my beloved commander, my ship-providing queen, the girl I’d marry if I was gay, I love you, and I’d follow you to hell and back. Experiments or not, even I think your strats are bat-shit crazy.” Lean retorted with heavy emphasis on ‘I.’ “And that’s coming from the axe murderer of the group!” Emry jumped at the chance to roast Lean. The chat once again erupted into laughter with Jane shaking her head, her left hand covering her face as if to cover her embarrassment even though logically no one was there to see her grin. These people were the reason she sought solace online, for within minutes they had distracted her from what haunted her and made her laugh.
“Let’s not forget the ‘all stealth ships’ raid. We had neither firepower nor actual stealth,” Sugarlily contributed to Jane’s greatest hits of ‘tactical experiments.’ Jane’s pale complexion almost turned red—sudden roasting she had not expected after her brief sojourn to the kitchen. “Hey, stealth ships are just misunderstood,” Jane defended her strategy, only for Jordan to break that defense with, “Maybe, but we were the most visible ships there that day.”
“You’re lucky I like you all, or I’d start charging repair fees for every scratch you put on my ships,” Jane casually flexed her wealth while implying a threat. Not that they would take it seriously since they’d gone beyond this before, and Jane still treated them the same. “Aw, we love you too, big sis,” Mari casually inserted herself, taking the chance to get Jane’s attention. Mari was the youngest of the group and the most recent addition, but Jane had developed a soft spot particularly for Mari, which fueled Emry’s middle-child syndrome even more.
She reached for a lever on her right side, pulling it down to recline her seat. She mused on how randomly teaming up with Sugarlily for the first time had led to attracting all these lovable characters to the group. The years of alpha and beta testing of Star Empire probably wouldn’t be as enjoyable without them. The thought of missing out on all this if she had declined Sugarlily’s party invitations all those years ago genuinely scared her. She was forever thankful to Sugarlily for clinging to her and convincing her to group up with the random people they met over the course of their friendship. Not all of them are winners, but Sugarlily made sure to kick out any toxic players and troublemakers, keeping only the ones that would not only make her forget about her struggle but also make her laugh.
Despite never meeting any of these people in real life, nor knowing how they look like, Jane thought the world of her friends who had put up with her cold treatments during the initial phase of their friendship. Her eyes scanned the monitors in front of her as her right hand gripped the wireless mouse on the side of the armrest of the sim-pit. She flicked through the browser tabs, zoning out of the conversation. Then, she noticed that the game launcher she had left open had an alert stating a new update was available.
“Heads up, launch update is available; download the update so you won't be late. Launch is a few hours away, so get your affairs in order. We got a city to build,” Jane interrupted the group’s on-going chatter while her thin hand glided the mouse across the mousepad, dragging the cursor across the monitors to download the update that was required for the launch of the game in a few hours.
The group collectively initiated the download process, some boasting about their free schedules, while others proudly declared they had taken a day off just for the game’s launch. With the seat still reclined, Jane leaned against it, sinking into the plush comfort her tech cocoon offered. She enjoyed the ambiance of her group of friends bantering and bickering with each other in good spirits. Once again, her thoughts drifted, thinking about the game that brought these amazing people into her shuttered life.
She stumbled upon the game shortly after the start of her life as a recluse, browsing through online videos to waste time. Upon discovering a video about Star Empire, an ambitious Massively Multiplayer Online game a decade in development, she initially thought it was just a fun video about a spaceship game. However, as she watched more videos on the subject, she realized that the game aimed to have every player in a single persistent universe, a departure from the norm that avoided separating them into instances and shards like current games were doing.
While the multiplayer aspect of the game didn’t really entice her, the company had earned her respect for trying to break through the boundaries that had kept online gaming shackled for well over two decades. For the next few days, she spent almost all her waking hours watching videos of Star Empire, be it tech demonstrations or gameplay footage by players trying the game for the first time.
When she discovered that the developers of the game aimed to implement features such as a dynamic, player-driven economy, seamless transitions from space to ground and back, and player-driven gameplay allowing users to shape the game world through their interactions, a profound sense of liberation washed over her. Stuck in the confines of her self-imposed isolation within the four walls of her room, these promises of freedom within the virtual universe resonated deeply.
After she got her hands on the backers’ access to the game’s alpha test server, she found her equipment was subpar for what she wanted to use it for. Upon researching the gear she may need to enjoy the game from other seasoned space flight simulation players, she realized she still had a lot of money left that she could afford to spend without worry. For the next few weeks, Cinthia was shocked that her ‘little miss Jane’ had become a shopaholic. Every day would mark a new day for deliveries to arrive at her doorstep. Jane had gotten herself a top-of-the-line simulation cockpit, as well as the most powerful gaming computer she could get her hands on through online shopping sites, much to Cinthia’s chagrin. But the older lady relented as she saw her ‘little miss’ showing signs of excitement for once, something she had longed to see for many years now.
Star Empire’s developers sold the in-game ships on their website for real money, catering to players who preferred skipping the grind of in-game earnings. This approach also contributed to funding the game's ongoing development. Despite her generosity, Jane had her limits. She purchased every available ship on the website, including those added later, solely because she could afford them. Her rationale was simple – she had worked hard enough in her lifetime, and now it was time to enjoy the fruits of her labor. She didn't want to 'work' in the game; she just wanted to play without the burden of earning anything.
At first, she spent her days merely flying around the game world in one of her many ships, finding comfort in her solitude as she enjoyed the views across the virtual universe. However, this routine didn’t last long. One day, she bumped into Sugarlily at a space station where she had randomly stopped to resupply. While Sugarlily wasn’t a bubbly cheerful character, they were friendly enough to reach out to Jane to team up for an in-game mission. From then on, they added each other as friends and talked almost every day.
They would undertake missions together, and Sugarlily took that opportunity to pull Jane out of her comfort zone while playing. This was how the group got to where they are now. With her thoughts wandering through memories of her friends and the game that brought them together, she had fallen asleep. Weariness caught up to her, compounded by her malnourishment due to a lack of appetite and the untouched coffee from earlier. She had no hope of fighting off her fatigue.
The group's banter continued for quite a while before they realized that Jane had been quiet for more than ten minutes. This wasn’t their first time witnessing this, so they reached a tacit understanding, hushing their voices—a collective gesture fueled by both amusement and genuine concern for their friend.
Lean, always pushing her luck, tried cracking a joke about sleeping princesses, but Sugarlily shot a quick message urging silence. In the quietened atmosphere, each group member found themselves pondering the enigma of Jane—her apparent wealth, which would have bought them freedom and happiness if they were in her place. Yet, Jane herself was asleep in her expensive contraption that she spent almost all day in, as if bound or confined within it.
The chat shifted from lively banter to silent exchanges of understanding through typed words. They navigated the virtual landscape without voice, sharing a silent accord not to disturb the peaceful slumber of their leader. As the group decided to conclude the conversation, each member signed off, leaving Jane embraced by the soft glow of her monitors, a digital princess in the kingdom of dreams.
Jane slowly opened her eyes from her slumber, feeling oddly unrestricted as she spun around to set her foot down from the bed and onto the cold, metallic floor. She took a moment to stretch after that good sleep she had just experienced, forgetting how comfortable her bed could be. "Wait. Bed?" she thought to herself as she vaguely remembered that she had fallen asleep in her sim-pit, waiting for the launch of Star Empire. As soon as Jane remembered about Star Empire’s launch, panic set into her as she feared she might have missed the launch window and that her friends might be waiting for her.
Frantically, she promptly stood up from her bed only to hit her head against the bottom of the top bunk above her. She knelt on the floor, clutching her scalp that collided with the metallic underside of the upper bunk, genuinely puzzled by what could have hit her head like that. When she stood up to examine the source of her pain, she realized that she was no longer in her room. The metallic floor chilled against her bare feet as a narrow passage stretched before her, lined with bunk beds on either side. The dim blue glow cast intriguing shadows on the walls, and a sense of familiarity washed over Jane, making her question the reality of the situation.
Jane turned towards the door with a vague sense of familiarity. A tinge of fear and panic urged her to sprint towards it. The sterile smell of the well-maintained structure permeated the air, adding to the confusion that wrapped around her waking mind. The temperature was cold but not uncomfortably so, the metallic surfaces conducting a slight chill as if to reinforce the idea of coldness around her. The lack of sound except for the soft barely audible hum coming from the dim blue lights creating an eerie tranquility that heightened Jane's disoriented state.
Her palm landed solidly on the button placed to the side of the door. With a hiss, a high-tech metallic door split apart from the middle, opening a path beyond the chamber she was in. The sight brought Jane to her knees again.
“N-No... This can’t be...” Jane chanted repeatedly, desperate to believe that this is just a dream. Her eyes scanned the room beyond the door.
What she saw was out of this world—Or rather out of her world. A vast empty space adorned with stars and floating rocks, blocked off by sheets of clear material and metallic frames holding the transparent materials together, greeted her. Before the clear view of space, three seats lay, resembling a pilot seat in the middle with co-pilot seats flanking it.
Her eyes were drawn to the fixture in between her and the seats, something she recognized as the stations for the top and bottom turrets of the vessel she was currently aboard. As realization sank in, the name echoed in her mind: “It’s the Zed..." Jane muttered with disbelief and shock on her face, still kneeling before the gaping doorway.
Her right hand slowly reached for her face, pinching, tugging, and even twisting her cheek for good measure to ensure she wasn’t dreaming. Reality clung to her with an undeniable grip; this experience felt too vivid to dismiss as a mere dream born from falling asleep while contemplating the game Star Empire. Zed held a special place in her hangar, her favorite among many. She had invested time in naming it, a process that set it apart from her other ships, most of which remained unnamed or bore monikers given by her friends.
The Zed in particular was a medium freight and a gunship of the Constellation line, model Andromeda. Sixty-one meters in length and fourteen meters in height would make it a pretty large ship for a single person, hence why there were four beds in the ship, as the ship was designed for a four-person crew. The dual nature of the ship allowed it to function as a freight hauler using its expansive cargo hold and packed enough firepower to deter would-be pirates. The amount of fun she had had in the ship with her friends prompted her to favor this ship over all else. And now she found herself being inside her favorite ship in person. Confusion and fear swirled around in her head as she stared blankly at the bridge of her favored Zed.