For Derek, gaming was an escape from the miserable failure that was his life. In a twist of fate, the game he wasted his time on turned out to be a training program for an important job; and a key behind him getting the chance to go into space that he always wanted. Unfortunately, he would never make it off earth.. alive at least. 

(This is a novel in progress. It is based on an existing outline, and will likely have some modest editing done once it reaches the final chapter.)