With a cold front encroaching upon the Boston area, more students than usual packed into the Stratton Student Center during the noontime rush. Though miffed at first by the day's extended lunch lines, Mark distracted himself browsing the PG news sites as he waited in the queue by the deli.

Thankfully, general interest in the Wraiths on the PG nets had faded by the weekend's start, and most sites now reported results of dominion wars whose frequency rose with general in-game activity. Most notably, Stars and Bars clashed against Black Hole Legion on their border, but that battle kept the status quo after each side lost several medium ships. PGN reported the outcome of the Innocent Bystanders attack on Phalanx, but the Temple Wraiths were merely a footnote in the article. He soon found his seat waiting a minute after paying the cashier. Unexpectedly, Regina sat across from Ivan again.

“Ah, you're joining us again,” Mark said.

“Yep,” she said. “I hate eating alone, and my friends all are busy at this time for one reason or another. So if you don't mind, I'll be joining you more.”

“Nope, I don't mind at all,” Mark said. “But you might get bored by the engineering and space talks we have.”

“With Rena here, we should talk PG more,” Ivan said.

“Oh, it's fine,” she said. “I wouldn't be playing Parallax if wasn't interested in space to begin with. I love how real it feels.”

Mark nearly lost his first bite. Doubled over, he shook with suppressed laughter.

“What? Did I say something funny?”

“Sorry, I was just pointing out how unrealistic PG was to Ivan earlier today.”

“Really?” she asked. “I thought most people played for the realism.”

“It is realistic,” Ivan said. “The way ships move in game, the simulation of external forces on the human body, their system formation models, they're almost perfect. All the ships, weapons, and infrastructure are also theoretically possible too. All the sensory input is cutting edge too. PG is easily the most realistic space game ever.”

Regina frowned. “Then why did Mark laugh?”

“The developers took liberties,” Mark said. “In reality, interstellar space travel would be boring. Real space is huge. There's too much distance and no plausible way to break the light barrier. If you traveled at the speed of light, it would take four hours to reach Neptune from the Sun as timed by an external observer. Then, if you account for the limits of acceleration on the human body, that stretches travel time even further.

“Also, gates, or rather wormholes, are only theoretically possible entities. Unless some super-civilization created them, you won't find many near star systems. To have two or three wormholes in each of hundreds of star systems is improbable at best, and even if wormholes do exist, their traversal won't be moving through a spinning tunnel like in game.”

Regina tilted her head and stared at Mark for several seconds.

Oh crap… did I just ruin her favorite part of Parallax Gate? Mark began eating in silence.

“You're a real space nut, aren't you?” Regina asked.

“Wait, where did that come from?”

“He is,” Ivan said. “You should see our dorm room. He's got posters of all the classic Hubble shots out there.”

“Really? I should have guessed.”

“And not just that,” Ivan continued, “he also has a huge telescope pointed out the window. He even printed the thing himself.”

“Wow, that's deeper than I thought.”

“Uhh, I'm still here you know…”

Regina smiled. “Sorry, have one of my cookies Mark.”

Mark sighed.

“So if it isn't for the space simulation,” Regina asked, “why do you spend so much time in game?”

“I started off like most, actually,” Mark said. “I needed something to hold my interest, so Ivan here recommended it to me because of how realistic Parallax was, and still is. It was only after I spent dozens of hours that I really noticed the cracks.”

“Then what keeps you playing?” she asked. “I keep going back because its like every day I see something new.”

“It's fun, to put it simply,” Mark said. “Ivan managed to gather an amazing group of people in the Wraiths, and I want to help them succeed.”

Ivan beamed. “I'm amazing, aren't I?”

“Is that group supposed to include Alf?” Regina asked. “He makes everything so awkward.”

“Obviously!” Ivan said. “What good is an org if you can't enjoy your time with them?”

“Wow, you just confirmed my reason for joining the Wraiths,” Regina said.

“Well you sure didn't join for the PvP action and dominion wars,” Mark said.

“Of course not!”

Mark and Ivan chuckled for a moment before Ivan spoke up. "Speaking of dominion wars,” he said, “Sid Griffen contacted me last night. He wanted to meet in game and discuss our participation in another dominion war.”

“Wait,” Mark said. “Wasn't Sid Griffen the leader of Innocent Bystanders you mentioned?”

“That's right,” Ivan said. “Suicide runs or not, you still made an impression Mark.”

Mark sighed. “I don't know about this…”

“As long as it's not that Twain guy in charge again,” Regina said, “it might be worth the experience.”

“Yes! Rena agrees with me.” Ivan pumped his fist in celebration. “I'm definitely requesting use of their mid-scale shipyard. We can finally repaint the Phantasm!”

What? That can't seriously be your reason for working with them right!?

On Sid Griffen's invitation, Aero, Sinn, and Myles had traveled to Castilia, the capital of the Innocent Bystander's dominion. While unnecessary in Aero's opinion, Sid insisted that he provide their transportation, a first class shuttle furnished with leather couches, ornate carpets, and even a crystal chandelier. The three now sat with Sid in a spacious lounge within their headquarters station.

Though purely virtual, the gestures did not go unnoticed, and Aero realized Sid's determination to patch relations. Even so, Aero couldn't understand why his own presence was requested by the Bystanders.

“To start, please let me apologize for Twain's commands in our earlier dominion war,” Sid said. “He's good with commanding large fleets, but as you've realized, he undervalues diplomatic relations.”

“Apology accepted,” Sinn said. “Nice domain, by the way, its hard to think this is all player owned. It looks like you have everything from mining all the way to a medium shipyard in one system.”

“Thank you,” Sid replied. “You're right about that. We have enough mining and production infrastructure to internalize most of our ship combat losses.”

“So you wanted to hire us for another dominion war?” Sinn asked.

“Yes, I'd be quite happy if you're willing to lend us your fleet's strength,” Sid said, “including your new destroyer of course.”

“That's too valuable,” Myles said. “Even if you paid us its full market value, we wouldn't be able to replace the Phantasm if we lost it in battle. That isn't something which can be covered under the typical mercenary fleet agreements.”

“You're right,” Sid said. “Not just that, your organization also demonstrated the ability to capture enemy capital ships in battle. In the year since Parallax Gate released, nobody else has captured anything larger than a frigate during a dominion war. I know your org is more than a typical band of mercenaries. That's why I'm here.”

“You want to propose something different,” Sinn said.

“Yes. Let's ignore the destroyer, for now,” Sid said. “For your escort fleet, four frigates and sixteen interceptors was it? I'll give you twenty-five million up front for their participation, plus a ten percent bonus for their enemy credit damages.”

“A good deal under normal circumstances,” Myles said. “But after Twin Arcs, we have to assume the Wraiths fleet will be a total loss. Our org received credit damages which totaled thirty-five million.”

“That's fine. I can agree with that,” Sid said. “How about thirty mil, plus a fifteen percent damage bonus?”

He increased his offer way too easily, Aero thought. In that case, his real objective should be the Phantasm's participation.

“So that puts our break even point at thirty-three million in dealt damages,” Myles said.

“You're confident that your CDR will be at least neutral right?”

Was that a veiled taunt?

“Elaris wasn't a fluke,” Sinn said. “Of course we are!”

Sinn's response strangled any room for further negotiation. Realizing the mistake, Myles sighed. “It looks like Sinn agrees with those terms. But in the case of our destroyer, we can't risk losing the Phantasm.”

Unfazed, Sid nodded. “That's understandable. Its market value is one hundred million or so, and that would be a big loss for an org without a dominion. On the other hand, would you consider selling it to us?”

“No!” Sinn jumped. “That's our flagship you're talking about. There's no way we can sell it!”

“Oh? So what are you using that ship for?” Sid asked.

“We used in on a few jobs,” Sinn replied. “Having that ship gave us a lot more good job offers.”

True, Aero thought, but we can barely break even after your missile and torpedo spamming. While the job offers improved, the tremendous upkeep forced the Wraiths to mothball the Phantasm.

“You don't need to bluff,” Sid said. “I know the operating costs of medium ships. On a good day, using it on a job would let your org break even. Even for the most lucrative jobs, you're still better off using more frigates and interceptors. In fact, I'll bet another destroyer that your org hasn't broken even on operations yet thanks to someone being too trigger happy the first time they commanded it.”

Dead on, Aero thought. Not only did the man command respect as a tactician, he also possessed a strong understanding of the Parallax economy. The words left Sinn speechless.

“I'm speaking from experience by the way. It was Twain for the Innocent Bystanders, about eight months ago when we built our first cruiser,” Sid said. “Now about your destroyer, you won't lose it, I guarantee it. In fact, we'll replace it for you if does sink. So my offer to you is this – the Innocent Bystanders will pay you twenty million credits, plus a guaranteed ship replacement, for the Phantasm's use in our upcoming domain war.”

What? A replacement guarantee? Aero thought. Sid held no doubts on his own ability to command a battle, but the offer went beyond generous. There must be something more.

“And in exchange for the replacement offer,” Sid continued. “We request that any captured ships in the battle will first go towards replacing equivalent friendly ships lost in combat. After that, spoils will go for keeps. Do you think that is fair?”

Fair? That offer gives us far more than what is considered fair. Even if the Wraiths lost their entire fleet and gave up any ships they captured, the up-front credits and offered ship replacement ensured a minimum profit of twenty million credits, far beyond from the three to five million they typically earned per job.

“Your offer is generous, anyone can see that,” Myles said. “If you don't mind, can I ask why you're going so far?”

“Simple,” Sid said. “A single medium ship might be the difference between stalemate and rout in dominion wars. Aside from Phalanx, our other neighbors are a group of small dominions with no medium ships. They have an irritating defensive alliance, but they can't threaten this domain. Phalanx has not recovered from the battle at Twin Arcs, so now is our best opportunity to destroy them. With one more system, this dominion can support a second mid-scale shipyard, which would make us dominant in this sector and behind only S&B and Black Hole Legion in org power. The credits I offer to you are merely an investment to tip the scales in our favor and boost the rate of our ascent.”

“Okay, in summary,” Myles said, “The Innocent Bystanders offer fifty million credits, plus a small ship performance bonus of fifteen percent and a medium ship replacement agreement in exchange for the full combat strength of the Temple Wraiths in your next dominion war against Phalanx.”

“That is correct,” Sid said. “What do you say, Sinn?”

“The Temple Wraiths accept,” Sinn said.

“Very well,” Sid said, “I look forward to working with you.”

Following a handshake and a contract signing, the details became final, and Sinn wandered back to the shuttle with Myles and Aero in tow. “The deal is incredible for us,” Sinn sighed, “but why does it feel like I lost badly?”

“To put it lightly,” Myles said, “he led you like a lamb to slaughter. That Sid is a far stronger negotiator than the Andy Wright I dealt with last time. He knew everything we had to offer and enough of our job market to put us in a position where we'd give him everything he wanted at a manageable cost. I knew Sid is one of the best commanders out there, but I've never heard anything about his ability as a diplomat.”

Sinn took a deep breath. “Yeah… Suddenly I'd rather fight Black Hole Legion than end up on his bad side.”

“At least the guys don't need to know what happened,” Aero said. “Aside from your feelings, the deal is great for the Wraiths. In fact, if we limit our hull losses, it might get us enough to start that dominion.”

“Really?” Sinn's eyes instantly brightened and he strode to the shuttle at a brisk pace. “Let's hurry back and tell everyone the good news!”

Yet as they boarded their transport, a voice rang out from behind them. “Aero! It's nice to see you again!”