“Let me know what you think,” Lindsey said, holding out a newly unwrapped chocolate bar.

Regina broke a piece off the bar Lindsey handed her and tasted it. Though the treat melted against her tongue, she could not register its flavor. Her mind ran in circles. Regina could only think about the looming threat the Temple Wraiths faced.

Oh God, they're going to take Specter from me. What do I do? What do I do?

In the weeks since her discovery, Regina had spent every in-game minute wandering Specter III and scouting its potential, and each minute increased her attachment to the world. Already, she planned to build fantastic cities complete with soaring skylines and luxurious resorts. Of all the Wraiths, she had the greatest sense of the planet's ownership. The Crimson Suns now threatened to shatter her hopes and dreams. What do I do?

Should I tell him I'm with the Wraiths now? Chris still thought she belonged to the exploration org Binary Moon, and his animosity stemmed from his org's prior misfortune. Regina wondered if revealing her membership in the Temple Wraiths could prevent the planned invasion. Could he stop his org from invading Specter? Would he? What if he starts hating me too?

“Regina?” Lindsey interrupted Regina's thoughts. “You don't think it's bad, do you?”

“Oh, it's good, but I think I liked the last batch better,” Regina said, trying to hide her discomfort. I should tell Mark…

“Hmm…” Lindsey popped another piece into her mouth for consideration. “I guess the lime flavor might be too strong.”

“I like this one more,” Chris said. “Not too sweet, and I think the citrus blend complements it quite well.”

Can you two just leave already?

Thanks to their light Tuesday schedules, Lindsey and Chris always spent Monday evenings together. They usually danced out the moment Chris arrived, but it seemed the chocolates distracted the pair from their plans. Now, they blissfully chatted, oblivious to Regina's faltering poker face.

Regina looked back to her code, hoping to distract herself. The text blurred in her eyes instead. She tapped at the on-screen keyboard, but only gibberish came out. Regina kept typing anyway. Why did you have to do this to me Chris!?

The seconds crawled like minutes as she waited for the lovebirds to depart. Instead, they continued talking about anything and everything. Regina had no idea how much time passed before she heard those words of salvation.

“We're going to dinner now,” Lindsey said. “See you later.”

“Okay, have fun.” Smiling, Regina faced the two and waved them off. Finally!

Once the door closed, Regina jumped from the couch and raced to her phone on the desk. After fumbling with the menus, she recalled her set command for voice input. “Stupid phone, call Mark!”

The device chimed in acknowledgment, indifferent to Regina's distress. Please pick up, please pick up...

Mark said.

“Mark!” Regina practically yelled into the microphone. “It's terrible! They're coming for us! What should we do!?”

“Chris just came over, and he still doesn't know, so he said they're coming-”

Mark said.

“Sorry.” Regina stopped for a moment to collect herself.

Mark said.

Regina checked the door, making sure it stayed closed. “The Crimson Suns,” she said. “They're planning to invade Specter.”

Mark paused.

“Sorry,” Regina realized her desperation was unproductive. All her tension evaporated as the thought settled in. “Yeah, I'll see you there.”

Once the call ended, she groaned and picked up her headset. Squeezing the device in her hands, she brought it before her eyes. What are you doing Regina? It's just a game…

The scent of new leather greeted Aero as he appeared in Libra Station's berthing quarters. Though sparsely furnished and lacking character compared to others he'd seen, the room lined with rows of empty bunks still belonged to the Temple Wraiths, serving as their preferred login area. Barely a week had passed since they completed the station's construction in the Specter system, and already, another org threatened its safety.

Time to hear April out, Aero thought. He glanced at his wrist-phone and confirmed both April and Sinn's presence in the station. He decided to call April first.

Her voice wavered,

“See you soon then,” he said. I guess she's still agitated. Sinn better be free right now...

He was. Sinn said.

“Something important came up,” Aero responded. “Get to the map room, now.”

Sinn said.

“Seriously,” Aero interrupted Sinn. “I mean right now.”

For a moment, only static buzzed from the device.

What did you think I meant by important? Aero sighed. “Yes, seriously.”

Once Sinn groaned in acknowledgment, Aero made his way to their meeting room, each step echoing through the still pristine corridor.

At the map room's heart was a holographic projector. Though typically used only for pilot briefings, the device gave off a radiant glow as it displayed Specter III's topology. April sat beside the holomap, gazing up at the red and blue sphere with her arms crossed and foot tapping on the floor. She glanced at Aero with a forced smile. “Hi Aero, sorry about earlier.”

“It's fine,” Aero took the seat beside her. “Sinn will be joining us, but he was at the sim room, so it may be a few minutes.”

“I know it's just a game,” April shook her head and sighed. “I know it's just data on some server. I know I shouldn't get so upset over something like this...”

Wait, what am I supposed to say in this situation? Aero cursed his inexperience as he watched April's figure huddled in her chair, swaying back and forth. “Well, game or not, you're upset because it's important to you, right?”

April shifted her chair next to Aero's and, leaning against him, hugged his arm. Though slight, she nodded.

“Uh… April?”

The pressure on his arm mounted, but the girl remained silent.

“Regina?”

“I heard you the first time,” April mumbled. “Let me stay like this a bit longer…”

“Alright.” Aero glanced at the holomap. Drawn and labeled over its surface were the org's numerous development plans, all of which may vanish before they materialized. The possibility disturbed him. As the silence became stifling, Aero let his thoughts out. “You're right that Parallax is a game, and that everything we see is data which has no impact on reality, but that doesn't mean it can't be important to someone. If I think about it, Parallax Gate has become an important part of my real life too.”

The grip on his arm relaxed, but more weight pressed against him. Aero gazed down at April, who rested against him with her eyes closed. He looked back to the projected planetary map. “Just because the contents of this game are data doesn't mean the events in-game didn't happen. Behind each avatar in the game is a real person on Earth, and the time our org has spent together is definitely real. To be honest, the Wraiths are almost a second family to me now. If anything, this dominion symbolizes that time we've been working and playing together. Maybe it's not real, but I don't want to lose it either.”

Minutes passed in silence, but now that silence calmed his thoughts. But, as April rested against his arm, a nagging feeling encroached on Aero. Moments later, the realization dawned on him. Sinn is late.

Aero looked over his shoulder toward the door. There, leaning against the open doorway with an approving grin plastered on his face, was Sinn. “How long have you been standing there Sinn?”

April jumped to attention, blood rushing to her face.

“You forgot to close the door,” Sinn laughed. “But hey, at least we know April isn't underage.”

April looked at Sinn, eyes wide and jaw dropped. “What's that supposed to mean!?”

“Ignore that,” Aero said, face buried in his hands.

“So what happened April?” Sinn asked with mirth in his eyes. “What's the important thing that came up?”

“Chris visited my room just now, and he boasted that the Crimson Suns have stolen the nav data to our systems.”

“Huh? Who's Chris?” Sinn asked.

“Sorry, he's my roommate's boyfriend,” April said. “And he's also one of the Suns' aces.”

“Okay,” Sinn said. “So how can you be sure he's correct?”

“He said the Suns would take the Wraiths' 'systems', as in more than one,” April said.

“How could they have stolen the nav data to our systems?” Sinn asked. “Is there a spy in the Fortune Divers?”

“No offense to them, but the Fortune Divers aren't worth spying on.” Aero shook his head. “My bet is that the Suns ambushed one of the Divers' ships and salvaged its nav computer.”

“Should we check with Remmy?” Sinn asked.

“No,” Aero said. “It's obvious someone already has the data to our systems. We're lucky that we know our enemy have a chance to prepare.”

“So what do you think Aero?” Sinn asked. “How should we defend this place?”

From the Suns? That's already crazy to begin with. Aero rubbed his temple. “Remind me, Sinn. What is the Suns' fleet strength?”

“About thirty-five frigates and a hundred-fifty fighters and bombers.” Sinn chuckled.

“Even if we combined the Divers' fleet with ours, they'd outnumber us six to one,” Aero waved off the idea. While the Temple Wraiths' all ranked among the top players in skill, the Suns' possessed more than enough firepower to swamp their small alliance.

Sinn nodded with a knowing smile. “But, we have this defense station and the Phantasm.”

“That's not enough. Even though we're defending a single gate, we'd run out of missiles and torpedoes against those numbers.

“What's your recommendation then?” Sinn leaned forward, still smiling.

Aero looked at the map again and clenched his teeth. He forced himself to say the objective truth. “The smart move would be to abandon the system and reclaim it with a larger force.”

“But we can't give up Specter!” April exclaimed. “Once word gets out, every org in Parallax will be invading.”

Aero sighed. She was also right. The Crimson Suns had already proven themselves lax with confidential material. If they discovered a habitable planet, knowledge of its existence was guaranteed to go public.

“See?” Sinn's grin widened. “You have a lot of work to do.”

“That means we can win, right?” April stared into Aero's eyes, expecting, or rather, hoping for a positive response.

Being a terminus system, Specter only had one gate to defend, creating an effective choke point for them to concentrate their efforts. However, only their destroyer and their new station had enough firepower to quickly destroy the Suns' frigates. As the numbers ran through Aero's head, he soon arrived at a dire conclusion. A minimum traversal interval between frigates did not exist as it did for medium ships. Thus, a properly coordinated fleet of frigates could emerge at a rate of one every three seconds – far more than the Wraiths could handle. “Sorry, but conventional wisdom says it's impossible.”

“But… there has to be something...Right?” April grabbed his hand, unable to accept his answer.

Her escalating distress stabbed Aero with guilt. What am I supposed to do?

“But you're not a conventional commander.” On the other hand, Sinn's grin became more vexing by the second.

“In the worst-case scenario, we'll lose everything,” Aero sighed. “We shouldn't risk that.”

“Last time that happened, you set a new record.”

“Except the scale of our loss would be irreplaceable this time, if that happens,” Aero said.

“You can do something, right?” April pleaded. “Please, Aero?”

At this point, nothing could convince Sinn to pull back, and Aero had no desire to further unsettle April. He sighed again. “Sinn, pull up the system map.”

“You got it,” Sinn bounced his way to the holomap console. The planet's image flickered out as the system's orbital map, showing the system's celestial bodies, replaced it. The display also highlighted the Wraith's recent developments in their dominion, namely Libra Station and a newly constructed fuel plant.

“Well the best way to defend Specter is obvious,” Aero said. “We'll move the Phantasm and Libra over the gate and sink whatever comes through. Those two will focus on frigates while our frigates and fighters engage their fighters and bombers.”

“That's the conventional plan,” Sinn said. “How are we supposed to win?”

“First, the obvious preparations,” Aero said. “I would move the forge ship Mint to some other system and out of harms way. I'd also recommend shutting down our fuel extraction plant and tucking it into an asteroid belt to avoid collateral damage. Stevie should visit Arms and a Leg and restock on missiles and torpedoes.”

“Right,” Sinn nodded. “I'll also ask Myles to make arrangements with the Divers.”

“For defending, I have a few ideas. Problem is, we need all the hands we can get,” Aero said. “We're talking every Wraith, plus all the Divers' pilots. Problem is, there's no way to arrange that unless we know when they plan to attack. It'd also help if we knew how much time we had to prepare.”

“April,” Sinn said, “You can find out from that Chris guy right?”

“Wait,” Aero said. “You're asking her to spy on her roommate's boyfriend?”

“I'll do it,” April said.

Aero looked to her, unease gnawing at his gut. “Are you sure? These things can ruin relationships.”

She nodded. “I'll be careful.”