AS BYRON stood in the Icarus' airlock, he prepared himself to board the freighter. Part of him felt good about saving the Xuar, but he couldn't be too careful. Scarlett reminded him that the flag of the freighter had been forged which meant it could be a trap. That's why they decided to prepare for an attack on the ship.

As he lifted a heavy silver rifle, he grunted from effort. Scarlett helped him gear up for the boarding party, and that mainly involved putting on armor and weapons. The Icarus didn't have much in the way of weapons and armor, though Scarlett assured him they would get more later on.

He put on a bulletproof vest, pants lined with armor plating, and a helmet. As he put on each piece, messages would pop up:

KESTREL ASSAULT RIFLE

LEVEL REQUIRED: 2

DAMAGE: 5

ACCURACY: LOW

AMMO: 30

+1 STRENGTH

TITANIUM VEST

LEVEL REQUIRED: 2

+2 ARMOR

TITANIUM LEG ARMOR

LEVEL REQUIRED: 2

+2 ARMOR

TITANIUM HELMET

LEVEL REQUIRED: 2

+2 ARMOR

As for weapons, he jammed a mass driver pistol into a holster on his hip.

HAWK MASS DRIVER PISTOL

LEVEL REQUIRED: 2

DAMAGE: 10

ACCURACY: HIGH

AMMO: 10

+1 STRENGTH

COST: 500

PURCHASE Y/N

When he finished, he pulled up his stats.

MARINE - LEVEL 3

STR: 12 (+2)

DEX: 7

NRG: 1

ARMOR: 4 (+6)

HP: 100/100

CREDITS: 5000

Byron grunted. "Not much of an improvement, but it's better than nothing. Gotta say, I'm surprised I'm leveling up so quickly."

The robot dusted off her hands. "Yeah, don't get used to it. You know how it is. The first few levels have low XP requirements, just so you'll get into the game. The later levels require more points."

She glanced around as if looking for someone who might be listening and stepped closer while lowering her voice. "Which brings me to something we need to talk about. Like I said, something weird is going on. That Necralia squadron? The way you managed to beat them at level three? I've never seen that happen before."

The hair on the back of Byron's neck prickled as he asked, "How many guys have you been with before?"

She smirked and ran her hand down his cheek. "Hey, tiger, don't get all possessive on me. I'm an assistant program. Everyone gets a version of me when they join Venus Online, but I'm unique to you. I can access the memories and experiences of the other bots, but I personally have never been with any other player."

She turned around and patted one of her round butt cheeks which jiggled and clanked from the impact. "You got yourself a virgin, baby."

Byron nodded, flushed and feeling a little silly. Of course, she was just a program in the game, but he was surprised how close he had gotten to her. He really was buying into her as a real woman, and he had started to think of them as being true lovers.

He looked her in the eyes, seeing how the blue light glowed back at him. "Hey, I need to know something. Are you just programmed to be attracted to me or are you really attracted to me?"

Scarlett winced. "Hey, let's not get into all that philosophical Ex Machina bullshit, okay? For what it's worth, I think you're really sweet and really cute and gorgeous. But let's face it, it's a game. I'm made for you, and you're perfect for me. How about we leave it at that?"

"Fine, okay. But what's it mean what you said about me beating them at level three?"

She sighed. "Well, it means you're not like other players I - I mean, we've seen in here. We'll see what happens, I guess."

"Okay, I need to get some more answers pretty soon. Like how did I get the Venus Online equipment so quickly? I ordered it online, and the guys showed up to deliver it in hours."

The robot shrugged. "Sorry, lover. I wish I could answer that, but I can't. I only have limited knowledge of what goes on outside the game and some of the things I do know, I'm not allowed to share."

She reached out to tug his bulletproof vest into place around his shoulders. "Now, come on, let's stop dicking around and get in there. That cat-looking lady was a Nikora, one of the five major races of aliens in Venus Online. Wait'll you see the rest of her. Nikora are very submissive but can be really ferocious fighters when they want to be. They're also really horny, so you have a good shot at her."

He stared at her. "Wait, are you-I mean, you're trying to set me up with her? Aren't you jealous?"

She leaned a hand on his shoulder, and wiggled her metal eyebrows up and down. "Byron, I don't get jealous. In case you haven't figured it out, I'm your helper in here which means whatever you want, I want. And I'm guessing you want a lot of hot chicks to fuck, which means that's what I want for you. I'm also a horny little bitch, so if she hooks up with you, I'm hoping to get a shot at her, too. You should also know that you can form a party with other NPCs and players in the game, and they can all be female, if you'd like. Yeah, that's usually called a harem. Lucky you."

She clapped her hand on his shoulder. "Okay, enough talk. Let's go."

She picked up a laser pistol and they turned around to face the circular gray metal airlock attached to the freighter. Scarlett tapped keys on the control board that caused locks to disengage around the door with a series of clanking sounds. A warning red light flashed as the airlock spun around and swung open. Air hissed from somewhere in the ship.

OBJECTIVE: BOARD FREIGHTER

As it opened, Byron brought his pistol up to aim into the dim light on the other side. The freighter's airlock had a single bulb glowing on the ceiling that flickered on and off. Otherwise, it seemed empty.

He looked down at Scarlett who shrugged.

He took a step out of the airlock and towards the freighter. The air flowing in from the other side smelled woodsy like cedar, but was breathable. Beyond where he could see, a corridor curved to the left, out of sight.

"Hello?" he called out. "Anyone there?"

A distant rumble like an engine kicking on started.

He walked into the freighter, glancing over the plain gray walls with warning labels over them telling him to watch his step for dangerous chemicals. He moved further to turn down the corridor.

"Scarlett," he whispered. "You picking up anything?"

She shook her head. "My scanners are limited until you upgrade them. Right now, I can scan your dick better than what's ten feet in front of us. But for what it's worth, I'm not detecting any lifesigns in that ten feet."

He narrowed his eyes and eased his way down the corridor, following the line of sight along his pistol's barrel.

At the end of the corridor, all lights had been extinguished, leaving it in darkness. He felt around on his vest until he reached the flashlight Scarlett had shown him. He snapped it on.

The beam of light pierced the shadows, falling onto what looked at first like more shadows. After a moment, his eyes adjusted to the fact that it wasn't a shadow. Something tall and black stood in the light's path.

Before he could even get a sense of what he looked at, red light flashed out of the darkness. Byron dove to one side as the laser fire slammed into the wall where he had been standing.

Three health bars popped up over the heads of three soldiers, all wearing black armor and a variation of the helmets that Forsh had been wearing. Soldiers from the Necralia Empire, he guessed. Their black rifles fired a volley at Byron and several hit his arms and chest. It felt like fists punching into his body, throwing him against the wall.

-25 HP

HP: 75/100

Well, he told himself, I knew pleasure works in here. Now I know pain works, too.

He also knew he'd been right to bring weapons. It had been an ambush, after all. He felt a surge of anger at the Nikora who led him into the trap. He had tried to save her, and she stabbed him in the back.

He forced himself to stay focused. He had grown up playing first-person shooter games for hours, and gotten pretty good at them, too. His mother had spent almost as much time telling him to stop wasting his time on video games and go outside to play real sports. Byron hadn't listened, and at that moment he was glad. He could finally put his skills to use.

As smoke from his charred armor singed his eyes and nose, he fought through the pain to look down at his flashlight. It had been shattered. He fired back into the dark. One of his shots hit a trooper who fell back, but the trooper's health bar only dropped by a fourth.

Scarlett screamed in a battle cry behind him as she fired rounds from her pistol. The bolts crackled around the enemy soldiers who took very little damage but scattered, moving to hide behind crates nearby.

First person shooters were Byron's other passion, and he put his skills to the test. He couldn't see the room so he relied on what he knew. There were at least three enemy soldiers, maybe more hiding in the shadows. By the flash of the enemy guns, he could see crates scattered around the room. Of course. It wouldn't be a first person shooter without crates. The soldiers had the advantage because they had cover to hide behind while Byron and Scarlett were in the open in the corridor. Cover was the first objective.

He dashed forward in a serpentine motion out of the corridor and into the other room. He made his way to the nearest crate, weaving but keeping his rifle fire concentrated on the soldier hiding behind it. The soldier fired back, but the enemy health bar dropped quickly until the soldier flew back, blood spurting from charred wounds.

+75 XP

100 CREDITS

75/10000

As Byron hunched down behind the crate, he broke into a smile. He had moved with lightning speed, even wearing armor and carrying weapons. The strength stat really paid off.

With a crate to hide behind, Byron had a better chance of survival. He glanced down at the screen on his rifle. It showed he had only four more shots, but he had an ammo clip on his belt. He fired his rifle at the other crates, not just to hit them but to let him see better from the muzzle flash. It lit up the room which turned out to be only slightly bigger than he could see from the corridor. The other two soldiers leaned out from behind crates and fired back, hitting Byron's cover instead.

The screen on Byron's rifle blinked red. Empty.

He took several quick deep breaths as his fingers hit the rifle's latch like Scarlett had taught him. The ammo clip popped out to clatter onto the floor. He yanked the spare clip off his belt and slammed it home.

The screen showed he only had ten more shots for the rifle. He couldn't wait to upgrade so he could get more weapons and carry more ammo.

He leaned up and fired more rounds. The two soldiers reeled from the impact of his weapons, but their health bars only dropped by a third. They fired more before ducking down to wait him out.

He couldn't fight them like this. They carried more weapons and had better armor than he did. He had to outthink them. He didn't know if the soldiers had night vision, but maybe they didn't. If not, then as long as no one shot, he couldn't see anything but neither could they.

Well, he could see one thing. The enemy health bars. They glowed in the darkness, floating over two crates while occasionally shifting position. Byron wondered if the soldiers could see his own health bar. If not, he had an advantage.

Byron slipped his rifle back into place as he drew his pistol with the other hand. He checked the ammo. Only five bullets. He would never be able to even get through their armor with that.

It occured to him that, if Venus Online worked like other FPS games, then a headshot did more damage. If he could get close enough, maybe the five shots could do the job. He just needed a distraction.

"Wait!" he yelled, "Hold your fire! I want to surrender!"

He crawled on his hands and knees out from behind his crate, headed for one of the other soldiers. He couldn't see the soldier, but could see the health bar and hear the soldier's deep voice call out.

"No surrender! Your death is the will of the Goddess!"

He moved quickly towards the source of the voice. When he drew close, Byron jumped up and fired. By the muzzle flash, he saw the soldier almost right in front of him. The soldier faced away from him, but seemed to be turning towards him.

Byron brought the pistol right up against the soldier's helmet and emptied his gun into it. As he hoped, the point-blank range punched through the helmet, dropping the enemy health bar to zero. The soldier tumbled back into the darkness.

+75 XP

100 CREDITS

HEADSHOT BONUS +25 XP

175/10000

Byron heard the Necralia trooper's rifle clatter at his feet. He reached down and tried to pick it up, but it felt like it weighed a ton. He kept trying until the game popped up another message.

NECRALIA PULSE RIFLE

LEVEL 10 REQUIRED

"Great," he snarled.

He checked his pistol. It flashed "zero." Out of ammo.

Byron holstered his pistol and flexed his fingers. Time to try out his level twelve strength.

He headed for the last remaining soldier. The enemy soldier fired into the darkness in all directions.

"Where are you, heretic?" the soldier roared.

Crawling on the floor, he circled around to where he hoped the soldier would be facing away. With a final burst of speed, Byron dashed out. The enemy trooper whipped around and fired. Byron felt the laser bolts slam into his chest but let the momentum carry him forward.

-40 HP

HP: 35/100

Byron grabbed hold of the enemy trooper's helmet and twisted as hard as he could. The soldier's head whipped around as a loud crack rang out. The soldier went limp and collapsed as its health bar dropped to zero.

+75 XP

250/10000

100 CREDITS

OBJECTIVE COMPLETED

The room flooded with light. Scarlett stood across the room, one hand on a switch.

"Why didn't you turn on the lights?" She froze, looking around. "Holy shit, you killed three Death Troopers in the dark? What the fuck?"

Byron collapsed onto the floor.