THE NAKED green woman spun and slashed at one of the other Bloodbrawlers, slicing his chest and cutting through his chest plate. The soldier screamed as he stumbled with his health bar dropping like a stone.

The other soldiers chose that moment to recover. They swung their guns at the green woman.

Byron didn't know who this naked green woman was and he didn't care. She was on his side. Or at least he thought she was.

He had never killed anyone but Byron knew this wasn't a game anymore. The idea that there were real killers in Venus Online meant that if he wanted to survive, he needed to protect himself and his team. Besides, the game and maybe the world was better off without these monsters.

It's just a game, Byron told himself.

He fired his pistol at the soldiers. As he had hoped, the laser bolts from his weapon punched right through the armor and sent them reeling.

Yet their health bars stayed at fifty percent and some of them managed to get shots off.

Byron felt the impact of their bullets but not as badly as the hits from the Necralia Death Troopers. His armor and the low strength stats of the Bloodbrawlers worked in his favor.

At the same time, Scarlett dove for cover while firing her guns and yelling, "Come get some, bitches!"

Her gunfire seemed to open the floodgates and other players in the game opened fire as well. Laser bolts and bullets flew all around them, but Byron and his companions stayed focused on the Bloodbrawler soldiers.

Chetaara reached out a hand and a bolt of lightning shot out of her fingertips. It struck one of the soldiers who went into convulsions. She reached out her other hand and a mug of beer flew off the counter into the other guild member's head. When he stumbled back, she leaped onto him and began tearing at him with her claws.

As the soldier screamed, Byron focused on one remaining Bloodbrawler left. He wasn't in the fight, but ran for the exit awkwardly in his bulky armor. Byron sighted down his gun to aim for the soldier's exposed head and fired.

A hole burst in the Bloodbrawler's skull and the soldier collapsed.

Byron waited for the shock of having taken a human life for the first time, but it never came. He still felt like he played a video game instead of the real world. Somewhere, maybe a person lay in a VR pod, dead. Here, only a body faded away.

+175 XP

Chetaara rose up from the mangled corpse of the Bloodbrawler she had tackled, licking her lips in obvious satisfaction. Scarlett kept herself busy by shooting random people in the club. As far as Byron was concerned, their fight was over. They needed to get out.

The naked green woman came out of the crowd, holding her sword with both hands over her breasts. She went straight up to Byron. "Do you have a ship?"

"Uh, yeah--"

"I need a ride. Let's go." She headed for the exit, and her boobs and ass jiggled with her run.

Byron followed. "Hey, wait a minute. Why should I--"

The green woman wheeled around. "I-I'm wanted in fourteen systems. I just came here to get a drink, but saving you made me go visible. I, um, don't have a ship and you owe me. Please?"

Byron held up his hands. "Okay, fine, but--"

As they walked out of the club, a booming voice called out, "Halt!"

The voice came from a trio of Necralia Death Troopers in the crowd nearby. The three soldiers in black armor raised their rifles to point at him.

One of them said, "Byron Jones, Chetaara Sharpclaw, Scarlett, and Xana G'Kao, you four have been identified as an enemy of Her Majesty, Lady Necralia. By the authority of the Necralia Empire, drop your weapons and put your hands above your heads."

Byron was about to ask who Xana G'Kao was when the green woman took off running through the space station.

NEW OBJECTIVE: ESCAPE NECRALIA EMPIRE

He fired a few shots that hit the Death Troopers, but their health bars barely moved.

Byron tapped his bracelet and called up their stats. The Death Troopers were all level fifteen. He thought about fighting back, but remembered how hard it had been to fight the Death Troopers the last time. He didn't have the time or the desire to come up with some trick to beat these soldiers. The green alien had the right idea. He broke out in a run as well with Scarlett and Chetaara close behind him.

Two shots rang out, and two aliens alongside Byron cried out as they went down, smoke pouring from gaping wounds. The accuracy of the shots made him run faster. These guys weren't bad shots like the Stormtroopers in Star Wars.

Byron called up his NRG menu to activate his shield. It flickered to life on his arm, just in time to reflect several shots from the Death Troopers. The blasts bounced off the shield with a flash of sparks to hit the ceiling.

Scarlett spun around to fire more shots at the Death Troopers, but it seemed like just for show because they barely caused damage.

They kept running to the hangar bay where aliens scattered from the gunfire of the Death Troopers. The Icarus waited for them, and a wave of Scarlett's hand caused the airlock to swing open. The four of them piled inside.

As laser bolts slammed into the airlock, Byron looked at the green woman. "I take it your name is Xana G'Kao?"

She nodded as she pushed a button on the metal collar around her neck.

A black oily substance flowed out of the necklace and down her neck, shoulders, and breasts. It clung to her skin all the way down her arms, stomach, and legs. By the time it reached her feet, it had turned solid and become a form of skin-tight leather bodysuit. It covered her body, but still left all her curves visible.

She glanced up at Byron. "I-I can only make my body invisible, not my clothes. That's why I have to be, um, naked while I do it."

Scarlett came over to run her fingers down Xana's arm. "Totally fucking awesome. How do you turn invisible, anyway?"

Xana pressed a button on the hilt of her sword. The blade collapsed on itself to fit into a small scabbard on her belt. "It's, um, it's actually a genetic throwback. My species, the Chamella, used to be able to change color and hide in our prehistoric era but lost it as we evolved. I was able to tweak my DNA to bring it back, and make it more efficient."

"Far out. You did that?"

Xana ducked her head while smiling. "I like to tinker with things. I was abandoned as a child, grew up on the streets of Lorama. Learned to work with machines. "

Scarlett nudged her with an elbow. "So what're you wanted for, huh? Fuck the wrong guy up the ass?"

"No." Xana kept her eyes down. "I, um, stole some stuff to do the genetic alterations. And a few other things."

Byron looked up at the airlock as more laser bolts slammed into it. "We'll have time to get to know each other later. Right now, we need to get moving."

"You got it. Let's haul ass." Scarlett hurried past them to the bridge.

Byron and Chetaara followed while Xana came behind them more slowly.

Xana looked up. "What is this, an Atlas Engineering class-five frigate?"

On the bridge, Scarlett dropped into the pilot's seat and flicked switches. "Yup."

The engines roared to life, making Xana frown. "Sounds like you need to clean out the intake valves. Your antimatter flow is pretty weak."

Scarlett glanced over her shoulder. "Hey, I just fly it. I'm no mechanic."

Byron looked at Xana and tapped his bracelet to pull up her stats.

ROGUE - LEVEL 2

STR: 1

DEX: 10

NRG: 1

ARMOR: 1

HEALTH: 120/120

He grinned. "You're a mechanic?"

Xana looked up at him, then dropped her eyes. "Not really. I'm just good with machines."

Scarlett yanked some levers. "Well, I'm good at getting us the fuck outta here. Hang onto your tits, ladies. And your dick, Captain."

She flicked a switch and the Icarus floated up into the air. Byron still heard laser impacts on the ship, but not as loudly.

"Shields are holding." Scarlett tilted her head. "Not waiting for clearance."

She took hold of the controls and thrust forward.

The space station's hangar bay swung around outside the windows as the Icarus turned towards the exit.

The communications screen lit up with a Deathwing trooper. "This hangar is sealed by order of Her Majesty, Lady Necralia. You will return to the landing pad and prepare to be boarded."

"Fat fucking chance." Scarlett waved a hand to cut off the screen.

Byron almost lost his footing as the ship roared forward. It sped across the hangar bay, weaving to avoid other starships trying to make their way onto or off of other landing pads.

He took the other seat. "That wasn't so bad."

Scarlett smiled. "Oh, it gets worse."

The Icarus faced a huge pair of hangar bay doors. As the ship swung towards it, Byron could hear a rumble as the two doors began to slide towards each other, trying to lock them in.

"Faster," Chetaara yelled.

Scarlett looked over her shoulder. "What the fuck do you think I'm doing? I got the pedal to the floor already!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Byron could see Xana slip out of the door of the bridge and back into the rest of the ship. He couldn't blame her for running.

Byron looked out the window and down at the hangar bay floor below them where it seemed like dozens of Death Troopers came out of nowhere. They marched in formation in a single block. They all had laser rifles and one of them raised a hand to point at the Icarus. At the gesture, all the soldiers raised their rifles up at the Icarus and began to fire.

As their weapons flared, the display of the ship's shields began to fade from green to yellow.

Chetaara shook her head. "They are small arms, but they will get through the shields given enough time."

Scarlett raised her chrome eyebrows. "I'm more worried about those fucking doors that'll either lock us in here or cut us in half. We're not gonna make it!"

The hangar bay doors continued to slide closed, and the gap between them grew smaller and smaller. At the speed the ship was going, Byron could agree they wouldn't make through.

One of the displays began to flash green text and let out a high-pitched whine.

He looked at it. "What is that?"

Scarlett broke into a smile. "It's the engines. We're getting more thrust!"

He felt a rumble under his feet coming from the engines, and almost fell over when the Icarus lurched forward. It moved faster and faster towards the hangar bay doors.

Scarlett tapped keys and shoved two levers forward. "Hold on!"

The Icarus rushed through the sliding doors. There was a bang on one side and a vibration shuddered through the walls as Byron assumed some part of the ship caught on the doors, but they made it through. The ship sailed out into deep space, and he looked at the rear view screen to see the hangar doors slam closed behind them.

"Holy shit," Scarlett yelled. "What happened?"

Xana hurried back onto the bridge, wiping oil from her hands with a rag. She gave them all a thin smile. "I-I told you the, um, antimatter flow was weak."

"You fixed it? I love you!" Scarlett threw her arms around Xana.

Chetaara laughed and hugged Byron, who couldn't help letting out a whoop of joy. He had really thought he might be trapped inside the space station, having to face an army of soldiers.

The Icarus soared through the stars outside the station, flying past a huge freighter into deeper space.

Scarlett jumped behind the controls again. "Here we go, let's get the fuck outta here."

She pushed buttons and the view outside the Icarus burst into a rainbow of swirling lights.

Byron took Xana's hand and kissed it. "That's twice you saved us."

Xana's face turned a pinker shade of green, blushing as she looked away. "It's nothing. You kind of saved me, too."

"Is there anywhere we can take you?"

Xana's green hair fell down over her face as she shook her head. "Um, no. I-I don't really have anywhere to go."

Chetaara stepped closer. "What about your homeworld?"

Xana looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "I, um, I've never been there."

Scarlett frowned. "Chamerion is supposed to be this cool fucking secret place with a location only known to the Chamella."

"Yes, most Chamella, but I was found on Orapus Six, abandoned. I've never met another Chamella who would tell me where it is. I-I don't have a family or a home."

"Your own people won't tell you how to find your own planet? That's fucking cold as shit."

Chetaara approached Xana and took her hand. "You have a home now. With us?"

For the first time, Byron saw a smile on her face as Xana looked up at Chetaara. "Really?"

He patted her shoulder. "Yeah, sure. You can stay as long as you want."

She nodded. "O-Okay."

The text flashed over her head:

XANA G'KAO HAS JOINED YOUR PARTY

Scarlett grabbed Xana by the hand and pulled her off and out of the bridge. "Come on, let me give you the grand fucking tour."