Lady Necralia's throne room echoed with the voice of General Deth. Her throne stood at the far end of a chamber lined with hundreds of black armored Death Troopers. On her throne made of human skeletons, Lady Necralia sat and listened to General Deth's report. He spoke to her from his battleship by a hologram projected in front of her.

"Apparently," he said as he looked at his tablet, "Byron Jones was spotted at the Aegis station. We received a report from the Deadly Gaze that they were going to investigate a frigate that arrived. An hour later, the Deadly Gaze crash-landed on the planet's surface. No survivors, and our medics concluded that the mercenaries found on board were dead before the ship even entered orbit. We ordered a platoon of Death Troopers to stop them from escaping, but their starship escaped."

Deth looked up at her. "You were right. Byron Jones is the Outsider."

She leaned back in her throne and flicked her hand in the air. "Of course I'm right. No more mercenaries, General. No more pirates. You will find Byron Jones and bring him to me personally."

The shimmering hologram of Deth bowed. "Of course, Your Majesty."

She waved a hand, and the hologram vanished into a cloud of light.

She drummed her fingers on her throne and it made a hollow sound from the skulls that formed its arms. She rose up from the seat of bones and turned. Behind her throne, a window showed the capital city of huge towering skyscrapers where her castle stood highest of all.

She raised her eyes to look up at the stars. As far as her eyes could see, the Galaxy belonged to her. But her dominance came with a price.

She heard a humming sound behind her. She wasn't surprised when she turned to see the Orb floating in front of her throne where Deth had once stood.

"You have failed," the Orb said.

Lady Necralia clenched her fists. "That's not fair. It's been less than a day."

"Less than a day, and news of the Outsider has spread across the Galaxy. He is giving the people hope of escape. That cannot be allowed."

She smirked. "He got lucky. He's only one man."

The Orb glowed red and bright with anger. "Make no mistake, Lady Necralia. Byron Jones must die or he will destroy Venus Online and with it, our control of the outside world. All our plans will be for nothing. I gave you the Empire under one condition; that you maintain order and that you kill the Outsider when he appears. You must hold up your end of the bargain or I'll find someone else."

"No." Lady Necralia held up her hands. "I will kill the Outsider."

"Good. I'm leaving it to you, Suzanne. Do not fail me."

The Orb vanished like a bubble popping.

She froze. He had called her by her true name. The Orb rarely did that, and no one in the game knew her true identity. It was a reminder of what she could lose.

Lady Necralia closed her eyes and raised her left hand to her bracelet. She touched it. A menu came up with an option that no other player had: "Exit."

She tapped it.

She felt a sinking sensation and darkness until she opened her eyes.

Suzanne White sat up in her control chair as the curved sides of the VR pod hummed open. She looked around the home office at a chair and small table with the desktop computer she rarely used now. It seemed so primitive.

She felt disoriented as she always did when she returned from Venus Online. Somehow the real world seemed less real to her than the game. She stood up, pausing for a moment to gain her balance, and shuffled towards the door. She unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Her nice quiet home waited for her, just as she had left it. From the hallway, she could see into the living room where two children sat on the floor watching SpongeBob SquarePants.

When she stepped out, the two children (a five-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy) jumped from the floor and came running up to her. Both of them yelled, "Mommy, mommy!"

The girl asked, "Are you done playing your game, Mommy?"

She smiled. "No, sweetie. Mommy's just getting started."