Finally, Rhea reluctantly agreed to a VR roleplaying session with Targon. Will and Horatio joined in. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, so much so that in subsequent days she actively messaged Targon to begin the day’s session. It did help pass the time.
A week into the journey found her seated inside the cockpit of a mech. She was actually sitting cross-legged on her sleeping bag in the cargo bay, with a strap folded over her thighs to secure her to the deck, but her mind couldn’t tell the difference. The controls in her hands felt real, courtesy of the direct feedback her mind-machine interface relayed to her brain, even if those controls didn’t exist in the real world.
The game was called Robot Wars. It was an offline copy of a massive online RPG. Players on Earth and other planets could participate in local planetary copies in realtime, potentially interacting with millions of other players. But since she was in deep space, where Delay-tolerant networking was prevalent, online realtime play was impossible.
Will and Horatio were on her team. The three of them scouted a mountain pass, searching for Targon, who was the sole opponent on the opposing team. One might think that three against one wasn’t exactly fair, but the merchant was exceptionally good at this particular game, and Rhea and her friends would be lucky to come out on top.
Apparently Targon had been a world class player at one point, attracting hundreds of thousands of daily views on the streaming channels, but when the gamers moved on to the latest and greatest release, his following reduced to a trickle. Targon tried to switch to other, more popular games, but he could never really get into them. His income plunged, and he was forced to find a real job. He used the money he’d earned to place a down payment on a cargo hauler, and the rest, as he said, was history.
Horatio brought up the rear in that pass, while Will held the lead. He’d jetted up to the top of the rightmost cliff and kept an eye on the surrounding terrain as the team advanced.
“I think we’re going to have to try a different game after this,” Will said. “I’m getting sick of this dude beating us. Plus, if he calls me Dirty Hairy one more time, I think I’m going to explode.”
“Well, at least now we understand why he wanted to play the Warden so badly,” Horatio said.
“Why’s that?” Rhea asked.
“To show off, of course,” Horatio said.
“I don’t mind actually,” Rhea said. “Losing, I mean. It just makes me want to keep playing, if only to find a way to beat him and rub his face in his mech.”
“Tell me about it,” Will said. “But I gave up any hope of ever defeating this dude days ago.”
Will’s mech exploded.
“See what I mean?” Will replied. “He said he was going to go easy on us. Does this look easy? I’m already out.”
Rhea rotated nervously, scanning the upper passes. She retreated behind a boulder and waited. Nothing happened.
“Horatio, take cover,” she sent.
“Already one step ahead of you,” he replied.
She glanced at her overhead map. The robot was indeed lurking in a small hollow not far behind her.
She peered passed the edges of the boulder and scanned the pass, looking for signs of Targon’s mech, but saw nothing.
“This game really needs proper scouting units,” Rhea said.
“Too bad I can’t take Gizmo into the game with me,” Will agreed.
Rhea decided to try a different tactic this time. She ejected, and clambered out onto the hull of her mech, then leaped down.
“What are you doing?” Horatio asked. “You’re exposing yourself.”
“Just a little experiment,” Rhea said.
She switched to remote control of her mech and sent it forward.
Missiles erupted from the top of the pass to her left, spiraling down toward her mech.
“Bingo. Horatio, distract him.” She activated the jetpack unit the game provided her and swooped upward, staying as close to the rocky surface beside her as possible. The hope was to avoid detection by Targon.
Horatio was unleashing several missiles of his own, launching them toward the top of the pass where Targon had struck.
Explosions filled the air above, and a cloud of dust arose. As Rhea got closer, Horatio ceased firing. Rhea entered the dust and landed.
She didn’t activate LIDAR or other active sensing protocols. Instead, she used the dust as a cloak.
She heard the crunch of heavy mech feet to her right.
Crouching, she quietly darted forward until she emerged from the dust.
Targon’s mech was crouched behind a tall rock; its back was to her.
Smiling, Rhea highlighted Targon’s position for Horatio.
“What?” Targon spun around.
Those shoulder-mounted turrets trained on her, but an instant later Horatio’s missiles slammed into the mech, destroying it.
“Well done, Warden!” Targon transmitted. “I was wondering when you’d get the best of me! Let’s reset!”
“No, I think that’s enough for the day,” Rhea said.
“What, ye can’t leave me hanging like this!” Targon said. “Ye got lucky! I was going easy on ye! I’ll show ye, yet!”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Rhea said. “You want to prove you’re the best, which you are. We’ll probably never beat you again. But honestly, I want to quit on a high today. Grant me that, my friend.”
Targon sighed. “Very well. We can play on the same team then for the rest of today. I’ll load some AIs into the enemy slots, and Bob’s your uncle.”
An alarm sounded.
The VR environment winked out and Rhea was sitting cross-legged on her sleeping bag once more.
“What’s going on?” Will asked from where he was similarly secured to the overhead.
“Dunno.” She switched to the shipboard comm band. “Targon, talk to me.”
Targon didn’t answer.
As the alarm bayed on, Rhea gave Will a nervous glance, then she slid from the strap that secured her to the deck and shoved off toward the entrance to the cargo bay. She reached the sealed hatch and wrapped her hands around the locking wheel. Her feet landed on the
