By David C. Daoust
“Wha…?”Maile wasn’t sure what just happened.
Her Mecha was destroyed though. A timer was ticking down, with a little notice in the center of the screen, informing her the mecha had been ‘obliterated’.
“Yeah thanks, ‘You have been obliterated!’” she read aloud in a snarky voice, “Like I can’t see that.”
She couldn’t believe someone destroyed her Mecha! Where did the attack even come from? Fat jerks!
Maile wasn’t sure what this implied either. It EXPLODED! She wasn’t sure if even the engineers could repair it. It would probably be used for spare parts! But that’s only one question. If she had this worked out right- it’s a game; or it is meant to appear as a game. Could she just take hold of a different Mecha? Like, if she tried to respawn, would she be given another one of the fat little machines or what?
“You still there?” Maile asked into voice chat, hoping she wasn’t thrown completely from the game.
“Yeah, we’re here! No one wants to join our group though,” Colbert’s voice came back through the speakers.
“They think we just want to mess with them!” Penn added.
“Listen, I can’t help those people out there…” Maile explained helplessly, “You have to try and keep them from being hurt!”
“Why? What happened?”Colbert pressed.
“I got blown up!”Maile answered still somewhat miffed. “Someone must have decided just to shoot at me instead.”
“Awe, what jerks!” Penn interjected, “They call us trolls!”
“You’ll have to fly interference, guys” Maile explained, “But be careful they might start shooting at you too.”
“Do you know who did it?” Colbert asked.
“No, but, pretty much, once one person starts fooling around- you know- everyone will start joining in!” Maile explained, fully aware how quick the tide can turn, among gamers, when just one person stops playing along with the rules.
“Yeah, we’re in it now,” Colbert said cryptically, then explained, “We’re on either side of the sheriff’s vehicle. No one’s get’n near em!”
“Whoa!” Penn reacted to something, “Dicey! You just blew those guys out of the air!”
“They started it!” Colbert’s voice answered sharply, defensively, “Smash’em first, Grace! Smash’em good!”
Maile worked out that their real names were Dicey and Grace. It was not unusual to learn player’s real names in the hub, and it explained why their voices sounded funny. They were probably using voice mods. But why?
“Oh man! Dicey,” Grace was complaining, “They are really coming at us now!”
“That… That’s good, guys,” Maile spoke into the group chat, “Keep them busy- distract them from the people.”
It was frustrating that she could not see what was happening. All she could see was an aerial view of her smashed mecha beneath her. It was just a smoldering mess. Where was this shot coming from though? Before, she had a first person view from the cockpit of the Spidermecha. That was before it was smashed to bits. Where’s the camera to take this shot? All the other Mecha are flying about, probably fending off Grace and Dicey about now… hmmm? Someone is watching the action. Who’s behind this?
“Ah-ha!” Dicey’s fake voice came through the speakers, “Bet they thought they were good! You can’t take on the Blue Sisters and live to tell the tale!”
The timer finally ticked down to zero. Maile was about to find out if she would respawn or what. The screen changed- she was promptly booted. Not just from the game, but from voice chat as well. A new notice came up; she was in a queue!
“A flipping queue! Are you serious?” Maile tossed the controller from her hands.
What in the world could she possibly do? She was out, she had no idea where this was taking place or who might be behind it. Going to the authorities… should she go to the authorities? Maybe. That might be crazy though. How could she possibly explain this? She had to get back in the game; she needed proof, or she’d be laughed out the room. Possibly locked up in a mental institution! That wouldn’t help anyone.
Maile called up the boards, maybe she wasn’t alone. Maybe she could find out who was behind this. Maybe, maybe, maybe- a whole lot of maybes, was all she had.
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