I slammed myself into the back of one of the green trees, shots flashing like electricity from the rapid fire of a gunner’s pulsar guns. The guy was good, probably even better than KenYedd, and he was wearing us down.

Fast.

Cherry rounded the corner, meeting me beside the tree. Cherry was short for CherryBomb. She always used the same avatar, a short small cherub looking girl with floating pink hair and an angelic round face. Her appearance, however, was a contrast to her skills. She was a mage, and though she was a good healer, she was an even better bomber, using her fire magic to blow up entire compounds if executed just right.

She also was always the one with a plan. However, right now, she met my eyes, her red ones filled with uneasiness.

“I only got a few more hits until I’m out. I could heal us, but I’ve already used up most of my magic trying to tend to Nano.” Nano was the other member of our team. He collected parts creating new weapons fit for each of our avatars skill sets. But he was also the best at using them.

He had been the first to go in when we raided the Defenders hideout and had come away just narrowly evading an ejection before Cherry could heal him. If he was ejected from Galactica, it would be a few minutes before he could respawn at his last entry point, and without our best fighter, this whole plan was shot.

“I think we should pull back,” Cherry continued, peering around the tree and jumping back as another shot of pulsing electricity shot out, scorching the ground where he head had just been. I swallowed thickly. This immersed in the world of Galactica, it was at times hard to imagine it wasn’t real.

“No,” I countered. “If we pull back now this whole planet is a write-off. They already know we are here. If we stop now, we will have to pull out completely.”

Cherry sighed and massaged her temples. Then she clenched her jaw, looking far more serious than her in-game persona was meant too. “Then what do you think we should do, Lore? We can’t just keep pushing them in, we will all get ejected at this rate. I can’t set off the explosion we had planned if Nano can’t get close enough to slash the fuel tanks.”

I turned, to see where Ken was concealed in the trees. Just out of earshot, but no so far that he couldn’t see us. He ran to the next tree, shotting off a line of quick shots before he spun around by my side. Under his mask, I could hear his quickened breaths.

“And you,” I growled. “Where have you been? We could have used your cover out there.”

As usual, Ken was silent. His face was turned as he listened to the gunner yell back to his comrade. Based on my intel, we had believed them to be a two-man team. However, it turned out they were three, the gunner coming up behind us and catching us off guard.

Ken turned to me, the lights running down the smooth metal of his masked helmet giving no indication of the face he wore underneath. Freaking unnerving. Everything about him just ticked me off.

“Had you properly informed us of the size of their team, we would not be having this issue right now. I got hit by a stunner from the redhead over there which knocked me out for several minutes,” he said pointing back behind the tree to indicate the other teams rogue, which had used our momentary shock to take out Ken.

I ground my teeth, knowing my avatar’s cartoonishly large eyes did little to portray the depth of my frustration.

“How am I supposed to know he’s there if he doesn’t even stick with his group?!”

“It’s your job. You can’t do much else but hide back here while we do the rest of the work. You’re supposed to scout out the Defender teams and find where the beacon is so that we can secure it!” Ken’s voice mirrored my own frustration. “Had you done it we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

I wanted to strangle him, and my green fingers twitched at my side, just narrowly resisting the tempting impulse.

Back in the real work, a headache started to throb in my head, the tension in my jaw no illusion. I was ticked off. KenYedd always had a way of doing that to me. He was the one and only drawback to my nightly excursions.

Why did I have to end up on his damn Destroyer team? I was stuck with him until the end of this round, and who knew how long that was going to last. Galactica was a long-running game, which was part of its appeal. Though for once, I found myself eager to get this part over with. The few weeks I had been teamed up with Ken had been beyond frustrating.

Suddenly silence rung out, unnerving after the repetitious blasts from the pulsar gun. We all froze, Cherry’s hushing cutting off the retort stuck in my throat. Suddenly alert, I watched as Ken slowly inched out gun first to see what the other team was up to.

“Shit,” he swore, stepping out after a moment. “They are gone. Nano too.”

Cherry moved forward, then I followed, hesitant to leave the safety of the tall and sturdy Kelshalian tree. The bright sun blazed down around us, the warped sky filling my vision. A nearby planet was clearly visible, gigantic in the slightly too perfect cerulean sky. Across the grassy clearing, scorch marks marring its surface from the blasts from the gunners gun, stood their hideout. Its structure was slightly angled from where long leaves and green branches were layered over it. From any other angle, it would have been perfectly concealed.

“You think they were ejected? Maybe Nano took them down with him?” I asked, hope filling my voice. Cherry pursed her lips, and held a finger up to her mouth as she carefully moved further out into the clearing. I looked over at Ken, then inched forward along behind her as she neared the hideout's entrance.

Ken walked up behind me, staying close, all of us alert to any sounds around us. But only a soft rustle of leaves filled the air. Still, I could not shake the uneasiness settling inside of me. This was far too easy. Despite that, Cherry moved deeper, the prospect of capturing the planet propelling her forward. The only one that seemed to share my hesitation was Ken as were drew nearer and nearer.

Cherry stood straighter, now standing in the opening. She turned. “Well come on guys. We couldn’t ask for a better chance! Quick now, we have no idea how close they will be when they respawn.”

Cherry turned to step past the barrier of the other teams hideout.

“Cherry, wait—”

Fire filled the air, only it wasn't Cherry who had caused it.