Fair Play, Part 2

“You did what?” Ace shouted. Her fingers tangled over themselves figuring out which emote to throw out.

“It seemed only fair,” Dee said. Her tone was flat, almost offended. It might have been the first time Ace heard real emotion from her.

“It does make sense, Ace” Zee said. “We're supposed to be competing here, right? Dee's sim mod has been awesome, but it's really like we're playing a whole different game. I think we'd do better with some rivalry.”

“I have included a game element,” Dee said. “The mods only become available at the same point where I gave them to you. For example, the first mod is only available who reached the T1 boss. To earn more of it, a team will have to push just as hard as we did.”

“I like it,” El said. His avatar posed with a double thumbs up.

“It hasn't been the same without the rankings,” Ex said. “You know it, Ace.”

Ace sighed. “Yeah, you're right. Without the rankings it's just bumping up numbers, going against the same sim challenges. It doesn't really feel like accomplishing anything.”

“Um,” Dee said. Emotion again – this time genuine concern. “I have a question for all of you.”

“Oh? What's up?” Zee asked.“Do none of you actually know what the Raid sim was actually designed for?”

“Uh. It's a game, Dee,” Ace said. “The last big, indy release before corps took over completely.”

“And you think that's sufficient to make it illegal – a jail-time offense to be caught running one?” Dee asked.

Zee threw out a shrug. “Corps like to control everything. We all know that. People get nabbed for stupid crap all the time.”

Dee was silent for several seconds. Ace stared at her term, bewildered. What was she getting at?

“It appears a short lesson is in order,” Dee said, finally.