Carly approached the group. She waited without fuss over to the side, out of the way.

One of the competitors took note of Carly. "It seems our number zero is already here. Welcome, I'm Craig from the beta testers."

Craig held his hand out to Carly. She took it in a firm shake. "Hi, Craig. Carly. And this is Nessa."

"You're introducing your SI? Weird. You know they have a set number of responses to stimuli, and that's it, they are capped out.

Carly shrugged. "It doesn't cost me anything to be nice to Nessa."

"You know they are only going to be with us during the party to help make sure we don't insult any of the dignitaries," Craig added.

"I know."

Craig looked at Carly blankly for several seconds while everyone else was silent. "Aah, OK then."

Changing the subject, Craig the shoulders of his tuxedo jacket. "So, aren't we all looking sharp tonight?"

Another of the group chimes in. "Dude, you're going to send all those tall poppy's lupine when they see you all freesia'd up gentian'manly like. Columbine'ing glory of the snow stripe and brunnera in all its morning glory, you'll delphinium leave the crowd drooling with salvia as you become the bellflower of tonight."

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Craig asked.

"Solya looked up blue flowers, from what I hear it took him two days to come up with that little speech," one of the others in the group commented.

"Come on, what are you talking about. It only took me an hour to research, make it up and memorise it," Solya said.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Craig commented again. "Just ignore this guy, he is one eccentric creepo. You know, the ones you normally only hear about in story. Just don't let him ever sneak up behind you, or you might get molested or something." Craig demonstrated by making hand squeezes toward Carly.

"Dude, fuck you, I might have had too much free time on my hands in the last couple of days," Solya gradually slid across and behind Carly. "But don't make up shitty rumours like that up and scare off the champ until after its too late."

Carly pivoted slightly before driving an elbow straight into Solya's stomach so unexpectedly that it dropped him on the spot.

"I'm sorry, you startled me," Carly said innocently, as Solya clutched his stomach, trying to suck in air. The rest of the group were laughing their arses off.

"Ha, ha, ha," Craig laughed. "You're the best, Carly. You're the best." After some more laughing at Solya's expense, Carly held out her hand to him, offering to help him back up.

"Sorry," Carly said. "I had no idea of their reaction."

"It's fine, Craig's the big joker here, but I guess I'm the one that pulls all the laughs."

"Ooh, burn," Craig responded.

"Anyway. This all came about because this gear deserves some special effort, right? I mean, this is some fashion statement that PURG is trying to make."

"Be careful, you never know," another fellow in the group interrupted as he touched his ear. He was sitting on the edge of the garden bed staring at Solya and Craig intently. "Remember, just smile and be friendly to everyone inside, and don't make an ass out of yourself. Don't bring us all down."

"This is our only obligation until we transfer to Expanse," another of the group said. "Then we will be in rags slugging through the muck. Us against the environment and everything else in the world. Hi, I am Isra, by the way, congratulations on your finish."

"Hi," Carly answered. "Expanse?"

"You haven't heard yet?"

"I haven't heard nor been told a thing. After I left the stadium, I was whisked into a place to rest a bit and be instructed by Nessa on how to greet the foreign diplomats. Other than that, Nessa help me get ready to come here."

"The name of the new world was released for the December ad campaign. And, yes, we will be paving the way for PURG's upper echelons to come in when everything is established and take it easy," Craig said. "By the way, the grouchy fellow telling us to behave is Alek. I am surprised he is sitting, as he is a little butt hurt since he came in second."

"Don't listen to Craig, he likes to hang noodles from his ears," Alek replied.

"Err, what?"

"It's a Russian saying. Basically, Craig is full of bullshit. I did come in second though, congratulations. You beat me by many hours in the end."

"Thanks, and same to you. I trained really hard, but I think luck played a big part in the event."

"Agreed, the early stages of the event caught everyone by surprise. From the difficulty of some of the mobs to the consequences of a poor purchase choice. If you made a bad one those first 10-minutes, you were probably going to be eliminated within a couple of days."

"Well I am just glad the event is over, we get a few weeks off to relax before we're back to the grind. I'm Réka, congrats on your win," the only other woman of the group said to Carly.

"Thank you. So, how many of you are from the beta testing group?"

Six of the people, including all four who had spoken to Carly half raised their hands or acknowledged Carly's question.

"The others from the beta will be here soon, Alek said he wanted to have a word with us all before the event. We few are just the extra early arrivals," Craig said.

"So your actually pretty reliable, Craig," Carly said.

"Craig can be relied upon, in a fight and a pain in everyone's ass," Alek saluted to Craig.

"Sometimes, things get dull, dude. I am the hot sauce that adds the extra flavour."

Réka snorted at Craig's comment. Isra shook his head, chuckling also.

"So, your the only one in the world who gets early access, do you know when you will be transferring over?" Alek asked Carly.

"No idea," was all Carly could answer. "Hopefully, I get at least a week or more.

* * *

It took about 20-minutes for everyone to arrive in the courtyard, both the beta testers and MDP trainees were reliable people, by enlarge.

Standing on the stone of the raised garden bed, Aleksandr Regnovictov surveyed the people before him.

"Hi, my name is Alek, and I came in second to Miss Berkstead for the Loop Event. I was also an exploration team leader during the beta test. Before that, a successful pro-gamer.

I want to extend my warmest greetings to my comrades of the MDP and beta. As we all know, we will be rewarded for our performances when we transfer to Expanse.

Those who were part of the beta already know how much of a struggle was involved. To start out with a gathering tool of our choice and nothing else. To get established, took a unified effort in the Powered1 world. We also know that some changes have been made, and Expanse will be different from the beta. How much different is unknown until we arrive. However, I can't imagine it will be any less challenging than what we experienced during beta.

Most of you who are part of the MDP have hopefully heard some of the stories about our struggles. We started with a gathering tool, low-quality clothing, and 3-weeks of rations. That was it. The clothing offered little protection against the elements and no protection from the creatures of the world. What is more, there was no town or city nearby, like anyone with experience with RPG worlds. There was no infrastructure we could use, what so ever. The only unnatural structure was the paved square on the side of a hill that represented our respawn point. For those that don't know what a respawn point is. It is the place we will all arrive at when we transfer to Expanse. What's more, if you die in the world, it is also the place from which you will restart, come back to life, respawn.

As the top performers for the Loop Event, you of the MDP will most likely have influence amongst your friends and peers. At least I certainly hope that they would respect the performances each of you achieved.

So I ask you, please, use it. Help us all by improving relationships between our respective groups. We are going to need a solid foundation of respect and trust to elevate cooperation between us. We have an advantage right now, knowing how vital cooperation will be, compared to everyone else entering Expanse. Let's use that and get ahead of the game. We will need to with so few of us.

As such, I would like to invite all of you to a meeting. Along with the other reward recipients, down to position 100 from the MDP. With the 24 reward recipients of the beta test. The information and planning session will be in three days.

I would like to swap UIN's with people from the MDP to help organise this. Please spread the word to the other rankers not here tonight.

Thank you all for listening to me. For now, let's hope this evening isn't too awkward dealing with all the pomp and glamour. Let's make sure we all have a good time, but remember, we are representing our two cohorts and PURG. So look at it like this, tonight is work, let's be on our best behaviour and get it done. After tonight we are free of PURG's contractual obligations. Everything after tonight, we do for us. They benefit too, but until they arrive, it's all for us."

Carly, sitting with Nessa over at the side, listened quietly to the speech. Out of the way, unassuming. Carly was thinking of the camaraderie people like Craig and Solya offered. She wanted to enjoy it, be a part of it, but instead, it just made her feel uncomfortable.

Carly sighed. 'After being a recluse for so long, it is not an easy thing to change my personality. But it's something I really want to do. To be part of a community, have friends, run around with a group. Adventuring, just like Mal-Chin described. I really need to overcome this awkwardness. It feels unnatural mixing with people right now.'

"What are your thoughts, champion?" Asked a male voice from the group.

Carly hadn't been paying attention lost in her contemplations. Nessa gave Carly a tap on her arm and nodded towards the group. Carly looked up, following what Nessa was looking toward and seeing a bunch of people looking at her. "What?"

"What are your thoughts on following the beta team? Having the meeting?" He was of medium build a bit taller than Carly, black hair and olive skin. From India, Carly thought, from the slight accent.

Carly sat silent for several moments. "Is the beta team demanding that everyone from the MDP must join with them?" She directed the question to Alek.

"Not at all, though we would like some cooperation. It's up to each person to come on board. No point forcing the issue, that will likely cause more problems than everyone just going and doing their own thing. Like I said before, we are just asking the top performers from the Loop Event to join us. Come, listen to our experiences and work with us in making some plans for when we arrive."

"Then I personally, will be going," Carly answered. "Whatever the rest of you do, will be up to you."

"Thank you, Miss Berkstead," Alek replied gratefully with a nod of his head.

The group broke up talking about various subjects, though most fell into three categories: tonight's event, the meeting, or what awaited them in Expanse.

Only a few minutes later, two NEC's opened a set of doors and stood to each side of the doorway. The NEC's that came with the competitors organised them into the introduction order as the group lined up with Carly bringing up the rear.

Entering, one at a time, it was only a few short minutes until Carly was the only one waiting in the courtyard. The moment that Carly was alone, the two NEC's spoke in perfect sync with the same voice. "Make sure you don't mess up and give away that secret your holding tonight, MT27,347. There are many people whos lives that depend on it, including your own."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Who is this?"

"Good, keep that up, or else you will be deleted. By the way, I don't think you can attend that meeting on Monday with everyone. You are going into Expanse with your early access. Lucky you, congratulations."

"What, so soon?"

"Don't worry about it, and don't say a word about it to anyone. Your only concern is to be polite to the guests and not divulge anything problematic to PURG tonight. When this finishes, you will be ported back to your TME.

I will be visiting you there tomorrow.

Now its time to go be introduced MT27,347. But know this, every move you make, every word you utter tonight will be scrutinised, so be careful. Your life literally depends upon it."

Carly stepped through the courtyard doorway into a short hall with Nessa. Just before she came into view of a wide landing, Nessa stopped and bowed. "Thank you for allowing me to serve you Carly. I have to leave you from this point."

"OK, thank you for all your help, Nessa."

Carly watched for a moment as Nessa walked through a section of the wall and disappeared before continuing on. She came out onto a landing at the top of a wide set of stairs. There she was announced and held at the top for a few seconds before allowed to walk down them into the mix of international dignitaries, board members, and upper management.

As she descended the stairs, many of the people below gave applause. It was a dignified gathering of people, all perfectly groomed and wearing the finest of suits, ball gowns, or national attire. As Carly descended the stairs, she wondered if they would look so perfectly groomed in the organic world. Right now, they were all probably butt naked and wearing the same dive headgear for this immersion they were currently partaking in.

The wide stairway lead to a ballroom entry, with beautifully patterned wooden floors. It was large enough to probably hold three volleyball courts lined up in a row. Behind it was a much larger ballroom. All the guests began to move into it, now that Carly had made her entry.

Several of the guests headed Carly off, congratulating her on her performance in the Loop Event. Carly smiled and politely thanked them as they began asking a barrage of questions.

'This is going to be a long night,' Carly thought.

* * *

Four hours later, around midnight, the dinner finally came to a close for the beta testers and MDP trainees. They were all escorted out while the other guests continued with their night. The group was exuberant after the party, especially the NDP trainees, who had never experienced such luxurious food and beverages before. The beta testers also enjoyed the event. Although, many of them had become quite wealthy through their gaming careers. Prior to transference, many of them had enjoyed a sponsors or competition events celebration, including indulgence with fine cuisine.

Arriving at the portals in the hub, the group began to port to their TME's. Carly said her goodbyes before she placed her hand on the portal pad, stepped through the portal to arrive back at the farms portal shed. She quietly entered the house and headed straight to the bedroom. She activated a quick clean on the way to remove makeup and hair products. Too tired from all the study, the dinner, and worry thanks to the warning she received. Carly got undressed, removed all accessories to get changed in her comfy nightclothes. As she lay on her bed, she couldn't relax enough to sleep, so instead started a short meditation session, hoping to calm her nerves.

* * *

It was late into the morning when Carly woke up. The whole place was quiet, apart from the slight rustling of leaves from the tree near the open bedroom window, with the high lilt of bird song. Anne and Roy had apparently wanted to give her a peaceful rest.

Carly first freshened up before coming back out and sitting on the bed. She checked her messages, there were three. The first was from Ross Melos. It had been sent yesterday, shortly after she returned from the Loop Event. That was curious because she had checked her messages on the way to the dinner last night, and there had been nothing. The message said that things had gone poorly thanks to 'Mark' screwing everything up. He and his entire team had been seized by security. They had not been heard from since. He would visit Carly in her TME at 9:00 am.

The next message was from Alek, thanking Carly for her support for the meeting and how he was looking forward to working with Carly going forward.

The third message was done as a general announcement message but addressed just to Carly. Unfortunately, it was from Richard Isaccs Shrodastower informing Carly of two things. Her TME portal was functioning one way, in, and that included communications. Further, Isaccs would be visiting 1-minute after Ross arrived.

"FUCK!" Carly cried out. 'He knows, so that is what the NEC's meant last night. He fucking knows. What the fuck am I going to do? I'm screwed, that bastard is going to screw me over.'

Carly spiraled for several minutes with thoughts about what Issacs could do to her. The worst part was, he could do anything he wanted. Carly was utterly at his mercy, a quantum entity functioning on the memory board and processor that Isaccs owned.

'Nothing has changed. I'm still here, so maybe it won't be so bad,' Carly tried to convince herself. 'Isaccs could turn me off in a second if he wanted to, that I am still here matters.'

Carly had a bit over half an hour to prepare. She changed from her casual clothes into a navy blue pantsuit, white blouse, and black low heeled ankle boots. Carly tried out several hairstyles before eventually selecting an all business, tight bun. Her makeup she kept neutral and simple with her lips coloured in a blood-red for some extra pop.

Satisfied with the look, she went downstairs, greeting Anne and Roy with a smile as they sat waiting for her at the dining room table. "Hi," she said to them both.

"Carly," Roy said as they both got up and went to her with arms wide for a hug.

"Your finally back. Why are you dressed up like this?" Anne asked while she welcomed Carly back with a kiss to the cheek, along with her hug.

"I have been gone a lot longer than you think. While you were here waiting not quite two weeks, I have been away for over four weeks. That is not important, though. Ross said he would be coming here in about 10-minutes in a message I just received. Richard Isaccs Shrodastower will be arriving a minute after Ross. You both need to make yourselves scarce when he is around."

"We understand," Anne replied. "We will wait upstairs until he is gone. Can we do anything for you before that, Carly?"

"No, I don't think there is much that you can do for me at the moment. The fact that I am here at all is somewhat reassuring."

"We can wait with you for a few minutes if you like," Roy asked.

"I would like that, but it isn't worth it if Isaccs sees you both. I have no idea what he would do."

Anne patted Carly on the arm and smiled reassuringly. "OK dear, we don't need to add to your anxiety. You won't hear a peep from us."

With that, the two AI's walked upstairs and out of sight. Carly sat down at the dining room table and slouched back, head tilted to the ceiling, worrying about what was going to happen in the next few minutes.

She couldn't sit there for long. Getting up, she headed over to the portal and waited for Ross to arrive. At least that way, she would have an extra minute to speak to him.