He was in the middle of a firefight. Dodging incoming lasers left and right. Doing flips and barrel rolls to shake the bogies of his tail. He was so focused on getting out alive that he jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the door. Thomathan paused his game and walked down his wood stairs.
        "Mom!" He called out. "Someone's at the door." No answer. He wondered if his mom was still at work. He hoped so. "Be right there he said," to whomever was at the door. He peered through the peephole to see two men who both looked very alike dressed in crisp black suits standing outside. He wondered why they were here. He opened the door.
“May we come in?” one of the men asked.
“Uhhhh, yeah," it took him a while to find his words.
"Hi," one of the men said introducing himself to Thomathan as John, no last name was said. He then introduced his partner as Bob. Again no last name.
"You must be wondering why we're here," one of the men, probably Bob, said. Thomathan had already forgotten who was who.
“Yeah," Thomathan replied, "I am wondering why two men decided to visit my house in the middle of nowhere."
“Well we are here because of you're very important skills you've developed over theyears," John said.

"What skills?" Inquired Tho mathan.
"The ones you've developed playing your game upstairs. What's it called?" He asked his partner.
"I think it's called something like space defenders, a pretty lame name if you ask me," said the other man.
Thomathan recognized the name of that game immediately. He spent hours playing it. Hi would come home from school finish his homework and then stay in his room playing that game until dinner time. He was ranked number 7 in the whole world. The game was an interactive simulator. It simulated the player flying his own customized aircraft while fighting off aliens. There were occasionally ground played missions where you fought aliens with a sword. Thomathan was especially good at those.
"So you guys are here because I'm really good at this game I play, right?" Thomathan asked.
"Yes," one of the men answered.
"Is this for like a convention or something?" Thomathan asked.
"Kind of," one of the men replied. "More like a gathering of the world's best players at several games related to the one you play."
"Oh'" Thomathan said,"And you want me to go?"
"Yes we do," one of the men said.
"I can't," Thomathan said,"It sounds tempting but I have school to do and my mom needs help getting money."
"We understand," said both men at once."If you change your mind here's our number. The convention doesn't start for another month," one of the men said whilst giving Thomathan a card with a phone number on it.
Later that day as Thomathan sat in his room waiting for his mom to get home he thought about what it would be like to go to a convention and meet some of the world's best video game players. He was sure the designers of the games would be there too but to meet the number one space defenders that would be amazing.
When his mom got home he asked her if it would be OK to go to the convention the men mentioned she gave the ok as long as he had a ride their. He called the number one of the men had written on the card.
"Hi," said the voice on the other end,"This is John."
"Hey John, it's Thomathan," Thomathan said.
"Thomathan?" John asked.
"Yeah, the kid whose house you came by and asked if I wanted to go to the convention," Thomathan said.
"Oh yes, I remember you," John said. "Have you changed your mind about the convention?"
"I have. I just need a ride there and I can go," said Thomathan.
"No problem," John said, "but just so you know the convention lasts for a month."
"Ok. I told my mom it will last for a long time and she's totally fine with it," Thomathan said.
"Alright," John said. "We'll be at your house to pick you up at 8 AM the day before the convention starts, the 20th. See you then."
"Alright bye," Thomathan said while hanging up the phone. He could barely contain his excitement. He would meet famous people from video games. He couldn't wait.
The day finally arrived. He triple checked his suitcase making sure he had enough clothes for a couple weeks. Then he just had to pass the time. It was 6 AM and he was incredibly bored. So he decided to touch up on his space defenders skills. He played the game and did mission after mission literally flying through all of them. 2 hours passed almost instantaneously.
When the doorbell rang Thomathan jumped. He quickly ran down stairs. Having already said goodbye to his mom this morning when she left for work. He grabbed his suitcase and opened the door.
As he expected the same two men as were here before were standing in front of him now.
"Come with us," one of them said while the other one ushered Thomathan toward the car they had driven in. "Do you know where we're going?"
"Yeah. A convention right?" Thomathan said.
"Well we may have stretched the truth a bit," said one of the men as Thomathan entered the car.
"What do you mean?" Thomathan asked in a worried voice.
"Well we will be going to a convention-ish thing," one of the men said. "It's more of a special compound for developing video game skills but for the real life."
"So do I still get to meet the top player of space defenders?" Thomathan asked.
"Yes, she will be there," one of the men said.
Thomathan just realized that they were already moving and had been for quite some time. "So where is this, gathering, taking place?" Thomathan asked.
"Somewhere in California," one of the men replied. "It's basically like marine training but instead of deadly combat skills it's to hone your gaming skills."
"Sounds like it will be a pretty cool experience," Thomathan said. After that he just laid back and enjoyed the drive. After several hours Thomathan awoke to the sound of the car doors opening. He must've fallen asleep during the drive. He got out of the car to stretch and look around but what he saw looking around confused and scared him.
"This doesn't look like California," Thomathan said to one of the men.
"That's because we lied about California we're actually in rural Nebraska getting ready to enter the center at which we will conduct your training. Come on in," the man said as part of the field in front of Thomathan slid open revealing a set of stairs descending into darkness. He followed the agents down the stairs being glad he had worn his jacket because it felt that with every step the temperature dropped 5 degrees. When he finally reached the bottom of the staircase lights beamed to life blinding him momentarily. As soon as his eyes adjusted he looked around and let out a gasp because what he saw were exact recreations of drone pilot pods and the special space swords from his favorite game.
"Are those what I think they are?" Thomathan asked giddily.
"If you think they're drone pilot stations from space defenders that work, then yes they're what you think they are," one of the agents said smiling at Thomathan's excitement. "Before you get too excited though you won't be able to use those until you've completed initiation."
"Initiation?" Thomathan asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Don't worry. It'll be fun," a man said to help reassure Thomathan. It didn't work Thomathan was still scared of what was to come. 
After taking a tour of the facility Thomathan was shown to his bunk. As soon as the men left he fell onto the bed for some well needed rest, but his rest did not go unperturbed. He was yanked out of bed in the middle of the night and a sack was thrown over his head. He tried to scream but found his mouth covered with duct tape. He immediately became petrified but then realized this was probably just initiation. After a while of convincing himself that's what this was he relaxed and tried his best to calm down. After several minutes of moving he was stood up had the sack and duct tape removed and got a good look at his captors. Nothing stood out about them. They all looked like high schoolers who were total nerds like himself. He wasn't afraid of any of these people. After a minute of just standing there in awkward silence someone emerged from the back of the group and gave a speech about the sacred rights of everyone living in this facility and made Thomathan swear to uphold those rights and rules as stated before. Nothing serious they were the kind of rules you'd hear in school. After he pledged his allegiance the lights flickered on and the room was revealed to be a great room setup for a party. As soon as the lights came on everyone went up to Thomathan and congratulated him on becoming a member. He learned everyone's names and what rank they had in space defenders. He met everyone but the top ranked player who appeared to be nowhere in sight as he had met everyone in the room and he heard the agents say the top player was female. Since the party had only males in it he assumed the top player wasn't here. He was wrong. She was off in the distance watching him, sizing him up and checking him out. She deduced he was a good player but also a good student. An hour after the party began everyone started leaving. As soon as Thomathan was the only person left she emerged from her spot among the shadows and headed toward Thomathan. As soon as she reached him she introduced herself.
"Hey," she said, "my name's Ella, what's yours?"
"M-M-Mine's Thomathan," he said stuttering because a girl was was talking to him. He could tell the girl was checking him out to see if he was special or different.
"So when did you get recruited?" She asked him.
"Yesterday was when they picked me up," Thomathan replied.
"Liking it so far?" Ella asked him."
"I guess so," Thomathan answered.
"Well it was nice to meet you Tom. Can I call you Tom? But I have to get some sleep and it looks like you could use it," Ella said.
"Yeah that's true. Well, see you later Ella," he said. As she was walking away Thomathan tried to find his way back to his room. After about an hour he finally found his room, collapsed on his bed, and slept like a baby.
He was jolted awake by a loud pounding on his door. He groggily rolled out of bed and opened the door only to see a strange man he hadn't seen before. He was pretty sure he wasn't at the party. He looked familiar but he couldn't remember.
"Hello Thomathan my name is Randy and I will be giving you your tour of the facility. Right this way please," he said as he turned and walked away.
Thomathan hurried to catch up and followed Randy as he pointed out key places in the underground lair. He showed Thomathan to the mess hall, training room, and a bunch of key landmarks that all had maps near them in case you got lost.
"Landmarks like these are all over the place. You'd be surprised how many people get lost," Randy said.
"Yeah it's a pretty confusing place," Thomathan replied.
"But it's also one of the most technologically advanced underground facility in the entire world as far as I know," Randy said.
"It looks super cool," Thomathan said.
"Yeah and here to your left is where we will be taking you. It's the training facility where you will develop the skills your character from space defenders has. It's a very cool place with many different training regimens," Randy said as he led Thomathan to the training facility.
"Just in time the coach is just beginning his morning speech," Randy said as he led Thomathan to his seat. Thomathan noticed his name was written on the seat and Randy was next to him. As he took his seat he took note of the speaker walking up to the front of the big gym like room.
"Alright gentlemen and ladies listen up!" He yelled in a stern voice. "Most of you know who I am but for the newcomers among us I am your sensei," the man said. "Today we will be targeting endurance." A groan arose from the crowd around Thomathan. "I know endurance isn't anyone's favorite but it has to be done. Now everyone line up right here," the man said while pointing to a drawn line. Thomathan looked at Randy who nodded as if to say go up there. Thomathan walked up to the line. "What we will do today is run a 4K once then half an hour rest the do it again." And other groan arose from the crowd gathered around the sensei. "Ready, set, go!" The man yelled and everyone was gone. Thomathan decided to pace himself. He had no idea how long a 4K was but the sensei said endurance training so he thought it would be a long run.
After he hit mile one he was already dying and ready to give up but he kept pushing. He wanted to make a good first impression. He hit mile two and his legs were burning and his lungs were screaming for rest. He kept running and in another half mile he was done. Someone shouted out his time but he didn't hear it because he immediately fell to the floor and stayed there. Randy had to come over and drag him to his chair.
"How was your run?" Randy asked.
"It was absolutely horrible," Thomathan replied.
"Well you get to do it again in about 55 minutes," Randy said.
"You're joking right? Please tell me you're joking."
"Nope you have to run it again."
"Well I guess I'll just rest for now."
"That's a good plan," Randy said as Thomathan lied down on the floor and passed out.
As soon as the second run was over the rest of the day passed quickly for Thomathan. The sensei just told everyone what they would be doing tomorrow and passed out the weekly schedule for everyone new. As soon as Randy dropped him off at his room he again passed out on his bed and went to sleep immediately. He soon fell into schedule waking up at 6:30 am and going to train doing different activities everyday. He was very excited for tomorrow when he finally got to fly a simulated drone in the pilot stations in the facility when he first came in.
When he woke up he immediately put on his clothes and jogged to the training room. As soon as he got there everyone was led out to the pilot room. Everyone was assigned their own pilot station. As Thomathan entered his a message appeared on the screen. In short the message just gave all the rules about operating one of these stations.
"Alright people listen up!" Sensei shouted."You will put on the headset and get ready to do some training exercises."
As Thomathan put on the headset the sensei's voice was transmitted into the headset. After he explained the rules that simulation started up. Thomathan was so excited to finally play. After a while of playing he got very annoyed. His game didn't seem to be working very well or maybe he was just rusty. After an hour he got exasperated and just tried not to explode in rage. As soon as it ended and sensei dismissed the group he immediately went back to his room only to find Randy in front of his door.
"Tom what was that playing today?" He asked.
"I don't know. Maybe I was just rusty or maybe the game wasn't working very well. I just don't know," Thomathan said.
"Well there's no way you can keep top 7 in the world with playing like that. You probably couldn't even keep top 100 with that playing," Randy said.
"I know. I get it," Thomathan said.
"No you don't, but you'll get better soon. Sensei is an incredible teacher and tomorrow you get to use those space swords from the game."
"Yeah ok. I'm going to bed now."
"Alright but just remember it'll get better."
"Ok," Thomathan said as Randy walked away.
As soon as Thomathan entered his room he dropped onto his bed for some well needed rest but found he couldn't stop thinking about what Randy had said. When he said he got it Randy said he didn't. What did Randy mean when he said "he didn't get it"? Maybe there was something bigger going on then he would've thought. After a while he just gave up and went to sleep.
Tomorrow he awoke and went to the training room commonly referred to as the grinder by most around the facility. The sensei went over the rules of how to properly use what he called ion blades. He repeatedly stated that these weapons are not toys and that they would be using trainers on a dummy and this training would go on for a week.
Each person was given a training sword and assigned a dummy. The dummies didn't look human they looked strangely alien. While everyone was swinging the weapons to get used to them Randy appeared to give Thomathan some pointers on how to swing the blade for the most effective hit.
"That is great technique," sensei said. "You should try sparring with her," he said pointing to Ella.
"Ummm no thanks, I'm good," Thomathan replied.
"That wasn't a request," sensei said. "Now go spar."
He called Ella over and set up a perimeter for sparring. As soon as he said fight Ella charged at Thomathan like an enraged bull. Thomathan barely had time to dodge and then had to parry immediately afterward because Ella's blade whipped around in a full circle nearly hitting Thomathan. Thomathan struck repeatedly but she was too good. She parried every blow and soon his sword was out of his hand and her's was at his neck.
"That was some incredible sparring," sensei said. "I will see you tomorrow for round two. Dismissed."
As Thomathan got better and better at sparring he was able to beat Ella some days. On the fourth day after sparring sensei said tomorrow Thomathan would spar with him. The morning of he found Randy at his door when he opened it.
"Hey listen Tom," Randy said. "I know you can beat him in sparring this is one of your last tests to see if you're ready. Good luck."
"Ready? Ready for what?" Thomathan asked but Randy was already walking away. Thomathan brushed off the remark and went to the grinder. That day he found everyone circles up around him and sensei. Ella signaled the start of the match.
As soon as it started sensei rocketed at him giving him a split second to dodge. Instead of dodging Thomathan flipped over sensei, whipped around, and swung his blade only to have it parried by sensei's. The round went on for a half hour with blows flying everywhere. Each party recovered several hits but it was Thomathan who came out victorious. After the battle sensei congratulated him on his technique and skill.
As soon as Thomathan had showered Randy walked towards him.
"Coke with me," Randy said.
"Ok," Thomathan said. "Why?"
"Because you need to know something," Randy said.
Randy walked past the restricted area the dwellers weren't allowed into. He took two lefts, a right, a left, and two more rights until ending up in front of a door covered in restricted signs. When he entered he saw sensei and a lot of other people he didn't recognize. They all looked to be very important people.
"Have a seat," said sensei pointing to an empty chair in front of the group.
"We have determined you are ready to learn why we are training," one of the members said.
"Isn't it because you guys want to make us better at video games?" Thomathan asked.
"No it's because of a larger threat out there," another member said.
"A threat?" Thomathan asked.
"Yes. The aliens in your video game are actually modeled after real life beings from another planet. When we launched New Horizons in January 19, 2006 we only expected it to be a Pluto flyby finding nothing strange. But it did find something strange when it got to Pluto the images we received showed an enormous armada like clump of strange shapes. We took those shapes to be aliens. We have received messages from the ships that imply they will destroy earth and eradicate humanity."
"Holy crap. Seriously?" Thomathan exclaimed.
"Yes. I know it's hard to believe but it's true," Randy said.
"We recovered the images 5 years ago so judging by what we've been able to calculate from the images we've received the armada will be here in 48 hours," a member said.
"That soon," Thomathan said unable to comprehend that we are not alone. That there are alien life forms out there.
"It's scary to think that there are aliens out there who will be here in 48 hours," Randy said.
"Now that you know what we're training for you will begin training you in the pilot stations and the hand to hand combat vigorously to get you ready in the limited time we have," sensei said.
"We wish you luck," the entire group said as Randy led Thomathan outside.
"I don't think I can do this," Thomathan said. "I just can't."
"You have to," Randy said. "You can do this you're already better than the sensei at sword fighting and you're 7th in the world at drone piloting. If anyone can do this it's you."
"No, Randy, I don't think I can do this. It just seems like such a big responsibility to have to fight this alien armada."
"Hey. You won't be alone everyone in this facility will be fighting with you. It's just your mission is the most important of all and I know you can do it. You're one of the best men we have," Randy said.
"Ok thanks Randy," Thomathan said.
"And Tom I'll be with you the whole time. I'll be flying right by you the whole fight. If you ever need help just ask," Randy said.
"Alright thanks Randy," Thomathan said. "I'm going to go get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow Randy."
"Alright see you tomorrow," Randy said as he walked away.
Later that night Thomathan couldn't help feeling nervous about this but at the same time happy that Randy will be there to help him. He's the closest thing he has to family on this base. He decided to think it over tomorrow.
Tomorrow came same as always. He woke up with a loud knocking on his door. He opened it and greeted Randy as he exited his room. Randy led him to the drone station room. He entered his assigned station and got to work. He had to pull all sorts of tricks, maneuvers, and dodges to stay alive for as long as he could all while blasting away at alien ships. After a couple hours of this his game changed. He was now fighting the best ranked pilots in the world. He lost severely repeatedly. As soon as the training session braked for lunch he left immediately. Not long after he sat down Randy sat down next to him.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing," Thomathan said.
"No. It's not nothing. Something's bothering you."
"It's just... I don't think I can do this. You saw how I did today. I did terrible."
"No you didn't. You did amazing you killed 30 aliens for every drone you had. That's world record stuff. If you compare yourself to those better than you yes it's going to appear you're terrible but you're not. You're top 7th in the world."
"Thanks Randy. I really needed that."
"Anytime," Randy said as he left the lunchroom.
As Randy was walking away Thomathan was pondering whether he could do the mission he was assigned. Whether had the strength to blow up the mothership. Or even whether he had the skills necessary to do that. In the end he decided that he could do it as long as Randy was by his side he felt invincible.
He made his way back to his room after another training exercise. He went to bed normally. He woke up the next day and looked at the countdown timer. 7 hours 37 minutes and 17 seconds and counting read the timer. Thomason looked in awe at it. In roughly 7 and a half hours he would be fighting aliens in outer space. He always dreamed of doing something memorable but he never thought it would be fighting off an alien invasion. Instead of training he got into his pilot station and prepped for the battle to come. He knew everyone in the facility would be fighting because this is the most important battle in the history of the world.
He turned on his station and got ready to fight. To pass the time he did training missions to check up on his fighting. The time dwindled down slowly. As soon as it hit the 1 hour mark an alarm went off saying "1 hour until alien invasion".
He was scared but as soon as he took control of a drone he saw Randy's drone next to his and he felt a deep calm. The minutes ticked away one by one until hitting the 5 minute mark. The same alarm warned the fighters to finish last minute checks and preparations.
When the time came to begin the battle Thomathan's station lit up and he was shown the same view he'd seen hundreds of times only this time it was real. It was really happening. He was really fighting an alien armada.
The battle had begun with lasers streaking everywhere. Ships were being blown up in huge numbers on both sides of the battle field. Thomathan was dodging left and right, doing barrel rolls and flips, evasive maneuvers all the while blasting away at alien spacecraft. He couldn't tell how many times he blasted an enemy spacecraft to smithereens. He also had no idea how many times his own drone got blasted to smithereens but he could tell they were getting closer to the mothership.
The fighting went on for at least four more hours. Each side suffering heavy casualties. Thomathan never lost hope as long as Randy was by his side. After about another hour of fighting Thomathan and Randy finally were able to see the mothership. After another half hour they were inside the ship navigating their way to the engine room to blow it up. The engine room door was in sight but right before they could get in they were blasted to smithereens by wall mounted automatic laser turrets.
"So close!" Randy yelled through his mic into Thomathan's headset.
"We'll get them next time," Thomathan said.
As soon as Thomathan got another drone he realized the aliens have pushed forward and they still were. Randy and him quickly joined the front line to blast their way through the front lines and into the mothership. When they saw the engine room they blasted the turrets before the turrets could blast them. They quickly destroyed the door and blasted the engine to smithereens. As soon as they hit the main engine the entire thing exploded.
As soon as the mothership exploded all the alien ships dropped out of the sky and just floated in space. As soon as Thomathan left his station cheers erupted from all around the compound. A giant celebration was held that night. Everyone had a blast because they had saved the world along with other people on other secret compounds around the world.
After the celebration the people in the compounds were shuttled home but Thomathan didn't want to leave.
"I don't want to go," he said
"You have to go. Your mom misses you a lot right now," Randy said.
"But I want to stay here with you Randy."
"The last shuttles leaving now."
"Can I just spend one more day with you here? You've been the one person I've looked up to in this freakish place. You're like a dad I never had."
"Alright you can spend one more day here with me. But then we're getting you home to your mom."
"Deal," Thomathan said.
That day went by fast with Thomathan and Randy hanging out the whole day. Sharing memories of their time at the compound. Their shared experiences with defeating the alien armada. When it came time to leave Thomathan was finally ready to go.
Randy flew him home in a manual piloted ship just like the ones in the game. It was a short but fun flight. Randy did some really cool maneuvers to give Thomathan an enjoyable ride home. When he landed his mom rushed out to greet him. She was completely oblivious to the fact that he saved the world she still thought it was just a convention and Randy informed him to keep it that way.
His adventure over he went back to his routine. School everyday. Boring classes and boring days. Playing video games and doing homework. The good part about being home was that he was able to spend time with his mom. No one outside of the compounds will ever know how he and Randy saved the world. Ever.