There, in a cozy room where the walls and ceiling the fine grains of maple was warmly illuminated by the lights that ran hidden under the decorative support beams that ran across the ceiling.

Below, mahogany with protective lamination stretched across the floor where four people sat facing one another.

Each person sat at their own table, personally chosen and decorated with their own selection of items.

A large, burly man sat over a wide, granite topped desk. Office toys and random paraphernalia messily covered its surface.

A small, lightly built woman sat behind a desk made of ebony, bottles lined like a triple deep phalanx and the occasional personal effect interspersed as if to break up the monotony of coloured glass.

A slim and slick man sat at a desk made of pure crystal. Books and tablets organized along the edges while he attended to a tea set in the middle.

A tall yet shapely woman sat along a desk of warm pine, plush dolls and framed photos lined its surface.

"It's really going to happen huh?"

The largest of the four broke the silence.

Kelly Tainer. Despite the melancholy in his voice, the hot rod red hair continued to stand with vigour. He opened his crossed arms, made of metal and plastics that made him look even bigger than the rest of his already substantial frame suggested as he looked at each of his companions in turn.

"Midnight tonight. As it was announced two months back."

The narrow framed man responded crisply.

Hawkins Washburne. His slick cobalt hair and sharp features demanded him to push up his glasses, though he had none to offer. Instead, he just looked down at his desk, at a glowing tablet that reflected nothing but glare in his eyes.

"Since it's come to this, what are you all..."

*Clatter! Bang!*

"Sherry! Are you alright?!"

The taller of the two women shouted in surprise.

Susannah Ivanova. Her cascading pink tinged platinum hair shook as its owner turned to look at the source of the noise. Her large and welcoming eyes would've grown even more so if they could, though the woman continued to sit as even she found no reason to bother rising up on this occasion.

"I'm fine. Just hit my shoulder."

The short woman lazily responded back. Her voice oddly distorted though the others were long since used to it. But despite her words, she hadn't moved in the slightest the last few minutes.

Sherry Nome. Her large black eyes continued to stare across from her while her matching braided hair lay limply like a tail that had given up even trying to rise up from pooling on her oversized seat. Her bangs though, fell across the left side of her face like a half closed curtain.

"Geez, how many have you drunk already?"

Exasperation weakly came out from Hawkins across from her.

"Just six shots."

"That many?! Didn't you say you get headaches after just two or three?!"

A worried voice came from the woman's left.

"I think today's the day to do it if anything. Maybe I'll get a few as well."

Across from her, Kelly melancholicly interceded.

"Yea! Drink! I'm gonna finish this damn bottle so you guys might as well too!"

*Slam!*

Despite not moving, the sound of a shot glass being slammed down could be heard from Sherry.

"Just because, just because Frontier Works got bought out, they didn't have to shut down the damn servers!"

"It seemed like Stella Nova was losing to Cosmo Force."

Hawkins retorted to Sherry.

"Number two isn't bad!"

"Number two of space MMOs. Fantasy MMOs have all of the top 10 spots."

"It was still making money! I even bought all the new stuff they put in the cash shop last spring!"

Sherry continued to fight the mounting evidence.

The four of them, players of a once popular space based online game, flying together through the cosmos as well as running around on foot, they came together to greet the end of their favourite game's service.

"Seems it wasn't enough."

"I can't be the only one right? Considering Kelly, he probably bought all of it without even looking at half the stuff! You too right? I bet you bought some of the stuff too Susannah!"

"..."

"Right?"

"...My mom yelled at me when she found out how much I bought at the cash shop."

"Wait, how much did you spend? You gave me three copies of that plush toy set I put in my room, as well as that double life sized sheep plush. I don't even like plush toys."

"Huh? I thought you liked cute things!"

Susannah jerked her head to the right, looking at the figure that was difficult to describe as anything but cute.

"I like cute things, sure. But I never really thought much about plush toys."

"But you put up every one I bought for you in your room!"

"I just thought it would be rude if I didn't at least do that much."

"You should've told me. I would've stopped if you did."

"..."

Sherry mumbled something incoherent, though whether it was the alcohol's influence or something else, it was difficult for the other two to tell.

"A...anyways! How much did you two spend in the first place! I spent a hundred twenty!"

"I bought seven items on the last sale. Came to about forty dollars."

"...Three..."

"Three? No way. You spent three hundred dollars?!"

"...Three...thousand..."

It was as if the air itself froze. Only a soft whimpering could be heard in the room.

"Wait, who spent three thousand? Who's the whale?"

Breaking the ice with a wreaking ball, Kelly finally spoke up after a long silence.

"You fucking idiot!"

"What timing..."

"..."

Hawkins and Sherry let out their naked thoughts while the whimpering could be heard more clearly.

"Ah! Ah! It's okay! It's because you care so much, right? We're all friends! No, we're family!"

Sherry rushed over to the taller woman as she tried to console her.

"Th, that's right. We're family that's been together for over five years."

"Here, we can wait. I'll email you some money. Use it to buy yourself a drink or five. Today's the day to do it."

"No, it's fine. I'm alright."

"Really?"

"It's just...when I think about how our home is going to disappear, how we won't be able to see each other every day after this...I can't help but feel scared."

"Even without Stella Nova, we can talk every day. We can just find a new game to all play together."

"Maybe. But what if it doesn't work? If we can't enjoy that new game together like we did with Stella Nova?"

"We won't know if we don't try right? I mean...right?"

But the lack of confidence in Sherry's voice, even through the usual distortion, was evident of what she really thought.

Despite all the time they had to prepare, the group of four hadn't been able to find another game to gather around. The only game that stood a strong chance held such a strong stigma for the group due to the image that it was one of the reasons for killing Stella Nova, none of them have been able to properly enjoy it.

For over five years the four of them had played.

Meeting by chance as teens and forming their own free operating wing, an organization where players gathered together to contribute towards a larger goal, or simply as a place to hang out.

One of those goals, common for all free operating wings, was to get a base of their own. There were several varieties that were possible, they all boiled down to two types. Space stations and carriers. A special space station could be built in orbit of a planetary body for the exclusive use of the wing, or a smaller but mobile carrier could be built and owned by the wing.

The free operating wing that these four were the core of, Section Nine, owned and operated a carrier, named the Blue Steel. Though because the wing never grew very big, with a maximum concurrent membership being only nineteen, the carrier was of the smallest design. Even then, its hanger bay was wide enough to carry sixteen personal ships in total.

In addition, it held personal living space for all sixteen ships' pilots along with customizable communal space, one of which the four core members were occupying at the moment.

However, while the carrier was mobile, aside from hyperspace jumping, it was quite slow and had limited combat capability beyond the nearly impenetrable capital grade shields and armour plating. One primary module and twenty point defence turrets, its entire function revolved around that one optional module on top of its role as a mobile base. But even the mobility alone made it worth the investment that the members of Section Nine put in to it, despite the higher cost for lower capacity compared to a space station of the same grade.

In the end, many other players came and went from the wing, but these four had stuck together through all the ups and downs.

And finally, on the night that their favourite game's services were being terminated against all their hopes and dreams, rather than moving on to greener pastures, they simply felt lost. Like they were about to be evicted from the home they lived in for five years, that they had come to define their lives with.

"I think my dad has some liqueur hidden away. I'll be back."

"Is that really fine?"

Concern over Susannah bled right into Sherry's words.

"He'll probably kill me, but I really need a drink and I don't have any money."

"I'll send some tomorrow. Let's all get smashed!"

"Haa. Alright. I should have a bottle put away as well."

And with those parting words, the group of four temporarily halved.

*Glug glug*

"Man, I'm starting to wish that I had some buffalo wings."

Emptying an entire can of beer, Kelly made his idle complaint to break the awkward atmosphere.

"Can't the auto cooker make something like that?"

"I mean in real life."

"I know."

"Don't be such a bitch then."

"Screw you. Just give me this one time."

"...Haaa..."

Leaving that line of thought with a sigh, the sound of another can of beer being opened could be heard through Kelly's mic.

"So what are you planning on doing?"

Once again, Kelly forcefully broke through the atmosphere.

"Find a new game, I guess."

"Not that. I mean you and Susannah. You know she likes you."

"..."

"Don't you like her as well?"

"It wouldn't work."

"Why not?"

"I don't have a passport."

"Doesn't sound like much of a problem. And she could just go to your place. I think she'd prefer that anyways."

"I don't have the money to support her if she did."

"...Well, if you're gonna say so."

In the end, the cold atmosphere continued on for a while.

"I hope you two weren't fighting like little siblings again."

"We weren't."

Kelly grumbled.

"You better have gotten a real drink if it took you that long!"

Sherry yelled back, even more aggressively than she had all day.

"Geez, is the liqueur getting to you or did something happen?"

"Who cares. I've got a bottle of scotch I've been saving two years for I need to finish! What did you bring?!"

"Pinot Noir. A local variety, but a good one."

"Hmm...classy."

"I don't think you're one to talk when you're drinking scotch whisky."

"Then chug it like I am!"

"Well, it's a bit of a waste, but today's a special occasion anyways."

The sound of a cork popping rang out amongst three pairs of ears before the sound of a drink being rapidly consumed filled the void.

"Ah, I feel like I'm doing something really wrong."

"Makes everything else feel a little better, doesn't it?"

"I admit, it does."

And with those words, Hawkins immediately refilled his glass before downing it as well.

"Now I'm glad I brought two bottles."

"What, you're trying to one-up us?"

"No, I just thought you'd complain if I ran out too quickly."

The tall man smoothly retorted the shorter woman.

"Geez, now I feel inadequate with my six pack of beer, but I don't have any more."

"This is why you should prepare yourself better."

Hawkins threw out a quick retort.

"Hey! At least I remembered to leave them in the fridge!"

Kelly snapped back.

"That is hardly something worth being proud of. Though, now I do wish I had an ice bucket."

"Ah~! I'm back! Did I miss anything?"

All of the sudden, Susannah's voice filled the other three's ears again.

"Welcome back~! Just some stupid stuff. Did you find anything?"

The fastest to respond was Sherry.

"I managed to find a bottle of vodka my dad missed."

"Well, if its your dad, I bet he doesn't even know that he still had a bottle left!"

"Right! I'll just have to be careful with the empty."

The sound of a fresh seal being broken snapped through to everyone's ears.

"Wow! That burns!"

"Did you drink it straight? If you're not used to it, you should mix it with something."

Sherry quickly turned and asked Susannah, worry thick in her voice.

"No, if I went to grab something, someone might find out I stole the bottle."

"Just take slow sips. You'll get used to it. And if you can't finish the bottle, just dump the rest in the sink and run the water for a bit to get rid of the smell."

Hawkins on the other hand gave his advice coolly.

"Or rather, don't drink all of it. The hangover's not worth it."

Kelly joined in his own opinion as well.

"No, I want to drink it. Everyone's got their own drinks, and today's the day to do this."

The group of four continued to banter as they emptied their drinks.

Words grew slurred and attentions waned, but no matter what, not a single one of them refused to stop.

"Hey...I've, got an...idea..."

As the hours ran through, Kelly suddenly changed the topic, though that was hardly the first time.

"We've...still got some...umm...antimatter, right? Let's use it all...up!"

"Umm...yea. We've got enough...for a short jump..."

With all the drinking they were doing, even Hawkins had trouble making normal conversation.

"Then...where to?"

Susannah asked the obvious question.

"Deep space! If civilization's...abandoning...us, let's abandon...it first! Haha!"

Sherry's normally distorted voice had gone from unusual to nearly impossible to understand. But the meaning managed to make its way through everyone present.

"Let's do it! I wanna...run away from...home too!"

Susannah immediately grabbed on to the other's idea.

"Okay...setting jump...to deep space. Umm...well, as far as we can...go."

Hawkins managed his personal interface as he entered the instructions.

"Ten minutes...minimum...let's make it...twelve..."

"How come?"

Kelly picked up on Hawkins' choice and asked him about it.

"Server...goes down in...thirteen. We'll be...in transit then."

The hyperspace jumps took several minutes due to the transitioning time involved. Ten minutes to prepare and lock down, several seconds to initiate the jump, another five to transition between jump points, and finally several more seconds to exit the jump and clear the lock down.

The official reason why it took so long to do the transition was to make it a big deal, where too rapid of jumps would lose the majesty of such large ships performing the maneuver. Players though, suspected that the real reason was due to a technical issue that the developers never managed to fix.

"Oh...sounds...good then..."

The other three gave their approval, lacking both reasons nor faculties to counter it.

"Then...Susannah. If you will..."

"Is it really...alright...for me to...press it...?"

"You're...our wing...commander."

Sticking to the formality like he often did, Hawkins answered the woman as promptly as he could.

"But...that's just...in name..."

"And in... rank too...you know..."

Sherry, being the one who was drinking the longest, gave her insistence with muffled words as if she was having trouble keeping her head up.

"Just...do it. As your last...command...commander."

Kelly gave his consent as well. Not a single one of Susannah's friends thought counter to this.

*Sniff*

"Alright...alright. I'll...do it..."

Through sniffles and tears, Susannah hit the confirmation button.

A robotic voice rang out clearly, announcing the imminent hyperspace jump that was soon to happen before starting a countdown as red lights blinked all throughout the ship's interior.

The small group continued their farewell party as they drank deeper and deeper into their cups.

Eventually, the time all four of them were dreading had neared.

The countdown fell below one minute, and the announcing voice rang out more and more often as it skipped less of the countdown as it closed in on zero.

And as it fell into single digits, the voice announced each second, and all four friends joined in on the counting.

""""Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!""""

As the carrier initiated warp, everything around the four grew dark.