Waylaid — T.L. Reeve

Les-Tar Nar is out for revenge. After watching his brother compete and die in the Intergalactic Virtual Reality Games, he's ready to kick ass and take names -- as the humans would say. Armed with his military training, the Venusian doesn't want or need a team. But, all is not what it seems.

Auven, Cyborg from the planet Kapor 9, is aware of how the game is played and ready to bend it to his will. Anything a human made can be destroyed. So, when he is paired up with a Venusian and a human, he knows his chance of winning grows exponentially. With Les-Tar's muscle, even a human who has no skills won't hold them back.

Hacker Lyna Hiat isn't even interested in the games. As a small time video game de-constructer, she spends her days finding flaws in the systems and improving games -- almost lifting the veil of sorts and showing gamers just how inferior their products really are.

When the IGVRG begin, a glitch in the system transfers the game and gamers from the virtual level to reality, leaving them on the run with no true winners or losers. The only way to survive: get off the planet. Where they'll end up, no one knows. All that's important right now is survival.