The Sunsword floated in oblivion, somewhere beyond Mars. The ship was coded as a research vessel, and they switched its credentials every time they went to port. Thier sparce communications were sent encrypted and bounced amongst satellites like ping pong balls. As far as anyone knew, they were gone.

  Inside, two of its occupants studied data from a recent Cast. One slept peacefully in his chambers; another lay on its bunk. The days had taken on a general routine. The crew would wake and prepare for the day. Then an exploratory Cast into an area deemed interesting by their algorithm. After the Cast the data would be researched while Gondo recovered. Then the crew would enjoy some down time, and off to bed. Rinse and repeat.

  They were delving deeper and deeper into unexplored space, and their findings were incredible. The algorithm had been very successful in locating occupied systems. Gondo had discovered planets filled with reptilian life, capable of interplanetary travel by launching their shells into space. A world entirely of water, with a race of hyper intelligent cephalopods. A highly advanced series of systems colonized by small grey humanoids with large heads and dull black eyes.

  Of course, communication was impossible with any of these beings. Unlike Rockman, they couldn’t sense Gondo’s presence. He catalogued his findings with his mind’s eye, but he couldn’t interact. Until Lowell came up with an interesting experiment.

  “Let’s teach Rockman sign language,” they said. “Or well, let’s teach Gondo sign language. Then he can try and communicate with these life forms through Rockman.”

  It was a great idea. So far Rockman had just been tagging along, doing whatever Gondo did. This had only become a problem in the Grey star system. When Rockman appeared in the sky they had launched missiles into him. He had exploded, alarming Gondo, but then he just reformed. The crystals were in a slightly different configuration, but it was still the same Rockman. There were no further attacks, as they had withdrawn shortly after.

  Gondo was unfamiliar with USL or Universal Sign Language, but he was a quick learner. The next time they encountered an interesting alien he would give it a shot.

  Another breakthrough occurred when Gondo and Rockman were navigating an asteroid field. Gondo was so used to flying directly through physical objects that he forgot his ally didn’t have that ability. Gondo cruised through a hurtling asteroid, but Rockman was obliterated by it. Once again, he quickly reformed and continued to shadow Gondo.

  Gondo then landed on another asteroid and Rockman landed next to him. He began punching the surface. Where his fists just phased through, Rockman’s began smashing out chunks of rock. They spent a fun afternoon flying around the field, destroying asteroids. Afterwards Ignasius had an idea.

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  “We now have a physical presence that can pair with your spectral one. You have your Astral Blade, and Rockman has his fists,” Igansius said.

  Gondo raised his fists into a boxing stance and Rockman did the same, bobbing from foot to foot. If a threat presented itself, they would be ready.

  ...

  Darby could not awaken from the nightmare of his existence. In it, he was a god. The King of the Universe. He could fly from star to star, he could change his form, he could travel through planets.

  When he entered this dream, he would hear the soft voice of his mother. She would tell him what he needed to do next. If he did not comply, there was pain. Great pain.

  He remembered his life before he was enslaved here as King. Vaguely. He remembered sadness, anger and rage. Here he was free from those things. He didn’t need to eat, drink or sleep. He just needed to do as he was told.

  If he went where he wasn’t supposed to his mind was stabbed with a thousand needles. If he even talked his body was drawn and quartered. Sometimes the pain was so much that he would die and return to nothingness. Soon, though, he would be reborn again.

  After an eternity of death and resurrection he had changed. He realized that he was responsible for his decisions here, and if he just followed along, his hell could be a kind of paradise. Something deep inside him squirmed at that thought.

  In his current incarnation, he was floating peacefully in the ether, waiting for commands. Eventually, he heard the soft and pleasant voice of mother.

  “Today we have a very special treat for you,” she said. “But first, there’s something I want you to do. There is someone who has been very, very bad. And we want you to kill him for us.”

  The enslaved God who once was Darby Cutter grinned. Killing was something he knew from the old world. He remembered being very good at it.

  ...

  “I’ve got a distress call here I want you to check out,” Lowell said. “One of those big Century Ships. They’re headed to a promising looking colonization site, over 60 years into their journey. Around 10,000 souls onboard. Sounds like they had some damage to the outside of their craft they are having trouble diagnosing. Maybe you and Rockman can help?”

  “We aren’t out here to rescue kittens from trees,” Gondo said. “Can’t someone else help?”

  “They’re way beyond the range for that,” Igansius said. “Closest bot that can get to them would take 6 months. From their broadcast it sounds like they’ve only got a few days till they lose pressure. That’s a hell of a lot of space corpses.”

  Reluctantly, Gondo agreed to help. They loaded the ping into the mainframe, and he laid down on the Casting Table. His Iron Crown was lowered onto his head, and he began his meditations.

  ...

  The Red Wraith waited. He had Cast to the exact spot that his mother had instructed. There he found a small fleet of ships. Nasty looking jet-black destroyers, bristling with railguns & torpedoes, filled with quick attack mechs. His astral sense could intuit there were no living beings on board. These craft were piloted remotely.

  “When your adversary arrives, let me do the talking,” mother instructed.

  He waited giddily, contemplating the reward for his task and anticipating the joy of battle.

  Just then a startled blue man and a creature made of stone appeared directly in front of him.