Melock followed Øregård and Murphy to the bridge at the front of the ship. The transport was built for a Gastraddar crew which meant all the chairs were big blocky thrones. Øregård sat in the central chair and pulled a control panel of blinking lights in front of him. His two guests sat awkwardly like small children in comically oversized seats. 

"Hvaal says we're approaching. I should warn you both that legend has it no ship ever returns from the Planet of the Dead," said Øregård. "I undertook this journey alone knowing I may not make it back." 

He opened the blast shields to reveal nothing outside but distant stars. They were in a region of space far away from any solar systems. Ahead of them and obscured in darkness was a medium-sized planetoid. Øregård brought them into a low orbit. Parts of the planet seemed to have a thick atmosphere and a dull purplish glow. They orbited to the other side and peered down in wonder.

In the murky gloom, a colossal image of a skull and crossbones came into view. The skull had hollow dead eyes, horns on its head, and long pointed teeth. The large-scale earthwork was carved from space by a seriously skilled artist at the controls of a massive laser cannon. Though old and fading, it still held a vicious presence as a warning stamped on the planet's surface. 

"The mark of the beast!" said Sister Murphy rising to her feet. "We have no business going here."

"Legend says that is the image of an ancient pirate captain who ferried the dead to this world," said Øregård. 

"I'm getting a vibe of an expansive planetary lifeform," said Melock.

"Scans show a single living clone on a mountain at the north pole. Also, evidence of a planet-wide fungal formation and primitive non-intelligent lifeforms feeding on decaying biomatter," reported Øregård. 

An electrical storm flashed around half the planet making the gruesome skull look even more intimidating. A thick bolt of energy leaped off the world and hit the ship. Power went down and red emergency lights flashed on the bridge.

"Hvaal said we should drop him from orbit. That it's dangerous to get too close," warned Melock. 

"We have to get closer to make the drop. We need the planet's gravity to pull him down to the surface," said Øregård. 

The ship began to shake, power returned, and Hvaal's voice came over the bridge speakers. 

"Øregård, you've fulfilled your commitment. When I drop you must get away."

"I'm trying!" growled Øregård as he struggled with the ship's systems. 

"Melock, I've enjoyed our talks. If the ship is pulled down after me, do try to save yourself and Øregård. His honor will not be harmed once he has achieved his goal. There is no reason for him to die, even if he is willing. Sister Murphy, I wish you success in your destiny."

Murphy dropped to her knees. "Thank you, great Hvaal, ancient one of the sea. I will follow the signs laid out before me. May your journey to the afterlife bring you great joy and eternal peace." 

"Travel far, my friends," were the whale's final words. 

The ship's retrorockets fired. The massive cargo hold that was most of the ship opened up and dumped a lake of water and the whale within. The monumental waterfall froze into ice crystals and got sucked down to the planet below. Its massive splash down sent a shockwave across the surface. 

"What a way to go," said Melock. 

Murphy stood, walked over to him, and put a hand on the old man's shoulder. "He will not be forgotten." 

The cabin shook, alarms rang, and the engines struggled to pull away. Another lightning bolt ripped away from the upper half of the planet and stuck the ship. The electrical systems went haywire. 

"Strap yourselves in!" commanded Øregård.

Melock walked over to him. Out the window, the surface of the dead world seemed to be jumping out to meet them, pulling them closer and closer.

"This transport is lost. Come with us. There is no honor in death here. You delivered Hvaal."

"I go down with the ship!" growled Øregård fighting the controls. 

"Come with us to the northern mountains. I can bring you home later," said Melock. 

"How!?" 

"We'll teleport there."

"That cannot be done," said Øregård

The ship shook violently as fire engulfed the nose and the doors of the open cargo bay ripped free with a terrible screech. 

"Øregård, there's no reason to die. I trust Melock. You can too. His magic is not evil. Øregård, you are my teacher, we are friends, this is not when we part," said Murphy. 

"No magics!" yelled the ogre. 

Flames engulfed the ship as it entered the atmosphere. Vast fields of ship wreckage and near-endless skeletal remains covered the surface. Huge ribcages of massive animals came into view. Between everything grew wastes of bioluminescent fungi. It was eerily beautiful. 

Melock took Murphy's hand and gently rested two fingers on Øregård's forearm. The ship crashed into the surface and exploded. 

Øregård experienced a vibrating bodily sensation and a flash of light. He always wanted to die in battle and this unfortunate crash would be a disappointment even if he would be considered a success for delivering Hvaal and paying the ultimate sacrifice to do so. However, as Sister Murphy suggested, this was not the time of Øregård's death. 

Melock, Sister Murphy, and their new big green friend materialized on a snowcapped mountain at the Dead Planet's northern pole. Murphy was getting used to this magical form of transportation but still squeezed Melock's hand to steady herself. Øregård doubled over and vomited violently down the hillside. 

"Blah! This is no hall of warriors," protested the Gastraddar. 

"My friend, we're not dead. We are on the northern mountain range. See there in the far distance," said Melock. 

The surface of the planet had a sweet smell in the air and a kind of perpetual dusk. The sky overhead was clear and one of the spiraling arms of what whales and humans alike referred to as the Milky Way arched across the heavens. With their eyes alone the three could take in nebulae, star systems, and whole galactic neighborhoods. It was breathtaking, humbling, and awe-inspiring to behold. There was no light pollution on a sunless world. 

Far off in the distance, way down in the rolling valleys of the planet, rose a thin stream of smoke into the atmosphere. 

"Agh, it was a good ship. Better to die in a crash than to starve to death on a dead world," said Øregård.

"Your scans said there is at least one clone alive up here." Melock pointed up the mountain to a cave entrance. "Let's climb up there and find him." 

The barefoot old man in his lightweight ascetic robe hoped through the snowdrifts and Murphy with her hammer slung over her shoulder jumped from one of his footsteps to the next. Øregård cursed under his breath in a language neither understood and dredged his way up the mountain. The temperature was very low and his metal armor felt like ice covering his body. 

"You must be from a freezing world to not be affected by these temperatures," said Øregård with thick frosty plums of exhalation drifting around his head. 

Murphy looked back and smiled, holding up her hand with the rainbow ring that protected her from the elements. "It's magic, Øregård." 

"Bah," was his only reply. 

They reached the cave and crawled over the snowdrift at its entrance. Øregård stomped the snow from his boots and was surprised to see a homemade-looking space transceiver just inside the mouth of the cave pointed out at the stars. A power conduit ran from it down the side of the wall deeper into the cave. 

"Our path is clearly marked," suggested Melock.  

He walked off into the blackness of the cave. Murphy ran up to him and grabbed the back of his robe before her eyes failed her in the dark. Øregård had natural night vision so he, like Melock, could see. He watched Muprhy stumble after the wizard for a bit then picked her up and put her on his shoulders. She rode along in total blackness, inwardly pleading with the goddess of light and simultaneously giving thanks for her new friend. 

A short walk later Øregård stopped and Murphy listened to her two friends talk in the pitch-blackness. 

"Ah, here's the door," said Melock. 

"Looks like an airlock hatch," said Øregård. 

"If you don't mind giving it a turn," said Melock.

Øregård moved forward and Murphy felt his arms and shoulders moving. A creeky metal rotating sound was followed by a faint crack of light, which was followed by a pupil-dilating flash.