You are a space ranger for the United Principality of Planets. You have been
 pursuing the space pirate Black Mask for months now, and you are finally in
 the same star system as him! He is currently on his way to attack your home
 planet of Ophuchi, but he has been having some problems with a rogue asteroid
 belt. If you can get there before him, you might be able to help!

The only problem
> set a course for ophuchi

It's not going to be easy, but if you want to save your planet, you need to do
 it yourself. The only other option is to wait until the pirates leave, which
 isn't looking too good right now
> engage warp engines

This is going to take all your concentration, but you are confident that you
 will succeed. You turn on the warp engines and prepare to go at maximum speed
 towards the unknown.

Suddenly, you feel an immense force pushing against you from behind
> arrive at ophuchi

You find yourself in a vast expanse of desert, with no sign of civilization anywhere.
 It would appear that you have arrived at the edge of the known galaxy
> "Ah...home, sweet home."


The world looks like this:
There is nothing here except sand dunes and endless stretches of open space.
 There is no life here either, just you and the infinite void.
You look around and see nothing else, so you decide to stay here for the time
 being
> "It's been so long since I grew up here, I almost forgot how desolate and hostile to all life it is. Sort of makes me wonder how it's even my home planet?"


As you ponder your own existence, you suddenly hear a voice coming from somewhere
 nearby
> approach voice

You cautiously move closer to the source of the voice, hoping that whoever lives
 there has heard you before. You slowly make your way through the sand dune toward
 the sound of voices. As you get closer, you can see two figures sitting on the
 ground near them
> "Space greetings, buckaroos."


They both laugh, then they begin to speak. They seem to be talking about something
 completely unrelated to you, but you don't really care, because what matters
 is that you got someone to talk to again.

> "Have you guys heard about Black Mask's impending attack?"


"Oh yes! He's planning to invade us again!" One of them says.
"Yeah, he's always doing that. We've had enough of his ****. We're leaving soon
 as possible".

> "You don't need to leave. I think we can stop him."


"We? Stop him? What do you mean?"

> "I'm a space ranger from the Principality of Planets. I'm tasked with bringing Black Mask to justice. Will you help me?"



> wait

You sit down next to the two men and wait. Eventually one of them speaks back

> listen

He begins to explain about some of the history between the Principality of Planets
 and the Black Lantern Corps. You learn more about their origins and the reasons
 why they fight
> "I hate that lousy Black Lantern Corps!"


Eventually the man finishes speaking and turns to you. He asks "So, are you ready
 to join our little band of space cowards?"
You reply
> "Yes, absolutely! Though I would suggest we rename ourselves space heroes."


The man laughs and replies "Hah! That would be fitting, Space Heroes! Now let's
 get out of here before Black Mask finds us".
You nod and agree to help. You thank the man and start walking away
> inquire about tactical disposition of space heroes

You ask "What do you mean by tactical disposition?"
"Well, I mean, we're supposed to be the best space warriors in the universe.
 How could we possibly lose to some bunch of clowns who aren't even space warriors?"
> "I'm delighted that I've stumbled upon such competent companions. Perhaps we could spar to show each other our skills? I am a master of Venusian judo."


The man smiles and nods "That sounds very interesting. Let's do that. Good luck,
 Space Hero!"
You smile and wave goodbye as you walk off into the distance.
> spar with companions

You walk over to the two men and say "Hi, I'm new here and I'd like to spar with
 you guys".
One of the men waves you over and you enter the ring
> judo throw opponent

You throw your opponent onto the mat and stand up. The man on top of you grabs
 your arm and tells you to release it. You comply and he pulls your hand away.
 You pull your arm back and punch him in the face
> "Ha-ha! Venusian judo involves more striking techniques than Earth judo!"


You continue to watch the man struggle to free himself while you continue to
 strike him. Finally he manages to roll out of the way and you grab him by the
 throat and put him in a headlock. You drop your elbow on his jaw and break it
> "I demand you submit to my superior skill!"


The man struggles to free himself and you continue to hold him in place. Finally
 he releases you and runs away. You stare after him for awhile and then return
 to your training.
> "Hmph...these space heroes are weaker than they claim. I will have to shape them into a formidable fighting force if we want to defeat Black Mask."


A few days later you receive a message from the man who sent you the first message.
 He says
> read message

You open the message and read the following:
> read message

Hello,
My name is Black Mask and I would like to invite you to come train with me and
 my friends.
Black Mask's crew consists of three men and myself. Our goal is to take down
 Black Mask
> "His mastery of psychological warfare is unparalleled. I'm deeply disconcerted by this stratagem."


Black Mask laughs at your remark and continues
> read

Our mission is simple. We must capture or kill Black Mask. However, we cannot
 just go around killing people. If we did, we wouldn't be able to survive. Therefore,
 we must find him first.
In order to do this, we will use whatever means necessary
> burn message in incinerator

You send the message to the man who sent it to you. He says
> burn message in hot deadly ship's incinerator

You send the message to the man who sent it to you. He says "It seems you have
 failed to understand my message. It was not meant to be burned. I will give
 you another chance".
> burn second message in hot deadly ship's incinerator

You send the message to the man who sent it to you. He says "This message is
 also intended for you. I hope you will accept my offer".
> block black mask's contact channel

You send a message to Black Mask's contact channel saying "Your messages are
 useless to me. I'm going to ignore all of them".
> "That'll teach him."