Dracula in Space

The blood is life.

Please. Oh.

Derelict alert.

Shit.

Derelict alert.

Derelict alert. Derelict.

Now what?

Captain.

Captain, what have we stopped?

Derelict sighted.

Derelict.

Survivors?

I'll keep you posted.

Ready med bay.

Got it.

Harker?

It's a derelict, Morris.

Rest easy.

Copy.

Captain?

Derelict alert.

A derelict?

Yeah. Contact Way Station 7.

Check in. Register the derelict.

They're going to send us to investigate.

Just check it out.

Way Station 7. This is Demeter.

We have detected a derelict.

Please advise.

Send text communication.

They may be silent running in this neck of the woods.

Ma'am.

Way Station 7,

this is the cargo ship Demeter.

We have detected a derelict.

Coordinates are located on 520,

grid reference 919.

That's pretty far out.

Maybe it came in from the outer rim.

The outer?

Any sign of Sol?

Sol, this is Harker.

We have a derelict sighting.

Understood, Captain.

Shit.

What?

Another day, another problem.

All right, listen up.

We've received a distress signal from a derelict ship

floating about 50 clicks out.

We're tasked with investigating.

This mission is routine but we need to stay focused.

We don't know why it's drifting,

or what we'll find on board.

- Automated? - Yeah. Cyclical.

SOS.

It would appear so.

So it could be a trap.

Riders have been using derelicts

as an easy way to snatch a hole and

We'll take precautions.

We're prepared for anything.

It's our job to investigate.

Besides, I'm here.

You all remember your training?

If you should see some raiders

I don't think a two week course

really counts as training, Morris.

It's just a ship,

and if it's an automated signal,

it means it's likely to be abandoned,

which means anything on there is our salvage,

and our money.

Besides, raiders don't operate that far out.

Preliminary scans have come back.

There's oxygen on board the vessel.

Juno?

Oxygen suggests a working core.

Computer systems might still be active.

Could be a good salvage.

We intercept the derelict,

uncouple the cargo, see what we can get.

Return to the cargo, hook back up,

head on home.

You make it sound too easy.

Like it or not, we have a job to do,

and a vessel to investigate.

There's an old ship database

I can access for some answers.

We do this by the book.

Keep your gear in check.

Stay sharp.

I'll run diagnostics on ship wide systems

before we intercept.

You always worry about the little things, Juno.

It'll be fine.

It's the little things that get us killed.

Right. Whatever you say.

All right, you all know your assignments.

How many is enough, Morris?

It's better to be safe than sorry.

I've known guys like you my whole life,

always itching to pull the trigger.

Yeah?

And women like you always wonder about guys like me.

In your dreams.

Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?

Come on.

Come on.

How are we doing, Seward?

I'll be monitoring your medical condition

while you're out there.

Good. I'm counting on you.

And don't forget, I just need to remind you,

if I detect a contagion

or anything that could endanger the death

I know, you cut us off.

I'll keep the ship stable.

Just be careful out there.

Eli?

Sol.

I've checked the telemetry for docking.

You are off entry by 7.7 seconds.

I am?

Yes.

It would be prudent to slow our approach.

You are right.

I accessed your Home Sweet Home program on the VR suite.

You did?

Yes.

And?

It was interesting.

Right, it's, it's just a little slice of home.

That's it.

I tried what you suggested.

What?

I felt the wind in between my fingers.

And?

It gave a very accurate representation of air speed.

But I didn't feel what you felt.

You don't feel emotions.

Correct.

Well, that feeling of wind,

cool air between your fingers,

that's freedom.

I see.

We're approaching the final vector.

I will signal the captain.

Fore and aft lights.

Fore and aft lights, aye.

Searching for ship name.

So far, I have nothing.

We'll keep scanning.

Eli.

Eli?

Sorry, I

On mission.

Slow engines.

Right thruster 10%.

No signal.

Keep monitoring.

Alive signs?

Doesn't appear so.

No active signals, no signs of life.

Still running that SOS beacon?

Yes, but it is degrading.

One last call for help.

Slow down to 15 meters per second.

Prepare for docking.

There.

Do you see it?

Yeah, I see it.

Sol?

Yes.

It looks like several sections

of the hull have been compromised.

Interesting.

What?

There are seven airlocks set to open in the vessel.

Open?

What do you mean?

Depressurization.

The doors were opened.

Deck one and two are sealed,

and oxygen is still working.

Got an airlock on there?

Deck one, Captain.

Eli, line us up.

Engage manual controls.

Morris, prep the airlock.

I'm on it.

We're going in.

All right, let's go.

Let's keep this quick.

Stick to the plan, in and out.

We don't wanna be here longer than we have to.

Understood.

Let's make it quick.

It's like the Mary Celeste but colder somehow.

What's the age of this ship?