Joseph

The crew of The Nellie is on a mission to Yatima, and the days pass by with routine setting in. Evgeny Khytrov works on the ship’s engines and life support systems with Arcturus, who studies the information on Yatima and finds discrepancies. As they approach Yatima, they detect a weak life sign on the al-Khwarizmi lab ship, leading them to plan an investigation and uncover the mystery behind the placement of Yatima in orbit.

Arcturus helps Engineer Khytrov, who is sick from cryosleep. Arcturus is summoned to CIC by Captain Foster and crosses paths with a glowering Doctor Dudley from the CIC escorted by two Marines. Captain Foster welcomes Arcturus and programs the android.

Khytrov visits doctor Dudley for cryosleep illness. The Doctor insults Khytrov with his terrible bedside manner and attempts to gather intelligence from Khytrov. The engineer is alarmed at how quickly Kind Corp assembled the mission to Yatima.

The Captain’s dinner. Captain Foster and Doctor Zarkov sit at the head of the table on either side of the ship’s Captain, Chao Shen. Khytrov serves a meal he has prepared of traditional Russian fare. A treat to celebrate The Nellie arrival in the system. From here on out, it’s rations. As the evening progresses, Captain Shen regales the table with his adventures, tells a risqué joke, and is slightly inebriated from the alcohol he’s been consuming. Sergeant Maximus Razorblade and Khtrov entertain the crew by performing with their respective instruments: a guitar and a harmonica.

Khytrov, also a bit drunk, forgets himself and asks Captain Foster about his role in putting down the Mars Insurrection. Khytrov immediately realizes he’s overstepped himself, and perspiration born of fear glistens on his brow; Captain Foster ignores the faux pas and Khytrov. Navigator Suying Zhang breaks out her erhu and plays a quiet, mournful song to break the tension. Each crew member has their emotional reactions to the music (Captain Foster’s face flashes anger for a microsecond), but for all, it is a reminder of home and the things they’ve left behind.

Captain Foster tells Arcturus that the android is above their fellow crew members. Doctors Dudley, Bey, and Sethu sit at the crew’s table with Captain Foster’s Marine watching the drama unfold. The Marines quietly keep to themselves, hunched over the meals like a pack of wolves.

As the music ends, Captain Shen raises his glass, “To the crew of The Nellie, may we continue to work together and make it back home safely.”

The days pass, and routine sets in aboard The Nellie.

The Marines engage in various activities, from target practice to working out in the gym in the cargo bay. In their downtime, they gather around to play cards while the corporal strums his guitar and sings the Bio-Nevolant Marines hymn.

Evgeny Khytrov can be found roaming the ship, always working on the engines and life support systems. He’s often accompanied by Arcturus, who lends a hand in tweaking and calibrating the various systems. Khytrov shares with Arcturus that his great-grandfather was part of the team on Boston Dynamics that built Atlas, Arcturus’s ancestor.

Arcturus studies the information about planet Yatima from the missing survey team against the data the ship’s sensors have gathered. Something does not add up.

Captain Chao Shen and Suying Zhang hold daily meetings in the ship’s computer center and keep Doctor Zarkov, Captain Foster, and Arcturus apprised.

Doctor Dudley is visited by Corporal Horowitz, who has dislocated his arm during combat training. The Doctor displays his usual terrible bedside manner and re-sets the corporal’s arm.

As The Nellie approaches Yatima, a pinnace from the al-Khwarizmi, the orbiting lab ship, disengages from its dock and makes a hard acceleration over the planet’s horizon. Telemetry predicts that the pinnace is positioned on the opposite side of the planet relative to The Nellie. A weak life sign is detected aboard the al-Khwarizmi.

Arcturus reports that his research indicates that Yatima is not local to the al-Ḥajaru al-Aswad system. Something intentionally put the planet in orbit around the brown dwarf. But by who? And why? The three decide to investigate the al-Khwarizmi and plan their next moves.

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