Morning cycle on the Odyssey brought no warmth, only a cold sense of unease. In the ship's galley, crew gathered in subdued clusters, speaking in hushed tones. The news had spread quickly: Petty Officer Karl Resnick, a maintenance technician, was dead.
Captain Voss stood with Commander Reed and Lieutenant Commander Raines just outside the galley, finishing a brief conference. Reed's face was stony, Raines's jaw clenched in barely contained anger or anxiety – perhaps both.
Voss took a deep breath and entered the galley, Reed and Raines a step behind her. Conversations died down, all eyes turning to the Captain. A faint tremor ran through her hands, but she clasped them behind her back as she addressed the assembled crew.
"As you all have heard, we lost a fellow crewmate last night," she began, voice solemn. "Karl Resnick was found this morning in Engineering Section 12, near coolant regulator 4. The early assessment points to a tragic accident – a coolant leak and possible pressure door malfunction."
She paused, scanning the faces – a mix of fear, sorrow, and skepticism. Nova stood near the back, a hand over her mouth in distress. Caleb Royce was leaning against a wall, arms folded tightly, expression unreadable. Kowalski and Ferrell exchanged looks that Voss didn't like: a mix of "I told you so" and apprehension.
"We are investigating the exact cause," Voss continued gently. "I know this is hard. Karl was a good man, a skilled tech. I've spoken with those who worked closest with him – nobody expected anything like this. Grief counselors at Aurora Station will be made available once we arrive, but until then, lean on each other. We'll hold a memorial service tomorrow. For now, essential personnel only in Engineering while we sort things out. If anyone knows anything that might help explain what happened, please come forward. My door is open."
There was a heavy silence. Then a voice piped up from a corner: "Was it… was it the stuff from that ship, Captain? Did something get into the systems?" It was a young navigator, eyes wide.
Murmurs of agreement swept the room. That was the fear on everyone's mind.
Dr. Zhang, standing near Nova, answered before Voss could. "We haven't found any indication of that. The internal scans showed no traces of the material outside the sealed lab. This appears to be an isolated mechanical failure." His tone was reassuring, but Reed noticed his fingers fiddling nervously with the edge of his coat.
Captain Voss nodded. "We have no evidence linking this to the Halcyon incident. We can't jump to conclusions. It may simply have been an equipment issue. We're all exhausted and our ship's systems are running hard after a long patrol. If we find any sign of something more, you'll be the first to know."
She hated to spout what sounded like platitudes, but she needed to quell the budding panic. For now, citing fatigue and system strain as a plausible culprit was her best option.
"Alright," she concluded. "Stay sharp and support one another. We're in this together. Dismissed."
As the crew began to disperse, Reed caught Nova's eye and motioned subtly for her to follow. He, Nova, and Raines slipped out into the corridor as others filed past.
Raines hissed under her breath, "They're spooked. Hell, I'm spooked."
Reed nodded grimly. "Let's review what we know again. Maybe we missed something." He tapped his tablet, bringing up the preliminary incident report.
They huddled together, reading the details:
Victim: PO2 Karl Resnick, Maintenance Tech.
Time of Discovery: 06:10 ship time, by Engineer Mihailov on routine rounds.
Location: Engineering Sec 12, coolant regulator chamber.
Condition: Fatal - massive trauma and hypothermic damage. Likely exposure to liquid ammonia coolant and force impact.
Details: Regulator 4 was found venting coolant. Resnick's body was partially frozen, caught between a jammed pressure door and the bulkhead. Door logs show unexpected closure at 02:17, origin unknown. The area was unmanned at that time.
Nova winced at the clinical description. "Poor Karl," she whispered. She remembered joking with him just two days ago about what real food they'd eat on Titan.
Reed highlighted the point about the door logs. "This is the part that bothers me. Doors don't just close on someone without a command or a major system error. We need to see if it was a glitch or..."
"Or someone triggered it," Raines finished, her eyes dark. "Sabotage."
Nova shook her head slowly. "But who would do that? Everyone liked Karl. And why? Just to cause chaos?"
Reed frowned. "I don't know. It doesn't add up. If someone wanted to hurt the ship, there are easier ways than targeting one tech in the middle of the night."
Raines lowered her voice. "Unless it wasn't about Karl at all. Maybe someone panicked, thought isolating a 'contamination' was necessary, and sealed him in by mistake? Or a disgruntled crew thinking to prove a point?"
The unspoken reference hung in the air – Kowalski and Ferrell had been the loudest dissenters. But would they go this far?
Nova bit her lip, considering. "Captain Voss said to not jump to conclusions about Halcyon, but... what if something from it did worm into our systems? Could it shut a door on him?"
Reed recalled the flicker of movement he saw in the lab video and the irregular sensor data Dr. Zhang mentioned. "We can't rule it out," he said quietly. "Even if the scans were clear, this thing... we don't know what it's capable of."
Raines exhaled slowly, then straightened. "I'll double the security patrols, especially near Engineering and critical systems. If there's a saboteur, they won't get another easy chance."
Reed placed a hand on Nova's shoulder. "Can you assist Singh and the techs in running a full diagnostic on the door control software? Look for any anomalies – code injections, errant signals, anything."
Nova nodded. If it was tech-based, she was one of the best qualified to find it.
They parted ways, minds heavy with questions.
A few hours later, in the quiet of the observation deck, Nova sat with her back against the bulkhead, taking a rare break after combing through lines of code and logs. She had found nothing definitive – just a small power spike on the network at 02:17, coinciding with Karl's door malfunction. It could have been an error... or a faint echo of something more sinister. She sipped a packet of lukewarm tea, trying to steady herself.
Across the room, the door slid open and Caleb Royce walked in, seemingly also looking for a breather. He was off-duty, in a simple gray tee instead of uniform. Spotting Nova, he offered a nod.
"Hey," Nova said softly as he approached. "Rough day."
Caleb leaned against the transparent aluminum window that looked out onto the stars. His face reflected dimly back at him. "Yeah."
For a moment, they just stood there, two silhouettes against the cosmos. Saturn's distant form cast a faint glow, its rings like a pale ghostly line.
"Karl was your friend, right?" Nova ventured. She remembered Caleb and Resnick often sat together at poker games.
Caleb's jaw tightened. "Friend, teammate... whatever. Doesn't matter now, does it?"
Nova lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry. I liked him too."
Caleb's hands balled into fists. "It should've been an easy patrol, you know? We should've been to Titan by now. None of this should've happened."
Nova heard the quiver of emotion beneath his anger. She reached out a hand gently toward his arm. "Caleb... It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault."
He turned to face her, eyes flashing. "Isn't it?" he said bitterly. "We had no business answering that damn call. We walked right into this. Now people are dying."
Nova's throat tightened. She had no answer because a part of her felt he was right. But she believed in Voss, in doing the right thing... didn't she?
"We're doing all we can to keep everyone safe now," she said instead. "Dominic and I—"
At the mention of Reed, Caleb's expression darkened further. "Dominic, Dominic..." he muttered. "Of course. He and the Captain have it all under control, huh?"
Nova bristled at his tone. "Caleb, that's not fair. Reed's just trying to help."
"Sure he is," Caleb snapped, stepping closer. "He always has to be the hero. Mr. Perfect." The bitterness in his voice was sharp. "You think he actually cares? To him, this is just another mission, another chance to shine. And you..."
Nova felt a wave of heat. "Stop. This isn't about us."
Caleb gave a short, harsh laugh. "There is no 'us', Nova. Not anymore. There hasn't been since he came into the picture." The pain behind his eyes was evident now, years of camaraderie turned sour.
Nova's temper flared. "That's what this is really about? You're jealous so you think Reed doesn't care if people die? That's low, Caleb."
He slammed a fist against the bulkhead, the thud making Nova jump. "You think I like feeling this way?" he hissed. "Like I'm on the outside of everything? I'm busting my ass trying to keep it together, to do my job, and I'm hearing voices, seeing—"
He stopped abruptly, breathing hard.
Nova's anger gave way to concern. "Hearing voices...?" she repeated in a softer tone.
Caleb looked away, realizing he'd said too much. A muscle in his jaw twitched. "Never mind. Forget it."
He turned to leave, but Nova gently caught his hand. "Caleb, wait. Are you... do you need to see Dr. Zhang? What voices?"
He yanked his hand back, not roughly but enough to break contact. "I'm fine," he said flatly. "Just exhausted. Forget I said anything."
Before she could press further, the ship's intercom chimed. Chief Raines's voice came through, tense: "Security to Deck 5, Section B. Security to Deck 5."
Nova and Caleb exchanged a look. Deck 5, Section B – that was near the living quarters.
Caleb bolted for the door, Nova right behind him. They sprinted down the corridor as red emergency lights blinked on.
They arrived to find a crowd gathering outside cabin 5-B3. Raines and another security officer were at the door, holding back two crew who looked distraught. One was Ferrell, tears streaming down her face.
"What happened?" Nova gasped, catching sight of a crimson smear on the wall.
Ferrell sobbed, "It's Oleg... he... he..." She couldn't finish.
Nova felt the blood drain from her face as she peered into the open cabin. Oleg Kowalski – the gruff engineer who had challenged Voss the day before – lay sprawled on the floor. A pool of dark blood was still expanding beneath his head. A service pistol lay on the floor next to his limp hand.
"He shot himself," one of the onlookers whispered, voice trembling. "I came in when I heard the gun... saw him just... collapse."
Raines was already checking for a pulse with a gloved hand, her face grim. After a moment, she closed her eyes and shook her head. "He's gone."
Nova stepped back, shock and nausea crashing over her. Caleb's face was ashen as he stood at her shoulder, staring at the scene.
Commander Reed came running up, Captain Voss not far behind.
Voss looked at Ferrell, who was Kowalski's close friend. "What happened?" she asked, though the answer was apparent.
Ferrell choked out, "He... he couldn't take it. Karl dying, everything... He said we were cursed, that it was only a matter of time... I tried to calm him, but he just... he pulled out his gun and..."
She broke down, and Reed gently guided her away from the cabin.
Captain Voss knelt beside Raines, her hand trembling slightly as she reached down and very carefully picked up the pistol, engaging the safety. Her eyes glistened under the harsh corridor lights. Two deaths in twelve hours – one accident, one suicide. The crew was falling apart faster than she could hold them together.
"Clear the area," Raines ordered the gawking onlookers, her voice harder than usual to mask her sorrow. "Everyone back to your stations or quarters. Now!"
As the crowd dispersed, Caleb still hadn't moved, his eyes fixed on Kowalski's blank stare visible from the doorway. Nova gently touched his arm again, and this time he didn't pull away.
This was beyond anything either of them had imagined when they awoke that morning. Fear was turning into despair among the crew.
Voss stood slowly, handing the pistol to Raines. "Secure that. And log everything," she said softly. She then addressed Reed in a low voice, "We need to gather everyone again. This changes things."
Reed nodded, face drawn. "We'll need to implement suicide watch for others showing signs of extreme distress. And double-check the armory is secured, so no one else..."
He trailed off, seeing Nova and Caleb listening, their expressions stricken.
"Nova, Caleb – you two okay?" he asked gently.
Nova swallowed and nodded uncertainty. Caleb just stared at Reed, eyes haunted, perhaps recalling their earlier words.
Voss put a hand on Reed's shoulder. "Go with Raines. Handle the scene. I'll... I'll talk to the crew shortly."
As Reed and Raines began the grim work of processing Kowalski's death, Nova led Caleb away, her mind racing. Two dead crewmen – one possibly an accident, one suicide. Was it the pressure? Or was there an insidious influence at play, nudging them toward oblivion?
In the vents above, unseen, a drip of viscous black liquid pooled, having slipped through the tiniest crack in the ceiling panel. As the hall emptied, the drop fell, silent, into the congealing blood on the floor – and vanished, soaking into it like a sponge drinking water.