SAM: Our galaxy.
Humankind colonized space
so long ago that no one remembers which came first:
civilization, or the corporations.
But a centuries-old conflict between the Grotto Corporation
and our mortal enemy, the mega-corporation
known as Helion, has led to endless wars
and broken planets, making life
for most on Grotto planets - known as Homeworlds -
a living hell of indentured servitude.
And I was no different.
My only way out was to join Grotto's army,
the Reapers.
The Resource Exploration
and Procurement Engineer Regiment,
also known as the Salvage Marines,
where the hazard pay is high
but the survival rate is low.
[THEME MUSIC] [TENSE, MENACING ELECTRONIC BEAT]
[ELECTRONIC BEEPING]
[HEAVY ELECTRIC GUITAR]
I need to speak to you about your actions down in Deepspire.
I know I disobeyed a direct order,
but Tak and Jada they--
It's precisely because of those actions
that I'm recommending you for promotion.
I think you should hold your son for the first time.
Oh...Oh! Oh! You're so beautiful!
What is this?
It's an invoice for my cybernetic spine.
Maybe if we had a union it would be different
but we don't, so we're stuck with it.
When the money comes in from one of these missions,
take Orion go to Longstride.
Get that cabin we've always dreamed about.
I'll find you there.
You better.
Boss.
You don't have to call me that. I dismissed you guys.
I missed you.
This necropolis might well be
the greatest salvage in history.
Do they really expect us to buy into that loyalty bullshit?
Let's hear it. Let's hear this masterplan.
Next time Tyrol or Grotto
orders us to do something non-salvage related,
that cost us needless lives,
we'll have the audio and video files to prove it!
After these live feeds go out,
and they're broadcast, then what?
It forces Grotto to listen to us.
To take us seriously.
To give us a proper union.
You see that? They're picking us off one by one Sam.
-SAM: Get to the tunnel! -TAK: Really?!
We're gonna do it.
This place is just all kinds of wrong Sam.
SAM: It ain't right!
Sam! Sam, don't touch him!
No, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, Sam!!
[INDISTINCT TANNOY IN BACKGROUND]
[BEEPING OF MACHINES]
The more we do this,
the less of ourselves we become, Boss.
I see you, um...
made some key medical decisions for me.
Tryin' to split the difference and do right by you, Bianca.
Maybe it's time we both got out while we can.
We'll have debt, but we'll be alive.
Either that, or die like Logan and Vaughan,
or before we turn into
Marsters or Aiken.
Boss...
I wish I could, but eh...
..I can't afford it.
I have at least a few years.
Especially now.
[SIGHS]
I'd have nothing to live on.
But you, Sam...
[SIGHS]
Get your family off the station
and...and...
..and live a better life for the rest of us.
Please.
It was an honor to serve with you, Boss.
This is the job.
You wanna...talk about it?
Nothin' left to talk about, brother.
Did the job, and paid the price.
And now it's time to collect.
Still tryin' to convince myself it was all worth it.
How 'bout you? Stayin' in?
Have you reconsidered coming back with me?
You know Sura would kill me if she thought I left you behind.
There's nothing left for me on Baen 6.
My only family is...
..Samuel Hyst and Tango Platoon.
Think I'll just go after another Merc coin and...
..see if I can get into merchants' military.
By the way, your skin graft looks good, Tak.
You probably haven't heard it 'cause you've been
with the wounded all day but more planets and systems
have begun showing up in long-range scans.
Whatever we did down there, Sam, it started a chain reaction.
More and more of Necro space, this side of the line
started charting.
There are so many opportunities for fortune and glory
that even Tyrol's at a loss for what to do next.
New worlds, more wars to fight over
who gets to own them.
We'll be battling armies of Mercs
before we even get back home.
Maybe I should find our comrade Imago,
give my resumé to the Folken.
Think Tak...
you didn't even wanna come out here!
> JADA: ..hands and such. Hey you guys!
Harold here has some blotto left over from Vorhold.
The last of Vol's stash.
WE are throwing a little going away party for you and Tillman.
-Virginia's leavin'? -Yeah.
I guess she's gonna join
the unionist movement back on Baen 6,
for all the good it'll do!
Hey, she could be runnin' the whole organization one day.
-You're drunk. -[SAM LAUGHS]
Boss.
A toast.
To your last day as one of us.
-To safe travels. -To the fallen.
To the fallen.
One for the stalker.
> JADA: To the stalker in the dark.
Careful, your jaw's gonna rust!
You will be fully compensated under the Grotto life plan.
There is no service like it, and no job like it.
This is the job.
So, I tell that guy,
I am a Salvage Marines now, a Reaper, no doubt.
And he can kiss my ass.
Tryin' to get thrown in jail again?
I spoke to MY Grotto debt collector the other day.
Oh yeah? Good old Torin.
He's always a ray of sunshine, isn't he?
Sun doesn't shine where that man stands.
-He was happy. -Happy?!
Yeah, he loved telling me how much more my payments are
now that I have this cybernetic spine.
Hey, slacks. How's that rusty armor holdin' up?
Yeah, so kind of Grotto to give us replacement plates
from our fallen comrade's gear.
At least we got replacement parts this time!
Always lookin' on the bright side!
Can I talk to you for a second?
Sure.
What is it?
I wanna ask you to do something.
Do...what exactly?
Since the turbines at Tetra Prime,
and the devastation at Deepspire,
things have been different.
Yeah, I know.
Some of our squad members
aim to change that.
And how do they aim to do that?
I can't go into detail here, but you could help.
How can I help?
By recording certain aspects
of our mission.
Are you asking me to spy on Grotto?
Not spy...
..but wear an encrypted bodycam.
Get evidence of Grotto's
extracurricular activity.
To what end?
Negotiation leverage.
Are you talking about unionization?
Maybe.
That's dangerous talk, Jada.
Sure you're on board with this?
I might be.
Something's gotta change.
And with everything lining up, maybe it's the right time.
Uh...I don't know.
Why do you want me to wear a camera?
Since the turbines, Tyrol takes pleasure
in giving you orders that go against
what the Salvage Marines are about.
And if the public finds out,
then they'll know what the Grotto really is.
That's a lot of if's in your plan.
I'm not asking you to decide right now.
I'm asking you to think about it.
And change your uniform. You're still a boss, Prybar.
I forgot my boss patch.
< Psst! Hey!
[RELIEVED SIGH] Did you get it?
Yeah, was able to find
a full encrypted and tether-free one.
Nice.
Look...
Whoever's gonna wear that,
make sure they don't disconnect
from their standard-issue bodycam.
That might alert Grotto that somethin's wrong.
So they've to put it on after kit inspections, before battle?
-Yeah. -OK.
Thanks, Flyboy. You gotta be the best pilot in Grotto
to have pulled that off.
You bet your ass I am!
Alright, let's do it.
Is that OK? I know it's not the full,
but I'll pay you in increments. That way it's not suspicious.
-That'll work. -Alright, let's get outta here.
Hey, we shouldn't be seen leavin' together.
Right, OK.
You hang back, I'll head out.
Thanks again Darex.
I won't forget this.
Good luck.
Agh! Hi! Hello, Sir. You look tall.
What exactly are you doing in a machine room, Reaper?
Just...
And why on earth are you ... sweating?
I was jogging, Sir.
-Jogging? -I was jogging, yeah. Yeah.
Running...running. I was stretching
my body...my legs, eh...
As..f..yeah.
Stretching?
Here? In the machine room?
Well...
You expect me to believe
you jogged all the way down to the machine room to stretch?
Yeah!
Yeah, no, yeah! like, it's quiet.
It's um...
..quiet in the machine room.
It's eh, the buzzing
helps soothe my mind.
Yeah.
For the ... cool down.
You know, lactic acid,
exercise...
body...words.
[LAUGHS THROUGH NOSE]
Of course it does! Of course it does!
-Of course it does. -You know me.
I, yeah.
You here by yourself then?
Yeah, yeah! Well now, you,
so not by ourselves, 'cause we're here alone...together.
I've got my eye on you, Reaper...
Marr. [SHORT EXHALE THROUGH NOSE]
And I swear...
..if you're up to somethin',
anythin' that'll jeopardize Grotto--
I'm not up to anything, Sir.
Just getting some exercise in my off time.
Well then...
..back to your ... stretching.
Would you like to stretch together, Sir?
We could eh, do this... or same time tomorrow, you know?
I only stretch in my own quarters.
OK.
Boss Marsters, launch sequence engaged.
Prepare for liftoff.
[TENSE, MENACING MUSIC]
FEMALE VOICE: Mission objective:
Sweep through disabled frigate.
Locate and salvage technical assets and data.
Prepare for hull breach access.
Gravity plates to be enabled.
Tango, we're about to enter the Helion debris field.
It might get a little bumpy.
MARSTERS: Brace for impact.
HAROLD: Prybar, you seein' this?
ULANTI: Helion gun frigate.
It's hard to tell in this soup.
Looks like Class A to me.
That's why Helion backed off.
Battle fleets only run with one,
maybe two ships max, with that size artillery.
I'm guessing that they dropped down behind Grotto lines,
separated themselves, from the group.
Helion seems to breed people
with a flair for over-confidence.
Somethin' on your mind, Hyst?
No disrespect, Boss, but this sounds like
Grotto propaganda to me.
It is and it isn't.
Helion think they're better than us.
That makes them arrogant, sloppy.
At the end of the day, they still buy ammo
from the same place that we do.
Only difference is, we know how to use that ammo.
If this is your first mission, welcome to the war machine.
Think this platoon is always smiles
before plunging into almost certain death?
I dunno. It's mildly twisted, not that I mind.
Initial sweeps indicated life support and cabin pressure.
I am definitely picking up some survivor activity.
Engineering, get a lock on their frequency comms.
Send 'em over a surrender agreement.
Surrender agreement?
Aren't we gonna do the standard sweep and clear as always?
The survivors are gonna be Journeymen or Master Class.
That means this time the crew IS the salvage.
Trade specialists such as engineers
have experience and training.
That gives them substantial value.
Understood. Ulanti, anything?
Actually, yeah. Distress beacon, automated, repeating.
Well, just be ready for anything.
Boss, if they're broadcasting, they want the attention.
I wouldn't assume they just want a fight.
They may try to kill us and take the ship for all we know.
Even if they don't, we've no way of knowing
who's been listening to that beacon.
Maybe the scavengers are slavers?
Like I said...
..just be ready.
Tango Reapers, prepare for breach and board.
Copy that. Reaper actual.
Contact in three...two...
..one!
MARSTERS: Move it!
On the double! We're goin' in hot, Reapers!
Check the voids, Reapers.
< MARSTERS: Clear!
I don't think we need grav tech in here.
Keep 'em on anyway, we don't know what's beyond the seals.
SAM: All clear, no hostiles.
Multiple blast points.
I'm guessing munitions cache exploded,
blew out the hull and the ammo with it.
Yeah, and all, uh, equipment and crew
that wasn't secured down until emergency auto seal kicked in.
HAROLD: I'm getting cabin pressure up ahead.
Alright, listen up. Keep your wits about you.
I don't want you shootin' anything
that doesn't need to be shot.
We're gonna peel off, go squad by squad, deck by deck.
More scrap wagons, the platoons from the tug, presumably.
Or other interested third parties.
Could be delayed explosions from the battle.
It's a big ship, so we're gonna need to peel off
Hyst, take this deck.
Ulanti, take it up one deck.
Squad Marsters, we're goin' below.
On me, let's move out.
Excellent, Reaper.
Check your back shadows and your dead corners.
Hyst, report!
Place is a tomb, Boss.
Let's just make sure it isn't ours.
Scorch marks.
Explosion went everywhere.
Weapons cache probably went nova.
This way.
Hey, we got a clean seal here, Sam.
Good catch, Tak.
Observe and report, it's what I do.
Bianca, core that lock.
Everyone else, stack up on Tak.
Marsters, we have someone sealed in a service chamber
on our level.
< MARSTERS: Could be the assets. SAM: Copy that.
Preparin' to go in hot.
Hold off, they may just surrender.
[SCOFFS] Yeah, I think we all know better than that, Sir.
On my mark.
Don't shoot!
Hold your fire!
They're unarmed.
You're not slavers.
We thought you were Tasca Cartel,
but you're Grotto.
You are hereby ordered to surrender
your ship and your crew.
Why d'you even give us a chance
if you were just gonna attack us anyway?
You people have a funny way of surrendering.
-You fired first. -To hell we did!
You boarded our engine room before we could
even respond to your damn message.
And then you took half our engineers!
SAM: That wasn't us.
If it wasn't you,
then Tasca is here.
Boss Marsters,
this is Hyst, come in.
< Boss Marsters, send your traffic.
The service chamber and control deck are secure.
We have five engineer noncoms in custody.
< MARSTERS: Copy that!
Coulda been worse.
It might just be.
They thought we were the Tasca Cartel.
And they say that
half their engineering crew have been taken.
< Sounds like you got a fight on your hands after all.
Better get the word out to the other platoons.
We'll convert on your position.
Roger that.
Stand up! Stand up!
Stand up! Come on! Put your hands down.
Put your hands down, it's OK.
There's no guns, right?
No guns? No weapons?
Check 'em out.
We've got five engineers, Boss.
Good job, Sam. We're to secure the assets with no damage.
Let's just get them out of here without further losses.
Losing these assets is not an option.
Some of you are gonna break off and fight the cartel.
Everybody else, prepare for pick up.
Sounds like Ulanti could use our help, Boss.
Alright, let's get on that.
The rest of you, come with me.
We're gonna cut a path to the escape hatch
so we can get these engineers outta here.
Hyst, you're gonna take everyone else to the engine room
and you're gonna give Ulanti the help that she needs.
Roger that. Good hunting.
If you wanna save your friends...
..you shouldn't go that way.
The engine room's two levels down
and behind at least four security doors.
You wanna take the airlock from this room
and access the whole of the ship directly.
-Sounds like a new plan. -Yeah.
It's the fastest way to access the ship, providin' you've got
your void seals, which you clearly have.
Let's get the engineers with me
and prepare you for decompression.
Let's move it. Chop-chop! We'll give you some water too.
Let's move it!
Alright, make sure your grav tech is engaged.
-I'm about pop the seal. -You heard the lady.
Locked and loaded, partner.
I got a bad feeling about this, Sam.
We're on our way, Ulanti.
FEMALE VOICE: Warning! Slaver ship in vicinity.
Repeat, slaver ship in vicinity.
Salvaged assets must be protected and retained.
And trust your grav tech!
Let's find that slaver ship!
Spread out!
SAM: Keep your eyes open for hostiles!
-I see one! -Wait, Jada!
He's not a scavenger, Jada! His weapons and armor alone
would set us back a year's pay.
You sayin' he knows what he's doin'?
Yeah!
Jada!
Sam, don't worry about me, just go!
Damn it, don't worry, Jada.
I'm gonna get this sonofabitch. Hang tight!
[GASPS] Thanks, I didn't even see him!
Go free Jada.
[LOUD MECHANICAL HUM] Oh my God!
Good to see Squad Ulanti all in one piece.
How are your new recruits doin'?
We're still alive, Boss!
All good, Hyst. What do you say we finish the job?
-I'll lead the way, -We are taking that ship!
Everybody, move up!
[PANTS]
Jada's back in action, Sam!
You were right, those nets are no joke.
Slavers don't mess around.
I think it's kinda funny. This much effort
to keep people we're at war with from becoming slaves.
Try to hold this off until the cage is on board.
We've gotta keep pushin' through,
or they're gonna get away with the pay load.
They sure picked a damn fine spot to defend.
We're not gonna get past these guys in time.
Men down here.
We need assistance. We're runnin' out of options.
Ulanti, Marsters, Hyst.
If you're unable to recover the assets,
your secondary objective is to ensure
that the slavers walk away empty-handed.
I repeat, no engineers to the Tasca cartel.
-But, Sir-- -That's an order, Hyst!
[ULANTI CRIES OUT]
-Boss down! Boss down! -Medic!
Boss Ulanti is down!
Prybar, you're the ranking officer now.
We can't win this, we're getting picked apart.
-Cover me! -We gotta push forward.
We got you.
Noooo!
Hostiles on your right, two points ahead.
I'm gonna push 'em towards you.
MARSTERS: Hyst, can you recover those engineers, yes or no?
Negative, slaver ship is leaving.
We can't lose anyone else.
TYROL: You KNOW what needs to be done, Hyst.
Liquidate the assets.
Aaaagh!
-We really doing this? -Aaaaagh!
TAK: Did we just commit a war crime?
Sam...
[HOARSELY] Sam, are you alright?
SAM!
Uh, I'm sorry.
Excuse me.
I'm here for you, Sam.
I don't even know what we're doin' anymore.
Two corporations feedin' off the corpses of each other.
You can't blame yourself.
I'm the one that called the order
to kill those engineers.
You know why we had to do that.
Do I?
I coulda s-- I coulda said no.
I coulda told Tyrol to shove it.
We could've disengaged.
I...I don't know.
So many friends lost.
Just...
Gone.
Coulda done somethin'.
I coulda done somethin' this time, I...
I coulda s...
[ALARM CLOCK BEEPING]
What time is it?
It's early.
I was gonna go to the canteen
and get some breakfast.
That was quite a night, huh?
Was it?
Relax! [LAUGHS]
You prude! Nothing happened.
We both passed out
before we even hit the bed.
But it would've been the night of your life,
I'm just sayin'.
[JADA CHUCKLES]
You hungry?
Later.
[INDISTINCT TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT IN BACKGROUND]
I see you brought it with you.
You're crazy for doin' this, Harold.
For takin' this kind of risk.
Well then you're crazy for helping me.
Yeah, probably.
Boss Hyst?
Marsters wants to meet you
in the mess hall, Sir.
Did you see how those Helion helmets exploded
after we came down on them?
Dude, it was crazy.
-How many did you hit? -Three, you?
[PATRICK CLEARS HIS THROAT]
-Hey. -Hi.
-Hi.
-So, ladies...
I mean, fellow Reapers.
How're we feelin' after our first battle?
-Wha-- -Good.
What my buddy Milplan's tryin' to say is
would you ladies like another drink...on us?
That depends how much you boys...
eh, Reapers,
can handle your liquor.
You know, 20 credits says they can't even keep up.
A million credits says we do.
I don't agree. You don't even have a million credits.
We're gonna need a bottle.
Have you heard of Reaper roulette?
You know what I heard?
Boss Marsters used a suicide shoot of all things
to evacuate human assets
recovered from the frigate.
I know those folks didn't have void suits.
It was the only thing he could do, I guess.
Man, I never would've thought of anything that crazy.
And there were 20 or so of the bastards.
Helion techs, I think.
Mm, Tasca Cartel
means business.
Right?
Man! Those slavers?
They're hard meat.
What'd you just say, Reaper?
Oh, um, I'm sorry, Sir.
I simply said that the slavers were hard to beat.
Carry on.
Maybe we can get some positive ID on those slavers.
Just in case they really were Tasca.
We're Reapers, not slavers.
Killing all of those people just because
we couldn't make a profit off of them is wrong.
Recording any military engagement
without proper authorization is a crime.
Then I don't understand, Prybar, if you've a problem sharing
the footage, why did you wear
the rig in the first place?
I think it's crazy goin' up against Grotto.
This isn't what we signed up for.
Grotto's taking advantage of us, and it's not right.
But unionization..?
They will HANG us for this.
I know you think it's worth the risk.
It's still an alpha class felony.
Stand with me, Sam.
I am.
I just wanna make sure my family
is as far away from corporate space as possible.
For whatever it's worth,
I am a patriot of Grotto.
Reapers.
Good to see you on your feet, Marsters.
Tango Platoon!
Tonight, we raise our glasses...
..to the early death of Reaper Green,
and the rest of the Reapers we've lost along the way.
They stood by us, and paid the ultimate price,
so that we wouldn't have to.
This is the job.
ALL: This is the job!
And one for the stalker in the dark.
-One for the stalker? -Trust me, Hyst.
There's no love lost for what happened
on Downspire, or what we did to those engineers.
Every day we become less and less salvage Marines.
They're startin' to use us
like criminal troops.
After sacrificing the payload last time,
we should be grateful that we're getting anything at all.
They did not like the news.
So I should be grateful that
they're not personally docking me
for the value of those Helion engineers?
We SHOULD be grateful.
Now you listen to me. You keep your head down
and hold on to that footage.
You don't show anyone until I say so.
Because if you do, you will hang, are we clear?
Alright.
Who else knows about this?
Everybody. Everyone's in on it.
[BIRDS SINGING]
Oh, Sam!
It's more wonderful than we ever imagined.
There's no pollution to blot out the sun
and when it rains... it doesn't burn.
Our family will grow strong here
in the light and among the green.
There have been...challenges along the way.
I would not have overcome them
without the knowledge you've shared with me.
We've found our freedom
on the lawless fringes of the universe
and it has needed protecting from time to time.
Every day...
..your son looks to the sky
and asks about his father.
I tell him that a brave soldier is fighting his way
across the universe to us, even now.
I tell him that one day...
..Samuel Hyst will come walking over that hill.
And our family will be whole again.