Through the Gate

DERELICT

A team of disgraced engineers and scientists are forcibly recruited by a mega-corporation to board a mysterious derelict vessel in an uncharted star

Key takeaways

• Sarah Raynor/Rainer, a mechanical engineer battling jet withdrawal addiction, is offered full reinstatement and custody access in exchange for leading the recovery mission.
• The team includes Kyle Stevens (propulsion), Stephanie Freed (digital systems), Wilson Chambers (offering manager), and Agent Blaine from Internal Security.

Main topics

• Derelict ship recovery and salvage rights
• T-gate transit mechanics and risks

Notable quotes

"Life's a lot like going through a T-gate. You don't know if you'll make it out the other side. But you do it anyway."

Conclusion

The episode establishes a tense, atmospheric sci-fi thriller premise w

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) Hey everyone, GBM. Wanted to take a moment to share another podcast I've been listening to and really enjoying. It is 2000 and Late, created, written, and directed by the mega-talented Lauren Shippen, who also brought us The Bright Sessions. The 10-episode first season follows Harper, a 30-something nihilist whose life is upended when she's possessed by a demon he'll bent on bringing about the apocalypse. Harper's actually a pretty fascinating relatable character I think in all of this because while she doesn't want to end the world the demon gives her more power than she's ever had in her life and she starts to really analyze and weigh the morality scales around abusing power for your own benefit. Definitely a dark comedy in the vein of things like Fleabag or Jennifer's Body or I don't know Yellow Jackets that's also grappling a lot with our current moment. Great performances, great concept, really digestible format. Highly recommend. You can listen to the show anywhere you get your podcasts and listen ad-free on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For more information, check out harperandhavoc.com. That's harperandhavoc.com. And hope you enjoy 2000 and Late. Speaker 3 (1:48) What? Speaker 1 (1:49) Sarah Rainer. Speaker 3 (1:52) Yeah? Bat Speaker 1 (1:53) 9 Mechanical Engineer. Speaker 3 (1:55) Who is this? Speaker 1 (1:56) Dana, my name is Wilson Chambers. I'm with the Massdoor Incorporation. Speaker 3 (2:00) I already settled the lawsuit. Any questions, give them to my case manager. No, no, Speaker 1 (2:04) I'm an offering manager. I'm not with legal. That's not what this is about. Not directly, anyway. Speaker 3 (2:10) What do you want? Speaker 1 (2:11) I'm sorry to wake you, but this is a pressing matter. Speaker 3 (2:13) What do you want? Speaker 1 (2:14) Bluntly, Sarah, I'm putting together an impromptu team for a field assignment, and I'd very much like you to be a part of it. It is, of course, a compensatory arrangement. Speaker 3 (2:24) Why in hell would I- I'm authorized Speaker 1 (2:26) to restore your band 9 status if that interests you for one Successful completion of the contract would mean a guaranteed posting of your choice Speaker 3 (2:35) You just fired me three months ago. You pressed charges. You took my patents. Well, Speaker 1 (2:39) yes. Of all of it, I have your file here. I'm glad you mentioned the patents. Reinstatement of your Band 9 would, of course, mean reinstatement of those rights as well. Speaker 1 (2:49) Rayna, I'm short on time. I need a band 8 or higher engineer for an executive action near Thornton Station. And the only one downstream from that T-Gate is you. There's a band 7 entry-level ME I can contract from Fudomio, but frankly I'd rather have your experience. Even with your baggage. Speaker 1 (3:10) I know you went through a withdrawal episode at a design demonstration. I know you were terminated and that your patent was seized. I also know your son is with custody services now and that you aren't allowed to contact him until you meet prerequisites. I know how the system is stacked against people in your situation. Speaker 6 (3:27) Do Speaker 3 (3:27) you? Speaker 1 (3:28) I do. No job means no contact with your son. But being an addict means no job. Speaker 3 (3:34) Recovering addict. Speaker 1 (3:36) Well, we're all recovering. One way or another. Speaker 1 (3:42) Understand, this offer is a chance to start rebuilding things. Maybe even get your son back. Master Dorian can be generous to those who make up their debts. The U.E.G. Corvette Armada is called the Eldritch. It's inbound on you, docks in two hours. You have until then to get your gear. Full kit. Alright? Speaker 3 (4:03) What the hell have you gotten yourselves into? Speaker 1 (4:07) Honestly. Speaker 1 (4:10) Does it matter? Speaker 3 (4:13) Full reinstatement. Band 9 and MD pull strings to get me messaging to my son in the interim. I'm Speaker 1 (4:18) not sure that's possible. Speaker 3 (4:20) It's Mazdorian, Chambers. You and I both know it is. Speaker 1 (4:25) Two hours. Be on the docks. Speaker 3 (4:32) Christ. Speaker 3 (4:49) People get terrified going through T-gates. Speaker 3 (4:53) Pass through one giant ring Come out the other side, light years away. Speaker 3 (5:00) Crazy as that is, it's not the worst of it. Something like 0.7 % of ships that enter the gates just never emerge on the other side. No one knows why, not really. Speaker 3 (5:12) Any particle physicist giving you a hypothesis is blowing it out his ass because theoretically 100 % of ships should come out the other end. The math says so, but they don't. Which means we don't know anywhere near as much as we think we do. And that makes you start rethinking all kinds of things. Speaker 3 (5:37) Life's a lot like going through a T-gate. You don't know if you'll make it out the other side. But you do it anyway. Speaker 3 (5:45) Guess that's the one piece of advice I have for you. Speaker 3 (5:50) You may be scared. You may feel out of control. Speaker 3 (5:53) But when life puts a choice in front of you, You act. Speaker 3 (5:59) You go through the gate. Speaker 4 (6:15) Recall, 60 seconds to X-Core. Power down all crew to transport stations. Repeat. Speaker 3 (6:26) Yeah, salutations. First T-Gate. Speaker 6 (6:30) Nope. Just not a fan? T-Gates and I have a kind of dysfunctional relationship. It's a goddamn dark that gets me. You lose the lights when the X-Core goes down. They make you go through the whole damn thing in pitch black. Not sure why they do that. Well, we Speaker 3 (6:49) are about to fly into a stabilized wormhole generated by intense magnetic fields that stretch the boundaries of feasibility. Probably best not to bring any other fields in with you. Provided, you know, you don't want to come out the other end wearing your lungs on the outside. Speaker 6 (7:02) Admittedly, that would be ideal. Speaker 6 (7:09) An engineer. Speaker 6 (7:11) Here for the op? Yeah. You? Couldn't be more excited about it. Are we it? Nah. One more, plus Chambers and Blaine. Speaker 3 (7:20) Chambers, I know. Who's Blaine? Speaker 6 (7:21) My story in ISD. Speaker 3 (7:24) Internal security? Are you sure? Pretty sure. Speaker 6 (7:27) He arrested me two weeks ago. Speaker 6 (7:53) Arrested for what? Just a little corporate espionage. Sounds more exciting than it was. Hacked some stuff, stole some stuff. The usual, I guess. Must have gone really well. Oh, I got the data. Even got the creds. But then this guy, he shows up in my apartment night before I jump off world. I'm pretty good in a chase, but Blaine has to be augmented. You always hear that about ISD, but... Anyway, I made it about three blocks and that was all she wrote. MD gave me a choice. Prison time or work this op. Not much of a choice. Speaker 3 (8:25) I am familiar with this no-choice phenomena. Oh, they got dirt on you too? Just leverage. I lost something I want back. Speaker 6 (8:36) I see a pattern forming. Everyone on this thing is defunct MD. Speaker 4 (8:45) 30 seconds to get. Speaker 4 (8:47) 30 seconds. Speaker 6 (8:48) No one here is a Moss Dorian employee? Oh, ship's crew is UAG, but as far as the action team, just Blaine. You, me, Chambers, all lost souls. Chambers isn't MD? No. Washed up like the rest of us. Didn't tell you that, though, did he? He's sensitive about it. He spent the last 18 months trying to worm his way back into offering management. I guess he got what he wanted. And you know what they say about that, right? What do you think's going on? I mean, really. Action team full of last chance losers? No offense. Put together in a rush and shipped off to the middle of nowhere? What do you think's going on? It's an off-the-books op, with a good chance of shit hitting the fan, and if MD is anything, it is fatally allergic to accountability. If none of us make it back, they can whip up any story they want. Not like we're employees, are we? Boo! Speaker 4 (9:43) Hands 10 seconds to gate. Speaker 6 (9:46) My name's Freed. What's yours? Raynor. See you on the other side, Rainer. Admittedly, that Speaker 3 (9:55) would be ideal. Speaker 4 (9:55) All hands locked down. Three. Speaker 4 (9:59) One. Speaker 4 (10:06) Hey everyone, GBM. Wanted to take a moment to share another podcast I've been listening to and really enjoying. It is 2000 and Late, created, written, and directed by the mega-talented Lauren Shippen, who also brought us The Bright Sessions. The 10-episode first season follows Harper, a 30-something nihilist whose life is upended when she's possessed by a demon he'll bent on bringing about the apocalypse. Harper's actually a pretty fascinating relatable character I think in all of this because while she doesn't want to end the world the demon gives her more power than she's ever had in her life and she starts to really analyze and weigh the morality scales around abusing power for your own benefit. Definitely a dark comedy in the vein of things like Fleabag or Jennifer's Body or I don't know Yellow Jackets that's also grappling a lot with our current moment. Great performances, great concept, really digestible format. Highly recommend. You can listen to the show anywhere you get your podcasts and listen ad-free on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For more information, check out harperandhavoc.com. That's harperandhavoc.com. And hope you enjoy 2000 and Late. Speaker 4 (11:22) Okay, it's okay. Just breathe. Breathe. Speaker 4 (11:27) There you go. There you go. What the hell Speaker 5 (11:31) happened to her? Speaker 4 (11:32) She lost it in the tea. Speaker 3 (11:33) Give her room. Dig heads. There you go. Just Speaker 4 (11:35) relax. Speaker 3 (11:36) Where? Speaker 4 (11:37) The mess hall now. We brought you in after the gate. Lost you for a few minutes. How are you feeling? Speaker 3 (11:43) Ever had your brain shoved out your eyes and sucked back in? Speaker 6 (11:47) Dysfunctional relationship with tea gates. You weren't kidding. Speaker 5 (11:51) Okay, am I the only one that sees the math here? Far as I know there's