Who could have known what good ol’ Captain Curly was capable of? Guess he thought his crew dying alongside him was only right. But some men can’t even kill themselves properly. Maimed, limbless and unable to speak, but alive, Curly is now at the mercy of the crew he has doomed to a slow death.

The Pony Express long-haul galactic freighter Tulpar is stranded within an uncharted region of space. Emergency life support systems saved the Captain and crew of four. The ship will run out of power within six months, food rations long before that. Adriftfar off their shipment route, they know the chance of rescue nears zero. Opening the cargo hold is strictly prohibited by the company, but the contents could mean a prolonged chance of survival.

In the space freighter industry, there’s a saying: “Hope to die, or for goodness sake, pray that everyone else did.”