{"id":16646,"date":"2025-07-18T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T09:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/?p=16646"},"modified":"2025-07-31T10:06:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T09:06:47","slug":"the-first-of-the-bodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2025\/07\/the-first-of-the-bodies\/","title":{"rendered":"The First of the Bodies…"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/fb:like><\/div><\/div>

The eight occupants of Pioneer Station’s Hiber-D chamber were dressed, alert (although still short of caffeine) – and disturbed. They’d just been rudely roused from hibernation – many weeks earlier than scheduled – and greeted by the sight of some of the station’s android autocrew causing mayhem.<\/p>\n

Things had gone quiet outside the door, so Helen slid it open a crack. This time, nothing flew at her head – the Janebots had clearly become bored and wandered off somewhere else.<\/p>\n

“What now ? ” she asked. “Come on Madiwa, you’re supposed to be in charge”. <\/p>\n

“Yeah, thanks.” replied Madiwa Aquino, one of the station’s command staff. “Ok, so we have no idea what’s going on. Ideally we need to head for the command centre, but that’s three decks up. I say we head for the hold first, it’s close to here. If the droids have malfunctioned then I’d feel safer if we had something to defend ourselves. There’s a weapons locker in the office and we can find crowbars and other stuff that will do at a pinch”.<\/p>\n

Apart from Dr Whitman, who wanted to stay put and wait for someone else to rescue them, there was little dissent. “Bullneck” Thompson took the lead, wielding a pool cue like a club, and they started on the short walk to the main cargo hold. As he rounded the first corner, Thompson froze.<\/p>\n

“Droid” he hissed, as if whispering would prevent its sensitive auditory sensors from hearing him. “A 483”.<\/p>\n

“What’s it doing ?” asked Harker Spitz.<\/p>\n

“Nothin’. Just standing, like it’s in ready mode”. He advanced slowly towards it and it didn’t react. Feeling braver, he closed the distance to the droid and checked the display LEDs on its back, then visibly relaxed a little. “It’s OK, it’s just in normal wait mode as far as I can see”. <\/p>\n

The rest of the group followed warily round the corner, and they could see one of the secondary cargo access hatches ahead. <\/p>\n

Someone had the bright idea to send the droid in first. Helen, who was used to working with the hulking yellow automatons on a daily basis and so knew the sort of simple language that they understood, instructed it to enter the cargo hold via the secondary entrance and leave the hatch door open behind it. It clanked down the passageway, operated the large control plate and the hatch swung open. <\/p>\n

The stench hit them as soon as the droid stamped inside. Thompson was first through behind it – and threw up almost immediately as he stopped just beyond the threshold. Madiwa pushed past Helen to follow him, and saw what had turned Bullneck’s stomach. <\/p>\n

Blood. So much blood…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SF28-221<\/a> – Corpse with Crowbar – \u00a34.00
\nSF28-222<\/a> – Corpse on Desk – \u00a35.00
\nSF28-223<\/a> – Corpse on Chair – \u00a34.00
\nSF28-224<\/a> – Corpse on Medical Gurney – \u00a34.50<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The eight occupants of Pioneer Station’s Hiber-D chamber were dressed, alert (although still short of caffeine) – and disturbed. They’d just been rudely roused from hibernation – many weeks earlier than scheduled – and greeted by the sight of some … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The occupants of Hiber-D, woken early from their slumbers, have ventured out of the chamber. They were not prepared for what they found...","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[64,13,17,66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-28mm-sf","category-3d-print","category-new-releases","category-pioneer-station"],"views":1358,"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Corpses.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p26BWy-4ku","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16453,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2025\/06\/meet-the-crew-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":16646,"position":0},"title":"Meet the Crew #2","author":"Tony","date":"June 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We meet four more members of Pioneer Station's crew today. Madiwa Aquino is a senior member of the station's command crew, and is often seen, clipboard in hand, checking on something or someone. She's primarily responsible for making sure that the station's supply of coffee is kept topped up. Anna\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "28mm SF"","block_context":{"text":"28mm SF","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/28mm-sf\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Crew-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Crew-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Crew-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Crew-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16713,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2025\/08\/infection\/","url_meta":{"origin":16646,"position":1},"title":"Infection","author":"Tony","date":"August 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Helen Shackleton sat in the corner of a small storage alcove off the main cargo bay of Pioneer Station (Gliese-III-Alpha) and tried to process the last few hours. Since being dragged out of hibersleep several weeks before their planned waking date, things weren't going well. She'd had a spanner thrown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "28mm SF"","block_context":{"text":"28mm SF","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/28mm-sf\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SF28-230.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SF28-230.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SF28-230.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SF28-230.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16779,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2025\/08\/tragedy-and-mystery\/","url_meta":{"origin":16646,"position":2},"title":"Tragedy – and Mystery","author":"Tony","date":"August 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\"XO!\", called Michael Straight. \"Look at this\" Madiwa hurried over to the small terminal in the corner of the cargo hold's admin office. \"What's up?\". He turned the monitor towards her and pointed excitedly at a graphic showing the upper floor of the station. Several coloured dots pulsed on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "28mm SF"","block_context":{"text":"28mm SF","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/28mm-sf\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SecurityCorpses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SecurityCorpses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SecurityCorpses.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SecurityCorpses.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16542,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2025\/06\/roboservants\/","url_meta":{"origin":16646,"position":3},"title":"Roboservants","author":"Tony","date":"June 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We've introduced you recently to Pioneer station, a remote outpost in the Gliese-876 system. We also met some of the inhabitants, both station crew and research personnel. The human workforce are supplemented by a mechanical labour force, ranging from clanking dumb robots to more sophisticated android models. Collectively, they are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "28mm SF"","block_context":{"text":"28mm SF","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/28mm-sf\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PXL_20250620_133052298-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PXL_20250620_133052298-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PXL_20250620_133052298-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PXL_20250620_133052298-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PXL_20250620_133052298-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PXL_20250620_133052298-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16439,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2025\/06\/meet-the-crew\/","url_meta":{"origin":16646,"position":4},"title":"Meet the Crew","author":"Tony","date":"June 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Spacestations are generally classified by a standard naming system - the name of the system that they occupy, followed by Roman numerals indicating the planet they orbit (if any). If more than one station orbits a planet, this is suffixed by a Greek letter (thus satisfying both schools of classicists\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "28mm SF"","block_context":{"text":"28mm SF","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/28mm-sf\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Crew-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Crew-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Crew-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Crew-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16574,"url":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/2025\/07\/early-risers\/","url_meta":{"origin":16646,"position":5},"title":"Early Risers","author":"Tony","date":"July 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The crew of Pioneer Station went into the hiber pods as scheduled at the end of May. The plan was for them to remain in sleep mode for a month while the planets of the Gliese-876 system did their synchronised dance. Previous accidents on other stations had led to some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "28mm SF"","block_context":{"text":"28mm SF","link":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/category\/28mm-sf\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Janebots.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Janebots.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Janebots.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Janebots.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16646"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16715,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16646\/revisions\/16715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brigademodels.co.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}