--Spoilers--
As the small group of scientists made themselves ready to leave the Cetorhina and begin their exciting assay of the new life form Michael Bishop spoke of in his holo message, Grey, the ship's synthetic cleared his throat, an unnecessary affectation, and quietly informed Captain Lugar that he had been unable to illicit any response from Erebos.
The running lights on the station were off, but there was a normal amount of electro-magnetic traffic emanating from their home for the next few weeks. Just none of it aimed at them.
The ship slowed to a crawl and the collective decision was to make a slow arc around the facility, to better understand the situation. As they approached, a docking umbilical was splashed with a yellow sodium aura and Deck G was illuminated as if in response to their presence. Not convinced, the team agreed to continue their slow orbit, choosing caution over all else.
Which might have revealed many things had a fluctuation from the Ablassan phenomena not spewed a massive gravity event in their direction. Alarms ripped through the plasma trawler, literally knocking them sideways. Lugar, adept at the ever changing environment in which she worked, held her feet and managed to guide the battered ship towards the station, others were not so lucky and hurt themselves in the resulting chaos.
Unable to arrest the momentum of the ship sufficiently, it took all of Lugar's skill to create a controlled crash into Deck E of the dark platform, effectively pressure welding them to the stricken station. Superstructure twisted into the Cetorhina, binding them all to Erebos. To compound their problems the crash had destroyed power cells, an ignition coil and rendered them unable to power up, let alone leave the system.
Once the supplies within the trawler had been divvied up between the party a young, brash scientist by the name of Hedenstrom decided to cut through the hull to get access to the deck and allow them all to gather the equipment needed to repair the ship. The better to enhance their options, and make better decisions.
The explosive decompression that ripped through the maintenance bay as the last globule of molten hull forced a pin hole tunnel to the vacuum of space was enough to dissuade Hedenstrom to continue. Within the bulky survival suit he was forced against the wall by the crushing air pressure screaming to escape its confines of the bay. Shaken and damaged he was grateful for the ships emergency systems plugging the hole almost immediately. His companion Drabikowski, taciturn at the best of times, shrugged, muttered something in Russian and helped him up.
The team collectively decided to leave the ship through a more traditional method, using the airlock they were able to grapple their way to Deck D, visible about 10 meters above them. One by one they mustered in the airlock and entered the station for the first time.
Shaken, but curious to understand what was going on they looked through the glass panel of the inner hatch to see a two meter high creature, midnight blue, eyeless and screaming at them on the other side.
Stunned into silence, rooted to the spot, they now have a couple of decisions to make.