“It’s easier to keep existing customers than make new ones,” said no one in this episode, as Travis and the gang are investigating a deadly new illegal drug on the market. Of course, Sherlock Percy has to try it herself.

Kenneth and Eugene discuss.

Episode Synopsis

Titan City, Titan, Saturn Federation.  Two morons take drugs and beat themselves to death.

The crew of the Trans-Utopian are bored.  Crime has taken a holiday and they’ve got no work and nothing to do.  A private, person-to-person call comes in from Titan City for Dante Montana.  Travis inherits the call and they are soon on their way to Titan City.

He meets with a man called, Roan Gerick, an old friend of the Montanas.  His son has recently died, a victim of his own stupidity.  He took a new drug that’s been ravaging the streets called Anestha.  The drug not only surpassed your ability to feel pain, but it also causes a euphoric sensation whenever you experience something that would be causing you pain.

As a result, people who take it, inflict pain and beatings on their bodies until they die.  It’s all very nasty, even police captain Dalyet lost her daughter to the drug, so she’s working diligently to find Bliss, the code-name of the crime lord in charge of Anestha distribution.

She’s apparently not very good at her job, though, because, they’ve got no leads.

Gerick is asking for Travis’ help to find Bliss and shut down the drug distribution.  He takes on the job for a pittance, much to Rudolfo’s chagrin.

I mean, they weren’t finding any work anyway, and the few cases Rudolfo can find are beneath him, so he just grumbles mostly for no apparent reason other than being a jackass.

Not only is Dalyet useless as a cop, but she’s also kind of crap with security, too.  She gives Travis information about the case and samples of the deadly drug, because, I’m not sure…. I mean, if I weren’t totally convinced by the incorruptibility and motives of a dedicated cop far too young to have a daughter killed by Anestha, I’d almost suspect Dalyet of being the criminal mastermind behind this.  Nah.  That’s too obvious.

Dalyet does a bit of digging on Montana and uncovers that he’s an ex-Raider, and they were the drug runners back in the day.  She poisons the well with Gerick, who fires them, but, Montana is already gone to ground as part of his investigation, which involves contacting a martian named Frankel in charge of policing the martian drug scene.

Meanwhile, Percy proves she’s the apex moron because, instead of “analyzing” the drug Montana gives her, she takes it, and there’s a whole sequence with no consequence where Percy hurts herself and Marcus tries to stop her from hurting herself.

Travis calls in some old friends and is working his way towards finding Bliss, but then he’s beaten up, but not killed.  

The brain trust back on the Trans-Utopian buy into the theory that Frankel may actually be Bliss and Dante could be headed into a trap, so they go to the meeting, too.

Of course, it’s a trap because, in a surprise to absolutely no one, Dalyet actually is Bliss and Frankel is an old chum of Travis who owed him a favor.  Shoot out and victory for the good guys.

Gerick is once again fondly disposed towards Travis and loans him a hi-tech picture of him as a baby taken on a .25 megapixel digital camera and thermally printed.