Episode Recap: Vessel

It's D'avin's first week as a member of the team! He's doing … okay. Bellus approaches Dutch with a new warrant, this one from the Nine. Who are the Nine? Ask Dutch: "A bunch of inbred fascist nobles who think that just because they run the Company they run the quad." So it's pretty awkward when a representative of the Nine, Delle Seyah Kendry, emerges from Bellus' back room. The job involves Dutch and her crew finding a pregnant surrogate whose gone missing. She's carrying the last heir of one of the nine clans, so she's pretty important. Oh, and no one can know Delle Seyah was involved. Before she leaves, Delle takes a look at an instrument hanging on Dutch's wall and notes that it's associated with royalty. Funny that Dutch has it …

Before they leave, Johnny confronts Dav about not telling him about the doctor he's searching for.

Dutch, Johnny, and Dav go to Dutch's handsome monk friend Alvis, who has news about a group of nuns who had been sheltering the surrogate, Constance. There was a massacre at the monastery where she was last seen. That's the bad news. The good news is that Alvis knows the location of the safe house where Constance is now. But they can't trust anyone on this mission.

The worse news is that the location of the safe house is the Badlands of Westerley. After Dav helps locate a security projection at the horizon, the Killjoys find the hidden fortress. Constance is being guarded by the sisters and her fellow surrogates. There's a lot of talk about how the upper class (like the Nine) use these women to procreate for them. Dutch in particular bristles at what she sees as these girls being used. Clearly she has an upper-class past she's not talking about.

The fortress soon comes under attack, though it's unclear who sent the invaders. One of the rival clans perhaps? Leith nationalists? John and one of the surrogates, Jenny, go off to fix the shields and flirt while Dutch sees to Constance. She's incredibly pregnant, and moving her will be dangerous.

When the invaders start to breach the fortress, the lead abbess, Mother Sal, tries to hand Constance over, so as to protect all the other women. Dutch is having none of that, of course, and Constance stabs Mother Sal in the neck. Because guess what? Constance is a fighter. She convinces Dutch that she needs to have this baby on Qreshi soil, to see her task through. And so the Killjoys and the surrogates team up and fight their way out of the fortress and onto Lucy.

The next problem, of course, is getting Constance onto Qresh. The shootout and loud exit have attracted attention, and now Delle Seyah is disavowing the mission. Dutch is having none of that, and without permission, they land Lucy right on the lawn in front of a fancy Nine garden party. Constance, having just given birth, presents the baby to Delle Sayeh, who now must take responsibility for the child.

Later, Delle Sayeh compliments Dutch on her maneuvering. With the baby in her charge, Dutch has guaranteed that the baby will be safe. Delle Sayeh is very impressed by Dutch, and incredibly intrigued by her mysterious past. After Dutch leaves, Delle Sayeh orders one of her people to find out everything they can about her.