Deep Breaths

"Deep Breaths" is the twelfth episode of the podcast, and the first part in a two-part special. It was released on 24 December 2014.
== Episode Description ==
It's Christmas Day on the Hephaestus. While Minkowski does her best to approximate a traditional holiday dinner, Eiffel decides he's going to try to smoke his last cigarette. Both plans are put on hold, however, when Dr. Hilbert stumbles upon a major discovery. Plus, impenetrable darkness, the blunt approach, sanitized pagan rituals, caller ID, and the last of the real turkey.
== Plot summary ==
Eiffel is complaining about it being a bad time when a transmission from Minkowski reveals it's Christmas. He notes that besides it being Christmas, there's something that's been forgotten. To lift his mood, he decides he's going to smoke his last cigarette. He ignores a request from Hilbert to help with an experiment in favor of detailing his plan: Hera is going to remove all the oxygen from the room while Eiffel alternates taking drags from the cigarette and an oxygen mask. Hera warns him it's a bad idea, but he ignores her. Before they begin, she notifies him that she picked up a signal. He investigates it and manages to tune the signal to reveal the song Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity from The Planets by Gustav Holst. He thanks Hera and she says it's a gift, revealing that besides being Christmas, it's also Eiffel's birthday.
Hilbert interrupts and tells Eiffel that the transmissions shouldn't all be so old, and are not likely to be coming from Earth. Eiffel calls Minkowski to the Comms room and the crew realizes they may have made first contact. They want to try and trace the signal, but this requires a more direct signal. Minkowski goes outside the Hephaestus to adjust the receptor dish and Hilbert and Eiffel go to the bridge to start the calculations on the signal. Minkowski properly adjusts the dish and Hilbert calculates that the signal is originating in the Dorado constellation. Some interference comes into the signal, and Eiffel goes back to the Comms room to see if he can clear it up. 
Once Eiffel is gone, Hilbert initiates a lockdown protocol, locking off the bridge. Minkowski arrives at the airlock and asks to be let in, but Hilbert blocks Hera from completing the order using an emergency override code. The code forces Hera to obey all of Hilbert’s commands, leaving Minkowski outside of the ship. Hilbert says goodbye to Minkowski and cuts off her communications. Then, it is discovered that Eiffel overheard their conversation. Hilbert reveals to him that he had access to a faster method of communication with Earth and has sent them a hail. Hilbert orders Hera to deploy the halothane gas hooked up to the Comms room to knock Eiffel out. The episode ends on Eiffel coughing on the halothane gas.
== External links ==
* Listen on Libsyn.
* Official script.
Category:Episodes
Category:Season 1