Dick Berry presents himself as an employee of Syncam Corporation's Australian division aboard the spaceship Saldes. His true identity and purpose are concealed; he is a detective who infiltrated the mission to apprehend Jiro Takagi, a medical student traveling under an alias. Berry pursued Jiro across space because Jiro murdered three drug dealers he blamed for his sister's fatal overdose. Berry believed Jiro's actions prematurely ended a larger police investigation into the drug ring, costing him a potential promotion.

Awakening from cryosleep to news of imposters, Berry actively investigates the crew to expose them. He successfully reveals Jiro's true identity and motives for the murders. Despite Captain Hamilton's pragmatic argument that decades of time dilation rendered Jiro's crimes irrelevant to Earth authorities, Berry remains resolute in his duty. He physically restrains Jiro by handcuffing himself to the fugitive, prioritizing the arrest over the immediate lethal threat posed by an evolving alien bacterium loose on the ship.

During a confrontation with the alien entity, Berry sustains an injury from his shotgun's recoil. This injury coincides with or leads to his infection by the bacterium. As the infection progresses, causing cellular dissolution and eventual mutation, Berry continues to prioritize his mission. He refuses to remove Jiro's handcuffs despite awareness of his own deteriorating condition and the bacterium's encroaching control. Berry dies on the ship's bridge, succumbing to the full effects of the infection before the final escape attempt.