Dross is what's known in the sphere as a Kessler or “space waster”; someone who shows up at a secluded space station with no money, no profession and no record (and in his case, no memory). The living equivalent of space debris, they are generally regarded with a mixture of pity, disgust and fear.

Dross' reasons for being a waster are unknown. He is picked up by Captain Sunny's crew by chance when they find him floating in the vacuum of space, having been adrift for an unknown amount of time.