Dead Space: Aftermath is set in 2509, shortly after the events of Dead Space and just before the events of Dead Space: Ignition. The story follows the interrogation of four survivors from the USG O'Bannon, who were sent to the remains of the planet Aegis VII to investigate the fate of its colony, discovering a fragment of an artifact called the Marker which triggers an outbreak of reanimated mutated corpses dubbed "Necromorphs".