"Matross" is also the Russian word for "sailor".
There are quite some Russian words coming from Dutch. Especially in relation to shipping terms. That's because czar Peter the Great (1672-1725) was a few times in Holland and Belgium to get acquainted with the newest scientific developments in the shipbuilding industry. In 1697-1698 he was in Zaandam and Amsterdam (Holland), and his trip in 1717 was leading him to Liège, Nieuwpoort, Spa and Namur (Belgium).
That's why the Russian language has now words like:
штурман - [sjturman] - stuurman - (steers man)
стул - [stoel] - stoel - (chair)
боцман - [bootsman] - bootsman - (boatswain)
матрос - [matros] - matroos - (sailor)
(Hope that renders for y'all if you're interested! Fun with Pedantics!)
You have my attention here! I never knew Dutch had an influence on Russian. Even our 'stoel'! I wonder where they sat on before those Dutch 'matrozen' came along.
Of course, I did notice the title 'Matross' and to me, the reference was obvious. The other titles were very vague, glad to have been informed here! I was afraid it was some obvious reference to some SF literature that everbody knew - well, except me, but that can happen real easy. Things have a tendency to slide by me, so I wasn't really bothered by that.
Many thanks for the info on the titles!