[Cas] Why would they do that?
They jumped!
-Either of us would've made the same call. -I wouldn't.
-Not without you. -And look where that got you!
-We need to get the fuck off this ring! -[energy whooshing]
-What happened back there? -[sobs]
I saw my mom and Erik and Jana.
What? On Earth?
We have got to go.
[screaming]
[birdsong]
[murmur of voices]
Niko?
[seabirds calling]
[Cas] Niko?
[breathes deeply]
[gasping] Cas. Cas!
Cas!
-[high-pitched shrieking] -No!
[yelps]
[groans]
Looks like all your friends have abandoned you.
Where is Cas? Where'd you take her?
It's sad. After everything you've done for them, I'm all you have left.
Leave Cas out of the negotiations.
We're done negotiating, sweetheart.
Don't worry. We're not gonna harm Cas.
In fact, we're gonna give her everything she's ever wanted.
[seabirds calling]
[child laughing]
Are you going surfing?
Surfing?
Your wetsuit.
Oh, no, this isn't a wetsuit. It's--
-Where are we? -I think you lost this.
[man] Cas.
Anthony?
It's crazy, right?
This-- This is a trick. You're a trick.
No. Stop fucking with my head!
It's me!
I'm here. I'm really here. Just like that's Mrs. Bear.
-My brother died. -I'm back.
Just like the rest of it.
What are you talking about?
Look around. Where do you think you are right now?
Oh, shit. That's right. You… you were away when it happened.
Cas, it's our Water City.
Or it was.
They fixed it.
The Achaia fixed everything, Cas.
Yeah.
Your mind tricks didn't work on me. They're not gonna work on Cas.
The difference between you and Cas, vulnerability.
She has an open heart. Frankly, you could learn a bit from her.
You're full of shit. She's gonna see right through it.
We have our work cut out for us, true.
But I remain hopeful.
[bubbling sound]
You're spooling up the FTL.
Clever girl.
Your half-breed AI threw a wrench into our systems.
-Gave them a head start. -You're going after the Salvare.
Bingo.
[groans]
Okay.
Jana wanted to read a bit by herself.
-[both sigh] -Told her, "Lights out in ten."
Yeah. No, hey, thanks for coming.
It's really good for her.
A little bit of normal after all the crazy.
I could've come sooner.
So…
-Well, I was handling things. -[Ava chuckles]
-You were handling things? -Yep.
Was that before or after you left her in the hands of an alien oncologist?
After I what?
You have no idea what they might have done to her in there.
[laughs]
Ava, I'm sorry, but--
but does-- does Jana seem okay to you?
This isn't some kind of goddamn scientific experiment, Erik.
This is my granddaughter's life!
They saved her life.
Her life should never have been in danger in the first place.
-I'm sorry. -[sighs]
I'm sorry. Uh…
That was unfair.
It's just that… [sighs]
I have never been able to… talk sense into Niko.
And that's my fault.
But you… Erik, you're the rational one.
You're the one with his feet on the ground.
I am trying the best that I can, Ava.
I know.
I just can't lose her too.
You haven't lost anyone.
[sighing] I…
[taps table]
Why don't you get some rest?
I'll take Jana to school in the morning.
I'd actually really like to do that.
I will. I-- I just-- I got some work to finish up first. So…
-Okay.
Thank you.
I'm pickin' up a gravitational wave in the fabric of space-time
behind our current position.
Safe to assume one or all of the Achaian rings are pursuing us?
[sighs] As long as we stay in FTL, they can't attack us.
And Niko and Cas?
They have a chance. Don't count them out.
Thank you, Iara.
Meet me in Soma. Need more hands on deck.
I'm confused.
Why are we waking a member of team three
when we have a more qualified engineer available in team two?
-Ivan Winfree-- -Has no field experience.
[sighs] Dillon Conner, former combat engineer, special forces.
He lost his left leg from below the knee in the Venezuela Cartel Wars.
Yes. But Ivan graduated top of his class at the Academy.
-Unlike your guy, who-- -I'm sorry?
My guy?
I'm just saying, Niko would consider all relevant data
-before making a decision. -I am.
And what I'm seeing is that, once again,
you'd have us wake someone not qualified for the job.
My guy cleared a harbor of IEDs
while impact grenades fell on him like rain.
-[door opens] -Screw report cards.
[groaning]
Well, hot damn, Ricky. [grunts]
We're either at Pi Canis Majoris or things are officially FUBAR.
-Sorry to say, it's the second one. -[sighs]
This is William. He's a holo.
-[sighs] -Don't try using him as a crutch.
[chuckles]
Someone gonna get my leg from storage? Or are you gonna give me a piggyback?
No piggyback?
What was your name again?
William.
-[whirring] -[holo appears]
[Iara] If you're trying to sabotage the ship,
you're gonna need a much better plan than this.
I'm trying to make faster than light travel even faster. [sighs]
So, if you know how to break the laws of physics,
please, speak up.
[gasps]
You're in pain.
Yeah. [sighs]
Like a thousand pins and needles stabbing up and down my leg.
[sighs]
That doesn't mean much to you.
I'd like a body.
And I'd like to be able to pop in and out of places with my mind.
Like the Salvare?
-You went over to the Achaian ship. -And got attacked.
Yeah. You don't need a body to feel pain.
[tool whirring]
I get it.
Can't you use your neural pathways to… conjure up other environments?
I don't know. Mount Everest, rings of Saturn.
I can, but… it's not exactly fun traveling alone.
Stop. What are you doing?
-Maybe you don't have to be so alone. -You need to put those back on.
-It's dangerous. -I trust you.
I trust you.
[buzzing hum]
Whoa. I can feel you.
-Not really, but… -But it's close enough.
Close enough.
[gasps]
[Cas] I need to find a-- a computer.
Or-- or a phone. Or a car. I need to tell USIC that we're alive.
-Wait. Hold on. I could tell-- -Hey! Hey! Don't touch me.
I can take you to all those things.
What do you think I am?
I really don't know.
What do you think that is?
Grandma made it for you.
Said you deserved something soft.
[chuckles]
Then your jerk of a brother tied a parachute to it
and dropped it in the canal.
Bye-bye, Mrs. Bear.
That was 17 years ago.
So there's a remnant.
Whatever the Achaia do to revitalize a place
can't catch everything.
Is that what you are?
A remnant?
I ended up in the canal, too, but my body was never found.
Trust me. I remember.
So when the Achaia brought our Water City back to life,
I guess I just…
Just… I just came along for the ride.
Shit. I ain't complaining. [laughs]
So this is real?
You're really him?
Yes, Cas.
It's all thanks to the Achaia.
[Niko, muffled] Cas, do you copy?
Did you hear that?
All I hear are the seagulls.
Cas, it's Niko.
[gasping] Do you read me?
Cas, do you copy?
Niko, where are you?
No. No. No.
-None of this is fucking real. -Okay. You're right.
But it could be.
Whoever they have you talking to,
it's not real.
You really are exhausting, my dear.
Cas, do you hear me?
Resist them, Cas.
Whatever you do, don't give in to--
[power shutting off]
[Niko gasping]
Now you'll have to talk to me.
Niko, where are you?
Cas.
Over there.
Welcome, friends. Family, really,
as we celebrate Zayn Petrossian and Bernie Martinez
as they make this formal and beautiful commitment to one another.
Beautiful day for a wedding, huh?
["Air on the G String" by Bach playing]
Cut the bullshit. You went into my brain.
You took my brother from my memories. My dead brother.
Are you enjoying this? This a game to you?
Cas, we want you to be happy.
Then take me to the real Niko and then to the Salvare
and get your fucking Artifact off my planet.
We need a voice on Earth.
-What voice? -Yours.
[Zayn] At first, I resisted love.
Even when you told me you loved me, I thought,
"We're not home. This isn't safe."
There was so much tragedy around us, so much grief.
You killed my friends.
You blew up a planet. I'm not gonna be your fuckin' spokeslady.
-We can make you do it. -So then, why ask?
It's better if you accept the implant willingly.
-Sasha struggled. Look where that got him. -I'm not gonna help you destroy Earth.
No. We are restoring Earth.
We're here to help heal your planet.
Yeah, I've seen what that looks like.
-What's that? -Millions dead. The rest in hiding.
Because Zakir didn't have someone like you
to assure them that we didn't mean any harm.
Imagine what life on Earth could've been like
without any of humanity's problems.
Join us in making this,
this version of Earth,
all of this, a reality.
How could you say no to that?
Whatever you're doing to Cas--
You mean helping her achieve her full potential?
You're lying to her.
All to get one of those fucking things inside of her head.
You're scared, and not just for Cas.
I wanna trust you. I do.
And I wanna come to some form of an agreement.
One that doesn't involve turning me or Cas into a puppet.
So let's start over. Let's find our way to peace.
I'm sorry, Niko. You had your chance.
And you had yours.
[grunts]
[engine roars]
Niko, even if your shuttle could penetrate the hull,
you'd immediately disintegrate.
[grunts and gasps]
You wanna see disintegrate?
-[alarm blares] -[Salvare] Warning.
Fusion engine malfunction. Plasma explosion imminent.
-Override. -Override.
Blowing up your shuttle?
It's resourceful.
Whatever it takes to let the Salvare get back to Earth.
Critical temperature reached. Evacuate shuttle.
[grunting]
[gasping]
[ship rumbling and clattering]
[power shutting down]
[clanking]
[loud thump]
[grinding]
[Niko gasps]
[thump]
[loud thumping]
[whimpering]
You say you want peace.
This isn't peace.
Peace with your species is impossible.
[screams]
-[yells] -[panting]
We extended an olive branch,
and you gave us fear and aggression in return.
Same as when you sent in your armies on Earth.
What happened on Earth?
You won't submit, but Cas will.
[loud, buzzing hum]
[screams]
[intense rumbling]
[crashing]
What's-- what's happening?
[intense whooshing]
-[clattering] -[screams]
-Javier? -Oh, God.
[Iara gasps]
Talk to me, William.
The ship just dropped out of FTL.
Cas repaired the damage.
It's not the FTL ring. There doesn't seem to be a mechanical problem.
It's not the Salvare. Look.
What is that? A pulsar?
Not just any pulsar. It's a motherfuckin' magnetar.
We need to jump back before the next wave hits.
Our engines are destabilized from the sudden drop from FTL.
-We jump now-- -[Dillon] And we're all burnt toast.
Javier's in the particle accelerator. He needs help.
He's having a seizure. Please.
The magnetar must be affecting his implant.
Zayn, Javier needs you. Particle accelerator, now.
[Zayn] On my way.
Can we stabilize the FTL array?
There's no time. The next blast is imminent.
-[Javier groans] -Okay. Describe what you're feeling.
Like my brain's a bonfire.
[screams] Jesus, the lights! The lights!
Dim lights 50%.
Bend forward, hold steady. I have a nerve-blocker. Okay.
[explosion]
-[Zayn] Ah! Damn. -[Bernie] What was that?
[William] Attention.
-Energy burst impact in three, two, one. -[Javier yelling]
[loud crashing]
-[energy whooshing] -He'll break his teeth.
Help me get his mouth open.
Javier?
[energy subsides]
-[holo appears] -[Zayn sighs]
Is this gonna happen every time there's a blast from that star?
[hyperventilating]
[breathing slows]
[gasping]
[ping]
An Achaian ring just appeared on our scanners. 400,000 kilometers away.
How long till it catches up?
William?
Based on my readings, it--
it's dead in the water.
Extensive damage to the exterior hull, extreme power fluctuations to the ring.
Holy shit. How did this happen?
The magnetar.
It must affect Achaian tech differently than ours.
What about life signs?
Niko? Cas?
I'm not pickin' anythin' up.
Take us there.
Do you, Zayn Petrossian, take this man to be your husband?
Yes.
And do you, Bernard Emiliano Martinez--
-Yes! Yes, yes! -[laughing]
Your turn.
I don't know.
[low rumbling]
Decide!
No. They're not dead. They're not real.
They're not real.
But what is real is that not everybody's goin' home alive.
So who'll it be? Who else are you prepared to lose?
Bernie? Richard? Javier?
Niko?
And that's if there's even an Earth when you get home.
-What is that supposed to mean? -We can have Niko home by dinner.
And me, Cas. The Achaia can give you your brother back,
bring him back from the dead.
You'll never have to feel alone ever again.
[low rumbling continues]
All you have to do is say yes, Cas.
[Cas screaming]
[panting]
It's me. Cas. Cas! It's Niko.
It was them, trying to get one of those things in your head.
Okay?
You good? You're good.
Get up. [grunts]
We gotta move. Come on.
[chiming]
Hey. What do you got for me?
Are you absolutely sure Jana didn't bring the ring into the Artifact?
No. Niko brought this ring with her to space.
Well, maybe she left it behind and Jana found it.
Or maybe she gave it to Jana before she left for the Salvare.
Is it Niko's ring or not?
I found traces of Niko's DNA on it, but that doesn't mean anything.
Not if Jana made this up.
I carried her into the Artifact. This ring was not on her.
Then I guess it has to be Niko's.
And if that's the case,
the Artifact might be some sort of portal between Earth and interstellar space.
And Niko's alive.
Thank you, Nani.
[chiming]
[sighs]
[cicadas chirping]
Ava?
[Erik] Is-- I-- Just tell me--
Look, really, what the fuck is going on?
Who are you guys? Like, I--
Can I talk?
Hello?
[man] Be careful.
You don't want one of those things attacking you.
[Erik] What--wh-- what things?
The-- the things. Oh, shit! You've seen the things.
The--the-- the tentacles.
Oh, my God. Do you have Harper Glass? Can I see her?
Oh fuck.
You work for the Achaia.
No, no. I work for USIC. I'm trying to communicate with the Achaia.
You're a child, looking up at a killer thinking he's a god.
No. I-- No, I have a daughter who needs me.
Then for her sake, you need to listen.
I'm listening.
The Achaia are not our friends.
They do not belong here. Do not aid them. Do not engage.
Look, man,
who are you guys?
What do you know?
Humankind has a choice.
Accept and die,
or resist and endure.
I don't get any questions?
[intense whooshing]
The Achaia aren't invincible. The magnetar proves it.
If we can weaponize it, we'd have the biggest motherfucking gun in the galaxy.
-We don't know how it caused this damage. -So we analyze it.
Be ready when the next energy burst passes.
We have a piece of the Artifact on this ship.
We could do a real-time analysis of the molecular structure next time a wave hits.
Great idea. Get to it.
-How long till that star erupts again? -Could be any moment.
[sighs] Okay.
Shit!
So much for the big damn gun.
That's it? That's all we had?
Afraid so.
Javier is a member of our crew. He's not a science experiment.
The implant is Achaian tech.
How do we know it's not turned to dust too?
Is it?
Is it dust?
Based on my latest scans, it's showing slight degradation. But no.
The immune system seems to be shielding the implant, possibly repairing it.
-I don't blame you for pushing back. -Removing Javier's implant is unethical.
Criminal. He's in a coma. He's not dead.
We cannot continue to play defense against a species
that destroys planets on a whim.
Look, Javier would volunteer if he could.
-And I'd try and stop him. -And you'd be wrong.
Look, we don't know what the Achaia are doing back on Earth.
But if they're as nasty as they are out here, this could save everybody.
[Richard] This is not a discussion.
Either you do the surgery or I wake up a doctor who will.
[sighs] If anybody can save him, it's--
I'm about to do keyhole brain surgery. Now's not the time, Bernie.
-[sizzling] -Oh--
-Calm-- Okay. Easy. -[Zayn] Javier, easy! Easy/
-Hey! Hey! Hey! Come on. -[alarm blaring]
Come on. Come on.
Come on. That's right. Come on, come on.
Let's go. Let's go.
-Hey! -Let's go!
[grunts]
-Hold him down. -[Zayn] Let me get a sedative.
-[Richard] No time! -Wait!
It's complicated brain surgery!
And if that implant turns to dust before we get it out,
-then it's no good to anyone. -[squelching]
You're killing him!
[sighs]
-Got it. -[whirring]
[screeching]
[steady bleep]
-[Javier falls] -[alarm continues blaring]
His sacrifice will not be in vain.
[implant screeching]
[Zayn sobbing]
[alarm stops]
[Cas] But they were all dead. They said Earth was next.
[Niko] None of it was real, Cas.
You know, whatever they offered you, you resisted it. I was about to give in.
Look at me. All right?
It's over. And I need you.
-You hear me? -Yeah.
-I still need you.
Okay. I got you.
-You're okay. -I'm here.
Let's go.
[Cas] The ring's so degraded. I bet we could just fly out of here.
[Niko] Not in our shuttle. The engine's been ripped right out of it.
Niko! Niko, look!
[laughs] They came back!
But they have no idea we're even here, and we can't use our comms.
No. Actually, we can.
Okay.
[screeching]
[William] The magnetar has unleashed another energy burst.
Bernie, talk to me.
-We're set. -We better be. Impact in three, two, one.
[loud explosion]
[groans]
That was a hell of a lot stronger.
Yep. It's begun degradin' our mainframe.
We can't withstand another impact that size.
[Richard] Did it work?
What you got?
It's neutrinos.
That's it? Neutrinos?
I don't-- I don't understand. Neutrinos are everywhere.
They pass through us all the time. They're harmless.
Harmless to us, but not Achaian tech, apparently.
Molecules knocked out of atoms, protons ripped apart.
Think of the burst like-- like streams of water.
With enough concentrated force, water can cut through steel.
-We can make a weapon. -Yeah.
-Prepare to jump. -Jump? Whoa. Niko and Cas are right there.
Are you picking up any signs of life?
Still nothing. No.
I'm sorry. Meet me on the Observation Deck.
We're goin' home.
[Cas] The Achaia are smart, but they didn't think of everything.
I can hot-wire our signal using the helmet comms.
[Niko] Nice.
Niko would do exactly the same thing in my shoes.
On your count.
Salvare, this is Dosojin. Do you copy?
Initializing the bubble in five,
four…
William, I gave you an order.
I'm pickin' up a faint radio communication from the Acahian ring.
-Pulling it up now. -[whirring]
[Cas, breaking up] Salvare, this is Dosojin. Do you copy?
-[William] We hear you, Dosojin. -[both sigh]
We need to get you off that ship.
Two steps ahead of you, buddy.
You up for another space walk?
[Niko] It's too late.
-Don't try and stop us. -I'm not here to threaten you.
We need you to save us.
You want mercy?
From us?
You say you want peace?
Prove it.
Niko.
You want our protection?
You have to swear.
Swear that you won't harm Earth.
You have my word.
Achaian tech is susceptible to high-density neutrino bursts
that magnetar's shooting out.
-How do we stop that? -Stop that?
-How do we save them? -No, no. We're not saving them.
We need to get the science to USIC to destroy them.
And Niko's deal will make sure there's a USIC for us to get back to.
Their lives for Earth's safety.
-You trust them? -No. But they don't trust us either.
There are thousands of Achaian lives there.
We save them, we'll earn their trust.
-Will we have time to save them? -[Richard] Good question.
I'm not sure.
Each eruption has been stronger than the last one.
-We need to leave before the next one. -Agreed. But not without the Achaia.
-Commander. -Dillon Conner.
Where's--
Never mind. Catch me up later. Right now I need to figure out
how to shield the Achaian ring from the energy bursts.
-What stops neutrinos? -Water.
We'd need a solar system's worth to form a cloud thick enough.
-If we bring them on board? -They don't breathe our atmosphere.
-We don't even know if they breathe. -Let's tow it out of range.
By rerouting the Salvare's artificial gravity to focus outside the ship, boom.
Makeshift tractor beam.
Do it.
Everywhere but the Crow's Nest. Welcome to the team, Dillon.
[bleeping]
He's breathing.
Yeah. His respiratory system's functioning.
That's good, right? You know, there's, uh… hope.
Hope?
Sure. About as much hope as you making a weapon out of your neutrinos.
I mean, like, we can treat him.
-You know, stem cell therapy. There's-- -Bernie!
Do you know what happened
when that tech was ripped out of his brain,
aside from the massive intracranial hemorrhage?
His brain turned to pulp.
Okay, look, I'm sorry. All right?
I love the guy, too, but we made the best decision that we could,
and it was the right one.
[Niko] Everybody, strap in. Artificial grav's about to get rerouted.
You and Richard are dealing in hypotheticals, but here's a reality.
You sacrificed Javier's future,
and we have no idea if it was even worth it.
[sighs]
[intense whooshing]
Hot spot on the magnetar's surface. Another blast is imminent.
On your go, Dillon.
All right. Rerouting all the exotic matter to the ass-end of the Salvare.
Tow should be engaged…
-[bleeping] -…now.
The hot spot appears critically unstable.
Estimated 30 seconds until another blast.
Engaging impulse engines.
[William] The tether's holding.
-Twenty seconds to impact. -We good to increase speed, Dillon?
-[Dillon] Yeah. Go for it. -[William] It's working.
On track to clear the blast radius
in eight, seven, six, five…
[crashing]
What the hell just happened?
All of our artificial gravity has been rerouted to the Salvare.
We lost the tow? Reconnect now.
No. There's no time. This next blast will knock our systems out.
Go.
What happened?
[Dillon] There was an override on the tow.
-Who had access to the tow? -Where were you?
Not undermining an ongoing operation, if that's what you're asking.
Well, someone did. And I wanna know who.
Runnin' a diagnostic now.
The Achaians punch back.
If that ship got out a message that I let them die, Earth is gonna pay.
[William] But, Niko, you didn't.
The interruption to power wasn't initiated by a member of this crew.
And… I know I didn't do it,
so that leaves only one other possibility.
Iara.