[slow ticking]
[explosion rumbling]
[William] This is the Salvare. The Achaian threat has been neutralized.
-It fucking worked! -I repeat.
-The threat has been neutralized. -[all laughing]
-The neutrino gun worked! -Yeah!
-Erik? -[Erik] Wow!
I just blew that bastard right out of the sky.
Niko, did you see that?
It was amazing, and it worked. But will it work again?
In time.
No. We don't have the luxury of time.
The amount of negative energy required overloaded the system.
That ring was the first of many.
If we can't reload our weapon, the Achaians will take it out.
So, what now, Niko? What do we do now?
We've played our hand.
There's really only one way to find out.
[Salvare] Authorization, Cas Isakovic.
We're going back to Earth, you motherfucker.
-[sighs] -[radio chatter]
[gasps]
[Niko sighs deeply]
You did it.
I knew that you would.
It's not over yet.
Is he in there?
Yeah.
Be careful.
Seth,
relations between humanity and the Achaia,
to state the obvious, are in a bad spot.
There's been distrust on… on both sides,
but nothing that warranted an attack on the Salvare.
Building a secret weapon?
A defensive weapon.
Defending us against who, Niko?
Some horrible, monstrous species that saved your daughter's life?
Everywhere that the Achaia go, death follows.
No, Niko. Wherever you go.
And now you've brought this personal vendetta back to Earth.
You got some fancy new weapon.
Big fucking deal.
It's not a deterrent. It's a goddamn mosquito bite.
And the Achaians will be forced to respond.
Unless you meet their demands.
[Mackenzie] We've agreed to their demands.
Well, now they have new ones.
What if artificial gravity's creating too much of a counterforce?
I mean, we could disable it within the accelerator.
I won't be able to work in there, but, um, you could.
-[bleeping] -Or not.
I'm pickin' up a massive buildup of Cherenkov radiation.
Oh, shit. Another wormhole?
It's not just one. Dozens of them.
-Where? -Everywhere.
[instruments bleeping and whirring]
It's an Achaian invasion force.
What are these new demands?
One.
Allow multiple Artifacts to land on Earth.
Two. Accept their gifts.
All of their gifts.
Those fucking implants?
Advanced tech that will allow every last human
to achieve his full potential.
And three. Hmm.
Destroy the Salvare.
And that fucking neutrino weapon. Fly it into the sun.
[laughing]
You have 24 hours to decide.
And if we refuse?
[buzzing and squelching]
[pained laugh]
[electric snapping]
-[moaning] -[squeaking and whirring]
[grunting]
[whirring continues]
[high-pitched whining]
[gasps]
I understand that the Achaia have new demands,
but not only are they unacceptable, they will be impossible to enforce,
and at the same time, they're impossible to ignore.
We are out of options.
President Bhogal, the fact that we are here at all
shows that for the first time in this fight, we have them running scared.
Why don't we present a goodwill gesture?
Agree to one of their requests
and keep the other ones for more discussion.
-Which would you suggest? -The Salvare.
Giving the Achaia an inch isn't an option.
-It-- it's a death sentence. -Commander Breckinridge,
I appreciate that you have more experience with the Achaia than anyone--
Which give me more insight into how they work than anyone.
And with all due respect, sir, that includes you.
What they did to Seth wasn't just for show.
They want to enslave us all
and put one of those damn things in every person's head.
Versus destroying our planet, today.
We have temporarily leveled the playing field
and every second that I stand here making my case to you
takes time away from figuring out how to actually beat them.
Sir, just let me do my job.
When the clock runs out,
I will be forced to agree to their terms.
[Mackenzie] You have the entire USIC infrastructure at your disposal.
Thank you, Madam Secretary.
But what I need can't be found on Earth.
I'll go warm up the shuttle.
[gasps]
[sighs] I almost gave up hope.
-[whispers] Erik. -I should've known you'd make it back.
-I should have had faith. -No, it's okay.
It's okay.
I'm here. We're both here, okay?
I think you dropped this.
I saw Jana--
In the Artifact. I know.
She's safe with your mom.
She really is. I mean, Ava's stepped up.
We have so much work to do.
[whispers] Okay. All right, everyone. Gather round.
Okay. Here's where we are.
We have 57 Achaian rings surrounding our solar system.
Fifty-nine. Two more just joined in the last few minutes.
Fifty-nine. And we have a weapon that can fire,
what, one shot every three minutes?
We've reduced the lag to two minutes, 13 seconds.
Still, by the time we get a second shot out--
We wouldn't. Not before one of those fuckers blew us outta the sky.
That's why the Achaia aren't running scared.
So how do we scare them, then? We need to make being here so terrifying--
That they open a wormhole and get their asses back home.
We keep trying that, but the Achaia are infinitely more advanced than we are.
If we fight them at their game, we lose.
Every time. So we need to think outside the box.
Find a way to beat them they don't see coming.
Basic asymmetric warfare. So what do we know about the Achaia?
-High-density neutrinos rip them apart. -Their ships and the Achaia themselves.
Are the Achaia and their technology one and the same?
[Richard] If they are, it makes me question their goals.
I mean, they wouldn't want our planet.
They have all the basic raw materials they'd ever need floating in space.
So they don't want what we've got,
but they will blow up our planet if we don't roll over on our backs?
And blow up our heads from the inside out. Don't forget that.
It just doesn't make any sense.
Because we still don't know enough about them.
It's the same goddamn problem we've had since that Artifact landed on Earth.
They are seemingly impenetrable.
No. Actually, they're not.
Not anymore.
The vast majority of the Achaian ring was reduced to dust.
However, scattered among the dust cloud are a few larger pieces.
I'm thinkin' we send the shuttle out, grab a piece,
and if Lady Luck is dancing with us,
she'll offer up somethin' we can use to take them down.
It really is you, huh?
All of you?
Every last bit…
and byte.
[Niko chuckles softly]
[bleeping]
We got a piece of the ring.
I think we've got somethin' a little more impressive than that.
An Achaian.
[pulsating, high-pitched whirring]
Are you sure that thing can't access the ship?
It can't access anything.
I've placed a band-pass filter
for the frequency range we determined they exist in.
I'll take your word for it.
Why does this one look so muted?
The ones I encountered have been larger, brighter.
It stands to reason it requires some kind of energy source to survive.
How long does it have?
Based on lumen deterioration of the creature
since we brought it on board, I'd say an hour, maybe a little more.
And what if we provided it with a power source?
It might work, or it might be like trying to plug you into a wall socket.
Finish your scans, and let's regroup in the med lab.
Time's running out for all of us.
[William] DNA is your codin'. Human codin'.
My codin', at its most basic, is binary. A bunch of zeros and ones.
Now we have an analysis into the Achaia at a microscopic level.
This is what I've discovered.
This is just a model of their DNA, right?
No, this is an actual scan.
Is something wrong?
When we build models of our DNA, we use the letters A, T, G, and C
to represent the nitrogen bases, symbolically, but…
these characters are an actual part of the makeup of these creatures.
It's… odd.
Computer code arranged like organic DNA, utilizing the Achaian script.
Okay. But why would the Achaia,
who don't have eyes, ears, mouth, or hands, need a written language?
Maybe these things aren't the Achaia.
Then who is it that we've been fighting?
A completely artificial life-form.
The evolution of you.
So then what are the Achaia? Their makers?
We never made it to their home world.
Are they even there?
Perhaps. Or maybe they died off eons ago.
-Or got killed off. -It doesn't matter.
These are the creatures that we're dealing with.
[Richard] So now that we know what they're made of, how do we fight them?
Go to their home planet and unplug the whole damn thing?
I'm only half-joking.
What about a computer virus?
I mean, they are just fancy software.
-How do we administer it? -We hide it by writing malware.
[Erik] Iara's Achaian code wound up overtaking her human, right?
So reverse engineer that.
I know it's crude, but our human code rewrites their Achaian code
and hopefully destroys them in the process.
Can you?
It would take some time.
-We don't have time. -And we don't have Iara.
-How do we deploy this thing? -[sighs]
-A Trojan horse. -[Ursula] Like I said, malware.
No.
I mean like a flesh-and-blood version.
We implant the virus into one of us.
We don't have a spider to do that.
We don't need one.
So, as we know, every member of the Salvare has a hard wire
that goes into their brain stem.
This is how we induce and regulate Somatic sleep.
We implant the virus through the Soma needles.
When the Achaian melds with it, it catches it.
Why would an Achaian even be tempted to meld with a human?
Our bodies are forms of hardware,
so electricity flows through each one of us.
Exactly. And if it's hungry enough--
So you want me to allow an Achaian to possess one of the crew
and feed off of them?
Just long enough to get it back down to the Artifact.
And release it along with the malware.
Yeah.
Okay.
What do I have to do?
"Do"? No, you're not doing anything, Niko.
I'm also not allowing one of my crew to make that sacrifice.
Exactly. It's a sacrifice--
I volunteer.
-Cas-- -Niko, you have a daughter that needs you.
I'm not letting you take this on. I'm doing it.
I know how to beat the Achaia.
So do I.
[whirring and clicking]
[bleeping]
[Niko] You ready?
Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.
It can't be any worse than last time.
Are we ready?
On our end? Yeah.
William?
We're having trouble engineering the virus.
The Achaia operate on a non-deterministic model,
while human code is deterministic.
I don't need to know why. When?
We may have to implant the virus remotely after the fact.
Uh, that's not the plan.
No. The plan was to implant it first, then meld with the Achaian.
The plan has changed because that Achaian only has moments left.
No, no, no, no, no. This is all just way too risky.
If the Achaia find out what we are up to,
there's no telling how they're gonna retaliate.
We're out of options. We've got one shot.
[Erik] It's her life!
[Cas] Exactly. It's my life. Someone needs to go in there. That someone is me.
[Erik] What we need is to come up with a new game plan altogether.
I won't be the first member of this crew to sacrifice themselves for this mission.
Niko, let me in.
No.
Niko, don't you fucking…
Get me out of this. Get these things out of my fucking neck.
[slow, low-pitched whirring]
We could've let you die, but we didn't. We saved you.
And now we're taking you back to your people,
inside of me.
I'm risking my life to save yours.
Niko, open the door!
Don't!
[banging]
Niko, don't!
Niko?
No!
[gasps]
Oh, fuck…
-[beeping] -[Erik] How are Niko's autonomic systems?
Functioning as normal. Her heart rate is good, if slightly elevated.
Is that dangerous?
-This is all still uncharted territory. -Mm-hm. Mm-hm. What else?
I'm reading reduced background rhythms and triphasic waves within her brain.
She's in a coma.
[Zayn] It's presenting that way, yes.
But I have no idea if it's because she suffered an injury
or if the Achaian are attempting to take over her cognitive functions.
Within her cells, her stores of adenosine triphosphate
are being depleted faster than they can be replaced.
Yeah. They're draining her like a fucking vampire.
-Hey. Let me in there. Now. -We have an update.
We were finally able to mask a human virus within the Achaian code.
You get this within 90 centimeters of Niko,
you press the large button, and it'll transmit the virus remotely.
No, fuck that. We're not doing that, okay?
-I'll go in there, let it take over me-- -You can't.
-You don't have Soma hardware-- -You don't think I know that?
Niko wanted to do this herself.
-[sighs] -We should honor that.
I'm doing this, alone.
Now open that door, please.
Don't get too close.
[door closes]
I hope this works.
[breathing heavily]
[Erik] Niko,
can you hear me?
[grunts]
-It's okay. -[joints cracking]
[mechanical voice] Not…
her.
-[joints cracking] -[choking]
[distorted yelps]
-[Niko groans] -[Achaian] Not…
her.
No.
I guess you're not.
[grunting]
Flesh is…
primitive.
Primitive…
-Disgu… [gags] …gusting. -Is she safe?
[Achaian groans]
Should be me in there.
[breathing shakily]
Hey, Cas.
When I… lost my leg in the war…
everybody else in my unit came back in body bags.
The guilt I felt was overwhelming.
But none of it… none of it was my fault.
They were dead. I wasn't. It's just the way it is.
Niko went in.
You didn't.
It's just the way it is.
Okay.
-[joints crack] -[grunting]
Trapped.
And it's keeping you alive.
If we bring you down to the Artifact, will you release her?
Will you resume talks, so we can come to a peaceful solution together?
No.
[growling]
[Zayn] The virus has been successfully transmitted into Niko's Soma implant.
Wish I could hug you, buddy.
Yeah. Niko and Cas are gonna be successful.
I'll see you again.
I abandoned Gabriel, and I will not do the same thing to you.
You can't stay, Ursula. It's not safe.
We'll be together. Right till the end.
[engines powering up]
[gentle tinkling]
I'm taking her in.
-No, you're not. -Yeah, I am.
This is a USIC mission, and I am the acting commander.
You go in there and things go south… You need to think about Jana.
She can't right now.
-[Niko grunts] -Oh, fuck!
Hey.
Look, I don't know if you can hear me, but…
we're at your Artifact,
and we can't open the door ourselves.
-[rumbling] -So…
I'm taking her in, Erik.
Come on, Niko.
Come on.
I got you.
Come on, Niko. I got you.
Come on. We're almost there.
-I got you, Niko. -[whimpers]
All right. You're back with your kind now. Let Niko go.
[gasping]
-[Niko groans] -[Achaian whirring]
[moans]
-[gasping and wheezing] -Niko!
-Don't speak. Conserve your energy. -[groans]
-Did it work? -I don't know.
[whooshing]
[intense rumbling]
[clattering]
[both gasping]
Ow!
[whimpering and sobbing]
[grunts]
[intense rumbling]
We did the right thing.
Now it's your turn.
Let us go. Take us back to Earth!
Oh, my little darlings, you're not going anywhere.
Come on, Niko.
[whirring]
The arrogance of your species.
Making demands of us like we're your equals.
[laughs]
[distorted voice] Like we'd ever actually listen to you.
What about negotiations?
Oh, Cas, please!
You're smarter than that.
[voice changing] Negotiations were only ever going to go our way.
Yeah? What way is that?
Peace.
On your terms?
-[rumbling] -Always.
-[crashing] -[gasping]
[Bernie's voice] Yes. On our terms.
[Ava's voice] Of course on our terms.
Your species is the antithesis of peace.
Being inside your body was a metabolic nightmare.
An insight to your primitive nature.
All these… these juices.
All this meat consuming other life, chewing it up and then swallowing it
and excreting it out,
leaving your mess behind for others to clean up.
Cas!
If we don't stop you, you'll spread like a cancer.
Everywhere.
The Salvare itself will, of course, provide some insulation,
but only up to 2,600 degrees Celsius.
At what distance?
How close to the sun?
Roughly 2.1 million kilometers.
At that point, our shielding will fail,
and the Salvare will start to disintegrate until it burns up completely in the sun.
[bleeping and whirring]
You shouldn't be here.
Neither should you.
-[rumbling] -[Niko] Cas?
[Cas groans]
[Niko] Please say something.
[groans]
[cries out]
Where do you think you're going?
This is your mausoleum, my dear. There's nowhere for you to go.
She's injured. She needs help.
Take us back to Earth.
Why, Mommy?
So you can leave me again?
So you can load me up with even more emotional trauma?
So I can spend the rest of my miserable life
trying to fill the void you gouged into my soul
by choosing everyone else… [distorted] …over me?
[as Zayn] So arrogant.
So selfish.
Do you remember the colony planet?
Within ten years, the Paregam would've been completely wiped out
if the Decuma hadn't come along and…
[distorted] …scraped your human filth away.
[whimpers]
Our makers brought us into this universe for a reason.
We cleaned up their messes.
And now we'll clean up yours.
[groans]
-Remember this? -[whirring]
You can't be trusted to do the right thing.
Leave her alone. She's innocent.
[Niko gasping]
[distorted] None of you are innocent.
[sobbing]
[crashing]
-[rumbling] -[gasps]
[radio chatter]
[Richard] The virus is working.
Niko!
[intense rumbling]
What have you done? [gasps]
[screaming]
[distorted scream]
It doesn't matter what face you throw at me.
I know who you are,
and this ends now.
Cas! We've gotta get out of here.
[groans]
Come on!
-[crashing] -[Niko] Come on!
Help me!
[metal and glass smashing]
[loud rumbling]
[explosion]
[woman] Communications have been lost with the Mars colony
and all operations within the asteroid belt.
There has been no word from the Salvare,
which had set a course to be neutralized within the sun.
How you doing?
I'm okay.
Just a concussion.
Been through worse.
Next mission out I'm putting under your command.
You've earned it.
Thank you.
Our solar system is being bombarded by thousands of micro wormholes.
Could there be a natural phenomenon to explain it?
None that I know of.
Maybe superluminal communications.
Orders from the Achaia?
All the rings have left our solar system.
Then sleeper agents.
Individuals or governments
-that are Achaian sympathizers. -[sighs]
-We need William. -We can't use our deep-space telescopes
to search for them, not with this interference.
And we need to accept the possibility
-that the Salvare-- -The Salvare made it.
Is that understood?
Understood. We'll keep looking.
Niko, there's someone here to talk to you.
Could I have made that decision?
To, like, leave my husband and daughter behind?
No way.
Marry me.
Bernie, I love you, and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.
I wanna have kids and get married and-- and everything.
As long as it's with you. Okay?
Okay. I'll-- Sorry, my brain just tends to gush when--
No, no-- Yes, yes, yes.
You're right. I need to shut up.
No, no, no, no, not your brain. Your-- your brain's amazing. No--
Yeah. I wanna marry you.
I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.
[Niko] How did you get here?
Grandma called someone in the army and told them they had to come and get us.
-I think she kinda scared them. -[laughs]
-Thank you. -I believe I should be thanking you.
The whole world should be thanking you.
Welcome home.
-[Niko whispers] You're so big. -[Niko and Jana laugh]
[radio chatter]
A wormhole's appeared in the Artifact field.
Are they back?
It's not the Achaia, Niko. It's coming from the Salvare.
[radio chatter]
You're here.
Yeah. We tried announcin' our arrival the old-fashioned way,
but with all this interference, our signal wouldn't make it through.
No, I mean you're actually here.
Oh, that.
In this field.
It's a little Achaian trick.
One that Ursula helped me refine.
[gasps]
Uh, we're not quite at corporeal body yet,
but Ursula thinks all the ingredients are there, thanks to our Achaian friends.
The signals bombarding the solar system, are they Achaian?
Achaian? No.
Then where are they coming from?
[Ursula] From everywhere.
Hundreds of alien languages reaching out.
What are they sayin'?
I'm comparing the information to our Achaian database now.
[bleeping and whirring]
I believe they're greetings.
I think they're saying "thank you."
[laughs]
Well, then who wants to go say hello?
[Niko] Everything changed the day the Achaia landed on Earth.
The question was no longer, "Is there life out there?"
The question became,
"How much life?"
♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
We ventured into the stars to find out.
♪ It's a good day for dreamin'… ♪
Sometimes a connection was made.
♪ …a spark, there's a fire… ♪
Other times, it didn't go so well.
♪ …burning brighter… ♪
Our mission cost us.
Some even paid the ultimate price.
But now we know for sure
that we are not alone.
The universe isn't empty.
It's full of life.
There are hundreds of millions of habitable planets in our galaxy.
Millions of friends to make.
Humans are simply one branch of a whole new family tree.
That's why we're headed back out there again, despite the risks.
To build something stronger.
Something more.
And the first step is to say…
-[man 1] Hola. -[man 2] Bonjour.
-[man 3] Ciao. -[man 2] Konnichi wa.
[voices speaking different languages overlapping]
[Niko] …"Hello."
♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
♪ It's a good day for dreamin' ♪
♪ A life, a time, a change ♪
♪ A crash, a song, a wave ♪
♪ The earth, the sky that breaks ♪
♪ A map, a road, a way ♪
♪ A voice, a heart that's brave ♪
♪ A love, a look, a face ♪
-♪ A sound, a cry, a shake ♪ -♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
♪ My eyes are wide awake ♪
♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
-♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ -♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
-♪ Ooh ♪ -♪ It's a good day for dreamin' ♪
-♪ Ooh ♪ -♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
-♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
-♪ Ooh ♪ -♪ It's a good day for dreamin' ♪
♪ There's a hope There's a spark, there's a fire ♪
♪ There's a light in the dark Burnin' brighter ♪
-♪ Ooh ♪ -♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
♪ Ooh ♪
-♪ It's a good day for dreamin' ♪ -♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
♪ Ooh, ooh ♪