Christina Grissom plays golf wearing an oxygen mask. She goes home and decontaminates as she goes inside. She talks to her brother Alan, who is packing to leave. She takes a nap, she's not going wherever Alan is.
She wakes up when her mother Zena arrives home. Christina asks her if she's upset, but Zena says she's come to peace with it. Zena asks her to set the table for their last supper.
Alan and Christina set the table. A family picture on the wall shows Zena's deceased husband, William. Alan tells Christina it's not too late. She says she's not a quitter. He says she has a choice. Zena changes the subject. Movers arrive to pick up Alan's stuff.
Christina drives her family and parks in the convention center parking lot. Once they get out, they are quickly surrounded by heavily-armed security guards. The guard gestures towards the edge of the parking lot, which is crowded by protesters with signs that say things like “Earth First,” “Stay Home” and “Don’t Abandon Us.” Guy Oseary, the head of security, approaches Zena. A lone protester breaks through the security line, something in his hand. He raises it, prepared to throw something at Zena. Alan steps in the way and the egg hits him in the face. One of Oseary’s men uses an electrified baton and starts mercilessly beating the protester. Oseary rushes the Grissoms inside. The security guards and protesters start clashing violently.
The Grissoms enter a massive and noisy banquet hall. U.S. President Jefferson Fricke sits on the dais. Oseary leads the Grissoms to the front corner of the room. He introduces them to Captain Eileen Schirra. Zena knows her and they don't like each other. Alan is excited to meet the captain. Schirra asks if Christina is joining the mission. Christina emphatically says no.
Schirra is taken to the stage. Oseary seats the Grissoms. Madison introduces the captains of the space mission: Captain Jim Ride of the Harbinger 7,
Fred Slayton of Haven 1, Ellen Jemison of Haven 2 and Schirra, captain of the Haven 3.
Madison turns things over to President Fricke, who is not popular. President Fricke thanks the lost crew of the Titan 3. The crowd gives a standing ovation to the surviving family members, including the Grissoms.
Oseary is an Earth First terrorist. He sets off a bomb that kills a bunch of people, including the president, Zena and Alan.
At a government safe house, Vice President Charlane Jackson, runs the show. Barbie Hernandez is the new NASA director. Frank Wong is in charge of security. Wong explains that Earth First terrorist have infiltrated Haven 2. They raided the other ships, but were repelled. The terrorists are still on Haven 2 and might have had time to sabotage it.
The Haven 2 is a large craft, with room to carry 1,000 people comfortably. Commandos open the door and terrorists emerge, guns blazing.
Wong explains to Jackson how they'll track down all the terrorists.
The commandos rush into another room, easily gunning down the terrorists inside. The commandos easily take out the third group of terrorists. None of the commandos is wounded.
The last terrorist is able to secretly place a bomb in the computer core unseen. Once he's done, he tries to sneak out, but the commandos catch him and kill him.
Jackson confirms with Wong that the terrorists are taken care of. He says yes, but they'll run diagnostics to make sure everything is okay. He also informs her of the presence of aliens in our solar system. Something so massive their sensors can’t measure it.
Christina participates in a group video chat. The new president tells them the terrorist threat is over.
Christina looks at the screen, which is down to two windows: President Jackson and Director Hernandez. Jackson apologizes to her for her losses. Hernandez says they're giving Christina her brother's spot on the Haven 3. She refuses. Hernandez says it isn't an offer Christina can't refuse. Christina starts to get angry. Jackson says the trip is the only future for the human race. It’s hanging by a thread. No family has contributed more to the Haven Program than the Grissom family. If this mission succeeds, it will be the legacy of the Grissom name. To keep the morale of the people up, the ship has to have a Grissom on board.
Christina arrives at the Haven 3 launch site. Captain Schirra gives the crew a pep talk.
Military board the Harbinger 7.
Captain Jim Ride sits in the command chair. In the second seat is Captain David McNair. At this point, only the Harbinger bridge crew and a few others know about alien life. They are under orders to keep it secret foe now.
Haven 3 is firing up, preparing for launch.
On the bridge, Schirra prepares to launch. They will launch last.
Christina walks into her quarters on Haven 3. The room is filled with her brother’s boxes. Only one of them has her name on it. She unpacks and decorates her space.
Haven 1 is firing up, preparing for launch.
On the bridge of the Haven 1, Slayton prepares to launch.
Harbinger 7 is firing up, preparing for launch.
On the bridge of the Harbinger 7, Ride prepares to launch. They are second in line to launch. The Harbinger is faster than the Havens. There are no stars visible in space.
Haven 2 is firing up, preparing for launch.
On the bridge, Jemison prepares to launch. She tells her second, Irwin, that passengers are scared because of the terrorists. She's skeptical of the tech used to discover terrorist sabotage.
Haven 1 launches. Haven 2 launches. Harbinger 7 launches. Haven 3 launches.
Haven 1 leads the way. Harbinger 7 is a faster ship and has already passed Havens 2 and 3. Haven 2 is next, with Haven 3 bringing up the rear.
Captain Fred Slayton tells second-in-command, Owen Ross, that he was a member of the Titan program and has been to space before. Ross notices the lack of stars.
On Haven 3, Lucid feels uneasy about the mission.
Christina walks into the crowded observation deck. President Jackson is present. The stars are normal on the rear view. On the screen, something zooms past them, too fast for anyone’s eyes to make out clearly.
Jemison and Irwin see the object zip past them.
Harbinger 7 approaches the alien craft. Its smooth black surface stretches seemingly endlessly in every direction. It blots out the stars behind it. Inside, everyone is afraid.
A circular hole opens on the rightmost edge of the observation screen. A red laser beam blasts from the hole. The beam is continuous and searches until it locks on Harbinger 7.
Communications between ships are being jammed. Slayton sees a circular opening in the alien ship. Emerging from the hole is a small, silver globe, about the size of a small car. It zooms forward, directly towards Haven 1.
Behind the center-most computer bank on Haven 2, the bomb ticks down to zero. It explodes, destroying several computer banks. Haven 2 stalls. There’s no visible damage, the bomb was small, only taking out the navigation system. The silver globe hits Haven 1 and it splatters, like a giant paintball. The silvery splatter shimmers, then explodes, destroying Haven 1.
Harbinger 7 is caught in a tractor beam.
On Haven 3, Irwin laments their lack of weapons.
The fast-flying object hits the Earth. It sets off a chain reaction of mushroom clouds that continue to explode until the whole planet explodes.
Christina covers her mouth in shock. President Jackson leaves the observation deck.
On Haven 2, Jemison recoils in terror. She realizes they’re too close. The explosion of the Earth envelops Haven 2, destroying the ship. The shock wave pushes Haven 3 forward, but only does minor structural damage.
President Jackson enters the bridge. The crew stand to salute her, but she waves them off. Irwin confirms that Havens 1 & 2 are a total loss. No survivors. There is an unidentified enemy combatant that destroyed both ships and the Earth. Haven 3 suffered minor damage and minimal casualties.
Haven 3 is caught in an enemy tractor beam and has no way to fight back.
The two remaining ships are caught in tractor beams. Harbinger 7 is pulled towards a hole in the alien ship. Haven 3 is pulled towards another hole in the same ship, hundreds of miles away. Inside the ship is only darkness. The holes close behind the ships.
Inside the Haven 3, Irwin panics. The others sit in fear.
Once both human ships are inside and the holes close. The ship recedes from Earth space and zips out of the solar system at an impossible speed.
Haven 3 sets down with a thud, rocking the passengers. They turn on exterior spotlights and they are in a large, empty hangar.
President Jackson asks if they can crash their way through the alien ship's hull. Irwin says it doesn't matter, as the engines won't fire. Irwin thinks the scanners may be broken, too. Jackson asks what they're going to do. Schirra doesn't know. Both she and Irwin take umbrage at Jackson's demands.
The observation screen comes on and shows a squad of armed men and women emerge from one of the Harbinger 7’s exit ramps.
Christina watches the Harbinger 7 crew alongside the still-packed room. She meets Piers McArthur. Saw blades kill Gibson.
Irwin thinks McNair will get his crew killed.
Hernando makes his way towards Gibson carefully. His head is on a swivel, looking for threats. He’s not ready for the one that comes. A flying blob of some clear liquid flies at his head. He tries to dodge it, but the blob hits him in the face. It envelops his entire head and he starts to suffocate. Hernando claws at the blob, but his hand goes through it like water and has no effect. As he continues to suffocate, he squeezes the trigger on his gun and fires a few shots skyward. The next person down the line, Musgrave, runs to help. Hernando passes out and falls to the floor.
Musgrave calls for help. The others come running. A spike emerges from the floor and pierces Musgrave through the abdomen. Blood spurts from his mouth. The spike retracts and Musgrave falls to the ground dead. Pettit stops about 10 feet away from Musgrave. A large stone block falls from the ceiling and crushes him. Clark starts running away from the dead bodies. A black liquid emerges from the floor and wraps around Clark’s feet. Streams of the same black liquid drip from the ceiling and grab Clark by the arms. He drops his gun. The liquid wraps around Clark’s chest. The liquid strands hanging from the ceiling pulls upward, ripping him in half at the waist. McNair tells everyone to stop moving. The remaining squad members freeze in place. Duke is the closest to the Harbinger 7. He nervously eyes the entrance ramp. Duke makes a run for the ship. A blast of fire comes from out of the darkness and roasts him alive.
McNair stands close to the last two of his fellow crew members, Helms and Sellers. Four black metal crossbow bolts come out of the dark and fly into Helms' chest. He falls to the ground dead. Sellers takes off running towards the ship. As Sellers runs towards the ship, the alien appears. Sellers smashes into its chest and falls to the floor. The alien is over 7 feet tall and wears black armor and a helmet that reveals none of its form. The alien extends its arm and a long blade extends from its wrist. Sellers raises his gun and fires until it’s empty. McNair fires at the alien, too. The bullets have no effect. The alien drives a blade through Sellers skull and into the floor. McNair bolts for the ship. He almost makes it and stops. He looks down to see the alien’s blade sticking through his chest. McNair slides off the blade and falls to the floor dead.
President Jackson stares at the screen which shows McNair’s dead body. She says they have to help the Harbinger. Irwin says they're hundreds of miles away. Jackson asks Schirra what she's gonna do, but Schirra doesn't know, she's not prepared for this.
Communications start working again. Ride said the Harbinger crew is going to hunker down.
Comms go out again and several of aliens enter the Harbinger's bridge. The aliens are impervious to bullets and each has a long wrist blade. They easily execute everyone. They go through the Harbinger and kill armed passengers and destroy weapons.
Christina says they have to do something. She and Piers leave the observation deck.
The lights turn off and the bridge is plunged into darkness. The observation screen flickers, then reveals the face of a lone alien. Everyone watches as it speaks: Their old life is over. They may live, if they reject violence. Earth is no more. Humanity is no more. They live only for the amusement and curiosity of the aliens. Defy them and humans will become extinct. They are called the Masters. Humans are but cockroaches to the aliens.
Christina and Piers go to the bridge.
Christina and Piers arrive on the bridge. Jackson demands Schirra tell them what to do, but she's still unsure. Christina has some ideas. Jackson asks who she is and says she doesn't belong here. Piers vouches for her. Turns out he's the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and highest ranking British person alive. Chawla detects a signal scanning them. They're afraid to talk, thinking the aliens will hear them. Christina says they can talk outside the ship.
The new leadership of the Harbinger arrive on the bridge: Dr. Laurel Carr, Ye Wang and Marcos Ferreira. They discover Ride is still alive and is rushed to medical.
President Jackson leads a group into the staging area before the ramp to exit the ship. Following her are Schirra, Irwin, Christina and Piers. Joining them is Security Chief Don Evans, who carries a small bag filled with weapons. He's been absent due to COVID. Evans starts handing out the weapons. Christina thinks he's going to get them killed. Irwin confirms that weapons will get them killed. Evans gathers up the weapons and puts them in a storage locker.
Everyone crowds towards the ramp. Irwin pushes the lever that opens the ramp and it starts descending. Jackson and Schirra argue over who is leading the expedition. Someone has to stay behind to lead if they get killed. Irwin volunteers.
Schirra leads the group into the hangar, followed by Jackson, Evans, Christina and Piers. It's massive and empty. The ceiling is so high they can't see it. Evans says this means surveillance is unlikely. Christina says that's speculative and they need to be careful. Piers suggest they rest for a bit, he's out of shape.
They sit in a circle with their backs to each other. Christina ends up next to Schirra. Schirra asks what she's doing here. Christina says it wasn't her choice. She's the smartest human left alive. Schirra wishes Alan were there instead. She asks if Christina is smarter than the aliens. Christina says she hopes so. Schirra says they're all gonna die.
Evans says they have few real weapons, and a significant number of ad hoc weapons. Christina says the weapons won't hurt the aliens and will get the humans killed. Escape isn’t possible. They shut down the ship, they have tractor beams and they have weapons powerful enough to destroy a planet. But she doesn't know why the aliens kept them alive. Jackson says the aliens must want something from them. Christina says that's what they have to figure out. Piers says they need to find the Harbinger 7. Christina says they don't know where they are and they have no transportation. Schirra says they need to start mapping the hangar. Piers pulls out a tablet to do so.
Christina spots the wall, but the others can't see it yet. They hear a large animal growl. It leaps out of the shadows and knocks Evans down. Christina slams her body into the beast and it falls from atop Evans and lands on its back. Christina gets to her feet as the monster struggles to get upright. The others run away in various directions. The beast gathers itself and focuses on Christina. She turns and runs towards the hangar wall. Her flashlight clearly shows the wall is near. The monster chases Christina. She runs as fast as she can until she reaches the wall. She turns and faces the beast. The beast leaps at her. Christina dives out of the way and the beast smashes head-first into the wall with a crunch. It crumples to the ground, twitching. Christina pulls herself to her feet. The beast is still moving. She brings her heavy-booted foot down on its’ skull with a crunch. She does it two more times. Schirra and Jackson approach, shining their lights on the beast and then on Christina. She heads back towards the Haven.