In Conference Room #4, Christina, Piers, Jackson, Schirra, Lucid, Evans, and Chawla sit around a conference table with three previously unseen crewmembers: Chief Engineer Barry Julien, Maintenance Chief Sarah Molinari, and Navigator Emmy Blotnick. Jackson's assistant Isa Barrett reports that several of the department heads are going to videoconference in. They’re getting work done. Jackson says it's okay, but let’s not make a habit of it.
Schirra worries that the aliens will intercept the transmission. Christina says they’ve established that the ship is being fully monitored. Schirra and Christina bristle at each other but stay quiet.
Jackson asks for an update on the damage to the ship. Julien says that during the attacks, there were several hull breaches. The exterior breaches have been repaired except for Docking Bay 42. Julien hands off to his assistant Hal Groome for further updates.
Groome videoconferences in from Docking Bay #42 and says they’re close to finishing up. Groome confirms that is the last exterior hull breach.
Jackson asks if after that, they’ll be spaceworthy again. Groome says there’s still a problem with the engine.
Julien says the engine won’t fire and they don’t know why. Jackson tells them to figure it out. She about the other systems. How they're coming along. Julien says the scanners and communications are still being blocked by an external source. Jackson asks if there's any chance of fixing that. Julien says they'll keep trying, but they’re really out of their league. The aliens use sufficiently advanced technology that it is indistinguishable from magic.
Evans coughs. No one really pays attention.
Christina says that what they need to know is what resources they have on the ship. What are they starting with. Jackson says they can only make the best decisions if they know what they’re working with.
Schirra says they need to find Harbinger 7. Jackson says yes, but they need to know what they’ve got in order to do that. Schirra is skeptical.
Jackson says she thinks their biggest resource is going to people. She asks Registrar Omari Brown to give them a rundown of who’s there.
Brown videoconferences in from the data center. He says the standard capacity oh a Haven is 1,000. They were near capacity when they launched, with 993 on board. When the aliens attacked, 3 were killed in the hull breaches. Since then they’ve had more passenger die. Of natural causes. Jackson inquires about the natural causes. Brown says they only just died, of some kind of sickness. The autopsy will tell us the specifics. Jackson asks to be informed after the autopsy is done. Brown says they were on a far space mission, so the skillsets of the passengers are diverse. They have builders, makers, explorers, celebrities, national leaders, pretty much any job category and educational specialty you can imagine. Brown sends a detailed list to all the leaders.
Christina says it's a good start, but she’d like to hear what informational resources they have, so they can know what knowledge they have, beyond what the passengers know. Jackson is annoyed and says that was already on the agenda. There is tension between Christina and Jackson.
Jackson calls on their chief information officer, Hope Cassandra. Cassandra videoconferences in from Scientific Library #8. She says that anyone on board has access to their massive databases in any of the scientific libraries. Jackson worries that gives people access to classified information. Cassandra says every passenger has been assigned one of five security levels and access is based on that. She says that, essentially, the have nearly every scientific journal, periodical and book ever digitized. They have nearly all of the Internet, including all the government websites and databases, including most of the ones Trump deleted. They backed them up. They have extensive data on aliens, spacecraft and extrasolar planets. If humans know it, they have it.
An idea is forming in Christina’s head.
Jackson surveys the people present in the conference room and asks what else do they need to know.
Evans says they have a handful of real weapons and a few hundred ad hoc weapons. Schirra says it's not enough for 1,000 people. Evans said he's like to start training the civilians. Lucid freaks out and says this lunatic is trying to get them all killed. He says didn’t Evans watch what happened to the crew of the Harbinger. He says those were his friends who were massacred. Jackson says she is issuing an executive order to prevent any civilian from taking up arms against the aliens, even in practice or training. Evans frowns. Lucid smiles and relaxes.
Christina asks Piers if Jackson has the authority to do that. Piers says he doubts it. Jackson chides them for talking at the same time as her. Christina is embarrassed to be called out. Christina is chastised. Piers is offended.
Piers asks what they have in terms of medicine and other options. He says he knows the Americans have some rather unsavory things in their possession. Jackson takes offense. Piers asks if he's wrong. Jackson calls on Chief Medical Officer Gabriel Cantillo.
Cantillo videoconferences in from the Medical Lab. He says he won’t waste time by listing everything they’ve got, but he’ll give them the toplines. Cantillo says they have replicators that can create essentially an unlimited amount of standard medical supplies--bandages, splints, instruments, basic medicines, etc., as long as they have enough raw materials.
Schirra asks how long the raw materials will last. Cantillo says that barring a catastrophe, there's enough to last at least two years. They have a ton of biological and chemical samples and a host of vaccines, cures and anti-venom. Their DNA bank not only includes everyone on board, but about a million now-deceased people from Earth and the other ships. Piers nods with a satisfied grin and says that pretty much confirms what he thought. Jackson gives Piers a stern look.
Jackson asks everyone what they think. Schirra says it’s good they fixed up the hull. It’s only a matter of time before they get everything else working again. Jackson says "That seems overly optimistic." Schirra stands by her assessment. Christina says that personnel seem to be more than adequate. Jackson asks "Adequate for what?" Christina fumbles to answer. Piers asks Jackson what her problem is. Jackson denies having a problem. Piers says she's very negative towards everyone. Jackson says "I’ll try to be more positive in the face of human extinction." Piers looks chastised. Christina says "Our information capacity seems as close to maximum as possible." Schirra says "We’ll have to find more information." Evans says he's not happy with the weapons situation. Lucid is incredulous and says they're all crazy. Jackson shuts Lucid down. Piers says "We apparently are loaded in the medical arena as long as supplies hold out."
Jackson asks what they do next. Schirra says they need to figure out where we are. Christina has an idea about that. She says "We have star charts and we can project trajectory, velocity and distance..." Schirra says "But we can’t know for sure without seeing the actual stars." Piers says "No, but it makes more sense to speculate than to remain ignorant." Schirra frowns, taking the implied insult personally. Jackson agrees with McArthur and Grissom. She directs them to look into it and to take Blotnick.
On Harbinger 7, Dr. Carr sits with Ride, who is in a coma. Wang enters the room. Carr says "Everything seems to have improved, but he continues to be unresponsive." Wang asks what they're going to do. Carr says "I don’t know... I guess we’ll have to wait on the Haven crew to come rescue us." Wang looks worried.
Christina and Piers enter Scientific Library #16. Blotnick asks "So what’s the plan? And what does it have to do with me?" Christina sits at one of the computer terminals. Piers asks "Weren’t you paying attention?" Blotnick gives him a dry look and says "I must admit, I was not." Christina has been working on the computer. She finds what she’s looking for and brings it up on the screen. She asks Blotnick what she sees. Blotnick looks closely, then says stars. Christina says star charts. Blotnick gets it. She says the plan is to use the charts to estimate their current location. Christina asks if Blotnick can do it. Blotnick says the ship’s computer can give her their speed. Christina asks if their trajectory changed. Blotnick says the computer will tell them that, too. Unless the aliens can control what their computers say. She says the aliens can probably did them, but she can’t imagine any reason they’d go to the trouble. What would it get them? Blotnick hits print and a multipage document starts coming out of the printer. Blotnick says "There are a lot of possibilities. I’m printing them all out so you can peruse them at your leisure." Piers picks up the first printed page and scans it. He asks where they were supposed to be going. Blotnick clicks a few times on the computer. A blue-green planet comes up on the screen. Christina says it looks like Earth. Blotnick says "That’s the idea. We needed a habitable planet. This is what we found. Planet 1e, orbiting the star Trappist-1. It has several Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone. Water on most of the planets evaporated long ago, but Trappist-1e is most likely to support life as we know it." She says they were leaving Earth on a likelihood, not a certainty. Trappist had several possibilities. Christina and Piers exchange a concerned look. Blotnick says they need to see the stars to confirm their location, but it’s almost certainly on that list. She says "We have no real idea which direction we went in, but I’m put them in order of likelihood." Christina asks her by what metric. Blotnick says the percentage away from their initial trajectory.
In the ad-hoc armory. Evans exits the room, coughing as he goes. Lucid sneaks in behind him. Lucid wanders through the room, looking at the various weapons. He frowns. Daniel is in the room, practicing with a short blade. Lucid notices him. He greets Daniel and asks him what he's doing in here. Daniel says learning to use the blade. He teases Lucid, who asks if he knows how dangerous that thing is. Daniel sets the blade on the table with the other weapons. Lucid says it's because of the aliens. Daniel waves him off. Lucid gets frantic. Lucid says "if I could, I’d destroy all of" the weapons. Daniel stares at Lucid in fear and asks if he's gonna do it. Lucid gives him a look of anger then storms out of the armory. Daniel shrugs and picks up the short blade again, thrusting it in the direction Lucid headed, with a disrespectful look on his face.
In Cafeteria #23, Christina and Piers sit at a table with a group of younger people, Melina, Santos and Daniel. Melina is majoring in botany, Santos in pre-med and Daniel in political science. Christina did undergrad in biology, but she has a masters in public administration from Stanford. She went to college on a golf scholarship. Daniel teases that he's a better golfer. She was good enough that Stanford paid me to play for them for four years. Daniel is impressed, but he tries to hide it. She asks him to play some time. The ship has simulators on board. They go to play right away.
In Sports Simulator #4, Christina stands at a tee, driver in her gloved hand. Before her is a display screen with the image of a golf course before her. Daniel, now wearing golf gloves, stands with Santos and Melina, watching. Christina swings the driver back and hits the ball full strength. The ball hits the display, bounces off and falls to the ground. The image of a golf ball soars down the fairway. A counter goes up and up, stopping at 233 yards. Melina and Santos applaud. Daniel frowns. Christina hands him the driver. Daniel steps up to the tee, grabs a ball from the floor and puts it on the tee. He takes an inordinate amount of time warming up. He warms up a little more, then drives the ball. The distance meter stops at 179 yards. Daniel stares after Christina, barely containing his rage.
Jackson sits next to Schirra on a fully-occupied Bridge. The lights go out. Panic starts to set in amongst the crew. Schirra tries to calm everyone down. The observation screen flickers, then reveals the face of a lone alien, covered by the standard black helmet. It stands in a black room with no identifying features. The alien speaks: "We have two things to tell you at this time. You may see the stars." The front viewscreen show stars, stars that are unfamiliar to everyone. The alien continues "It will not help you or hurt us. We know you are using star charts to figure out where you are. It matters not. Moving forward, we will expect payment when we grant you boon. And the second thing is we have another boon to grant you. We have a number of your fellow humans captive and we will release them to you. Step outside your ship and into the hangar. Now." Everyone stands and follows Jackson into the hangar.
Jackson leads everyone into Alpha hangar. They don’t see anything. Jackson tells everyone to keep their eyes peeled. Christina steps forward, pointing into the darkness. She tells everyone to look. People slowly emerge from the darkness. They’re all dressed in white hospital gowns. First is President Jefferson Fricke. Then Guy Oseary. Connie Madison. Fred Slayton. Maria, the Grissom’s housekeeper. Then Alan Grissom. Christina bursts into tears. More people emerge. Then tension bursts and Christina runs forth and embraces her brother. The others follow, rushing to meet their loved ones and friends.
The new arrivals are scattered throughout the cafeteria, sitting with their friends and family members. Unseen by the others, Oseary sneaks away. Christina and Schirra sit with Alan. Piers stands behind Christina. She asks Alan how he's been and how he survived. He doesn't know. She asks how he feels. He says he feels fine, he guesses. He feels kind of out of it. Piers asks if they given Alan a job or assignment yet. Alan says "Not yet. I hope they do soon. I’m restless. I need to work." Schirra asks if she can have privacy with Alan. Christina tells Alan they should catch up soon. Alan says absolutely. Christina leads Piers away. She tells him that Alan and Schirra had a thing. She says there’s something off about my new brother.
Schirra stares at Alan. She says she still loves him. Alan struggles to respond.
Across the room, Maria approaches Christina. Christina sees who it is and gets excited. They hug. Maria asks if Christina's mother made it. Christina says she died on Earth. Maria says she's sorry.
At a different table, Jackson sits with Fricke. She asks how he's doing. Fricke says fit as a fiddle. She studies his face. She asks if he's mentally okay. He studies her face. She asks if he'll want his job back. They stare at each other. It’s filled with tension. Cantillo approaches Jackson. He's got the results of that autopsy. They died of COVID. Jackson is surprised.
In Gaming Center #15, Melina and Santos huddle around Daniel, who plays a first person shooter game with a light gun aimed at the screen. Daniel is a good shooter and does well at the game. The others cheer him on. Evans sees Daniel playing and moves closer to watch. He says Daniel is not bad. Santos looks at Evans and sees his uniform. Melina says he’s actually the worst of the three of them. They students laugh. Evans’ interest is piqued. He asks if they want to learn how to use the real thing. They turn to stare at him. Evans smiles.
Three of the returned humans walk through the doorway: Alan, Maria and Oseary. Standing in a nearby group are Ben Hendrix and Ronald Bryant. Next to them is Hendrix’s friend Winston Reilly. Hendrix, who is white, says to Bryant, who is Black: "You should find your own Gaming Center. This one isn’t for your kind." Bryant asks "What the hell did you say, old man." Hendrix steps in Bryant’s face and says "you gonna do something about it." Winston pulls Hendrix away, saying "not here, there are too many witnesses." Bryant says "That’s what I thought, chickenshit." Hendrix tells Bryant to watch himself. Winston pulls him away.
Across the room, Evans talks with Maria and Alan. She asks what the fight was about. Evans says "There are a wide variety of ideologies represented on the ship. The diversity is refreshing, but it creates conflict. There are, nihilists, anarchists, conservative toadies, liberals who hate the others, liberals who want to save ALL humans, we think there are even some Earth firster terrorists." Maria looks at him, worried.
Across the room, Oseary talks with Santos and some other young people. Oseary says "keep this quiet, but a lot of us think the whole thing is fake. The so-called leaders are in league with the aliens." Santos asks why. Oseary says "They want to enslave us." Santos is shocked. Oseary asks if he wants to learn more. Santos nods aggressively. Oseary says he likes that.
Daniel and Santos walk down the corridor. Daniel says "I can’t believe that bitch. She thinks she’s hot shit. Somebody should cut her down to size." Santos says "She’s part of the problem around here. It’s just like Earth, the rich people think they can do whatever they want. And we’re just supposed to sit back and take it." Daniel asks what they're going to do about it. Santos says there might be a resistance forming. Daniel is interested.
Christina and Piers stand on the bridge, near Blotnick’s station. Jackson watches them from her chair next to Schirra with a skeptical look on her face. Blotnick says the computer will match the star charts to the real thing. Blotnick types a few things in and the computer starts working. The computer prints a single sheet of paper. Blotnick says it looks like they’re approaching the Aquarius constellation. She say their new home is supposed to be in the Aquarius constellation. Trappist-1e. Jackson smiles.
In Restaurant #23, Christina and Piers sit at a candlelit table, having a romantic date. She says "Thank you. No one has taken me on a date in years." Piers says "That’s crazy." Christina frowns. She says "Oh, wait... I didn’t misread this? Did I?" Piers chuckles and says "Oh, no. This is definitely a date." Christina lets out a sigh of relief. He says "I just think it’s crazy no one asks you out." Christina smiles. She likes the compliment. He says he's from London. She's from Southern California. Piers asks what she thinks the aliens look like.
Christina considers the question. She says "they’re obviously upright, bipedal humanoids. My brother had concluded they were reptilian." Piers asks "old brother or new brother?" Christina laughs. She says "Old brother. But he didn’t have any real evidence." He says "He had no idea." She says "just like us." She asks "so you were the Deputy Prime Minister." He was. She asks if any of the people who outrank him survived. He says no. She asks what about royals. He says not that he knows of. Christina says "I guess that makes you king?" Piers says "I guess it does, at that." They both laugh, but Piers stares off in the distance, distracted. She asks what he's thinking about. He says "I’m thinking if I’m king of the remaining British, I should exercise that power." Christina looks worried as they keep walking.
Christina walks into her quarters, a worried look on her face. She looks at her brother’s boxes wistfully. She says she should get the boxes back to “Alan.” She’s not convinced. She opens one of the boxes and starts looking through it, reminiscing. She moves on to the second box. She pulls out a stack of papers and her eyes go wide. They are government reports and records with the NASA logo. They’re all marked “Top Secret.” She reads them and comes across a passage that reads “Homeworld is 98.79% Gliese 876.” She finds a journal and flips through it. She runs her fingers across the words and says it's Alan’s handwriting. She reads “The reptilians come from Gliese 876. They are susceptible to some human diseases, but not all. Will have to test further.” It's late. She lays back and dozes off.
Christina stands in front of the view screen on the bridge, holding the stack of papers. She says "I’m not sure who hid this information from us. It’s important stuff. We could have put it to use." Piers steps closer to Christina, both to hear her better and because her competence is attractive to him. She says she found these papers among Alan’s things. She says "The aliens are from a planet called Gliese 876. It’s probably where we’re headed now. They’re reptilian in nature and susceptible to some human diseases." Piers is excited. Jackson is annoyed. She says "How in the world would your brother know that information? Even if it were true, how does it help us?" She tells Christina and Piers to do something of value, like they should finish mapping the hangar. Christina says okay. Christina and Piers exit the bridge.
Christina and Piers walk down the corridor, away from the bridge. Around the corner comes Alan, who bumps into Piers and falls to the floor. Christina helps him to his feet. Alan dusts himself off. Christina says "I have a bunch of your stuff in my quarters." The stuff he packed on Earth. Alan looks angry. He says "You didn’t open the boxes, did you?" Christina looks worried. She says she did. Alan says "I can’t believe you did that! It’s my stuff! You have no right!" Piers puts a hand on Alan’s chest and tells him to calm down. Alan swats Piers’ hand away and storms off. He says "I’ll be by later to pick up my stuff!" Alan walks away. Christina and Piers exchange a worried look. Christina says "That’s NOT my brother." They continue down the corridor.
In Gym #16, Evans leads a group of civilians in combat exercises. Evans shows them several moves with various sticks, which are used as staves. The civilians copy his moves. Among them are Melina, Santos and Daniel. Evans says "Don’t just swing the staff at anything. You have to aim for weak spots." Melina asks what the weak point on an armored alien is. Evans says "Well, they’re bipedal humanoids, so the joints should be vulnerable." Santos asks about the armor. Evans says "They have to move, which means the joints should also be a weak spot in the armor." Jackson enters the room. Lucid and several other security officers follow. Jackson asks what's going on. Lucid says "They’re trying to get us killed." Evans says "I’m trying to teach them to protect themselves." Jackson gets upset and says "Even though I explicitly forbade it?" Evans says "You’re not the real president. Nobody voted for you." Jackson gets angry and tells Lucid to relieve Evans of his duties. Lucid puts Frank Cooper in charge of security. Lucid tells Cooper to confine Mr. Evans to his quarters. Cooper escorts Evans from the room. Jackson the rest of them to disperse and leave the weapons. The students put the weapons down and leave. Santos glares at Jackson as he leaves.
Piers and Christina walk throughout the empty hangar, mapping their progress on a tablet. Piers notes it's empty. Christina says "I thing we’re more mapping for distance than landmarks." A loud tiger’s roar echoes through the hangar. A tiger walks out of the darkness. Slowly, it’s stalking them. Christina says "Run towards the wall, we can trick it." The tiger stalks closer.
Piers shrugs, then runs. Christina runs for a different part of the same wall. The tiger is temporarily confused. Then it chases Piers. As he and Christina get closer to the wall, a large door opens in front of them. Christina tells him to duck. She slides to a stop in the shadows. Piers stumbles and falls. Christina winces. He ends up in the shadows as well. Two aliens stand in the doorway. One holds and large rifle. The alien points his gun and the tiger, who now heads for the aliens. The alien pulls the trigger and a net ensnares the tiger. The aliens walk into the hangar and pick up the ensnared tiger. The cat struggles, but the aliens and the net are strong. The aliens head back towards the doorway. Christina and Piers are crouched low, perfectly still. The aliens stop at the doorway. Alien #1 sniffs the air. Christina cowers. The alien walks through the door and waves his fellow alien on. Alien #2 says "I thought I smelled something." The door closes behind them. Piers says "That was close." Christina shushes him.
In Restaurant #8, Schirra and Alan sit at a table, possibly on a date. Schirra stares into his eyes and says she thought she’d never see him again. She's missed him. Alan reaches out and caresses her cheek and says she doesn't have to miss him any more. Schirra looks at him hopefully. She asks if he's gonna leave again. He says no. Schirra gets a suspicious look on her face. She asks what happened. He says he doesn’t know. He woke up today on this ship and he can’t remember anything since Earth. Schirra frowns. Alan shrugs.
Cafeteria #15 is relatively empty this late in the artificial daily cycle. Among those present are Ben Hendrix and Ronald Bryan, who are in a heated argument. Bryan punches Hendrix in the face. Hendrix grabs a metal cafeteria tray and beats him to death with it. He tosses the tray and runs out of the room. Alan sees Bryan leaving the cafeteria, but Bryan doesn’t notice. Alan walks into the cafeteria and sees Hendrix’s body. He stops short in surprise. He stares at the body.
Cooper and several of the ship’s security team are examining the crime scene. Christina and Piers arrive. Alan is already there, standing next to Winston Reilly. They approach him. Alan says somebody murdered Hendrix. Christina asks if they have any idea who did it. Alan turns away and doesn’t answer. Christina and Piers exchange a suspicious glace. Alan leaves the room. A security officer waves Cooper over. Cooper joins him. The others move closer, too. The officer has found the murder weapon. Cooper tells them to send it for tests. The officer picks up the tray with his gloved hands. He puts it in a large plastic bag. Cooper says they'll know who the killer is within the hour. Winston says Bryant did it. Cooper asks for evidence, but Winston doesn't have any. He tells Cooper he’d better do something about Bryant. Or he will. Coopers says if Winston goes near Bryant, he'll throw Winston in the brig. Winston storms out of the room.
Santos walks down the corridor alone. He stops halfway down and looks both ways. Not seeing anyone, he pushes a panel about waist-high. A secret door opens. He goes inside. The door closes behind. Another passenger walks down the corridor, passing by the secret door, none the wiser.
Santos walks in and shakes hands with Oseary. Oseary welcomes him to the resistance. He asks about your Santos' friends? Santos says they’ll be in. He just has to talk them into it. Oseary says they've got to do something. Their leaders have failed them. He says the president is responsible for 10 billion deaths on Earth and somebody’s got to make Jackson pay. The room goes quiet as he stares at them.