The Rocinante tends to wounded Martian soldiers in exchange for supplies; Avasarala struggles with how to disseminate a key piece of evidence despite being in hiding.
Drummer, commanding a Belter fleet, recovers the Nauvoo and immediately initiates a retrofit operation on the return trip.
On Earth, Errinwright sets up Anna to be front and center for S.G. Sorrento-Gillis's speech before the U.N. General Assembly, a speech where her influence can be found. At a key point in the speech, Sorrento-Gillis makes an abrupt but planned turn in his tone, declaring Mars the true enemy. Anna, later in the episode, is upset that she was used again in this way by Sorrento-Gillis thus she quits her job writing, calls out Errinwright for being a terrible person and then calls Gillis weak and deplorable.
On the supply-strapped Rocinante which is running on fumes, the crewmembers discuss salvaging some supplies from debris in space consequent of the prevailing war around Jupiter. This would mean scavenging through recently-destroyed Martian ships. The crew must appease Alex that desecrating the wreckage where fallen Martians are entombed is an unavoidable necessity. Holden asks Naomi to find the best target. They soon ride up to the Kittur Chennamma, a derelict MCRN ship whose front end has been sheared off, it appears to have been caught off-guard because it never deployed its PDCs.
When Holden, Amos and Prax enter the Kittur Chennamma which appears abandoned, Holden hears someone within a compartment banging out "S.O.S." using Morse code, meaning someone is still alive on the ship. The group sets up an emergency airlock bubble outside the compartment hatch which they open and find three surviving navy crew members, one woman and two men. They transfer the survivors to the med bay, where they recover. Once the survivors realize they are on the "stolen Tachi", they begin to understand the Rocinante crew is looting their ship for supplies. While he had remained with them trying to make the survivors comfortable, acting from outrage and demanding the return of the Tachi to Mars, those three survivors soon overpower Alex. In the process, taking his pistol and violently assaulting him.
At first, the Martian survivors go to the operations deck, with Alex hostage. They quickly take Naomi captive demanding she relinquish control of the Rocinante to them. Ranhofer, one of the survivors, heads to the armory to obtain additional weaponry. Holden discovers the survivor with a weapon before he could locate the ammunition for the assault rifle. Holden manages to wrestle Ranhofer to the deck and chokes him out then triggers the master alarm in silent.
On the operations deck, Holden draws a rifle on Sinopoli, the ensign who has Naomi held hostage, creating a standoff between the groups. Bobbie, who hasn't appeared before the surviving Kittur Chennamma crew until this point, ascends to the operations deck, in this change of dynamic momentum, Naomi breaks away from her captor. Bobbie, facing the barrel of Alex's captured pistol, calmly talks down the remaining armed hostile survivor, Loftis, freeing Alex from her clutches. Amos presently returns from the K.C. hoisting the previously incapacitated Ranhofer to the ops deck but, he has missed the action.
Avasarala, who has also missed the action on the operations deck, insists throughout the episode that she needs to get a message out to Admiral Souther. She notices the reverend Anna is in attendance to Sorrento-Gillis's public address and recognizes the reverend's close past connection to the Secretary-General. She shows Holden and Naomi the recording of Errinwright's admission of treason. Avasarala considers sending a message to Anna, who is considered an outsider and probably not as closely monitored. Holden agrees to send the message, having Naomi route through an untraceable relay.
Avasarala, Holden and Bobbie later speak with Sinopoli, whom they consider the most reasonable of the three Martian K.C. survivors. Avasarala tells him the war was built on a lie from a conspiracy within the UN government but, adds that Mars is not without some blame. She believes the only way to put an end to the conflict is out here, away from the politicians; she remarks that she's aware of the irony, since she's a politician herself. The Kittur Chennamma has been prepared for Sinopoli and his compatriots to rejoin the MCRN Jupiter fleet and Avasarala requests he show his commanding officer the recording of Errinwright and have it passed along to Souther.
On Io, Jules-Pierre is trying to dismantle his Caliban hybrid project, trying to save the remaining children. Mei insists to the medical research handlers that she be allowed to see Katoa or talk to her dad. Dissatisfied at the response from Jules-Pierre, Mei rushes off down a corridor leading to the room she witnessed Katoa's nurse enter earlier. Jules-Pierre, realizing he is locked-out, has Lawrence Strickland brought and demands the door be opened. When Strickland does so, they find Katoa. Katoa who, appears to drift between conscious control and entranced possession, is still intact though now glowing iridescent blue from a majority of his body. Katoa is shown to be interfacing with the other protomolecule infestations previously observed throughout the Sol system. Katoa also dismembered and dissected his nurse in grotesquely horrific manner, splaying out the corpse organ-from-organ and limb-from-limb, in a pattern reminiscent of the disaggregation performed upon the Arboghast over Venus.
Strickland [09:33.397]:[archive video replay]Project Caliban is more than just a stable protohybrid supersoldier. It is also a state-of-the-art weapons delivery system, as the following images show.
Amos [09:43.774]:Doc, I thought we learned our lessons about leaving tools unsecured in zero-g.
Prax [09:51.181]:Amos, they're manufacturing these things, twisting humans into monsters on purpose. How could you do that to another person?
Amos [09:59.089]:I think you and I had very different childhoods.
Strickland [10:01.525]:[archive video replay]The weaponized hybrid is placed inside a fluid suspension pod and then placed inside a delivery vehicle.
Prax [10:06.463]:Look, I needed to believe if that was Mei on the hull, helping to kill her would be the worst thing that I could ever do. I don't know if that's true anymore.
♪ [10:18.542]:[dramatic music]…
Amos [10:21.645]:Secure that, and then Cap and I need your help.
♪ [10:25.549]:♪
♪ [10:45.636]:♪
Holden [10:55.979]:Railgun round took out life support and the main water tank.
Holden [11:00.083]:No oxygen, no way to make more.
Amos [12:10.721]:Almost full! It's a bullet party. Come on, Doc, let's get to work.
Holden [12:15.425]:Alex, the ship's drive looked intact. If we can get the drive online, we can put some distance between us and the rest of the debris while we work.
Alex [12:24.668]:Already on it. Let's see if we can't get the "Kittur" to listen.
Amos [12:28.338]:With the "Razorback" and this junker, we'll have ourselves a convoy.
Holden [12:31.274]:Ask Naomi to do a full safety check. Then, see if you can fire it up remotely. Might make the work easier with some lights and gravity too.
156 [14:56.161]:The General Assembly will convene in five minutes. Please take your seats.
157 [15:01.567]:You wrote a wonderful speech. You should be front and center.
158 [15:07.206]:I come before you in a moment of terrible tragedy...
159 [15:13.378]:Carrying, as we all do, the heartbreaking sorrow of our nearly 2 million dead.
160 [15:22.454]:But we are also at a singular moment in history.
161 [15:28.760]:We have been confronted by the unknown in a way that is unprecedented.
162 [15:33.398]:Activity first on Eros, now on Venus.
163 [15:36.768]:The unmistakable existence of advanced alien life whose mission and purpose we cannot fathom.
164 [15:45.210]:We must not shy away from this or pretend otherwise.
165 [15:49.715]:The one thing that we know for certain, the one thing I can offer, is this: humanity has faced the unprecedented before.
166 [15:58.724]:We have discovered the unimagined wonders and terrors before.
167 [16:04.429]:And through our courage, vision, and faith... both through our purpose and in one another... we have seen our way through even the darkest nights.
168 [16:13.005]:And I am here to tell you from my heart that we will do so again.
170 [16:24.082]:The first step, that most necessary and fundamental beginning, is for humanity as a whole to recognize that we are one people.
171 [16:34.359]:Arguments over faction and party must be set aside so that we can turn our attention to this most pressing mystery.
172 [16:42.167]:And that, I must tell you with the greatest sorrow, is the truth that Mars has turned away from.
173 [16:50.509]:Given a chance to transcend our history, Mars has instead insisted on what it calls independence, which is actually no more than a justification for war and violence.
174 [17:02.354]:It looks upon this terrible and miraculous moment, and they see it as an opportunity to revisit ancient grievances, to get one over on Earth, to score points.
175 [17:13.565]:They have lost sight of our shared humanity, and so they must be reminded.
176 [17:20.305]:It is our duty, not as the government of Earth but as the moral leaders of our species, to unify our factions,
177 [17:29.047]:to definitively end the divisions between our planets, to be what we have always been: one race, one human race, under one unified flag,
178 [17:42.894]:and, together, move forward into this brave new chapter of history.
222 [20:48.978]:It's not right. We lost our command deck right away. It was cut clean off. The whole ship was flashing lights and alarms. Then in one second, all the air was gone.
223 [20:59.221]:We were below. I didn't know what to do. I forgot every last bit of my training.
224 [21:04.159]:The lieutenant grabbed us one by one, shoved us into the compartment, and sealed it up.
225 [21:09.465]:We got punchy with the air so thin. I didn't know the LT was...
272 [24:01.403]:Tell your captain we need to get to a Martian ship as soon as possible.
273 [24:04.969]:Mm. Yeah, well, that fight that you all lost out here, that's going on all over the system right now. Your best bet, ride it out with us, go home after.
274 [24:14.083]:If Mars loses this war, there might not be a home left to return to.
275 [24:17.252]:Three more soldiers not gonna change that.
295 [25:30.345]:You can't stop anything with a broadcast except us breathing.
296 [25:33.782]:Wideband broadcast would light us up on everyone's threat board. We're too close to the war zone to risk it.
297 [25:39.888]:I just saw the UN Secretary-General address the General Assembly. The man's always been a fucking bobblehead, but tonight I saw something else.
298 [25:49.097]:I saw Deputy Errinwright speaking through his mouth. And that man is not a fool. With him running this war, it won't end until Earth, Mars, or both are smoking rubble.
299 [26:01.310]:And you can fix that with a message?
301 [26:06.048]:This is Anna Volovodov. Back in their protestor days, she was his conscience.
302 [26:11.753]:She wrote the speech that created his political career. They share a lot of history. And she's no stooge of Errinwright.
303 [26:19.561]:We said no! We're not sending any messages out.
304 [26:22.898]:Why this Anna? Why not the SG himself?
305 [26:25.634]:They'll be monitoring all UN communications. But Anna is an outsider with direct access to Sorrento-Gillis. And Errinwright doesn't own her.
306 [26:35.677]:Let me send her this message. If she brings it to the Secretary-General, it'll show him who his deputy really is.
307 [26:43.491]:The distance from Amazonia to Montana is less than what we have traveled since this conversation started.
308 [26:51.165]:The longer this goes, the more bombs will fall.
Bobbie [30:50.874]:Okay, I'm gonna give you a pass because you're young and stupid, but keep pointing that thing at me, and I'm gonna take it away from you.
Anna [32:30.754]:I can't believe I fell for this again! I am such an idiot. You snapped your fingers, and I am right back to following you around, mopping up the blood.
411 [32:38.662]:What the world needs right now is precisely...
Anna [32:40.064]:You don't get to speak to me! Not ever again.
Anna [32:42.833]:And you didn't need to be his hand puppet. You could've been better than this. You should have been more than this.
Anna [32:50.007]:I used to believe that there was a decent man somewhere inside you buried under all that ambition. I'm sorry I was so wrong.
· [32:58.082]:♪
· [33:12.429]:[COMPUTER BEEPING]
417 [33:13.764]:That's as much water as we can spare. Is it enough?
418 [33:18.269]:Yeah. That plus the CO tanks we gave them should be enough to get them back to their fleet.
419 [33:26.343]:It's nice to be working on something that's easy to repair.
420 [33:31.315]:Yeah. Some things don't get fixed.
Sinopoli [34:04.648]:The UN Deputy Undersecretary.
Avasarala [34:06.483]:This is going to be very tedious if you remain this dim.
Sinopoli [34:10.754]:I don't understand. What the hell kind of a ship is this?
Avasarala [34:13.657]:Right, the tedious version, then.
Avasarala [34:18.329]:This war is a lie started by people in my own government, though Mars is not without some blame.
Sinopoli [34:25.569]:Why... why are you telling me this?
Avasarala [34:27.004]:The only way it can be stopped is out here, away from the politicians.
Avasarala [34:32.943]:Yes, I am aware of the irony.
Bobbie [34:34.945]:This is why I left. I needed to find the real enemy before I could fight them. It's the only way I can do my duty... my true duty... to Mars.
Sinopoli [34:44.722]:Okay. Great. What exactly is it you're asking me to do?
Avasarala [34:49.393]:When you rejoin your fleet, I have something I want you to show to your commanding officer.
Avasarala [34:54.698]:Tell him it came from me. Ask him to pass this along to Admiral Souther.
Avasarala [35:28.732]:Or Holden here can space the three of you for being such intolerable idiots.
Avasarala [35:33.837]:Honestly, I can go either way.
Holden [35:35.739]:I'd rather do the first one. So far, all you've done is wound Alex's pride, which is nothing we can't forgive if you're willing to help us.
♪ [35:43.580]:♪
Sinopoli [35:49.286]:So what is this thing that you want me to show them?
♪ [35:51.622]:♪
Errinwright [35:56.427]:[archive video replay]Time is short, and I'll be brief.
Errinwright [38:04.674]:[archive video replay]Time is short, and I'll be brief. Martian Defense Minister Korshunov suffered a fatal heart attack earlier this evening.
Errinwright [38:12.048]:[archive video replay]Simultaneously, the MCRN "Karakum," dispatched by Korshunov to take delivery of your protomolecule technology, was destroyed over Ganymede.
Errinwright [38:22.158]:[archive video replay]And I gave the order. And I can give the same order to end your life.
Alex [39:04.233]:Hey, best be careful saying that on this ship, Marine, 'cause Naomi may be small, but she's tough.
Bobbie [39:11.007]:I know those Martians were idiots, but I hope we didn't just kill those three kids.
Alex [39:14.277]:Oh, no, Naomi knows her shit. She says that boat's safe, it's safe. And we didn't lie to them. We just cut them loose 'cause we thought they could save some lives. No other reason.
499 [39:22.676]:I just hope they can do their part.
In this episode for the Syfy first primetime broadcast, they didn't use the modified type for opening credit. The main cast is displayed so as to not have sections of the letters disappear. The version of the credits that appeared in the streaming edition in contrast does contain the familiar credits in modified DIN Pro font and disappearing pieces of letters.
Credits happened to additionally be incorporated into an opening sequence featuring a Belter crew led by the Drummer character recovering the Nauvoo.
When viewing the chapter/scene titles through the Amazon Prime X-Ray feature as of 2021-Feb, two in this episode lack formal names and are simply labelled including a sequential number. Since the studio logo and the opening credits are included in the order, the third chapter/scene is labelled "Scene 5" while the eleventh chapter/scene is labelled "Scene 13", an offset of two.
The sixth chapter/scene in labelled with a lowercase "m", "The martians identify their rescuers"; however, the seventh chapter/scene immediately following correctly capitalized the "M", "The Martians get jumpy."
Who are the two men on horseback in the mural Drummer was staring at pensively for some period of time? Was it Joseph Smith (Given the rocky western landscape, this is unlikely due to his death in Carthage, IL before the Mormon's journey to Utah) and (/or) Brigham Young, the founding leaders of the Mormon faith? (Since it is a LDSS, Latter Day Saints Ship , it would not be too far of a stretch).
What do the three stars on top of the United Nations emblem seen on the podium where Secretary-General Sorrento-Gillis addressed the General Assembly? Does it represent planets or star systems? Or does it represent the values of the institution.