Splashdown

While Sally struggles to survive Earth's attack on Baltan and save as many people as she can, she is confronted with a stranger with a familiar face and an impossible tale.

Sally's efforts to prevent the attack on Baltan prove less than successful. Instead of avoiding the bloodshed, she must now witness it. And she has a front row seat! Meanwhile, several hundred years ago in another world, a different battle occurs, resulting in no deaths at all.

Still stuck at the train station, Sally now tries to enlist the help of the very people who sent her on her mission. But they are not as she remembered, and they have different lives now. In the midst of this an old mystery is revisited concerning the loss of an ancient ship at sea.

Sally arrives on Baltan six years before she was captured, but she arrives the very day of the infamous attack. With no time to lose, she makes her way towards the central tower. But everyone from the train conductor to her former secretary on Earth do not believe a word she says.

Sally is led through the city to a place she didn't know existed for the purpose of carrying out her sentance. But will the strange attempt at time travel work or prove fatal?

Sally's trial opens and more details of Earth's supposed atrocities are revealed and no obvious attention is given to her defense. But the sentance the court imposes on her is anything but conventional and it may not even be possible.

Sally's deposition in preparation for her trial is made more difficult by the impending mystery of Mercy Collins' strange involvement with the Ultrablitz. The unfolding story proves that their problems are bigger than they would appear.

Details emerge concerning what the Ultrablitz first saw when it's journey was concluded, but more questions emerge with each revelation. Meanwhile, Sally waits for her trial to begin and gets an unexpected visit from Ian. He now knows why the multicraft's systems did not fail when the other systems did. His new plan is a long shot and could be deadly even if it works.

As Sally prepares for her trial, she and Jackie compare notes on what the mysterious alien found onboard the ship might have looked like. We also learn more of Travis's original mission and what happened when they engaged their mysterious funnel initiator.

Sally and Ian continue to explore the Ultrablitz's past in an attempt to understand the notorious Funnel Initiator. But in the middle of a critical discovery, Sally is taken back into custody to await trial on Baltan. And, while Diego is describing alien technology, Rachel Poole makes another appearance, giving Ian a critical clue.