Web of Life

With the rope man as Ian's new friend, he somehow cures Captain Yoshiro of his madness. But is Ian himself compromised as he now has a direct mental connection with the aliens that he seems to be enjoying richly? And, as Swipe begins to plot another attack on the Roanoke, Jackie gets a shocking new insight.

Rachel is placed in charge of the treatment of Sally and Ian, who are locked in quarantine along with a frantic Captain Burns and Private Hicks. But, while arguing about the quarantine procedures with the soldiers, Ian wakes up enough to instruct them to lower the gravity control. The Rope Man appears! Now all have to face the unknown life form and hope they do better than the Japanese. And, apparently, Ian has a unique way to help.

While preparing to neutralize the attacking mining drones, Rachel takes Jackie inter her confidence. Together they discover a critical detail concerning the nature of their enemy, Swipe, and realize that Col. Maxwell's current strategy would be suicidal. Then, joining the war room, Rachel and Jackie have front row seats in the first battle between them and Swipe. And, all the while, Sally's shuttle is in the line of fire.

Upon Returning to the Roanoke, Rachel is detained and interrogated along with Yoshiro, by a determined Maxwell, who has come to believe that much of what has happened is still an elaborate deception by the AEA. But the mysterious video that Felx discovered gives Rachel other ideas. Seeing the form that the aliens can take gives her insight into their nature and she begins to form a picture. But the beings Rachel describes seem very different than the beast that threatened the crew. This now appears to be something else. But the beings are curious about both it and them and they are pumping Sally for answers in ways that strain her very sanity.

The battle begins now, fought in the alien sky. The enemy, now known as Swipe isn't playing by the rules, however. Caught unaware, Felx goes through great lengths to retrieve the key to the F.O.G Light, but in doing so, Jackie turns out to be more helpful as a consultant than either Felx or Maxwell could realize. In the mean time, Sally and Ian have vanished, and where Sally is turns out to be a complex question.

While Sally and Ian begin their trip to the edge of the bowl, Burns plans to make aviation history by being the first pilot of an airplane designed to fly with no gravity. And, while Sally is off the ship, Jackie is surprised to begin a new friendship. But then, while Burns's mission yields interesting results, disaster strikes and the war begins.

While making up her mind about whether or not to join Ian on his exploratory flight, Sally confronts Benson concerning his true motives in starting the brawl in the mess hall and discovers some difficult truths about Maxwell. She also has a final showdown with Rachel and learns the terrible secret she's been hiding and how it relates to the Japanese ship.

Sally finds herself at odds with Private Nelson and her prayer meeting, which has taken on dark fanatical characteristics. What is worse, Jackie's strange behavior finally takes on a dangerous extreme and a brawl breaks out among the military crew. But, even as Sally fears chaos and mutiny to be imminent, Ian has an interesting proposal that she must consider.

As Ian prepares to implement his plan to navigate the strange environment, Sally has her work cut out for her in finding who her friends are. Back on the Kyoto, Rachel Poole continues her mysterious work, but also apparently discovers that the deaths on the Kyoto appear to be completely accidental. But is her loyalty in question and does she have ulterior motives? Following the crew's return to the Roanoke, Captain Yoshiro is interrogated, and he tells a chilling tale.

As the crew of the Roanoke shifts into a common habitat ring, optimism begins to return. Ian plans an unorthodox mission to map the environment and Sally tends to her new patient, who is now identified as a war criminal. But, back on the Roanoke Rachel's secrets build as she finds it increasingly difficult to hide from the others what she is doing on the haunted ship. And, while Sally discusses their situation with Pruit, she makes an extremely unwelcome discovery in her medical kit.