After the warp, the humpback makes its way towards the Avian home world of Avios. The crew prepare for an emergency landing as the ship enters the planets atmosphere. The humpback slams into the ground, breaking the dirt beneath it and leaving a massive trail. As the ship grinds to a halt, the crew tries to find their bearings to assess the damage. When the crew exits the ship, they witness the extent of the damage. From destroyed barnacle cannons to destroyed thrusters, the humpback won't be continuing its journey for a long time.

Elsewhere, the MEG arrives at Avios. Under the orders of General Voran, a team of six federation starfighters are sent to the planet to in order to get the ancient technology. The starfighters enter the planets atmosphere and find the crashed humpback. The crew of the humpback are alerted to the presence of the starfighters. The starfighters land so the pilots could infiltrate the ship. As they are about to enter, two of the pilots are gunned down by Jack.

The pilots open fire on Jack but Jack dodges each shot. Jack grabs the gun of one pilot and points it at the other pilot. The pilot gets its head blown clean off as Jack breaks the leg of the other before snapping its neck. One pilot ditches the gun and tries to stab Jack with an energy knife. Jack turns and grabs the pilots arm and snaps it like a twig. Jack then takes the knife and stabs the pilot right in its throat. With five of the pilots down, that just leaves the commander.

Just then, Jack is punched by the scorpius commander. The arachnoid proceeds to punch Jack with its chitinous fists. Jack tries to fight back but is exhausted from the other pilots. left with no choice, Jack is forced to avoid both the commanders fists, claws, and stinger. Jack tries to find an opening to no avail. Back in the ship, the medics tend to the injured while the crew watch Jack fight the commander. Before Jack could respond, he feels a stinging pain from his abdomen. He looks and sees a stinger deep in his guts. Jack collapses as the stinger exits his body. The commander pulls out its gun and points it at Jacks head.

"Nothing personal kid. I'm just following orders. That tech is federation property now." Says the commander ready to pull the trigger.

Before the commander could pull the trigger, a loud bang could be heard from behind the commander. The commander drops to the ground with a hole between the eyes. Jack looks and sees Xel holding his gun as smoke exits the barrel. Xel rushes over to Jack and tries to help him up. Xel proceeds to drag the injured Jack back to the humpback.

"I'm surprised you chose to save me back there. You could've left me there and yet you didn't." Says Jack, surprised by Xels aid.

"If I left you there, Sierra would hunt me down for the rest of my life. Plus the crew could do with more people like you. People with heart." Says Xel.

"I see. How bad was the damage Xel? How many were hurt?" Jack asks worriedly.

"So far we have forty injured and ten casualties. Us medics are doing all we can but things are really bad right now." Says Xel.

Before Jack could respond, the venom takes its tole on him and he collapses to the ground. Jack blacks out from the venom in his body. Xel, realizing the toxin in Jacks body, urgently rushes him to the emergency room. In his unconscious state, Xel needs to get antivenom into Jacks body soon before the venom could do any more damage.