In the Situation Room, the main cast is gathered around the tabletop viewer, which is displaying the cave network; they discuss strategy. Trip brings them all up to speed: "Twelve-point-six kilometers worth of tunnels. Looks like they even dug a few wells. The geology's a little shaky -- some of these passageways have collapsed." T'Pol suggests they were driven underground by the radiation, which prompts Quantum to ask if they know what caused the radiation. That gets a negative from Trip. Hoshi asks what they would have eaten if they lived underground. "Many species feed on underground fauna and flora, tubers, fungi, insects," Phlox offers. "They also hunt some kind of burrowing animal," Quantum tells them, then asks, "Where's Malcolm?" Trip points out a flashing light on the viewer, and Mayweather asks if they can transport him out. "He's too deep," Trip tells him. Thank God, no miraculous transporter rescue this episode. T'Pol points out that there's a collapsed section of the tunnels they could gain access to, blast away the collapsed bits, and rescue Reed, who would then be only a few meters away. Hoshi points out a few more flashing dots and says, "What about these two? We have to assume they're armed." Trip says they could use stun grenades on them. "Stun grenades"? I'd hate to get hit with some of that "stun shrapnel." Quantum refuses to do this because he doesn't want any more casualties. "Despite how they look they're still human. We have to find some way to talk to them!" Quantum's getting frustrated. I think he's going to lose it in this episode. What a leader. Mayweather points out that the Mud Morlocks didn't seem too eager to talk in the caves. "If I can't make First Contact with other humans --" Quantum starts to shout, then stops himself and says, "I don't have any business being out here." Oh, wah. Quantum tells Phlox to get his medical supplies and meet him in the shuttle bay. "Captain?" T'Pol says. "Try to find out what irradiated the surface," Quantum tells her, and turns to Trip: "You and Hoshi get to work on that data buffer. I want to know if they tried to send any messages to Earth."

On Terra Nova, Phlox asks Quantum if he thinks the Mud Morlocks know they're there. "Hard not to hear a shuttle pod landing on your roof," Quantum responds. They walk a few more paces, until Quantum stops Phlox with his hand and listens to the answer that's blowing in the wind. "I'm unarmed," he calls out, "I just want to talk." Phlox looks curiously at Quantum's arms raised in surrender-mode and copies him, awkwardly. Quantum continues talking to the wind, saying, "I'm concerned about my officer. I'd like to see him." A few Mud Morlocks with weapons come out of the bushes and apprehend the Captain and the Doctor.