The newly headless Mikibot is helped back into the safety of the rill the team has taken shelter in.  Defender Zik congratulates the deadly accuracy of Trent’s sharpshooting as he regroups with his team. It’s time to form a proper plan of attack!

The plan Zik comes up with takes advantage of the new blind spot left by the absence of the sniper Trent eliminated.  Tanaka and Sten are sent back out of the crater, to circle around behind one of the other two shooters.  Zik and Dakaasin will fly as fast as they can to the base of the peak while Trent covers them with suppressing fire. Once at the top, Zik will distract the Jairians while Dak frees the hostages.

An embarrassed Mikigaazo apologizes for jumping in before everyone is ready. After millennia on his own, this crystalline alien isn’t used to working as part of a team! Defender Zik assures him that his action was brave, but hasty. They need to coordinate to fight this enemy! Miki promises to help Mizhakwan to stabilize Gordon’s condition.

Zik, Dak and Trent ready themselves for the dash to the peak! Three.. Two… One…

Taking charge, Defender Zik decides the strange gravity shift and animal noises need to be investigated.  He puts Ryan in charge of the landing zone, and gets the young Matthew to be his official helper. Ryan is to call for help for the stranded family, and hang tight until it arrives.

Then, Zik and Tanaka head into the jungle in the direction of the sounds they heard. Zik asks if Tanaka has any theories about what just happened, but neither of them understand what they experienced.  Gravity shifts that strong shouldn’t happen, especially deep within the gravity well of a planet!

To lighten the mood, Zik brings up the great prank that Tanaka pulled on Ryan earlier. Tanaka chuckles, remarking that it’s good to remind cargo haulers what real flying looks like from time to time! Zik mentions that it’s good to see Tanaka smiling again, but Tanaka admits to his good friend that being happy when you’ve lost your whole clan feels sort of impossible.