Crossing the Line

You're all in violation of your Helios contract!

Every penny lost will be docked from your pay.

- It is right here in black and white. - That is such bullshit, Palmer.

Helios is a nonunion shop.

Any strike is grounds for immediate termination.

Then fire us. See how easy it is to do literally anything up here without us.

Fair is fair.

These guys put their asses on the line every single day.

- That's rich coming from you, Ed. - They deserve--

I can still hear you whining about how most of these people aren't even qualified

to be up here in the first place.

But now you're all what? Down with the common man?

Don't try to make this about me, Dani.

You know as well as I do that Helios, NASA, Roscosmos

and all the other M-7 countries,

they don't give two shits about these workers.

Commander Poole, we are the ones who transformed this base

from a couple of habs into a viable mining colony.

And all we are asking is for you to honor the deal.

If we let that rock go to Earth's orbit, most of our jobs are gone within a year.

What if Helios offered you some kind of guaranteed retraining?

Right? More education, an opportunity for you--

Forgive us. Forgive us.

We've heard that one before. It's never anything but bullshit.

Listen, if you want your cryo center to start making the fuel

you need to launch for Goldilocks,

if you want your cargo to get unloaded from Phoenix ,

if you want your habitation units to be constructed or your food prepared, we--

I have gone out of my way to address your concerns.

Yes, there is some uncertainty about the future.

Yes, this asteroid is forcing us to do things quick, fast and in a hurry.

But we have got to restart that cryo center ASAP.

We need to pump 125 tons of liquid argon

to get Ranger out to Goldilocks and push her onto the right path.

And so far, we've only got 44 tons.

We are running out of time.

And every day you keep dragging your feet

is another day closer to letting Goldilocks get away for good.

And then we all lose.

Is that what you want?

No, what we want is--

We want for you to get off your goddamn throne

and give us what's fair.

Just how far are you willing to take this, Ed?

The question is how much are you willing to lose?

These strikers are as driven as any I've seen.

And I've seen my share.

We cannot allow the progress we made in Leningrad to go to waste

because of this-- this tantrum.

You're preaching to the choir, Irina.

I got the president asking every hour if this damn thing's been resolved yet.

Korzhenko is the same. We must bring this to resolution.

Well, they're not budging, especially on their biggest demand.

This insane idea that they want Goldilocks to wind up in Mars orbit,

which is non-negotiable for us.

And for us.

There's only one way I see forward.

We go around them.

Order our cosmonauts, your astronauts to restart the fuel generators immediately.

Well, they're not exactly trained on that equipment.

They're engineers. This is the only way.

If Helios will not help us,

we'll have to help ourselves.

You said they'd cave in a couple of sols.

- And it's been a week. - Shut up, you pussy.

You thought this would be easy? Gotta hold our ground, man.

He's right. Our power is in sticking together.

They start peeling us off, this whole thing crumbles.

Look, I came up here to earn.

And all I know is right now, I'm not earning nothing.

Yeah, well, neither are they. And they're starting to panic.

- We have to hold the course here. - Right. You gotta be strong.

But you heard what Palmer said. They're gonna shitcan all of us.

They can't. There's no time.

Listen up. I just heard they're gonna try to start the fuel gennies themselves.

Yeah, they're trying to fuck us. Are we gonna let that happen?

- Hell no! - No! No!

Where are all the suits?

Guys, look at this.

So you're telling me there are no other accessible suits

on this entire base?

Yes, ma'am. And they used the rovers to block the air locks at the fuel plant.

It's a clever move. You gotta give it to 'em.

We gotta get creative. Right?

How are we gonna solve this?

We have to get back over to that cryo center

or we're not gonna have enough fuel when it comes time to get Goldilocks.

It's just too far a distance for any sort of improvised pressure suit.

And it's gonna take too long to make a new one from scratch.

Just stop.

Here we are on the cusp of grabbing something

that could change everything for a lot of people,

and we just can't get out of our own goddamn way.

All right. Well, what if we went under instead of over?

Smells nice.

That'd be the gray water from the composting tanks.

Well, it's a little tight, but I think it can work.

You sure they don't know about this?

It wouldn't even occur to them

that we'd drain the water feed pipe to the cryo center

and then belly crawl people over there.

But it's gonna take at least 12 hours to fully drain it.

Well, then we better get started.

ROSCOSMOS

Good morning, Miss Madison.

Good morning, Pasha.

We are working with the Americans

to resolve the issues with the transgressing workers.

I would not trust the Americans.

Helios pretends to be an international company

but it is based in Houston, right next to NASA.

They serve the interests of Gore and his lackeys.

What is so funny?

I have met Dev Ayesa and I promise you

he cares more about his own interests than America's.

Margo is right. Our intelligence conveys the same.

Now, while the strike is brought to a close,

all efforts must continue to ensure the safe capture of this asteroid

and its return to Earth's orbit

under Margo Madison's direction.

Thank you, Director Morozova.

We have updated 2003LC's projected trajectory,

and Tatyana has now calculated the optimal intercept for Ranger .

She's done some brilliant work.

Very good.

That will be all.

The meeting is adjourned. Everyone is dismissed.

Margo Madison... stay behind, please.

The strike will end one way or another.

And we have reached the point where interfacing directly and in person

with the American capture team is necessary.

A representative of Roscosmos must go to Houston to finalize the negotiations.

I agree. And I'll do everything I can to help prepare them for the trip. So--

President Korzhenko has requested for you to do this.

I'm sorry?

We have negotiated diplomatic immunity for you for entire time you're there.

They cannot touch you. They cannot arrest you.

I don't-- No, no.

I can't go back. That was not part of our agreement.

The agreement has changed.

It is imperative to the president that we send our most capable representative.

Oh, come on.

The only reason Korzhenko wants me to go back

is so he can stick a finger in Gore's eye.

Perhaps.

But still it would be wise to accept the request.

Now, we're gonna do a deep dive on this. This stuff with...

Do I need to say 2003LC?

Let's just go with Goldilocks.

Very interested to hear your POV,

and honestly, just what you were thinking when you saw her.

- Saw who? - Moscow Margo.

Back from commercial in ten, nine, eight...

I'm not here to talk about Margo Madison.

- ...six, five... - You'll be great.

...four, three...

Good evening. Welcome to America Now . I'm Zoey Chase.

Later tonight, a car bomb explodes at the Kingdom Center tower in Riyadh

as the civil war in Saudi Arabia continues to rage.

But first, joining me now in an exclusive interview is Aleida Rosales

from Helios Aerospace who worked side by side with Margo Madison,

the woman majority leader Feinstein has called

the worst traitor in American history.

Aleida, welcome.

Thank you, Zoey.

I look forward to discussing the asteroid 2003LC and--

We'll get to that. First, tell me about Margo Madison.

For so long she'd been listed amongst the dead of the Johnson Space Center bombing.

Did you know that she was alive?

No, of course not.

She fucking sandbagged me. Barely even asked me about the asteroid.

Seven other people were never found.

Do you think they're hiding in Russia too?

And how are you feeling about her proposed return to Houston?

I'm sorry?

Our source at the State Department is saying

she'll be granted diplomatic immunity while here.

I thought... I thought she wouldn't be allowed back into the country.

No one did. But you came up under her at NASA.

Her defection couldn't have come out of nowhere.

I mean, I had--

Did you have a sense that she was working for the Soviets behind the scenes?

You know what I get a sense of? That you're a **** hack of a reporter.

- Okay. Give me that. - You're **** not doing this, okay--

Mom, I--

It was just starting to get good.

How you doing?

I'm fine.

The interview wasn't that bad.

In fact, my brother texted me saying how much he loved it

when you flipped her off as you were leaving.

- I did? - Yeah.

I mean, he said it was all fuzzed out, but...

This will all blow over in no time.

I don't care about the interview, Vic.

It's her. Margo.

When I first saw her...

I was so happy she was alive. You know?

I couldn't believe it.

But now that she's coming back, I just...