In the Rocinante's machine shop, Bobbie finishes preparing her recon armor and weapons for the assault on Io. Amos tells Bobbie that Holden left believing he might not return, and Bobbie answers that knowingly entering a likely fatal fight can bring clarity. After a brief exchange that shows Amos's coarse humor and Bobbie's focus, Bobbie seals herself into her powered combat suit and warns Amos that Holden may not be the only one risking death.

Bobbie goes to the ops deck, where Avasarala, Naomi, and the crew are coordinating the landing. Avasarala explains that Martian Marines have landed to contain the base but are waiting for orders; Avasarala is secretly using that delay to give Bobbie's team time to extract the children before she has the facility destroyed. Bobbie orders Amos and Prax to meet her in the airlock while Alex brings the Rocinante down to the surface.

In the airlock, Bobbie briefs Amos and Prax on the plan. They will enter through an exterior airlock, use Prax's radio link to connect Naomi to the base network, and locate the children quickly because Io's radiation and volcanic environment are deadly. Amos proposes the backup plan of beating information out of the first person they find, which Prax grimly accepts, but Bobbie keeps the team focused and warns that the base may still contain protomolecule hybrids.

After the Rocinante lands, the team crosses Io's surface under radiation alarms. Amos and Prax enter the facility, but Bobbie's radio suddenly dies before she follows them inside. Recognizing the sign of a nearby hybrid, Bobbie sends Amos and Prax onward without her and remains outside to confront the creature alone.

Bobbie spots the hybrid, marks it with her targeting laser, and opens fire with incendiary rounds designed to damage it. The creature charges, confirming Bobbie's theories about its behavior, and Bobbie uses Io's low gravity and her suit's mobility to keep distance while continuing to wound it. When the hybrid tries to throw a rock, Bobbie dodges and nearly destroys it, but the creature unexpectedly tears off part of its own abdomen and throws it as an explosive, disabling Bobbie's suit.

Immobilized on the surface, Bobbie is examined by the injured hybrid as it vomits brown protomolecule matter onto her armor and probes for a way inside. With her suit still rebooting, Bobbie forces her arm up through brute strength, despite possible injury, and presses her gun to the creature's head. Bobbie empties the weapon into the hybrid, kills it, and then laughs in relief when her suit reroutes successfully and comes back online.