At the opening of a new ID portal station, the chief scientist of the project Dr. Whitfield, suddenly collapses dead with a strange glow coming from his mouth. The autopsy shows that he died of massive cyanide poisoning from something exploding in his chest with no indication of where it came from. A short while later, a Taelon engineer named Sa'al disintegrates at a press conference. Liam and Sandoval manage to narrow the list of suspects to Arnold Creighton, a former university professor, who lost his job thanks to his anti-Taelon sentiments. They raid his office, where he contacts them remotely and admits to the murders, just before a bomb materializes in midair, and they are nearly killed. Augur determines that Creighton has developed teleportation, something even the Taelons have never managed, which is how he killed Whitfield and Sa'al - by teleporting explosive devices inside them. Zo'or wants Creighton taken alive in order to get his hands on the technology, while Doors believes that killing Creighton may be necessary to prevent it. Zo'or has Sandoval leak information about a secret meeting between Da'an and human political leaders in order to lure Creighton out and also maybe hoping that Creighton takes out his political rival. Creighton attacks the meeting, but Augur and Lili are able to give Liam enough warning to get everyone out safely. Liam has Augur scan the city for the energy signature, while Sandoval does the same. Liam and Da'an run into one of Creighton's drone cameras. Liam tells Creighton that he's a member of the Resistance and tries to talk him out of his murder spree. While Creighton is distracted, he tells Da'an to run to the shuttle. Sandoval and Lili raid Creighton's hideout, but he teleports himself away. Augur traces the signal, then has his virtual assistant generate a false signature that points Sandoval to the White House. Liam and Augur find the warehouse where Creighton teleported to and see the man fused with a shelf. Apparently, it was moved by the search team earlier, and Creighton didn't know the layout of the room has changed. Unwilling to let his work fall into Taelon hands, the dying Creighton sets the device to teleport into itself, giving Liam and Augur 20 seconds to run away before the action causes an antimatter explosion. They survive, but the device is completely destroyed. Augur says he'll be working on trying to figure out how it worked by the readings he took, but so will the Taelons.
- Armor-Piercing Response: After learning that the information about the secret meeting has been leaked, Liam tries to get Da'an to call it off. Da'an refuses.Liam: I don't think you understand. Zo'or is setting you up as bait for Creighton.Da'an: That may be, but a human and a Taelon have been killed. Perhaps with the proper security arrangements, I should risk my own safety to help stop the man responsible.Liam: Zo'or wouldn't.Da'an: True. But I am not Zo'or.
- Barrier Warrior: Liam reflexively creates a shield with his shaqarava that protects him, Lili, and Sandoval from one of Creighton's teleporting bombs. The others are too distracted to notice the shield.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Dr. Whitfield and Sa'al are killed in a very painful manner. Whitfield has a bomb full of cyanide teleport inside him, while the bomb that kills Sa'al produces an energy blast that disintegrates him while he's screaming.
- Police Brutality: When raiding Creighton's office on the campus of a university, Sandoval and his men are blocked by students who demand to see his warrant. He announces himself as a Companion Protector and then assaults the students, which is caught on camera and makes the news, also giving Doors ammunition for his campaign. Zo'or berates Sandoval for invoking his status as a protector instead of using his FBI credentials. Da'an's meeting with the political leaders is to hammer out an agreement by which the Taelons agree to abide by the laws of the country in which they reside.
- Teleportation: Arnold Creighton invents quantum teleportation after working on the concept for three years without any funding. Zo'or explains that Taelon scientists back on their homeworld have already attempted to put these theories into practice and have failed. Augur explains that teleportation is very much unlike ID travel, since the latter has enormous power requirements and isn't nearly as versatile. Creighton's device is about the size of a power strip and is entirely portable, although precise coordinates are needed for teleportation.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Apparently, Creighton approached the Resistance 3 years ago but was rebuffed, as Doors felt that Creighton's single-minded hatred of the Taelons didn't work well with his own plans. Just before dying, Creighton finally admits he should've worked with the Resistance instead of pursuing revenge.
