Bernard regains consciousness after the bombing and gunfight in IT, disoriented by smoke, ringing ears, and a bloody nose. Peter Billings tells Bernard that three of their men are dead and others are wounded, while Sims led a group into the stairwell and suffered even worse losses. Lukas stands guard nearby, and Bernard immediately recognizes that he underestimated the attackers by failing to anticipate guns and bombs.

Because Bernard knows the battle's consequences will spread beyond the immediate fight, he tells Lukas to help him reach the hidden server so the attack can be reported. Bernard also warns Lukas that he may need to stay below for safety, since Bernard cannot risk both of them being exposed to danger. Lukas unlocks the secure room and follows Bernard inside, showing that Bernard increasingly trusts him with secret responsibilities.

At the back server, Bernard is still shaken when Lukas notices an alarm and a ringing line. Bernard assumes the emergency may already be known, but when he puts on the headset and plugs into the communication panel, he realizes he is not placing a call to Silo 1. Instead, the incoming signal is coming from Silo 17, which Bernard believes to be dead.

Bernard answers and hears a voice he at first denies recognizing, even as he understands it is Juliette. The shock nearly makes him collapse, because Bernard had sent Juliette outside to die and never expected her to survive, much less reach a hidden communications system. Juliette cuts off Bernard's attempts to defend himself and delivers a direct threat: she is alive, she is coming back to Silo 18, and she intends to clean, turning Bernard's certainty and control into immediate fear.