Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Huge patterns burned into Earth's surface bring the Bebop crew after Radical Edward, the hacker blamed for taking control of an orbital satellite. Local descriptions of Ed contradict one another, leaving Jet and Faye chasing rumours while the real hacker watches their progress. Ed contacts them directly and offers to identify the culprit in exchange for a favour. The answer is the satellite itself: its abandoned computer has been making the drawings rather than following a human operator. Ed forms a connection with it and wants the crew to recover its programme without simply destroying the lonely machine.
Getting close enough to the satellite requires more than a remote intrusion. Spike must approach without alerting its defences, while Jet supports the attempt and Ed works to copy the computer. The plan runs into armed opposition from the orbital systems, but the crew manages to bring back what the authorities requested. Their expected reward disappears when officials decide that a computer cannot qualify as a bounty target. Faye then tries to leave Earth without honouring her promise to Ed. The hacker takes control of the Bebop and brings it back instead. Ed's requested favour is a place aboard the ship, adding a child to a household that already contains the animal and difficult adults Spike keeps insisting he cannot stand.