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Morning at the shop Paul tries to talk to Batsheba about her problems, but she is reticent. Eric confesses to have not paid his debt on Da Box to Jimmy his ebay pal, and admits to fritting away the advance Paul gave him on frivolities like rent. Now that Paul is selling the machines for cost, he wants to trade back his box to Jimmy and buy a cheaper one from Paul. Paul threatens not to sell him the machine unless he returns part of the advance and Eric reluctantly relents.
Birkenstock calls Paul for help. He says he is being harassed by some human agency. Rushing to his rescue, Paul finds that IRS officials are paying Birkenstock a visit because he hasn't paid his taxes, claiming that his already paid the human authority. Paul explains to him the finer points of taxation, and tells him to call when the representatives of the authority he already paid to show up to collect again. Birkenstock says it should be around Monday.
Back at the store, Jimmy shows up, and Eric rushes home to fetch him his machine. Both Eric and Jimmy are clearly addicted to using their machines - Jimmy is seriously cold turkeying after selling his machine to Eric. Over the phone, Hank explains to Paul that this is an expected side effect - Terrans enjoy being psychically siphoned.
The Synthoid calls up Paul and invites him to check out a UFO that crash-landed in the Mediterranean not far from Blue Island. Showing up, P&R find a big rock in an unnatural crater, and are joined by the Synthoid and some Embassy representatives. Ringo uses his hammer to ascertain that the rock is in fact a hollow shell around some form of space vessel, and Paul detects agitated life inside - a new entry in the list. Ringo cracks the rocky shell with his hammer, and the agitated alien emerges - a humanoid female, armed and expecting trouble. She asks to be taken to our leader, and disbelieves Paul's claims that he is it. After some tense moments in which she waves a weapon around and takes one of the Embassy guys hostage, Paul disarms her and convinces her to cooperate peacefully and surrender herself to Embassy custody. They learn that the alien, named Svenga, comes from an interstellar empire in a galaxy far, far away - one which has had no contact so far with any other alien species. She claims that her vessel is an escape pod that homed in on the first beacon it found, and that she used it after being attacked by space pirates.
storylines:
- Batsheba's guy problems - eventually leading to a tussle with Jeremy Washington the suggester and the The Maccabi
- Sven Birkenstock's problem with the earth pesky agency (the IRS).
- Eric's Box old owner, Jimmy, came by to take his machine back.
- Svenga, the mistrusting female alien from a galaxy far far away.
