Bortus requests a leave of absence in order to hatch his egg with his partner, Klyden. Mercer grants it and makes several bad egg jokes.

The Orville receives a distress call from a ship claiming to be attacked by the Krill. The U.S.S. Bolario turns out to be carrying Mercer's parents who greet both Kelly and Gordon and discuss colon inflammation. Mercer and Grayson head over to the other ship and leave security chief Kitan in charge.

Grayson and Mercer discuss Mercer's parents and their divorce in the shuttle to the Bolario. Grayson replicates a marijuana brownie in preparation for seeing her former in-laws.

When they board the Bolario, they are transported to an unknown destination and the Orville bridge crew jumps into emergency mode. Isaac reports that the Bolario was a hologram. LaMarr can't find anything on long-range scans.

Kitan goes to Bortus for help and interrupts his egg-brooding. He refuses to leave his egg and directs Kitan to rescue Mercer and Grayson.

Kitan replicates a shot of tequila to steady her nerves and promptly vomits.

Gordon offers to retrieve the shuttle by remote and Kitan orders him to make it so. Dr. Finn joins the bridge to offer support and help. Kitan orders the crew to bring the holographic buoy into the shuttle bay to examine it. The buoy explodes and causes severe ship damage and injures several crew members.

Kitan confides in Dr. Finn that she doesn't feel able to command The Orville and asks her to relieve her of command. Dr. Finn refuses but gives her some advice about trusting her crew.

Mercer and Grayson wake up in their old apartment in New York City. They are unable to get out the door. 

Back on The Orville, Isaac realizes that Mercer and Grayson were transported and Kitan diverts emergency power to scan for the transporter signal.

Mercer and Grayson make themselves at home, feasting on replicator food and dressing in their old pajamas. They discuss the possibility of rescue and reminisce about when they were married.

Isaac finds them and Kitan contacts the Admiral at headquarters who deny her permission to launch a rescue to the Calivon star system. Mercer and Grayson will be declared lost in the line of duty.

Mercer wakes up to a child shouting "wake up" and discovers that he and Grayson are in a zoo.

Kitan gives the order to return to Earth and Malloy protests, causing Kitan to relieve him of duty and kick him off the bridge. LaMarr sets the course home but the entire crew hates Kitan for her choice to follow the Admiral's orders and she goes to the doctor for advice.

She approaches Malloy and LaMarr and Malloy points out that Mercer would've risked his career if Kitan were in their situation. She makes an announcement to the entire crew that she's changed her mind and they're going after Mercer and Grayson.

Once in Calivon space, Isaac will represent The Orville and disguise the ship as a Calivon ship.

Kitan and Isaac leave to rescue Mercer and Grayson and Kitan leaves Dr. Finn in command.

Mercer and Grayson start having domestic squabbles about their petty differences. Kitan and Isaac find them and meet with the zoo-keeper to convince them to release Mercer and Grayson. Unfortunately, the zoo-keeper tries to euthanize them instead of releasing them. Green lasers start sweeping the apartment.

Kitan strikes a trade with the zoo-keeper and saves Mercer and Grayson. She is awarded the Sapphire Star by Mercer for her rescue. When asked what she traded the Calivons, she credits Malloy with suggesting the Calivons would appreciate Earth's entire archive of reality television.

Bortus' egg hatches and his offspring is female. As his species is single-gendered, this is a problem.