WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Expanse Season 5, Episode 8, "Hard Vacuum," available now on Amazon Prime Video.
The last time we saw Naomi, she had jumped out of the airlock of the Pella and managed to drag herself into the Chetzemoka after injecting herself with hyper-oxygenated blood. Now Naomi finds herself aboard a Chetzemoka that Marco rigged to blow with the intent of luring the Rocinante to it and then having it explode when the Roci docks. Naomi wastes no time working to change the looping outgoing message that's meant for the Roci, altering it slightly to warn Alex and Holden to stay away from the Chetzemoka.
The outgoing automated message was created by Marco as part of his plan to destroy the Rocinante. It claims to be Naomi in need of assistance. Naomi must reach Holden to let him know the message is fake but the Chetzemoka has been stripped of any components the Free Navy needed. Only the parts necessary for the trap remain on the ship, leaving Naomi with very little to work with and apparently no means of changing the outgoing message, which persistently loops: "This is Naomi Nagata of the Rocinante. If you get this message, please re-transmit. Tell James Holden I am in distress. Comm link's not responding. I've no nav-control. Please re-transmit."
Naomi discovers she is unable to stop the message or add her own, so she gets creative. The able engineer realizes the control for the outgoing message lies somewhere along the inner hull of the Chetzemoka, which currently has very limited atmospheric pressure. She dons a suit and helmet without an O2 tank and, using only the air she can take with her, times her probing journey through the outer hull with the message loop to try to change her circumstances. There's an added difficulty as the suit she's using has no functioning radio, which means she must press her helmet against the hull to absorb the sound from the ship itself.
Naomi is an experienced Belter and has, therefore, worked in these environments before, but the lack of equipment and air makes this job a life-threatening affair. Each attempt leaves her with less and less breathable air in the Chetzemoka, but she knows that without her efforts, Holden will likely fall for the trap and be killed along with her. The added element of Alex, who has picked up the message on the Razorback, only amplifies her need to warn her chosen family.
Thankfully, after many torturous attempts, Naomi finally locates the message loop's circuitry. She's aware that the message has already done its work and so simply turning it off would do little to ward off any incoming ships. Instead, she makes a slight change to the loop, omitting certain parts of the message so it only broadcasts: "This is Naomi Nagata... Tell James Holden I am in... Control."
Our only indication that Naomi's play worked is that Drummer's ship has received the message, but we do not know yet if this new message will be re-transmitted to Holden or Alex. Karal, Marco's loyal follower, is utterly perplexed at the new message, stating that nobody could have changed it as there's no one on the Chetzemoka. She, like the rest of the Free Navy, believe Naomi died in space. Whether the message is re-transmitted or not, it's likely Holden and Alex will attempt to rescue Naomi regardless -- however, this new message just might change how they approach their rescue attempt.
An adaptation of the novel series of the same name by James S.A. Corey, The Expanse stars Steven Strait, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Frankie Adams. New episodes of Season 5 premiere Wednesdays on Amazon Prime Video.