"Previously on the expanse..." "I provided a ship for an OPA recon mission out of Ceres, which disappeared." "I need this frigate to retrieve the lone survivor." "Julie." "I'm truly sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but your daughter is dead." "We can only learn by letting it learn." "You'll be landing on Phoebe station." "After Phoebe went silent, the Donnager was sent to investigate." "Every one of the bodies looked like they were incinerated" "The martians dispatched a ship to Phoebe station," "I know." "What are you doing about it?" "The wise thing to do right now is to target the MCRN fleet." "System-wide." "Phoebe research station, which sustained multiple direct hits." "The ice moon fractured under the barrage, and it's completely gone." "There's a shadow government working within the UN orchestrating a system-wide war between Earth and Mars." "What do you want?" "I need a spy." "The Nathan hale was going to reach Phoebe ahead of the Scirocco." "Mars clearly wasn't willing to let that happen." "What was on Phoebe that Mars didn't want us to find?" "We'll never know now, will we?" "Sir, we precipitated this by sending a ship to Phoebe in the first place..." "They weren't firing on the hale." "They intended to miss." "A first shot across the bow." "Thank heaven captain Yvgeny has a cool head or we'd be already glassing each other's cities." "Mars destroyed an abandoned and expendable base." "A warning for us to stop shadowing their vessels." "Phoebe station was a joint facility run by an Earth corp." "The only Intel saying it was abandoned came from Mars." "And now two-thirds of their fleet is heading for Earth." "You think that's just a training exercise?" "They're burning sunward, that doesn't mean they're" "Admiral Nguyen's point is well taken." "We must make a strong response." "Then let's speak in a language that Mars understands." "Their helium and titanium supply lines, which we help defend, are vital to their terraforming efforts." "If we threaten to shut them down..." "A trade embargo?" "No, what we need to do is order the Nathan hale to take out the Scirocco now..." "Sir, if I may." "The deep radar station on Deimos." "It's mostly automated, minimal personnel, casualties will be light." "You want us to attack a martian moon?" "That's a declaration of war." "No, it's a warning." "It's a goddamn serious one, but that's the point." "It shows that we're willing to strike at the heart of their territory." "Degrade their command and control at the same time." "I like it." "A base for a base." "I don't know how we can get much more proportional than that." "I'd need a resolution from the security council first." "We'll call for a vote immediately." "They'll back you." "Sharing the blame does not change what this is." "Fleet command will not..." "I will not support this escalation." "Are you saying you won't carry out a lawfully given order?" "If that's the case, admiral, I'm afraid" "I'm gonna have to ask..." "No need to pretend this is a request, sir." "I step down as fleet commander." "Rocinante, you are cleared for station dock at berth c4." "They ditched the gas freighter disguise." "Be interesting to hear why." "You're damn right, it will." "Shall I meet them on the dock with guns?" "We'll start with conversation." "Prepare for docking clamp capture." "God!" "God, I hate space." "You're gonna want to hear this story." "Now what story is that?" "Maybe it's the one about why the rock I sent you to exploded into a nuclear fireball?" "Or what happened to the OPA operative" "I tasked you to find?" "Or, maybe it's the story of where the hell you've been since then, without one goddamn word of communication back to me." "We were on Eros." "We barely got out alive." "And the only reason we're here now is to see if you want to do something about it." "We're wasting our time here." "Let's get out of here." "This guy's no soldier, he's too busy counting' bolts." "Who the hell is this asshole?" "I'm the asshole who found your operative." "Her name was Juliette Andromeda Mao." "In case you're interested, she died, alone, on Eros, waiting for you" "OPA chair-jockeys to come help her." "What happened on that station?" "It wasn't a biohazard emergency." "Someone was testing a weapon." "Julie uncovered a plan to unleash this thing on Eros." "She tried to stop it, she got infected." "It was something new." "A life form." "Possibly extra-solar in origin." "An alien life form?" "According to the Gymonk who discovered it on Phoebe." "Whoever unleashed it on Eros dosed everyone with radiation to spread it faster." "They set up cameras and sensors, in advance." "Eros is an experiment on Belters." "Everybody down there is dead, they're dying, they're being studied, like bugs under a microscope." "And they're beaming the data here." "It's an abandoned communications relay." "At least some of the people responsible for Eros are gonna be there." "If we want answers, we have to take that station." "It's floating dark, barely registers on radar but it's got a habitat ring, which means someone's home." "The first thing we have to get past is this." "Mmm-mmm." "That's a stealth ship." "Like the ones they used to kill the Donnager." "We have a gunship of our own." "Slugging it out with a stealth is not gonna get it done." "If you want to take that station, you need to land an assault team." "Do you have any idea of the resistance inside?" "No, we don't." "That's why we're talking to you." "You're the military genius." "Well, I don't do that kind of thing anymore." "And the OPA is not an army..." "We're going, with or without you." "And if you'd seen what's happening on Eros, you'd be right there with us." "Julie died for the belt." "She believed everything you guys say you're fighting for." "Don't waste it." "Welcome to Tycho station." "Now this is all commercial districts around here." "Restaurants, bars, brothels, all that good stuff." "Supply depot's about four sections in." "They're a friendly bunch, they'll have whatever you need." "Union offices are about two levels down from here, and the Tycho station admin, just past that." "Y'all can apply for assistance at either one of those, if you need." "Now your lodgings are gonna be right around that corner, all right?" "But I can set you up and get you transport if you want to go somewhere else, so don't be shy." "Hell, I can even get you a job, if that's what..." "I don't wanna bunk, or a job." "I wanna fight the inners who kill my home." "This locale has been rated three star." "Amos, I think we should check in on them once they get settled." "You do that." "They're rock hoppers, right?" "They don't have the skills for this place." "Be a shame if they get stuck in group housing, with some shitty job, right?" "Yeah, that'd be a real shame..." "You know the only reason they infected Eros is because it's got the poorest Belters in the system, right?" "The ones no one gives a shit about..." "Are you trying to make yourself feel bad about this?" "I'm gonna feel better when I watch those assholes burn." "Look, I'm for killing whoever needs killing." "But it's not gonna make you feel better." "The ones we saved, we only saved by accident." "We should have saved more." "We saved us." "Crew comes first." "If we'd have went back for strays, we'd end up dead, like them." "We should've at least tried." "We could've filled the Roci with people, but we didn't." "What the hell does that say about us, huh?" "You can talk all day long about, you know, looking out for yourself..." "Minding your own business, just trying to survive." "It all boils down to an excuse, and that excuse ain't worth a good goddamn when the world is burning down around you." "Doing nothing is just as bad as doing the wrong thing." "Being a bystander..." "I mean, what kind of people are we, that we only help..." "I'm sorry, darlin', I think that seat is taken." "Your kopeng say he buy me drinks if I sit here and listen to you." "Oh..." "Inventory says we have 7,200 out of 10,000 rounds." "If Alex burned 2,800 just getting out of the Donnager, we may have a problem." "Fourteen-millimeter spanner, please." "Where the hell do we get more when we run out?" "Maybe the MCRN does mail order for their stolen ships." "Fourteen-millimeter." "Sorry." "You seem annoyingly calm about all this." "No." "I'm scared shitless." "Feeling guilty as hell." "Please god, stop trying to take credit for every damn thing that's wrong in the universe." "I'm talking about all of you." "Being caught up in this..." "Alex wants to do something." "Amos doesn't do anything he doesn't want to." "And if you think I'm going along just because of you..." "You never wanted to be on the same team as Fred Johnson, or be tangled up with the OPA again." "I ran with some bad people once." "Stupid kids with OPA tatts and big ideas." "I got involved in some things, and innocent people died." "So I said never again." "But this time it's different." "After Eros?" "Are you scared?" "I'm angry." "So..." "Do you think the others have a sense about what's going on with us?" "I mean, Amos, in particular?" "We can make a public announcement, get everyone on the same page." "Or take out an ad." "No, it's just..." "I was never clear about how you two..." "You know." "Well, I asked if you were a couple once." "What did he say?" "He said he'd be okay throwing me into space without my helmet, but that you wouldn't like it." "Sounds like Amos, 16-millimeter." "It's kind of hard to explain." "He's like a brother." "We look out for each other." "You sure he's clear on that?" "Pretty sure." "You did hear the part about him throwing me off the ship without my helmet, right?" " I did." " Great." "'Cause I'm really liking us not threatening to kill each other anymore." "You threatened to kill him?" "Just the one time." "Let's try to behave." "And if we can't behave, we tread lightly." "We have bigger things to worry about anyway." "All I can tell you is that we're assaulting a station and are expecting heavy resistance." "I need 50 people with combat experience." "They'll get top hazard pay and first dibs on the new equipment contracts." "My people have those contracts for three years..." "And it time someone else get a go at the tit." "We will honor those existing contracts." "But we'll be adding 30 more positions to the Nauvoo." "The rest will come from other bids, all new work." "Yeah, go on, coyo." "Keep licking the Earther's hand, maybe he toss you a few more scrap from his table." "It's not news to me that black sky resents my position here." "But trust me, now is not the time for factions or debate." "There's OPA and there is OPA." "You?" "You're just an Earther playing Belter." "We don't need you giving us orders, and we don't need you picking our target." "Me and mine, we just hack a U.N. Drone on Earth." "Came this close to wasting that wupo Avasarala." "That is how you get the inners' attention." "And how do you suppose that's gonna play out?" "Don't know yet." "But we've got cells on Ceres, on Pallas, Hygea." "When we hit the inners 100 more time, we gonna find out." "Well, I'm sorry I wasted your time." "You not wasting my time, Earther." "You're the one who don't belong here." "Maybe it's time real Belter took what should be ours." "Like Anderson Dawes on Ceres." "Maybe now..." "Maybe now is our time." "What happened on Eros wasn't a plague." "It was a genocide on Belters, done by those who think we're weak." "Divided." "One thousand different tribes scattered across the belt, who could never unite and fight back." "Well, we're going after those who killed Eros." "Tell that to your factions." "I need 50 good fighters." "Send your best." "That son of a bitch." "Goddamn!" "Don't beat yourself up." "That's your best run yet." "It's that goddamn rail gun." "Soon as that stealth points its nose at us, we're done like dinner." "All right, listen." "Don't lose the big picture." "Our cargo freighter disguise is only gonna fool them for so long." "The breaching pods are defenseless." "You have to flush out and engage that stealth ship or the pods will never make it to the station." "Load it up again." "Hey, uh, your ship keeps getting killed." "If we start further away, they nail us with torpedoes." "Get too close, it's that rail gun." "Yeah." "It sounds to me like you're just picking which kind of dead, pal." "Well, Alex is playing alone right now." "We get a full crew, it'll be different." "Yeah, a crack team of space commandos, you guys." "Listen, I hope you understand if I ask you sit this one out." "Close quarters battle can get kinda hairy." "What the hell use would I ever be on a ship?" "Nah," "I'm going down with the assault team." "Have you seen the breaching pod?" "It's a beer can taped to a rocket." "You're not gonna like the ride." "Fred's trying to land 50 pissed off Belters and seven different OPA factions on that station." "I mean, somebody's gotta keep these idiots from shooting each other." "Oh, I ain't sitting this one out." "All right, then." "I'll go clean out my cabin." "Leave it." "It'll be waiting for you when you get back." "That son of a bitch!" "God damn it!" "I'll have..." "You're not as invisible as you think you are." "I'm not on a covert op." "I would've pegged you as a scotch drinker..." "I don't drink often." "You're entitled to celebrate." "Your transfer went through this afternoon." "Jupiter fleet." "Good command." "And Nguyen gets my old job." "Much obliged." "Deimos was the smallest move the secretary general could swallow." "Big symbol, minimal body count." "Anyone with half a brain knew we were not going to leave that room without an escalation." "I'm honored you think you gotta justify your actions to me..." "I'm simply telling you how your tantrum got you sidelined." "And how does that help your larger cause?" "Well, when your war breaks out," "I'll be out there minimizing the body count." "Enjoy your drink." "Sit." "Is that an order?" "If that'll make you sit your ass down, yes." "Please." "Get him a proper scotch, please." "Lagavulin." "Now, why don't you grow a pair and tell me what you really think." "We're just two people having a drink." "No ranks." "Here, I'll get the ball rolling." "I'm a smug old bitch, who enjoys playing with life and death on her big chessboard." "A snake in a sari..." "With dead eyes and a poison tongue and the solar system is in tatters because of people like you and Errinwright." "Despite your delusions to the contrary, you, madam undersecretary, may be the worst person I have ever met." "Feel good getting that out of your system?" "That was the plan, wasn't it?" "Yeah, it did." "Now, why don't you grow a pair and tell me why you're here." "Tell me about Fred Johnson." "When he joined the OPA and everyone lined up to stone him, you stayed quiet." "Why?" "There was plenty said about him." "I understand it's hard to watch a war hero..." "You don't understand shit about Fred Johnson." " Enlighten me." " Oh, then you want" " the real story?" " Yes, I would." "I got this from someone who was there, someone I trust." "Your predecessors in the previous administration buried it." "The Belters who seized control of Anderson station had been trying to negotiate for days." "U.N.N. Command was jamming their comms, but when the Belters finally gave up," "colonel Johnson wasn't told that they'd surrendered." "If he knew, he would have never called that strike in." "Why wasn't he told?" "Because the powers that be wanted to send a message to the belt." ""Defy us, we wipe you out." Message sent." "And Fred Johnson switched sides, why?" "As a revenge against Earth?" "The u.N. Pinned a medal on his chest for Anderson station." "He was a hero to Earth and despised everywhere else." "All based on a lie." "But you know what?" "He never said a word." "Didn't even try to clear his name." "Just walked away." "So does that make him a hero or a traitor?" "I don't know what it makes him." "But I know that he's an honorable man who held onto his soul, and that is a tough thing to do in this line of work." "Not bad." "But I prefer beer." "She's buying." "Didn't think he had that in him." "I need you to do something for me." "I'm sure I'm going to love it." "I need to send a communique, off everybody's radar." "No traces back to me." "I want to talk to Fred Johnson." "That is treason, isn't it?" "It certainly is." "Beeline pattern on Rocinante." "Holden." "You copy?" "I copy." "So far, so good." "The Rocinante is completely hidden in our radar shadow." "Your team ready?" "It's getting to be that time." "Roger, that." "All right, people, here we go." "Just stay loose and focus on your job." "We all know what we're in for." "We know what we gotta do." "Lids on and button up." "Copy that." "Oy, beltalowda!" "We put these cans together in a hurry, it'll get a little bumpy when the thrusters fire." "Bumpier than this?" "When you hit the ring, the pod will seal to the hole." "The station shouldn't vent any air." "But keep your helmets on anyway, in case." "Try not to puke in it." "Uh, question." "What's the go-signal for the, uh..." "For the assault?" "That will explode and turn into a door." "Good hunting!" "Tenye wa chesh gut!" "Stay away from da owkwa!" "Stay away from da owkwa!" "Star helix!" "What you doin' here?" "You lose a bet?" "Okay, Naomi." "Empty us out." "De-pressurizing." "Alex, the alarm." "I'm on it." " I hate this part." " You gotta do it." "They'll be poking holes in us." "Yeah, but this feels like we're agreeing to it." "All right." "Air is in the tank." "Rocinante is ready to roll." "This should be interesting." "On your mark, colonel." "I thought I was done with all this." "Sending people to their deaths." "Before or after you spaced the black sky guy?" "Everybody here is a volunteer." "That was the old trick." "Getting them to believe that it was their own idea." "Rocinante, we are a go." "Alex?" "Make us look like something that got dropped." "You got it, hoss." "Hey, Holden!" "Holden!" "Didn't the Navy teach you to stow your gear before you went into maneuvers?" "Attention, this is the freighter" "Guy Molinari to all vessels within range." "This is a legal notification that we are on approach to a loose cargo container and have filed a salvage claim." "Any interference with our property will result in civil action." "Hey!" "Hey, when did you soldier up?" "Last time I saw you, you were..." "You were stealing sewer water from the Griegas." "Wouldn't have if I knew they were paying in Earther scrip." "But you used to that, right, star helix?" "Hey, man, no need to get nasty." "No, really!" "What you doing here?" "I was on Eros." "No shit." "You see what they did there?" "Wasn't pretty." "We gonna burn 'em all down, owala." "Make 'em pay!" "Did they just cut us loose?" "Nah, we with our own air now, is all." "You look like you see your own ghost." "I just..." "Hate..." "Space..." "What kind of Belter are you, pampa?" "Don't worry, I grew up on ship like this." "My uncle Mateo had this rock hopper." "He take me along sometime." " I don't care..." " My uncle was a hero." "He died fighting the inners." "He put me out the airlock first, because he had love for me." "Now I fight like he did." "You're still talking." "If another Belter ship don't see the blast and come for me, I still be on the float." "All this just bonus time for me, sasa ke?" "Stick next to me, okay?" "I'll look out for you when we land." "Oy, pampa." "I keep an eye on you, old man." "Come on, hoss." "Give me the word." "We should be close enough by now." "Heat her up!" "Sensors are up." "Where's that stealth ship?" "It's supposed to be here." "Heads up!" "We got a bogie on the far side of the ring!" "They're going after the Molinari!" "Shit, I'm on it!" "Hang on!" "Naomi, what's our status?" "The hulls have been breached but the core reactor's okay." "O2?" "Checking." "We're breathing, it must be good." "We're okay." "Zero G, now!" "I put the station between us and them, but I don't know how long I can keep it that way." "She's real sluggish to port!" "Aw crap!" "We're down a thruster." "We've lost a feed line to number 16!" "I see it, inner hull at c-9!" "I can patch that!" "Amos, stay put!" "One hard maneuver and you're done." "We don't get that thruster back, then we're all done." "I'm going." "Launching breaching pods now." "I see the problem." "I'm going to need a few seconds to fix it." "Amos, hurry." "We don't have much time." "Rocinante." "Alert." "Are you seeing this?" "There's a gun on the ring!" "Looks like an old anti-asteroid Cannon." "It's a dumb gun for breaking stray rocks, it can't hurt us." "Shit!" "Alex, can we take them out?" "No, we're too close for torpedoes." "I'm gonna have to clear the station to fire the PDCs." " Do it!" " Roger!" "What the hell was that?" "Sorry, partner, that was us getting our ass kicked!" "God damn it!" "I need that thruster!" "All right, give me a few seconds!" "The Cannon will be on the breaching pods any second, we have to protect the landing team." "That stealth is nearly on our tail." "We let them get one more clear shot at us, it's gonna cut us in half!" "Jim, we gotta move out!" " Hard burn now." " No!" "We do that and Amos is dead!" "We lost a pod!" "Done!" "Amos, we're about to do a high-g maneuver." "Give me a second!" "Okay, secure!" " Alex, move!" " About f... king time!" "Surprise, assholes!" "Nice work, Alex!" "Well done!" "Whoo-hoo!" "Oy, papa, look like nobody home maybe." "Hey!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Hold your fire!" "Aw, Jesus." "You okay?" "It was a gel round." "Invincible, me!" "Gimme that." "They're all using gel guns, not even fitted up to repel boarders." "They look like prison guards." "So what the plan, boss man?" "All right." "Staz, split them up into four groups." "Five of you guys come with me." "Stay sharp." "Everybody stay sharp and watch the doors and corners." "Doors and corners are where they get you." "You four, with him, huh?" "Go, take your men that way." "You down there." "Alex, which pod was Miller on?" "I'm on it." "Miller was on the other pod." "He made it." "Sorry, buddy." " You okay?" " Yeah." "Did we win?" "Rocinante, we're proceeding to hard dock." "We'll see you in the station." "All right, everybody on the floor!" "Show me some hands!" "Now!" "Hey." "Shit, man..." "Hey." "Come on, get up." "Turn it back on!" "Give it back!" "Cease fire!" "Cease fire, god damn it!" "Stop!" "Diogo!" "Get this guy outta here." "Nothing happens to this guy!" " Get him outta here!" " Got it, Star helix." "I need these scientists alive, guys!" "Guys..." "Everybody stay here." "Nobody move." "All right, turn it off, dirtbag!" "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their species." "You." "Have we met?" "Up." "Get up." " Miller, stand down." " Oh, good." "This station is now under OPA control." "What would it take to make you guys go away, colonel Johnson?" "Weapons?" "Money?" "Political favors?" "My benefactors are powerful..." "Get his ass out of here." "Let's go." "Idiots." "Every scrap of data in this facility has been encrypted." "We know what you were doing on Eros." "Nobody knows what we're doing on Eros." "And every minute I have to spend playing games with you, takes me away from that work." "You're in an excellent bargaining position." "Tell me what you want and we'll negotiate." "You're going to help us make a vaccine." "No." "That goes against everything we're trying to accomplish." "You infected a station full of Belters..." "They were infected to save us all." "You're gonna have to be a hell of a lot more specific than that." "We made a discovery on Phoebe." "An extra-solar lifeform." "We found your lab notes on the Anubis." "Maybe you can appreciate what it is." "An organism that can repurpose other life forms and use them to evolve." "Into what?" "That's what we're trying to find out." "In a controlled, isolated environment that can be sterilized if it gets out of hand." "You could've fed it a vat of bacteria." "I'm not interested in the cosmic fate of bacteria." "The protomolecule is proof that we're not alone in the universe." "And our ticket out of the limitations that bind us to these pathetic little bubbles of rock and air." "If we master it, we can apply it." "Apply it to what?" "To everything." "We become our own gods." "Imagine human beings able to live in hard vacuum without a suit, or under the crushing atmosphere of a gas giant." "Or able to hibernate long enough to travel to the stars." "That's why you were willing to start a war?" "Have you heard of Genghis Khan?" "He built one of the greatest empires in human history." "Killed or displaced a quarter of the entire population on Earth during his conquests." "Today, that's the equivalent of 10 billion people." "Eros is hardly a rounding error by comparison." "And that justifies all of this?" "Of course it does!" "The protomolecule wasn't sent here by accident." "Earth was its target." "It was sent to hijack life on our planet for its own ends." "You can't save Eros." "All you can do now is waste the data and ensure that every man, woman and child on that rock died for nothing." "The data will erase itself if anyone other than me tries to decrypt it." "Without this work, humanity will be left unarmed, ignorant, vulnerable, to an enemy who's already fired the first shot." "I don't care who controls the project." "So long as I can get back to my work, with no restrictions." "So we have an understanding?" "We're going to need complete access to the data." "As well as the names of everyone responsible for setting this in motion." "Done."