"There was a battle in orbit." "One of the mirrors was destroyed." "What happened to Mei?" "Half the mirror came down on Sector 4." "Mei's gone." "I'm going back to Mars." "We could start over together." "I'll join you as soon as I can." "There's protomolecule on Ganymede station." "Dr. Lawrence Strickland." "Degrees in genetics, biology." "Who are the people with him?" "What do you know about Dr. Lawrence Strickland?" "He's my daughter's pediatrician." "He's a very gifted geneticist." "The connection is the daughter." "This is nearly an hour before the mirror fell." "Your daughter might still be alive." "Eros was a wake-up call." "It's a weapon that will conclusively tilt the balance of power in favor of Mars." "We've commandeered a civilian survey vessel," "The Arboghast." "If there's anything left of Eros down there, we'll find it." "Gunny." "Let's go back to Ganymede." "The seventh man, he was chasing them." "They weren't firing at us." "They were shooting at him." "The seventh man, he wasn't wearing a vac suit." "That's enough." "You are the only witness from Mars and Earth." "And Ganymede could be the spark that leads to an all-out war." "When you get there, you'll tell them your story." "When I get there?" "Sergeant, you're going to Earth." "_" "Somnabulist, as per MCRN trade regulation AR66, prepare to be boarded." "Mars rains hell on Ganymede and now they're treating us as if we were the criminals." "Settle down, please." "Stop telling me to calm down." "This is harassment." "It's a routine stop, nothing more." "Then why are they jamming our comms?" "Manifest and IDs, please." " Look..." " Here, here." "We're gonna have to search the rest of the ship." "Probably." "You." "Sure, let's waste some more time." "It's just food and medicine for Ganymede." "We're not transporting any weapons." "You checked our IDs." "We're a registered relief vessel." "That's everything." "You satisfied?" "There's no one else on board." "I assure you." "We're going to have to impound your ship." " That's outrageous!" " Just calm down." " No!" "Enough is enough!" " No!" "We haven't done anything wrong." "Get the hell off of our ship!" "Melissa, stop!" "Melissa, are you all right?" "Melissa." "Wait." "I know you." "I've seen your face." "All over Ceres Station." "You're James Holden." "Well this is off to a good start." "Earth's gravity is hell on the Martian physique." "You need to take one dose of each of these every day." "A blood-ox booster..." "Muscle fatigue inhibitor, and this is Osteo-x, which is a rapid bone-density enhancer." "Starting now." "And I strongly recommend that you use these as well, for when we land." "It's not the landing I imagined." "This you left on your bunk." "I forgot it." "No, you didn't." " You searched my quarters?" " Yes, I did." "Because I have orders to follow, too." "And the Defense Minister wants you wearing this when you give your statement." "There's a lot riding on you, Gunny." "Now is not the right time to go to war." "Sir, when you were there did you see the ocean?" "Briefly." "What was it like?" "Dirty." "And the stench was like a recycling vat." "It's just one more thing they've taken for granted." "Down and locked." "Thrusters off." "Clear for disembark." "All right, everyone." "Those of you who've been here before will remember it's not a long walk to the Embassy entry." "Remember, keep your eyes front." "Do not look up." "The UN likes to fly a lot of drones around our compound, so maintain your dignity and stay strong." "We're not here to give the Blues anything to laugh about." "On your feet." "Forget your sunglasses, too, Gunny?" "No, sir." "The Arboghast is nearly at Venus." "They should've gotten long range scans of the Eros impact site by now." "Just some preliminary atmospheric readings." "It's nothing more." "They haven't seen anything they didn't expect." "I've been getting personal updates from Colonel Janus." "I wouldn't mind being in that loop." "Well, I think you have more than enough on your plate already." "The Fleet's headed to Ganymede, spoiling for a rematch, the Martian delegation is here, willing to talk." "I think one of us needs a clear head for peace to really get a chance." "Of course." "Venus was the end of Eros." "I seriously doubt we'll find anything down there." "If we're lucky." "I have some drone surveillance of a Martian puking as soon he steps out of his drop ship." "If you need a cheap laugh in the meantime." "Maybe later." "It's time for diplomacy." " We should get going." " I'll be with you in a moment." "You really believe he hasn't had any contact with Jules-Pierre Mao since Eros?" "You tell me." "That's your job." "All I can tell you is that he covers his tracks very well." "And if that ship does find something on Venus..." "Errinwright is not going to tell you shit." "That's why I have an inside man." "_" "Don't touch that!" "What are you doing?" "I'm just helping this bright young lady adjust a sensor array." "That's hard to believe." "I didn't think you had any useful skills." "I want a full status report when you're done." "Of course, Colonel Janus." "You know, you're mispronouncing that." "He's Portuguese, the "J" is silent." "So, it's Colonel Anus..." "Excuse me." "You know, I don't mind saying" "I'm getting rather excited about all this." "When I was little, I was fascinated by stars." "I thought they were magic." "I kept coming up with all these crazy theories about how they worked." "I drove my father crazy with all my questions." "Oh, I'm sure there were many other reasons." "I wanted to believe in magic." "Well, you know, that's normal for a child, right?" "That's because children are stupid." "When I grew up and learned the real explanation for the stars, they became even more amazing." "Yeah, I have a feeling I know where you're going with this." "You're a very intelligent man." "Oh, hey, thank you." "But you seem to think that everybody else around you is stupid." "Just some." "Just because you can't figure something out doesn't make it magic." "What do you think Eros left behind on Venus?" "Little grey humanoids with big black eyes who've come to turn us into food?" "I'm astonished that Avasarala didn't kick you out of her office." "Well, you know, just between the two of us, she's kind of got a thing for me, right?" "Earth and Mars are mobilizing for war as we speak." "They have better weapons than we do, and Eros was one of them." "You sleazed your way into this mission, determined to justify your own theories." "You're gonna twist the facts to support your position." "That's not just bad science..." "It's dangerous." "Colonel, we just picked up an MCRN ship in Venus orbit." "I don't know why we didn't see this before." "It must be in stealth." "From the drive signature, probably a destroyer." "They were waiting for us." "I'm not seeing any changes in the MCRN Ganymede patrols, and it doesn't look like we've attracted any attention so far." "Good, at least we got that much right." " Keep a close watch." " I always do." "Not my first rodeo, Chief." "Right, I need the hand terminals, please." "Why are you doing this?" "'Cause we need a ship to get us onto Ganymede station and ours is too conspicuous." "The people there are suffering, you know." "These supplies can save lives." "And they'll get where they're needed." "I promise." "I don't believe you." "Well walla." "What we're doing is for the good of the Belt, and everyone else." "Whether you believe it or not." "Boy, this ship is a Grade-A piece of shit, but she'll get us to Ganymede." "Wouldn't bet on her in a race, though." "Have any of you been to Ganymede recently?" "No." "Never." "The station is a mess." "If you tell us what you're doing there and what you want," " maybe we could help..." " No, thank you." "We already have a guide." "Hello." "My name is Praxideke Meng." "You don't know me, but I was a colleague..." "I was a friend of your cousin, Doris." "We worked together on Ganymede." "She saved my life." "She got me out of the station when the mirrors fell." "She was on her way back to Mars, to be with you, but..." "She was badly injured in transit, and she died." "She probably wouldn't have even been on the ship with me if she hadn't helped me." "So I want to say I'm sorry." "She was a good person." "I promise I'll never forget her, nor what she did for me." "Ever." "Amos?" "Amos!" "Amos!" "You didn't answer me when I called." "I was busy." "Come on, we need you upstairs." "No." "I need to send a message." " You can't." " It's important." "That doesn't make a difference." "Why can't I?" "Cap said." "Am I a prisoner?" "I don't think so." "Then I have the right to know why." "And I'm not going anywhere until you tell me." "Sorry we weren't able to land you at night and spare you the shock of our sun and sky, but the Navy had fly-over restrictions in effect." "I hope the strain of Earth's gravity hasn't been too much for you to bear." "Not at all." "I was a marine for 45 years." "We trained extensively in One-G." "It's like riding a bike." "With tires made of lead." "It's nice to be having an actual conversation, instead of trading recordings for once." "It would've been even nicer if you had met us halfway." "The Secretary-General would like to formally extend his greetings." "The Prime Minister does the same." "Perhaps we should begin with a moment of silence for the lives lost on Ganymede." "Of course." "It's important to remember the terrible cost of battle." "In victory or defeat." "That's a good thing to keep in mind." "You should spread it to your fleet." "Maybe you could tell them when our ships get to Jupiter." "It won't take long." "We're looking forward to it." "The reason we're here is to prevent a war." "Let's start by remembering the fallen." "So the issue at hand is de-escalation." "Let's get right to it." "We have a lot on our agenda." "_ 5-7-3 declaration is locked" "Running a diagnostic on the solar reflection field." "The Martians are not responding to any of our hails." "They're trying to scare us away." "Oh, they have no more idea what's going on than we do." "Or, they were prepared in advance to collect data on the field test of their new weapon." "You can't dismiss the possibility." "Well, even if that were true, there's no way they're gonna open fire on us when they're in the middle of peace talks." "What exactly are you basing that on?" "The restraint they showed when they destroyed seven of our ships over Ganymede?" "We lost over 500 soldiers protecting a farm." "Are there any other MCRN ships in the area?" "No, sir." "But with their stealth tech there could be." "Put me on broadcast, please." "You're on." "To all vessels in the area, this is the UNS Arboghast." "We are an unarmed research vessel on a scientific mission as is our right under the Venus Accords." "Any interference with our operations may be considered an act of war." "Arboghast out." "Take us in." "All hands make ready for Venus orbit." "Dr. Strickland pulled your daughter out of the clinic an hour before the battle started." "If he's still on Ganymede and we find him," "I believe we'll find your daughter." "You can stop pretending to care about my daughter." "What does she have to do with this protomolecule you're after?" "How do you know about that?" "I told him." "He's helping us." "We should be straight with him." "The protomolecule is what really moved Eros?" "We were all there, my friend." "We saw it with our own eyes." "What could that have to do with Mei?" "We don't know yet." "But if it is there, the threat could be even worse than Eros." "We're gonna do everything we can to find your daughter." "What was Strickland treating her for?" "She has a genetic disorder." "Myers-Skelton Premature Immunosenescence." "We're not quite sure what causes it." "Mei developed a very serious spinal infection when she was four months old." "She would've died if we'd been anywhere else." "But Ganymede has a natural magnetosphere, that's why everybody goes there to gestate." "Pediatric care is state-of-the-art." "The moment Dr. Strickland saw her, he knew exactly what was wrong." "He gave her regular injections." "He kept her alive." "That can't be a coincidence." "I don't get it." "Uh, that protocrap and a genetic disease." "What's the connection?" "We'll ask Strickland when we find him." "Half the station's in ruins." "Its infrastructure network's smashed." "How are we supposed to find anyone there?" "Well, the first step is getting there." "We'll leave the Somnabulist once we dock and then we'll intermingle with the locals." "And then?" "And then we'll assess the situation and take it from there." "Are your plans always this vague?" "This is about average." "You all must be very lucky." "We've certainly had our fair share." "Hey." "If we leave the Somnabulist after we land, how are we supposed to get back?" "Plan-A is hitching a ride to an outgoing relief ship." " Plan-B..." " That'd be me." "So the MCRN, they're gonna be focused on all the incoming UNN warships." "That's gonna be good for us." "I'm gonna use that distraction," "I'm gonna take the Roci and mosey on down to the dark side of Ganymede." "Once I'm there, I'm gonna tuck her behind one of those 71 cute little moons." "And then I'll wait." "So if anything goes south down there, y'all just holler, cavalry will come running." "I'll quietly de-orbit, no burn, hug the surface, and we'll rendezvous at one of these service airlocks here." "I'll scoop you up and we'll strap in for a max-burn up and out." "With every torpedo that every MCRN ship in orbit can launch heading straight at us." "Yep." "That's your plan?" "I hope your luck rubs off." "Mirror." "Window, clear." "Close." "One of the few things not in dispute is that the battle on Ganymede began on the ground." "But per your request, we have brought in the lone survivor of the surface engagement." "This is Marine Gunnery Sergeant Roberta Draper." "She will be giving you her account of the battle." "And in the interests of transparency, you're welcome to examine her power armor as well." "Its systems were badly damaged, but the logs will corroborate our timeline of the events, to the extent that they can." "Thank you." "I'm sure that will all be very informative." "Sergeant Draper." "Sir." "My fire team was assigned to patrol the MCRN zone Bravo on Ganymede Station." "Shortly after the Scirocco, our support ship, went into comms blackout, we observed movements on the UNN line, approximately two kilometers distance and weapons fire." "The UN Marines appeared to be charging our position..." "So you're saying that we opened fire on you?" "No, sir." "We were out of contact with our ship and unable to confirm." "And at the time, our comms were jammed on the field." "Is it possible that your Marines were testing their gear or conducting some sort of training exercise?" "It's possible." "We also had lost contact with our unit." "My team formed a firing line and prepared to engage if the Blues..." "The UN Marines crossed 500 meters, which would've put them on our side of the zone." "They were closing in on us fast." "We mistook a training exercise as an active engagement and opened fire without orders." "As commander of the fire team the responsibility is mine." "The battle on the surface is what precipitated the battle in orbit." "That's what devastated Ganymede Station." "That's on you, too." "According to our investigation, it was Private Richard Travis that fired the first shot." "He was born on Earth, his parents emigrated to Mars when he was a child." "He'd had some discipline problems recently, which suggest he might've been trying to prove that he was more Martian than Earther." "And what better way to do that than to take out some Earthers." "We appreciate your candor." "Thank you, Sergeant Draper." "We can't change what happened, but we can move forward in the effort of peace." "Ganymede Station is an important food supply outside of Earth and Mars, and it's in neither of our interests to leave it crippled." "We're willing to discuss reparations." "They didn't have to say all that crap about Travis." "Why didn't you tell me they were gonna say that?" "Because I knew you'd react like this." "Travis was a good soldier." "He died for Mars." "And you all just threw him into the goddamn crusher." "Travis did die for Mars." "And if that story stops a war that we do not want, then he died a hero." "You did well in there, Gunny." "The hard part's over." "You can relax now." "You'll be going home soon." "Try to focus on that." "Open the shades." "Open all of them." "Mars offering reparation will play well for us, of course." "They must've been thrilled when they realized the one who fired the first shot was born on Earth." "It'll let them save face back home." "How would you like us to proceed?" "Squeeze the arrogant dusters for everything you can get, of course." "With pleasure, sir." "This young man is a perfect scapegoat." "Almost purpose-built." "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Chrisjen." "I never understood that idiotic phrase." "Mars won a battle that they didn't intend to fight, and they know now that they can't win the war, so they let us stick them with the bill for Ganymede." "No one's completely happy, but everyone comes out of it with something." "You know what that's called?" "Horse-trading." "Cowboys, lasagna!" "I really put my foot in this batch, partner." "I think you're gonna like it." "You be careful down there, Earther." "Be careful up here, Martian." "You too." "Somnabulist, docking bridge is clear." "Roci and I will be ready and waiting for your call." "Maintain full radio silence until we do." "God speed, cowboys." "See you soon." "Somnabulist out." "You're gonna get us all killed." "And lastly, the MCRA will cover 61.5% of the costs to repair the Ag Domes and orbital mirrors, with the exception of any damage that can be definitely and solely linked to UNN actions, in which case we'll split the costs 50-50." "That's a fair deal." "We wouldn't have damaged anything if you hadn't precipitated the battle." "I suppose we could pay for it all, in exchange for full control of Ganymede." "I think that covers everything." "Almost." "We're going to need a statement from your government accepting responsibility." "You're not gonna get one." "Never hurts to ask." "All right then." "So we're done." "One last thing." "I'd like to speak to Sergeant Draper again." "I have a few questions." "Just little things I need her to clarify." "Madam, this has been an exhausting session." "I find it hard to believe that a Martian Marine would be fatigued from sitting in a chair." "We all came here in the hopes that we could begin to trust each other." "And it would be regrettable to undo the progress we've made over something as trivial as this." "I want to speak with Sergeant Draper." "Now." "Sergeant Draper, my family has a long tradition of military service." "I'm sure yours does, too." "All Martians serve." "Oh, I know." "But it's compulsory." "Tell me, if you could choose, would you still serve?" "Yes, ma'am." "Why?" "I want to do my part to make Mars a new Earth." "An entire nation dedicated to a common goal." "To turn a lifeless rock into a garden." "A dear friend told me that." "He wanted to retire to Mars." "But he died." "Did you know that the majority of people on Earth don't have jobs?" "They don't work at all." "They live on Basic Assistance, which the government provides." "I did know that." "You call them "takers," I believe." "Yes, ma'am." "It's not that they're lazy, you know." "It's just that we can't give them enough opportunities." "In this building it's easy to forget..." "With all due respect, madam, where are you going with this?" "Wherever I goddamn like." "Travis' parents, they believed in your dream." "They gave up everything to go to Mars, to provide a better life for their only son." "I'm sure Travis believed in that dream, as well." "He did." "Were other Martians prejudiced against him?" "For being from Earth." "Yes." "Was he a good soldier?" "One of my best." "Do you really believe that after all that sacrifice, and all his training, the training that made him, as you said, one of your best soldiers, do you believe, after all that hard work," "that Travis would jeopardize the lives of his fellow soldiers by foolishly jumping the gun?" " No, I..." " No, then why would he open fire without orders?" "Did he panic?" "I don't know." "He..." " Then why did he fire?" " We..." "What was the reason?" "We thought we were under attack." "Under attack?" "So you were fired upon?" "No!" "He was trying to kill the enemy." "I didn't even know what it was, nobody did." "He wasn't wearing a vac suit..." "Sergeant Draper has been through a severe traumatic event." "She needs to rest." "Whoever the fuck you are, stand down and let her speak." "Unless there's something you don't want her to say." "Do as you've been instructed, Sergeant." "Sergeant Draper, what made you open fire?" "It was Travis." "He panicked." "Has Sergeant Draper answered all of your questions, Madam?" "Thank you, Sergeant." "That will be all." "The Martians are giving us a fair berth but they've matched every one of our course changes precisely." "The bastards are shadowing us." "How much further to the Eros impact site?" "Uh, it's tough to tell through this atmosphere, but I don't think it'll be much longer." "What is that?" "Well, it's just a bit of science history." "It's the Drake Equation." "It looks like 6th grade algebra." "The average rate of star formation times the fraction of stars formed with planets that could support life, the fraction of those that could develop life and then intelligent life, the fraction of those that could develop technologies that" "might release detectable signals into space, and, of course, the time over which those signals might be detectable." "That's not an equation." "That's just a big, fat guess." "It suggests there are over 36 million advanced civilizations out there." "Doing all kinds of things that we just don't understand." "If that were true, we would've detected signals by now." "Not necessarily." "Space is a big, empty place." "We might be too far apart, or perhaps they're just broadcasting the signals" " for too short a time." " How convenient." "Those things that we're looking for out there, those things might be signals." "Or maybe all those other civilizations are gone." "Maybe it's the nature of intelligent life to destroy itself." "Well, I prefer to think that intelligent life can choose not to." "More magical thinking." "Colonel." "Stop." "Hold it." "Go in on that." "What is that?" "Jesus." "My scans indicate the presence of biological compounds in the air above the crater." "Life in an environment that melts lead." "It should be impossible." "Eros changes everything..." "Just like a soldier on Ganymede without a suit." "Don't worry there, Ms. Cyllene." "Nothing untoward's going on here." "We just need to hide under your skirt for a little while." "Like..." "This." "Boom." "All right now, darling, give me a continuous track on every ship on Ganymede, and keep your ears peeled, monitor every MCRN band and broadcast," "I want to know if there is anything that affects traffic going in and out of that station." "That's my girl." "Okay." "Somnabulist, you are clear to dock." "After we land, local muscle will come aboard, take 10% of our cargo." "It's perfectly normal, business as usual." "It doesn't have to be, not with us here." " I'm sure we could convince 'em to..." " I don't want you doing a goddamn thing." "I know your type." "You're on a crusade." "So go save the world, if you think you can." "I'll settle for helping a few of the poor souls who have to live in it." "We'll be out the door as soon as we land." "Good." "Reminds me of Baltimore." "Yep, you gotta like this, boss." "Rice and beans and medical supply." "Gonna be a nice haul..." "Our agreement was 10%." "Take 20, skim the best." "But these supplies, they're desperately needed..." "Yeah, by us." "See, this time we're taking all of the cargo and the ship." ""Weeping Somnabulist." I like that." "If I have to board one more ship named after some kid or girl who got left behind after a magic weekend on Titan," "I might just shoot some people for general lack of creativity." "We were thinking of naming her after our goldfish." "You're funny." "Most people are just scared shitless of us." "And this slab of meat..." "I think he had his sense of humor chemically removed." "Now, are you gonna call the Harbor Master and get us clearance to leave, or not?" "All right, all right, we have a deal." "We got company!" "Jesus..." "They were going to kill you." "We had to do something." "Holden!" "Amos!" "All clear!" "I'm sorry." "Oh, my God." "Naomi, the cockpit's wrecked." "See if you can get the flight controls back up." "Okay." "Please..." "Go!" "Or I'll call the Harbor Master, or the Martians, or whoever it takes to make you leave!" "Get off my ship!" "Go!"