"_" "One hundred and fifty live thermonuclear missiles under your control." "I believe that makes you the most powerful man in the system right now." "The only thing those weapons are good for is first strike." "Oh, they're good for a lot of things." "They can be used as deterrents, or a bargaining chip." "Eros changed everything." "Earth and Mars are scared." "And whenever that happens, Belters always lose." "Our first priority is to protect ourselves." "We're gonna take advantage of every edge we've got." "He was altered." "Part of his temporal lobe has been effectively erased." "The part that governs empathy." " Is his condition reversible?" " I'm afraid not." "The sooner we have it out with Earth the better." "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you." "We're not going to Earth." "We've been ordered to Ganymede Station." "Farm patrol?" "We're Marines..." "They are engaging in orbit!" "Make a line." "Free fire. 500 meters." "God damn it, I need a surface visual now!" "The farm was breached." "Life support critical." "You got a hole in your suit." "We're gonna get you out of here." "Hold still." "Almost there." "Clear." "All we know is that fire from UNN and MCRN forces hit one of our orbital mirrors, which crashed into the station and several Ag Domes." "We estimate over 3,000 dead and thousands more wounded." "Ganymede is the breadbasket of the outer planets." "Without us, millions will go hungry." "This is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions." "Mars believes that Ganymede was just a "proxy-war."" "That we'll stay in the sandbox and fight them there." "But make no mistake, this was an escalation." "We need to choose an appropriate Martian target" " in response." " Chrisjen." "We invite Mars to a peace summit." "A peace summit?" "And what, foot massages too?" "Trust me." "Mars wants this worse than we do." "They've got nice, pretty ships." "But they'll never match our numbers." "They're not idiots." "They were the aggressors on Ganymede." " So what was that?" " Fear." "The whole system has been a tinderbox since Earth." "No one can explain it." "Mars thinks it's our weapon." "We think it's theirs." "There are too many ships in one place." "And we're sending more." "The next step will be war." "We lost on Ganymede, definitively." "When losers seek peace, they look even weaker." "A peace summit, here on Earth." "On our terms." "Mars will read it as a warning." "Which it is." "Forty years ago, the Vesta Blockade was the closest we ever got to the brink." "You know why we barely avoided mutual extinction?" "Because the man sitting in that chair decided to talk instead of shoot." "Ganymede is the worst it's ever been between our nations." "It's time to step back before we're all wandering through the rubble, defending ourselves with rocks and sticks." "You'll never sell it to the Security Council." "You will sell it." "Because you saved Earth from Eros." "We all know who really did that." "And whom do I serve?" "Why didn't you ever run for office?" "I like getting shit done." "And I like to keep my head attached to my neck." "You father was smart." "You're smarter." "Ganymede Station refugee ships are now arriving at docks three and seven." "All personnel please report." "Refugee ships waiting to clear..." "And despite the circumstances, it'll be good to see you again, setara." "Until then." "All new arrivals must register their ID with State authority." "Right, you got a little bit of food, a little bit of water on the menu, and a little bit of magic." "You guys know what magic is?" "One to a person." "Here you go, one each." "To tell you... all beltalowda are welcome on Ceres." "Ceres is your home." "Anderson Dawes." "Canterbury had to pay tribute to him every time we parked on Ceres." "Belter tax." "Oh, is that what he calls it?" "We used to call it a "shake-down."" "You think that's why Belters love him?" "Because he lined his own pockets for years?" "Dawes put all of those bribes back into the neighborhood." "Yeah, now he's practically running Ceres." "About time a Belter was." "See?" "You're already friends." "One to each person." "One each." "One per person." "I said one each." "Back off." "Leave my mother alone." "You leave her alone." "Sergeant Draper." "Gunny." "You're on the Scirocco." "I'm Commander Thorsen." "Can we get you anything?" "A porterhouse." "Medium rare." "Okay, I'll see what I can do." "For the kids too." "Except Hilly." "She's a vegan." "Gunny, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but no one from your team made it." "What happened?" "I was hoping you could tell us." " The suit feeds..." " All lost with your team." "Under the mirror arrays." "Gunny, you're the only one who survived, our only eyes and ears on what happened down there." "Now, you said that you were under attack." "You reported shots fired along the UN line." "Six Blues." "They were coming right at us." "Then we got jammed, I..." "I grabbed Travis and we made a line." " Six Blues charging you?" " No." "No, wait, there was a seventh." "Lieutenant Sutton, he would've picked up on it." "He was..." "Lieutenant Sutton was killed with 11 others on the Scirocco." "She's bleeding again." " Nurse, we need a sedative." " Yes, sir." "It's all right, Gunny." "Dr. Cortazar, they changed your brain with that procedure." "That's forever, right?" "It was temporary at first." "Dresden never coerced any of us." "When did you decide to make it permanent?" "That first day within five minutes." " I knew I'd never go back." " Why?" "The calm I felt." "It was like a terrible storm had lifted." "It was painless, you know." "The procedure." " If you are interested..." " I didn't say that." "Today there was this boy that looked at me like I was a monster." "I think I scared his mother." "I didn't mean to." "It made me remember when I was that boy." "Hmm." "So somebody hurt your mother." "I lost her a long time ago." "And then there was Lydia." "Who?" "Just someone that looked after me." "And you loved them." "I think I did." "I loved my mother, too." "It was the residue of guilt, shame..." "Need." "Love kept me at her bedside until she died." "Nearly caused me to miss out on the greatest work humanity has ever undertaken." "The protomolecule devours old constructs and recreates them." "It only moves forward." "As we must." "Move forward?" "What do you mean?" "You want to be that real boy again." "To feel how you felt before the world broke you." "The safety of your mother's embrace." "But you cauterized all that in order to survive." "You don't want that back again." "Stomp out those last embers and you'll be free of it." "We are about to rewrite that entire story of humanity." "And, if you like, you can be a part of that, too." "I can help you." "I know how." "Thank you all for your presence today." "We are here, not as Black Sky, or Inaros, or Tres Copains, or any other." "We are Belters." "And we have a historic opportunity before us." "First, Eros." "Now, Ganymede." "Earth and Mars have pushed themselves to the brink and they'll have to find a path to peace." "Or risk mutual annihilation." "What then?" "The Belt is just gonna get an invite when the Inners are busy divvying up the solar system?" "We..." "We can buy a ticket." "The OPA just saved Earth." "And if that is not sufficient enough to earn their respect, we have their missiles." "And that is our ticket to the table." "But we must come together first." "A unified Belt must send a representative that speaks for all of us." "You look good in a suit, Fred." "Earther who thinks he's a Belter, goes home to Earth begging for table scraps, and maybe he forgets about us, huh?" "No, no." "The Belt needs a born Belter to be its voice." "Anderson Dawes should represent us." "Excuse me, no disrespect." "I just imagined the look on the Inners' faces when they see who is sitting across the table from them." "I would be honored to represent the Belt." "It's a beautiful dream he has, huh?" "Earth and Mars at peace." "And the Belt, equal partners in that peace." "But is it too much an Earther's dream?" "I do not doubt his heart." "Fred Johnson has proven himself to be a true friend to the Belt." "But as much as I fear war between Earth and Mars," "I fear the peace more." "For that is when they will turn their sights back on all of us." "The Inners are not like us." "Earthers cannot look upon a thing but wonder who it belongs to, huh?" "To make it their possession." ""Possession is nine-tenths of the law," they say." "But that is not the way of the Belt." "We say, "The more you share" ""the more your bowl will be plentiful." ""And those that will not share..."" "Welwalla!" "Welawalla!" "And if we are all welwallas..." "Kowmang gonya die!" "Earthers, Martians, they see us as their possessions." "Animals to test their new weapons on." "And, make no mistake, they will do it again." "We must protect ourselves against these weapons." "We must find out what it was!" "It is my hope that someday we will know the whole truth of Eros." "But right now, we believe that we have destroyed the threat when we took over Protogen station." "We killed the madman who made that weapon." "We've seen Eros burn up into Venus." "Earth knows that the wrath is coming from this house." "They almost lost their planet as a result." "They don't want another Eros any more than we do." "Fred Johnson says that we are safe." "But I say, once a thing is written it is forever." "I was on Eros!" "I was on Eros." "I saw it dying." "And I was there when we killed the bastards who did it." "It was a small group, we believe not working on behalf of any government." "And I think Fred is right." "The threat has been eliminated." "And those missiles you have..." "Earth and Mars have pointed those damn things at each other for over a hundred years." " So let's give them back." " Yes." "Returning them will show that the Belt is ready to lead the peace." "James Holden, huh?" "Beratna." "You see, one by one, the best Earth has to offer us are coming to our fight!" "But I think he's idealist, my friend." "And idealism is a luxury of the Inner Planets." "But I agree with you about the missiles." "No!" "Felotas!" "No no!" "We divide them amongst the factions." "Let each decide for themselves, huh?" "Keeping..." "Keeping..." "Keeping the missiles is an act of war which will lead to the end of the Belt." "Using them gets us the same results." "That is why they are both right." "The missiles are useless to us." "You, setara." "You were on Eros too, yeah?" "You think this is over?" "I hope that it is." "I have a feeling Fred and Dawes have a history." "Which is why you should have stayed out of it." "Fred needed back up." "I couldn't just sit there." "That was OPA business." "Fred has plenty of supporters." "But not ones who were on Eros." "Do you know what everyone saw in there?" "Do you know what Anderson Dawes saw in there?" "You and Fred Johnson, two big, nice Earthers telling Belters how they should run the Belt." "We're all in this goddamn thing together and everyone keeps telling me to pick a side." "Those fuckers who did Eros sure as hell picked a side." "So, great." "Everything is as it should be then." "If Eros rammed into Earth wiped out half of your people, then you'd know." " How're you feeling?" " I'm good, sir." "Good." "I see your red meat's done you some good." "Tank grown, but still not bad." "You ever been to Earth?" "Soon enough, sir." "My mother was Foreign Secretary took me there on a Dip tour when I was 15." "I trained in one-G since I could walk, but it's different when you're there." "This oppressive pull down." "It pulls the spirits down with it." "I look forward to experiencing it first-hand." "This interview is being recorded." "You radioed Sutton and said your team was under attack." "Your reported shots fired from the UN line, then?" "Seven Blues were charging at us, about two klicks out." "Then we got jammed." "I grabbed Travis and we formed a line." "So, seven UN Marines started charging and shooting at you?" "What's weird is that there was only seven of them." "That's less than a third of their full garrison." "Why would they..." "Let's just focus on the facts." "Seven Blues in a line, coming hard at you." "Seventh man..." "He was behind them..." "The Ag Drone." "Before the Blues were charging at us," "Hillman spotted a stray Ag Drone over our position." "You need to check that drone's feed." "We'll certainly look into that." "So seven UN Marines were charging you..." "It didn't make sense." "Sounds like you're saying Earth initiated the attack." "That..." "That's what I'm saying." "Yes." "Seven UN marines..." "Yeah, they were charging at us." "They were firing at us." "They..." "They jammed our comms." "I saw ships engaging in orbit." "And the Blues, they were closing in on us fast." "Fucking Earth has attacked us." "They want a war?" "We'll give them a goddamn war." "Oh, I could use one of these." "Guarding the docks on Ceres." "I don't think the Martians will give you one." "They didn't give you one either." "Legitimate salvage." "It most certainly is." "I wanted to thank you for your words earlier." "You've inspired the Belt more than you know." "Well, we're all in this together." "That is a story, I like it." "It's the truth." "The truth is..." "It's never what you expect it to be, eh?" "Mmm." "You mean, like, all Earthers aren't scumbags?" "And some Belters are just full of shit?" "I didn't say it was the whole story." "Just the useful part." "What do you want?" "To know the part of the story that you and Fred Johnson left out." "We told you what we saw and what we did." "And in all your travels, Eros and back, you came away with nothing that could help the Belt defend itself?" "There wasn't time." "Now that is a story." "Hey, fearless champion of the Belt, you want to paint me as one of the bad guys 'cause I am an Earther?" "Have a great time." "Good and bad, don't get distracted by that." "It will just confuse you." "Good men do bad things, like Fred Johnson." "And bad men do things believing it's for the good of all mankind." "That's how I know this isn't over, setara." "I can't rely on hope." "We nearly lost Earth in all this, too, you know?" "And yet there she is." "Hmm?" " Shining like a jewel." " Enough." "We're really busy." "All right." "All right." "Let's say I believe you." "I..." "I believe you." "Fred Johnson is tactical." "He can't think any other way." "He wouldn't offer me up to the Inner Planets as his errand boy or be willing to return Earth's missiles so readily unless he had another card to play." "Mmm." "None that we know of." "Now get off my ship." "You remind me of someone." "Just missing the hat, that's all." "Belters will never unify under Fred Johnson's flag." "True, setara." "Earth will never forgive him for the past." "And after the Nauvoo, his days on Tycho are numbered." "Any weapon that Fred Johnson has is vulnerable." "We are in this together, otherwise we are all lost." "Ah." "Shit." "You know we can get you a new suit." "Fuck off." "Sorry, sir." "No disrespect intended." "At ease." "Captain Martens." " Chaplain?" " Hmm." "When I marked my 2790 as "none"," "I was serious." "Well, don't worry, I'm not here to proselytize." "You went through something pretty horrible down there, whatever you're feeling is okay." "I'm a marine." "I'll be fine." "You know, I served with your father." "He would have been very proud of you." "My father?" "Do they teach you that in Chaplain 101?" "He was so disappointed when your brothers all went to AMT." "Mars needs its engineers too." "It does." " Thank you for coming by, sir." " Bobbie." "Sergeant Draper." "No, no, no." "MCRN Command is going to need your cooperation with the investigation on Ganymede." "But you can speak off the record with me, if you want." "Just tell me what really happened." "There was a stray Ag Drone over our position." "Have you checked that drone's feed yet?" "We were on high alert for anything in that area." "There was no drone over your position." "No, no." "That's not right." "I saw it." " You think I am making it up." " No." "No." "I believe you saw something." "Now you say it was a drone, okay." "What I wanna know is why is that so important to you?" "And why are you so interested in it?" "What do you think it saw?" "What did you see, Bobbie?" "I can't remember." "Okay." "It's okay." "We can help you with that." "Assistant Director of Operations." "You've come a long way since the loading docks on Ceres, eh, mali?" "You don't get to call me that anymore, Pampaw." "From what people tell me, you're the one really running things around here." "We need you back home." "It's hard to find good people." "I prefer it here." "This floating tin can?" "I don't know if it's the aching bones or the constipation I miss more." "You've been on Ceres too long, eh?" "You forget how to be a good rock hopper." "You're constipated, you suck a stone to get things moving." "If it's the other problem, you shove that rock up their ass." "Come on." "If we are going to reminisce, let's at least get a drink, huh?" "We'll toast to Fred Johnson's secret weapon." "It sharpens your mind." "Gunny, let's go back to Ganymede." "There were shots along the UNN line." "Seven UN Marines charged your position." "Is that correct?" "Yes." "Six marines headed our way." "Closing fast." "They appear to be charging us." "Six in formation up front and the seventh bringing up the rear." "Argh!" "Travis Sa'id, Marines, do you copy?" "I'm sorry." "Gunny, focus." "A seventh man was bringing up the rear?" "The seventh man, he was chasing them." "The UN marines, they weren't firing at us, they were shooting behind them, at him." "Then what happened?" "They are engaging in the orbit." " Who fired?" " Not our problem." "Spread out, make a line." "Free fire at 500 meters." "We formed a line." " I'm so sorry." " Sergeant." "That's when I saw the drone." "It was waiting." "Sergeant, what happened next?" "Continue, that's an order." "The seventh man, he wasn't wearing a vac suit." "That's enough." "She's had enough." "He's getting new data." "He says it's talking to him." "What does that mean?" "He says there is more protomolecule out there." "But Phoebe's gone." "We drove Eros into Venus." " We killed it." " Apparently not all of it." "Well, does he know where?" "Not yet." "But he's going to find out." "And then what?" "And then we'll have it and Cortazar will help us understand it." "And the nightmare starts over." "No." "If the Belt has the protomolecule, no one will ever use it against us again." "Diogo Harari." "Forgive the intrusion." "I'm Anderson Dawes." "I wanted to meet the boy who was found floating beyond Hidalgo." "How long were you out there before those rock hoppers picked you up?" "Uh, long time." "Days." "Were you scared?" "And then you fought alongside Josephus Miller, huh?" "Yeah, yeah." "Beratnas." "You were on Eros with him, too?" "And before, on that Earther Station?" "Yeah, yeah." "With Miller too." "I better keep my eye on you." "Soon your legend will be better than mine." "Must have been a great raid." " Important station like that." " Sa-sa ke." "No time." "Fred Johnson just want people." "Scientists." "What for, do you pensa?" "You ran with the Five Points crew." "I grew up in the Rosse Burt, too." "Do you know how old you are?" "Nineteen, I think." "Earther years." "Even our sense of time comes from them." "The time it takes the Earth to spin on its axis..." "The Earth to go once around the Sun." "On Jupiter, you'd be celebrating your first birthday." "It's hard to feel we matter out here, isn't it?" "The distances are so vast." "It's hard to believe that we can make a difference." "Sergeant Draper." "In recognition of your extraordinary service to Mars," "MCRN Command has awarded you the Purple Heart." "Thank you, sir." "After the shit show on Ganymede," "Earth and Mars are meeting for an emergency summit." "Your first-hand account of what happened will lay the groundwork for what's to come." "You'll tell them your story." "Uh, tensions were high..." "Uh, in the confusion of a communications blackout," " your team fired first." " Sir." "Did you say we shot first?" "Well, given the lack of intel, that's a supportable conclusion." "They fired first." "Maybe not at us, but they definitely fired first." "Sergeant, this is bigger than you..." "I know I am not wrong about that." "Well, truth is a tricky thing especially when..." "They stormed our line." "That thing was driving them..." "I don't want to hear any more talk about a thing, Gunny." "Are we clear?" "Yes, sir." "You know what I remember most about Earth, Gunny?" "Oh, so you're gonna tell me a fucking story now to sell me on this bullshit?" "My apologies, sir." "Is that right, Gunny?" "You're the only witness from Mars and Earth." "And Ganymede could be the spark that leads to an all-out war." "Do you understand?" "The UN has demanded your direct testimony." "When you get there, you'll tell them your story." "When I get there?" "Sergeant, you are going to Earth." "How can I help you, Holden?" "Where's Cortazar?" "Under guard in his cell." "I'm in his cell right now." "He's gone." "So are his guards and his data cores." "Lock down every berth." "No one leaves without my authorization." "Give me eyes on Dawes' ship." "He's taken Cortazar." "Docking clamp release, Berth 38-C!" "Override it." "Can't do." "System's locked out." "They just killed their transporter." "They are trying to go dark." "Maintain visual." " Alex, are you on the Roci?" " Sure am." "But what is going on?" "Dawes has Cortazar, he's running." "What?" " Dust off, now!" " Copy that." " Let's roll." " Is Amos with you?" "I don't know where he is." "Get your ass down here." "We'll lose him if you wait." "Just go!" "Go!" "Tycho TC, this is Rocinante requesting emergency release." " They cut their drive." " Ah, shit!" "Standard evasive maneuvers, they are going to alter course on their thrusters and then kick the drive back in." "Widen out your visual." "Try and reacquire." " Got 'em." " Hang on." "Prepare the PDCs." "We cannot shoot them down." "Not down." "Out." "Steady." "Steady." "Gotcha." "Seal is good." "You're gonna have to force their air-locked door." "We should wait for back up." "Every second we wait is another second that Dawes can put a bullet in Cortazar's head." "God only knows what Cortazar's told him already." "Safety's off." "Is that what you want?" "Force the airlock." "If it comes down to it, I go low, you go high." "Open our door on my mark." "Ready?" "Three, two, one." "Don't shoot, boss man." "You got me." "Just me." "Turn around, you little shit." "I got nothing!" "We lost Dawes." "He's got Cortazar." "They're gone."