"_" "Fred saw what the Protomolecule did to Eros." "He wants to control it." "It's too dangerous to leave our sample out there anymore." "That is too important to destroy right now." "We have to destroy it." "It's done." "Yeah..." "It's done." "The battle between Earth and Mars devastated Ganymede Station." "It's a humanitarian crisis." "Today there was this boy that looked at me like I was a monster." "One each!" " I think I scared his mother." " Leave my mother alone." "It made me remember when I was that boy." "Somebody hurt your mother." " And then there was Lydia." " Who?" "Just someone that looked after me." "I've got the missiles." "Our first priority is to protect ourselves." "We could use some help removing the counter-measures." "We believe that we have destroyed the threat when we took over Protogen Station." "Belters will never unify under Fred Johnson's flag." "His days on Tycho are numbered." "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." "If we are going to reminisce, let's at least get a drink, huh?" "We'll toast to Fred Johnson's secret weapon." "Dawes has Cortazar, he's running." "Dust off, now!" "We should wait for backup." "Force the airlock." "Turn around, you little shit." "Look, Daddy!" "Hi!" "Hi!" "That all." "That all tolowda gonya ge fo now." "Mei..." "Mei!" "I'm looking for my daughter." "Mi looking fo mi dowta Mei, she here?" "They na child here, beltalowda." "Mei!" "Dr. Meng?" "Prax?" "Doris?" "It's so nice to see you back on your feet." "Where..." "It's okay." "Here." "Where..." "It's okay." "Just sip it." "Where are we?" "On a freighter." "A refugee ship." "We're refugees." "I remember..." "I saw a mirror falling." "There was a battle in orbit." "Nobody knows what started it, but one of the mirrors was destroyed." "Fragments started falling down." "They hit our dome." "Luckily, the safety blisters held, it was the only reason that we were able to get out." "What happened to Mei?" "You were really badly hurt, the doctors had to induce a coma, and I stayed with you." "She was at a doctor's appointment, at the clinic in Sector 4." "I'm so sorry." "Half the mirror came down on Sector 4." "Mei's gone." "No..." "Get out there, you little shit." " Where's Dawes?" " Don't know." "Let me check my pockets." "You're going to tell me everything he said, or I'm going to break you in two." "Dawes is gone, sasa ke?" "And the science man, oso." "Oye!" "Him one with us." "What doing here?" "None of your business." "Fodagut, bera, stay back." "I trusted you, you little shit." "I na need your trust, Earther" "No Belter do." "You na want for fight no more then go back for your real home." "Dawes gonna be fist for the Belt." "Put him in the hole." "Diogo!" "Sorry I came up short, hoss." "It's not your fault." "Dawes outplayed us all." "You don't get to tell me who to kill." "Ninety seconds after the Rocinante left, a four-man skiff, registered to the" "Harbormaster's office on Ceres, pushed off from the opposite side of the ring." "Dawes' ship was a diversion." "Yeah, no shit." "Why wasn't the skiff locked down?" "The clamps were released manually at the berth." "So Dawes obviously had inside help." "What, so that's it?" "They're just gone?" "They turned their transponder off and went dark two minutes later." "We lost track..." "Who's in charge of security at this goddamn station?" "That would be me." "Interesting." "Say what you mean." "Either you're doing an incredibly shitty job or you're no longer in control of the people who work for you." "That's enough." "Sir." "We've received priority message for you." "It from Dawes." "In the office." "Play it here." "Fred Johnson." "We have traveled far together, my beratna, but this is where we must part ways." "Ever since I found you, broken, looking for redemption under a Belter knife," "I have tried to teach you the Belter way." "I have failed." "You told us that when you destroyed Protogen, the Earth corp responsible for killing so many of our brothers and sisters on Eros, that you destroyed all its secrets as well." "There was nothing left for us to fear." "But instead, you preserved what you could of this terrible new weapon, and took it back to Tycho with you, keeping those secrets for yourself, no doubt believing that when the time comes, as it surely must, you and you alone," "would decide when to use the weapon to defend the Belt." "Now, I believe you have the Belt ere kori." "And we have taken to you as a brother." "But this..." "This is the Earther in you still." "We do not want to live under anyone's boot, Fred Johnson, asilik towchu!" "Even a friendly one, afraid that if we disobey, we will have our air cut off, our water rationed, be spaced, or be herded into chambers to be used like animals." "This is the way it has been until now." "No more." "I have stolen your secret, Fred Johnson." "And I am giving it to the Belt." "It's a farm barge." "They'd docked and were waiting to take on cargo when the battle broke out." "When the Earth forces withdrew, the MCRN pushed all of their ships into the relief effort." "Get back, que!" "He doesn't seem to enjoy being a Good Samaritan." "There's no money in ferrying refugees." "Or botanists." "Do you want to be alone?" "No." "No." "So where are we headed?" "We're rendezvousing with another transport to off-load some of us." "Spread out the burden in the Belt, I guess." "I don't like the thought of being a burden." "To anyone." "That's mine." "Do you have any idea what you're going to do now?" "I don't know." "I was born and raised on Ganymede." "Everything I had was there." "There's no point in going back now." "It'll take them years to rebuild the station." "Forgive me for saying so, but I don't think you're cut out for that kind of work." "It's okay." "It's an accurate assessment." "I'm going back to Mars." "I still have some family there." "The terraforming project could always use more agri-techs." "I know that you need time to grieve, and it's too hard to think about the future now." "But you could come with me." "We could start over together." "We have backups for everything Cortazar was working on." "The data cores will erase themselves if they're tampered with." "We know a lot more than Dawes." "And how long is that gonna last?" "The protomolecule was talking to him." "What does that mean?" "The same way Eros was "talking"." "Cortazar was scanning the system for signals like that." "He found one." "Where?" "He was still trying to figure it out." "He only heard it once, after Eros burned up." "You didn't mention any of this." "There wasn't any time." "We need to find the source of that shout before Cortazar leads Dawes to it." "Cortazar must've been using the station's antennae for his scan." "If you give me access the antenna control logs," "I might be able to figure out where he was looking." "We made sure that Cortazar wasn't leaving any traces of his work in Tycho's normal logs." "But if we go outside and hook into the antennae directly, we might be able to get what you need." "I can help you with that." "I'll grab my gear." "Hey." "What?" "I'm sorry I didn't tell you there was more of it out there." "Why didn't you?" "Because I knew how you'd feel." "And I didn't want to argue about it." "Gotta go." "I've got work to do." "Hey, Amos!" "Amos!" "Amos!" "Hey, hey, where've you been?" "Different places." "Yeah?" "Well, you missed all the action." "I had my share." "Okay, listen, I got me a whole bunch of busted-up hand terminals that I gotta get operational for the refugees and I could really use some help." "So..." "You gonna give me a hand?" "No." "No?" "This is the Earther in you still." "We do not want to live under anyone's boot, Fred Johnson, asilik towchu!" "Even a friendly one, afraid that if we disobey, we will have our air cut off, our water rationed, be spaced, or be herded into chambers to be used like animals." "This is the way it has been until now." "No more." "I have stolen your secret, Fred Johnson." "And I am giving it to the Belt." "Okay." "Now the time." "Other ship come, take you load for Earth, for Mars." "They take you, okay?" "All Inners, you all go for Earth, for Mars, you come, sasa ke?" "Other ship dock with us." "Good ship, help Ganymede." "Take care of yourself." "You, too." "Come on." "Get up!" "All Inners, this way." "Time to go." "Inners only." "Good ship gonna take you home, yeah?" "Come, come." "You know we'll be competing for the same job, right?" "You, na." "I'm going to Mars." "You na Duster, beratna." "No, I'm going with my friend." "We're traveling together." "Inners only." " I guess I could stay." " No, no, it's okay." "I'll join you as soon as I can." "Come, come, no time for waste." "Doris!" "Must cut thrust for other ship to dock, okay?" "So hold, ready for zero-g, now we go." "Inners wreck Ganymede." "Belter life first from now on." "You lucky, beltalowda." "Wowo, gut, go lenta..." "We should be coming up on it any moment." "Taki fo da gut..." "If this is what you used to do for a living, then, you must have led a boring life." "Unfortunately not." "This is the last antenna Cortazar was using." "With this, we should have enough data for a decent triangulation on Cortazar's shout." "You don't seem eager for the answer." "Does it make you happy to know there's more of that stuff out there?" "If it is, it is." "It's better to know." "Tell me." "Did Fred ever do you wrong?" "I suppose not." "Then why don't you trust him?" "What's he going with do to that kid who helped Dawes?" "That kid is a traitor and he deserves to be spaced." "I didn't ask what you would do." "If Fred believes we need to make an example of that stupid child, he will." "Fred serves the best interests of the Belt." "Dawes seems to think differently." "Dawes..." "He's always had a unique way of seeing the world." "Do you know him?" "I used to work for him." "So how'd you end up here?" "I was with Dawes when he found Fred in a bar on Ceres." "Drunk." "Lost." "An Earther outcast, still reeking with the blood of the Belters he slaughtered on Anderson Station." "Fred was looking for death." "He would've welcomed it." "But Dawes spoke to him and showed him a different path." "Must've been quite the conversation." "It was more than talk..." "You found what Cortazar found?" "You got something?" "The shout came from Ganymede." "There's protomolecule on Ganymede Station." "There's no mistaking the data." "This protomolecule shout occurred right around the same time Earth and Mars started shooting at each other over Ganymede Station." "And it's hard to believe that's a coincidence." "We know that the protomolecule learns, that it keeps on changing." "Which means Ganymede could be worse than Eros." "Even if it is..." "Then we go there, find it and shut it down." "How do you propose to do that?" "The Martian fleet has Ganymede cordoned off." "We'll find a way." "Sure, we can go in blind again, guns blazing." "Maybe we can steal another ship to smash into it." "We did that already and look where it got us, right back where we started." "Look, the protomolecule is out in the world now, we just have to accept that." "And figure out how to deal with it." "Hmm." "Naomi." "Jim..." "Jim!" "I know you feel like we failed..." "As long as we're living and breathing there's more we can do." "We just have to be strong enough." "Jefferson Mays, you are clear to dock at Berth 14." "Please note that all refugees will be subject to ID and med-check immediately upon debark." "Tycho T.C. out." "All new arrivals must register their ID with station authorities, and will be restricted to the designated areas until they have received medical clearance." "Welcome to Tycho Station." "All new arrivals must register their ID with station authorities, and will be restricted to the designated areas until they have received medical clearance." " I need help." " Excuse me?" "I need help." " Are you sick?" " No, no." "It's a crime." "I need to report a crime." "Okay, what happened?" "The ship I came in on, the crew." "They threw a bunch of people out an airlock." "Everyone from Earth and Mars." "They said they were going to take them home but they threw them out the airlock." "What ship were you on?" "I don't know." "Okay." "Can you give me a name?" "The person who did it?" " No, I don't know." " Was there anybody else" " with you who could..." " She's dead!" "Look, you've got to do something, please!" "You've got to arrest them, please!" "I'm sorry, I really am." "What happened out there is a crime." "It should be punished." "But there's nothing I can do about it right now." "Look..." "You made it here." "You're alive." "Hold on to that." "Get some food, grab some mat space and rest." "There's other people from Ganymede here, maybe there's somebody you know." "Hey, bro, here you go." "That's for you." "Welcome to Tycho Station." "All new arrivals must register their ID with station authorities, and will be restricted to the designated areas until they have received medical clearance." "Cortazar's history ended the day he began working on the protomolecule project." "But before that, he was working for Protogen." "So let's see if we can connect anyone on Ganymede to Protogen." "Right." "Check the personnel directories on Ganymede Station." "Show us anyone with Protogen in their employment history." "Looks like Protogen had a few biotech contracts, but not a lot of personnel." "Who here was on Ganymede when the battle broke out?" "Okay, now just ones with advanced degrees, in genetics, biology, nanoinformatics..." "Dr. Lawrence Strickland." "Degrees in all three." "It can't be this easy." "There's no reason for him to hide." "He was working in a clinic as a pediatrician?" "Is he on Ganymede now?" "Check the photos." "Who are the people with him and where are they now?" "Including the lot from the last barge, we now have nearly 3,500 refugees from Ganymede aboard." "And Tycho wasn't built to handle anything like that." "I know." "Our resources are being strained as it is." "We're not going to turn anyone away." "I want you to draw up a station-wide ration plan." "That will not go over well." "It's the safest way." "We have to consider relocation options." "Ceres Station." "You want me to go begging to Dawes?" "Don't let your pride get in the way." "Put it down!" "Put it down!" "No one else needs to die." "What do you want?" "We want the missile, bossman." "All them Earther missile." "If you not gonna use them, we will." "I'm sorry." "Welcome to Tycho Station." "All new arrivals must register their ID with station authorities, and will be restricted to the designated areas..." "Hey!" "You're Praxideke Meng!" " What's going on?" " Station business." "Back off." "Settle down!" "Settle down, you're gonna get hurt." "Okay?" "Okay?" "I won't say anything." "I promise I won't say anything to anyone." "Just please don't hurt me." "We're not going to hurt you." "But you do need to answer some questions." "Do you understand?" "What do you know about Dr. Lawrence Strickland?" "He's my daughter's pediatrician." "That's it?" "He helps me with my research, sometimes." "He's a very gifted geneticist." "It's just a soybean." "I'm a botanist." "Go!" "Move, move!" "Move!" "I find the missile bay." "I can force open the door, but I need code for launch." "Do what you do for getting done!" "We put our lifes on the line for you." "And you keep throwing away everything we get." "We waste our blood, beratna!" "Give us the codes." "No." "Shut up!" "Shut up or you next!" "People have died for me before, and by my hand as well." "You may as well put the next one in me." "You owe this Earther nothing, nada." "You can launch them missiles, too, mi pensa, huh?" "Show us." "Join us." "I work for Fred." "Maybe not for long though." "Give us the codes." "Then maybe she live long enough for see doctor." "Seriously?" "You know what your problem is?" "I'd like to." "I'm gonna tell you." "Your problem is the only person you give a shit about is yourself." "Isn't that most people's problems?" "If they're being honest?" "There's a lot of people coming aboard this station right now, Amos, and they need our help." " So why don't you help them." " I am." "What I'm trying to figure out is why you won't." "'Cause as far as I can tell, you got nothing better to do." "'Cause I don't feel like it, Alex." "You don't feel like it." "Really?" "That's your answer, "You don't feel like it?"" "That's not good enough, Amos." "That's not good enough." "We help each other." "That's what people do." "We help." "That's why we have a civilization." "So then why don't you help your family." "What?" "They're right there on Mars, where you left them." "Goddamn you." "You're gonna throw that in my face?" "Oh, Jesus!" "Amos!" "Amos!" "I don't want to fight you, Alex." "Please don't make me." "'Cause if we do, who's going to fly the ship?" "What happened to you?" "Do you hear that beeping too?" "Yeah." "Looks like Naomi's been monitoring one of the hangar bays where Fred Johnson stashed all the nukes." "Why would she do that?" "She's smart." "Hey, someone's trying to access the missile controls." "Holy shit." "Looks like they're preparing to launch." "I don't remember any project Dr. Strickland was involved in." "He was my daughter's pediatrician, that's it." "When was the last time you saw him?" "A few hours before my dome was hit." "My daughter, Mei, was with him." "She had an appointment at the clinic." "I had some work to do, so I couldn't go with her." "When the mirror fell, the clinic was wiped out." "I should've gone with her." "Unless he's a phenomenal liar," "I don't think he has anything to do with the protomolecule." "It's not him." "Strickland turned up on Ganymede as a pediatrician." "The connection is the daughter." "Corporate clinics are legally required to let parents remotely monitor their children from anywhere, right?" "You have children of your own." "No." "Could you please show us whatever you can of Mei?" "Strickland took her out of the clinic." "This is nearly an hour before the mirror fell." "Your daughter might still be alive." "He knew a battle was coming." "And he went back for the girl." "You're going to Ganymede to find Dr. Strickland?" "Please take me with you." "Alex, I'm busy." "Look, whatever the hell you're doing, it can wait." "We got a serious goddamn problem here." "You can't hack the launch codes, que." "I can try." "Those missiles won't do you any good." "We gonya do same as you." "Give 'em right back for Earth." "Earth is not defenseless." "They'll shoot 'em down." "Ah, maybe not all." "And then they'll destroy Tycho." "And if they do?" "Just more oxygen for the fire of the great Belter revolution." "Amos, Naomi just bypassed the air quality sensors and she's maxing out the CO2 scrubbers." "How close are you to the cutoff?" "Almost there." "Nitrogen levels are going through the roof." "Kill the oxygen, now!" "Almost there!" "You messing with the air?" "Down!" "Move!" "Move!" "Get down on the ground!" " Down!" " Get that gun!" "Medic!" "Medic!" "Get over here!" "Drummer first." "It's under control." "All right, darlin'." "Okay, let's get you to med bay." "That's it, one step at a time." "Okay." "This is the head, plus a shower." "In here, there's clean clothes." "Magboots." "Keep them on." "Takes a little bit of practice to get used to them." "Use this if you need something, or you want to leave the cabin." "So you're locking me in?" "Is this how you treat all your guests?" "You're not a guest." "You're a guide." "Naomi said that you're coming with us to find your little girl?" "It's a good reason." "I need to ask you something." "Fred told you there was more protomolecule out there." "But you found Cortazar missing after that." " Why did you go..." " I went there to kill him." "I'll do whatever it takes to prevent another Eros, or worse." "You're not an executioner." "You defended Miller when he killed Dresden." "How is this any different?" "It's different because it's you." "You're not a murderer." "That's not the James Holden I know and love." "I need you to remind me... of who I am so I can come back." "I love you, too." "I'll love you through it all." "I promise." "No more secrets." "Hoss, hoss, hoss, you there?" "God!" "What?" "Tycho T.C. refuses to release the clamps until Fred Johnson gives his personal authorization." "And he's not." "All right, I'm on it." "I don't have to let you leave, you know." "With all the time and repairs I put into this ship, it's arguably more mine than yours." "We just saved your life." "Call it even." "I know we've had our differences." "But if you find the protomolecule on Ganymede Station..." "I sure as hell ain't gonna bring it back to you." "Then don't bother to come back here at all." "You will no longer be welcome on Tycho Station." "No free food, fuel, or repairs, and no safe harbor for you or your people." "You still think you're going to be in charge when I get back?" "You said it yourself." "The game has changed, whether any of us like it or not." "I really am sorry." "But you're just not a part of it anymore." "You're free to go." "Synced by Toguren"