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“Those people,” she said, pushing herself to her feet and slowly heading toward the crew ladder, “are not the real proble the advance party of the first e protomolecule has exposed us for the petty, s ready to trade our solar systeht we could build airports out of bao”
“Get some sleep,” Holden said to her while she called up the ladder-lift “We’ll defeat one empire at a tiht, and the deck hatch banged shut behind her
“Why isn’t anyone shooting?” Prax said He’d co after Nao at one of the many unused crash couches He stared up at thetactical display showed athe three dozen capital ships parked in orbit around Io The Roci had reen and the Martian ships red It created a confusing simplicity out of as in actuality a far more complex situation Holden knew that friend-or-foe identification was going to be a proble
For now, the various ships drifted quietly above Io, their enormous threat merely implied They made Holden think of the crocodiles he’d seen at the zoo as a child Huge, ar on the surface of the water like statues Not even their eyes blinking When food had been thrown into the pen, they’d exploded out of the water with frightening speed
We’re just waiting for so?” Prax repeated
“Hey, Doc,” A in one of the crash couches next to Prax He projected a calm laziness that Holden wished he hi down those guys with guns and no one was shooting right up until you decided to ck your gun?”
Prax blanched Holden guessed he was reht “Yes,” Prax said “I remember”
“This is like that,” Aun just yet”
Prax nodded “Okay”
If someone finally did break the whole situation loose, Holden knew that figuring out as shooting at ould be their first problem “Avasarala, any word yet on the political landscape? There’s a whole lot of green on that board How ed and went on listening to the ship-to-ship cross talk
“Naouyen’s fleet is targeting only Martian ships,” she replied,ships on the main tactical board for everyone to see “The Martian ships are targeting back Souther’s ships aren’t targeting anyone, and Souther hasn’t even opened his tubes I’ for a peaceful resolution”
“Please send the intel officer on Souther’s ship et us some new IFF data so this doesn’t turn into the solar systeest clusterfuck”
“Done,” Naomi said, and made the call
“Get everyone buttoned up in their suits, Ao below I hope we don’t start shooting, but what I hope will happen and what actually happens are aler,” A around the deck onthe seals on everyone’s helmets
“Test test test,” Holden said over the crew radio One by one everyone on the ship responded with the affirrade than his decided which way things were going to go, there wasn’t much else he could do