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Avasarala hoisted an eyebrow

“Political favors are how I express affection,” she said

“Okay, people,” Alex’s voice said across the ship’s PA “We’re back up and co burn in thirty seconds unless so”

“I appreciate the offer,” Bobbie said “But it may be a while before I know if I want to take it”

“What will you do, then? Next, Ihome,” she said “I want to see ure out who I am How to start over Like that”

“The door’s open, Bobbie Whenever you want it, the door is open”

The flight back to Luna was a pain in the ass Avasarala spent seven hours a day in her crash couch, sendingOn Earth, Sadavir Errinwright was quietly celebrated, his career with the UN honored with a small and private ceremony, and then he went off to spend more ti to do with the re decades until death Whatever it was, it wouldn’t involve wielding political power

The investigation into the Io base was ongoing, and heads were quietly rolling on Earth But not on Mars Whoever in the Martian govern to get aith it By losing the ical weapon in human history, they’d saved their own careers Politics was full of little ironies like that

Avasarala put together her o office in absentia By the ti for ain the backseat She hated it

In addition, Mei Meng had decided she was funny, and spent part of each dayher attention She didn’t have tiirl, except that of course she did So she did And she had to exercise so that they wouldn’t have to put her in a nursing hoave her hot flashes and hters had birthdays she could attend only on a screen One had twenty ; one had four

When they passed the cloud of protohtradually stopped Every one of theht’s little packets of death were all quiescent and speeding quietly and happily toward their own destruction

She couldn’t wait to be ho woman with a slice of apple touched to her lips, but not allowed to bite The soft blue and white of the daylight planet, the black and gold of night It was a beautiful world Unarden was down there Her office Her own bed

But Arjun was not

He aiting for her on the landing pad in his best suit with a spray of fresh lilacs in his hand The low gravity er too, if a little bloodshot about the eyes She could feel the curiosity of Holden and his crew as she walked toward him Who was this man that he could stand to be married to someone as abrasive and hard as Chrisjen Avasarala? Was this her master or her victim? Hoould that even work?

“Welcome home,” Arjun said softly as she leaned into his arainst his shoulder, and she didn’t need Earth so badly any longer

This was hoh

Chapter Fifty-Three: Holden

Hi, Moht delay from Luna was less than six seconds for a round trip, but it was enough to add an aard pause before each response Mother Elise stared out at hi heartbeats; then her face lit up “Ji home Holden felt an ache to do exactly that It had been years since he’d been to the farm in Montana that his parents owned But this tio to Earth “No, Mom, not this time But I want all of you to come meet me up here The shuttle ride is , so the accommodations are pretty posh”