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“I can ask for confir his cohteen hours Once we have that—”

“We’ll knohat he said,” Avasarala snapped “I can tell you that right now The Martian forces took a threatening position, and he was forced to respond aggressively La la fking la Where did he get the ships?”

“He’s an adht he came with them”

She turned The boy looked tired He’d been up since the s They all had His eyes were bloodshot, and his skin pallid and claroup myself,” she said “I pared it down until you could have drowned it in a bathtub And he’s out there noith enough firepower to take on the Martian fleet?”

“Apparently,” Soren said

She fought the urge to spit The ruines finally reached her, the sound one To her sleep-deprivedpolitics in the Jovian syste happened—she could see it happen—but she heard it only after the fact When it was too late

She’d uyen was a war hawk The kind of adolescent boy who still thought any proble he’d done was as subtle as a lead pipe to the kneecap, until this Now he’d reasse it And he’d had her pulled frootiations

Which uyen had either a patron or a cabal She hadn’t seen that he was a bit player, so whoever called his tune had surprised her She was playing against shadows, and she hated it

“More light,” she said

“Excuse ot those ships,” she said “Do it before you go to sleep I want a full accounting Where the replacement ships ca”

“Would you also like a pony, ed against her desk “You do good work So forward to it, ma’am”

“Is she still around?”

“At her desk,” Soren said “Should I send her in?”

“You better had”

When Bobbie came into the rooain how poorly the Martian fit in It wasn’t only her accent or the difference in build that spoke of a childhood in the lower Martian gravity In the halls of politics, the woman’s air of physical competence stood out She looked like she’d been rousted out of bed in the ht, just like all of theht be useful,

“What have you got?” Avasarala asked

The h to a couple of people in the coh I probably spent asabout Ganymede”

“It’s a lesson Martian bureaucrats are stupid, venal people What did they say?”

“Long story?”

“Short”

“You shot at us”

Avasarala leaned back in her chair Her back hurt, her knees hurt, and the knot of sorrow and outrage that was always just under her heart felt brighter than usual