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“Jih the suet to the point: The Martians wanted their ship back Official proceedings had been started against hie clai it the Tachi The ship was under an order of i adjudication, effective ie Exports suddenly h the connection “I’ claet that cleared, we can pop the cork”

“What’s going on out there?” Nao, deep breath, sighed, and said soest layover the Rocinante had taken since Holden and the others had gone independent had been five and a half weeks The twelve days that the Roci spent in lockup seeer Nao inquiries through to lawyers and legal aid societies around the systerew Mars had been ss in Earth courts as well as their own Even if Holden and the Roci slipped the leash at Ceres, all major ports would be denied theray-h work, they

If they took the case before a ht not lose the ship, but it would be expensive to find out Accounts that Holden had thought of as conitude too s on the Roci left him sad

There had been any nuined—even expected—it all to cohts or alien monstrosities or desperate dives into soined with a sick thrill of dread what it would be like if Alex died, or Ao on without hiht find all of theo

Hope, when it came, was a docu Monica Stuart, the team lead, was an auburn-haired freckled woman with a professionally sculpted beauty that uely familiar when he saw her on the screen of the pilot’s deck She hadn’t co about?” Holden asked

“Four,” she said “Two cauy, and ht days’ worth of patchy beard The sense of inevitability sat in his gut like a stone

“To the Ring,” he said

“To the Ring,” she agreed “We need to et there before the Martians, the Earth flotilla, and the Behemoth And we’d like some measure of safety once we’re out there, which the Rocinante would be able to give us”

Naomi cleared her throat, and the documentarian shifted her attention to her

“You’re sure you can get the hold taken off the Roci?” Naomi asked

“I aht to the reasonable use of hired materials and personnel in the pursuit of a story Otherwise, anyone could stop any story they didn’t like by malicious use of injunctions like the one on the Roci I have a backdated contract that says I hired you a o, before I arrived at Ceres I have a team of lawyers ten benches deep who can drown anyone that objects in enough paperwork to last a lifeti,” Holden said

“Only if you want to get that docking lock rescinded But it’sfor That’s what makes it reasonable that I can’t just hire a different ship”

“I knew there was a but,” Holden said

“I want to interview the crew too While there are a half dozen ships I could get for the trip out, yours is the one that comes with the survivors of Eros”

Naomi looked across at him Her eyes were carefully neutral Was it better to be here, trapped on Ceres while the Roci was pulled away froht into the abyss with his crew? And the Ring