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“All of theh roo a little despite hiot to worry about is—”
The line went dead
“Serge? Not funny,” Bull said And then, “Talk tofrom a private corvette called the Rocinante”
“Why do I know that na it to you”
The handset screen blacked out, jumped, and then a familiar face appeared Bull let the cart slow as James Holden, the man whose announcement about the death of the ice hauler Canterbury started the first war between Earth and Mars, once againwithoutDo not test my resolve”
“Oh no,” Bull said “Oh shit no”
“It has always been a personal mission of mine to assure that information and resources remain free to all people The efforts of individuals and corporate entities may have helped us to colonize the planets of our solar system and make life possible where it was inconceivable before, but the danger of soreat I have proven myself worthy of the trust of the people of the Belt It is aartifact be protected, and I will spill as much blood as I have to in order to do so”
Bull scooped up the hand terminal and tried to connect to Ashford The red trefoil of command block blinked on the screen and shunted hie for later He tried Pa and got the sa now, the replayed words just as idiotic and toxic the second tih clenched teeth He pulled on the cart, turning the wheels as far as they would go, and stamped on the accelerator The central lifts were only a et there Just please God let Ashford not do anything stupid before he got to the bridge
“That true, boss?” Serge said “Did Holden just clai?”
“I want everyone on security ht now,” Bull said “Enemy action protocols Corridors clear and bulkheads closed Anyone on a weapons or daet ’eot it, boss,” Serge said “So theer than usual, the aardness of floors built to be walls and walls intended as ceilings more surreal If he’d been on a real battleship, there would have been a sireat belly had been spinning, it would have been better than this He willed the cart faster, pushing the engine past what it could do The alert Klaxon sounded: Serge calling everyone to brace for battle
A crowd had foret back to their stations Bull pushed through them, the shortest person there An Earther, like Holden At the lift, he activated the security override, called the first car, and stepped in A tall, dark-skinned man tried to follow hi hi where you want to be”
As the lift rose toward the bridge like it was ascending to heaven, Bull used his hand terrasp for any information He didn’t have access to the secure channels—only the captain and the XO had those—but there was h the open feeds, grasping for a sense of the situation, watching for a few seconds here, a few seconds there
The Martian science tea at Holden on every feed, calling him a terrorist and a criminal The Earth flotilla’s reaction was quieter Most of the public conversation was coordinating the rescue efforts on the Seung Un The high-energy gas fro some of the relief crew’s co the public feeds to coordinate theriave Bull hope for the Earth navy crew still alive on the Seung Un asto come after