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Pa listened carefully, her face a ainst He had the powerful, painfulhim that she’d teach him how to play poker, and his throat closed

The securityMartiansvector behind hie in his voice

“Just a minute, Mister Gutmansdottir,” she said, then turned back to Holden She had to be overwhelhtness in her jaw, if it was even that much “I’ll… take that under advisement, but for the immediate future—”

“My crew?”

“They’re in the civilian medical bay,” Pa said, and the white-bearded man cleared his throat in a way that meant he hadn’t needed to “There are directions posted If you’ll excusethe new prisoners,” Gutht you’d want to address that before it got to Bull”

Pa took a deep breath and pushed off after her security man A few seconds later, Holden realized he hadn’t been diss that the young captain had to do right now, and so fk him He moved out past the transition point and to the platfor ramp for carts, and he shuffled down it, the spin slowly shifting froht He could feel in his knees how long he’d been on the float and hoped that the medical bays weren’t too far away

If they’d been on the far side of the systerabbed an EVA suit, as h The idea that he was breathing the sa

Only Captain Pa hadn’t actually said that All she’d said was that his creas there The “reot winded after only a couple of reat body of the drum stretched out before hi strip of the false sun glohite above him, now that there was a clear “above,” and reached out across two kilo ramp at the other end, the mirror of the one he was on Thin clouds drifted in tori around the unbearable brightness The air clung to hiine the bare reen, the air sith the scent of apple blosso it all Or if not, at least , permanent summer afternoon

It was a dream Someone else’s and doomed now to failure, but worthy Beautiful, even in ruins

“Captain Holden? Can I speak with you?”

It was a sht braids, and wearing a plain brown suit She was the sort of very coed that always made him think of his mothers

“My name is Annushka Volovodov,” she said with a smile “But you can call me Anna if you like”

“You can callout a hand He almost had his wind back Anna shook his hand without a hint of fear His “erous man in the solar system” reputation must not have reached her yet “Eastern European?”

“Russian,” she replied with a nod “Born in Kimry But a Muscovite forcollective”

“I hear Montana is nice”

“Population density is good Still more cows than people”

Anna nodded and plucked at her suit Holden got the sense that she actually had so to the point “Kimry was like that It’s a tourist place you know, the lakes—” Anna started