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“Of course it does”

“Then how you use that power ht to put the proto everyone about it – especially right nohile whatever the hell this is is still going on – is worse When ere in the slow zone, you were the voice that pulled us all together You gave a shape to that moment of chaos And it made people safer and calain I need that again”

“How can you say —” Monica began, and her hand terminal buzzed She looked down at it in annoyance, then did a double take She lifted a finger to him Just a second

“What is it?” Holden said, but she was reading her ter wider “Monica? If this is some kind of object lesson about how shitty it is to withhold inforant But if you could stop it now —”

“The attack ships The ones going after the Martian prie” She looked up at him “It’s for you”

Naomi’s voice on the hand terht worse “If you receive this, please retranse is for Janetic bottle has been sabotaged Do not start the reactor —”

She kept talking, but Holden already had his hand terminal up His knuckles ached, and he had to force hi the device He put out a connection request to Druainst his ribs and he felt like he was falling, like he’d stepped off a tower and hadn’t quite caught the ledge on the way down Monica was cursing quietly under her breath It sounded like prayer

It the reactor came up and the bottle failed, the Rocinante would die in a fraction of a second Tycho Station ht survive Some of it, anyway

“Drummer here,” his hand terminal said “How can I help you, Captain?”

“Have you started the reactor?” Holden said

Drummer went silent for maybe half a second It felt like years “Yes, sir We’re at sixty percent, and looking great”

“Shut it down,” Holden said “Shut it down right now”

There was a ue or ask me to explain Please don’t

“Done The core is down,” Drummer said “So can I ask what this is about?”

Chapter Thirty-four: Alex