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“I need to understand this fully,” Avasarala said “You, as a fore complete and accurate information about his activities both before and after the boe for blanket immunity for the crew of the Rocinante on any matter not related to the present attacks?” That there had been no profanity in the stateave it a solidity that unnerved Alex

“Yes,” Naoht”

The relief on Avasarala’s face was hard as flint “Glad to hear you say that, dear I orried I’d rabbed at the table, cursing under her breath “IHalf the tio lie down and take a sleeping pill before I have a psychotic break, but the debriefing? It starts in the ”

“We’ll be wherever you want us to be,” Holden said “We’re not going to hide anything” He was still holding Naoers had curled around his So … Well, A

Thebroke up, except that it also didn’t Avasarala left, but the rest of theh the checkpoint, and out to the public lobby together The sober silence gave way slowly to more mundane conversation: whether there was anyplace with food better than the mess on the Roci Or if not better, at least different Whether Nao alcohol, because there was a little pub on one of the lower levels that was supposed to have soood beers on offer No one asked whether Bobbie was joining them It was just assuravity, Naomi and Holden kept hold of each other’s hands Amos and Bobbie traded dirty jokes It was the powerfully ordinary talk that gave Alex hope For everything that had happened, that was happening, that was still loo in the unseen and uncertain future, there were still ht despite it all

At the wide slope of Chandrayaan Plaza, where the traffic of carts andpeople turned doide ramp deeper into the body of the moon, Amos cleared his throat

“So that i?”

“It wasn’t just for you,” Nao it a joke, and also not one

“Yeah, figured,” A abouton an apprentice You know, help flesh out the crew Get some skill redundancy”

“That’s a good idea,” Holden said “Did you have someone in mind?”

Chapter Fifty-one: Naomi

“Hell no,” Jim said when they were alone in the suite “Absolutely no No fucking way, no There have got to be a billion different ways to say no, and I’d still have to cycle through them a couple times to really express the depth of no on this one Clarissa Mao? On the Roci? How is that anything but a massive load of let’s-not-do-that?”

“And yet,” she said, letting herself drift down to the bed, “you told Amos you’d think about it”

Jiravity ave up and sat at the foot of the bed

“We just got the crew back together And Bobbie was there I didn’t want to spoil the moment”