Previously on The Expanse.
I provided a ship for an OPA recon mission out of Ceres.
The name of that ship is the Scopuli.
I need this frigate to retrieve the lone survivor, Lionel Polanski.
Our routine surveillance of diplomatic core logged an urgent communique
between Ambassador Degraaf and his counterpart on Mars.
I leaked to Degraaf that Mars was giving stealth tech to the OPA.
My diplomatic credentials have been revoked.
I've been banned from Mars for life.
A lot of Martians gave their lives getting us onto this ship.
Are there any bodies we need to take care of?
Lieutenant Lopez.
I am a consultant for Davila Aerospatiale.
Corporate espionage?
I've been stealing codes and tech from Tycho for two years now.
Then why are you on our ship?
Miller, you're fired.
I'm like some bad virus you just can't shake.
So listen, that ship you're looking for,
Anubis, whatever, it never showed up here.
Anubis 1-A is still here on Eros, racking up dock fees.
A guy with big ideas, wanna take on the bad guys,
so long as it doesn't cost him anything.
What the hell are you babbling about?
I'm talking about that clown upstairs,
that as soon as you cut loose,
will sell us to the highest bidder.
I'm talking about the Mickies comin' through that airlock to take us down.
Naomi was right to be afraid of you.
You're gonna need someone to watch your back.
A partner.
You can't come with me.
James Holden may have problems with authority,
but I don't see a terrorist mastermind.
We'll have the asset bag him and bring him home for a long chat.
Your corporate spy's been compromised.
His final report said that Holden was heading for Eros
in a converted MCRN gunship, with fake transponder codes supplied by Fred Johnson.
So I've activated a black ops team.
We're taking Holden off the board.
Shit.
_
First time?
First time what?
First time in space?
- Oh, I am. - Ah.
Ceres born and raised then?
Yup.
They say if you grew up on a station,
you develop a natural agoraphobia.
From living underground. In the tunnels.
You're not used to the wide open spaces.
I'm used to this guy.
He spends a lot more time working underneath things than he does on top.
He could worry a little more about his ear hygiene, too.
You just looked a little nervous, that's all.
You know, if you identify the fear, you can get past it.
And then you get used to it.
I've been flying once a month for the past year and a half.
- Salesman? - No, I'm, uh.
I'm preparing myself for the Nauvoo.
The Nauvoo.
Hmm.
Mormon?
Yes.
A different kind of salesman.
But don't hold that against me.
Well, there was a time when I would've.
But not anymore?
Uh. Forgive me for saying so,
but I don't get the impression you're a man
who's accepted Jesus Christ into his heart.
I guess I'm just not that desperate.
We all are.
If we're being honest with ourselves.
Let me ask you something.
You guys are gonna get on this big ship,
you're gonna ride out into the great beyond
for 100 years.
What happens when you get out there...
And there's nothing.
That big planet you got picked out, it ain't worth a damn.
I mean, nobody really knows what's out there.
You can't come back.
Well, you're right about not coming back.
But if that is the case,
God has just revealed to us
that we haven't finished our search yet.
Doesn't that scare the shit out of you?
Yeah, of course it does.
But I put myself in the hands of God.
True faith is a risk.
You know, and with great risk comes...
Yeah, yeah, I know the rest.
Yeah.
_
Ah, who knows.
You guys might be getting out at just the right time.
_
Only thing we got here is the lovely charted belt asteroid
Bravo-Alpha 834024112.
No life pod, no emergency habitat, nothing.
These were the coordinates we were given.
It's just a rock.
Alex, take her around, let's have a look-see.
You got it, Chief.
Alex, hold up.
Swing back.
Right there.
Inside that crevasse.
That is some sweet parking job.
It's barely registering on the scopes.
It's a stealth ship.
Just like the ones that killed the Donnager.
And the Cant.
I kinda want to blast it.
Easy there, partner.
These things tend to shoot back.
Sync and corrections by explosiveskull www.addic7ed.com
_
This is as far as you've got?
It's level four MCRN encryption.
If I poke the wrong node, I'll wipe out all the data.
A lot of Martian soldiers gave their lives
for this information.
I need to know why.
_
I need you to look at something.
Kinda busy.
What the hell is that?
I was hoping you could tell us.
Looks dead.
Oh, yeah, you're a great help.
EMF reflection, practically zero across all main bands.
It's nice stealth tech.
We already figured that out.
Who has ships like that?
Mars, of course.
But this is not a design I've seen before,
- must be one of the newer. - It's not Martian.
No one else builds stealth, no one else can afford to.
This is what Fred Johnson sent you out here to find.
- I don't think he knew it was out here. - Bullshit.
A dead stealth ship sitting next to a rock looks just like a rock,
unless you know exactly where to look.
You guys are out here to salvage this.
We're not on a salvage mission.
Fred Johnson is a terrorist, you can't...
We're not on a salvage mission!
We're here looking for survivors.
And some answers, if we're lucky.
Main airlock's open
but the hull seems to be intact.
There could still be air inside.
All right, then.
We're going in.
Remember what happened the last time we went into one of these?
Yeah, well, this time we got guns of our own.
Suit up. You're coming with us.
- Me? What? Why? - And meet your new bodyguard.
He so much as breaks a toenail,
you're hitch-hiking home from this rock.
Sure thing, skipper.
Move.
You seeing our suit-cams?
Yup. All video feeds are lookin' good.
This is bullshit.
- You can't just treat me like some... - "Canary in a coal mine?"
All right, people. Hold on to your helmets.
Docking tunnel is engaged.
Connection... Is good.
After you.
_
Looks like somebody got spaced.
Your kind of ship.
The latch is broken from the inside.
Someone forced their way out of this.
This is a Belter suit.
This is definitely not a Belter ship.
_
Guess that explains what happened to the crew of the Scopuli.
This is the ship.
The one that killed the Cant.
It has to be.
I'm going to check Engineering.
See what shape the reactor's in.
I'll go with you. Hey, Amos, take the flight deck.
We need to check the ship's systems and logs.
Take him with you.
He'll be useful.
Come along, tweety bird.
Flight deck's gotta be upstairs.
After you.
You guys need more eyes over there.
Let me see what I can give you.
All right, sweetheart, what do you got for me?
_
I think that'll do just fine.
- You ever think about them? - Who?
McDowell.
Byers, Paj, Ade.
I suppose I've been trying not to.
Didn't know any of them that well.
I didn't exactly sign onto the Cant to make friends.
Why did you sign on to the Cant?
So I wouldn't have to have conversations like this one.
You've picked a strange time to be chatty.
We live in strange times.
What?
Remember McDowell's glass cats?
Those figurines in his office.
Yeah.
One time, late shift,
I caught him, like, petting them.
He said he was cleaning them, and that they were investment grade antiques.
I really wish I'd gotten that story.
All the airlocks are open.
No doubt about it, this ship was vented on purpose.
Hangar bay's empty, too.
Should be a short-range shuttle parked there. But it ain't.
Folks, I do believe somebody got away.
Flight deck is clear.
Looks like we got a safe.
With something in it.
Great. Another goddamn safe.
Naomi, there's battery backup on the control panel.
All systems green. Do you want me to fire up the reactor?
This'll go quicker if we have some lights.
Yeah, just warm it up.
Someone cut through the hatch.
The reactor was shut down properly.
So why did someone need to break in to do it?
Uh...
Naomi.
What the hell is that?
_
Tycho Station pinged the Nathan Hale approximately four hours ago.
They wanted to know why a UNN battleship was headed straight for them.
What were they told?
A plausible story about reactor malfunctions
and an urgent need for temporary dock.
We don't think they bought it.
Doesn't matter.
We'll be on their doorstep in three days
and that's not enough time for Fred Johnson
to dismantle and hide an entire stealth tech program, is it?
Yeah, that's assuming that they had it in the first place.
We'll find something. Sir,
if we board and search that station...
Tycho is an Earth corp, we have jurisdiction.
The Belters won't see it that way.
They'll think we're lying and the OPA will make sure of it.
It's done. Moving on.
James Holden.
We learn nothing from a dead man.
Secretary-General's orders.
You'll turn him into a martyr.
James Holden will be killed in random street violence on Eros.
The murder capital of the Belt.
Wrong place and wrong time.
_
What now?
Frank DeGraaf was found dead in his home this morning.
He took his own life.
Jesus.
I'm so sorry.
We can finish later.
We can finish now.
We're going in for a closer look.
Alex, did your drone turn anything up?
Negative.
There's not another soul on board.
No bodies, no people. Nothing.
I could check the logs for you.
I'll check the logs.
Can't have you sneakin' into comms and calling someone you shouldn't.
Feel free to try, though.
Have you ever seen anything like this before?
Nothing even close.
Maybe it's stealth-tech stuff.
A nano-fluid spill
that froze when the ship was vented.
The ship's called the "Ann-you-bis."
"Ann-you-bis"?
Spelled A-N-U-B-I-S?
Uh-huh.
It's pronounced "Anoobis."
Egyptian God of the dead.
"Ann-you-bis" works too.
Okay, people, let's review.
Right, so the crew of this badass ship boards the Scopuli,
uses it as bait to nuke the Cant,
then spaces the crew except for Lionel Polanski, who somehow survives.
Gets control, and then
he powers down, vents the ship
and then leaves a nuclear missile-ed, state-of-the-art
stealth fighter tied to a rock.
That make sense to anybody?
The ship's in perfect condition, why would he just leave?
We're missing something here.
Hey, guys.
I just accessed the navs.
Whoever was on this ship was headed to Eros from...
...Phoebe Station.
Phoebe?
Lopez said they found everyone on Phoebe dead.
Some toxic spill or something.
Maybe this is what he was talking about.
I'm getting a real bad feeling about this.
Holden, behind you!
- Jesus! - Back off!
We're coming in.
Naomi, what's going on?
I think it's absorbing energy from the reactor.
I'm shutting everything down.
What happened?
We have to kill the power. Stand by.
For a second, it felt like that thing was...
- It was alive. - Yeah.
Amos,
cut out the computer cores. It's time to leave.
Alex. We've encountered a possible biohazard,
we need full decontamination.
Wasn't gonna let y'all back aboard without it.
We should stow these in the cargo bay,
in case we need to jettison them quick.
Get us out of here.
You're going to Eros, aren't you?
Aren't you?
If this "Lionel Polanski" is going to be anywhere, it's gonna be there.
I know that place.
I got hooks in systems all over Eros.
Let me help you find him.
And if I do, you let me walk.
Okay.
When we find Polanski.
Not before.
Anybody object to us turning that ship into scrap?
- Hell no. - Well, I...
Anybody except you.
Do it.
Look, you control that ship.
You have a bargaining chip. Why would you destroy something you control?
Because that ship is a weapon,
and that thing on it felt like a weapon, too.
And I don't think Fred Johnson, or Earth, or Mars, or anybody should have it.
Torpedoes armed and ready.
Fire.
Remember the Cant.
_
Eros Station police services
are provided by CPM Security Corporation.
Trust CPM for all your security needs.
_
Damn it!
Hey, uh, I was wondering if you could help me out.
- Son of a... - I'm looking for my ship.
Yeah, the Anubis.
- Check the board. - I did that. It's here.
Look, it's my daughter's ship, you know...
And I'm just trying to make sure, you know,
did she fly it here, or did she maybe exchange it,
you know, for some other goods, maybe to some low life.
We don't give out that info.
I'm just trying to find her, you know.
I mean, if she's here.
She's gonna be in some trouble.
Son of a...
Hey, how about
I sponsor you a round.
More luck when it's not your money.
Help.
Get off of me!
Anubis.
Lionel Polanski?
Freeze! Don't move.
You talkin' cause you're fed up.
You talkin'
like a fed-up person would talk.
You need to talk with this.
Semi.
You seem sober.
That's the biggest surprise of the night.
Oh, I was chasing down a lead.
Judging by the footprint on that dock master's chest,
I'd say you were stomping on a lead.
Why are you on Eros?
Well, it's not official business, or anything.
Actually, I'm not officially employed.
Ah, this just keeps getting better and better.
Open the door.
I'm taking this one for a walk.
And where's my damn hat?
Hey, give me a number four, bare, in a bowl.
Uh...
Just give me a coffee.
Two number fours.
It's on me.
All right, well, make mine the burrito-style, you know, regular.
- And, uh, plus the coffee. - Hey.
All right, Semi.
You could trace the girl.
For me.
With the security cameras.
Man, we usually lock people up for shit like that.
Anyway, I told you, this ain't the old days.
This new security contract.
These CPM guys are a pack of criminals with badges.
They shut down access to all the public cameras
while they revamp the system.
They're just setting up their shakedown network while nobody's watching.
Anyway, what do you know about this kid?
Why she's on Eros?
Trust your gut before your head gets in the way.
Yeah, yeah, I used to spout off
all kinds of bullshit back in the day.
Like how the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Look, when I got kicked off the force, I gave you that hat
so you'd keep your head, not make the same mistakes I did.
Oh, I must have forgot it back on Ceres.
Yeah, you forgot it back on Ceres.
And now you're following this girl
out to the ass-crack of the solar system, huh? Get yourself fired.
Yeah, what in your head even tells you
that this girl's lookin' to get rescued?
She could be hard-core OPA,
who helped bomb those ships to start our goddamn war.
Who'll put a bullet in your head the minute you knock on her door.
Yeah. Yeah, she might.
But you're still gonna pull on that thread, aren't you?
No matter what I say,
no matter what you unravel?
I believe in her.
That's all I got.
It's all I got.
Think I'm crazy?
It's probably gonna be my ass when they check the logs.
I knew you wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
"Lionel Polanski." That's the name she used
when she registered the shuttle.
Someone with that name is registered at the Blue Falcon.
What's that? Where is it?
It's a flophouse core-side.
But it's not a good place.
I'll talk to you later, buddy.
Sir, the Nathan Hale has just flipped
and is decelerating towards us at full burn.
They've repeated their request to dock for repairs,
claiming a reactor malfunction.
But we believe they're deliberately altering their drive signature.
What's their ETA?
Roughly two days, sir.
Keep me posted.
You said you cracked it.
- Hope it's not a letter to a wife. - It's not.
It's a real-time tactical record of the Donnager battle,
right down to the millisecond,
with full sensor logs and analysis.
This must've come directly from the CIC.
They also got hi-res images of the attacking ships.
Were they able to identify them?
Not from what I can see here.
But they were able to collect highly detailed drive signatures.
Well, they did fly closer to those ships than anyone else in the system.
Unfortunately, for them.
You're going to want to see this for yourself.
So what are you going to do now?
This place used to be the jewel of the Belt.
I wish I could've seen it in its heyday.
It's not a bad district, though.
I'm tellin' you, if you guys like okra-infused tank-grown ribs,
there's this place on Level Six that's pretty...
Please, shut your word hole.
There it is.
Last place the name Lionel Polanski showed up on the nets was here.
_
System's actin' up today.
So the last time I was here
this machine did not work.
- Ah. - See that.
Here you go.
- Help you? - I'm lookin' for a friend
who checked into a room here.
Lionel Polanski.
It's a special friend.
It's his birthday.
I got an "L. Polanski," in room 22.
- Call up for you? - No.
No, it's a surprise thing. Thank you.
Maybe I should go up on my own. Not freak the guy out.
Maybe take Amos.
Alone is fine.
Hey!
We're runnin' out of ammo.
James Holden.
Shit just follow you around, don't it kid?
Are you a cop?
Not anymore.
Hey, thanks for the assist.
Now who the hell are you?
Anybody else know you were coming here?
No.
No, I don't think so.
They do now.
Kenzo.
That son of a bitch.
Semi.
Listen, you're gonna get an alert from the Blue Falcon,
shots fired, a bunch of dead bodies.
So I sure hope it's you who answers that call.
Hey! Hey!
We need to talk.
Who the hell are you? And what are you doing here?
I'm going up to room 22.
Now, any second, there's going to be another group of thugs
coming through that door, this time with badges.
You touch me again, there's gonna be another body on the floor.
Don't!
Julie?
Who the hell's Julie?
Oh, God. What's that smell?
Sweat.
Sick.
Ozone?
Scopuli.
Somebody put up a bitch of a fight.
No, they were turning things off.
Same as that reactor.
Nobody touch anything.
Wait. Wait.
Oh, my God.
Jesus.
Julie.
Sync and corrections by explosiveskull www.addic7ed.com