The Expanse

My new coordination protocol

returned a coherent reply pattern.

I feel weird. What happened?

You got hurt, like, killed hurt.

I'm going to stay here with Joseph on Ceres.

Anytime anyone goes through a Ring,

they don't realize they're taking a massive risk.

Inaros can rain hell

on any point inside the Ring Space.

We need to load up

every warship we've got right now.

Do you truly believe the odds are in our favor?

They have size, we have numbers.

No matter what they do now,

they can't engage us everywhere at once.

We need Drummer's strength.

It's really that bad?

We have lost more ships than we could afford.

I despise Marco.

Avasarala and her Inners are no better.

That was true once.

The system is filled with the graves of Belters

who trusted Inners.

My people will not take orders from you.

I don't expect them to.

- Cara, baby. - Ow!

- Are you all right? - Yeah.

You can't do that, just run off.

- I'm okay. - You scared the hell

- out of us. - Sorry, I didn't mean to.

- What did you do with Xan? - Why would you do that?

You have to tell us where he is, baby.

It's not right to leave him out there.

I'm sorry!

I didn't know how long it was gonna take to fix him.

Fix him?

The dogs fixed him.

Dogs? What are you talking about?

Where is your brother?

I want a hug, too.

- It's okay, he's fine. - No.

Stay behind me!

Get out, whatever the hell you are, get out of here!

Stop it, It's Xan, stop!

No, baby, it's not Xan. It can't be.

You brother's gone. He's gone.

- No! - Daddy?

- Ahh! - Stop, no!

No!

Daddy...

I'm calling the soldiers.

Cara? Cara!

Cara where are you?

Cara, Cara, Cara!

Cara, Cara!

- Mommy, Daddy! - Cara!

Over here! Mommy, Daddy!

Just keep talking! We're almost there!

- Baby, we're coming! - We're gonna find you!

- They're scared of me. - I know, I'm sorry.

Xan, the soldiers are coming. We have to go, we have to go!

Come on.

Mommy, Daddy, I'm over here!

Mommy, Daddy!

There's nothing you can eat out here.

You'll die.

It's okay. If I die, the dogs will fix me.

Free Navy is using standard evasion tactics

to try to disguise their numbers and drive signatures.

But it's clear that they are forming up

into three major battle groups en route to the Ring.

They know we're gonna engage with them at some point.

So they're trying to split up our forces,

reduce our torpedo advantage head-to-head.

Marco Inaros doesn't want to slug it out.

He just needs to get past us.

Given the engagement of the UNN, MCRN,

and friendly Belter assets,

the best opportunity to stop them will be here,

here and here...

all of our combined forces

against virtually all of theirs.

Massing battleships is a numbers game

since the Age of Sail.

These numbers are too evenly matched for my comfort.

Hard to believe the Inner fleets have been reduced to this.

I'm sure you and your faction did their part.

Not recently, but things can change quickly.

It's this kind of bullshit

that has left all of us with fewer ships.

The strength of the Free Navy warships

is concentrated in these two groups.

UNN and MCRN fleets will take on those.

This group consists primarily of tenders and supply vessels

with a smaller gunship escort.

Your ships should be able to handle them.

Don't worry about us.

We will do what needs to be done.

I like it.

Enough with all the hit and run guerilla war crap.

This time Inaros is gonna have to stand and fight,

and we're gonna put an end to it once and for all.

And if we don't,

the Free Navy will cruise through the Ring.

Marco will hunker down on Medina station

behind his railguns

in control of our colonies and a thousand systems,

dictating the fate of our species for a generation.

Which is why we have a plan B.

While the combined fleet moves into position

to engage the Free Navy,

the Roci will be on a hard burn to get here.

We will rendezvous with an old ice hauler,

the Giambattista, which will be transporting

a heavily armed assault team.

- To assault what? - The Ring Station.

We're gonna capture Marco's railguns.

Those guns have shredded half a dozen MCRN gunships

in a matter of seconds.

The strike team was taken by surprise.

They didn't know that the railguns were there.

We've come up with a way to distract those guns

and make ourselves a much harder target.

We'll get to that in a minute.

It's quite ingenious actually.

Would make a Belter proud.

Thank you.

The MCRN strike team destroyed the Free Navy ships

guarding the Ring,

so there'll be no resistance on our way in.

While the Rocinante takes out Medina Station's

targeting and comm arrays, the assault team will land

on the surface of the Ring Station

under the minimum firing limit of the railguns.

We'll take the control bunker, turn the guns on Medina,

and force them to surrender.

And if any Free Navy ships get past the main fleet action

and come through the Ring behind us,

we'll use their own guns to blow them straight to hell.

Is this the best you could come up with?

Madam, I know the Ring Space

and that station better than anyone.

We'll get it done.

You're such a fucking optimist.

It's a miracle you have lived this long.

Reporting for duty as ordered.

Take your station.

On Medina, they say Drummer always kiss the Inners' boot.

Welwalla finally gonya get

what she deserve then, keya?

We will rewrite the history book.

- Something wrong? - Why would it be?

I convinced your father to reinstate you

because I believe he's better with you at his side.

Even though he'd never admit it, he needs you.

And we all need to be able to count on you.

- Can we? - Of course.

Monitor the situation, but no open comms.

Aye, Captain.

Good.

I told you they would split their forces.

You still don't like the odds.

Not my kind of fight.

This battle was inevitable sooner or later.

I'd have preferred later after a clean run to Medina

and us safely behind those big Laconian guns.

And who knows what else?

You're expecting something more from Duarte?

Well, you know how much I like surprises.

- Full load. - Thanks.

That thing can really hold all this?

Hell yeah.

- Problem? - No.

You know, a lot of Martians still consider

the Rocinante a stolen ship.

They insist on calling it the Tachi.

Must have driven Alex crazy.

It did.

He'd tell people that the ship wasn't stolen.

It was just smart.

And went looking for people worthy enough to fly it.

When we're done with this business,

I'm gonna tell that story a lot.

Sorry.

Why don't you go get some rest?

We're all gonna need it.

As soon as we're ship-shape and secure, I will.

I promise.

I'm gonna go restock the fast-patch kits.

Clarissa.

Can you do me a favor?

Sure.

The juice injectors in ops

haven't been flushed and reset for a while.

I know a visual check's standard, but considering...

I can take care of that.

- Okay to do it now? - Yeah, patch kits can wait.

Thanks, boss.

The injectors are my responsibility.

You know that.