06x06 - Babylon's Ashes

Episode transcripts for the 2015 TV show "The Expanse". Premiered November 23.*
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"The Expanse" - based on the novels of the same name - follows a police detective and the Rocinante's crew as they unravel a conspiracy that threatens peace across the System and may be devastating to human existence.
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06x06 - Babylon's Ashes

Post by bunniefuu »

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[CORTAZAR] My new coordination protocol

returned a coherent reply pattern.

I feel weird. What happened?

You got hurt, like, k*lled hurt.

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

[NAOMI] Anytime anyone
goes through a Ring,

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

♪ ♪

[LIAISON] Inaros can rain hell

on any point inside the Ring Space.

[SIDIQI] We need to load up

every warship we've got right now.

Do you truly believe
the odds are in our favor?

[MARCO] They have size, we have numbers.

No matter what they do now,

they can't engage us everywhere at once.

[AVASARALA] 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.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[INTENSE MUSICAL BUILDUP]

[CLICK]

- [DOT] Cara, baby.
- Ow!

- Are you all right?
- Yeah.

You can't do that, just run off.

- I'm okay.
- [GARY] You scared the hell

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

- [GARY] What did you do with Xan?
- [DOT] 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?

[DOOR OPENS]

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

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!

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

You brother's gone. He's gone.

- [CARA] No!
- Daddy?

- Ahh!
- [CARA] Stop, no!

♪ ♪

[CARA] No!

[XAN] Daddy...

[BANGING]

I'm calling the soldiers.

♪ ♪

Cara? Cara!

Cara where are you?

Cara, Cara, Cara!

Cara, Cara!

- [CARA] Mommy, Daddy!
- [GARY] Cara!

[CARA] Over here! Mommy, Daddy!

[GARY] Just keep talking!
We're almost there!

- [DOT] Baby, we're coming!
- [GARY] We're gonna find you!

- [BANGING CONTINUES]
- [PARENTS CALLING OUTSIDE]

- [XAN] 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.

[CARA'S VOICE]
Mommy, Daddy, I'm over here!

Mommy, Daddy!

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

There's nothing you can eat out here.

You'll die.

- [PURRING]
- [BRUSH RUSTLING]

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

♪ ♪

[SIDIQI] 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.

[AVASARALA] 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.

[SIDIQI] 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.

[DRUMMER] Don't worry about us.

We will do what needs to be done.

I like it.

Enough with all the hit and run
guerilla w*r 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.

[BOBBIE] We will rendezvous
with an old ice hauler,

the Giambattista,
which will be transporting

a heavily armed as*ault team.

- To as*ault what?
- The Ring Station.

We're gonna capture Marco's railguns.

Those g*ns 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 g*ns

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 as*ault team will land

on the surface of the Ring Station

under the minimum f*ring limit
of the railguns.

We'll take the control bunker,
turn the g*ns 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 g*ns
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 f*cking optimist.

It's a miracle you have lived this long.

♪ ♪

[PENSIVE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[WOMAN SINGING IN NORWEGIAN]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[BACKGROUND CHATTER]

[FILIP] Reporting for duty as ordered.

Take your station.

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

[OFFICER] Welwalla finally gonya get

what she deserve then, keya?

[CREW MEMBER] We will rewrite
the history book.

[LIGHT LAUGHS]

- 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.

[MARCO] Monitor the situation,
but no open comms.

[CREW MEMBER] Aye, Captain.

Good.

[MARCO] 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 g*ns.

And who knows what else?

You're expecting something
more from Duarte?

[MARCO] Well, you know how much
I like surprises.

[UNEASY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[HOLDEN GRUNTS]

- 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.

[CHUCKLES]

When we're done with this business,

I'm gonna tell that story a lot.

[GRUNTS]

[CLARISSA] Sorry.

[AMOS] 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.

[CLARISSA] 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.

[AMOS] The injectors
are my responsibility.

You know that.

Do you remember the first
time you called me boss?

- No.
- It was halfway through

my first run on the Cant.
You'd been there longer.

I thought you were f*cking with me,

- putting me in my place.
- You were the engineer.

I was a mechanic.

- You were the boss.
- Yeah.

After a while...

it meant more than that.

That's true.

Clarissa calls you boss now.

I think she means it in the same way.

[HIGH-PITCHED RINGING]

[GRUNTS]

[WHIMPERS]

[BREATHING HARD]

[HOLDEN] What's all this?

It's been a while since any
of us had a home cooked meal.

I thought I'd give it a try.

I'll set the table.

- [AMOS] What smells so good?
- [NAOMI] What do we have here?

Textured mushroom seco de carne

with soy tequeños on the side,
our chef's specialty...

Can I get... all right.

Of course, he had the real stuff.

Don't get your hopes up.

I can always whip up
some red kibble in a pinch.

Oh God, please don't.

I'm hungry, I'm not that hungry.

- Yum.
- Not ready yet.

[BOBBIE] You need a hand, Clarissa?

[AMOS] You're gonna grab
with your hand? Get a spoon.

[BOBBIE] Hang on.

[NAOMI] She's trying to wash
the blood off her hands.

[BOBBIE] Can I try it now?

That's what I wanted for Filip.

Ooh, it's hot.

And I didn't wanna give her a chance.

I'm glad you did.

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

I'm going down to the Ring Station

with the ground as*ault.

You can't.

The ship can't go into battle
without a mechanic.

Ship's got one.

Look, it's gonna be
a shitstorm down there,

and if I'm gonna get myself
offed for the cause, fine.

Better reason than most.

I just prefer to be looking the guy

who's gonna punch my ticket
straight in the f*cking eye.

[BEEP BEEP]

You know, for someone who says

they don't wanna be a hero...

You sure end up being one a lot.

♪ ♪

Tequeños?

- [BOBBIE] This is good.
- Thank you.

- [CLARISSA] Not too much salt?
- [BOBBIE] Mm-mm.

[AMOS] He can get his own pot.

[BOBBIE] Ha.

♪ ♪

[VOICE READING POETRY IN HINDI]

[OFFICER] Madam Secretary General, CIC.

The drive sigs the Rocinante
got for us paid off.

We've located the Pella.

I'm on my way.

♪ ♪

[BEEP BEEP]

[ANNOUNCER] Combined fleet flash.

UNN battle group one
has located the Pella

and will engage.

♪ ♪

[BACKGROUND CHATTER]

[DEVICE CHIMES]

Oye, Bosmang, Inyalowda just report

they ID the Pella in
main Free Navy battle group.

- [DRUMMER] I heard.
- If they k*ll Marco without us

you think maybe they
try to cut us out later?

That remains to be seen.

They have their targets. We have ours.

The frigate is the main thr*at.

If we k*ll it first, we can
make the rest surrender or run.

[WALKER] Oh, we not the freighter run.

A fat prize.

If we cannot k*ll Marco ourselves,

happy to take what is his.

[TENSE MUSIC]

[CIC VOICE] Torpedoes are away.

[AVASARALA] You look nervous.

I am nervous, ma'am, for you.

We're in a forward position.

I'd feel much better
if our secretary general

were safely in the rear guard.

- I'm sure that...
- I need to be close enough

to maintain real-time
communication with the fleet.

If certain orders need to be
given, I will give them myself.

[LIEUTENANT] I wish we had
more assets on our flank.

It was disappointing that more Belters

didn't rally to the cause,

especially after all you did
for them on Ceres.

What we did was too little and too late,

the sad story of our species.

[BELTER CREW MEMBER] I want to
capture the freighter intact.

Concentrate all fire on the frigate.

All ships acknowledge.

Fire!

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Captain, freighter is breaking up.

Pashang. All ships, this is Drummer.

Whoever is targeting
the freighter, disengage.

Concentrate all fire on the frigate.

[CIC VOICE] Direct hit on Pella.

[LIEUTENANT] The Pella's hurt.
They're falling back.

Must have damaged their reactor.

The other ships aren't
falling back to protect it.

It's not even returning fire.

I don't think Marco Inaros
is on that ship.

[TYNAN CREW MEMBER]
Captain, all ships report,

no one is fighting at the freighter.

[DEWALT CREWMAN]
Copy, all m*ssile systems.

Target is locked.

Checking, one, two, three, checking.

[TYNAN CREW MEMBER]
All targeting systems green.

[DEWART CREWMAN] Stand by for f*ring.

- It isn't a freighter.
- [CREW MEMBER] Standing by.

♪ ♪

[CREW MEMBER] Hull plates away.

Fire!

All ships, counter batteries, fire!

[MARCO] Cut thrust.
Broadside to incoming!

All g*ns free-fire!

[DEWALT CREWMAN]
Captain, we've got the...

[CREW MEMBER]
Drusilla here, still alive.

But our m*ssile ran dry.

[KANDAHAR CREWMAN] Khandahar here also.

Torpedo down. All we can do is fly.

[GRUNTS]

[LABORED BREATHING]

Report.

[TYNAN CREW MEMBER]
Drive intact, reactor failing.

Going into shutdown. All torpedo gone.

- The others?
- Four ships lost.

No power to five.

Khandahar and Drusilla are operational

but also no torpedoes.

Pella is underway again.

Resuming original course for the Ring.

All ships, this is Drummer.

Disengage, collect survivors,

and rejoin the fleet if you can.

Leave the Pella to me.

[TYNAN CREW MEMBER]
A collision course? Captain...

We can still catch it.

Reactor will overload.

That will help.

[KLAXON]

Oye, bosmang.

Think we think the same.

Just b*at you to it.

Tenye wa chesh gut.

♪ ♪

[ALARMS BLARING]

Damage amidships.
Hull breach on deck four.

[OFFICER] Got a problem in reactor!

We're losing drive three!

Balance thrusters!
k*ll drives three and one!

On it, I'll shut down
drive three and drive...

[SCREAMS]

- [ALARMS BLARING]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[ROSENFELD GASPING]

[COUGHING]

She needs a medic and a patch kit.

Is it bad? Am I hit?

I don't wanna go.

She needs help!

♪ ♪

[UNN SIGINT]
All combined fleet elements,

UNN SIGINT reports the Pella
may be flying disguised.

Be on the lookout
for atypical hull profiles

and unusual drive signatures
and approach with caution.

Ship status.

[TYNAN CREW MEMBER]
Reactor on low but stable.

- We can still limp.
- [DRUMMER] Tightbeam Fleet.

Apprise them of our situation
and set a rendezvous.

We've done all we can.

Tenye wa chesh gut, Rocinante.

[COOPER] Cooper, ready.

[GATES] Gates, ready.

[ROGAN] Rogan, ready.

[STONE] Stone, ready.

[HUDSON] Hudson, ready.

[BURTON] Burton, ready.

How you feeling, brother?

Like I'm trapped in a portable toilet.

Try not to dwell on that.
You'll pee in your suit.

No one dies with a full bladder.

I'll be adjusting your
evasive patterns on the fly

depending on what those railguns do.

Same for the Roci.

Gonna be a bumpy ride for all us.

Giambattista remote nav link is solid.

[DRAKE] Drake, ready.

[CLARISSA] Ring comm relay
ready for deploy.

[RIPLEY] Ripley, ready.

[STAR] Star, ready.

as*ault team is three zero green.

Roci, we're ready to roll.

Copy that.
All pods, stand by for launch.

Good luck.

You never say that before a fight.

- You say good hunting.
- Good hunting.

Same to you all. Rocinante out.

Naomi's last sim said

that the railguns should
only get about % of us.

Those odds aren't terrible.

A little worse than Russian Roulette.

What's that, a casino game?

Kinda.

The railguns are shifting
target to the pods.

And us.

I'll fly as close
to the periphery as I can.

Make us as hard to target as possible

till I can put Medina between
us and those f*cking g*ns.

We're losing too many pods.

Those railguns are
f*ring so g*dd*mn fast.

as*ault team, stand by!
Setting evasion pattern to max.

Everyone, pucker up.
It's about to get rough.

f*ck.

[GROANS]

It's working. The hit rate's going down.

[CLARISSA] They're burning
reaction mass like crazy.

The landing's gonna be brutal.

At least we're giving them
a chance to land.

[GROANING]

[GROANS] Damage report!

[ALARM BEEPING]

g*dd*mn, the new armor held.

What the f*ck? We're losing power.

[NAOMI] I'm seeing
multiple faults in the grid!

The reactor's trying to scram.

Override, we can't slow down.

If we don't, we'll melt the core.

If we slow down, we're dead.

[ALARM BLARING]

I'll fix it.

[HOLDEN] We're stable
but still losing power.

♪ ♪

Ohh...

[COUGHING]

[ALARM CONTINUES BLARING]

A coolant pipe dislodged.
I have to reseat and patch it.

There's tools in the machine shop.

There's no time for that.
We need more thrust now.

[GRUNTING, GASPING]

I know what to do.

[SCREAMS]

Clarissa.

Clarissa!

♪ ♪

Come on.

Come on!

Incoming fast movers
from Medina, spreading fast.

They're going for the pods.

Ready torpedoes for counter battery.

Ready PDCs.

- f*ck.
- How many left?

Enough to get the job done.

Everybody ready to get a little shorter?

This one's gonna be Gs.

Ah, f*ck.

[EXCITING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

We're out of the railguns' line of fire.

Our turn, m*therf*ckers.

Targeting and comm arrays
on Medina are out!

as*ault team, you are clear to land!

Clarissa's not answering her comm.

I'm going to the reactor.

Clarissa!

- I hurt my head.
- I thought you were gone.

No such luck.

I didn't use my mods.

Just a ratchet strap
and some elbow grease.

I'm gonna earn my keep.

This was a good start.

Aah!

Aah!

[GRUNTING, GROANING]

Aah!

Aah!

Move out. You good?

Yeah, I'm f*cking good.

All teams, sound off. How many are left?

[BRAVO TEAM MEMBER]
Bravo team, five total.

[CHARLIE TEAM MEMBER]
Charlie team, seven.

Copy that. Alpha team has six.

Naomi's usually better
at the math than that.

There's the reactor.

Building next to it
is the control bunker.

That is our objective.

- Incoming!
- [b*ll*ts RICOCHETING]

- I'm out of range.
- Get to cover!

Heavy weapons at the bunker,
at least two dozen contacts.

At least four RPG launchers
and heavy machine g*ns.

Go, go, go!

Bravo, bring your team in first.

They're f*ring armor piercing rounds.

So use the walkway as cover
as you approach.

[BRAVO MEMBER] Copy that, Alpha.
But Bravo cannot comply.

We're taking heavy fire.
We can't advance.

f*ck, Charlie, do you have an approach?

Charlie, report.

[CHARLIE TEAM MEMBER] Charlie's toast!

RPGs pushed us out of cover.
Machine g*ns chopped us up.

- There's only two of us left.
- f*ck.

[AMOS] Can Bravo give us
any help at all?

We've gotta get some
of this fire off our position.

Bravo, we need to push.

- Eyes up!
- [b*ll*ts RICOCHETING]

♪ ♪

Move, move, move!

[AMOS] Go, go, go!

[BOBBIE] Go, go, go, go, go!

[AMOS] Draper, clear!

[BOBBIE] Rocinante, att*ck is stalled,

and we are pinned down taking
heavy fire from the surface

and from reinforcements from Medina.

We need air support!

[HOLDEN] Negative.
We have to stay behind Medina.

Those railguns will be all over us

the second we stick our nose out.

What about torpedoes?

I can light them up and guide them in.

[HOLDEN] Too much danger of
impacting the surface.

One plasma warhead hits too close,

and you'll all be dead, too.

Jim, I'm back.

We have to make a run at the station.

The as*ault team's
getting cut to pieces.

I'll see what I can do
with countermeasures.

Try to blind the railguns'
targeting systems... give me sec.

- How's Clarissa?
- She made it.

We're gonna need air support.

They can't move until we
get of control those g*ns.

f*ck it. I'd rather get sh*t
in the front than the back.

Me too.

Move, move!

Okay, on me. Wait for my mark.

Then we go full speed for the station!

- Spread as you go to draw...
- [THRUSTERS]

Draper! What the f*ck are you doing?

All teams, fall back!

f*ck that, all teams, covering fire!

Give them everything we got left!

[EPIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[AMOS] Aah!

Aah!

I got you, Bobbie!

- [AMOS GROANS]
- [b*ll*ts RICOCHETING]


Aah!

[RICOCHETING STOPS]

f*ck yeah, Roci.

[BOBBIE] No other choice.
Had to take out the g*ns.

I'm sorry.

We lost the g*ns.

Marco Inaros, in regard to your request

for additional armaments,
your request is denied.

Any further communications
will be refused, and any ships

attempting to enter our space
will be destroyed.

You were a useful distraction,
but I have gods to k*ll.

The Ring to Laconia is now closed.

You're on your own.

Oyedeng, Beltalowda.

Come to apologize?

Wise move now,
that victory is inevitable.

Rosenfeld is dead.

Too bad.

She would have governed Medina well.

- She had a family.
- Yes, we were all her family.

How do you do it?

Do what?

So easily cope with all
the people we've k*lled.

There is nothing to feel guilty about.

Death for some is the price
of our freedom and our future.

It could have easily been me
instead of Rosenfeld.

Or me.

None of us have a choice in this.

The greatest gift any true Belter

could wish for is to die
fighting for the cause.

For the cause or for you?

If it were you and I lost you,

I would lose a piece of myself.

But I would accept my fate.

And I would be proud, because
this is the life we've chosen.

- When did I choose?
- You are my son.

After all we've done,

you still can't see

what you've been given.

I do now.

I want the plan to repair and
restart the railgun reactors

ready to go the moment
we recapture Medina.

Aye, Captain.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Beltalowda.

We have reached the end.

The end of the Inners' hold upon us.

Lift your heads,

your eyes,

your hearts, your spirits

and know this.

♪ ♪

We have been bloodied,

but they have been broken.

And when we sweep through
the Ring one last time

and sweep away the Rocinante

and all vestiges of the Inners
from our space,

when that moment comes,

our long struggle

will finally be over

and our victory complete.

We will rise

from the ashes of the Inners' failures

and sow the seeds of
our humanity across the stars.

This is the end, the end of the Inners,

and their end will be our beginning.

Beltalowda.

[ALL CHANTING] Beltalowda, Beltalowda,

Beltalowda, Beltalowda,

Beltalowda, Beltalowda,

Beltalowda, Beltalowda,

Beltalowda, Beltalowda,

Beltalowda, Beltalowda,
Beltalowda, Belt...

[AVASARALA] Inaros
will arrive at the Ring

along with these ships.

It's all that's left of his fleet.

But we have no assets in range
to intercept them.

James, I'm sorry. Godspeed.

[AMOS] I'd say we're outnumbered.

[BOBBIE] So what's the plan?

If we took the Roci down
to the Ring Station,

could we use our reactor
to power up the railguns?

If we had a couple of weeks, maybe.

We don't have a couple weeks.

Then no.

A lot of places we could go
before they get here.

Just pick a Ring.

We don't have enough fuel
or reaction mass

to make it to any of the colonies.

[BOBBIE] Medina does.

We've got half a dozen
patched-up soldiers in med bay.

With me and him, that's
enough for an as*ault team.

We'd have to hold a refueling
t*nk for the initial travel.

Does anyone here
really wanna cut and run?

[SOMBER MUSIC]

What's left of the
Giambattista is still drivable.

We send it back to the Ring,
set it to blow

and they come through,
that'd take out a few of them.

Maybe one or two more with the debris.

Bloody their nose at least.

And then we just sh**t it out
with the rest?

We have three torpedoes,
PDCs are at %,

enough railgun rounds
for a few good salvos.

As long as we try to k*ll Marco, I'm in.

We are definitely going to do that.

Any of our passengers wants out,

all they have to do is say so.

There's no shame in it.

[BOBBIE] If we can get close,
I could try a breach-in entry.

Take a ship out that way.

[HOLDEN] Your suit is sh*t to sh*t,

so there's no way you're gonna...

[BOBBIE] The railgun is
our only real asset here.

[CHATTER CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

We might be able to trigger
the Ring Entities.

When we came through the Ring
with the Giambattista,

we lost some of the pods to transit,

which means we were
already close to the threshold.

If we push every bit of mass
and energy we can

through the Ring all at once,
every torpedo

and railgun slug,
and we time it all just right,

we should be able
to wake the Entities up.

You said that that would be bad.

If we wake them up,
they might stay awake.

This could put an end
to Marco once and for all.

♪ ♪

Veer off!

[STIRRING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Aah!

[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[AVASARALA] w*r doesn't end
on the b*ttlefield.

It ends at the negotiating table,

or it doesn't end at all.

We all agree we must control
traffic through the Rings.

No one is opposed to the idea
of a transport union.

- Not even me.
- [AVASARALA] Then why are we

still sitting here?
The longer we dither,

the more time we give
what's left of the Free Navy

to gather themselves and reorganize.

We need to put something out.

Put what out?

A statement, our commitment
to collective action.

The United Nations, Mars, and the Belt

have formed a new authority

to administer trade
to the Ring colonies.

Old enemies, new friends
are working together

to ensure the entities inside the Rings

do not obliterate us all.

Put this out.

Belters will control the
traffic through the Ring Space.

Oh God, here we go again.

An authority with two Inner
votes and only one

for the Belt isn't sharing
power... it's a puppet show.

I take great offense to that.
You have no right...

[AVASARALA] Prime minister.

You need to be reasonable.

I will not be reasoned
back into my place.

Belters are promised a future

so long as it remains convenient.

We are given a voice so long
as Inners control the comm.

We have a vote so long
as we can always be voted down.

Easy. We're just talking here.

Don't tell me to calm down.

I'm tired of being talked at.

You control a faction,
the most important one, yes,

but you're not a government.

Half of the stations in the Belt

and the Outer Planets sided with Inaros.

You cannot expect us to reward them.

What I expect is for you to
reward me and every last Belter

who took up arms
against Inaros to help you.

[MARTIAN DIPLOMAT]
Mars will never accept

Belter control of the Ring colonies.

[MARTIAN PRIME MINISTER]
The government would fall

if I even proposed
the debate in Parliament.

I give you my word
that you and your people

will be represented.

Equal status and dignity
to Mars and Earth.

[SANJRANI] That promise has been
made and broken

more times than I can count.

Over and over we have been
told we can trust the Inners,

that this time will be
different, and it never was.

I cannot unwind history.

The Belt will treat you with respect.

You have my word.

We will take our niche in
the future and allow you yours.

You have my word.

Is that good enough? Will you take that?

Why is your word enough for me
and mine not enough for you?

We're going around in circles.

Inaros wasn't all wrong.

He was evil,

and he was cruel, but he tapped
into something real.

He was able to do what he did

because so many people
were angry and frightened.

They saw the future,
and they weren't in it.

- That's what this has to fix.
- You agree with her.

You wanna show someone you trust them,

you put your life in their hands.

You can't just pretend to.

If you can't do that,
you don't really trust them.

And if we can't find a way to
trust each other at this point,

I doubt we ever will.

What if this transport union
were an independent agency

based in Medina Station, headed
by someone with no allegiances,

a friend of the Belt.

An Inner?

It would have to be
a unanimous choice of Earth,

Mars, and the Belt, of course.

A person above reproach,

apolitical, with a history

of working honorably with all sides.

♪ ♪

- Wait a minute.
- [AVASARALA] James.

It's time for you to make history again.

♪ ♪

I might be open to it
with certain assurances

that would have to be
guaranteed in writing.

[VOICES MURMURING]

More coffee.

[HOLDEN] Finally, and most importantly,

the transport union
will be truly independent,

not beholden
to any government or faction,

its members compelled by law to enforce

and abide by its decisions.

This union will allow us
to use the Rings safely

and share their benefits with all.

[APPLAUSE]

I want to thank the UN General Assembly

and the Martian Parliament
for their vision, courage,

and the speed with which
they ratified the charter.

I'm proud and humbled
to accept this position

as the first President
of the Transport Union.

[APPLAUSE]

Before I agreed to take this job,

I insisted on a few conditions.

One of them was that Camina Drummer

- would be vice president.
- [AUDIENCE MUTTERING]

A very wise woman I know
once said you shouldn't believe

what people say,
just watch what they do.

My first official acts
will define not only me,

but the transport union itself.

This new union is gonna be
a critical part of our future,

a future that for the first time

the Belt will truly share in.

I'm not a Belter.

I'm just a man from Earth,

representing people I respect
and sometimes love.

An outsider, and I always will be

and there's a problem with that.

[WHISPERING] Don't you f*cking do it.

Which is why, as my first official act

as President of the Transport Union,

I resign.

The future of the Belt has
to speak with a Belter's voice,

and in that spirit,

I'm proud to introduce the new President

of the Transport Union, Camina Drummer.

[COMMOTION, CHATTER]

One at a time, one at a time,
please, one at a time.

You duplicitous little sh*t.

It was the only way.

[AVASARALA] The two of you planned this.

We had to.

You were negotiating in bad faith.

I will undo this.

Don't. Please don't even try.

It was the only way to secure the peace,

the only way
we all move forward together.

And you know it.

[CROWD SHOUTING QUESTIONS IN BACKGROUND]

[SIGHS] Oh, James. I hope you're right.

[MOODY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[HOLDEN] Just take it easy.
Get the feel.

The Roci's not the Razorback.

[BOBBIE] Don't worry, I'll be gentle.

I promise.

I wonder what this button does.

[LAUGHS]

[AMOS] Sure this is a good idea, Cap?

The ride was rough enough
with you at the stick.

She's just messing with us, I hope.

[CLARISSA] Hey,
I made something for you.

You'd still have the original
if you hadn't come visit me.

And I always liked it, so...

Did I get it right?

Yeah, I think you did.

I never thought
I'd see Inners take orders

from a Belter.

It's high time.

I pissed off a lot of people.

You certainly did.

I hope I did the right thing.

You did.

You followed your conscience

in the hope that others
would follow theirs.

You didn't do it for a reward
or a pat on the head.

The universe never tells us
if we did right or wrong.

It's more important
to try to help people

than to know that you did.

Take my station.

[NAOMI] More important that
someone else's life gets better

than for you to feel good
about yourself.

You never know the effect
you might have on someone,

not really.

Maybe one core thing
you said haunts them forever.

Maybe one moment of kindness
gives them comfort or courage.

Maybe you said the one thing
they needed to hear.

It doesn't matter if you ever know.

You just have to try.

You are very wise.

I've lived a hard life.

♪ ♪

There's gonna be a lot of ships

heading for the Rings now.

Piracy will be an issue.

We could fly security for freighters,

maybe get a consulting gig
on one of the colonies.

And we still don't know what happened

to that protomolecule sample.

Sooner or later, we're gonna have to...

Let's just stay here for a minute.

[SMALL LAUGH]

[SOFT, STIRRING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[SWEEPING INSTRUMENTALS]

♪ ♪
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