The Expanse, #3
Abaddon's Gate
by James S. A. Corey
Contents
Chapter Eighteen: Anna
Overview
Anna leads a small, fearful UNN worship service, guiding young sailors away from dehumanizing anger and toward acknowledging shared fear of the Ring. After learning the angry contractor is named Melba Koh, Anna meets Hector Cortez, who urges the Thomas Prince to follow Behemoth into the Ring with Mars. Anna agrees, seeing unity and exploration as the safest path.
Tilly warns of disaster, while Anna records a message home, underscoring the personal stakes.
Summary
Anna holds her first worship service aboard the Thomas Prince for eleven young, silent UNN personnel. Sensing their fear, she pivots from a sermon about duty to one about God’s love, then uses communion to calm the room. When tensions surface—slurs and talk of inevitable combat in the “kill box”—Anna firmly rebukes dehumanization and names the true fear: the unknown within the Ring.
As the group disperses, Anna asks Chris about a sad, intense civilian woman she’d noticed earlier. He identifies her as Melba Koh, an electrochemical engineer with the civilian contractors, a name that sticks with Anna despite having no concrete reason why.
Later in the commissary, Anna and Tilly gripe about microgravity rations when Hector Cortez arrives. Cortez praises Anna’s services and asks her to support a petition urging the Thomas Prince to accompany the Behemoth into the Ring and to invite the Martians to join. After a moment’s reflection, Anna agrees, believing unity in exploration will prevent inter-fleet conflict and provide meaningful answers for a fearful humanity.
Tilly predicts disaster, highlighting the risks Anna is embracing. In her quarters, Anna begins a message to her children, revealing her private vulnerability and the personal cost of her decision.
Who Appears
- Anna VolovodovMethodist minister; leads worship for anxious UNN crew, counsels against dehumanization, learns Melba’s name, and supports following Behemoth into the Ring.
- Hector CortezReligious advisor; solicits signatures for a petition to take Thomas Prince into the Ring alongside Behemoth and Mars.
- Tilly FaganWealthy civilian; banters with Anna, distrusts Cortez’s plan, and predicts trouble if they proceed.
- ChrisYoung UN sailor; attends service, voices fear of the ‘kill box,’ and identifies the contractor as Melba Koh.
- Unnamed young marineBlunt, angry marine at the service; uses slurs, fears pursuit into the Ring, then softens after Anna’s guidance.
- Australian crewmanYoung sailor at the service; argues about blame, concedes danger of fighting, and joins the group’s shared acknowledgment of fear.