The Expanse, #2
Caliban’s War
by James S. A. Corey
Contents
Chapter Twenty-Three: Avasarala
Overview
Avasarala sees that Nguyen’s renewed military strength means he is backed by hidden powers, while Bobbie’s intelligence confirms that Earth and Mars have effectively fallen into open war. The larger crisis deepens when Venus disassembles the Arboghast with terrifying precision, proving that the protomolecule presence there is active, intentional, and far beyond human control.
After a rare emotional collapse and a grounding call with Arjun, Avasarala returns to strategy. Bobbie helps her frame the grim political logic: Earth and Mars may be escalating now because each wants dominance after the Venus crisis, a calculation that could doom them all.
Summary
Avasarala watches launch traffic from Earth while absorbing the news that Ganymede has become a wasteland and that Admiral Nguyen has enough ships to challenge Mars. Because Avasarala had personally reduced Nguyen’s command, she realizes someone powerful must have rebuilt it and helped remove her from the Martian negotiations. Avasarala orders Soren to trace where Nguyen’s ships came from and who authorized them.
Bobbie reports that Martian contacts believe Earth fired first and that the Martian peace delegation has already left, preparing a statement accusing the UN of negotiating in bad faith. Bobbie then offers her resignation, assuming that war means Bobbie must return to Martian service. Avasarala rejects the resignation, arguing that Bobbie has not been recalled and that Bobbie’s real goal is to expose who killed Bobbie’s Marines and pushed Earth and Mars toward war.
An urgent Venus report interrupts Avasarala’s work. Michael-Jon de Uturbé shows Avasarala footage of the science vessel Arboghast, which had been observing Venus. After a sensor spike and scan from Venus, the Arboghast is not destroyed by an explosion but meticulously disassembled into plates, girders, pipes, fasteners, and suit components, killing all 572 people aboard.
Michael-Jon explains that the event resembles someone taking apart a machine to understand it, and Avasarala understands that an intentional, inhuman intelligence has acted from Venus. She authorizes Michael-Jon to send the clearest version of the footage to Admiral Souther and sends Souther a terse message to watch and call her.
Shaken by fear and awe, Avasarala retreats to a restroom and calls Arjun. Their brief exchange of love steadies her enough to return to work. Back in her office, Avasarala asks Bobbie why military powers would fight each other when a greater threat is bearing down on them. Bobbie concludes that each side may be trying to consolidate power before the crisis resolves, because no one trusts the others; Avasarala recognizes that this logic could make everyone lose together.
Who Appears
- Chrisjen AvasaralaUN power broker; investigates Nguyen, witnesses Venus’s threat, and refocuses on preventing wider catastrophe.
- Bobbie DraperMartian marine working for Avasarala; rejects resignation after being urged to pursue the real conspirators.
- SorenAvasarala’s exhausted aide; tasked with tracing how Nguyen regained a powerful command.
- Michael-Jon de UturbéSpecial sciences expert; shows Avasarala footage proving the Arboghast was methodically disassembled.
- Arjun AvasaralaAvasarala’s husband; comforts her after the Venus revelation shakes her composure.