During the Rocinante’s hard burn toward the incoming pinnace, Prax suffers badly under four g. The acceleration and drugs leave him detached and introspective, forcing him to confront the fact that telling himself Mei is dead has been a comfort: if Mei is dead, Mei cannot be afraid or tortured, and Prax’s pain belongs only to Prax.

When the ship pauses for a short meal break, Prax checks the overwhelming public response to the allegations Nicola made against him. Prax sees hate, support, and other people’s trauma in his messages, but no useful updates from his investigators. Prax tries to record a message to Nicola, then deletes it because Prax no longer knows what to say to the woman who has publicly accused him.

Amos comes to help with Prax’s injured knee and resets it with painful practicality. Amos then asks whether the accusations about Prax and Mei contain any truth, framing the question as something that must be known before they continue trusting Prax. Prax insists the accusations are false and says such acts would make someone bad; Amos reveals that if Prax had done them, Amos would have killed him, which reassures Prax rather than frightening him.

In the galley, the crew reviews the tactical situation. Six UN destroyers are still racing toward the Rocinante, another force follows them, and Avasarala’s pinnace is maneuvering to join the ship. The crew accepts that taking Avasarala aboard may be risky but is likely their best option, while Prax interprets the split among Earth factions as an expected division within any group structure.

Before the next burn, Prax again tries to make a message for Nicola but stops. Instead, Prax uses the charity bank interface to return Nicola’s money, deciding there is nothing left to say. After another punishing acceleration period, the Rocinante matches with the pinnace while Holden and Amos wait armed, Naomi monitors ship systems, and Alex watches from the cockpit.

The first person through the airlock is a huge armored woman, Bobbie Draper, whose presence immediately unsettles the armed crew. After Bobbie clears the ship, Undersecretary Avasarala boards in a disheveled sari and immediately takes command of the situation. Avasarala asks Naomi for help preparing a public statement to keep the Rocinante from being destroyed, and Holden pushes back until Avasarala makes the request more politely.