Avasarala’s face went calm, her eyes focused a few centimeters to Amos’ left. The security chief started to say something, but Avasarala put out a palm to stop her. After a few seconds, Avasarala grunted, shook her head, and turned to the security force. “You can skip this one. Go get a beer instead or something. It’s all right.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the security chief said.

“Burton? You make goddamned sure there isn’t any trouble from this, and you get her the fuck off my moon without anyone seeing her.”

“You got it, Chrissie.”

“Don’t fucking call me that. I’m the acting secretary-general of the United Nations, not your favorite stripper.”

Amos spread his hands. “Could be room for both.”

Avasarala’s laughter rang out through the dock. The security force broke up, moved on. The loading mechs repositioned. The carts continued on their various paths, busy as a kicked anthill. “I’m glad you made it,” she said when she regained herself. “The universe would be less interesting without you.”

“Likewise. How’s the recovery going?”

“It sucks donkey balls,” she said, shaking her head. “We’re still losing thousands of people every day. Maybe tens of thousands. The food’s running out down there, and even if I had enough rice to feed them all, the infrastructure’s so fucked there’s no good way to distribute it. Not to mention that there could still be more of those fucking rocks dropping anytime.”

“Your kid okay?”

“Ashanti and her family are fine. They’re here on Luna already. Thank you for asking.”

“And your guy? Arjun?”

Avasarala smiled, and it didn’t reach her eyes. “I remain optimistic,” she said. “The Rocinante is on its way. You’ll have something to ride on that doesn’t make your cock look as small as that gaudy turd.”

“That’s good to hear. This boat’s not my style anyway.”

Avasarala turned away, shuffling awkwardly into the crowd. The low gravity didn’t seem natural to her. He figured she probably hadn’t spent all that much of her life up the well. Space was an acquired skill. Amos stretched, rolled on the balls of his feet, and waited until the last of the security force was out of sight. Chances were pretty slim they were going to press the issue once they’d been slapped down, but he still felt better watching them get gone.

While he was waiting, two Belters in Aldrin dockworker uniforms scurried by staying close together, their heads bowed. Luna was going to be a shitty, shitty place to be a Belter for a while, Amos thought. Still, it probably hadn’t been that great before. He headed back to the Zhang Guo, and the entry lock opened as he got close to it, welcoming him back in.