The Expanse

amplifier

"The antenna is working but our signal still too weak. The transmitter was severely from the power grid. It's done." Naomi looks over at Holden.

"This just keeps getting better and better. So we just blew an hour of air for a radio that doesn't even work?" Shed scoffed.

"Can't we rig ourselves an amplifier?" Holden asked.

"We're gonna need a shitload of power." Amos says.

"Take everything apart. Be fast and be careful, we're inside of a limb with a pin here. If it has a battery, a power pack, any charge capability, it goes into a part. I'm sorry, does anyone need a back rub first?" Naomi jumps down to the lower level and pulls up machines. I go over to my weapons bag and pull out all the batteries in walkie-talkies that I had stashed in case we ever need it.

"Last one. Even if someone hears our SOS, they're gonna think we're pirates." Shed says as we all exam the parts. What was still in tack and useful.

"Well, we're gonna just have to pray there's another caring soul out there like Ade." Alex said.

"Ade? She's why we're in this shit right now. If she hadn't gone and logged that stupid distress call," She some as Holden reaches to the bottom deck with us.

"Hey! You don't know what you are talking about. You wanna keep your teeth in your mouth," Holden threatens.

"We're wasting air." Naomi hits a wrench against the ladder.

"She's right. Regardless of the distress call. It doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't matter who logged. It. It doesn't matter who flagged it. She's dead just like everybody else on the Cant. This now and we are here. We need to survive in this rust-bucket before we lose air or pirates come pick us up." Everyone looks over at me as I walk off to the other side of the ship. Finally, we grabbed all the batteries in electronics has we start building a amplifier. I start weaving wires together as Naomi looks over the transmitter from the Scopuli.

"You want to clue us in?" Holden asked as they look closer at the beacon.

"This beacon we answered isn't pirate tech. It's top-grade military stuff. Serial stamp on the main board. Martian Congressional Navy." Naomi tells the class. I nod my head. Great.

"So the Martian military tried to take us out. Why?" I tried to think. It didn't make any sense.

"That makes no kind of sense." Alex shakes his head.

"It makes all kinds of sense. That ship that attacked The Cant wasn't tucked behind an asteroid, it was hiding in plain sight."

"A stealth ship why would they nuke a civilian ship without warning?" Alex asked.

"Because they can." Holden fights back.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Alex scoffs.

"Whoa. What the hell are we tangled up in here?" Shed asked.

"Who gives a shit? Let's focus on staying alive. We'll worry about Mars later." Amos said as he looks at all of us.

"Hey! Amos is right. We need to worry about living and breathing then to worry about why the Martian military ship was targeting us. We worry about that later until were safe." I started pacing.

"Good so far?" Naomi asked as she plugs the beacon in.

"Good signal. We've got three hours of juice."  Alex checks the screens.

"Well I guess all we gotta do now is pop a cold beer, and wait to be rescued." Shed sits back and crosses his arms. I was so tired. I wanted to take a nap, but I couldn't. Everybody else was laying down resting. Someone had to stay up and listen out. To see if anybody responded to the beacon. I got up and started cleaning my guns. Pulling them apart and cleaning the inside out. I could hear beeping. Next to Alex.

"Hey! Alex whats that?" I asked as I drop my guns.

"Alex?" Holden calls as everyone gets up and walks over to Alex.

"Someone heard us." Alex says as he looks at the screen.

"Someone heard us?" Shed asked.

"Yeah." Alex confirms.

"Are they coming?" Shed asked again.

"Just waiting for the bounceback." We all sit there patiently wait for the info to come back.

"What is that?" There was a beep as Alex reads in he sighs in relief.

"Ship en route." He tells us. I felt a glimpse of hope. Maybe I don't have to die on this rust-bucket.

"How far?" Holden asked as we felt relieved.

"It's almost 80,000 clicks." Alex tells us as we all look at the screen.

"It's gonna be a hell of a close shave." Holden said.

"We'll make it." Naomi smiles. Alex takes A closer look at all the information from the ship that's coming to us. His face turned pale.

"Alex. Whats wrong?" I look at him. He takes a big gulp.

"What? What is it?" Holden asked.

The ship. It's Mars." Alex tells us.

"The Donnager. The flagship of the Martian Navy." Alex informs us.

"Coming to finish the job." Naomi sighs.

"And we just told 'em where we were." Amos says as he walks it off.

"Listen, we're the only ones who know what happened to the Cant. We get on that ship and chances are we're never comin' out. Unless," Holden thinks as he goes to the control panel.

"What are you doing?" Naomi asked.

"Buying us insurance. My name is James Holden, speaking for the six survivors of the Canterbury. Our ship was destroyed answering a bogus SOS from a ship called the Scopuli. We recovered a false beacon and identified it as Martian Naval technology.  It was a trap." Holden opens up a com. Well, if we're going down, we'll go down swinging.

"Are you insane?" Shed asked.

"We are about to be taken aboard the MCRN Donnager." Holden continues.

"Alex, shut him down!" Naomi orders.

"He's locked us out. He's locked us out!" Alex tells her.

"You don't speak for us." Naomi tries to pull Holden off the screen.

"He speaks for most of us. Get off him." I tell them.

"We intend to cooperate and hope this means we won't be harmed." Holden continues.

"Should I smoke him? Say the word." Amos pulls a gun on Holden looking at Naomi. I pull my gun out as Alex sinks into his seat.

"Do it and I smoke the rest of you. So who's to say you shoot him and I take you all down in 5 seconds. Put the gun down." I tell Amos as I cock the gun and point it at him. He looks back at me smirking as if this is a game. Its not. He puts the gun down.

"We're dead anyway. Any such action will only confirm that the Canterbury was destroyed by Mars. It just needs to reach one ship, one station. Then it'll spread." Holden tells us as he sends the message out.

"Don't count on it. Their jammers were in range." Alex says.

"Alright so are we going down fighting or just give in?" I look at Holden. For all I'm concerned he was the captain of the ship. He was the XO. I could feel their ship riding against us. It was jerking our ship around.

"Their boarding us. I need an answer." I look at Holden.

"Let them. Don't fight it." He tells me as I set my gun down. They blow torch our door as we all get up to see them. They push the door down as the army swarms us.

"You are prisoners of the Mars Congressional Republic. Move and you die." They train their rifles on us.

"This is not how I wanted to go." I chuckled as everyone stares at me.