The Expanse (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 10 - Dandelion Sky - full transcript

I need to get a message
to my father, Jules-Pierre Mao.

Everything you feared
about the protomolecule

has come to pass.

I can't fix it,

but I can destroy the man
who brought you low.

We've struck at the Inners' vessels,
and we will strike again.

Holden didn't
do any of that.

He's being framed.

That fake message was
somebody trying to kill us.

It was just supposed to be
a back door so we could get nav

and stuff you
might not tell us.



We're still locked out
of comms and weapons.

I don't wanna get into
anyone's firing range

until we can explain that
that message was fake.

Make sure you tell them
we didn't blow up the Seung Un!

Tell them what really happened,
please.

You want to indulge in a selfish desire

to be a part of
something amazing.

Yeah.

I'm going through the Ring.

I won't hear your voice,
uh, until I'm back.

Inyalowda go
through the Ring,

call it their own.

But a Belter opened it!

This moment belong to us!



It's the MCRN Xuesen.

If things go too fast around here,
something gets nervous and grabs 'em?

How fast was it going
when it got stopped?

Just over 18,000 KPH.

Okay, so now we have
a speed limit.

I came back for
the wrong reasons.

I didn't understand
what I was leaving.

Don't go
too fast out there.

Hang in there.
I'm coming.

I've been seeing him
since the Ring turned on.

Maybe he isn't
exactly dead.

Maybe he isn't
exactly Miller.

We gotta go. Come on.
To the station. To the nucleus.

I got a case to solve,
and you want the truth.

Are you coming or not?

Play one of the best new FPS shooters,
search Steam for PROJECT WARLOCK

Miller told me to go
to the station.

He said it would help us.

He's already saved our
asses once, so...

I've gotten you guys
in enough trouble.

What else is new, right?

I have to do this on my own.

Just stay safe.

Thanks, both of you, for...

Well, for everything.

And do not follow me.

That's an order.

Fuck.

After all the shit we've been through,
I'm starting to wonder if I'm cursed.

Yeah, why's that?

'Cause out of the
whole human race,

you're the one flying toward
the mysterious alien artifact

with a dead guy?

Yeah.

You're just following
your program.

- Just like me.
- Program?

Mmm-hmm.

I always had this crazy notion
about free will.

Then how come it is

that every time there's some cluster-fuck
shit-storm situation in the universe,

there's James Holden,

shrugging his shoulders, saying,
"How the hell did I end up here?"

You're really pumping me up
for this mission.

You're the patron saint
of lost causes, kid.

Quit running from it.

Course is locked.

We are on final approach
to the Gate.

Sub two is go.

Dr. Volovodov,
I heard you were a Methodist.

- I am.
- Me too.

First Methodist, Cedar Rapids,
Iowa.

It's part of the North American
Trade Zone.

We're all a long way
from home.

Yeah, a very long way.

All hands, stand by for zero-G.

As a precaution, speed will be
12,600 kilometers per hour,

30% below the limit.

I haven't been sleeping
very well since

we got the orders
to go through this thing.

In the face of all this,
sleep seems disrespectful, maybe?

I'd say more like terrifying.

Mmm-hmm.

Do you think God
wants us to be here?

As far as I can tell,
the scripture's quiet on this one.

Excuse me.

All indicators are green for Ring transit.

Gate contact in ten...

Nine...

Eight...

Seven...

Six...

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One.

Transit is complete.

We are on the other side
of the Ring.

All work groups report.

There are the Martians.

This is incredible.

We have to get some
probes out ASAP.

Can't we just enjoy it
for a minute?

I suppose we should.

I thought it was gonna
be a wormhole.

- It's not?
- In theory,

wormholes connect
distant points in space.

And this doesn't look like
space at all.

Exactly. Whatever it is,
it's highly energetic.

Its emissions are swamping
our censors.

I think it's beautiful.

There's something
at the center.

It looks similar
to the Ring.

Makes sense it would be the same technology.

What are those...
Those purple glows?

You tell me.

Yeah?

That's the slingshotter.

Belter torpedo...
MCRN probe,

in the same orbit,
the same distance apart.

What is this place?

Where angels fear to tread
if they had any goddamn sense.

Sorry, Pastor.

Rocinante.
Please respond.

Rocinante,
please respond.

Come on, guys.

Why aren't you talking?

Belter skiff,
this is the MCRN Xuesen.

What is your business?

I am en route
to the Rocinante.

Have you contacted them?

This is a policing action.

We have been ordered to
apprehend James Holden and crew.

Your assistance is neither
requested nor required.

You can't possibly believe that the
same James Holden who saved Mars

has started blowing up
innocent civilian ships.

We are ordering you to break off.
You have been fairly warned.

- Xuesen out.
- Same to you.

Asshole.

Drop Ship One, this is Flight.

Stand by for
final clearance to drop.

Whoever that is, they're headed
straight for that thing in the center.

It has to be Holden.

That's definitely
his style.

- So he's crazy?
- I suppose you could

- make that argument.
- Fantastic.

But I don't believe he
would blow up the Seung Un.

That's definitely not
his style.

You sure you're up
for this, Gunny?

What do you mean
by that?

The things Holden did
in the war with your help,

that's a big part of why
you were reinstated.

It'd be understandable if
you were feeling conflicted.

Our orders are to stop him before
he does anything down there,

and that's what
I intend to do.

Are you gonna tell me
what that thing is?

Yeah, just as soon as we get down there,
we'll both know.

I should've
brought a gun.

Wouldn't do you
any good.

I calmed down
the station's security.

That's about the only thing
protecting you right now.

Mmm. Comforting.

Except these guys.
We got a little company.

Ugh. Martians.

- They're not happy with me.
- Just collecting pals

wherever you go, huh?

- What are you doing?
- Trying not to get caught.

Slow down.
Remember what I said

- about doors and corners?
- Don't start with

- that shit again.
- Hey, you're no good to me

if the station
squashes you like a bug!

Slow down.

Just exercising
some free will.

Now you're just being
an asshole.

Amos. Amos!

Looks like the Xuesen
just launched a skiff.

They're going
after Holden.

- Then we have to go after him too.
- We can't.

Even if we left right now
at maximum speed,

we wouldn't get to him
before they did.

And they're not
gonna be expecting us to try,

so we're going to punch them in the
face before they figure it out.

Right, that's a... That's a great plan,
to take on a Martian Marine fire team.

It's better to go down
swinging than rolling over.

Why are you being
so much like yourself?

Is none of this stuff
weirding you out?

You want me to say
this is some weird shit?

- Yeah, this is some weird shit.
- Thank you.

And we're playing
way out of our league here.

That's been true ever since
we've been sharpening sticks

and going after lions,
but we're still here.

I get it. Alien shit,

magic gates, Naomi bugging off to
go play Belter, Holden doing...

I have no clue what
Holden is doing.

Me neither.

I wish that I could tell you
I was freaked out,

but I'm not.

Not even a little?

I haven't felt fear
since I was five years old.

Man, I wish I could go through
life without feeling fear.

No. You don't.

Brother, I can't stop thinking
that being in this place,

that maybe this is it.
Like, we're all gonna die.

We are gonna die.

No. All of us.

Humanity.

Back in Baltimore,
I had this friend.

And she said,
if the end ever came,

she'd grab a bottle and her
two cats and go to the roof,

have a toast,
and then jump.

With the cats?

Like a fuckin' pharaoh.

Don't worry.

I'd take you
with me too.

My best guess is that it's a
field that manipulates inertia

in ways that we don't
understand.

- Inertia.
- That's the whole bodies

- in motion and rest thing?
- Yes.

I feel like there's a sex joke
in there somewhere,

but I'm not finding it.

What's interesting is that
the torpedo's engine

is still burning,
and that the probe's still

- sending back data.
- Why is that interesting?

Well, it means that their internal
systems are still functioning normally,

even though the objects
themselves have been stopped.

I bet that if an object were
to exceed the speed limit

inside this ship,
nothing would happen to it.

We should test that.

Maybe the purple glow
is like a cyst.

- I don't follow.
- When you get a splinter,

your body builds around it,
isolating it...

Infections can
develop cysts.

Maybe it's interpreting
these objects as threats,

and that's how
it isolates them.

There's no way to know
why it's doing anything.

Best we can figure out
is how.

I don't think biological models
are gonna

- help us understand this.
- Kinda makes you nervous

to think that it's alive

and watching us,
don't you think?

Little bit, yeah.

- What is it?
- The XO would like

to speak with you on the command deck,
ma'am.

Lieutenant?

You okay?

Just fine, ma'am.

Show the Rocinante's course.

Show best route to intercept
with the Rocinante

within the speed limit.

I need to get there
before the Xuesen.

Support ships for the Inners,
coming to join the party.

No matter. We'll reach the thing
in the middle before they do.

And then what?

- Knock politely?
- Rub it with a cloth?

Oh, and it's just too bad we
don't have our chief engineer

to build us some probes.

You have something
to say?

Yeah, I said it.
We needed Nagata here,

- and you let her go.
- This isn't a slave ship.

No, it's a warship.
The Belt's first and only.

And I'm its captain.

Yeah. Yeah, you are.

We have a few autonomous farm drones
with chemical samplers for soil.

We can convert those
into probes.

A captain must
know their ship.

Hmm.

I repeat, we are ordering you
to break off your present course

so we can bring you aboard
in protective custody.

You will not be harmed.

James Holden,
please respond.

- Shit!
- He's not slowing down.

- Not even a bit.
- He's still got

a ton of velocity to shed,
unless he's planning

on going through that thing
instead of to it.

What do you think's gonna
happen when he reaches it?

- Maybe little green men'll come out.
- Maybe boom...

Hopefully nothing.

Sir, may I
give it a try?

Do it.

Holden.
Bobbie Draper here.

Really?

Yeah. It's me.

I need you to slow down.

Shut the fuck up,
I'm trying to...

Sorry, Bobbie, I wasn't
talking to you.

Are you on
another channel?

What? No.

I mean yes.
Yes, another channel.

- Would you just stop for...
- Who are you talking to, Holden?

Monkeys and microwaves?

Holden, are you all right?

- Exactly.
- Holden.

You need to slow down
and let us bring you in.

- Give me a minute...
- I promise we'll

- hear you out.
- I didn't blow up

the Seung Un,
and Alex and Amos

had nothing to do with
it either. I gotta go.

Get him back.

I can't. He's locked us
out of his comms.

That man sound
rational to you?

Not entirely.

No, sir. He did not.

Yeah, I concur.

He's cracked.

Everyone's got
a breaking point.

I'm sure he's not the only one
in this godforsaken place.

What are you waiting for?

- What's in there?
- Just stuff.

The next lead in the case.

Do you even know
what "the case" is?

Yeah, sure. It's...
We gotta find a records room.

And then we gotta
read the files.

And then,

we see what's what.

You tell me what that is,
and I'll keep going.

Sometimes I... I know stuff
that's too big for my head.

There used to be
something here.

A lot of something.
A civilization.

Billions of years ago. But now,
all that's left is a bunch of locked doors

- and some lights on a timer.
- So what do we do?

You figure out how
to pick the locks.

- Ah! They're getting closer.
- Can't you stop them?

Sure, I can get the station
to stop them permanently.

No. No, no.

Don't do that.

Then keep moving.

Jules-Pierre Mao's project

wreaked havoc throughout
the system.

The protomolecule killed
so many,

brought Earth and Mars
to the brink of annihilation,

and you had a major effect
on those events,

and that led you to this.

The Ring.

How does that make you feel?

Kind of makes me want
a doughnut.

Show me the Rocinante's
new course.

If I took a skiff,

could I get to the Rocinante
before the Martians?

If the Rocinante's reactor
went critical,

what would the zero-survival
radius be?

Bossmang...

Yeah, what's up?
What's the problem, Harari?

I na like da ting Drummer say to you,
or how she say it.

A captain can run their ship
however they choose to.

Captain should be you.

Tread carefully,
good my boy.

You been bossmang from
da time before me

or half the Beltalowda
on this ship was born.

Yeah, that's true.
I have.

And I've drunk
real Earth whiskey

out of a UN Admiral's mug
and then scuttled her ship.

I flew dark past a Martian battle group,
and they never even knew I was there.

And I've seen friends
breathe the vacuum,

and watched
my only child burn.

So when I tell you to tread carefully,
you would do well to stop talking.

- Is this some kind of machine?
- Yeah.

And I need you to do
something for me later.

Not sure what I can do
that you can't.

Hmm? Oh, I need you to, you know,
help me get the system back online.

I thought you were
plugged in to this place.

Yeah, but not to the records.
See, they're locked.

Remember?
So you can, you know, turn the key.

But what do you
need me for?

Because you exist, okay?
That's why.

You seem real enough.

Okay.

Couple hundred billion
brain cells in your skull.

You got more synapses
than stars in the universe.

- You are a fancy hand terminal.
- Thanks.

With a lot of buttons.
Now, I push a few trillion

of them buttons in exactly
the right way and, ta-da.

You're talking to Miller.

The sound of his voice,
the clothes he wore.

- Plus the hat.
- Yeah, I like the hat.

Plus, I'm pushing the buttons.

So it's a magic trick.

So is your whole
damn reality, kid.

Just different buttons
being pushed.

Maybe I'm the illusion
inside your head.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

I'm trying to keep things
simple here for you, okay?

Calculus, amoeba.

Monkey, Mozart.

You have to pick one or the other.

I don't think that
there is a conflict.

My father used to say
that God gave us two texts:

scripture and creation.

And if they
seem to contradict,

it's because we haven't
understood one of them yet.

Enlightened attitude.

Earlier than the Enlightenment,
actually.

It turns out,
he was quoting St. Augustine.

Excuse me, ma'am.

Sorry to interrupt,
but I have a favor to ask.

One of our crew
has passed.

I understand you were
of the same faith.

Would you be willing to say
a few words at his service?

Of course. Who is it?

Lieutenant Jordaan Nemeroff.

Um...

What happened?

He was cleaning his sidearm and
accidentally discharged the weapon.

Thank you, ma'am.

That's just terrible.

It's a terrible euphemism,
actually.

Excuse me.

Supply Master.

I need access to a mech suit
rated for deck work.

- Reason?
- Jammed access hatch.

Gonna have to cut it out.
Name is Koh, K-O-H, Melba.

Got it. Stand by.
Checking your contract.

Sorry, Melba Koh, you are
not authorized for that.

You will need a supervisor
to approve...

"...that I didn't know him
when he was ali..."

- No.
- Sorry I ditched you.

The XO keeps trying to limit
our access privileges.

If I'd known blackmail was
going to be this tedious,

I'd have done
something else.

You look grim.
Who died?

Oh, shit.
Did somebody die?

An officer who tried to talk
with me during the transit.

He was scared,
and I was so...

I ignored him.
He killed himself.

Jesus. I'm sorry.

- Hey, it's not your fault.
- Well,

he was begging for help,
and I was too distracted.

That's completely
understandable.

We've had some pretty
unprecedented distractions.

I should've been more
focused on why I'm here.

- What do you mean?
- I'm not a scientist.

I'm a minister.

Physics, biology,
alien artifacts,

I wanna know all about them,
but that's not my job.

You're not here
to praise the Lord.

No, I'm here
to talk to people,

to offer comfort
where comfort is needed,

to sit with people when
they're scared and grieving.

That is what a minister is
supposed to do.

Sorry.

Clarissa?

That portal opened just as Holden
was getting close to the surface.

Maybe he's controlling
that thing somehow...

You can't seriously
believe he's controlling...

It opened for him.
You saw it.

Look, I don't know what
he's going to do down there,

but I got a bad feeling he's
not gonna come with us quietly.

I want you to take us in and
get as close to that portal

- as fast as you can.
- Without going over the limit.

No fucking shit, Trepp.
That's SOP.

- That's understood.
- Copy, LT.

Minimum duration
braking burn.

Get ready for some
pretty heavy Gs, marines.

Lids on and load up.

I didn't know Jordaan
as well as many of you

who worked with him
and lived at his side.

I only spoke with him
a few times,

and I regret that I
didn't know him better.

During the transit,

Jordaan asked me if I thought
God wanted us to be here.

I didn't know the answer then,
and I don't know it now.

What I do believe is that God
wants us to be together,

to care for each other.

"Where two or three gather
together in my name,

"there my spirit is also."

We can't know all of the
burdens that Jordaan carried.

He isn't here anymore
to ask.

But we can remember him

and the shared burdens
that we all carry now.

And we can treat
each other gently,

reach out to those in need.

It will increase our joy
and diminish our pain,

and it will honor Jordaan.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Of course.

I didn't expect
to see you here.

- Me neither.
- Thank you for coming.

You're very good at that.
Reaching out to people in pain.

You look preoccupied.

I think I just saw someone
who didn't wanna be seen.

I don't understand.

When Jules Pierre-Mao became
public enemy number one,

he took his whole family
down with him.

All of their assets
were frozen,

several of his family members
were detained and interrogated.

I heard something
about that.

Well,
a few of them managed to disappear.

There were rumors that
they were hiding out

in the backwaters of
the solar system.

You think one of them
is here now?

- Are you sure?
- Yeah, I'm sure.

Jules-Pierre Mao's daughter
Clarissa.

She was disguised
as a service tech.

I was gonna call security,
but...

I was social with Clarissa,
a little.

Look, our fathers are cut from
the same cloth.

If she's on the run
because of him,

I don't want to be responsible
for making it worse.

Are you going to
reach out to her?

- You think I should?
- I think you should do

what you think is right.
You can trust your judgment.

You obviously don't
know me very well.

You might wanna
slow down now.

This feels like one-G.

Yeah, you're welcome.

You got atmosphere too.

Take your hat off.
Show some respect.

I'll pass.

This is what
I need you to do.

Complete that circuit.

What happens
when I do?

The answer to the case,

or maybe just the next clue.

What?
Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Finish the job.

Is Miller in there?

Or just a heap of protomolecule
pushing my buttons?

You're running
out of time, kid.

Not good enough.

When Miller was on Eros,
he could feel Julie.

It's got nothing
to do with Julie.

Fuck you, then.
For all I know,

touching that thing could end
up killing everyone I love,

the same people
she died to save.

No risk, no reward.

You died together.

But she was already gone,
wasn't she?

She couldn't feel any more pain,
but you could.

Did it kill you?

Did it tear you apart,
one atom at a time?

Or did you burn?

Miller?

Miller!

Captain.

Come to check up on me?

Well, you have been
down here awhile.

I thought I'd do this until
I could keep my temper.

Though I am getting
a lot done.

I should thank you
for that.

I understand why you
let Nagata go.

If I had a chief engineer
who didn't want to be here,

I wouldn't want them
around, either.

But she was
your friend.

She is my friend.

No, I always treated my friends harder,
harsher,

to show the crew
I wasn't playing favorites,

even if I was.

You just can't stop giving me advice,
can you?

- I'm trying to help you.
- Yet, still you call me out

in front of the crew.

Yeah, I could've
done that better.

You did what you meant.
You put it in everyone's head.

And after I left, I bet you
were all praise for me, yeah?

How important it is to respect
the captain and so on.

That way, when the turn come
and you take over,

they all know it was
because you had to.

No choice.

Oh, we have a problem.
And we need to work it out.

Or else what?

Clarissa?

It's Tilly.
Tilly Fagan.

I was friends with your sister,
Julie, a little.

You have me confused with
someone else.

No, I don't.

How did you find me?

There's not that many civilian
contractors on the ship.

It wasn't hard, once I knew
where to look.

I want to help you.

Help me?

I can help you
set things straight.

I'll get you in touch
with my lawyer.

Whatever your dad did or didn't do,
you had nothing to do with any of it.

It's not his fault.
It's Holden's. He's gotta pay.

Clarissa,
whatever happened,

you have no reason to be
suffering for it.

Julie told me this
crazy kid's story.

She said,

"When a child dies,
some sort of angel

"takes their hand and falls

"halfway,"
you know, so they

wouldn't be afraid.

I tried to be the angel.

But I was so scared.

So, she held my hand.

And I told her,

"If you fall with me,

"it ain't gonna be
for halfway."

It's good to see you, Miller.

Holden.

- Holden, stay where you are.
- You stay where you are.

Get the hell out of here,
Bobbie.

- I don't want you to get hurt.
- Listen to me.

- We just wanna talk to you.
- I didn't blow up

- the Seung Un.
- I never believed you did.

- Come with us and we'll figure it all out.
- I can't. I have to do this.

There's no way to explain,
but you gotta trust me, please.

Think about Amos. Alex.

Think about Naomi.

You're putting them all
in danger.

If you really care about them,
come with us.

- Do not take another step...
- Holden.

Or we will shoot.

It doesn't wanna hurt us.

What the fuck?

Grenade!

Now or never, Holden.

Finish it.