Abaddon's Gate

How it opens

James Holden and his crew now run the Rocinante as an independent courier and escort ship, and they celebrate a string of paying contracts in a Ceres casino. In a restroom there, the figure of Miller, the dead detective, turns up for Holden again, as it has for almost a year, talks in riddles and then says that something has happened. Two days later the news breaks that a ship flew into the Ring, the alien structure out past the orbit of Uranus, and never came out the other side. On Tycho Station, Fred Johnson readies the OPA's huge refitted warship, the Behemoth, to follow Earth and Mars to the Ring under Captain Ashford, and moves Bull, an Earther, from executive officer to chief of security for the sake of appearances.

Who you meet early

• James HoldenJames Holden captains the Rocinante, which he and his crew have run as an independent courier and escort ship since he quit his job as the OPA's bagman. He and Naomi Nagata share joined quarters aboard.
• Naomi NagataNaomi Nagata shares Holden's quarters on the Rocinante and can tell at a glance when Miller has turned up for him again.
• Alex KamalAlex Kamal pilots the Rocinante, and when the crew had money to spend he asked for a keel-mounted rail gun for her.
• Amos BurtonAmos Burton crews the Rocinante and spent thirty grand on after-market engine upgrades for her during a stop on Callisto.
• Fred JohnsonFred Johnson leads the OPA from Tycho Station and is sending its biggest ship, the Behemoth, to the Ring, because if Earth and Mars send ships there, the OPA means to send its own.
• Carlos c de BacaBull is an Earther who has served under Fred Johnson for years, under two different governments. Fred moves him from executive officer of the Behemoth to chief security officer because an Earther on the bridge sends the wrong message.
• AshfordCaptain Ashford is a Belter with a math degree from the Lunar Campus of Boston University, and he is the captain named to command the Behemoth on its mission to the Ring.