On OPA-claimed Ceres, Miller observes a station unmoored by politics. Recently fired by Star Helix, he drifts through a perfunctory bender, then returns to work habits: auditing the docking logs that had slipped through before his access was cut. He begins eliminating ships that plausibly fit the Ceres window for the Scopuli connection.

Reviewing entries, Miller discards routine candidates like the Adrianopole and Badass Motherfucker, then earmarks the OPA-linked Dagon. A suspicious profile emerges with the Rocinante, a supposed gas hauler traveling from Pallas to Tycho—an uneconomic route. He requests prior flight data and, noting delays, suspects the records lie off-station. A definition lookup of “Rocinante” nudges him toward believing it is Holden’s ship.

Havelock, now with Protogen security, sends a friendly message offering work. Miller replies, declining for now and asking for a level-one watch on the Rocinante’s flight plans. As Ceres lurches into riots and a curfew, Miller’s inability to intervene is underscored when a teenage OPA supporter shrugs off his warning and heads toward the trouble.

Beyond Ceres, tensions escalate: Triton’s labs broadcast Martian fleet positions, Earth companies retreat inward, and war looms. Miller decides his only useful move is to keep being a detective. He packs his few belongings, says farewell—including a rib-cracking hug from Muss—and buys passage to Tycho to follow the lead.

At boarding, Havelock reports a hit: the target has filed for Eros. Miller cancels his Tycho ticket and buys one to Eros instead, reframing the setback as luck. He recommits to finding Holden and, through him, Julie Mao—accepting the risk as the price of purpose: “Life is risk.”