Azure Dragon
The suspected Free Navy spotting ship proves to be a lethal trap, but the Rocinante captures its people and damaged data core.
Story so far
The Azure Dragon goes dark while coordinating the threat against Earth, relying on passive sensing and the immensity of space to stay hidden. The Rocinante approaches under cover, and Bobbie Draper's rail-gun shot forces it to dump its reactor before it can run.
Its silence conceals a booby-trapped docking mechanism that pins Bobbie between airlocks. Three construction mechs then begin cutting into the Roci's hull while a boarding party waits on the other side. Amos Burton and Clarissa Mao fight them outside; the attackers are defeated, two prisoners are taken, and the ship's crew attempts to scrub its data core before the Roci can recover it.
Appearance
An aged, radiation-scarred geological survey ship with flaking hull coatings, a darkened reactor, a trapped docking interface, construction mechs, and a data core its crew tries to erase.
Role
The Azure Dragon is the first battlefield proof that the Free Navy's asteroid campaign depends on vulnerable but prepared supporting infrastructure.
Relationships
Sources — 2 recorded facts, by chapter
- A transponder-dark Ceres prospecting ship suspected of spotting and coordinating Free Navy asteroid attacks on Earth.
- The suspected Free Navy spotting ship proves to be a lethal trap, but the Rocinante captures its people and damaged data core.