Ace gives Nitro Nine to Mel for docking bay assault
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Ace prepares to take action against an ice jam in the docking bay, giving Mel homemade Nitro Nine cans to help clear it.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Amusedly patient yet cautiously approving of Ace’s risky preparations
Mel enters hesitantly behind Ace, attempting to tidy clothes while tactfully engaging Ace in dialogue about her past. She accepts the explosive cans with a single quizzical line, trusts Ace’s summary of their nature, and follows when Ace departs without debate.
- • Maintain dialogue and relationship with Ace despite her abrasiveness
- • Acknowledge and accept Ace’s improvised armaments for the mission
- • Authority can be earned through competence and integrity rather than title
- • Pragmatic alliances are worth temporary discomfort
Defiantly impassive masking deep rejection of parental figures and institutions
Ace storms into the room addressing Mel with brittle sarcasm, refusing all offers of order and stripping off her apron to put on a jacket patched with NASA and Fanderson badges. She retrieves pressurised cans from her rucksack, casually passing them to Mel as Nitro Nine explosives while delivering a clipped explanation of their potency and handling.
- • Protect the group by arming Mel with reliable explosives for the coming assault on the ice jam
- • Reject any perceived domestication or institutional expectation of tidiness and compliance
- • Institutions and authority figures are inherently oppressive and untrustworthy
- • Self-sufficiency and controlled violence are legitimate tools for survival
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Ace discards her waitress apron in favour of a NASA-patched jacket while conversing with Mel. The apron’s folded remains are visible before Ace changes, marking the transition from service identity to combat readiness.
Ace wears a thick padded jacket adorned with NASA and Fanderson mission badges as she retrieves and handles the pressurised cans. The jacket visually shifts her identity toward mission readiness and practical protection.
Ace extracts three dented pressurised cans from her rucksack and repurposes them to contain homemade Nitro Nine, informing Mel of the contents and handling precautions. The cans become improvised but volatile weapons for the assault.
The sturdy canvas rucksack serves as Ace’s mobile arsenal and wardrobe, its contents rattling audibly as she moves. She reaches in repeatedly to retrieve clothing and then the pressurised cans, hinging her preparation on the bag’s availability.
A pile of discarded clothes left in disarray after Ace changes. Mel’s efforts to pick up the clothes prompt Ace’s sharp refusal, underscoring tension around order and control within the room.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Ace’s room functions as a private arming chamber where she dons mission attire, discards everyday symbols, and retrieves explosives without supervision. Its cluttered disarray mirrors her unresolved identity but enables her quick operational pivot.
The upper docking bay lies downstream of Ace’s preparations; her arming of Mel with Nitro Nine directly targets the ice jam obstructing escape from this cavernous space.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Ace's backstory—attending boarding school and being expelled for blowing up the art room—demonstrates a lifelong pattern of violent rebellion in response to authority."
Ace and Mel clash over Glitz on arrival"Ace's backstory—attending boarding school and being expelled for blowing up the art room—demonstrates a lifelong pattern of violent rebellion in response to authority."
Ace reveals Earth origins to Mel"Ace's earlier preparation of Nitro Nine (for clearing an ice jam in the docking bay) is actualized in her explosive use here, showing continuity in her resourcefulness."
Ace blasts open the frozen docking hatch"Ace's backstory—attending boarding school and being expelled for blowing up the art room—demonstrates a lifelong pattern of violent rebellion in response to authority."
Ace and Mel clash over Glitz on arrival"Ace's backstory—attending boarding school and being expelled for blowing up the art room—demonstrates a lifelong pattern of violent rebellion in response to authority."
Ace reveals Earth origins to Mel"Ace's past act of blowing up the art room foreshadows her current willingness to use explosives against Kane, reflecting a consistent use of force to assert autonomy."
Ace rejects Kane's bribe and demands release"Ace's past act of blowing up the art room foreshadows her current willingness to use explosives against Kane, reflecting a consistent use of force to assert autonomy."
Ace brands Nitro Nine to fight Kane"Both Ace and Kane position themselves as figures who transcend their environments—Ace through her temporal displacement, Kane through his cryosleep control—yet both seek power over destiny."
Ace rejects Kane's bribe and demands release"Both Ace and Kane position themselves as figures who transcend their environments—Ace through her temporal displacement, Kane through his cryosleep control—yet both seek power over destiny."
Ace brands Nitro Nine to fight KaneKey Dialogue
"ACE: They're just old cans. They've got home made Nitro Nine in them now."
"MEL: Nitro Nine?"
"ACE: It's just like ordinary nitroglycerine, except it's got a bit more wallop. Careful you don't drop them. Come on."