Zodiac (Zodiac, #1)(100)
All twelve Houses sent spacecraft to fight Ophiuchus. Even Cancer managed to supply a barge. Scorpio contributed a squadron of sloops, even though Charon is under investigation by the Plenum. House Virgo provided mirage veils to cloak every ship from view. Sirna is stationed on the Ariean destroyer Xitium, which flies just off our starboard flank, and Lord Neith is piloting ’Nox on our port side. Rubidum’s somewhere behind us, steering a neutron zeppelin.
On Phaetonis, the Ariean generals converted a chemical plant for mass production of Psy shields, and now every vessel in our fleet carries a full-size facsimile of Hysan’s veil. Since we’re flying silent, ship-to-ship communications are tricky. Sometimes we shuttle back and forth, but mostly we use blinking signal lamps. Our entire success rests on a surprise attack.
“I just think if I knew more,” I tell Ignus as we walk together, “maybe I could help, based on what I learned from my previous encounters with Ophiuchus.”
He gazes down at me with a look of grandfatherly patience. “Little Mother, you worry too much.”
While Ignus goes to the bridge, I head to the forward observatory, going over what I know of the plan in my mind. First, we’ll zigzag through the Kyros Belt, a broad band of ice in the Fish constellation of House Pisces. The Kyros Belt will conceal our stop at a Piscene space station orbiting planet Ichthys. That’s where we’ll load up on fuel. We’ll need a lot of fuel to reach the Thirteenth House.
Then, heavily veiled, we’ll pass through Ochus’s wall of Dark Matter. When we’re within visual range, we’ll lower our Psy shields, and every Zodai in our fleet will read the patterns of his constellation to find him. We’ll need to be incredibly fast, since shields down means he’ll be able to attack us. Once we find Ochus’s base, the feint comes in.
I’m the feint.
Ignus has given me a Wasp gunship with a high-resolution Ephemeris onboard, and I’ll fly it far from the fleet. When we find him, I’ll lower my Psy shield and open an Ephemeris to attract Ochus’s attention.
The instant he attacks me, my Psy shield will switch on and keep me safe . . . I hope. And while Ochus is distracted, the fleet will move close enough to destroy his headquarters. Then, as Rubidum says, “We’ll incinerate the butcher.” But I also know I could be incinerated in the process.
I sent Nishi and Deke encrypted messages before leaving the embassy. In Nishi’s, after thanking her a million times for everything—above all, for being the best friend imaginable—I included a letter for Stanton. I asked her to track him down and deliver it if I don’t return.
Mathias finds me in the forward observatory. “The enemy knows we’re coming,” he says, storming over in a bad mood. “This armada’s too big to hide.”
I recite the facts Admiral Ignus used to ease my own worries. “We’re invisible, and we change our heading every few hours. He can’t possibly know our exact location.”
Mathias adjusts the telescope lens and looks through it. He stays glued to the eyepiece, and I can’t read his expression. His stretches of silence are more maddening than his outbursts.
“Our Zodai are already watching for ambushes,” I insist. “We’ll do lots of reconnaissance before we strike.”
Sirna’s still worried about the secret army on Phobos, but that’s not what troubles me most. I’m worried we’ve been at peace for so long that our Houses have forgotten the art of war.
Except for the five Ariean destroyers, none of our vessels were designed to carry weapons, and other than the Arieans, our crews have no experience in battle. Combat is just a word from the history files for most of us here. The older men like Ignus are almost giddy. They don’t seem to understand there’s a chance we won’t come back from this.
I plop onto a stool while Mathias recalibrates the lens array, and numbers fly across his control screen as the telescope refocuses. He’s working harder than anyone, training new skiff pilots en route and instructing the ship’s crew in martial arts. We all have to be ready for anything—no one knows what’s behind Ochus’s wall of Dark Matter.
I run fingers through my curls, wondering what critical factor I’ve missed. I can’t fight the bad feeling that keeps creeping up my neck, no matter how many times I try to shake it off. “Ophiuchus is just one House, and we’re twelve. We’ve got the numbers. Everyone believes we can do this.”
“Well then, if everyone believes, we’ll definitely win,” he says flatly.
I stare at him. “What is it?”
He finally faces me, and his eyes shine with more passion than his voice betrays. “They’re asking too much of you, Rho. They’re using you like bait.”
Now I’m the one to look away. “Mathias, I launched this voyage. These people trust me. You want to turn back?”
“Of course not. We’re committed now.” He rises from his scope and moves toward me. “I’m having your Wasp armor-plated.”
“Thank you,” I say, even though we both know physical armor won’t hold off a Psy attack.
“I’ll be with you every step,” he murmurs, looking like he wants to say more.
He thinks he’s going to pilot my Wasp, but I’ve already decided there’s no way. I’m not going to let him die with me. He already came aboard Equinox without knowing the full risk, and he could have died too many times. I have to return him to Amanta and Egon. Mathias has to get home.