Page 4 of Capture of Capricorn

Despite being told he should hand himself over to the bad guys, Capricorn spent some time looking for another option. A warrior did not simply give up! Although he couldn’t help recalling Sage’s conviction that capture gave him the best shot. Handing himself over to the bad guys would certainly get him inside, but still, knowing Cetus—a company with nefarious dealings that on the surface appeared to be all about the climate and fixing it, but they were actually seeking the same artifacts as the Zodiacs and had tried to kidnap some of his brothers—he worried about what they’d do once they had him in their clutches.

With the help of Aquarius, their tech guy, they took a peek at Area 51. Aquarius pulled up satellite images of Area 51, of which there were only few because, imagine that, the government didn’t want plebes spying on their super-secret site. Although there were plenty who tried via all kinds of means. Renting a plane to fly over and take pics. Using drones fitted with cameras. Plenty of shaky video of folks trying to climb the fence and getting caught right away.

What he did learn was the site comprised a few buildings and hangars, but everyone knew the true facility was underground.While they could find no schematics for the base, Capricorn did get a feel for the terrain surrounding it.

Area 51 resembled a barren-ish wasteland. Scorching heat during the day led to hard-packed dirt and scrubby plants. Despite its less-than-hospitable climate, the area was popular enough to support a variety of alien-themed restaurants and stores selling related merchandise. People trekked to the spot from around the world in the hopes of catching a glimpse of something they could post about online.

When it came to infiltrating, Capricorn could easily evade the checkpoints manned by soldiers by climbing the chain-link fence plastered with Restricted Area signs. However, those weren’t the only protective measures being used to keep people out.

Aquarius zoomed in on an image of the perimeter and pointed. “Seems like there are sensors for motion detection not just running along the fence line but also sporadically placed within the secured area. I see cameras as well.”

“What if I starbeamed right outside a ventilation shaft to avoid them?” Capricorn asked, even as he recalled Sage’s warning. He wasn’t keen on a disfiguring scar.

“One, we’d have to find one. Their vents are camouflaged pretty well. Second, I would wager all ingress points have, if not cameras then, most likely, alarms.”

“Can’t you remotely disable them?” Capricorn asked.

“If I had access to their network, yes, but it appears they run everything internally, meaning no one can do shit from the outside. Even if I could divert the cameras and motion sensors and entry point alarms, there’s the AI drones.”

“Bah, drones are easy to shoot down, and given they rely on someone controlling them, surely you can intercept the signal.”

“Not these ones.” Aquarius pulled up some videos he found on the dark web, which showed a dark-colored, military-grade drone. “They’ve got Skynet two point oh’s roaming the sky. Theydon’t require a human operator, as their AI programming has them smart enough to fly themselves. They are also unhackable, at least according to my hacker peers, as well as bulletproof. I don’t see how you can avoid being spotted by one.”

Capricorn sighed. “So what you’re saying is, I’m either going in guns blazing and shooting the fuck out of everything, or I’m letting them capture me.”

“You know Sage wouldn’t have suggested it without reason.”

And usually, the warriors listened. After all, she was rarely mistaken in her advice.

Still, Capricorn couldn’t help but whine. “It just feels so wrong to hand myself over to Cetus. I thought that was the last thing we wanted, given they’ve been trying to get their hands on us to do some sciency shit.” AKA, Cetus wanted to dissect and analyze what made the Zodiac Warriors special.

“I doubt they’ll figure out what makes us special. It’s more than genetics.” A reminder that their powers, given to them by the stars themselves, were astrophysical in nature. Or, as outsiders called it, magical.

“You think it’s true they have the third artifact?” Aquarius asked.

“Sage claimed they do, and she also keeps muttering about a thirteenth Zodiac,” reminded Capricorn, and that wasn’t the pregnancy hormones talking.

A previously blank medallion in the portal room—which until now had only twelve spots for the dozen warriors—was two-thirds full. What would happen when it became whole? Would a new warrior suddenly join them?

“You know, there is some historical basis for a thirteenth, called Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer.”

“Never heard of him.”

“Me neither, until I started researching, and oddly enough, my information didn’t come from Tower’s library, but the internet.”

The revelation brought a frown. “Since when doesn’t Tower have the deets on something with historical basis?”

Aquarius shrugged. “Dunno. Kind of weird, right? But then again, given how that thirteenth dais in the portal room was blank until we started finding the artifacts, I am thinking the thirteenth Zodiac must have been wiped.”

“For a reason, one would suppose.” Capricorn pursed his lips. “Do you think his return is what will cause the world grief?”

“What did Sage say?”

“Nothing. I mean, she did say this mission was do or die for everyone. I have a hard time believing a Zodiac Warrior would turn to evil. We were chosen specifically because we’re heroes.”

“Anti-heroes,” Aquarius corrected. “Supposedly the true ones don’t kill.”

“Which is dumb,” Capricorn retorted. “Defeated bad guys don’t suddenly become good. If you don’t end them, then they’ll just start their shit again.”

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