Secrets of Cydonia

Secrets of Cydonia is the third story in the second Orphans of Mars book, To Bell The Cat. It interweaves two related threads.

In the first, Nerrine discovers from Petara that the recently-discovered earlier Martian ship had borne the Heretics of Cydonia, who were sent to Earth by the White City explicitly to die. This means that the White City knew all along that the Daughters of Earth Colony were being sent to their deaths, as well.

In the second thread, a party comprising Fenn, Lask, and the Twain explore the Cydonian ship in order to salvage weapons and tools. There, they encounter Nisja of Titan. After an indecisive duel between the Titanian and Danalee, the Daughters load the ship with explosives and destroy it so as not to give Nisja shelter.