Nebula's Music (8 page)

Her chances for victory were twenty-four point eight two percent to one. She’d outsmarted one Gryphonite, but she knew they were fast learners. These two would be more careful to protect their wings. Her combat program was judicious in selecting her next move. She dropped to the ground and swiped her leg at their feet, sending them both into the air. The move was meant to knock the attackers down, but the UPA programs had not considered flight as a defense. Although the maneuvers kept them back a step, the Gryphonites had the advantage in the air.

Nebula ducked as they dove toward her. She grasped at their sides to steal the laser but missed. She fell into a roll and somersaulted until she was far enough away to leap to her feet. The Gryphonites swooped in the air and turned back around.

Meanwhile, the cry from the first Gryphonite as it went over the rim had been answered and her radar calculated twelve more Gryphonites on the horizon. She needed to dispense these two quickly or she would be taken in. And now they knew her secret. She was too powerful to be considered a mere human.

Nebula leaped into the air and knocked one Gryphonite to the ground, landing on top of it. It pierced her shoulder with a talon, but the claw did not go in far—underneath her skin was a skeletal frame made of synthetic bones reinforced with iron. The bird man’s eyes went wide as it tried throwing her off, but she outweighed him. In one swift gesture, she chopped her hand down on its neck.

She had just enough time to jump off the limp body before the second attacker reached her. Nebula double-feigned a move and grabbed its laser gun. Within the next fraction of a second, she fired and the Gryphonite’s wing exploded into a cloud of feathers before its body disappeared over the cliff.

Nebula did not need to look behind her to know more Gryphonites were meters from closing in. Following the tracks in the sand, Nebula ran, swifter than a leopard and lighter than a gazelle, propelling herself through the narrow crevices and underneath the sharp ridges jutting over her head.

Radian waited for her underneath a rock outcropping on the escape route he’d taken with Eldin and Illena. He led her into an underground tunnel, where a small alcove led to a subterranean cave. With one swift blow to the cavern wall, Nebula released a cascade of red-veined rocks. The boulders tumbled to the floor in a heap, sealing them in.

Underworld

“Wow! You were awesome! You kicked Gryphonite butt!” Eldin exclaimed as Nebula surveyed the pile of rocks to make sure they wouldn’t be followed.

After deeming the cave secure, Nebula’s gaze immediately darted to Illena and assessed any sign of harm. The woman looked weak and dehydrated, but otherwise all in one piece.

“My mom’s fine.” Eldin came close enough to stare at Nebula’s wounds. “But you’re bleeding.”

“What?” Radian examined the place where the talon had cut Nebula’s arm. Nebula pulled away, embarrassed. She could see the synthetic bone through the hole in the skin. “It is nothing.” She ripped a piece of fabric off her uniform and tied it around her arm. “My body will heal quickly.”

“Wow, so you really are indestructible.”

“Leave the poor woman alone, Eldin.” Illena’s voice was raspy and hoarse.

“Fine.” Eldin threw a rock across the cave. “I thought it was a compliment.”

“It is no problem.” Nebula finished dressing the wound and gave Illena a smile to show there weren’t hard feelings.

Radian put a hand on her shoulder. “You saved us all back there. You were wonderful.”

“I was not aware my programming allowed me to kill so readily.” Nebula looked at her hands. They were so clean and petite, with pristine ivory skin and slim digits. How could anyone tell she was such a lethal killing machine?

“Hey, it was in our defense.” Radian’s breath moved wisps of her hair. She didn’t realize he stood so close. His shirt had come undone and she could see the bronze skin running smoothly over his muscles.

Nebula looked away. “I did not realize I had it in me.”

“There’s a lot in you that you don’t realize.”

Nebula turned to meet his face and saw intensity in his blue eyes, tempests churning within the depths.

“We need to find water.” Nebula’s response came out flat and she cursed her pragmatism. Radian turned his head, suddenly engrossed in the wall. She’d pushed him away again. To face her feelings of affection would add to the other, more violent feelings raging inside her, such as anger and revenge against those who took Mora. She had enough complicated emotions to deal with as it was.

When Radian spoke again, his voice was bland. “We should look deeper in the cave. There’s a bunch of tunnels heading east, away from the mines.”

“Let us go,” Nebula agreed. “Illena, you can wait here until we find a better shelter.”

“No.” Illena rose from the cavern floor. “I’d rather go. I don’t think it’s wise to split up.”

“Very well then.” Nebula dusted off her UPA uniform. “We will make sure to travel slow and easy. And we will all stay together.”

Eldin and Illena followed Nebula and Radian through a labyrinth of tunnels, heading deeper into the layer of hard rock beneath the surface. An indigo glow gave off enough light to illuminate their path. It glimmered from small particles in the rock. Eldin reached out to touch it but Nebula grabbed his hand. “Do not. That is Vitheranium Nucleate. It is poisonous.”

“How can something so beautiful be so bad for you?” Eldin’s voice sounded hurt. Feeling guilty for acting so dramatically, she let go of her grip. Nebula was surprised at the maternal instincts that Eldin’s presence summoned inside her.

Radian put a hand on the youth’s shoulder. “Vither is the substance the Gryphonites mine from these rocks. It powers their ships.”

His face was stretched in horror and disbelief. “You mean they force the slaves to touch it?”

Radian sighed. “Yes, Eldin. They do.”

“Do they die?”

“After so much exposure, it is possible.”

Nebula saw Radian’s eyes roam to the shadows. She could tell he was thinking of Mora and swallowing oncoming tears. “Come on, we must continue,” she said in an effort to change the subject.

She was the first to locate a gushing sound just beyond the bend. Before she could alert them, Eldin burst into a run toward the noise.

“Eldin, no!” Illena called. He ignored her and disappeared down an adjacent tunnel.

“I will catch him, Illena.” Nebula sprinted after the boy. When she reached Eldin, he stood frozen in place just beyond a waterfall veiling the entrance to a great cavern. “Look.”

A tall figure was silhouetted against the rush of water. At first Nebula thought the Gryphonites had outsmarted them and had to remind herself the tunnels were too narrow and short for their wide-winged bodies. It would take hours for them to squirm their way through. The shadow must be a human, a man.

Nebula looked at Radian and put her hand over the laser she stole from the Gryphonites. He nodded and put a protective arm around Eldin.

The man stepped down from the waterfall and his face came out of the shadows into the diaphanous Vither light. He was middle-aged with a scar an inch away from his eye running from his temple to his chin in a crescent arc. He had a scraggly beard and broad shoulders and wore ragged clothes with lasers, knives and other weapons attached. Although his appearance was fierce, his words were welcoming. “Well, hello there, fellow escapees. Name’s Max.” He extended a calloused hand.

“Nebula.” She accepted his handshake. “And this is Radian, Illena and Eldin.”

“You guys just get here?” Max looked at their clothing, which was sandy and stained but looked brand new compared to his tattered breeches.

“We did, yes.”

“And you got away that fast?”

Nebula cocked her head. “Yes.”

“Wow. Seems to me those birdmen are getting sloppy these days.” He gestured over his shoulder. “Come on, I’ll show you the city.”

“City?” Nebula didn’t move. She needed more information before making the choice to follow him.

“That’s right. Founded by escapees, it spans the entire underground system here on Gryphod. We’ve been building for a century now.” His eyes sparkled. “You can be our newest citizens.”

Nebula analyzed his tone and the pitch frequency of his voice. He spoke the truth. The man was no longer a potential threat but an ally.

When Illena caught up to them, Nebula gestured for them all to follow Max who led them down a path under the waterfall and into a domed cave. “People have been running away from those worker mines for decades now, and our job is to make sure they have somewhere to go.”

Beyond the rim sprawled rows of clay buildings. People scurried on the makeshift streets below, carrying buckets of water and bundles of hay. It was astonishing: an entire subculture of runaway slaves. Nebula stored the images in her central processor to study them later. “Why is it no one has tried to leave the planet to alert the people back on Earth?”

“We would if we could, but we can’t.” Max crinkled his upper lip in frustration. “I’ve been here almost my whole life, dreaming up ways to get out of this hell hole. I was about this young man’s age when they brought me here.” He pointed to Eldin and the boy watched with wide eyes. “Yep, they came to my home planet, snuck through the detectors unseen and started taking people during the night. I was camping with my brother, Harry. We watched as their ships turned from flickering lights to flying machines.” He squinted upward like he was still staring at the nighttime sky. “By the time we realized they weren’t friendly aliens, it was too late.”

“Wow!” Eldin gasped. “So you’ve been here all your life?”

Max nodded as if almost proud. “I have, although I’ve been free for most of it. You see, I escaped before I touched too much blue shit. My brother wasn’t as lucky. When I found him, it had already poisoned his mind. He was like a zombie, eyes staring blankly into nothing in particular. I brought him back here, but he died a week later.”

Nebula had a programmed response for such a story. “My deepest apologies, Max.” She surprised herself when the words came out heartfelt and not flat. The pitch frequency in her voice seemed to have found a mind of its own. It mirrored her own pain, expressing what she failed to come to terms with herself.

Max scratched his head. “It’s okay, that was a long time ago. Ever since his death, I’ve been planning an escape. I’ve even found a getaway—an underground route leading to one of their Warbirds. I plan to take over the thing. We’ve enough stolen weapons and supplies, so it just might work.”

“Why haven’t you tried it yet?” Eldin asked.

Max shrugged. “No one to fly it. We’re all civilians here. A while back we did get a doctor, which has proved helpful, but the Gryphonites are choosy when they steal workers for their mines. Seems they know anyone important would stir up trouble, so they always pick those of us who don’t matter, those of us the others wouldn’t necessarily miss.”

Eldin shook his head. “Well, they screwed up big this time.”

Max turned around, a questioning glance furrowing his hairy brows. “What do you mean, son?”

Eldin gestured back at Nebula and shrugged. “You should explain.”

Nebula looked away as if she were about to divulge a dark secret. She wished she could pass for a human more often.

In her silence, Radian stepped forward to explain. “Nebula is a UPA-licensed cyborg, a senior officer on a flight ship, programmed with all manners of engineering and navigating expertise.”

Max stopped with one foot on a rock outcropping, his mouth open. “I’ll be damned.”

In the corner of her eye, Nebula could see Radian smiling. She nodded. “If you can locate a specific prisoner and aid in her rescue, I will be glad to fly your ship straight out of here.”

Max glanced up as if the gods had finally answered his prayers. He held out his hand. “Why, ma’am, you got yourself a deal.”

Neb

They descended into the streets of the underground city, kicking up stones and dust in their wake. Although the Vither gave a dim glow from the walls, everything was cast in shadow and Nebula changed to night vision. Max led them through an alley of linens hanging on clotheslines, leech mice running underfoot and peddlers setting up street stalls. The shantytown was illuminated in ethereal glow. People carried the mineral over their shoulders on sticks and inside each dwelling sat a chunk of the stone on a table or a chair. The substance was both alluring and haunting, casting its dangerous luminescence everywhere they went.

“It’s only poisonous if you touch it,” Max explained as Eldin ducked his head underneath a makeshift streetlamp filled with thousands of glittering particles. “And only if you touch it all the time. It’s pretty safe here, if you can stand living like a rat in a hole.”

They followed Max to a central building in town, a construct of clay with open windows. “I’ll get you each a room inside. And I’ll send out a few scouts to look for your friend. What’s the name?”

“Mora. She looks like me, although a bit taller and a few years older.”

“Family, eh?”

Nebula studied the irregular rock formations on the cavern floor. She wished the relation were so but it could never really be true. Radian smoothed it over. “You could say that, yes.”

“And the name’s Mora? That’s it?”

Nebula glanced back at Radian.

He saved her once again by providing Max with information he needed. “Mora Fletcher, a citizen of Earth. She’d be twenty-nine years old now.”

“Okay.” Max repeated the name under his breath as if committing it to memory. He looked at Nebula with red-rimmed eyes. “I can’t promise you anything. The mines run for hundreds of miles, and there are thousands of slaves. Chances are, if she’s been missing for some time, she may already be dead. That is, if we can find her at all.”

Nebula nodded. “I understand.”

Max nodded. “I’ll do the very best I can. I’ve been freeing people from those blasted birdmen for years. This will be no different.”

“Let me know when someone finds her.” Nebula’s hand hovered over the laser gun at her side. “I will accompany them on the rescue attempt.”