Nebula's Music Read Free

They circled the lake and dove toward the canoe. Nebula screamed but the buzzing around her covered her voice. She attempted to activate the voice enhancers in her throat, but all her programs were unresponsive.
    There was a slight chance she could reach the person in the canoe before the Gryphonites closed in. Nebula pushed the slender wood casing out into the lake, the water sloshing around her legs. Strange clothing weighed her down: blue pants and a white shirt. It was a t-shirt and jeans, she drudged up from her glossary of slang terms. She was dressed in civilian clothes.
    Nebula jumped in the canoe and clutched the paddles as one of the Gryphonite ships positioned itself over the other boat in the lake. She knew she couldn’t fight the entire squadron of bird warriors flapping about inside. Their bodies were far superior to humans, even a human cyborg like her. They had large talons and white wings the span of two men put together. Their curved beaks could rip and pull apart flesh.
    The scout ship’s main glass compartment slid open and three Gryphonites flew out, gliding on the wind to descend upon the person in the boat. Nebula was close enough now to see it was a woman who looked much like herself. She had the same light-haired curls and high cheekbones, although the skin around her eyes showed the first signs of middle age.
    Nebula felt drawn to the woman, as if she were part of her as much as her own flesh and synthetic bones. One conversation with her could answer so many questions about herself and her origins. The thought of her in the Gryphonites’ clutches made Nebula’s circuits fry with horror. She was desperate to save her.
    The woman looked back at her and waved her away. “Go back, Mirilee! Save yourself!”
    The Gryphonites landed on the boat behind the woman. Nebula pushed the oars through the water, propelling her canoe forward as the woman took the meager wood paddle and gripped it as a weapon. But she didn’t have time to strike. In an instant, the birdmen were upon her, smothering her with their wings on all sides. She disappeared in a cluster of white feathers.
    The Gryphonites turned in her direction and Nebula’s fear rose to tighten her throat. She had an overwhelming feeling of disgust coupled with an urge to get away. Nebula jumped into the water. Instead of swimming, she felt herself sinking to the bottom. Why wasn’t she trying to escape? Her vision blurred and the world spun in a smear of blue and black. She sensed there was more to the memory, yet something in her mind was blocking off the end result.
    She’d only unearthed a small portion of the past, yet the more she tried to hold onto it, the farther away it fled. The memory shrank to a pin-sized hole, and the entire scene flickered out.
    * * * *
    Nebula awoke with her face pressed against the piano keys, her cheek resting on an ominous set of dark tones. How long had she been unconscious? The ship was coasting at optimum speed and she could see a distant galaxy beyond her window. She looked at the clock. The third shift was on duty. She’d only been out for a few minutes yet it felt like an eternity.
    She closed the piano lid and analyzed her options. Although the rebel wasn’t in the memory, she suspected the man from the phase chamber was still a key to her past. Why did he summon the same melodies that brought the memories?
    She needed to learn more about her visions, and to accomplish that, she needed to find the rebel who recognized her. Since the rebels would still be in processing, the best step she could take at the moment was to consult someone about the impossible recollections that weren’t her own.
    Nebula walked to the private intercom. Angstrom was her closest ally on the ship. Since he was the only Frigian aboard, they’d found an unlikely camaraderie resulting from their strange backgrounds. Both were considered to be products of human experiments: Nebula as a construct and Angstrom as a newly discovered