Free Nebula's Music by Aubrie Dionne Page B

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