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wants us all to become slaves. We’ve had special implants embedded in our eyes meant to record the atrocities of their home planet. She means to escape with the images and take them back to Earth. Perhaps if the citizens saw the horrors out there, their voting tactics would change.”
    “But no one has ever escaped their slave camps. There is no proof they exist.”
    Radian’s eyes flared with intensity. His stare reflected a certainty, but his frowning lips showed regret and remorse. “Pink will find a way.”
    “No.” Nebula took a step away from the guards. “I cannot allow this to happen. The people on board are under my protection.”
    “She’s probably already hailed the ship and is disemboweling the flight speed panels as we speak. What are you going to do? Stop her all by yourself?”
    “That is exactly what I am going to do.” Nebula took one last look at Radian before she disappeared down the corridor toward the computer mainframe. She was faster than any marathon athlete and there was no way he could keep up. Her actions were quicker than the eye could detect, her muscles stronger than a champion weightlifter and her brain a thousand times faster than the processor in an average home computer. If she found Pink before she managed to disable the optimum flight speed or hail the Gryphonite Warbird, then Nebula knew her odds of success were high.
     

Chapter 6
    Sacrifice
     
    “Reinforcements needed on Decks Three, Seven and Twelve.”
    “Skirmish reported in the main lounge.”
    “Suspect sighted on the Andromeda walkway.”
    Nebula ignored the call to arms in all locations. Every one of them was a diversion, meant to lure the guards away from Pink while she tore up the mainframe computer.
    She knew there wasn’t enough time to take anyone with her because every second could mean more internal damage to the circuits. She would have to stop the renegade on her own, but she was not concerned for her own safety. Even a punk rebel leader was no match for a human cyborg.
    The doors on the elevator parted and Nebula took a hesitant step onto the lower levels of the ship, where the heart of the computer pulsed and glowed. Rows of circuit boards created an electric labyrinth of wires, buttons and flashing lights, all visible from a suspended viewing deck protruding from the elevator’s platform. Nebula leaned against the railing, peering into the labyrinth for any sign of the rebels or the duty guards. She saw two valves leaking steam. Underneath the broken pipes lay a body on the ground two rows in, sticking out from the far corner. It was not a good sign.
    Silent as a ghost, Nebula descended the metal stairs to the first level. As she entered the mainframe, sparks flew from the surrounding panels and she could see wires had been pulled out and tangled, with certain colored ones severed. The motion underneath her feet told her the ship was moving slower with each minute, the propulsion engines sputtering out. Oso was needed for repairs immediately and she resisted the urge to call him right then on the intercom. She knew better than to give herself away with her voice. The ship would have to wait until the grounds were secure.
    Movement caught her eye. Nebula raised her arms and engaged her combat program. Screens flashed behind her eyelids, monitoring movement, temperature and risk probability. Slowly, Nebula made her way to the guard lying on the ground. His face was bloodied, but he was breathing. She kneeled, checking his pulse. The medical team would be the next to call. For now, he would survive.
    Scanning the room, she pinpointed motion and a rise in heat at the back by the propulsion chambers. Nebula searched the guard and found his handcuffs, but his laser was missing. She left the man’s side, stepping over his body, and crept closer to the target with caution.
    A blast whizzed by her face and into a panel beside her. She dove into a somersaulted and hid behind a control console. Although