the language processor. She knew they would never fall for their claims, but because of the translation required, the correspondence would be time consuming. “We are a UPA-alliance vessel and fall under the jurisdiction of the UPA. An attack would violate rule two-hundred twenty-five of the Interplanetary Regulations.”
Radian patted her on the back. “Well said.”
Nebula waved away his credit. “It is a programmed response contained in my circuit boards for this exact type of situation.”
The response was forthcoming. “By aiding and abetting terrorists, you have violated rule forty-six of the same UPA-alliance treaty you speak of. You must be taken to Gryphod and charged under our terrorist act. If you do not surrender and provide us the phase coordinates, we will attack.”
He shrugged as if their fates were predetermined. To her surprise, he did not look afraid. “Well, this is what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
Nebula nodded and smiled, emboldened by his confidence in her. “All part of my plan.”
“For Mora, then.” Radian pressed the monitor back on again.
“For Mora,” Nebula whispered under her breath. She said into the language processor, “We surrender.”
Radian placed a protective arm around her shoulders. “Let them come.”
* * * *
It did not take the Gryphonites long to materialize on board. They were taller than Nebula imagined, rising a full foot above the common human height, and leaner, with sinuous muscles running through their feathered bodies. Five of them solidified in front of them, wearing nothing but their feathers and holsters armed with lasers.
Two of them stepped directly into the elevator, searching for more prisoners, while the three remaining Gryphonites fluttered toward them. Their sharp, taloned feet left scratches in the pristine metal floor. Their movements were fluid like snakes and their eyes cold and calculating.
Communication was not probable without the language translators. They approached silently, like wraiths collecting the damned to usher into the depths of Hell.
The leader leaned toward Nebula’s face and she had to resist the urge to cringe. It smelled foul, like wet down and sweat. With an eye on either side of its head, it had to crane its neck to study her directly. Nebula shrank back a measure, afraid it would see she wasn’t completely human. She held out her hands in a gesture of obedience. The bird man pulled back and seemed to exchange a glance with its cohorts.
“Don’t let them scare you,” Radian assured her in a whisper in her ear. He raised his hands as well. “I’ve been preparing for this moment for five years now and they all seem like a big bag of feathers.”
The one in the middle let out a war cry and Nebula’s ears immediately adjusted to dull the high-pitched sound. She looked over to Radian, but he was not so lucky as to have a pitch adapter. He gritted his teeth and squinted until the echoes of the wail faded.
Metal handcuffs were clasped on their wrists with clawed hands. Soon, the deck faded into a billion dusty particles as they were phased out. Nebula felt her body and mind travel to a dimension where time had no meaning. She’d been phased in and phased out before, but this journey seemed all the more spiritual to her since she developed the emotions to feel the vastness of the galaxy at her fingertips and her spirit soar through space. For a moment, she was cast away, weightless like a single grain of sand in an ocean tide, and the next, she was herself again, feeling her feet underneath her as the world came back into view.
They appeared in the lower levels of the Gryphonite Warbird. Although made from metal, the ship looked like more of a den than a medium of space travel. At one time, it belonged to another race. Now the Gryphonites claimed it for their own, scattering their feathers, half-eaten bones and droppings along the corridors like a primitive species.
Nebula assessed the stench and found traces of
Radian patted her on the back. “Well said.”
Nebula waved away his credit. “It is a programmed response contained in my circuit boards for this exact type of situation.”
The response was forthcoming. “By aiding and abetting terrorists, you have violated rule forty-six of the same UPA-alliance treaty you speak of. You must be taken to Gryphod and charged under our terrorist act. If you do not surrender and provide us the phase coordinates, we will attack.”
He shrugged as if their fates were predetermined. To her surprise, he did not look afraid. “Well, this is what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
Nebula nodded and smiled, emboldened by his confidence in her. “All part of my plan.”
“For Mora, then.” Radian pressed the monitor back on again.
“For Mora,” Nebula whispered under her breath. She said into the language processor, “We surrender.”
Radian placed a protective arm around her shoulders. “Let them come.”
* * * *
It did not take the Gryphonites long to materialize on board. They were taller than Nebula imagined, rising a full foot above the common human height, and leaner, with sinuous muscles running through their feathered bodies. Five of them solidified in front of them, wearing nothing but their feathers and holsters armed with lasers.
Two of them stepped directly into the elevator, searching for more prisoners, while the three remaining Gryphonites fluttered toward them. Their sharp, taloned feet left scratches in the pristine metal floor. Their movements were fluid like snakes and their eyes cold and calculating.
Communication was not probable without the language translators. They approached silently, like wraiths collecting the damned to usher into the depths of Hell.
The leader leaned toward Nebula’s face and she had to resist the urge to cringe. It smelled foul, like wet down and sweat. With an eye on either side of its head, it had to crane its neck to study her directly. Nebula shrank back a measure, afraid it would see she wasn’t completely human. She held out her hands in a gesture of obedience. The bird man pulled back and seemed to exchange a glance with its cohorts.
“Don’t let them scare you,” Radian assured her in a whisper in her ear. He raised his hands as well. “I’ve been preparing for this moment for five years now and they all seem like a big bag of feathers.”
The one in the middle let out a war cry and Nebula’s ears immediately adjusted to dull the high-pitched sound. She looked over to Radian, but he was not so lucky as to have a pitch adapter. He gritted his teeth and squinted until the echoes of the wail faded.
Metal handcuffs were clasped on their wrists with clawed hands. Soon, the deck faded into a billion dusty particles as they were phased out. Nebula felt her body and mind travel to a dimension where time had no meaning. She’d been phased in and phased out before, but this journey seemed all the more spiritual to her since she developed the emotions to feel the vastness of the galaxy at her fingertips and her spirit soar through space. For a moment, she was cast away, weightless like a single grain of sand in an ocean tide, and the next, she was herself again, feeling her feet underneath her as the world came back into view.
They appeared in the lower levels of the Gryphonite Warbird. Although made from metal, the ship looked like more of a den than a medium of space travel. At one time, it belonged to another race. Now the Gryphonites claimed it for their own, scattering their feathers, half-eaten bones and droppings along the corridors like a primitive species.
Nebula assessed the stench and found traces of
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