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door materialized.
    Nebula stared at the spot where Radian sat beyond the wall. He was so close, yet it felt as though he were parsecs away. “You were correct. He would not.”

     

Chapter 4
    Diamonds
     
    Nebula was surprised to see Venus pacing by the door to her room. The elegant Trilithian never said more than a formal greeting to her in all her five years on board the ship yet here she was, waiting for her to return. Her face glowed sea green this time, reflecting an anxious alertness.
    “Nebula, I’ve been looking for you.”
    For Nebula, it was poor timing. She was itching to get back to her Steinway and play “Moonlight” Sonata, but common etiquette dictated she address the guest, whether or not they had spoken much in the past. “My apologies. The captain dismissed me early today and I used the free time to do some long-needed research.”
    She realized Venus wasn’t interested in where she had been when the rainbow beauty changed the subject. “Can we speak privately in your chambers?”
    “Of course.” Nebula pressed her hand on the panel. The door hummed open and they entered her room. A faint white light shone brighter as they crossed the threshold, registering their footsteps. “Please have a seat.” Nebula motioned to the bare table she never used. “I am afraid I have no food or beverages.”
    Venus shook her head, her radiant scarlet hair catching the shine of the fluorescent light. “It’s not necessary, thank you. I’m in no mood to eat anything.”
    “I see.” Nebula took the seat across from her. “What can I do for you?”
    Venus’s silver eyes were intense, glittering like multifaceted diamonds. “You must help me convince the captain to let the rebels go.”
    Nebula started as if her main circuit board rebooted. “What you ask is against my programming. Keeping the rebels on board is a threat to the other members of this ship, and letting them go is against the standard UPA-alliance agreement. It is impossible for me to comply.”
    “It is not. Aren’t you supposed to protect all human life? You know the odds of them having a fair trial.”
    Nebula’s lips tightened. “The notion of ‘fairness’ is subjective and is thereby ruled out in probability factoring.”
    “But you know their dire fate.”
    “I can predict it, yes.”
    “And yet you feel no need to help these people?”
    Nebula didn’t answer her right away. She did feel a need, a very strong need, seeing as though the one man who meant anything to her was one of them. But she couldn’t say it, not to Venus. It would give away her blossoming emotions, making her a renegade cyborg with ulterior motives. “No. Sympathy is not programmed in my schematics.”
    Venus’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know why I bothered coming to find you. I always knew it. You’re just as merciless as Oso.” She rose from her chair, smoothing down her uniform as if trying to calm her raging nerves as well. “A coldhearted machine.” She flipped her hair back in a glorious wave. With a sniff, she punched the exit code into the panel and strutted out the door without a word of farewell.
    Nebula wondered how such an emotional and dramatic Trilithian ever got promoted to the second in command of a flight ship, never mind the most illustrious vessel in the fleet. A part of her wanted to throw back a retort, and she wondered where that defiant spark alighted. She’d never felt it before. Perhaps it was just another of the emotions adopted from the memories. Whatever it was, she was fortunate her logical side still had enough control over her irrational side to hold it in check.
    With these problematic thoughts in mind, Nebula connected to the mainframe of the computer. It took seconds to locate the file for “Moonlight” Sonata and milliseconds for her to acquire it. She sat at the piano bench, her fingers touching the keys to produce the ominous opening notes. She’d never experienced the expressive tug of the music but now,