The first echo of awareness drifted through my mind like a whispering ghost. The sensation persisted though and with a focused effort I realized the ghost was speaking to me. It had stolen my voice too. Can you hear me? My voice asked me.

Yes? What is happening?

My voice seemed to echo in my mind. It was surreal, like a half-constructed dream.

Welcome, Gypsy Peligro to orientation. Those new to the Advanced Biotech Augmentation Treatment, or ABAT, are expected to have some trouble adapting. Relax your mind and let the mental images guide you…

What followed were flashes of images that made no sense. They seemed to be pulled from some game or movie sequence. Each one depicted something different and none of them were clear on exactly what. All I could grasp were impressions. Eventually, even that faded.

* * *

I came around slowly. I reached for my head, something felt wrong. Strands of my hair were pulled oddly and something felt stuck to my skin. My hands were stopped by metal cuffs secured to a metal bed frame. My pulse quickened. What happened?

I looked around the small room I was in. The interior was plain and lacked luster but it revealed much. I recognized the Triv design. I was restrained on the bed in a medical gown with a monitor beeping beside me. Sensors monitored my vitals and an IV was inserted into my arm.

A burning need to get it out assaulted me. They could inject me with anything if it remained. A sleeping drug? Maybe something worse. I had no idea how long I’d been out. Was I already deep in some Triv complex waiting for the Breakers to start their horrible work?

Panic filled me and I struggled to get to the IV. As I focused on the IV line a purple hint covered my vision. Suddenly information exploded in my mind.

Glowing blue lines filled my head. It was nearly too much. I closed my eyes but that only highlighted them more. Some instinct guided me and I limited the intake. Most of the blue lines faded away. I could still feel them running through the building, no, the ship around me. They were power lines. I could see the flow of energy all through the ship.

What is happening to me? I felt isolated and alone. Were the Breakers already taking my mind apart? I needed to talk to someone. Bob was the only one I could think to call. My instincts took over again. Somehow I knew what I was doing—like breathing, my body automatically did it without conscious thought. I had no idea how, but I reached out for the blue lines and mentally grabbed one in particular. A new world opened in my mind.

My mind raced along the power flow to the main reactor. It was beautiful but right now I was alone. I sought a connection, anything to combat the loneliness. Some instinct took over and this strange power responded to my desires. I found the flow for the ship's communications systems. If that wasn’t enough, all the programming and code for the system seemed to hover to the side, ready for my inspection. I felt that I could alter it if I chose. I saw every scrap of the system's code. It was all open to me. I was in the system in a way I’d never achieved as a hacker. It was gorgeous and freeing. The sensation of power was incredible.

My panic faded as new possibilities filled my mind. As a thief, I’d be unstoppable! I started to grow excited but reality came crashing back to me. I was trapped and needed to escape. I wasn’t some unstoppable force, I was nobody and I was cuffed to a bed. My concentration wavered as my mood plummeted but I clung to the system.

As I looked around the communication system I found a pair of sent messages in the buffer. With a mental push, the first began playing in my mind.

“The target had been apprehended. She was severely injured and had some medical treatment done before we secured the ship. She’s currently unconscious and may never awaken. The tech we encountered during boarding was unfamiliar to us but the ship’s core showed signs of exploding so we withdrew as soon as the mission was complete. The officers in charge of boarding operations were killed and their underlings showed no initiative in securing samples of the unknown force's robotic war machines. Shortly after we recovered the target, the ship’s shield activated and it escaped into the hyperway.”

The second message was a simple update on my capture addressed to the vindictive Ambassador I’d so carelessly tried to rob. I switched the communications frequency to that of the Shadow Hunter and sent a message to Bob on our emergency channel. It was almost too easy to bypass the Triv crew and mask the transmission.

My new abilities were slightly terrifying. My mental voice composed an audio message for my AI. “Bob? Are you okay? What the heck happened? I’m on the Triv ship. Do you copy? Do you have any idea what is happening to me? Please respond. I’m afraid I’m going crazy!”

With quantum communications, there were only a few seconds of delay before a response came in. Trying to mask an incoming message was much more difficult. I scrambled to prevent it from being discovered as I panicked. Then after half a minute as I waited for an alarm to sound I finally relaxed and listened to the response.

“Ginny? You’re alive! I wasn’t sure you’d survive. The damage to your skull and brain was extensive. It’s a relief to hear your voice. A lot transpired after you were knocked out. It would be best to fill you in after we get you home. If the… treatment I ordered was successful, which judging from your message I received, it was, then you should be able to free yourself and steal a transport to escape. I was very worried about you, Ginny. Please be careful.”

His concern was touching but… Really? That’s it? A ‘We should talk later?’ Seriously!?

“What did you do to me, Bob?” I whispered.

My focus returned to the real world and my mental grip on the comm system faded. As I looked at the restraints the purple glow filled my vision again but this time my instincts guided me away from the blue lines. My goal was to escape now, and some part of me recognized that. Whatever was happening to me seemed to be helping so I ignored the emotional part of my mind that was completely freaking out.

I focused on the restraints but nothing happened. I jerked against it in frustration and it cut into my skin. The metal didn’t give but the force I exerted was much greater than should be possible. Even with the nanobot enhancement, Bob insisted I take it. He had a lot of explaining to do! I was going to scrap his AI core if he put a chip in my head.

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I strained against the restraint but got nowhere. What am I doing wrong? My instincts had guided me through the flowing blue lines of power right to the communication system, so why weren’t they working here? That answer hit me like a lightning bolt. I’m thinking too much and getting in the way. I had no idea what to do before but my instincts did. Here I was reverting to old methods. I needed to relax and stop thinking.

It started working almost immediately. A purple mist began floating around my forearm and hand. What looked like tattoos under my skin lit up with purple light. A sphere of purple energy formed in my hand and—

The room’s only door opened, snapping my concentration to the figure entering. They wore something resembling a lab coat over a thin, skin-tight, ship suit. I screamed in surprise and the purple sphere launched from my palm and hit the Triv center of mass. He cried out as he was thrown out of the room and across the hallway. He hit a closed door on the far side of the hall and collapsed to the floor.

I gaped at him in shock and horror. Did I kill him?! I couldn’t tell. I cursed and refocused only getting free. If he didn’t report in or if someone saw the body more would come. I tried to calm down and stop shaking. It seemed to interfere with whatever was happening to me. When I’d been overcome by wonder and excitement following the blue flow had been simple to interact with. When the fear returned, just staying connected to the system was hard.

“Focus Ginny, you can do this!” I said so unconvincingly I almost cracked myself up despite my growing fear. A sense of urgency was building within me. I had to get out now.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Just focus on the moment. This time when the purple sphere formed I curled my wrist to aim at the cuff on my wrist. I imagined multiple ways this could go badly and feared I’d blow my hand off or something awful. With a whimper I let it fly before I could talk myself out of it.

I screamed in pain as the metal bit into my arm. The force of the impact ripped the metal apart, but it was wrapped around my wrist. I grit my teeth and growled in anger and pain.

“Stupid, Ginny. That was really stupid!” my whole forearm was going to be a swollen bruise.

The metal was visibly damaged at least. The top section had been ripped apart in the center. I was loath to apply pressure to my bruised forearm but the need to escape beat the fear of pain. I cried out as I pulled as hard as I could against the weakened metal. The two halves bent slightly but the sharp edges cut my skin forcing me to stop.

I lay there crying for a few minutes before I attempted anything more. When I returned my attention to the problem I noticed that now that the cuff was broken and bent open more I might be able to squeeze my hand through the hole. It was a snug fit but with nary a scrap, my hand slipped free!

“Yes!” I sobbed in relief.

For the second cuff, I applied my newfound ability far more precisely. It still bruised my wrist a little when the metal moved suddenly but the force of my power hit only the bedframe where the cuff was attached. Once it was weakened, I was able to break it with my enhanced strength.

I had just freed myself when I heard voices out in the hall.

“Doctor? What happened?”

“He’s hurt. Call medical.”

I stifled a curse. The only way out of the room was through the open door and I would hear two distinct voices out there. On Radon, we had a saying, ‘Even a wounded animal would fight when corner. ’On the streets of South Bends we homeless changed that to, ‘Even a rich man would steal when starving.’

It ran through my mind now but was I really injured? Already my wrist was feeling better. Was I trapped? Maybe. Or were they the ones trapped? I could kill them. It scared me how sure I was about that. I’d killed when I had to but that wasn’t me. Just thinking about it made me queasy. I’m a thief, dangit! Do you think you can just barrage into my home and get away with that? Not today, Triv! Today you’re going to pay. In. Full.

My instincts guided me. I hurried toward the wall by the door. I kicked off the wall silently with my bare foot and then braced myself off the top of the door frame with one palm while the other pushed against the wall, between my hands and feet, I wedge myself into the top corner of the room above the door.

I was shocked when my mind finally caught up with what I’d just done. Even more so when I realized the hand supporting most of my weight on just a tiny lip wasn’t screaming in agony. Nor was my arm trembling from the effort. I was fairly agile given my chosen occupation but I was no gymnast. The athleticism to do what I had just done far outstripped my previous ability.

When the two were fussing over the doctor finally checked the room they found an empty room and immediately sounded the alarm.

“Where did she go?” one asked.

“She couldn’t have gotten far.”

“Should we look for her?”

“Yes. I’ll stay here and report. You start looking. She was reported injured and unconscious.”

“Someone messed up big time,” the other replied.

I waited until they parted ways and then dropped down behind the one who stayed behind. I wasn’t quite silent enough to avoid detection so I boxed his ears and then delivered a below-the-belt special. The Triv and Humans were similar enough to take the fight right out of him. I was vastly stronger than before and may have done permanent damage. I very carefully knocked his head against the wall to finish him off, hopefully without killing him.

With the hallway clear I bolted out of the room. I looked both ways and realized I had no idea where to go next. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. The flowing blue lines filled my head. Again I was nearly overwhelmed. I tracked several lines before giving up and letting my instincts be guided by my intent. I need to get to the hangar!

Most of the glowing blue lines dimmed and several others pulsed in my mind's eye. I tracked them all to a massive hangar and then worked my way back through the ship's walls tracing smaller power lines. There was a big disconnect between power lines running through the ship’s walls and spaces of the ship where I could walk but I’d manage.

With a basic yet confusing map in mind, I raced down the hall. The room I was being held in was several levels above the hangar’s main floor entrance. I needed to descend three floors and move aft. There was a perfect way to move about though and the thief in me grinned as I spotted the maintenance access hatch which would grant me access to my own personal network of passages.

The electronic lock on the hatch was easy to bypass. It would have been child's play even before I left Radon behind and started on this epic journey—if I had my thieving tools. Now I didn’t need them. I tapped into the system directly with my new power and unlocked it.

I still didn’t know how I was doing it. Now wasn’t the time to worry about it. I was more concerned with reaching the hangar bay than anything else. The maintenance spaces were tight but I was used to moving through cramped spaces when breaking into places. The familiarity eased my fears. I was in my element again. My fear faded and my adventurous side took charge. The thrill of the heist took its place. Soon I was grinning as I considered what I could steal to make them regret hunting me down.

Just focus on escape, Ginny. You can pay them back later. That was the most important thing right now. I needed to stay focused. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have a look around the hangar. I was heading there after all. Surely there was something expensive I could take down there. I was on a frinkin’ dreadnought after all. They didn’t hand those out to just anyone. A personal yacht would make for a perfect escape vehicle. I just need to make sure the dreadnought can’t target me on my way out…