Sometime Later

Nigel was thinking in slow motion. Doc Chop had injected some IV thing into him and his companions. He surmised it was a pure form of the control drug that was administered to the populace in gas and liquid form. Doc Chop and Professor Paladin must have been planning this genocide for years. The room tilted for a moment. Nigel thought he was hallucinating, but the screams of his companions confirmed that he wasn’t.

“The ship is compromised. It will crash if we don’t take control of it soon,” Nigel said.

“How?” Blanka asked.

“When we arrived—for real. I infected the ship’s system with malware that I had ready.”

“That’s why Gregor was having trouble,” Treeka said.

Nigel nodded. “His systems were being used against him, and he didn’t even know it. Some hacker he was.”

“So, did he program the drones?” Blanka asked.

“Based on the information I gathered when I took over the system, he was in charge of Doc Chop’s security protocols, including the drones. I implanted a vulnerability to make them attack each other, thinking they were attacking us.”

“Wait, where’s Doc Chop now?” Aiko asked.

“That’s an excellent question. He’s probably trying to get off the ship. We need to get to the control center—now.”

“I think I know where it is,” Treeka said as she headed for the door.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Nigel and the rest of his companions followed close behind. Nigel was losing track of where they had been or were going. All the hallways looked the same. Treeka stopped at a set of double doors and pointed. “The control room is in there.”

Vedrana and Eva took one side, and Aiko and Blanka took the other. Nigel took cover next to Blanka. Treeka opened the door and ducked as a laser shot through the space she had occupied seconds before. The laser carved a hole into the opposite wall.

“You might as well give up now. It’s over,” Treeka said.

“Am I late for the party?” an old man’s voice said.

“Ahh, perfect timing. Now squash these nasty pests,” Doc Chop said.

An image of Mr. Chen flashed into Nigel’s consciousness. Just as he completed the thought, another, smaller robotic horror entered the already cramped room. An old Asian man rode the back of an inhuman behemoth. Sleek, flexible metal surfaces covered the man’s body. Tubes expelled a cloudy gooey substance from the man’s neck and into a holding tank near the old jockey.

Is that Mr. Chen?

“Oh, how good of you to acknowledge your betters. Now, why don’t you put down those pesky weapons and succumb to the inevitable?”

“What happened to him?” Blanka asked.

“Doc Chop got to him,” Nigel said.

The older man let out a wicked cackle.

The Doctor joined in. It was like Mr. Chen and Doc Chop were enjoying a sick joke at their expense.

“Adieu! Nigel Watson,” Doc Chop said, as he fiddled with the controls of the laser.

Nigel felt the heat of the laser as it passed mere inches from his face. The cyborg rushed as the doctor tried to get another shot off, but the laser wasn’t responding. Mr. Chen and his disgusting meatsack of a steed punched Treeka in the face. She tumbled to the floor. Blanka threw three knives in rapid succession. Two of the blades hit Mr. Chen and his ride. Aiko plunged her katana into Mr. Chen and his makeshift ride. Nigel looked away as blood splattered. Mr. Chen, the leader of the Cabal, was dead at last.

“You can’t stop us,” Doc Chop said defiantly.

Treeka leaped into the air and screamed. Metal rods shot out of her arms and sliced into Doc Chop. Blood splattered everywhere. Even when his body stopped moving, she kept stabbing. Nigel grabbed Treeka from behind.

“It’s over. He’s gone. Now you can rest.”

Treeka turned and gazed into Nigel’s eyes. He could see years of suffering and pain washing off her. She gave him a hug and a kiss.

“Take us home.”