TW: Manipulative! Reader, Terrorism, Criminal Enterprise, Reckless Use of Firearms, Violence, Bruises, Blood, Implied Death, Workplace Abuse (against the Blarg), Emotional Manipulation, Toxic Mindsets.
This is based on the 2016 movie.
A.N. - This one is going in my vault at the end of the world.
When the hangar door opened, the skies turned a shade darker than the most violent storm. Droves of hulking objects poured from the aircraft like a murder of crows, slowly expanding the distance between one another and broadening their reach until they were a stygian net that descended upon Aleero City at a frightening velocity. The sheen of polished metal reflected what meagre light bounced off the extravagant towers, and a cyclops-like red eye that was centred on the face of every invader observed where it intended to land.
Shrieks of terror erupted in the streets as hordes of citizens scrambled for taxis and morphed into roaming bands of fear and panic. As some challenged their stamina by endeavouring to cross the main bridge in a singular sprint, their haggard screams were silenced by the massive bodies of warbots. Cracks formed in the ground where the robotic soldiers landed, and a blitzkrieg of energy bolts gushed into the crowds.
Explosions dotted the sides of multiple buildings, the rush of flames licking the air and broken glass as it was ejected from windows colliding with the public horror in a cacophony of disarray. Multiple units in the first line of warbots dropped as the city garrison -- a team of robots gaunter than their hostile counterparts -- dashed from the safety of their fort with laser pistols firing. The invasion was like an infestation of cockroaches sweeping across the wood foundation of an old house, and the gunfire that flaunted each colour of the rainbow converted it into an attack on the senses.
The rampant odour of smoke and sweat blended with heat so passionate it would curdle milk and draw the water right out of you. A gust of exhaust from the armoured machines was like sticking your face in a working oven, but the unmistakable scents of copper and iron that emitted from their scalding metal were not merely a product of their churning engines. The stink of the assault poisoned the air, just like the blood dripping from their rims tainted the ground.
Then, as if a tremor were splitting the surface of the planet, a voice far too grave and stentorian to belong to any mortal man reverberated through the plaza. A metallic ring followed its last notes before the warbots ahead of you began sliding back and forth like a snake slithering in the grass. The robot who had shoved and slashed his way to the front of the pack stood taller than any other, and attached to his forearms were a set of pellucid blades designed to cut through every material in the universe as if it were a spider's web.
"Stand back, citizen. The galaxy's greatest defenders are on the job." Qwark showed you the palm of his hand as he stepped forward and brandished dual pistols.
You vaguely blinked in his direction, mouth closed and shoulders relaxed. Before the captain could land his first shot, a loud hiss echoed in the plaza that blasted a cloud of steam into the air. One of the garrison robots was knocked backwards onto the ground, and a lanky weapon that resembled a large spear tumbled from its hands.
A stout projectile rocketed towards the centre of the warbot army. The trail of smoke following it dissipated when the commander raised his left arm, slicing the missile down the middle. It exploded narrowly a second after the laser pierced its surface, but the robot was free of any dents and never so much as flinched.
If there had been room for doubts, it was scarcely available now. You examined Victor a moment longer -- your eyes meeting -- before venturing to the outskirts of the fight. "Don't worry about us, citizen! Get to safety while we rewire these bots," called Qwark from the stairs to the citadel. Your steps were deliberate and unconcerned, and you spared no glance at the rangers to confirm their success in battle.
The few warbots who lingered on the edges of the platforms marched past as if oblivious to your existence, some generating beeps or drones in a specific order that brought a smile to your face. Path deviating to the heart of Aleero City, you beheld the myriad levels of traffic that clogged the airborne roads. Just as you had sat on a steel bench and looked towards the sky, a shower of fire and jagged bits of metal rained down upon the city.
A sonorous groan, like that of a whale's song, marked the descent of the warbot's spaceship. Its engines brimming with an inferno, the vessel combusted into multiple chunks that were incinerated by the loss of the reactor. Gales of smoke and ash wafted to the skyline like an eternal storm.
The culprit behind this destruction glided overhead in a much smaller, homemade aircraft, a fact which drew you from your seat. Fists balling and eyes tailing their landing on the opposite side of the platform, you took a step closer to the edge. Ratchet burst from the vessel with rapid yet tentative strides.
His ears were flattened to his head, and he outstretched his arms, palms upturned and wrists exposed as if attempting to tame a wild animal. "I know why you left!" The Lombax heaved a desperate pant, one infused with frustration and a hint of indignation. "But I can do better!"
Your feet neared the end of the platform. A quick glimpse below revealed the cloudy underbelly of Aleero City, a mass of fog that shrouded its seemingly bottomless depths.
"What are you -- no," demanded Ratchet. A robot the size of an infant ambled out of his aircraft with a look of perplexity, but it was replaced with surprise and uncertainty when he saw your position.
The distant hum of an engine that steadily grew louder prompted you to dangle your heels over the edge in a rocking motion. The Lombax clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes, running at you with the urgency of someone fearful of losing their lifeline. When he was halfway across the platform, you extended your arms on either side of yourself and fell rearwards out of sight.
Ratchet barely had a chance to release an anguished yell before a taxi soared from underneath the platform. It splintered the flow of traffic and ascended to the skyline, flying until it shrank into a speck. Before Clank could question his partner, the Lombax was clambering back into his vessel.
The robot followed him with a hurried, "Oh, my." Clank lowered his head and shook it as his CPU struggled to compute the Lombax's actions, registering them as fatuous and supportive of needless danger. "Ratchet, if I may, I fail to see how this detour will aid us in our mission."
The aircraft veered as the recruit jerked the steering wheel in a dour attempt to make it turn faster. "You don't understand, Clank!" He turned to the robot in an instant, outpouring a surplus of ire and waving his hands in a frantic quest for the desired words. "If they don't listen to me this time, I may never see them again!"
A fervid knock on the windshield impeded his chase from the beginning. Mobs of citizens, all cheering and pleading for Ratchet's acknowledgement, swarmed the aircraft and prevented it from lifting off the ground unless the Lombax was willing to be dubbed a terrorist via destruction of the citizenry. The strained face of Captain Qwark peered inside, and his eye twitched at the sight of the duo. Desperate to remain in the limelight, he pulled them to the lens of various cameras and raised them onto his palms.
* * *
The stairs to the command bridge meandered and winded like a labyrinthine maze. Adjacent walls formed a cordon around the rungs that blocked the two-tone light of the Deplanetizer's core from entering deeper than a few harmonious strips of yellow and blue.
Victor had started to ascend the staircase, but after determining what a physically demanding ordeal reaching the top would be, the warbot offered a piggyback ride. Bursts of anger strengthened each step, his feet clapping the metal floor and producing a clang that echoed in the lower levels of the Deplanetizer. You noted the generous length of the stairs and their isolation from the prying eyes of Blarg who preferred the elevators.
A lanky silhouette ambled past the top in the direction of the bridge, whirling around as the sound of Victor's rusty joints breached the corridor. Nefarious quickened his pace to a brisk walk. Hands clasped together and eyes wide with excitement, he maneuvered around Victor to face you. "I trust my message was well-received?"
You hopped down, looking askance at the scientist as he cocked an eye at Victor for your original position. "Timely." The lieutenant met his gaze, slowly turned his head away, and shook his shoulders to detach a fresh layer of dust that had fallen from the ceiling.
The broad door to Drek's office opened, and a rhythmic vibration reverberated through the corridor. Standing on his red scooter, which levitated from anti-gravity boosters, the chairman drifted towards his bodyguard. "Victor. Battle report?"
Hanging his head, Victor kept his gaze on the floor. "I'm sorry, sir. The invasion didn't go as planned."
Drek threw his hands into the air in an apparent surplus of amusement. "Well, isn't that the understatement of the eon?" He had raised a finger and taken a breath to launch into a tirade when a sudden hesitancy fell over him, twiddling his black tie and glancing in your direction. "We will continue this discussion in my office."
As Nefarious looked at you and began to suggest a visit to his laboratory, the chairman, as if sensing his eagerness, added, "You too, Doctor!" A disappointed and mildly surprised grunt escaped the scientist before he joined Victor in observing the sheets of metal that formed the ground. Before following his boss, the lieutenant eyed a Blarg who was exiting the lounge.
The Blarg wilted as he stared into the bright eyes of the warbot commander, his tongue dry and his throat parched. Victor tightened his jaw and leaned closer with a baleful intensity that said he would crush a man's skull like an egg and walk away with pride. "Guard them."
Nodding his head in vigorous submission, the Blarg exposed his spiny teeth. The lieutenant narrowed his eyes to slits and released a dissatisfied groan. A massive hand enveloped the top of the Blarg's head, and the expectation of immediate death pulled a whimper from the small humanoid before he was turned towards you. "Guard," repeated Victor, pushing him forward and watching his movement like an emotionally distant teacher.
While the warbot marched through the door to Drek's office with pointed and purposeful steps, Nefarious idled in the corridor for another moment. "For your sake, I hope you understand the importance of this assignment." A menacing smile that promised hours of agony spread across Nefarious's countenance, the scientist pressing his fingers together and drawing them towards his chin as if praying for the opportunity to correct a potential failure.
Once the door closed, dread and uncertainty crashed upon the Blarg like vicious waves dragging swimmers out to sea. The humanoid toiled in mental collapse until he looked to his side to find you peeking at his cellphone.
"Could I borrow that?"
Sentiment lingered in your words, a tepid kind that had to be contemplated and generated like a performance rather than drawn from any innate affection or concern for your life. After inspecting the message for glaring flaws multiple times, you sent it and handed the phone back to its owner. The Blarg received the device as if unsure whether it was his or not anymore. When you strolled towards the lounge with a chipper 'thanks', the soldier was overcome by a burning desire to look down at the screen.
You never bothered to tell him not to snoop, but as bombastic laughter from Drek's office reverberated through the corridor, he erased the conversation history and scurried to follow. "Please don't wander too far!" Everything about the request -- the desperate politeness, his reluctance to speak at a higher volume that might startle or annoy -- was designed to appease you. "I need this job," mumbled the Blarg, his voice dropping to an anxious whisper that suggested he feared for more than a loss of employment.
* * *
Lips pursed and fingers quivering, Elaris slowly opened the door to the war room. The muffled yells that had been reverberating through the walls of the Galactic Ranger headquarters for the past hour swelled to furious roars. The technician had begun to stick her head through the crack when an airborne chair collided with the door, slamming a dent into its metal surface and bouncing to the floor.
"Drek could space my friend at any second!" Ratchet jabbed a finger towards Qwark and bared his teeth. Drawing his ears against the sides of his head and bending his knees as if to pounce, the Lombax imitated an angry cat -- hackles raised and fur bristling.
The captain, his hands on his hips, shook his head and stood tall. "The fate of the galaxy is more than one person."
A glimmer of shock prompted Ratchet's fury to waver for an instant. His finger drooped, and his eyes widened in total rejection of the concept. The wrath shaking his limbs was renewed, this time a steadfast and deathly passionate determination. "That one person is worth the galaxy to me."
Qwark opened his mouth but soon closed it tightly. He seemed to acknowledge Ratchet for the first time as if the Lombax had only entered the conversation just then. Eyes narrowing with umbrage and lasting spite, the captain loomed above Ratchet. "Your rescue mission can wait! I'm in charge of saving the galaxy-"
Elaris glared downwards and muttered, "We are."
"-and I'm not about to risk my entire career for your pal." He pronounced the final two words like a disgusted child teasing their classmate, which evoked a growl of frustration from Ratchet.
"How can you call yourself a hero and be afraid of a few lasers?" The Lombax balled his fists and whirled around to face the door. "If you don't have the guts to walk through the line of fire, I will." As he stormed out of the room in a flurry of obscene grumbles, the technician hurried to step back.
Extending an arm after him, Qwark pointed to the doorway. "Recruit, if you leave this base, consider yourself a rogue agent!" His threat was overpowered by the rumble of a distant engine whirring to life.
Clank watched as Ratchet stood beside the front of his spaceship, taking an inventory of his weapon locker. The Lombax summoned and despawned a series of pistols and a giant wrench before he beckoned the small robot to accompany him. "Come on, Clank. If the Rangers won't help us, we're boarding that ship ourselves."
* * *
After Qwark arrived, you could no longer enjoy the silence and solitude of the lounge. If the captain had not ordered a team of Blarg to pamper him with sweets and massages, he was peering from across the room like a man trapped in a liminal space. Your daily treks through areas of the Deplanetizer that would earn him a pistol aimed at his head and casual chats with intergalactic terrorists who seemed far too interested in hearing your opinion on sensitive matters disagreed with his idea of a prisoner.
"Quite the gilded cage you have here," mustered Qwark shortly before Novalis's destruction. "You know, when I was a captive of the Blarg, they poked me with sticks and tried to feed me to their Broodmother." As your eyes narrowed in averse disbelief, he flicked his wrist as if nullifying the memory. "Maybe that was the Tyhrranoids. Bah, all those mongrels blur together nowadays."
It was during these periods of unwarranted storytime that the escape shuttles became a frequent visitor to your thoughts. Once an unremarkable quality of the Deplanetizer that was often passed without notice like a portrait on the wall of your home of many years, the hangar now earned a slot in your daily strolls. Nefarious had stolen an entire day to explain the logistics of travelling from one end of the star system to the other, although the level of detail and willingness of his answers gradually lessened as your questions grew more specific.
When you collapsed on the floor of his laboratory, lips split and purple blotches dotting various parts of your arms, he released a scream louder than any you had ever heard before. It nearly pulled you to your feet, but the Blarg assigned by Victor did it for you. He grasped your shoulder and torso, legs shuddering while you drooped over his pointed head.
"I ... I don't know what happened! We were walking near the bridge and-" the humanoid stammered. All faith in his ability to see tomorrow was shattered as the scientist yanked him away.
"Let go of them!" shrieked Nefarious, taking the Blarg's place as your support and leading you to his operating table. The chair stank of cleaning supplies and pungent chemicals. A horizontal wave of light flashed in your eyes, and the sound of rapid typing on a computer keyboard filled the room.
"That's impossible. My sensors-" a look of cold realization crossed his face. It twisted with rage as he clenched his teeth, and when he turned away from the computer, the Blarg was robbed of the ability to speak. Bafflement fading into condemnation at having found a suitable victim, his voice rose to a degrading shriek. "You were supposed to be guarding them!"
Before the sentry could force an excuse from his quivering lips, Nefarious was marching across the room and a green outline had begun to envelop his raised hand. The Blarg imagined every invention the doctor had flaunted that was designed to exacerbate pain and cause suffering in all manner of creatively demented ways. A whoosh from the entrance interrupted the grotesque display of ingenuity, and an uneasy Qwark ambled inside.
He was tapping his index fingers together like a child desperate to avoid sharing the truth. "Nefarious, have you seen-"
The introduction of the former ranger elicited a whirlwind of ire and blame as the vagaries of a rivalry that had long simmered like a scalding teapot were inflamed with a new motive. "Qwark," growled the scientist, his voice oozing malice as if it were venom trickling down a snake's fangs. "This was your dirty work, wasn't it?!" He pointed a spindly finger at your bruises.
Qwark stuttered in his attempt to plead innocent, and this weakness drew an agitated cry from Nefarious. After a shaky chuckle and a flutter of his eyes in your direction that prompted the scientist to ball his fists, the words tumbled from the captain's mouth like stones resisting the flow of the current. "I would never manhandle a civilian."
Eyes crinkling in mild bewilderment, Nefarious started to protest "They're not a-" before his rage seemed to fizzle. He bumped his forehead with his wrist and turned to you in a moment of distraught awareness. "This is why you kept asking all those questions! You were trying to run away from someone!" You said nothing, but the doctor slowly looked back at Qwark.
A blue and green weapon with yellow highlights materialized in his hands. It sported a cylindrical nozzle, which began to spin and produce vibrant bolts of green electricity. As a whirr that steadily increased in pitch and volume vibrated your ears in an irritating sensation, Qwark offered a wave goodbye and sprinted out of the laboratory. Nefarious pursued with a feral howl that savoured each word. "I'm going to annihilate you!"
The Blarg, who had moved to stand beside you, twiddled his fingers. "Uh, should we warn Chairman Drek?" You hopped to the floor and patted him on his head, walking to the door with only a slight limp.
"You're relieved of service."
The humanoid -- after a startled grunt -- shook his head and scrambled after you with hurried and clumsy steps. He latched onto the edge of the door, peeking at your descent into the corridor as if fearing the return of Nefarious or the arrival of Victor. "I really don't think I am!" When you neared the entrance to the hangar, the Blarg flailed his arms and dashed after you. "Wait, please don't go that far!"
On the command bridge, Drek held a tablet that displayed a poster for New Quartu. A family of Blarg raised their hands to wave at the camera, their happiness a testament to the patchwork planet floating in the background. "What do you think, Victor? Should the fjords go beside the monument or behind it?"
Victor examined the screen as if he were a toddler reading a dictionary. The warbot had gathered the semblance of an answer when a strangled cry at the door provided a welcome distraction. Arms outstretched in front of himself, Qwark scurried behind Victor and curved his back forward to appear smaller. The lieutenant spun around, and he shoved Qwark with a stern, "Go away."
Swift and agitated footsteps entered the bridge a moment later, gradually slowing as they reached the trio. Nefarious struggled to be still between the many pants and snorts rattling his upper body. The RYNO was droning like a broken sound system, strips of electricity lashing the floor and leaving black streaks of charred metal. He lurched from side to side and attempted to aim around Victor. "Show your wretched face, Qwark. So I can blast it off you!"
Drek gaped at the ruined pieces of flooring and waved a hand at the invention. "Doctor, put that away!" The scientist looked at him with an incredulous 'eh' as if the fact that the chairman was present had momentarily escaped him, but his expression quickly sank into that of a sulky child.
"That brute deserves what's coming to him! He beat my lab assistant!" Nefarious pushed the weapon towards Qwark.
A startled 'huh' burst from Victor, and he glanced around the room as if hoping to see you in perfect health. The massive thuds that followed each step as he sprinted into the corridor shook the floor. Spotting the entrance to Nefarious's laboratory, he stomped inside to find scarce traces of blood. The doorframe, a structure that comprised some of the most resilient metals in the galaxy, was crushed beneath the force of his hand.
Having lost his shield, Qwark crouched behind Drek. The chairman peeked over his shoulder with frantic annoyance and looked at the charging weapon -- which now pointed at him -- with a hint of fear. Eyes wild and teeth clenched, Drek propped himself on the handlebars of his scooter. "I won't have that contraption tearing up my ship! Now, get rid of it!"
The doctor slightly lowered the RYNO. His eyes widened, and the scowl that had wrinkled his face reduced to a frown. As his gaze proceeded to drop until it found one of the cockpits, he despawned the weapon.
Engine humming to a stop beside Nefarious, Drek rested a hand on his shoulder. "Now, Neffie-" the scientist retreated from his touch with a displeased grunt "-let's not vaporize our friend before I have a chance to hear his side of the story."
Nefarious waved his arms in a childish expression of dissent. "I wasn't going to vaporize him!" Teeth bared in a wide smile that reeked of deathly threats and eyes broadening with vicious anticipation, his face contorted into the picture of unsound malevolence. "I was going to make him beg for an end as quick as vaporization."
The chairman raised his fists and shook his shoulders with exaggerated joy, imitating a cheerleader after their team scored. "Oh, how scary!" He flashed Qwark a look of poise that one might expect from a politician addressing a horde of reporters, but his internal apprehension revealed itself when he outstretched an arm to deter the scientist from lunging at the captain. "I trust you have a rebuttal?"
The door to the bridge opened in a rapid, forceful motion that seemed to echo the fervid hostility of its user. An elephantine silhouette that occupied a third of the doorway stood before the sparking core of the Deplanetizer, its aquamarine and lemon whips of electricity illuminating his rusty body. "No more talk," commanded a gravelly voice thick with animosity.
His hefty, metallic footsteps -- each one accompanied by a whirr of his hinges -- stormed into the room and gained speed like a charging bull. Victor slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand, generating a brassy sound that resembled a compactor smashing a car. He brought the serrated piece of metal that comprised his jaw towards his yellow eyes to accentuate his massive underbite.
A brief look of alarm crossed Nefarious's face, and he had begun to leap to safety when a cruel notion drew his gaze to Qwark. He crossed his arms behind his back and took a casual step to the side of the captain, allowing Victor free reach.
Qwark was the target of the warbot's wrath, and the former ranger observed his approach with a mixture of uncertainty and aversion. Tone evolving from a stern declaration into an acrid roar, Victor pointed a finger at him and hunched forward to meet his eye level. "I'm gonna spin your head like a corkscrew!" His eyes glowed with hateful intent, a rage that stalled only as Drek zoomed in front of him and placed both hands on his armoured torso.
"Woah!" exclaimed the chairman, less like a friend soothing his comrade and more like an owner attempting to placate his aggressive dog. "Victor, buddy! What's got you so hot under the circuitry?"
The lieutenant stood upright and clenched his fists at his side.
Looking up at Qwark with unadulterated contempt, Nefarious tattoed the floor with his foot and pulled his arms towards his chest. "Someone laid their squalid hands on my lab assistant!"
Qwark, as if this exonerated him, rested his knuckles on his hips and offered a look of smug contentment. "Ah, see? 'Someone' is the culprit, and I'm not someone." The nightmarishly awful logic of his argument elicited such a powerful rage in Nefarious that his next words spilled forth without the capacity to be stopped.
"You witless, feeble-minded imbecile!" shrieked the scientist, rancour and antipathy gushing from his violent hand gestures and frantic pacing like a dam bursting. Some of it was a fledgling ire, but much of it was a multi-year horde of wrath that teetered on the edge of its threshold.
After an unimpressed eye roll that carried his gaze from the tall ceiling to the adjacent cockpit, Qwark looked at his former teammate with vexed boredom. "I don't know what half of those words mean-" he leaned forward and rocked his head from side to side "-but I didn't touch your precious assistant."
Whether it was the ill-timed mention of you or his refusal to accept the guilt that the scientist had bestowed upon him with malicious passion, Nefarious met the captain with the face of someone who dreamt their enemy's death. "One day, Qwark. One day, you'll wish you weren't such a heavy sleeper."
Qwark channelled the bewildered innocence of a confused child as the threat glided over his understanding like a jet. Nefarious shook his head with a malcontent grumble and began marching to the door.
Victor crinkled his eyes and slightly opened his mouth, a deep and slow chuckle reverberating from within his circuits.
Drek peered at his bodyguard with the astute humour of the only straight face in a herd of guffaws. "Oh, really, Victor? Could we be a bit more discreet?" As Nefarious passed him, Drek attempted to pat him on the back. "There's no need for such extremes. I'm sure someone will come around."
The scientist knocked his arm away and spun with frenzied eyes and bared teeth. "No! I won't build another robot until one of you confesses!" At this, the chairman's lackadaisical decorum vanished. Usurping it was a look of sharp dissatisfaction, but the contempt that was oozing from Nefarious like a pestilent cloud was undeterred.
Crossing his arms, Qwark shifted his weight and watched his former teammate through suspicious eyes. "How do we know you're not trying to take the heat off yourself?"
Nefarious, who had been muttering and stamping his way to the exit, came to an abrupt stop. The Blarg standing beside the captain turned a lighter shade of orange and scurried away with a panicked whimper. Drek closed his eyes in silent acknowledgement of the impending disaster, a gradual sigh blowing past his lips.
A flash of purple light was Qwark's sole warning to move before an explosion scorched his original position.
"How dare you accuse me of such impurity?!" The scream echoed in the bridge as if it had travelled through every corner of the galaxy to pierce the captain's ears. A barrage of purple electricity bathed the room in a violet hue and chased the fleeing shape of Qwark, assailing the walls and each splash of metal that the former ranger encountered with scalding heat.
The attacks were condensed into spherical masses of raw energy that were roughly the size of a basketball but hit with the force of a miniature supernova. As Qwark endeavoured to shield his gargantuan physique behind a scrawny Blarg, Nefarious squeezed the handles of his weapon. Its barrel, which had a honeycomb pattern and metal flaps that unfolded like a blooming flower, discharged a ball of electricity so potent that Drek was forced to look away lest he risked blindness.
Victor kneeled behind the chairman and slung an arm in front of his face to block the light, but the warbot's steely gaze, immune to the brilliant glow, watched with ardent anticipation.
The smoky odour of barbecue pervaded the bridge. Limbs convulsing and tongue protruding from his mouth, the Blarg collapsed into the rear cockpit with a harsh thud. His skin, no longer like saffron, was crusty and as dark as the midnight zone of the ocean. Incomprehensible groans slipped from his paralyzed lips, and his wide eyes stared ahead with unmeasurable distance.
Shell-shocked and quivering, the other Blarg in the cockpit observed their comrade with the crippling terror that they would be next.
Nefarious scanned the area for any sign of Qwark and had started to huff when he spotted the captain slinking towards the door. A shout of alarm escaped Qwark, a sound that intensified when the scientist began launching another volley of electricity in his direction. The balmy cackle that had ventured to ascend Nefarious's throat was interrupted by a yell from Drek.
"Victor, put a stop to this!" The chairman had examined the multitude of cracks and scars threatening the integrity of the Deplanetizer, sending the lieutenant to Nefarious with an agitated point of his finger.
The rapid approach of heavy footsteps spurred the scientist to whirl around, and a startled cry burst from him when his weapon was seized. Victor held it above his head and applied just enough pressure to show that he could crush it like a twig. Nefarious looked between the warbot and his invention as if it were his child, unable to conceal the hint of intimidation eroding his rage.
After dipping his head and glowering at the lieutenant through the roof of his gaze, the scientist blinked when Victor narrowed his eyes. The two continued to observe each other as if speaking without words before Nefarious spun on his heels and marched out of the bridge. The warbot loosened his shoulders and allowed the weapon to despawn.
Qwark kept his head slightly turned to the ceiling, and once the sound of the doctor's footsteps vanished, he approached the chairman. "Forgive me, Drek. I knew Nefarious was mad, but I haven't seen him this loony since the atomization incident."
Drek pressed his fingers together and offered a frazzled nod of his head. "Oh, it's quite all right. We'll just get a few cleanup crews here-" he motioned to a black stain on the windshield "-and there." His face shrivelled in horrid disgust at the sight of the charred, twitching Blarg lying supine in the nearest cockpit. It seemed to steal his words from him until he took a cautious breath and rested a hand on his tie.
"But in the future, would you kindly-" the chairman whipped around and intensified his voice to a guttural yell "-refrain from assaulting anyone else on my ship?!" Drek clenched his teeth as his shoulders rose and fell with the wild pants heaving his chest, hands squeezing the leather grips on his scooter like stress balls. The accusation drew a gasp of outrage from the captain.
Eyes narrowing and mouth deepening into a straight line, Qwark took an indignant step forward and pointed to the floor as a testament to his honesty. "I never laid a finger on that civilian!" His persistence in asserting his integrity tested Drek's volatile patience, and the Blarg slammed his palms against the handlebars of his scooter.
"Someone did!" A twinge of incredulous humour entered his voice as if the situation was so fantastical to him that he struggled to believe it was happening. "And until we find out who, New Quartu is deadlocked!" As Qwark looked at him like he had torn his skin off to reveal cybernetic innards, the chairman attempted to reclaim his composure.
"Excuse me," he conceded with a vapid smile that portrayed no sincerity. "The fact of the matter is I can't have my entire project shutting down every time the two of you are in a room together." After gesturing to the spacious interior of the Deplanetizer, he tilted his fingertips towards Qwark. "You understand, don't you?" Qwark had opened his mouth to respond, but Drek continued. "And Neffie -- well, whenever he has one of his little fits, it takes forever to get him out of it."
Despite speaking with the fatigue of a tired parent, the chairman conveyed nothing but annoyance at the inconvenience. His referral to a malignant rampage that nearly cost the lives of everyone on the bridge as a tantrum unsettled Qwark, and he waved a hand in front of himself in a show of defiance. "I am not apologizing to that ... that fiend!"
This seemed to both amuse and surprise Drek. The chairman pointed his palms at the captain in mock fear of his action, eyes widening and lips curling into an expression of confidence in his forethought. "Who said anything about apologies?" His arms draped over the handlebars like someone rewatching a movie in a crowd of newcomers. "If you show your face again, he'll probably shoot you."
When the chairman began riding in the direction of the Star Cracker water cooler, periodic hums emitted from his scooter. "And, Captain?" Blue and yellow light poured onto Drek as the door opened with a hiss, the lackadaisical tone of his voice reverberating through the bridge. "I doubt he'd miss a second time."
The bridge was plunged into merlot-red hues, and a descending hum reverberated through the Deplanetizer for several seconds. "Sir," piped a Blarg standing in one of the rear cockpits, "we have a bogey rapidly approaching the Deplanetizer."
Drek reversed out of the doorway and spun around to peer into the endless abyss of outer space. "Engage all defence mechanisms!"
Doors slammed shut throughout the space station, sending herds of Blarg running to various controls and erupting in frenzied murmurs of button combinations. Alarms whooped in every room and flashed rotating strings of light onto the sweaty and pallid faces of Blarg. As Qwark stared through the windshield with a dreadful idea of the pilot, he turned his head at Drek's shout.
"I suggest you return to your quarters, Captain." The chairman called for Victor and glided to the front of the bridge.
Before Qwark could ignore his warning, an enraged scream echoed from Nefarious's laboratory. Glass shattered in torrents as the scientist dragged his arms across tables of vials and threw beakers against the wall, and a boom spawned a cloud of smoke around the locked door. The sound of sizzling -- like meat cooking on a grill -- popped in the corridor.
The door, starting from the centre and expanding outwards, dissolved into puddles of molten metal. Nefarious stepped through, dripping with chemicals that would burn the average person from the inside out. Parts of his lavender suit were steaming.
In the hangar, the Blarg tugged your arm to prevent you from reaching the escape shuttle. "If you leave, they'll kill me!" Tears began to leak from his eyes, and you turned away with a perturbed grunt. "Please! I don't want to die!"
Your inability to grip the edge of the shuttle pushed your tolerance to its end. "If you have so much to live for-" the humanoid squealed when you whipped around, clutched his shoulders and tossed him into the spacecraft "-then get in!" As you slammed a fist into the hangar door control, a small spaceship flying in your direction was revealed.
A Blarg looked up from his computer screen and cried at Drek, "Sir, the hangar door is opening!"
The chairman turned to face him with a strained smile that implied he was one catastrophe away from an emotional meltdown. "Let's shut it, then!" He returned his attention to the star system outside his window and bellowed, "Zed!"
The small, legless robot floated to the main control panel in front of Drek, raising a finger in acknowledgment of the order and pressing the respective button with his other hand. "On it, sir!"
You had begun to climb into the escape shuttle when a metallic creak marked the hangar door's reverse of your progress and its descent back towards the ground. The spacecraft grew larger by the second until you recognized the blue paint, and it was aiming to land on top of the shuttle. Grabbing the Blarg, you dove behind a pile of crates in the corner of the room.
A screech of metal scraping metal reverberated through the hangar as the spacecraft zoomed between the door and the floor just before the crack closed. Flurries of sparks rained down the walls, and the engine quieted near the entrance. Peeking out from the crates and holding your hand against the whimpering Blarg's mouth, you crinkled your eyes at the Lombax and small robot jumping from the pilot seat.
Fingers slowing to an occasional push of a button, a Blarg positioned at one of the North cockpits watched the radar screen as if hoping it would change or report a malfunction. When another spin of the sensors yielded identical results, he lifted his head towards Drek. "Chairman, we have three more bogeys approaching fast. All flying Ranger colours."