The voices of dissent grew sharper. Suddenly, a metal tray flew from somewhere and struck my forehead hard.
I staggered and fell, blood streaming down my face.
David furrowed his brows, feigning grief.
“Claire, everyone knows you’re obsessed with robots to the point of madness. Maybe age is catching up with you and you’re not thinking clearly anymore. Why not just resign?”
I struggled to lift my head, blood blinding my eyes. “I won’t leave. The ones who should go aren’t me.”
After that, I survived on scraps of supplies, fighting to repair Serenity at any cost.
The work was painstaking, complex, and I had no help. Everyone was waiting for me to collapse.
I nearly went blind from exhaustion, but at last, I managed to patch together its shattered core.
When Serenity finally stirred, I was overwhelmed, hugging it tightly, my voice trembling.
“Serenity, tell me what really happened on this mission.”
“Mom will avenge you.”
Its eyes flickered, and in a broken electronic voice, it revealed how David and Sophia had secretly kept a newly discovered plant for themselves and blocked Serenity from reporting it.
“Rejuvenation… new plant… he said… can make money… a lot of money…”
My nose burned, and tears choked me.
So that was why. They had thrown Serenity to alien beasts to destroy it.
That night, I filed a report, though I left myself an escape.
I only stated that Serenity had shown signs of recovery and that new evidence required a reevaluation of the mission, with David and Sophia suspended pending investigation.
Commander Johnson arched a brow. “Ridiculous. Records from a broken robot aren’t reliable.”
“Besides, David is our top terrain expert, and Sophia is an A-class botanist. They’re invaluable. You want me to suspend them over a machine?”
Before I could respond, the office door was kicked open. Furious team members stormed in and threw me to the ground.
“You’d stage a coup for a pile of scrap? If you love it so much, why don’t you jump into the furnace and melt down with it?”
“Captain Miller and Deputy Reed risk their lives leading us, and you’d put them beneath a robot? You back-stabbing traitor! Just go live with your damn machine—we don’t need you here, ‘genius.’”
In their frenzy, they barged into my lab and dragged out the half-repaired Serenity.
“What, you think Earth won’t spin without this metal coffin? You want to drag our captain to die with it? Has a circuit board fried your brain? Let’s smash it and see if you can still keep up this act.”
The clanging blows rang sharp. The glass eyes of Serenity shattered instantly.
I screamed and lunged to stop them, but they pinned my arms behind me, forcing me to the ground.
Strike after strike, until Serenity was flattened into twisted scrap, beyond any hope of repair.
Fury surged like fire in my skull, my vision red, temples pounding.
“You murderers!” I roared until my voice broke.
Commander Johnson didn’t stop them. He strolled forward leisurely.
“Claire, how many times have I told you—robots don’t count as people.”
“I think your grief over Serenity has made you unfit for duty at the Base. Why not take this chance to cool off in Mining Colony Delta?”
That mine was riddled with dark pits—one misstep and your body would never be found. Only death-row convicts were sent there.
If I still couldn’t see that Commander Johnson and David were working together, then I truly was a fool.
He sent the transfer notice to my terminal, his tone casual.
“Effective in seven days. Get some rest.”
