Meru

Chapter 11

By the time they reached the med bay, Lulu Nagrik had gone missing.

The sight of Ruchi's dismembered body greeted Doctor Fatimah, Nurse Neelima, Chief Miner Raghuram and Assistant Engineer Ravi Tandon.

The use of the surgical saw on Ruchi had transformed the lab into an abattoir. Blood and shit and nameless dark stains coated the bed and the walls.

"He is not here, Can you track where he is for us Captain," Raghuram said into his personal comms device.

There was a brief silence before Mohini's voice came online.

"He has just appeared on the video feed. He is tracking towards the engine room with a saw in his hand."

Raghuram and Ravi looked at each other in horror. "Shit," they said in unison.

"Take two shots of benzodiazepine-x that should bring him down and sedate him for at least two hours," The Fatimah said to nurse Neelima. "I have to deal with this mess" The doctor said pointing to the carnage.

Neelima sprung into action. She grabbed the quick use ampule bullets and a syringe gun.

"What are we waiting for gentlemen let's go?" She said.

Ravi, Raghuram and Nurse Neelima ran through the corridors of the spaceship at breakneck speed to get to the engine room.

"I have tried to lock the room down from the control panel, but he is bypassing the codes on the door. He will be in there any minute now." Mohini said through the comms unit.

Being the Chief Engineer, Lulu Nagrik was privy to bypass codes used in the case of emergencies. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on everyone. A safety feature that had backfired on them.

They all felt a strange sensation - like their bodies were being pulled back in a vacuum. The space ship shuddered.

"Fuck," Ravi said.

"I have pulled us out of FTL. If anything happens to the engine while we are travelling at max speeds, it would be catastrophic ," Mohini said.

"Good move cap," Ravi said as he and the others picked up their pace again.

However, by the time they got to the Engine room, Lulu had entered the ship's most vital area.

They halted at the door and for a moment stood looking at each other. Bracing for unknown terrors they were about to encounter.

"Are we ready?" Raghuram said to his colleagues.

Neelima lifted the syringe gun and said, "I am."

Raghuram nodded.

"Let's not forget it is our friend in there," Ravi said, suppressing the avalanche of mixed emotions threatening to paralyse him.

<saw buzzing into something>

They step inside the room, to find chief engineer Lulu Nagrik, a man who once would have given his own life to protect the integrity of the ship, trying to shred vital cabling that fed into the stabilisers.

"Lulu stop," Assistant Engineer Ravi said to his friend.

Lulu does not respond. Nothing can distract him from his duties.

<sawing continues>

"Make it quick," Ravi says to Neelima.

Nurse Neelima inches towards Lulu, gun pointed at his neck, trying to stabilise its weight in her shaky hands. It was designed for close proximity use, to subdue psychotic or violent patients in emergency rooms, not to bring down someone from a distance.