Infiltrators

"I'd had my suspicions," said Captain Valle.  "I'm relieved to know that I"m not crazy."

"Malfunctioning," Lieutenant Carson put in.

"Right.  I guess it's silly to maintain the illusion now, huh?"

"So," said Griff, "what do we do?  Nobody on board is actually human.  Does that mean we win?  War's over?"

They sat in silence for a while.

"Maybe there are other survivors," Captain Valle said slowly.

"We can't rule it out..."

"So we should probably keep on," said Carson.  "You know, just in case."

"Right."

"Yeah."

"Can I try being captain?"

"Only if I get a love triangle for once."

Kill-Bot

"Look, let's just talk this over, can't we? I see you have some clubs and rocks and things, yes. Put them up for just a little while, all right? Good. I'm so glad we can deal with this politely. I'm programmed to destroy all human life, but I can't see a reason to be so crude about everything. I've an extensive selection of options; it needn't be messy or protracted. Well, talk it over. Take your time. I'd rather arrange amicable deaths after a delay than go to the bother of slaughtering all of you. Those dents don't repair themselves."

Weregild

"He's awfully late," said Rek, pacing.

The door chimed and the foyer-vid cut on, though it still only displayed static.

"See?" said Triv. "Speak of the devil."

Rek gestured the door open. A hulking form stood outside, sensor lights flickering in the black nodule at its chest. Its matte surface gave back no light. A Viceroy.

"Oh," said Rek. "Oh." She sank to her knees.

"Hira Sebi was selected for transmission," the Viceroy said. "Please accept compensation." It pressed a chit into Rek's hand. Her fingers closed convulsively around it.

The Viceroy glided away in silence. The door spiraled shut.