i.

The Crumb had been travelling for months, and its passengers had long since become accustomed to the journey. Han-CELL, the robot, and Gretel, the human being, were two of the few remaining survivors.

They had finally managed to navigate through the asteroid field, which had been the bane of their existence for the last several weeks, and the space ahead of them seemed almost accessible.

Then, just as the two of them were about to leave the asteroid belt behind, space itself seemed to shake. A single bolt of purple electricity shot out of the darkness, striking Han-CELL in the middle of his chest. Gretel screamed in terror as the robot’s form shuddered and collapsed in front of her.

Grief stricken, Gretel desperately began to look for a way to save her companion, but it was too late. Han-CELL had been struck down by the last remnants of their father’s wicked computer, the same one that had caused them to be abandoned in the first place.

Gretel hugged her now-lifeless companion and wept into his chest until she heard a faint beep coming from his body. She quickly picked him up and ran for the cockpit of The Crumb, placing Han-CELL into the pilot’s chair and topping him up with fresh power cells from her research ship.

Han-CELL sprang to life, and the two friends clung to one another amid the chaos of asteroid rubble. They then set a course for a distant star, away from the darkness that had taken their father and his wicked computer.

Reunited, The Crumb and its passengers vanished from the void forever.