The Galactic Heap had rarely been a place of order, let alone perfection, but that had changed drastically over the past few hours. Captain Ziggy, transformed by the artifact into a meticulous perfectionist, had turned the station into a strictly organized nightmare. Everywhere across the decks, every screw was perfectly aligned, every tool gleamed, and the circuits pulsed in an almost eerie rhythm. For Kira and Axl, however, this newfound “perfection” was anything but pleasant — and the station itself seemed to feel the same way.
“Kira, have you recalibrated the energy flows?” Ziggy asked as he strode purposefully toward the engineering panel.
“Yes, Captain. For the third time today,” Kira replied as she entered another value into the system. Frowning, she noticed that the readings were not merely stable, but excessively stable — something that was almost unsettling aboard the Galactic Heap.
“Good. Then do it a fourth time,” Ziggy ordered without the slightest hesitation. “We must leave nothing to chance.”
Kira clenched her teeth and nodded. “Of course, Captain,” she muttered as she desperately searched for a way to free Ziggy from this unbearable condition.
Meanwhile, Axl tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible to avoid another involuntary outbreak of terrible jokes. As he checked the systems, his eyes repeatedly wandered toward the artifact, which was safely secured inside its improvised containment unit. He noticed that the station itself was beginning to react to Ziggy's excessive demands for perfection.
“Axl, how is the main systems diagnostic?” Ziggy asked, suddenly appearing beside him.
“Everything is running smoothly, Captain,” Axl replied, suppressing another terrible joke. At that moment, a deep creaking sound echoed through the station's walls, as if the Galactic Heap itself were resisting the constant optimizations.
“Smoothly is good,” Ziggy said with his flawless smile. “But I expect perfection. Check everything again.”
“Of course, Captain,” Axl replied, secretly wishing he could roll his eyes.
As Ziggy continued marching through the station and inspecting every little detail, Kira noticed something disturbing. The displays began flickering and showing readings far beyond their normal range. It was as though the Galactic Heap itself was beginning to collapse under the pressure of constant optimization.
“Axl,” Kira whispered as soon as Ziggy had left the room, “the systems are overloaded. If we keep this up, the station will collapse. And I think it's just as unhappy about this as we are.”
“I know,” Axl replied quietly. After a brief pause, he added dryly, “But at least it'll be a perfect collapse.”
“That's not funny,” Kira replied, although she couldn't suppress a brief smile. “We have to do something before he leads us all into a disaster.”
“And what do you suggest?” Axl asked, casting a cautious glance toward the door.
“I don't know yet,” Kira admitted. “But somehow we have to neutralize the artifact before everything gets out of control.”
“Easier said than done,” Axl muttered. “Maybe we should play along for now until we come up with something better.”
But before Kira could answer, Ziggy appeared in the room again. His movements were as precise as clockwork.
“Kira, Axl, I expect the systems to be fully optimized within the next hour. If not, we will... make adjustments.”
“Adjustments?” Kira repeated cautiously. “What kind of adjustments?”
Ziggy smiled in a way that was both reassuring and unsettling. “We will make sure the station functions exactly as it should — perfectly.”
Kira and Axl exchanged a worried glance as Ziggy left the room. His footsteps echoed across the metal floor in exactly the same rhythm.
“This isn't going to end well,” Axl said quietly.
“No,” Kira agreed. “We have to deactivate the artifact somehow — and soon.”
As they turned back to their consoles, the screens were already covered with overload warnings. Their captain's relentless pursuit of perfection had pushed the Galactic Heap to the brink of collapse, and both of them knew they were running out of time.