You'll be so relieved to know I figured it out. Turns out, you have to slaughter all of the poor rebels. Christ, I went to endless trouble to SPARE the lives of the rebelling hulks, even though they were determined to attack me. I would lock them up in one room, then lure them to another holding cell, as my needs required. I even took on and brought down the juggernauts which were attacking the hulks.
Nope, to move on, kill them all. Actually, you can leave the one that's wandering the high path on the west side of the map.
But don't bother killing the drones. They are manufactured on an ongoing basis till a certain number is reached. What you must do is learn the path from their point of manufacture to their desired loitering point. If you aren't seen or heard while they are on that path, they will just loiter there and you can go about your business. So, if they are attacking you, draw them off out of sight of that path first, go around a corner, then slap them with your staff as they come around, until all the ones that followed you are gone.
I love the staff, BTW.
