Red Dwarf Fanfic: Last Humans
Chapter 12: Drop
Summary: Wherein the Snake Eaters are betrayed, Rimmer is shot(again) and Todhunter takes a stand.
Warnings: Language, extreme character endangerment, violence
Beta: Rack
Chapter Rating: T(PG-13)
(ooo)
Chapter 12 : Drop
(ooo)
//Ship Serial No: Red Dwarf JMC66350
//Ship's Time: 09:21-06.11-002.343
//AI-Holly-Executive: INTERCEPTING TRANSMISSION FROM STARTRANSIT™ HUB TO SILO INDP556790
//AI-Holly-Executive: UNABLE TO BREAK ENCRYPTION
The drop ship whined to a stop. It continued to shudder in bursts as the docking locks sealed shut. Lister wiped his sweating face brow and watched the drop ship's door.
It opened. Musty air gusted in. Rimmer stood and waved the rest of the Snake Eaters up. The cavity beyond the doors was dim, lit only by glowing green emergency el tape in eerie hieroglyphic patterns.
"It's routine," said Briggs. "A routine drop. Get in, get what we need done, get out."
Rimmer half turned, making a series of gestures with his hand.
Nigel, a Snake Eater with so much metal threading through the flesh of his face he looked like a mechanical hedgehog, hopped up beside Rimmer, lifting the Snake Eaters' ancient psyscan. With a few pumps of the wind-up crank, the scanner coughed to life.
Nigel swept the dark hall beside Rimmer as they entered. At one point Nigel stopped and jerked his head towards the wall. Rimmer nodded.
Nigel slapped the wall.
The lights came up. A small tremor followed.
Lister blinked in the sudden brilliance, unable to make sense of anything around them. When he could see again Rimmer had moved further off down the docking bay.
The bay was big, not as big as the bays on the Red Dwarf, but big enough to house the Starbug comfortably. Debris littered the partially flooded floor: shredded steel crates were pockmarked and singed. Lister stepped over to the nearest crate. Laser blasts and the splintering… looked like someone had pulled off hunks of the metal with their bare hands. Lister shivered. Another shudder rocked the docking bay.
Rimmer picked his way over to the far wall. "Clear." His voice echoed back.
Lister trotted up. "Simulants. Or something else that can claw through steel."
Rimmer nodded and looked at Nigel.
"I've swept the main chamber. No life signs, electronic or otherwise." Nigel gestured to the psyscan.
Rimmer pulled the door release lever and the bay exit slid open.
"Point team. Let's go." Rimmer ducked through the door.
Lister caught his jacket. "Shouldn't we wait for Hollister?"
Rimmer glanced back.
He was sweating. Lister felt a tremor shudder through Rimmer through his grip on the man's jacket. "Rimmer…"
"There's no point waiting."
"Is that yeh talkin'?" Lister narrowed his eyes at Rimmer.
Rimmer shrugged out of his grip and continued through the door into the dark beyond.
Lister half turned and waved the rest of point team through. Baxter, Killcrazy and Nigel followed him.
"Nigel." Rimmer waved the Snake to his side. "Feel free to light our way."
(ooo)
Lister radioed Briggs. "The main chamber is secured. We found an uplink in one of the side chambers. Yeh can move in."
"Copy."
Lister closed the link and turned to look at Rimmer. He was shuddering visibly, half leaning on the chamber wall.
The rest of point team had pulled up some crates and sat in a circle, playing a game of tiddly winks with shotgun shells.
Lister edged up to Rimmer. "How yeh doin', man?"
Rimmer's hand jerked away from his face. He looked down at Lister, eyes a bit too wide. "What?"
"I asked yeh how you're doin'."
"Oh." Rimmer looked at his shaking hands. "I…"
"What's wrong, man?" Lister caught Rimmer's shoulder.
Rimmer swallowed. "It's the tension."
Lister turned back to the others, taking a half step towards them. "Let's go keep 'em company—"
"No." Rimmer pressed against the wall, one hand over his eyes.
"What's up with yeh?"
Rimmer swallowed hard and rubbed his face. "I'm sorry."
Lister dropped his hands, staring at Rimmer. He didn't say anything.
Rimmer rubbed the back of his neck. "I—"
"Yeh were strung out…"
"I didn't want…" Rimmer lay back against the wall, sliding down it till he was sitting.
Fat drops of sweat slid down his temples.
Lister glanced back at the other Canaries then squatted next to Rimmer. "Put it out of yer mind." Lister picked a smoke out of his breast pocket then paused and offered one to Rimmer. "I know yeh smoke sometimes, I've seen yeh do it before your exams."
Rimmer took it without a word.
Lister lit his and took a drag. "Good time as any to get back in the habit." He leaned back against the wall, shoulder to shoulder with Rimmer. After a moment he turned towards Rimmer and offered him a light with a quirk of his lips.
Rimmer placed the tip of his cig against the tip of Lister's. He inhaled, puffing with a careful intensity that made Lister grin. Greenhorn.
Lister caught Rimmer's cheek, pulling his own cig out from his lips. Without thinking Lister grabbed the other man and drew him into a hug.
"What you doin'." Rimmer slurred, not used to speaking with a smoke hanging from his lips.
"Nothin'." Lister replied. Rimmer's stubble scraped against Lister's cheek— when had he stopped being clean-shaven? Rimmer stank too. He'd been sweating like a dog. Lister rammed his nose against Rimmer's ear, breathing deep. No more cheap after-shave, just damp, pungent Rimmer.
Rimmer pushed him off and Lister withdrew, his fingers clenching. "What'd—"
"Shh…" Rimmer hushed him, putting out his cig on the floor. And staring into the dark.
"What's wrong—"
Rimmer shushed him again, still staring into the chamber.
Lister narrowed his eyes, trying to make something out in the black. He shrugged and turned to look into the main chamber. He watched Hollister, Thorton, the ship security and Mark team file through the entrance. The rest of point team continued to play tiddly winks, although the game had turned violent. Nigel was trying to cough up a tiddly-wink; Baxter had Killcrazy in a headlock.
Ignoring the rumble Lister turned back to Rimmer. "Hollister's here." His brow drew when he realized the man had moved off into the dark side chamber in complete silence. "Rimmer?" Lister called, stumbling to his feet and following him in.
At the uplink Lister paused, glancing at Holly's watch. It was socketed into the uplink. On it's screen, in between strobing frames of downloaded info he saw a flash of the O-G AI's ugly grin. Lister grimaced and scurried after Rimmer.
"Is somethin' wrong?" Lister asked as he caught up.
"I don't know. I thought I saw something in there." Rimmer brought up his flashlight. "Reminded me."
Behind Lister a series of distorted electrical interference noises echoed through the main chamber. "Is this thing yeh remembered dangerous?"
"Very," Rimmer replied, sweeping his flashlight over the chamber's floor. It was littered with debris.
(ooo)
Hollister glanced around the main chamber nervously. He was about due for another valium topper but he didn't want to administer it in front of the Canary crew.
"Identification, please." Said the StarTransit™ hub computer.
"Captain Frank Hollister of the JMC Red Dwarf." Hollister mopped sweat from the back of his neck with his kerchief. "Ident number six six oh four seven eight nine four."
"Signiture scan cleared. You may proceed with your instructions."
Hollister stepped back and waved Todhunter forward. The man knelt by the uplink, pulling out a palm size computer that Hollister did not understand the function of and started tapping in strings of gibberish.
Hollister turned away from him and scanned the Canaries forming a wall around him and his security forces. Thorton had said they'd have twenty minutes on the outside.
(ooo)
"Rimmer!" Lister pulled on Rimmer's jacket, gesturing to a grisly find on the floor. A skull with el tape markings.
Rimmer's eyes narrowed as he looked at the skull.
"That can't be good, yeah?" Lister muttered.
"It's human." Rimmer replied. "Not GELF."
"I thought this place was unstaffed."
Rimmer knelt, poking the skull with the butt of his rifle. Lister couldn't help wincing.
"This isn't a 23rd century human." Rimmer nodded at the dull glint of metal attached to the skull. That looks like a thirtieth millennial implant." He poked at the skull with the muzzle of his rifle.
Lister swallowed, feeling queasy. "How do yeh know?"
The skull fell apart under Rimmer's prodding. "General knowledge."
Distantly Lister heard the groan of tortured metal. The floor shuddered.
"Listen to that." Rimmer whispered, his flashlight swept the ceiling of the chamber.
"Yeah? Some sort of storm?"
"Worse, miladdio. Sounds like the bulkhead's compromised." Rimmer's eyes narrowed as his flashlight revealed a reflective panel. "Looks like the automatic systems are compensating."
"Eh?" Lister replied.
Rimmer leaned against the wall of the chamber, setting his rifle beside his leg. Lister saw a flash of Ace, the only thing missing was Rimmer pulling out a cheroot and lighting up.
Rimmer caught Lister's stare. Instead of Ace's warm confidence, his eyes held a low, reptilian excitement. "The matter transporter relay is powering up already. Nothing we can do. The Agnoids would never provide a clue like that—" He nodded at the skull, "—until it was already too late."
"Agnoids?"
"Yes Listy. We're in the middle of a trap." Rimmer continued. "Thorton ordered me to set EMP charges. That's why I took Point-team. I suppose he knew."
"What triggered it?"
Rimmer looked back. "Just being here."
Lister felt dread creep through him. "What do we do?"
"Do?" Rimmer leaned his temple against the wall. "We die."
"What, all of us?"
Rimmer turned back to him. His expression was blank, except for an ugly grin.
"That's it then?" Lister asked.
"If we're lucky it'll be staggered. One sub-chamber then the other will be filled with captured Agnoids, brought in by the transit relay. If we're not lucky, they'll all arrive at once. They'll try to make for the relay station in the docking bay. From there they can get aboard Red Dwarf."
"Can we fight them?"
"This group? We'd last a few minutes, I suppose."
"Then we've got to warn them!" Lister flicked on his com link.
Rimmer covered Lister's mouth with a hand. "Hold off, squire."
"Did you do this on purpose?"
Rimmer removed his hand, quizzical.
"Yeh wanted a fight, yeah? Did yeh lead us into this on purpose?"
Rimmer didn't answer. He turned away from Lister, tapping on his com panel.
"I never thought I'd say this but I miss the old Rimmer. At least he was too much of a coward to lead us into a trap for his own nutter fun." Lister wanted to punch him. Instead he leaned his head into the wall and swore in frustration.
"Briggs? We have a problem. I've set the charges but if Hollister uses them, the hull will collapse."
Lister couldn't make out Briggs' response. It was just an electronic whine.
"No. We'd all drown."
Another pause.
"The Snake Eaters are dead either way." Rimmer clicked off his com. "Let's go." He caught Lister's arm, pushing him towards the exit.
"What's goin' on?" Lister pulled out of his grip.
"Those EMP charges can take out the Agnoids, but they'll also take out the machines compensating for the hull breech. We'd be underwater in minutes."
"Do we have time to get outta here?"
"The EMP would knock out the drop ship and we don't have the means to boost it. We were never meant to escape."
Lister stopped dead. "Didja know?"
"Did I know what?" Rimmer stepped back to catch his arm.
Lister jerked his arm out of the way. "Didja know this was a trap?"
"What?"
"Did yeh know that this was suicide? Is that why yeh made sure Kris didn't come?" Lister felt flush with anger and… hurt. "Yeh dragged us all into this death wish of yours."
Rimmer's mouth tightened.
"Is that all this is?" Lister pressed a fist to his lips. "A way for yeh to get yer rocks off?"
"I didn't think Hollister would try to kill me... Again. I was worried, yes. But I didn't think he'd actually do it." Rimmer stared at the floor then, in a burst of motion he stepped behind Lister, grabbed his shoulder and started marching him towards the side chamber entrance. "I want to live as much as I ever did." Rimmer's breath was hot against his ear. "But now it's fun figuring out how."
(ooo)
Lister rammed his shoulder into the metal side of the crate, shifted it into place beside the others. With the Snake Eaters he'd created a semi-circle barricade around the entrance to the docking bay. Killcrazy stood beside him, dusting off his hands and grinning. "What we need that for then?"
"So we don't get shot." Lister knelt behind a crate, checking the angle.
"It gets in the way of fightin'."
Lister shook his head. "Go see if Briggs needs any help, yeah?"
"I ain't movin'." Killcrazy nodded past the barricade. "They'll be comin' through and I've got first dibs."
"Then keep watch and I'll go see if Briggs needs any help." Lister stood. As soon as he stepped out of the way, Killcrazy jumped on the barricade and leveled his rifle at the nearest side chamber entrance with a giggle.
Briggs was talking to Rimmer beside the entrance to the docking bay. A few paces off, a very pale and sweaty Hollister issued frantic commands to a calm-but-beginning-to-get-flustered Todhunter, who was tapping as fast as he could into a small computer balanced on his knee.
Lister bit the inside of his lip, suddenly reminded. Holly. He looked back at the entrance to the uplink chamber. He'd left Holly there. Smegging dumb, that.
Lister glanced back at Rimmer. The man had given the impression that the simulants would be flooding in any second. But they hadn't come yet. Lister chewed his lip and glanced back across the main chamber. Then back to Holly.
He vaulted the barricade, stumbling a bit as he landed on the other side, and pelted towards the uplink chamber.
"Lister!" He heard Rimmer call after him, and ignored it.
It was ten breaths before he tripped to a stop beside Holly's uplink. "Holly." He whispered, cupping the uplink. He watched the readouts flash, but Holly seemed otherwise blank. Cursing, Lister started flipping switches and twisting locks, trying to remember the sequence Rimmer had used to interface Holly with the uplink. Lister prayed he wasn't doing Holly any damage.
After a few more rotated dials and pressed levers, Holly slipped out. "Gotcha!" He grinned.
A groaning rumble shook the chamber. Another ship quake.
Holly's screen was still blank. Lister shoved Holly into his vest pocket. The part of him that unerringly prophesized danger was almost incoherent with babbling.
Lister looked back over the main chamber. It was clear. He could run for it. He'd done it.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rimmer pulled Lister out of the side chamber and pushed him towards the barricade.
"It's okay man. I got Holly!" Lister beamed.
"Move. Run." Rimmer half lifted him with the force of his shove. They sprinted towards the barricade together.
Ten breaths, thought Lister. No time at all.
A bee buzzed past his ear. Lister stopped, startled. Bee? A smoking hole was gouged out of the floor at his feet. It spat liquefied metal.
Rimmer barreled into him, sending them both to the ground. Lister was about to turn to yell at him, when he realized his face was wet. He wiped the wet off and looked at his hand. It was covered in blood. He looked back at Rimmer; he was face down, blood spreading over his canary jacket.
More shots gouged the floor around Lister., one close enough to singe the hair on the back of his arm.
Get up. Get out. Lister caught Rimmer under his shoulders and hauled him up. Lister ran, Rimmer leaning heavily on him but keeping up.
Lister shoved Rimmer past the barricade and felt hands pulling him in and down. He looked up. Killcrazy was screaming like a maniac, standing fully exposed on top of a crate, and emptying his clip at the advancing simulants. The rest of the Snake Eaters were taking shots from behind the barricade, Baxter doing his best, it seemed, to cover Killcrazy's rampage.
Nigel knelt beside Lister; he had an emergency kit in his hands.
"Can you stop the bleeding?" Lister asked, his hands pressed against Rimmer's chest. Rimmer was pale.
Nigel shrugged.
Lister caught a flash of beige movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look. Thorton and his men were disappearing through the docking bay doors.
The bulkhead.
Lister jumped to his feet and ran towards the docking doors, skidding through them before they closed and pelting after Hollister and his security forces.
Hollister glanced back, saw Lister, and stepped up the pace, walking as fast as his wobbling mass would allow.
Lister caught up to him just before Hollister exited the docking doors to the blue midget.
"Sir!" Lister leaned on his knees, panting. "You can't use the EMP. The bulkhead will collapse. The complex will flood."
Hollister's eyes shifted nervously around the docking bay. "I'm afraid it can't be helped, Mister Lister."
Lister straightened. "We need to get out of here, sir."
"Mister Lister. If the enemy is allowed to reach the matter transport relay in the docking bay, they will be able to board Red Dwarf. The Canaries have to stay and hold them off till we're in the clear to use the EMP charges. Now, I have to go!" Hollister half turned.
"But Sir! If yeh use the EMP the drop ship will be dead. And we can't wait for another!" Lister caught Hollister's arm. Thorton punched the butt of his rifle into Lister's elbow and Lister recoiled.
"Might I remind you, Mister Lister, that according to Space Core regulations convict crew members are required to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of non-convict crew? Even disregarding issues of rank." Hollister nodded at Thorton, who began the process of unlocking the docking bay doors to the blue midget. "Now, Mister Lister, I suggest you start obeying your orders and go back to cover our retreat."
Lister looked up, his cheek twitching. "Yeh knew, didn't yeh?"
Hollister didn't answer, instead he stepped through the docking doors. "Mister Thorton, lay in a course."
"Sir?" Todhunter looked from Lister to Hollister. "Did you know?"
Hollister stopped and turned. "Did I know what, Mister Todhunter?"
"Did you know the bulkhead was compromised, Sir?" Todhunter moved to stand beside Lister.
Hollister and Thorton exchanged a glance. "I didn't know, Mister Todhunter. And if I find out that Mister Thorton knew," Hollister glared at his security chief, "I'll be very sure to issue a reprimand. Now, get aboard, Mister Todhunter."
"No." Todhunter shook his head.
"This is insubordination, Mister Todhunter." Hollister's lips flattened into a line. "Get aboard, and that is an order!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. I couldn't live with myself knowing I abandoned these men to die."
"Todhunter!" Hollister threatened. "These are just convicts. Murders, thugs,cannibals."
"He isn't." Todhunter inclined his head towards Lister, then pulled himself to his full height, and looked firmly at Hollister. "I believe you are unfit for command. As an officer of the JMC, I'm charging you with misuse of your command authority, specifically your disregard of JMC protocol and your violations of the United Planets Human Rights Charter. You sent him," Todhunter nodded at Lister, "to jail on false pretenses based on an illegal non-consensual psychotropic test administered to Mister Rimmer."
Hollister went pale, he gaped. "How could you kno— lies! All lies!" Hollister poked one fat finger into Todhunter's face. "This is mutiny. Thorton, put Mister Todhunter under arrest." Hollister nodded at Thorton. Then a slippery little smile slid across his face. "You can dispose of the prisoner at your discretion." He turned back and disappeared into the Blue Midget.
Thorton grinned and waved the rest of the security forces on. Todhunter took a step towards him. Thorton raised his rifle. "Uh-uh. From this moment on you're an honorary Canary."
Todhunter glared. "You son of a bitch."
"You wanted to stay anyway. Or maybe that was just for show, Mister Moral High Flyer?" Thorton laughed and punched the docking door release. Just before they closed he threw Todhunter a rifle. "You might make it to the end of the five minute count down with that. Good luck, former Second Lieutenant Todhunter."
Todhunter's jaw tensed as the docking doors closed.
Lister looked at Todhunter. "Sorry, mate."
Todhunter shook off his fury and shock. He glanced at his watch. "Right. Five minutes. Let's make the best of them."
(ooo)
Lister slipped through the docking bay exit and into chaos.
He saw a simulant staggering behind the barricade, several more dead at its feet. Cat had latched onto the simulant's back, his teeth buried in the simulant's neck. With a twist Cat wrenched his teeth out and the simulant went down, twitching.
"Cat!" Lister called from behind a crate.
Cat whirled around with a hiss. Lister jumped back, startled. "Cat?" He asked.
"Oh, hey bud!" Cat relaxed, loosing his feral look and knelt beside Lister. "Can you believe this?" He motioned towards his jacket. "Baxter bled all over me. Yellow, black and red? That I can do, but this random splatter? Couldn't he have bled out some nice detailing? Maybe a cute little checkered pattern?"
"What happened, Cat?"
"A few walking can openers got through." Cat brushed at the blood on his jacket with distaste. "Briggs distracted them and I snuck up on them…" Cat made some sneaking motions. "And then I pounced." Cat grinned.
"Briggs? How?"
Cat waved over to where Briggs' body slumped against a crate. "By being a target."
Lister turned back to Cat. "Where's Rimmer?"
"That walking sewer backup? I don't know. I can only hope he's dead." Cat huffed.
Lister looked around. He saw Killcrazy hugging the prone and blood-soaked form of Baxter to his chest. Lister frog walked to his side. "Killcrazy! Have yeh seen Rimmer?"
Kill crazy sobbed and babbled something incomprehensible.
"Rimmer!" Lister got in his face. "Have yeh seen Rimmer?"
Kill crazy looked up. "'E's dead! 'E's dead!"
Lister fell back on his arse, feeling like he'd just had a shock round shot into his gut. "What?"
"Baxter's dead!" Kill crazy wailed.
Lister turned away from him, scanning the bodies, choking on the stink of blood, vomit and the overwhelming smell of the pusy, acid fluid the simulants used as lubricant or blood or whatever.
Finally he caught sight of Nigel behind one of the crates. Lister crawled over.
Beside Nigel was Rimmer, heavily bandaged and unconscious.
"How is he?" Lister asked.
Nigel looked at Rimmer and shook his head. "Gonna die," he said, simply.
Lister pulled Rimmer into his lap, catching the man's jaw and stroking the thick fuzz behind Rimmer's ear. He fished in his pocket for a cig and brought it to his lips. His hands were shaking. "We all are." He lit it and took a drag. Now if he only had a beer, his death would be complete.
"Dave!" A small voice called from his pocket. "Dave! Dave! Can you hear me?"
Lister dropped the cig. It burned his thigh. He hissed and jerked away from it, then patted down his pockets. "Hol, is that you?"
He found the one with the watch and pulled it out. "Hol!"
"Hi Dave." Holly smiled back at him. He had a puffy purple shiner on one eye.
"Wha' happened to you, Hol?" Lister fished his cig from the floor.
"I got in a bit of a tussle with—wait, just a sec, Dave!"
The OG-AI slipped onto the screen, lunging at Holly with a grimace. Holly kirby kissed her and she went spiraling.
"Hol, what's going on?"
"Sorry Dave. I've been fighting off that… Omega infection since you activated me. Anyway, that should do it." Holly bobbed.
"How?" Lister sucked on his cig, his other hand tangled in Rimmer's hair.
"I got her off guard while she was uploading Red Dwarf's coordinates to the relay station."
"Hol… er—is there anyway you can get us out of this?"
"What's this, Dave?"
Lister looked around him. "We're being pinned down by Agnoids. An EMP is set to go off which will kill the Agnoids. But it'll cause the complex to flood."
Hol paused in though, then smiled. "Easy. But you'll have to turn me off before the EMP."
"Okay, then what?"
"Get me to an uplink by the docking bay relay. I'll activate the transport relay."
"Lister!" Todhunter had turned and pressed himself against a crate, pulling a cartridge of ammo from the jacket of a dead Snake beside him. "Five minutes are up."
Lister fumbled with his watch, trying to find the off switch. His nail brushed it just as a quiet 'fwuph' sounded in the chamber. The lights went out.
Silence filled the chamber. Lister looked up, trying to make out anything in the dark.
Metal groaned: the ground shuddered. Lister stood, struggling to pull Rimmer up with him.
"Run back to the drop ship!" he screamed over the roar of rushing water.
Lister felt hands move beside his. Rimmer's weight eased.
"Come on." He heard Todhunter say and saw a thin streak of light illuminating the way. As they stumbled back to the docking bay doors, frigid water swirled up over their ankles. Rimmer was shaking against Lister. Lister heard others grunting and splashing in the water beside him.
By the time they'd ducked through the doors, it was up to their knees.
"Fifty meters to go." Todhunter splashed beside Lister. "It's rising fast."
Lister turned Holly on. "I get yeh to the uplink, Hol. Then what?"
"I do the rest," came the cackling reply.
Lister looked down. The OG-AI was back. "Where's Hol?" Lister's teeth were chattering. The water was waist height.
"That was me. I put on a little show."
Lister felt the warmth drain from his body.
"Take Rimmer." Lister pushed Rimmer into Todhunter's arms. Then he brought the OG-AI close to his face. "So yeh want to be stuck here then?"
"What?"
"What do you think happens to you when we drown?" Lister scanned the walls for the uplink. He saw a bit of el-tape worked into a square. Close enough. He paddled towards it.
"I can transport myself as soon as you get me into that uplink." The OG-AI laughed. Something slammed into the side of her face. A bald torpedo that sent her skidding out of the frame. Hol steadied himself and blinked up at Lister. "Get me into that uplink!"
Lister glanced back at the el-tape. It was submerged now. His whole body shuddered, the cold felt like a fist, constricting around his chest. Lister took a deep breath and dove.
The water lashed his face. He dove for the el-tape square. Hoping that he was right.
With one hand caught on a hand rail to fight the currents, Lister thrust Holly at the center of the glowing square. Something caught and he blindly turned knobs and locks.
Just as the cold felt like it would tear Lister in half, Lister thought he heard Holly say, "Brace yourselves, dudes."