Disclaimer: I still don't own Red Dwarf or any of its characters.
Chapter Four
857 dimensions away, Rimmer was preparing to do the impossible: jumping to a dimension with no counterpart to lock onto. He drummed his fingers on the window as he waited for the computer to finish her calculations. The risk didn't scare him at all; he'd been through a lot worse. What scared him was the chance that it might actually work.
"Diane, are you almost ready?" he asked with impatience.
"Hang on, Ace. I've just noticed that the aft sensors aren't functioning. Do you want to land and repair them before we jump?"
Rimmer shook his head. "No, I'll fix them once we're there. Let's just get this over with."
"Right. Beginning final check."
****
"Are the aft sensors disabled, ensign?"
"Yes sir. They have no idea we're even here."
Lord Gambran stroked his goatee and watched the Wildfire from the bridge of the Timlar flagship, the Usurper. "I think we'd better engage the frequency cloak anyway, ensign. I don't want to take any chances."
"Aye, sir. Frequency cloak engaged."
Gambran relaxed in his chair and stared at the ship on the screen with fiery eyes. For 600 years the Timlars had terrorized the Navetians. 600 glorious and uninterrupted years. Now everything had been ruined and it was all thanks to some hotshot that had appeared out of nowhere. The High Council wanted answers, and the fingers of guilt were being pointed at Gambran. He clenched his teeth as he thought about the talk and the accusations that were being generated against him. He was NOT going to be remembered as the leader that allowed the Timlar Empire to fall. Therefore he vowed to eke revenge on Mr. Ace Rimmer. Then and only then would glory be restored to his people and a new era would begin.
"Ensign, launch the grappling link."
The ensign turned around and faced his leader. "But it hasn't been tested yet. Are you sure you want to--"
"Just do as I say, ensign."
The ensign nodded and turned back to his console, entering the proper calculations.
The grappling link was their newest invention. It was a sort of subspace grappling hook that linked their ship with the unsuspecting enemy's. After shutting off the main power, the Timlar ship would be towed by the enemy ship to wherever it was going. The Timlar ship would then be able to uncloak and strike at full power when the proper moment presented itself. Sneaky and deadly, it was simply a marvelous device.
However, since it hadn't been tested yet, Gambran had ordered the aft sensors on the Wildfire to be disabled--just to be safe. Nothing could go wrong on this mission. Everyone was depending on them and failure just wasn't an option.
"Grappling link engaged, sir. They won't suspect a thing. Their computer will pick up a little static, but that's all."
"Good. Cut main power and go to green alert. I want to be sure that everyone is ready for this moment of triumph."
The ensign punched up the alert and turned to Gambran once more. "Sir, we still aren't picking up any life-signs aboard the enemy craft. Are you sure he's on board?"
"I'm positive. He must have some device that blocks any reading of his life-sign. Just get me that report from Timlar Intelligence as soon as possible. I want to know exactly what we're up against." The ensign nodded and swiveled forward again. Gambran looked at the screen and saw the thrusters of the Wildfire roar to life.
"Now we'll see if our little gambit works," he said, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
The Wildfire began to pick up speed, and a few moments later, the crew felt the Usurper begin to move along with it. Everyone erupted in cheers.
A big grin spread across Gambran's face. He leapt to his feet and clapped the ensign's shoulder. "You see? Nothing to worry about." Gambran accepted a drink from his navigator and began to celebrate with the rest of the crew.
The ensign gave a nervous nod and turned back to the screen. He suddenly became very still. "Um, sir?"
Gambran didn't hear him. He was too busy shaking hands and congratulating everyone. He raised his glass in a toast and everyone followed suit.
"To the glory of the Timlar Empire. May we receive total victory in this endeavor." Everyone gave a resounding "hear, hear!" and they all drank heartily.
"Soon the enemy will be in our midst. We'll blast his ship from the sky. No one strikes against the Timlars and gets away with it!"
The crew cheered and more wine was poured. Gambran's eyes were blazing as he thought of the coming battle.
"Then we'll capture our enemy and bring him back to the High Council to receive the greatest torture and humiliation we can offer. Mark my words, he will pay!"
The crew erupted in vengeful joy. Again the ensign tried to get Gambran's attention, and again Gambran didn't hear him. Instead, he threw his glass against the wall, where it shattered and sent wine and glass fragments flying all over the bridge. The crew followed suit, and soon glass shards covered the floor. No one cared. They were too taken away with themselves.
"Yes, torture in the most horrible nature," Gambran went on. "First we'll pluck out his eyes."
The officers clenched their fists in anticipation.
"Then we'll peel the skin off his limbs and pour lemon juice on them."
Evil laughter began to fill the air. Gambran was awfully good at stirring sinister notions in the hearts of his crew, and today was no exception.
"And last, but certainly not least--" He paused, allowing the suspense to invade everyone's mind. He grinned slyly and whispered the words that everyone was waiting to hear.
"The box."
Another rousing cheer, louder than all of the previous ones put together. If there was one thing the Timlars were good at, it was thinking up tortures for people.
Gambran noticed the ensign wasn't having fun like everyone else and went down to his post. "Ensign, what's wrong? Why aren't you celebrating with the rest of us?"
The ensign pointed to the screen, his finger nervously shaking in the air. "S-Sir? I think you should take a look at this."
Gambran looked up at the screen, and his smile quickly faded.
The Wildfire was traveling at an incredible speed. Stars streaked past before anyone had a chance to understand that they were there. Faster and faster and faster it went, pulling the Usurper --and its perfectly functioning grappling link--along for the ride.
The pressure began to build. Wine bottles began to burst and the glass on the floor began to vibrate. Everyone began to be forced to the floor, unable to avoid the shards that were scattered everywhere. Weird streaks of light began to flicker past the ship as the ships continued to climb to higher and higher speeds.
Gambran slowly began to crawl to the ensign's post. Although it was less than two feet from where he was standing, it took tremendous effort to get there. Grabbing the back of the chair, he looked up at the ensign.
"What... is...hap.....pen..ing?" he managed to say, although his jaws felt like they were being fused together. The ensign couldn't respond. Both of them watched the numbers on the consol flashing uncontrollably. It seemed even the computer had been taken by surprise.
Gambran felt his cheeks being pulled back by the rate that they were traveling. He began to pull himself up to a standing position. If he was going to meet his destiny today, he was determined to meet it standing up. Using every ounce of his strength, he inched his way up the chair. He stood straight just in time to see the Wildfire disappear in a flash of bright light.
He tried to scream, but the sound was being pushed down out of reach. His mind, however, was fully functional, and the scream sounded in his head to make up for the noise his throat was unable to produce. Then without warning, silence. For a split second, the pressure eased off a little, and Gambran felt an instant of relief. He wondered if the grappling link had severed when the other ship was destroyed.
He began to relax. Maybe they'd survive this after all.
Suddenly, the ship surged forward with an unbelievable force. Gambran was thrown backwards and flew across the bridge, smacking hard against the back wall. The room began to spin and he felt himself passing out. Blinding light flooded the room, and Gambran slipped into unconsciousness .
No else on the ship saw the final events unfold either; all had passed out because of the unexpected pressure. Therefore no one was awake to witness the single most important event in Timlar history.
Their flagship had just broke the speed of reality.