Disclaimer: I still don't own Red Dwarf or any of its characters.
Chapter Twenty
Gambran found himself on the floor. Enraged, he leapt to his feet and glared at Rimmer, who was now standing up.
"Looks like you missed," Rimmer quipped.
Gambran made a weird snarling sound, then threw a punch at him. His fist went right through Rimmer's image and sent Gambran lunging forward. Rimmer smiled, trying to hide the fact that he had no idea why he was suddenly soft-light again.
The ensign helped Gambran stand straight again but he shook him off. "Play games all you want, Mr. Rimmer," he hissed. "You won't be playing them for long." Rimmer rolled his eyes as he tried to stomach the oh-so dramatic lines Gambran was using, and waited for the inevitable speech. Gambran didn't disappoint.
"Thanks to the assistance of Mr. Vogel, we have you as our prisoner at long, long last." He turned to Jason. "Well done, my boy. You would make a fine Timlar."
His buttons struggled to keep his shirt together, while his head seemed to fill the entire room. "Thank you sir."
Gambran turned back to Rimmer. "Now we can finally administer the proper punishments on you, the man who not only helped the Navetians to overthrow us, but wreaked havoc on our entire fleet and brought ruin to our great empire." His eyes became cold as his lips curled into an evil grin. "Oh, the pain we're going to inflict on you, my dear Ace Rimmer. I can hardly wait to get started." The bridge crew cackled as they shared this sentiment.
Rimmer felt his light bee switch to hard light again. What is going on? his mind wondered.
"I know what you're thinking," said Gambran. "What are the Timlars possibly going to do to me?"
"Actually, that wasn't what I was thinking at all."
The first officer punched Rimmer in the jaw and told him to shut up. Gambran shook his head and now thought exactly what Rimmer was thinking, even though he didn't realize it.
Rimmer shoved the first officer aside, but was quickly surrounded by guards before he could do anything else. He raised his hands and swallowed hard, knowing the only way to get through to a Timlar was to talk just like they did, in pointless and well-known dramatic cliches. He got out his book of tired and overused lines and cleared his throat.
"Do what you want with me, Gambran, but leave my friends alone." He tried to get his stomach to quit churning, but it was proving to be quite difficult.
"Now what fun would that be? A group torture is so hard to come by these days. But before the festivities begin, we need to know how that fabulous star drive of yours works."
"And why should I tell you that?"
He gestured to the screen. "Because if you don't, I'll let the Enlightenment slip through that rift."
"Most of the crew have either died or abandoned ship already, Gambran. Why should I care about a deserted ship?"
The wicked grin returned. "Ah ah ah, it's not completely deserted. On screen!"
The picture switched to the bridge of the Enlightenment, and Rimmer felt the "blood" drain from his lips. Nirvana lay unconscious on the floor; her image flickered in perfect unison with the ship, just as the set frequency enabled it to. Rimmer felt his own light bee fluctuating as well, and finally understood what was happening. He turned on Gambran. You even managed to use the most overused threat, he thought bitterly and, swallowing his pride, uttered the most cliched line of all.
"You'll never get away with this."
Gambran naturally followed with the most cliched follow-up line. "I already have."
Without warning, the floor began to tremble. Gambran kept his eyes fixed on Rimmer, but addressed the ensign. "What's going on?"
The ensign didn't reply right away. He was beginning to wish that someone else could give the bad news for a change.
"Well?"
He slowly swiveled around. "Sir, I'm afraid it's bad news."
"Just tell me."
"The rift is out of control sir. It's--it's...," He swallowed hard. "It's pulling us in."
Gambran's voice remained calm. "Shut off the frequency wave."
The ensign punched in the calculations, then uttered a quick shriek. He tried it again, but it was no use. He looked back to Gambran. "I can't shut it down, sir. It's so intense that it's knocked out our controls." He gave up trying to act brave. "We're doomed."
Gambran's head shot towards him. "What?!"
Rimmer didn't hesitate. He punched Gambran's face like he were trying to tenderize it, then side-kicked the first officer and ran out the door. Gambran rubbed his jaw and jumped to his feet.
"Guards! After him!"
The guards took off down the hall, and Gambran turned helplessly to the screen, watching the rift draw ever closer. "All of you, get to work on this problem. We've come this far, we are NOT going to be foiled by our own plan. And find Mr. Rimmer at all costs. I don't want him leaving this ship alive."
The crew nodded and got to work-all except the ensign, that is, who stared at his controls in complete shock. The spit began to dribble from his mouth as his mind retreated to a happier place in order to cope with the stress. For the first time since he had been promoted to ensign, Kyle felt at peace with himself. He let the frantic background fade away...
A guard led Lister, Kochanski, Cat, and Kryten to the prison block. "We'll throw you in with the other prisoner," he said gruffly. "It'll be a bit crowded, but don't worry. You won't be there for long."
"And why not?" asked Kochanski.
"Because the preliminary torture chambers are almost ready."
"Preliminary?"
"Oh yes. Those are just used to prepare you for the main torture, which you'll receive once we reach Timlar 4. Not only is it useful, but the show's a great morale booster for the crew. I myself have front row seats." He opened the door to the cell. "Don't disappoint us, ok?"
A blur flashed out of the cell and knocked the guard against the wall. Lister rushed forward and punched the guard before he could retaliate while Kochanski kicked him where it counts. The guard fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Yeeess," said Lister, and grabbed the guard's keys.
"Here, let me get those for you," said the figure. Lister looked up and gave a surprised smile.
"A.J.! What are you doin' here?"
"Well I was coming to help you out, but it looks like we've helped each other."
"Nice job with the guard, buddy," said Cat as A.J. undid his handcuffs. "I bet you had that all planned out."
"Actually, I was going to knock him out with my food tray, but I stumbled as I walked to the door." He blushed. "Whatever works, I guess. Where's Ace?"
"Right here." Rimmer appeared at the end of the corridor, not looking very well at all. They all rushed over to him as he hit the switch to lock the connecting door.
"Sir, what's the matter?" asked Kryten. He tried to help him stand up straight, but his hand went right through him. "I'm still linked to the Enlightenment. Its power is dwindling, which means mine is too. Don't worry, I'll be fine in a moment, just have to wait for the power to increase again." A second later he stood straight again. "See? What did I tell you?"
Kochanski looked in the direction that Rimmer had just come from, and frowned. "Where's Nirvana?"
"They knocked her out and put her back on her ship. It's only got a few minutes left before it gets sucked into the rift."
"Well no prob, Bob," said Lister. "Just shut down the device that's creating the rift."
Rimmer doubled over again, but shook his head when they tried to help him. "We can't. The rift is sucking this ship in as well and the controls aren't functioning"
"So what's the plan?" asked Cat. Everyone's heads turned down and they counted the rivets in the floor. Cat frowned. "Oh come on. Someone has to have a plan! Why can't we just shut down the sound wave?"
"Because the controls on this ship aren't working, remember?" said Lister.
Kochanski's face brightened. "Yes, but the controls onboard the Enlightenment should still be in perfect working order."
They all looked at Kryten, waiting for him to explain what they should do. "The only viable option would be to set up a counter frequency to cancel out the original one. It would have to be at the exactly the same intensity as the other one in order to work."
Kochanski snapped her fingers. "I bet Nirvana would know how to set that up."
"And she's still unconscious," Rimmer reminded them. "I have to get over there."
"But sir, we have other problems to worry about!"
"What d'you mean, Kryten?" asked Lister.
"The Timlars still have the Wildfire drive. If they successfully remove it and hook it up to their own ship, they'll be able to terrorize any dimension they choose. We have to retrieve the drive and somehow send them back to where they came from."
"And there's still the rift to think about," said Rimmer. "What are we going to do? I can't be in both places at once!" Everyone tried to think of something, and Rimmer caught sight of A.J. His face lit up.
"Or can I?" He grabbed A.J.'s arm and led him off around the corridor, leaving the others to wonder what the smeg he was up to.