Disclaimer: I still don't own Red Dwarf or any of its characters.
Chapter Twenty-three
Gambran walked in front of the screen for the tenth time in as many minutes, and was discouraged once again. "You're sure the message got through?"
"Yes sir," the communications officer replied. "All signs indicate it's been sent and received."
"Then where is he?" he demanded.
"I don't know sir, just like I didn't know when you asked me a minute ago."
Gambran stroked his goatee. "He MUST be on his way. That message was perfect!
"Yeah, perfectly awful," said Lister behind him. Gambran lifted a finger, and a guard hit Lister's jaw with the butt of his gun.
"Keep it up, my boy, and we'll give you the slow torture instead of the quick. This crew was already cheated out of a show, and I'm sure they'd like an extra long event to make up for it." Lister rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut.
The first officer pointed at the screen. "Sir! We're getting something!"
Gambran jumped into his seat and stared anxiously at the screen. "Finally! Don't fire on his ship. Let him dock, THEN capture him. I don't want him to suspect anything." His smile faded and his face twisted into a question mark when he realized that it wasn't a ship he was staring at.
It was the letter `T'.
"That's not right, is it?" asked the first officer.
"Of course not, you idiot. What the hell is that thing? Ensign?"
The ensign didn't respond. He was too busy thinking about daisies. Everyone else waited for something to happen, but nothing did.
"Maybe it's a message of some sort," Gambran suggested. They all waited for more letters to appear, but the 'T' continued to stand alone. Everyone's eyes became transfixed in its form.
Lister nodded to Kryten, and they led the others out of the room as the Timlars continued to stare at the screen. They tip-toed down the hall just to be safe, then took off running.
"T", Lister mused. "I wonder why it's just 'T'?"
"Are you kiddin'? 'T' says it all," Cat answered. Lister nodded and they made their way back to docking bay four. They ran into the room and skidded to a stop as they caught sight of what lie inside. The Wildfire was still there, but now giant black cables ran from the ship to a rather large machine next to it. They approached the ship with caution, waiting for some sort of weapon to fire on them, but nothing ever came. Lister climbed up to the cockpit again.
"Diane, what's goin' on? What's with the cables?"
"Well they couldn't figure out how to disconnect the drive from the ship, but they did figure out how to connect their own machine to the drive," said Diane.
"What are you sayin'?"
"This ship is now capable of breaking the speed of reality on its own. Or at least it will be once it's hooked up properly."
"Smeggin' hell," he said as he slid down the stairway. "Can't we ever get a break?"
"No, Ace--what are you doing?" Diane cried. Lister ran up the stairs again.
"What was that?"
"It's Ace--well, the one you know, I mean. He's not coming this way, he's heading for the bridge. He must think you're up there!"
"Is there any way of sending a message to him?"
"No. A.J. has the communicator now."
"Smeg!" Lister jumped down this time and rushed over to the others. They took one look at him and knew what was going on.
"More running?" asked Cat.
Lister nodded. "More running."
They turned around and ran out the door for what seemed like the zillionth time that day.
Rimmer checked the last airlock on the way to the bridge, and nodded to Nirvana that it was clear. "See? Told you it was a fake message."
"So where are they?"
"I don't know, but my best guess is on the bridge. Gambran probably wants them there to watch him blow us up." They reached the bridge and Rimmer put his ear to the door. Not a sound could be heard. Rimmer wondered if that was because the room was empty or if the door was simply too thick to hear anything through. He decided to take his chances and go with the first alternative. He nodded and Nirvana hit the switch. Once it was open, they ran inside.
They stopped just in time to avoid running into the back of a Timlar guard, and turned around to run out again. That's when their minds let them know that something funny was going on, and they looked at the Timlars again. They were all staring at the monitor, completely unaware of anything or anyone else in the room. Rimmer looked at Nirvana for an explanation but she just shrugged back. Curious, they weaved between the officers and looked at the screen for themselves.
The 'T' still shone brightly onscreen, and the pair exchanged confused looks again. They also realized that Lister and the others weren't there. Just as they turned to walk out again, however, the 'T' disappeared. The Timlars snapped out of their trance and turned their gazes to the two strangers in the middle of the room.
"Hmm. Should've seen that one coming," said Rimmer sheepishly, and he and Nirvana raised their hands.
Lister heard voices from around the corner and motioned for everyone to get down. He peeked his head around, then shot it back when he saw that the door to the bridge was open. He opted to listen in instead.
"Well I suppose we should thank you for stopping the rift," said Gambran. "I really don't know why you thought you could get away from us that easily, Mr. Rimmer. Our scanners can tell the difference between a hologram and a living human, you know."
"Well hooray for you. I bet you can juggle as well."
Gambran raised his hand to slap him, then decided it wasn't worth the effort. Besides, he didn't want to take the chance of embarrassing himself like he had before. Instead he just sneered. "Face it. I've won. You're friends have been captured, your ship's drive has been captured, and now you have been captured." He turned around to gloat to the other prisoners, then noticed that the prisoners weren't there any more. He motioned for the guards to find them, and they all ran out of the room.
"No matter," said Gambran as he turned around. "They'll be captured again in no time."
"Don't bet on it." Gambran felt metal boring into his back.
"Hands up." Gambran did as he was told, unable to see who was telling him to raise them.
The remaining bridge crew got up to defend their beloved leader but stopped cold when Lister raised what looked like a grenade in the air. "Nobody moves or you all die," he said, trying to sound convincing. The crew backed off and Kryten pushed them through the door and down the hall, where he locked them in an empty room. He came back and locked the bridge door behind him.
Lister glared at him to say his line. "Oh, erm, bridge secure, sir," he said at last. Lister nodded and turned his attention back to Gambran.
"Now. We're getting off this ship and we're taking the Wildfire drive with us. Do you have a problem with that?"
"N-no, sir."
"Good." He shoved Gambran forward, but Lister tripped on the corner of the console. The mirror he was holding in his jacket as a fake gun fell to the ground.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" cried Cat, and dove for it. Lister was pushed over a chair as Cat rushed by and Gambran took advantage of the confusion. He jumped forward and pushed a white button.
Cat grabbed the mirror right before it shattered, and held onto it like it was dear life itself. "I almost lost you!" he said softly, but no one else was paying attention. They wanted to know why Gambran was wearing a wicked grin again.
"I've just activated the Wildfire drive," he laughed. "Oh and did I mention that those dimwits didn't hook it up properly? We'll just keep accelerating until we explode." He grinned. "Get ready to jump!
Rimmer nodded. "Ok." He jumped and tackled Gambran and the fists started flying. Behind them, a small group of guards managed to get inside, and soon everyone was fighting.
The pressure began to build. Rimmer tried to reach up and press the button, but both gravity and Gambran's fists kept him just out of reach. Gambran stood up and got into a ready fighting position.
"Let's finish this," he said. Rimmer rolled his eyes.
"Honestly. Not only do you use a line like that, but you're about to attack with the half-wingnut again!"
For a moment, Gambran paused. "So?"
Rimmer brought his legs up and kicked Gambran across the floor. He jumped up and punched the white button. Nothing happened.
"Rimmer, press the smeggin' button!" Lister yelled, ducking to avoid another punch from the guard.
"I did! Nothing happened!" he cried back. Gambran came into view again.
"You fools! Do you honestly think I'd make that a two-way button? You'll never find the right button in time!" He began to laugh hysterically, but suddenly he dropped like a deadweight. Kochanski stood behind him, holding a dented panel. She hit him again just to make sure she was out, then started searching around for the proper button.
The guard charged Lister again, but Lister tripped him and tried to pry the gun out of the guard's hands. Cat flipped another guard on the floor and he hit the guard Lister was fighting. The gun went off and the shot richoched all over the room. It finally came to rest in the middle of the main computer panel, and every console began to fizzle and explode.
Sparks flew in the air but were quickly brought down again due to the increasing pressure. Fighting in such conditions was proving to be too difficult and soon everyone simply gave up. The weird streaks of light were flying by the ship now.
"We're going to jump at any moment!" cried Kryten. "We have to find that damn button!"
"I can't find it anywhere!" said Kochanski. "Where could it possibly be?"
All of a sudden, Rimmer spotted something on the panel right in front of him. He shook his head in disgust and joy. "I don't believe it," he said to himself. "They've even got a big red button." He reached his hand up to press it, but didn't get a chance to.
The bolt of energy ripped through his system and joined with the fizzling computer console, simulating a meltdown inside his image.
Gambran laughed from behind his gun. "Victory is mine," he hissed. A.J. crawled over and forced his fist into the air, letting it fly into Gambran's stomach.
"You want overused lines? Ok then. That was for my father," he punched him again, "that was for my work," and again, "that was for Ace, and this is for me." He head-butted Gambran with all his might, then collapsed on the floor, unable to take the pressure.
Everyone was on the ground now. They stared helplessly at the button, as well as the electric storm that now surrounded Rimmer, unable to reach either one. All they could do was wait for the end to come, and hope it would be quick. They looked at each other and let their eyes say their farewells.
Suddenly Lister noticed Kochanski's eyebrows raise ever so slightly. He redirected his gaze back to the button, and smiled in his mind. From out of the electricity, a hand forced its way upward. It struggled to overcome the pressure, but there was no doubt in Lister's mind that it would. Shaking but determined fingers groped for the button and found it. The hand formed a fist and slammed down on top of it with all its remaining strength.
The incredible break in pressure knocked everyone out cold, while the jolt knocked the main power out. The Usurper fought to stabilize all of its systems, but only managed life support. All other controls were fried. Only Diane lay awake and functional in the silence, worrying and waiting for some explanation of what just happened.