Author's notes: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I have really enjoyed writing it. If there was anyone out there who enjoyed my aborted fic, "Judas", then you're gonna love this. Now, excuse me, I gotta meet two guys in Manchester. One's pretty quiet, but the other just talks for the Olympics
This one goes out to Doe. Cheers.
Creep"There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it, I have now surpassed... My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. I fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no escape. But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis. I gain no deeper knowledge about myself, no new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. There has been no reason for me to tell you any of this. This confession has meant nothing..."
American Psycho (Screenplay; 4th Draft) - Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner
"If we followed every impulse, we'd be killing one another."
Miss Manners - Judith Martin
When his message ended, Ace recalled the life of Judas Rimmer. His life ran adjacent with Rimmer's life right up until the decision that would push Rimmer forward or a back a year in school. Judas was pushed back. However, rather then learn humility, Judas learnt to be the alpha male of his class. Being a whole foot taller, he threw his weight around to gain the things he wanted. At seven years old, he had become a pint size Don Corleone. It didn't stop there. When he was 15, he discovered sex and it became his weapon of choice. His most grievous assault being on a boy of 13. The boy in question was meant to have done Judas's Chemistry homework. His failure to do so resulted in him being held against a wall by two of Judas's bigger friends in the sports hall showers and raped by
Judas himself.
When he was 18 and in his final year, Judas got the school nurse pregnant. When the matter was addressed by the school's officials, Judas claimed he had been molested by the 35 year old nurse since she started. With threats of sodomy and violence, Judas managed to find several witnesses to testify that they too had been molested. The nurse was dismissed and her license taken away.
When he was 21, Judas changed his name by deed poll. Having already divorced himself from his parents he saw no reason to keep the name they had given him. At 22, he was in the Space Corps. Judas began to use the practise he had had at Io house to broaden his threats and bribes. By the time he was 30, he was short listed to test pilot the new Dimension Jump drive. It was between him and his room mate. By the time he had finished with the man's body, he was the finalist.
The only problem was that of David 'Spanners' Lister. He walked as engineer on the Dimension Jump drive and was beginning to suspect that Judas was not all that he seemed. He filed a complaint with Bongo. Judas torched his house while Kochanski and his two sons were inside. Soon after that Lister killed himself. On the 27th April, Judas was the first person ever to test the Dimension Jump Drive. His crimes went unpunished.
After killing four people, Judas discovered a taste for it. Whereas Ace would help people in different dimension, Judas began to cause havoc. His greatest achievement was to kill twelve crew members of the mining vessel Red Dwarf and frame his AU self for the crimes. His biggest disappointment was that he never killed Ace Rimmer.
Well, this was how Ace put it across to the crew of Star Bug. In reality, Judas had killed Ace. In fact, he had killed the first Ace. Ace was growing tired of his life and began training a new Rimmer. Before he had finished, the new Ace had to escape when Judas shot his mentor in the head. Since then Judas has jumped from Dimension to dimension, trying to cause havoc and kill every Ace he came across. He had been following this Ace on board Star Bug for three years. He was now 40.
"So," Ace said, continuing his version of events, "He's got a bit of a thing for me. Would prefer it if I stopped breathing."
Holly appeared on one of the monitors.
"Judas wants a word with you guys." he said,
"But we've got fifteen minutes left..." Lister protested,
"It's alright Skipper." Ace said, putting a reassuring hand on Lister's shoulder, "Punch it up Holly."
Judas appeared on the monitor smiling like a panther, "Hello Ace. Look, I know you've got fifteen minutes left, but I've had a change of heart. How about I come on board and beat the living shit out of you? It'll only take about forty five minutes and then I can set about the task of raping your women and killing your friends. Just a thought. Let me know what you think?"
"You sick fuck!" Shayne shouted,
"Oh, sweetheart, the things I could do to you." Judas said emotionless,
"Look, come aboard..."
"Ace?" Cat questioned, holding onto JayVee,
"It's okay, Cat. Judas, come through the air lock into quarantine. I'll be there
waiting for you."
"Good Lord. If I didn't know any better, Ace, I'd say you were setting up a trap
for me."
"No traps. No weapons. Just you and me. A fight..." Ace swallowed hard, "A fight
to the death."
Lister looked at Ace's face. Although his voice sounded strong, his face betrayed him. Lister knew that although Rimmer had been Ace for a few years now, he was terrified of this man.
"Do you know what you're doing Ace?" Lister asked,
"F-fine, Skipper." Ace lied, "Not a problem."
"Well, I'll catch you in five." Judas said and waved goodbye, "Oh and ladies, make sure you clean yourselves."
Judas was replaced by Holly and the group stood in silence. Suddenly there was a hiss of a door. The groups turned to see that the cockpit door had been shut. The Cat tried to pen it and found it locked. He glanced at the group and frowned.
"Where's Brillo pad head?"
Lister spun round to see that Rimmer had gone.
"You blasted fool, Arnie." Ace mumbled,
-//-
Rimmer sat in the quarantine bay with only his deep breathing for company. The quarantine bay was about 20 ft x 20 ft. Half the room was taken up by an enclosed area for the sick. It contained a bed, a toilet and was separated from the rest of the room by a wall with a large observation window and a door. The other half of the bay contained the various apparatus needed to make checks on someone who may have come back from a heavily diseased planet. In front of Rimmer was the door to the air lock. Rather then risk infecting anybody by carrying the sick from the landing bay, the person in question would be carried by two medics, wearing breathing apparatus, from the air lock to the observation room.
Rimmer jumped when he heard the hiss of the air lock. This was it. This was the moment Arnold Rimmer became a man. Judas stepped through the lock and stood staring at Rimmer.
"Who are you?" he asked,
"M-my name is R-Rimmer." Rimmer said, "I'm here to protect my friends"
"Really?" Judas said scratching his chin, "That is such an interesting concept. However, you see, the things is... who is going to save you?"
Judas pulled out what looked like a hand cannon.
"Ace said no weapons." Rimmer shouted,
"My room mate asked me not to plunge an axe into his head, but it doesn't mean I have to listen to him."
Judas aimed a shot and it hit Rimmer in the shoulder. Rimmer fell to the floor in pain. His shoulder was bleeding heavily and Judas was standing over him like a lion stands over an injured gazelle. Rimmer crawled around on the floor.
"Where are you going?" Judas said bemused, "You're just delaying things."
Judas stalked around after him, until finally Rimmer stopped moving. Suddenly, there was a banging on the door.
"Rimmer, Rimmer!" Lister shouted through the door,
"Arnold, what are you doing?" JayVee screamed, "Get out of there."
"Be with you in a minute." Judas sang,
Rimmer looked up at Judas and threw a kick at his arm. The hand cannon flew in the air and landed amongst some hard drives that were on a desk. Judas sneered took a step towards Rimmer. Rimmer threw another kick and this one landed right in Judas' testicles. Judas cupped them as Rimmer pulled himself up.
"Oh, I am going to enjoy killing you." Judas shouted,
"Fuck you." Rimmer replied and pushed Judas as hard as he could,
Unbeknownst to Judas, Rimmer had been crawling on the floor so that he could position Judas, so that he had his back to the open door of the observation room. Judas flew into the room and hit his head against the corner of the metal bed frame. He was knocked out cold. Rimmer ran to the door and sealed it. Suddenly, the door behind him opened and the rest of the crew and Ace came zooming in. Lister threw a hug around Rimmer and Kryten immediately began to make some checks on Judas.
"He's alive." Kryten said, "He'll be unconscious for a couple of hours."
While Lister continued to hug him, Rimmer glanced a look at Ace. He was seething. If Rimmer didn't know any better, it looked like Ace was going to attack Rimmer himself. He shot a look at the floor and continued to hold and kiss Lister.
"Seriously," Holly said, "I think we could all do with some French toast."
