Author's Note: Uuum, hi!

 

Dedicated to Doe, Lauren, Nightshade and Miss Kitty and the sky and the world and penguins and... Ah sod it, this one's for all of ya.

High and Dry

"Bless my soul and praise the Lord,

'Cause the Saviour is so nice-

Fool you'll be the Devil's slave,

When Satan comes to tempt ya,

You better pray to Jesus,

Or the demons will exempt ya."

It's Right in Here - BIG dumb FACE

"Fear the passage of Jesus,

For He does not return."

Track 0 - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds

I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I just want your company/ I want you to comfort me/ Just come with me...

The boom box the Cat had stolen from Red Dwarf throbbed to the beat of (Hed)PE. It was by far his favourite song for sex and right now, that's what it was being used as a backdrop to. Though to be honest, Cat couldn't tell you what song was on as he was putting all his efforts into pleasing JayVee. He made short, sharp laps at her clitoris in the same way he ate Rice Krispies. JayVee was extremely tense after the night's proceedings and so as they left Quarantine Cat suggested a little foreplay to settle her nerves.

It wasn't that JayVee wasn't enjoying the experience of Cat's rough tongue against her, it was just... Well, it was hard to enjoy yourself when you were on board the same ship as a man who had threatened to rape the entire female crew. Still, she didn't want to worry Cat anymore then necessary, so she made appreciative noises and tried to keep Judas' face out of her head. (Hed)PE was replaced by Missy Elliot and JayVee tried to relax.

I'm not a prostitute/But I can give you whatcha want...

-//-

Kochanski poured a shot of whiskey into four glasses. Ordinarily, she didn't drink whiskey, but the events of today provided more then a reason. Ace, Rimmer and Lister joined her in the kitchen. Shayne and Kryten were keeping a check on Judas, whilst the Cat and JayVee had scurried off to their room. No doubt for some heavy duty bonking, Kochanski thought.

Kochanski placed the drinks on the kitchen table and sat down with the boys.

"So..." She began.

"So..." Ace repeated.

"What are we going to do about him then?" Lister finished.

"Can't we just kill him?" Rimmer suggested.

"Bad idea Arnie." Ace replied, "That's a little uncalled for, don't you think?"

"Oh, I suppose you're right." Rimmer sneered, "Afterall, he's only threatened kill us. I tell you what, let's give him a slap on the wrist and send him on his way, hmmm?"

"That's not what Ace meant, Rimmer." Lister said defensively.

"Really?"

"Lister's right, Rimsy." Ace answered, "Killing Judas will make us no better then him. Kris, is there anyway Judas can get out of Quarantine?

Kochanski pondered this for a bit, "No.. Not really. The only way he could get out is if someone let him out. Some how I don't see that happening anytime soon."

She let out a hesitant laugh and took a swig of her drink.

"Fine." Ace said, "Then I want to keep him there and once I've worked out what I'm going to do, we'll let him out."

"Well, don't make your mind up too quickly." Rimmer snorted, "I wouldn't want to add a sense of urgency to the proceedings."

Ace let out a false laugh, while Lister tried to crawl into his glass. Kochanski shifted uncomfortably in her chair and wondered how Shayne was doing.

-//-

Shayne was down in Quarantine helping Kryten keep a check on Judas. Kryten had insisted that Shayne went to bed, but seeing as everyone else was still awake and the adrenaline was pumping through her veins, Shayne couldn't sleep. She wanted to be next to Kochanski and yet, Judas fascinated her enough not to want to go to the kitchen. Besides, Ace and Rimmer would be together and frankly, she could do without the tension.

Judas had been awake for a while now. Kryten felt it would be best to check on his behaviour before alerting everyone. Shayne agreed. The minute he awoke, Judas ripped off his jacket and began to do a series of push-ups. There was no acknowledgement of his captors, just straight to exercising. Shayne found it hard not to be impressed by his body. For a 40-year-old man, he had a torso like an athletic 19 year old. His stomach was so flat and tight you could bounce a penny off it. Shayne at his arms as they worked like pistons to levitate his body up and down.

After the press ups he sat up and began to do some sit-ups. As he did so, Shayne noticed the tattoo on his right arm. The number 88. Shayne recognised it from her history classes. In the 20th century, people with Nazi tendencies would wear the number somewhere about their person. The 8th letter of the alphabet was H. 88 equals HH. Heil Hitler. Without saying anything, Shayne pointed it out to Kryten who nodded grimly.

Kryten just couldn't understand how someone like Rimmer could end up like Judas. When faced with Judas, one began to understand how mentally strong Rimmer was, Kryten mused. Yes, Rimmer was a bastard when he wanted to be, but his complete control over his anger, his hate and his venom allowed him to keep a check on his ego so it didn't reach the catastrophic proportions of Judas.

Meanwhile, Judas had finished his exercise regime and was now staring out of the window at Kryten and Shayne. His hands splayed across the glass as he rested on his arms. He said nothing, but his stare bore right through Shayne. He walked slowly to the end of his room, turned to face the window again and ran at full pelt towards it. The resulting bang made the glass vibrate for several seconds. Kryten would have sweated with panic if he were human. A quick inspection of the Observation room's window showed no cracks. Judas was trying to scare them. He stalked around his room like a panther at the zoo. Kryten switched on the mic and spoke to Judas.

"Mister Judas, Sir. You'll find that this glass is reinforced. There's no way you can break it." He said,

Judas continued to pace, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird."

"I'm sorry, sir." Kryten remarked perplexed,

"It's from Revelations, Kryten." Shayne explained, "Revelation 18:2. The fall of Babylon. When all the evil and corrupt were punished. Judas wants to punish us."

"I think it's best if we fetch the others." Kryten said, "Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Kryten and Shayne made their way out of the room to find the others. In their hurry, Kryten had left the mic on and Shayne could hear Judas' voice reverberating around the quarantine bay.

"Fear the passage of Jesus! Fear it! For He does not return!"