It was later on that evening.  Rimmer had gone with a couple of the villagers on reconnaissance to check out the Furies encampment.  Lister and Ethan were in the armoury, going through the weapons and protective gear they had stored.  They spoke little, both focusing on the job in hand and both afraid of revealing how worried they were.  Lister was about to say something just to break the tension when Kriss came in.  "Dave, I really need to talk to you." 

            Her tone of voice alone told Lister that this was not going to be a fun conversation.  She was either angry or scared and right now either of those things were bad news.  He shared a look with Ethan; then followed her out of the hut and round the back where they could be alone.  He didn't have a chance to ask her what was wrong.  Before he could speak, she wheeled round and glared at him.

             "What do you think you're playing at?" She snapped.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean!  This!"  She snatched the spear he was still holding out of his hands, "Are you crazy?  Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Not really," he admitted, "But then how many people do in situations like this?  We're just going to have to do the best we can."

"The best we can." Kriss repeated, "Is that it?  You're sending these people into battle, telling them 'Just do the best you can'?"

"That's the best anyone can do." Lister replied evenly.

"You're going to get these people killed!"

"If we sit around and wait for the Furies to come to us then we're all dead anyway.  This way we might stand a chance."

            "We?" Kriss asked sharply, "What's this we?"

 "When the time comes, I need you to take Starbug and get as many of the women and children out of here as you possibly can." Lister told her.  "Take them to the nearest planet with a breathable atmosphere.  If all goes well we'll use Rimm...I mean...Ace's ship Wildfire to contact you and get you to bring everyone back.  If you don't hear from us...well...then it won't make much difference in the end."

"And what about you?" She asked indignantly, "What will you be doing?"

Lister looked at her and realised she didn't understand.  She really hadn't caught on.  "Kriss," he said gently, "I'll be fighting."

            She stared at him silently for a moment or two, then blinked and said, "What?"

"Me, Cat, Ace...we're all staying, Kriss.  They need everyone they can get.  We're going to be down here fighting."

"But...why?" She stammered.

"You must know the answer to that."

"You don't need to be here!  This has nothing to do with us!  For God's sake, if we hadn't spotted this damn place on the navi-comp we would have just flown on by and never thought twice about it!  It wouldn't have made any difference to us what was going on on this poxy little planet!"

"If we hadn't known what was going on here, then you're right.  It wouldn't have made a jot of difference.  But we are here, we do know and that means we have a responsibility to stay and do what we can to help!"

"Bullshit!" She almost shouted.  "We have no responsibility to these people!  They're strangers!  They're nothing to do with us!"

            Lister looked at her incredulously.  "Kriss," he said, "They're our people.  Just because we don't know them...We're all that's left of our species, we have to stick together.  We can't just get back on Starbug, wave goodbye and say, "Well, it was nice to meet you, shame you're all going to die!'"

"Dave," her voice was starting to wobble, "You're not a soldier.  You don't know how to use a sword, or a spear or any of this stuff!  You're going to get killed!"

"A lot of people are going to get killed, Kriss.  It's a war.  Like I said, we've all just got to do the best we can.  I'm not a bad fighter, I've been in enough scraps in my time.  And if the worst happens, well, at least I can take a few of the bastards down with me."

"How can you talk like this?" She put her hands over her face and shook her head, "How can you be so blase?"

"I'm not being blase, I'm being realistic." He said shortly; "I know I could well be dead soon and I'm not happy about it, but at the end of the day I can't just walk away!"  He looked her in the eyes; "I would rather die now, like this, for a purpose, than live out a long pointless existence on Starbug knowing I could have done something and didn't!  I'm doing the right thing, Kriss; and deep down you know it too."

"Don't do it, Dave.  Please!" She begged.  "Come with me on Starbug, I can't do it by myself!"

"Yes, you can."  Lister said firmly, "You have to."

            He saw her eyes filling up with tears, but she wasn't ready to back down yet.  "It's him, isn't it?" She said through gritted teeth, "He's been filling your head with all that heroic crap.  Well, you're not Ace!"

"I know that." He replied calmly, "And I'm still staying."

"So, you're choosing him over me!  Is that it?" 

"That's hardly the issue here, Kriss."

"It is now!" She flared up, "Who's it going to be?  Me or him?"

            Lister paused.  Had he been told years ago he'd have to make this decision, he would never have thought he'd be making the choice he was about to.  But now here he was; and he knew he didn't even have to think about it.  "I'm not going to let him down, Kriss.  I'm not going to leave him to deal with this alone.  Not for you.  Not for anyone."

            Kochanski stared at him, flabbergasted.  "I'm sorry" he said, but he knew the apology meant nothing.  "I can't believe this."  Her voice faltered, "I can't believe he means more to you than I do!  You hardly even know him!"

"I know him better than you think."  Lister said, "And I know I can't be the person you want me to be.  I'm not your Dave."

"No, you're not!" She snarled, "He would have come with me if I'd asked him!"

"Really?"  Lister asked, "Well then, there you go.  I am better than him after all."  He turned and walked away, leaving her standing with her mouth open.

            He walked back into the hut and knew immediately from the look on Ethan's face that he'd heard them.  "Sorry about that," he mumbled, embarrassed, "Let's get on with it, shall we?"

"Can I say something?" Ethan asked.  Lister nodded, surprised;

"Yeah, of course."

"I've heard a lot about you.  From Ace.  He used to talk about you all the time.  He told me once that he admired you more than any man he'd ever met."  Lister blinked, astounded at what he was hearing.  "And I always thought," Ethan continued, "That he must have been exaggerating.  I mean, somebody worthy of Ace Rimmer's admiration?  I had this image of you as some kind of...I don't know...superhero.  You weren't what I was expecting anyway.  But I can see now why he feels the way he does about you.  You truly are worthy of admiration.  Even from a guy like Ace."

            Lister felt his face burn red, "Well...thanks."  He laughed and put his hands over his face, "Smeg, you've really embarrassed me now.  Nobody's ever said anything that nice to me before."

"Not even Ace?" Ethan grinned.

"Not even Ace Rimmer himself." Lister grinned back, "Come on, let's get this finished and then we can go and grab a bite to eat."