Lister ran through the village to Kochanski's hut. She was inside with Kryten and the Cat and they looked up in surprise when Lister dashed in out of breath. "Sir, what's wrong?" Kryten asked, going over to him. Lister bent over with his hands on his knees to try and get some oxygen back. "Cat," he said finally, "Go find Ace. He needs you to do something for him. He'll probably be at Ethan's place. Hurry." The Cat exchanged shrugs with the others and went.
"Dave, what's going on?" Kriss demanded.
"They're coming." He said simply. "I need you to help me, Kriss. We have to get everyone out on Starbug tonight. Go round and get everyone ready to leave as soon as possible."
"Dave, we can't possibly get everyone out tonight! There's not enough room; we'll have to make two trips as it is." She scrabbled to her feet.
"We have to try. Tell the women to grab what they need and be outside by the communal fire with the kids in twenty minutes. Kryten, you wait there with them and do whatever you can to keep them calm. Send all the men over to Ethan's. Come on, let's go."
He made his way over to Ethan's, dropping in on as many homes as he could along the way to get things moving. When he got there, Ethan was pacing the floor, alone. "Have they gone?" Lister asked.
"They've gone." Ethan confirmed, "They'll be on their way by now." He put his hands over his face, "Christ, Dave. We're not ready for this! We're just not ready!"
"Take it easy, mate. We're going to be fine." Lister said soothingly, "We're just moving things forward a bit, that's all. Come on. The lads will be turning up soon and if they see you're worried then things will start going wrong. We have to be confident or they'll go to pieces."
"You're right." Ethan shook himself, "Are the rest getting ready to clear out?"
Lister nodded, "I've told them to be ready to go in twenty minutes."
"Ace won't be back with Starbug for at least half an hour."
"I know, but it's better for them to be ready early than straggling along at the last minute."
"Okay."
"Er...Excuse me?" They turned round to see an embarrassed looking young man peering in. "They said to come here..." he added sheepishly.
"That's okay." Lister said, "Come on in. Take a seat while we wait for everyone else." The rest of the village men started to turn up quite quickly and it wasn't long before Ethan's hut was getting full. "I think we should move outside." Lister suggested, "We're never going to fit everyone in here." He checked his watch,
"Rimm,...I mean Ace, should be back any minute. I'm going to go and check how Kriss is getting on." He elbowed his way out and went to find her.
As soon as he saw the crowd gathered around the fire he knew with a sinking heart that Kriss was right. They would never get this lot on Starbug in one go. She would have to make two trips, which meant cutting things very fine indeed. He spotted her a little way away with Kryten and fought his way over. "Hey," he cast an eye over the crowd, "Is this everyone?"
"Almost, I think. Maybe a couple more still to come, but that's it."
"Okay. We're just waiting for Ace and Cat to get back with the 'Bug and then you'll be on your way."
"Dave," Kriss asked seriously, "Do we have time to get all these people out?"
"It's going to be tight." He admitted, "But Ace and Cat should have slowed them down a bit. If it comes down to it we'll just have to go out and hold them off while you get the rest out."
Kristine's face was very pale, "I wish to God that you were coming with us," she said simply. "You know I can't," he told her gently. He looked down awkwardly, "Look, when you come back to pick up the rest of them I'll probably be busy...you know, with everything else. I probably won't see you. So maybe..."
"Don't." She said sharply. Lister blinked. "Don't you dare say goodbye." She told him, her voice shaking. He looked back at her helplessly. She swallowed hard, then pulled him into a tight hug. "Be careful," she whispered, "Just promise me you'll be careful." He stroked back her hair gently and said nothing. He knew, in the circumstances, that it was an impossible promise to keep.
"Skipper!"
Ace was back and hurrying over through the crowd. He looked at Lister and Kochanski and paused for just a fraction of a second before continuing, "Everyone ready to set sail, old friend? Only the clock is ticking."
"I think so." Lister gently stepped back from Kriss. "We'll contact you via Wildfire as soon as we can," he told her quietly; "If you haven't heard anything by the evening of the third day, well...just promise me you'll do your best for these people."
"You know I will," she replied heavily, squeezing his hand.
"Right then!" Ace clapped his hands, "You lot follow me back to the little green fella and we'll get you loaded on! Davey-Boy, you run on back to Ethan, will you? I think he needs some support."
"Right." He turned back to Kriss and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Good luck," he said softly.
"And you," she whispered. He squeezed her hand one last time, then turned and walked away.
"Okey-dokey, Kriss. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" Ace sucked in a deep breath to get the crowd's attention and suddenly felt nails digging hard into his arm. "Just one thing," Kochanski said acidly. "If I come back and you've let anything happen to him, I will make you pay. Is that understood?" Ace smiled weakly, "Certainly. Think no more of it."
