CHAPTER 3:

MIRANDA

Their footsteps echoed hollowly through the dark corridors. Eventually they came to a maintenance shaft, found a stairway and climbed to the upper levels of the ship. The corridor they emerged into was wider than the last and had bright red stripes running along its length.

"We should be very close now," Kryten said quietly. His voice seemed very loud in the silence of the deserted ship. Even their breath seemed too loud to Lister's ears. They continued cautiously forward.

Then Kryten came to an abrupt halt and turned his chest-light towards a large set of double doors, one of them open. Written over the top in block lettering were the words:

HOLOGRAM PROJECTION UNIT

"It's in here," Kryten said.

Lister entered the room first, his bazookoid held at the ready, for no reason in particular, other than it felt safer. Kryten entered next, followed by the Cat and Rimmer.

In the centre of the circular room was a device closely resembling the Dwarf's own Hologram Projection Unit, with some advancements.

"This is it? This is what you're getting the signal from?" Rimmer asked, unimpressed.

"Yes sir."

"Fan-smegging-tastic. The only thing on the whole ship that's worth salvaging and we've already got one!"

"The question is, why is it the only thing on this ship that's still working?" Lister wondered out loud. He walked around the device, inspecting it from every angle as if looking for clues.

Then there was a sound. A small click. Everyone jumped and turned around, bazookoids poised to fire.

In the doorway stood a young woman. She also held a gun, a large laser rifle that was now pointing directly at Lister's head. Her long brown hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, but loose strands hung over her eyes, which were large and green, the eyes of a frightened child. The first thing any of them noticed, however, was the metallic 'H' in the centre of her forehead. The angles of it were tilted inwards to form a rough diamond. Her eyes darted to each of them in quick succession, and then rested on Lister.

"Who are you?" she asked in a voice that shook.

Lister blinked, still recovering from the shock of seeing another human on such a seemingly lifeless planet. Then he took a deep gulp of air and blurted, "we crash-landed here and came looking through this ship for supplies. I'm Dave Lister, this is the Cat, Rimmer, and the mechanoid's name is Kryten. We don't want any trouble. Just... don't shoot, ok?"

Immediately the girl lowered her gun, and to their surprise, let out a breathless giggle. She lowered her head and wiped her eyes. In the gloom it was hard to be sure, but Lister thought he saw tears on her cheeks. She raised her head again and looked at Lister, and her face was serious once more.

"You can't stay here. You have to get out."

"Wait a minute... who are you? What are you doing here and what happened on this ship?" Rimmer asked abruptly.

"You don't understand," she said shakily. "You have to get out of here, now! They'll come for you!" Then, looking at Rimmer, she said, "You're a hologram too?"

"Well... yes," Rimmer said uncertainly.

She hesitated, and an expression slipped across her face which was impossible to read. Her eyes flicked over to Lister and the Cat. "You two, you aren't safe. You have to leave."

"Why us?" Lister asked. The girl was beginning to unsettle him, and he didn't like the wild look in her eyes. "We're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on."

"Alright, but you'll have to come with me, right now," she said urgently. "Please, all of you, follow me, hurry!" She turned and bolted off down the corridor.

Lister shared a quick, bewildered glance with Rimmer, who only shrugged.

"We'd better do as she says," Kryten suggested. They stumbled out the door in pursuit.

"Where are we going?" Lister shouted, struggling to keep pace with the girl. The bazookoid was hard to run with, and kept painfully banging into his shin. She stopped every so often to let them catch up, and then darted off again.

"Where is she taking us?" Rimmer yelled, between breaths, as he sprinted along behind Lister. "The girl's insane, she could be leading us to our deaths!"

"Shut up and follow her!" Lister panted.

They arrived at a large circular door held open with a hydraulic arm. There was a dark, cramped space beyond.

"In here," the girl said. "This is the airlock."

"The airlock?!" Lister said breathlessly. "Whaddya want us to go in there for?"

"I don't trust her," Rimmer said surreptitiously, speaking through his teeth.

"Yeah, the girl's crazy!" the Cat added, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. He made no effort to disguise his mistrust. "These boots are only meant to look good, they weren't made for cross country!"

She waved them on, pleading. "Please! Get in the airlock, I'll explain everything!"

Lister looked warily at Kryten, who simply nodded. Lister shrugged and stepped into the airlock, then beckoned the others to do the same. "Come on guys. Let's do as she says."

Rimmer hesitated, gave the girl an untrustworthy glance and then stepped in behind Lister. The Cat came next. Then Kryten, and then she herself stepped in and pressed a button beside the inner door.

The hydraulic arm rolled the heavy door into place and there was a loud hisss and the sound of something locking into place with a thick thud. The door was sealed.

Lister looked around him. The room was small, especially with 5 people standing in it, and was only meant as a depressurization chamber before the main outer airlock door was rolled away for spacewalks and the like. It was devoid of benches, so Lister leaned against the wall and looked at the girl expectantly.

"Ok. First question. What's your name?"

"Miranda."

He nodded approvingly. "Miranda. Nice name. Now do you wanna tell us what the smeg's going on around here?"

She nodded, drew in a deep breath and started to speak. "I'm... I was a waitress on Poseidon. We flew too close to one of those... things above the planet and the Navi-Comp and everything... the ship's computer... just stopped working. We couldn't slow down and we crashed here.

"Only 17 people survived. I died, but my brother Michael was one of the survivors. He said there was a big argument about who should be brought back. A lot of people wanted the Captain, but others wanted their friends... members of their family... and no-one could agree. A few of them left the ship and went looking around outside." She paused and blinked twice, hard, as if trying to clear her eyes. "They didn't come back."

"Why? W-what happened to them?" Lister asked quietly. He was beginning to feel distinctly afraid.

"The Eaters got them."

Rimmer shot a panicked glance at Lister. "The eaters. Ah. And... what are they, exactly?"

"They're bad. We called them Eaters because... well... that's what they do," She said softly. "They can smell blood. That's why I put you in here, it's the only room that's airtight."

The colour drained out of Rimmer's face and he slumped back against the wall. "Oh good. Marvellous."

"When they didn't come back, everyone started to panic. And then they left, too. They all left the ship. Only Michael stayed behind. He brought me back. And then..." she swayed, as if feeling faint.

Lister stepped forward, thinking she was going to collapse, but she shook her head. "Then my brother... he... one of the Eaters got his smell, and found its way inside. Then it was just me."

"How long have you been here?"

"I don't know. A few months, maybe." She looked pleadingly at him. "Please don't go outside. They'll smell you and they'll come. I only survived this long because I'm a hologram. I'm hard light, and they'd still kill me if they could. But you two-"she looked from Lister, to the Cat, and back again, "you're not safe out there."

"Well that kind of complicates things," Lister said nervously. "We were kind of hoping to get off this planet sometime. You know, er... like tonight."

"If you go back out there, they'll kill you."

"What's to stop us making a run for Starbug, and blasting these smeggers into oblivion if they show up?" Lister suggested, hoisting his bazookoid up on his shoulder for effect.

"There's a lot of them. And they're fast. And it's dark outside. Maybe if you wait until light..."

"Ok. So we wait until the morning. Then we make a break for it." He glanced around the room. "Any objections?"

"You're forgetting something," Rimmer said quietly.

"What?"

"We can't bring Miranda with us. Holly can only sustain one hologram."

Lister's heart plummeted. "Oh, smeg. I didn't think of that."

"You could still make it without me." Miranda said in a small voice.

Lister raised his eyebrows. "What? And leave you here? Forget it."

"What then?" Rimmer asked.

"I don't know, we'll think of something! No-one's getting left behind."

Miranda nodded, and said nothing. Lister shrugged and glanced around the room. "So we stay here all night?"

"Actually sir, I think only you and Mr Cat should stay in the airlock. Miss Miranda, Mr Rimmer, and myself shouldn't be in any danger if we stay outside. I also think it's best if I stand guard at one of the exits."

"No way, Kryten!" Lister said loudly.

"But sir, if one of them found their way in here..."

"Perhaps you could stand watch at the end of the corridor," Miranda suggested. "I don't think there's any need. Unless they're already here... unless they smelled..." she trailed off awkwardly.

"Yes, well... about this airlock situation... I think maybe I should stay in here as well," Rimmer said quickly.

"Sir, there is no need for that."

"I insist."

"Really, Mr Rimmer, you're in no danger..."

"Kryten, I'll be the judge of that!"

"He's right, you'll be fine," Miranda said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you."

"I'm not alarmed."

"Good," she said, and smiled reassuringly. "We'll stay outside then."

"We'll need to find matresses and food for Mr Lister and the Cat," Kryten said.

"I'll help you," Miranda said.

She pushed the button next to the door and the airlock spun open. Suddenly to Rimmer it felt like a safer place than the black, unwelcoming darkness of the corridor.

"Sweet dreams," Lister said dryly, giving them a little wave as the door hissed closed. Rimmer, Miranda and Kryten were now sealed outside in the corridor. Rimmer felt his suit collar was suddenly too tight. It seemed to be trying to choke him. The was a slight 'clink' and he jumped and spun around. It was just Kryten, fiddling with his chest-light.

Rimmer cleared his throat. "Well. I'm glad that's all been sorted out."

Miranda walked a little way up the corridor and gestured at an open door. "There's not much room in here but I made up a bed for you if you want to sleep."

"Oh good," Rimmer replied, and smiled politely. He felt like he might be sick.

"I'm going to sit up for a while."

"Ah."

"See you in the morning."

"Yes. Um... how will we, er... know if it's morning?"

"I'll wake you."

"Oh."

"Don't worry. You'll be safe."

"Yes, of course."

"Goodnight." She smiled timidly and moved off away up the corridor, stopping to speak to Kryten, who was standing at the T-junction, gun held in both hands. Rimmer didn't catch their conversation but he was sure it wasn't going to do his nerves any good. He stepped into the room Miranda had indicated to him. It was lined with grey steel lockers, and a number of low benches divided the room. Spacesuits hung in glassed-in compartments. He looked at the mattress, pillow and blankets lying in a corner of the room and muttered, "sleep? How the smeg am I going to sleep?" He looked over at the glass-fronted compartments and wondered how much protection they would afford, if he was suddenly attacked during the night, and whether he could stuff his whole body in and still get the door closed. Then he looked at the steel lockers. Ah, yes. That was probably a better option. He could hide in one of those and not be seen. He went over to one and tried it. It opened easily, and looked like a tight fit, but he thought what the smeg and stuffed his pillow in.

Kryten blinked. His joints were getting stiff. His chest-light fanned out into the darkness, splitting the shadows. He faced one way for a long moment, then slowly swivelled back the other way, revealing a featureless grey corridor. He heard footsteps approaching and looked over his shoulder to see Rimmer, looking anxious and stiff, and who seemed to be trying to massage the bones in his neck into a more comfortable position.

"Everything under control here Kryten?"

"Fine thank you, sir."

"You haven't seen anything?"

"No sir."

"Is it morning yet?"

Kryten blinked. "No sir, it's only 12:30."

Rimmer chewed his lip nervously. "Ah."

There was a long, heavy silence. Finally Kryten said, "I do have everything under control here, sir."

"Yes, very good."

Another pause. Then, "That gun is loaded, is it?"

"Yes sir!" Kryten said indignantly.

"Good, good..." Rimmer glanced nervously around. "Can't be too careful, can you? We've all got to stay on our toes."

"I am on my toes, sir."

Rimmer nodded, and began to back away. "Well. I'll just be, er..." he pointed over his shoulder.

Kryten nodded, and turned his attention back to scanning the corridor. Rimmer let his breath out in a sigh and wandered back to his room. It was no good. He couldn't possibly sleep when there might be... things roaming around outside. He glanced into one room and noticed Miranda, who was propped up on a desk with her gun on her lap, and one leg hanging over the side. She was staring out a small porthole, beyond which Rimmer could faintly see the line of the horizon and a few dim stars. He stopped by the door and she looked up.

"Er... I just came to... check on Kryten," Rimmer said quickly, by way of explanation. Miranda smiled and nodded. Then she picked up a bottle that was balanced on the edge of the desk, and held it out to him.

"Here. Have some."

Rimmer took the bottle and squinted at it in the darkness. It was whiskey.

"I prefer brandy," he said, rather stupidly, and she smiled again.

"So do I. That's all that's left."

"Right... thanks," Rimmer said, took a small swig of it, and winced. He found a metal supply crate and sank down onto it. There was a long, uncomfortable silence.

"I feel very selfish," Miranda said a long time later, and Rimmer's head snapped up. "I'm glad you crashed here... in a way. At least I have some hope now." She smiled sadly.

Rimmer didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything, and took another sip of whiskey instead.

"What did you say the name of your ship was?" she asked.

"Red Dwarf."

"Oh. What did you do? You must have been an officer, were you?"

"An officer? Uhm... well...not exactly, no. I was..." he shook his head in a vague way. "I did... general... sort of... maintenance."

"Maintenance?"

"Yup. I mean, I had a lot of very important duties. Vital duties. They were absolutely vital." He nodded to emphasize his point. "I was 2nd Technician. I always intended to become an officer. My parents always wanted me to become an officer. And I tried." He gritted his teeth. "But then I got hit in the face with a lethal dose of radiation and my career prospects suddenly went out the window."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"That's alright. I'm ranting."

"No you're not. I don't mind, really."

"I'll just shut up," He said tiredly.

"You should try and get some sleep."

"Yeah. I suppose so."

She gave him a conciliatory smile and turned back to the window.

"Your 'H' is different," Rimmer said.

"Sorry?"

"Your 'H'." He pointed. "It's not the same as mine."

"Oh. I'm an advanced hard-light hologram. I don't use a light bee, it's something called refracted light technology, I don't understand it myself."

"I see. Well... it's very nice," he said awkwardly. "Your 'H'. It suits you."

Touched, she broke into a radiant smile, and he felt his stomach loosen. "Thanks."

He nodded and had another drink. His mouth was suddenly very dry.

"You should probably try to get some sleep," she suggested gently.

"Sleep. Yeah." He stood up. "Thanks for the, uh..." he started to hand the bottle back. "Actually, do you mind if I take this with me?"

"No. Go ahead."

He nodded by way of thanks and shuffled out.

A/N: To be continued. Sorry if you were thinking this is going to turn into a soppy love story, it's not, and that's about as romantic as it gets :) Anyway, I hope you're enjoying it so far. I will update again ASAP.