Mirabel would soon learn that life on Red Dwarf was not always stagnant. The guys did enjoy scouting and would often take her with them. As promised she let Rimmer dictate the rules and command the mission. She often stood quietly in Star Bug in the cockpit as the guys duked out the gags at Rimmer.
"Come on Mirabel." Lister said after Rimmer left one day in a huff. "He keeps telling us to avoid this planetoid, but I say it's safe! Holly says its safe. Kryten says its safe. You tell us!"
"It does seem like the planet is viable." Kryten said. "We can explore, maybe even find some supplies."
"Forget the exploring!" Cat said putting on his sunglasses. "I'm ready to relax."
Mirabel shrugged.
"He's the captain." She said.
"He's an idiot." Cat said.
"I think he is just upset you guys were going to sneak off without him again." She said. "He just wants to be included. I mean you guys include me."
"Because you don't try to kill us with "Supermarket Tunes" or hours long Risk stories when you were in the academy."
Mirabel made a face.
"I get your point." She said.
"Vacations are supposed to help you get away, take ya mind off things." Lister said. "He is the opposite. He makes a week in the loony bin seem like a month in the Bahamas. Come on Mirabel, you take a look at this."
"Ah so it starts." Rimmer's voice boomed. "Trying to undermine me behind my back."
Mirabel held up her hands in surrender.
"Can't you just let her do her job Rimmer?" Lister asked. "She was trained for this kind of thing. I'm sure she is getting bored."
"Ah well I'm sorry Officer Hargrove that you find everything dull, perhaps juggling Kryten's spare heads will provide you with some amusement?"
Mirabel glared at him.
"You know what we mean." Lister said. "Come on Mirabel take the wheel, look at the scanners and tell us what you think we should do!"
He stood up and motioned for her to sit down.
Mirabel's hands and eyes were itching to be in the pilot's seat.
"Do it Office Hargrove and you'll be in trouble." Rimmer said.
"No you won't." Lister said.
"If I may." Kryten started.
"No you may not." Rimmer said.
"What is it Kryten?" Lister said.
"It would be beneficial for Officer Hargrove to reacclimate herself with her piloting abilities." He said. "It is not taking over for you Mr. Rimmer, but just letting her hone her skills again."
"See?" Lister said.
Mirabel gave Rimmer a pleading look, but once again said nothing.
"Why does it matter?" He said. "You just do what you whatever you want anyway! Fine listen to her, I don't give a smeg."
He walked away angrily.
"Eh, let him mope." Lister. "Have at it Mirabel!"
Mirabel all but charged to the seat. She felt twinges of guilt for Rimmer, but she'd worry about it later.
Star Bug wasn't like her ship, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly.
"God I almost forgot how amazing this is." She said in awe. "I have been grounded for so long."
"Enjoying it huh?" Cat said.
"It's so beautiful." She said. "No matter where you go, there is always something new. It never stops, like it's constantly evolving itself. Sometimes when I was recon, I put my ship into auto pilot and just sit there, just watch."
"What did ya see?" Lister asked leaning over her seat.
"Sometimes nothing." She said. "Just blackness. But then there would be a time where I would encounter a sun or a constellation. I especially love quasars though."
"Yeah, why?" Cat asked.
"Well, they are dangerous with the black holes, but when you stare at them from far enough away, they just look, like they were painted. A work of art."
No one had noticed Rimmer had come into the room.
"Earth artists do depict them." Kryten said.
"But it is nothing like seeing them for yourself." She said. "It's like, space itself created it just for you to see."
"Yeah." Lister said. "You know, I never thought of it that way. You see it like I do when I have a good lager buzz."
Mirabel laughed.
"I guess it's my type of high." She said. "Ah there's that planetoid."
She reviewed the scanners.
"It seems like it's safe, ecologically." She said. "S4, so it's breathable.
She turned on the navi-cams.
"Looks lush, kind of like the Amazon Rainforest on earth. But still, like Rimmer said, we can't take any chances and assume its safe for human or humanoids and just waltz on in there. We should proceed with caution."
"Good point mum." Kryten said.
"Not mine." She said. "Rimmer's."
She turned to Arnold. He looked at her in shock.
"What is your order sir?" She asked with a smile.
Rimmer blinked then stood up straight.
"Right." He said. "Bear course for the planetoid. You can do that, Officer Hargrove?"
He looked down at Mirabel who gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen.
"Yes sir!" She said with a Space Corp. salute.
"Oh yuck." Cat said.
It was a mistake.
A BIG mistake.
A BIG, BIG SMEGGING MISTAKE!
"LEG IT!" Lister yelled.
"I told you all that the planetoid seemed suspicious, but oh no you wouldn't listen to me!"'
"Oh blame everyone later Rimmer!" Mirabel yelled. "Just keep running!"
"Now listen here Officer Hargrove!" He yelled. "I said the planet was dangerous and everyone disobeyed my command and now here we are fleeing for our lives from a manicial rainforest lamprey the length of an oak tree and the width that would break even the strongest condoms known to man! Think I am a complete moron now!?"
"Yeah you are!" Cat yelled. "It was all peaceful until you decided to show off and blast at it!"
"I thought it was a downed tree!"
"Can't we bazookoid it?" Lister asked.
"No good!" Mirabel said. "It'll just regenerate. When I tried to subdue it with my gun to it's eye, it just formed a new one. The more we hurt it, the angrier it gets and it's regeneration happens even faster."
A loud hiss filled the air and they realized the lamprey was in sight.
"Hurry everyone!" Kryten yelled as the small team ran towards Star Bug.
They had barely made it by the skin of their teeth. Without even thinking Mirabel took the pilot's seat and readied Star Bug the hell out of there. She had just gotten it off the ground when the lamprey decided to attack. It flung it's head against the side of the green ship shaking everyone and everything inside.
"Status!" Rimmer yelled.
"Damage to portside." Holly said.
Suddenly the lamprey was ready to take another bodily swing at the ship.
"Hang on guys!" Mirabel yelled. "Holly activate the boosters!"
Mirabel along with Holly's help gave the ship a sharp turn. With the activation of the boosters and the smoke emitting from them, the lamprey was blinded. Mirabel grabbed the controls and pulled the ship back as far as she could. Hitting any exceleration button or pedal she could find, Mirabel launched the Star Bug back into orbit and millions of miles away from the lamprey.
Once she knew they were safe, Mirabel leaned back in the chair.
"Engage auto pilot please Holly." She asked.
"Auto pilot engaged."
Taking a few deep breaths and wiping the sweat from her brow Mirabel turned around.
"Whoa ho, fancy flying there lady!" Lister said patting her on the back.
"We were one step away from being the appetizer for a space slug with more teeth than a Jerry Lewis stand in." Rimmer said. "Maybe next time you all will take command from me and listen when I think the planetoid is dangerous."
"Maybe next time you won't be a blowhard and shoot at something you can't even tell is alive or dead." Lister answered.
"I told you I was picking up life signs." Kryten pleaded. "I told you not to charge at it."
"I thought it was a tree!" Rimmer answered. "Trees are alive!"
"Not when they are on the ground." Cat said.
"Let's just be glad we made it out alive." Mirabel interrupted. "Red Dwarf's just up ahead."
"Man, I was really looking forward to some time away." Cat said. "Thanks a lot Bonehead."
Rimmer rolled his eyes.
Back on Red Dwarf Mirabel was sitting on the side of her bed just trying to relax from the day. It had given her quite the adrenaline rush. Because she had been grounded for so long she had to get herself reacquanited with danger and scouting.
A buzz interrupted her thoughts. Someone was at her door.
"Come in." She said.
In walked Rimmer.
"Hi." He said.
"Hey." She answered. "What's up?"
He stood straight.
"I just wanted to say, that, I, was right you know!" He said.
"About what?"
"About everything!" He said. "About today!"
Mirabel made a face.
"And you came here to tell me that?" She asked standing up. "Look Rimmer, it's been a day, you want to scold me go ahead, but please make it quick."
He readied himself. But when he looked at Mirabel who gave him such a tired look, he couldn't. No matter how much he wanted to reprimand, insult, belittle, have someone else take the blame for pissing off the lamprey, he just couldn't.
"I just came to say." He said.
He looked at her.
"Well I was going to say."
Mirabel motioned with her hands for him to spit it out.
"Good flying."
Mirabel was taken aback.
"Good flying?" She asked.
"Y-y-es." He stuttered.
Mirabel smiled.
"Thanks." She said.
Rimmer's face softened, but he still stood straight. Mirabel chuckled and decided she was hungry. Before she left her quarters to a meal vending machine, she stopped alongside Rimmer.
"Thanks captain." She uttered and gave him a squeeze on the shoulder before leaving the room. Rimmer thought he would turn to figurative mush.