Chapter 11
Asteroid Belt 2

Lister crunched into seventh gear as the transport vessel made it's way out of Red Dwarf's landing bay and into the big black. Making sure the flight info was programmed properly into the ships navi com, and other necessary adjustments the Cat and Lister got their first view of the brilliant colors that seemed to engulf the belt.

Thick streamers of reds and blues silently laid themselves as a background to the belt. Almost like loosely knit DNA strands they danced a seemingly motionless ballet in contrast to the chaos of motion the residents of the belt itself caused.

"Asteroid belt 100 G Clicks and closing Dave," said Holly, his face filling the cockpit's monitor.

"How long do you figure the jag to the asteroid and back Hol, round-trip salvage and all?" Lister asked as he ground the transport vehicle into twelfth. With a roar of vibration the green craft jolted, sputtered, and finally stalled.

"What the hell's wrong with the ship monkey?" asked the Cat. "Can't you fly it or you want I should help?" The Cat added anxiously

"Just stalled a bit. It's not me, must be a design flaw or something," lied Lister

"The whole thing shouldn't take you more than eight hours" said Holly, as Dave restarted the now drifting bug. "Better not anyway."

"Why's that Head?"

"You've only got fuel enough to last you that long" Said Holly in a monotone voice.

"Whaaaaaat?" yelled Lister and the Cat in unison and disbelief.

"Sure, standard fuel supply issued aboard any ship to surface transport vehicles. Avoids having to track them down to far in case of a problem. Course if you get in a real trouble and you're say in close proximity to a sun you could switch to the solar panels and batteries. They should keep the oxygenation unit, and you, functioning until we reach you. Should anything unforeseen happen"

"What do you mean keep us alive Holly?"

"Oh didn't I mention it? Standard issuing of oxygen aboard Starbug Two is only nine hours. Still I thought you'd like to know."

"Man if he was only something more that a floating head"

"Why?" answered Lister currently paying more attention to the upcoming asteroid field than either the Cat or Holly.

"Because when we got back to Red Dwarf I could really do a number and ruin his boots." Answered a very serious Cat.

"O.K. Hold on Cat were going in" said Lister as Starbug 2 edged it's way to the very outskirts of the belt.
Lister watched fearful and elated out the windshield of the Jupiter Mining Corporations transport vehicle, Starbug Two. The Cat, never a snooze be denied, had been curled up in the co-pilots seat napping for since they penetrated the outskirts of the asteroid belt, three quarters of an hour earlier.
Something primal dragged him out of a dream featuring ample bosomed scantly dressed Valkyries, and a vat of maple syrup. Something more primal than that is pretty hard to imagine. Actually.

The feline opened his left eye.
All around them an uncountable number of asteroids danced about. Big ones, small ones, not so small ones. Their choreographed dance, as irony would have it, was set in motion by a thermal nuclear missile launched by the Nova Twelve, sister ship the Nova Five. Causing the blue giant, which parented the planets whose remains make up this very belt, to go super nova. None of this was known to the crew. This lack of information might
prove fatal.

The Navigational Computer, which had been programmed by Holly before the flight began, adjusted the ship's control necessary for the small vessel to pick its way through this onslaught of silent death. Although Lister did take over piloting now and again to relieve some tension and built up frustration.
Throughout the flight a red light flashed on the cockpit's control panel, while a constantly rising pitch leaked out of the console's tinny speakers, as the craft's tracking system neared it's quarry. Without warning the sound stopped leaking out of the tinny speakers and the red flashing beacon flashed no more.

"What happened man, did we lose the signal?" Hollered Lister while he tapped the unlashing red light.
The Cat who was more interested in the music he was receiving on his head set and fiddled around with the buttons, illuminated and otherwise, situated on the control panel.
"What?" Shouted the Cat annoyed and talking over the music only he could hear.
"I thought I told you to stop that," said Lister, as he slapped half heartedly at the Cat's busy hand.

"Too slow to this pretty kitty," sang the Cat quickly dodging Lister's hand.
Adjusting the controls back to their original setting, the flashing red light and its accompanying pitch, whined higher and flashed quicker than before.

"You should be able to see it now," said Holly his image hovered on the cockpit's monitor.

"What are you talking about head? I see a whole lot of it's out there. Is there a particular one I'm supposed to see?"

"He's right Hol. Is their something special were supposed to be seeing?"
Lister asked just before a flaming meteor crossed the ship path.

"Gordon Bennett, that was a closed one," said Holly.
Then they saw it and it was big. It was especially big for an asteroid within a belt, but it would have been considered big for one out on it's own.

"Wow," was all Lister could come up with as the piece of floating planet
filled the Plexiglas view screen.

"Huh," slowly dripped from the Cat's mouth as he turned from Holly
and saw the it he was so recently questioning.

"OK. We came, we saw. Can we leave now?" he added.

"Can you land us Holly?" Lister asked rhetorically. "I don't think I'm up to it."

"Please land us head, I know he's not up to it." The Cat paused and smiled.

"I'll be your best friend."

"OK Dave, I got it." Holly answered.
For some reason the Cat's lack of faith bothered the mother to be.
Now this bothered Lister. Sure he had just himself admitted that landing the Bug on such a quickly moving asteroid, and of that size, was a bit beyond
what his limited expertise has in it's small but effective arsenal. Maybe it was hormonal but to hear the Cat going on about it bothered him. More than he realized.

"Holly I've changed my mind. Give me manual." Lister said, both hands on the crafts controls.

"What?" said the Cat and Holly at the same time. although in different octaves.

"You heard me. I'm gonna land this crate."

"OK Dave, your the boss." With that Holly disengaged the ships auto pilot.
Lister had really expected more resistance from Holly, an argument, something. Anything. This was clearly demonstrated by the death dive which
the craft started, showing Lister's lack of preparation for the addition gravity imposed on their craft, which should have been allowed for a celestial body of this size. Some days nothing goes like it should.