Chapter 13

We've lost them

Holly's image was more pixilated than ever, and every tenth word was interrupted by static, but Lister ignored these details, to much else was at stake. Shortly after the start of the land bound quest the reason for the
transmission failure had been found. The Cat had plugged his leg hair waxer and curler into the power consul on the habitation section of the bug and that was that. When he unplugged it the warning beacons came on informing the crew that a 400 foot drop was directly in their path, and course changes were necessary. A course change or two later, the Bug's crew was again in contact with its mother ship.

Lister and The Cat had been following the S.O.S. beacon with Starbug Two via its retractable caterpillar tracks, traveling at breakneck speed, almost 40 klm. per hour, for nearly two hours. Even at this pace more than half the asteroid had already been searched and the source of the beacon still eluded the team.
Soon after the team reached a rather large out cropping of what can only be described as a mountains, which loomed in the distance. Holly slowed down the green insect looking craft as the approached the foot hills.

"Holly why are we slowing down?" Asked Lister the annoyance seeping into his voice.
Holly's voice was delayed and broken up while his picture was worse than before. " ...too steep...tracks...
...out on foot...
...only a few hundred ...
Then silence.

"Holly. Holly! Lister repeatedly jabbed a the radio control panel. A few hundred what?
A few hundred inches?
A few hundred feet?
Miles?"
Lister was answered with snow and static.

For a full twenty minutes Rimmer had been annoying Holly
with his endless jabbering about being struck in the face with a rather large asteroid. Holly did his best to pay as little attention to Rimmer as he possibly could, without actually paying any at all. Finally he decided on the loop.

Every now and again a digitalized loop tape would have Holly's image saying "uh huh" and "yes Arnold," and several other non specific answers, as Rimmer prattled on and on.
Holly's real time image ripping through the recording that Rimmer had been conversing with. "We've lost them," Holly's entrance took no
care to hide the fact that Rimmer had spent the last 52 minutes talking to a recording.

Rimmer momentarily confused by the sudden image change,
replied "What?"
Holly informed Rimmer this only when the static from the Starbug's lost transmission became more annoying than the buzz of A.J. Rimmer's constant whining.

"Holly have I just spent the last," Rimmer paused to look at his watch,"52 minutes giving orders to a recording?"

"No" Holly lied. "It must have something to do with the interference I'm getting."

"Interference? What interference?" Queried Rimmer

"The interference I told you about 52 minutes ago, from the asteroid itself." answered Holly.

"Just before I turned on the recording," he thought.

"Holly what kind of interference can an asteroid give off. Some stupid dead piece of rock floating around in space. I mean aside from hitting us in the face they're pretty harmless. Especially if you're riding on it. Be a bit of a trick getting hit in the face with that one eh Hol?" Rimmer grinning

"No Arnold, Your completely wrong as usual," Holly said. "This asteroid seems to be one of the alive varieties, and quite dangerous if disturbed. Especially while it's eating."

"What are you driveling on about?" Questioned Rimmer, putting as much snideness in his voice as possible.

"Look there are you two basic kinds of asteroids, First you got your old ones, your deadish ones, the kind that don't make any fuss unless they get to close to a planet or a sun, and even then usually aren't much trouble. Then there are you active asteroids. Your living ones as they're called." Explained the ships computer.

"Why do they call them that?" Inquired Rimmer.

"Well some of these younger asteroids were parts of planets only a few dozen millennium ago. And as part of a planet they still contain
gasses, frozen liquids, possible glaciers, some are even known to have active volcanoes. And when the conditions are just right all their frozen liquid
becomes heated liquid and due to their consequential creation, may cause explosions through out the asteroid. It's even rumored that some asteroids still keep deeply
locked within them the very soul of their doomed planet. With the hopes of finding a new planet to call home. Or..." Holly hesitated.

"Or what Holly?"

"Trust me Arnold, you don't want to know."

"Don't worry Holly I can take it when it pertains to Lister."

"O.K. Arnold" Holly answered. As he said this all the lights in the drive room when dim and in an eerie voice through the PA system Holly droned,

"Or extract revenge on it's killers!"
Rimmer startled by Holly's light show stammered " Su... Sssu...So?"

"Well I don't want to frighten you Arnold but there's a good chance, judging by the travel path of the belt, that this particular belt was made a bit closer to Earth."

"If you don't want to frighten me turn up the bloody lights!" Shouted Rimmer in near hysterics. When all was back to full light mode, and Rimmer's voice an octave or two lower he asked. "How much closer to Earth?"

"Well judging by the trajectory I believe that the star system that was destroyed in making this asteroid belt was visible from Earth. Possibly as far away as Mercury" Holly added.

"What does all this mean you overrated adding machine?" Exhaled old Iron Balls.

"Well for one thing if we don't get back in touch with Starbug Two in the next forty minutes we may as well close shop and go home early."

"Why would we possibly do that?' Asked Rimmer.

"Because moose brain. They'll be dead."

"Oh," was all Rimmer could come up with. In retrospect it seemed kind of flat.