Punch Drunk

Jay clumsily pushed the control stick forward, causing the station to lurch violently.
He grimaced a little but found the level and settled the station into a comfortable cruise.
He glanced down at the scanner readout, and back up to the front screen.

He closed one eye.

Much better.

He got the station underway again, and bit his lip as he heard the loud groaning as he scraped the hull of the station on the edge of an asteroid.
"Watch out!" Seymour slurred "We don't have inshooranche!"
"Alright alright..." Jay said "Just so you know, thish is the first time I've ever flown a laboratarotory."
"A wut?"
"A lab....scienche place...."
both men giggled uncontrollably.
"You're drunk..." said Jay
"I am not!" Seymour replied

The light on the console flashed.
"Whats that?"

<Snip>
“It's the comms channel, you dolt” Seymour chided “It might be the 'Dwarf hailing us; answer it and see”
Shrugging, Jay reached forward and activated the link, but the smeary black and red thing that came up on screen was hard to make out until Legion pulled Cass back away from the monitor and into focus, her mouth set in an expression of silent misery and her eyes wide with fear, blood and mascara streaking her cheeks
Legion leaned into the picture
“Quit what you're doing Chrysler, or I'm going to start ripping pretty girl here to pieces”
<End snip>

Jay let go of the controls, and turned away from them, and began walking toward the exit.
"What are you doing?" Seymour asked "You need to get us back to the 'Dwarf or he'll take our brains out!"
"I...." Jay said, suddenly feeling much more sober "I can't let another one die...."
"But..."
"Seymour, no....I lost Alota...I lost Katrina...I'm not gonna let it happen to Cass too...she...I...she's special to me..."
"But if we don't escape, we'll ALL die...do you want that on your hands..."
"Trust me Seymour, I won't let that happen..."
"Mr Chrysler I..."
Jay wheeled around "Seymour!" he snapped "You might like everyone to think that you're this pompous, arrogant selfish oaf who doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself, but I know different..."
"Whu.."
"Let me finish! I remember, years ago, when you were Captain....when you were in love with a janitor, Katrina Swete...." he caught Seymours expression
"Yeah, that's right, you thought we'd all forgotten...but do you honestly think I'd forget you coming to me, begging me for help to save her? You asked me to risk my life, and my ship, and you risked your OWN life and career to save her when she was spinning off into space......"
Seymour tried to speak but Jay wasn't finished.
"not to mention, when we found the Red Dwarf. You risked yourself again to save your daughter......"
Seymour said nothing.
"I helped you both times because I know what it is to love someone. I'd have done the same damn thing. And I'm going to do it here...."
"What are you going to do?" said Seymour, humbled.
"I'll think of something...."
"You haven't got a plan...?"
"No....so theres no plan for him to know..."

A few minutes later Seymour and Jay burst into the room where Legion held Cass.
"Alright Legion...I'm here...I've stopped the station from moving...let her go..."
"You've caused me a great deal of trouble Mr Chrysler" Legion replied "All I want is for you all to live out your lives in happiness, yet, you resist..."
"You want to make preserves out of our brains!" Jay replied "But please just......let her go..."
Jay was gambling that everyone else was still hammered enough that Legion wouldn't be able to think straight, and sure enough, it paid off. Legion let Cassandra go and she stumbled into Jay's arms, who held her tightly for a second before letting her go and facing Legion again.
"One more thing..." he said, and he spun around and punched Seymour as hard as he could, knocking him out with one punch.
"Jay...what?" Cass asked.
Jay didn't respond, he just dashed across the room, aplogising to Phil, Alex and Gomez before doing the same to them.
White Wolf tried to run, but Jay rugby tackled him, rolled him over and clonked the hamsters head hard into the floor.
Phi, was already passed out, but to be sure Jay lifted her head from the table and smashed it back into it, rendering her totally unconcious too.
Stopping to think for a second, he rummaged through Phi's labcoat pocket and pulled out a pack of sedatives.
"huh....shoulda checked Phi's pockets first huh?" he muttered to himself.
"Davie, take this..." he threw one to Davie who was drunk enough to not question it, swallowed the pill in one and passed out.
Justin proved a little harder to knock out, but Jay found that grabbing a power cable from the wall and shoving the live end into his backside shorted out his light bee.
"You need to take one of these too Cass...." Jay said handing her a sedative. "Trust me ok?"
"It won't work you know..." Legion said, rubbing his head, his voice having changed dramatically.
Cass cottoned on, kissed Jay and took the pill, passing out in his arms where he lowered her to the floor.
Jay stood back up and faced himself.
"So" Legion said "I'm you then...."
"Fraid so..."
"I don't know why you think it will help...I'm in no danger...what do I care if you're brains removed."
"because you're me" Jay said "You'd never hurt anyone else for your own ends...you're gonna help me...because that's just the kinda guy we are."
"nonsense"
"Is it? After all the times I've fought Evil Jay...and seen how easily I could become like him, that scares me. That scares me enough that I'll do anything to avoid it.

You hurt these people for your own ends, and it's the first step down a slippery slope my friend..."
Legion-Jay thought for a moment. He could tell Jay genuinely believed it. It was his biggest fear. And therefore, his too.

"You can't get the station back to the Blue Dwarf before they come around..." he said "I'm sorry, but once they do, I'll be the same old Legion again..."

"That's why you're gonna show me how to block whatever it is that reads our minds...."

"But if I do, I'll cease to exist..."

"If you don't, we all die. And it will be on your hands....."

"You need to shut the neural probe whatsits....I dunno how, I'm no scientist, at least not now...you could always wake Cass up...she'll know.!"

"I don't think so pal...." Jay should have known though, he was a pilot, a soldier, a leader...but he was very much NOT a scientist....so now, neither was Legion.

"Where are they?"

Legion-Jay didn't reply.

"Come on....." Jay coaxed.

"Alright....two doors along the corridor....theres a server room, it runs the whole system..."

Jay nodded, and left the room, Legion-Jay following behind. He entered the room, sure enough there were banks of computers in there.

"Please don't do this" Legion-Jay said "You'd be committing murder...I promise I won't hurt anyone"

"Do I always sound so pathetic?" Jay asked "sorry...but if I don't as soon as the others come round, you'll be your old murderous self again..."

"You won't be able to shut down the probes anyway..."

"Watch me...." Jay pulled out a bottle of vodka from his trouser pocket, stuffed a torn piece of material into the neck and lit it, tossing it into the room.

Fire broke out. The computers began to break down.

Legion, faded out of existence.

Jay wandered slowly into the dining room.

"Man..." he said looking around. "These guys are gonna be pissed....."

<tag!>