**Action** Eventually the meeting!

**Action**
Conference room
Shipdate 7.10.2100
09:00
 
Niples waited in the conference room for the senior staff and scientists to turn up, apparently they had finally found where the probe had come from.
The enthusiastic sensor operator Ensign Kayn Barns walked in first, he had been waiting outside half-an-hour before the meeting was even supposed to start, that's what Niples liked- someone who was actually dedicated to work.
 
Scientists Larry Rongside, Marlene Cauty and Phil FeBuggure walked in, carying the artifact they had picked up from the asteroid field.
Steev and Smegg walked in afterwards, Steev wasn't exactly needed but he always wanted to feel part of the action.
 
Phil slammed the hunk of metal onto the table.
 
"So what does it do?" asked Niples, the suspension was killing him.
Larry started "It..."
He was interrupted by Captain Cannon walking into the room last- dressed in a tatty clown costume.
"Sorry I was late, there was a party last night and I fell asleep...."
Niples frowned and held up his hand to stop the Captain from talking. The Captain sullenly sat down.
 
Larry continued "its a distress buoy, it sends out a signal like this...."
Steev leaned over and quickly pressed a button on the side of the machine and a loud high-pitched scream filled the room. Everyone quickly covered their ears and grimmaced untill Steev turned it off.
"We managed to partly decode this message," continued Lieutenant Rongside. "From what we can tell it just says about a great blackness coming for every man woman and child... its pretty normal for a distress signal really and it even infringes on some copyrights."
 
Niples stood up quickly. "Then what are we waiting for? Lets save the poor bastards who sent this buoy out- we're spent enough time already!"
"Hold on cowboy!" said Marlene, getting out of her chair. "We need to know where to go before we can help anyone."
 
"Where where?" asked Niples, eager to get moving.
"Thats the clever thing" said Steev, pressing another button on the top of the metal casing.
The entire probe seemed to open like a rosebud, light spilling out into the room. Inside was a 3D holographical display of a solar system, with one planet orbiting a yellow star.
 
The planet seemed so green, so lush. It had bright blue oceans and bright green continents- the entire graphical representation of the planet seemed to glow with brilliance, it looked like paradise.
 
Captain Cannon fell off his stool.
Commander Niples stood up and showed his command figure, "Take us there" he said. "If they need help- We'll give it to them!"
 
Everyone quickly exited the room, the atmosphere buzzing with excitement- they had a new mission, one where they could actually help somebody and do something right.
 
As they walked out, Marlene whispered to Larry. "Should we tell them the buoy being 600 years old?"
Rongside looked around him at the happy and determined faces. "Nahh" he said
 
**********************************
 
Drive-room
 
Kayn worked as fast as he could to find where the solar system was. He looked at the holographic image and then at the star charts on his computer screen, after a few hours and lots of coffee he managed to find it. It was a system quite far out of Earth-explored territory.
But as they were going to have to go out of explored space to find the Red Dwarf anyway- it wasn't going to matter one iota.
 
He passed the sensor readouts to Ensign Loes, who immediately plotted the course. But there was still the matter of getting out of the asteroid field without punching a huge asteroid-shaped hole in the front of the ship. Kieran decided it would be better to carry on forwards than reverse (mainly because he forgot where the reverse gear was).
 
Niples entered the drive room, his efforts to find someone stupid enough to pilot a starbug fitted with Lt. Smegg's "Gaussion shotgun" and shoot all the asteroids blocking the path had failed.
He asked again for volunteers.
 
A hand shot up in the air.
"Ooh ooh pick me!" screached Kayn.
 
(OOC- Everyone can go over the meeting with more detail if you like- add some humour, it needs it!
Kayn can shoot the asteroids take a friend if you want, you can all progress the story upto us getting out of the asteroid field but no further please!)
 
==================================Lt. David "Onion" BallAssistant Helm officer/ Pilot  USS Endeavour-ACommander Seymour Niples  JMC Blue DwarfWWW.Geocities.com/BlueDwarf2000Are you being paid for being online? I am! http://www.alladvantage.com/home.asp?refid=IJU209==================================