Quite, quite alone....

Alota, peering through the window of the Raven watched, as the shuttle piloted by her husband veered into the atmosphere of the planet. It glowed red hot as it began to burn up, spinning wildly out of control.
"Alota..." said Dean softly "You know they couldn't survive that......right?"
"Just get us out of here Dean..."
<END SNIP>
 
Dean struggled to take his eyes off the stricken shuttle but dragged them back to the banks of dials in front of him. The Raven had somehow managed to escape major damage. Dean silently thanked a god he didn't believe in for that and prayed further to the same god that Jay and the gang would be alright.
 
"Alota?"
"Yeah?" said the Captain, her throat very tight.
"You're in command. We need orders. Or else..." added Dean, as the Raven shook to a nearby exploding shuttle, "the crew of the Blue Dwarf shall be no more."
"Scatter."
"Ok." said Dean, turning towards the comm link, and then swivelling back. "Great as that is, anything on a bit more of a micro-management scale? Or, rather more accurately, scatter now yes, meet up where?"
"Here."
"Ok." said Dean, turning towards the comm and then back again. "When?"
"2 days."
"Wow, that's quite a timescale. Consider it done." said Dean, giving the requisite orders to rendevous back at the wrecked BD in 2 days time to what was, in effect, his department now.
 
The ships scattered and steadily the number of blue blips on Dean's radar went down to one solitary one in the centre.
"We're scattered now." said Dean, to Alota. The bug ships had swung back towards the wrecked BD after pursuing the different shuttles. Now each of the ships was quite, quite alone.
 
Dean brought the Raven to a halt, it hung, silently in space, it's lights glinting on and off against the endless vast, bleak and infinite backdrop of stars.
"Now what do we do?" he asked himself, turnign around and joining the rest of those on the Raven in the cavernous mid-section.
"Guys?!" he shouted out, and silence steadily replaced the nervos chatter of the crowd. "We need a plan."
 
<TAG>
 
Dean "New Head of Department" Thomas