C5 THE HARVEST OF KAIROS
Jarvik, a former Space Commander, has been openly
critical os Servalan's inability to capture the Liberator. He had resigned
his commission due to disaffection with the Federation's dependence on
technology. Jarvik boasts that he can take the Liberator with three ships
and Servalan agrees to let him try.
On board Liberator, Avon is so fascinated with an immobile rock like life
form , the sporon, that he ignores both Servalan's attempt to capture the
ship and Tarrant's plan to steal kairopan, a crystal found on Karios, that
can be harvested only one week every 15 years. The thief of the crates
of kariopan succeeds until they are brought up to the Liberator. They contain
not the crystals, but Federation guards place there by Jarvik. They capture
the ship and crew.
Avon manages to circumvent Servalan's plan to kill the crew. She is forced
to put them down on the first inhabitable planet. Unfortunately that planet
is Karios. The one safe week has passed and now it is deadly to humans
in some unknown manner.
Servalan taunts Jarvik to get the bracelets from the crew on Karios. Tell
accepts the challenge and teleports down. He tells Avon the reason no human
life can exist on the planet. Large insectoid creatures seek the kariopan
to spin their silk. Anyone touching the substance will be attacked and
since the crystals are so valuable, no human can resist taking them.
Avon has discovered an old space ship that works but can only fly for a
short period of time. Protesting Tarrant manages to get into orbit. Avon
then plugs an analog of the sopron into the console. The sopron convinces
Zen that the Liberator is facing a larger, heavier armed ship then itself.
Jarvik laughs at this subterfuge but Servalan believes it. She chooses
technology over what her own eyes see. She teleports off the Liberator.
Tarrant docks the ship with the Liberator and the crew regains control
of the ship. In the fighting Jarvik is killed by a Federation guard.
C6 CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
The Liberator needs to replace the crystals
in its weaponry system. Tarrant negotiates a deal with the people of Keezarn.
They will supply the crystals for the use of Vilas services. Vila is reluctant
to go but Tarrant bullies him into it. Angry, Vila fails to take a tracer
with him. When Cally teleports to pick up the crystals, she discovers a
bomb. She escapes but is unable to locate Vila. Avon and Cally both return
to Keezarn to find Vila.
Vila has been taken to an ancient deserted city where he meet Bayban the
Butcher, the most wanted man in the Federation and Kerril Bayban's lieutenant.
Bayban has found a room that he believes holds all the treasure of the
planet. But he has not been able to open the door. He orders Vila to try.
Soon Vila discovers that there's no door but a force field protecting the
room. Using all of his skills he penetrates the field and it collapses.
Vila and Kerril are attracted to each other. Together they enter vault
behind the barrier. They traverse a series of corridors until coming to
a room with a matter transport device which sends them to a space ship
3000 light years away. A message is played from the builder who lived on
Keezarn
thousands of years ago. Predicting a decline
into barbarism, the builder directed the ship to seek out a planet that
the people of Keezarn could colonize and rebuild their civilization. The
matter transmitter was built into the vault so that it would only be opened
periodically. The people of Keezarn where genetically engineered to fell
the need to have someone open the vault every 35 generations. Running out
of oxygen and unable to return to Keezarn, Vila and Kerril confort each
other and make love.
Meanwhile, Avon and Cally have captured Bayban and his men. They find out
how to open the force wall and call down the rest of the crew to help rescue
Vila. At the same time, the space ship has landed and Vila is able to break
the door open. Outside they discover a beautiful planet ripe for colonization.
Happily he and Kerril start naming things until they stumble upon the crystals
Vila was suppose to secure. The mood broken, Vila guiltily suggests that
they return to Keezarn. Kerril is not pleased. However, they do return.
Norl, the leader of planet leads his people to their new home and offers
sanctuary to Vila and Kerril. While Vila is deciding, Bayban escapes and
threatens to kill them. Vila shoves Kerril and Norl through the barrier
and the vault closes. Vila can no longer join Kerril and teleports back
to the Liberator. Bayban ties to blasts his way through the barrier with
a laser cannon but the backlash kills him and destroys the city. Back on
the Liberator Vila produces the crystals surprising the crew, but he is
left regretting his lost opportunity for happiness with Kerril.
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