C11 MOLOCH
Intrigued, the Liberator is following Servalan's
ship. She is traveling unescorted and in an uncharted part of space. The
ship disappears, and the Liberator suddenly finds itself hurdling toward
an unknown planet. They manage to break free of the gravitational pull
and once in free space can no longer see the planet. The planet is called
Sardos and it is surrounded by a barrier that renders it invisible. This
is highly advanced technology and the crew fear that Servalan is after
it.
Tarrant prepares to teleport down but the teleport will not penetrate the
barrier. Orac suggests teleporting into a passing transport ship headed
for Sardos. Tarrant and Vila are teleport into the empty, hollow bulkhead,
but because of a malfunction, Vila lands inside the ship proper. He is
befriended by Doran one of the convicts from a nearby Federation penal
colony. The convicts were freed and recruited by Section Commander Grouse
for a mercenary force on Sardos.
Upon landing,
Tarrant finds Vila, who complains bitterly about Tarrant's plan. Tarrant
bullies and threathens Vila with a gun and Vila deserts him and joins Doran
and the mercenaries. Servalan meets with Grose and Unit Commander Leetor.
They are both deserters who have killed their commanding officers and put
one in suspended animation. They have used alien technology that
can transmute matter and duplicate anything using pure energy. The
machines are so hugh that they can replicate whole space ships. Grose intends
to use the convicts to pilot these ships. Servalan has been lured to Sardos
so that Grose and Leetor can use her ship as a template for their fleet.
They also want to try analyze the brain patterns of the space
commanders for use in making automatic systems to fly the ships.
Cally modifies the teleport so it can penetrate the barrier. Avon and Dayna
teleport to Sardos. Doran thinks Vila needs a woman and gets him Servalan!
She escapes Vila finds and releases her commanders and accidentally frees
Tarrant too. Tarrant finds Vila and with Doran's help, frees Dayna and
Avon. Doran kills Grose and Leetor, then Moloch the "computer kills Doran.
Moloch is actually a being of the future, created by the machines. He is
a projection of what the Sardoans will evolve into a million years into
the future. Moloch wants the Liberator and he tricks Cally into teleporting
him, but he makes a fatal error. The teleport only teleport the living,
organic part of Moloch, leaving his life support system on Sardos. Without
this support, Moloch dies. Avon uses the tranmutaton machine to make teleport
bracelets and the Liberator leaves orbit, They allow Servalan to escape.
C12> DEATHWATCH
Orac tells the crew that they need a rest and
passes on the news that there is a dispute between the United Planets of
Teal and the Vandor Confederacy. There is going to be a carnival atmosphere
at the battle site. Since outsiders are treated like honored guests and
protected from Federation persecution, the crew decide to stop in that
sector.
To settle disputes without warfare, Teal and Vandor have Champions. When
war is declared, the two Champions meet and do battle at a site randomly
selected and maintained by a computer. To give the audience a vicarious
thrill, the champions have brain implants, The signals from these implants
are broadcasted by the computer and anyone who has a receiver attached
to their forehead can watch the battle from their champions point of view.
The battle is overseen by arbiters from the two systems and a neutral arbiter
who watches for infractions of the Teal-Vandor Convention. The Liberator
crew are looking forward to the festivities until they learn that Servalan
is the neutral arbiter and that the Champion of Teal is Tarrant's brother,
Deeta.
Suspecting treachery, Avon has Tarrant link to his brother and Dayna is
to watch Vinni, the Vandor Champion. Deeta is killed and Dayna "feels"
that something is "wrong" with Vinni. Orac concludes that Vinni is an android-
a violation of the Convention. Avon surmises that Servalan is behind this
deceit. If she ,as neutral arbiter, were to demand a physical examination
of the winner, and he is found to be an android, real war would erupt.
Conveniently, Servalan has her war fleet doing maneuvers near the Teal-Vandor
system. She would then step in to "help" avoid conflict and annex both
systems for the Federation.
Dayna teleports down and stops the medical examination and Tarrant challenges
Vinni by right of blood feud. Orac has tapped into the master computer
and has found out the battle site. Tarrant prepares and succeeds in killing
Vinni, making Tarrant the new Champion of Teal. Hearing that a new contest
must be fought, Tarrant and the crew quietly depart.
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