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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