Title: Sojourn: Part 1 - Breakout

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra is mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

Author's Notes: This is merely some thoughts about what could have been after the final of Blake's 7.

Disclaimer: I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 2

Vila stared into the darkness. He seemed to spend most of his waking hours in the night and his luck was still holding. At least for the moment.

He had escaped from Sutara nearly five months ago and had been on the move since then. It had been a five day journey on the freighter to a small provincial planet which didn't have a great deal to offer. Getting off the freighter wasn't too difficult in his purloined uniform and helmet, which he discarded immediately afterwards as it wouldn't stand up to closer scrutiny, certainly not in broad daylight.

There was a limited amount of space travel from this planet, but before he could find passage off-world he had to 'acquire' a few items. Firstly, some decent clothes, obtained by sneaking through the back door of a small laundry service and making off with the items he wanted.

Then he wandered into the small city and proceeded to 'collect' a few credits. He went very carefully because he was out of practice and didn't want to risk finding trouble this early in the piece, but soon his instincts took over. Once he had a tidy sum, he approached the space port, and booked passage on a small freighter doing a standard jump to a neighbouring planet. From there he could pick up another ship to where ever he decided to head.

He had to wait two days before leaving, so he spent those that time practicing his skills and was pleased at how quickly he fell back into his old habits. He also found a very nice bar and developed a taste for the local liquor. By the time he climbed onto his booked flight he was feeling a little under the weather. Probably not the best way to be, but considering the ship he was taking refused to serve alcohol he hoped his inebriated state would tide him over as the journey took another three days.

The second planet he arrived on was much like the first, fairly provincial, rather unexciting, although a little more advanced. There he had to wait a week until a freighter called that would take him out of that system into the next, so once more he spent a considerable time moving from place as he built up his resources. He was more than pleased at his ever-expanding 'box of tricks' as he was able to add new items to it, as well as his ever-expanding purse. Except when his will weakened and he managed to keep a friendly bartender in wages for the next month or two, after which he would have no choice but to replenish is funds once more, and trying to do that with a killer hangover just was not fun.

So that was the way it had been since his dramatic, albeit quiet, escape from Sutara. Jumping to the next planet, finding a ship, sometimes paying for passage, more often than not, managing to avoid doing so. That was purely on principle, and not because he couldn't afford it most times. Each time he moved on, he kept to short trips, on less busy routes, in an attempt to avoid the mainstream populace.

Unfortunately, as he had moved on, all the planets had been occupied in some capacity by the Federation so Vila had also spent most of his time dodging patrols and lying low. This also curtailed his activities at times as he didn't want anyone becoming too upset and reporting thefts to the Federation troopers. The last thing he needed was a full-scale search being launched for him.

He finally managed to make his way back into a fairly civilised sector of space, slowly but surely. He wasn't absolutely certain where he was and was afraid to ask and voice his ignorance. Once already he had advertised himself as a stranger, and an unknowledgeable one at that. Late one evening he had been thoroughly beaten and robbed. He had been lucky - they had left him alive. He never made that mistake again.

It didn't matter too much where he was anyway. He really wasn't certain where he was going, or if he was even actually going anywhere. He simply drifted from planet to planet when he decided to move on. As time went by, he became a little more daring in his activities and he knew enough of the underworld activities that ran on any planet to find willing buyers for things he happened to 'pick up' along the way. However, he did tend to spend most of his money on alcohol still. Some habits you just can't kick. All right, in some cases it would be all of his money, but hey, he was at least enjoying himself at those times.

Vila had arrived on this particular planet four days ago and desperately wanted to get off. There was a heavily armed Federation garrison established here, with regular patrols both during the day and night, which he hadn't been aware of when he had disembarked. This was the most organised of Federation activities that he had seen so far in his travels. With the patrols running with such regularity, Vila had found it difficult to accomplish much in his time here and had simply picked up enough funds to try and buy passage off-world. This hadn't been easy as the Federation were keeping a very strict eye on space travel, citing the reason being to curtail smuggling activities. Vila didn't know if this was the real reason, or if the troops were just using it as an excuse to shake-down the pilots and possibly pick up some bribe money.

With the heavy troop movement around the space port, Vila had been doubly wary about approaching anyone for information regarding flights. It didn't seem like a good idea to try and book a passage through the normal channels. There were far too many checks and forms to be filled, and he didn't think his forged papers would stand up to that type of scrutiny. They were good enough for most purposes, but the planet he had picked them up on couldn't provide the top-notch variety so he had had to settle for what he could get at the time. He had always intended to up-grade once he was in a place where he could get the best.

So, if he couldn't go through the normal channels, that left the only other option available to him - stowing away. He had positioned himself nearby so he could watch all the activities, picking out the most likely carrier, and then moved closer to the space port under the cover of the darkness. He had no idea if they would be aware of his escape here, or even if it was known he had escaped. Perhaps the guards on Sutara had assumed he had died somewhere. But "perhaps" wasn't enough of a surety. Vila wasn't about to take any chances. So he moved only at night, never using his real name, keeping in the background and talking to as few people as possible. For a naturally garrulous person such as himself, it was a difficult lifestyle.

He slipped along a little further, keeping to the shadows and paused again. He thought he had heard something and strained to try and catch the sound. Yes, there it was. Footsteps. Or, more accurately, boot-steps. Federation boots. They were coming up the street behind him.

Frantically he looked around him. Nothing lent itself as an obvious escape route. He set off, running on the balls of his feet to try and reduce the sound. The troopers' steps continued to dog his own. Did they know he was there? The steps hadn't increased their pace. Perhaps they hadn't heard him. Or maybe they had heard him but were pretending they hadn't. Maybe they were herding him somewhere. Was he running straight into a trap? That thought made him stop dead in fright. What should he do? Where to go?

Then, there to his left was a door. Just an ordinary door, to an ordinary warehouse. He dove towards it, his nimble fingers pulling tools from his pockets. In moments the door slid open under his touch and he flung himself inside, sealing the door behind him. He leant his head against it for a moment, breathing heavily. Were they still coming? Did they see him come in here? He pressed his ear hard against the door, straining to hear beyond it.

Suddenly, a hand gripped his shoulder and spun him around, flinging him against some stacked containers. In the dim light before him he could see a shadow and the metallic glitter of a gun, pointed directly at him.

"Don't shoot! I'm harmless, I swear!" he cried quickly, staring down the muzzle of a gun.

"Who the hell are you!" the shadowy figure snarled.

"Vila! I'm not armed!" He held his empty hands up to verify this statement.

"How did you get in here!" The shadow moved slightly and the dim light showed a feminine face.

"Through the door!"

"The door's locked!" she snarled, bringing the gun closer.

"I know! I opened it!" Vila said hurriedly, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

"It took me fifteen minutes to get it opened. YOU were bumbling around out there for only a few moments!"

The gun didn't waver an inch from Vila's nose and he watched it warily. He looked up into her face "What can I say? I'm a fast learner." The gun twitched and he decided that humour was not the best thing to use. "Honest, I'm good with locks. I've had lots of practice"

She drew back a little and Vila let out a breath as the gun withdrew a fraction. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"A Federation patrol was coming. I was trying to find a place to hide. I didn't know you were in here."

"You weren't supposed to." she said sarcastically. "Why don't you want the Federation to find you?"

"I was trying to get to the spaceport to get off this planet."

"Why? What's wrong? Are you wanted by the Federation?"

"I would just rather avoid them." Vila said a little cautiously.

"People only want to avoid the Federation as much as you do if it's after you. What did you do?"

"Nothing much." Vila tried to hedge. She merely looked at him. "But they are sort of after me. Probably."

"Well, that makes a difference. What are you - a smuggler?"

"No!" he said indignantly, "I'm a thief!"

"Really?" she said nodding "Just how good are you?"

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'll make a deal with you," she said, standing up and holstering her gun. "You help me and I'll get you off planet."

"Sounds too good. What's the catch?"

"No catch." she replied holding out her hands. "Just a simple exchange of services."

"I've heard that before. Usually just before I'm about to be killed."

She chuckled, "You're a suspicious sort of person!"

"Sorry, but I'm sure I can live with that."

"Honestly, there's no catch to it. Apart from the fact that if we're caught the Federation will kill us. After subjecting us to a great deal of pain first."

Vila shuddered. "There had to be a catch somewhere, but does it always have to be so fatal?" He stood up, brushing down his trousers. "Ah, look it was nice talking to you and all that, but I think I'll take a rain-check on this one."

She leant back against some crates. "Fine. But you won't be able to get off any other way. The only ships that leave here and go any further than the sister planet are the Federation troop carriers and they take a rather dim view of stowaways. They generally dump them out the airlock. Unless you plan to join the army."

"I'm allergic to war, you know. It makes me break out." Vila put in. "But I know there's other space flights. I came in on a freighter."

"Sure there are. The Federation doesn't really worry about what comes in. But everything going out is double-checked and triple-checked. And unless it has Federation clearance, it doesn't leave the surface of this planet."

"If no other ships can get off world without clearance, how can you?"

"Because I'm not so stupid as to come in looking like a freighter. A little bit of paint and insignia, a few tricks of the trade and I can pass for a small troopship. I can get off planet without a hitch. I can't say the same for you." She turned away from him and began to move off into the shadows.

Vila rolled his eyes and shuffled after her. "What did you say you wanted opened?" He didn't need to see her smile, he felt it. "How do I get myself into these situations!" he grumbled to himself, as he followed her into the darkness.

Vila stumbled against a crate, causing it to rattle ominously in the silence.

"Shhh!" She spun around quickly.

"Sorry," he mumbled, holding the offending article still. She moved off again and he attempted to follow once more but immediately kicked something else. Something very solid. Biting his tongue he hopped on one foot, gripping his injured leg.

"Now what's the matter?" she hissed back at him, noticing he had stopped.

"I can't see where I'm going!" he snapped back in a whisper.

"What?" She sounded puzzled. "Oh! Why didn't you say something? Here," her shadowy form moved and then he felt his fingers closed around a long thin object so he wouldn't drop it. Feeling with his thumb he located a switch and pressing it, a thin ray of light appeared before him.

"Keep it down and shielded!" she said sharply. "Now come on. We're running out of time."

She moved off once more with Vila bringing up the rear with his light. He wondered how she could see so well in the dark without the aid of a light or night vision glasses. He puzzled about this until she stopped at a corner. Kneeling down she inspected the markings on the side.

"Okay, this is the one." She looked up at Vila, her teeth shining whitely as she smiled. "Now it's time to prove you're as good as you say you are!" She rose and moved out of his way beckoning him to step forward to inspect the locks.

"This won't be too much of a problem." he said, reaching into an internal pocket of his jacket. Over his months on the run he had managed to gather together a fairly respectable tool kit for just this thing. Selecting the appropriate one he set to work.

"How do you normally open these?" he asked her, beginning to work.

"Quietly. And, if possible, unnoticeable."

"So you know how to pick locks too?"

"Most of the basic ones," was the reply. "The Federation tend to be rather lax on the rim worlds and don't invest in the best security systems. Unless it's something really important, and in that case I don't want to get mixed up in it."

"What tools do you generally use?" he asked in a professional capacity.

"What's on hand." was her noncommittal reply.

"Oh," he responded not knowing what else to say. "Uhmm, by the way, since we're partners for the moment can I ask you your name?" He heard her chuckle behind him.

"Kitra."

"I'm Vila. Very pleased to meet you."

"Likewise. Although I'll be even more pleased once you open that lock."

"All in good time."

"Time is what we're running against." she reminded him.

There was a small click and he straightened up, turning to her. "Then I wont keep you waiting any longer, milady,." he said, lifting the lid with a theatrical flourish. By the light of the torch he could see her smile in pleasure.

"Well done," was all she said moving forward to inspect the contents. "Ahhh!" he heard her say. "Just what we wanted."

"What happens now?" Vila asked.

"I'll get the carry sacks whilst you stay here. Whatever you do, keep quiet!" She turned to head off.

"Don't you want the light?" Vila whispered after her, surprised.

"I don't need it," came her answer as she disappeared into the darkness.

Vila hunched down at the side of the crate and listened to the night sounds, the creaking of crates, the skittering of small animals residing in the warehouse. He tried to ignore these furtive sounds but they infringed upon his consciousness each time and he was becoming more and more nervous. What was to stop Kitra deserting him? What if she's gone to raise the alarm? Maybe she's going to turn him into the Federation in the hope of a reward? What if...Just then she appeared in the feeble light, startling him. And what was worse was she was now dressed in a Federation uniform!

Stunned, he just sat there, staring at her in horror. She dropped the bundle she was carrying and looking up caught his expression. "Oh, Vila, calm down. How did you think we were going to get away without being noticed? I had this uniform made especially for this purpose. There's another for you. And that caused a little problem."

Recovering from his fright, he picked up the indicated clothes "Why?" he queried.

"Because, unfortunately, there was a guard inside that particular uniform at the time." came her answer, just as his hand touched a wet spot on the uniform. Holding his hand to the light he made out the red-brown tinge and swallowed against the lurch of nausea. "Hurry up." she said. "We've got to make it out of here now."

"You don't expect me to wear this, do you?" Vila said shocked. She merely looked at him. He sighed. "All right, I've seen that look before. You know you remind me a lot of someone I once knew. And he wasn't a very nice person."

"Have I said I was a nice person?" she queried with a smile.

"No." he agreed with a grimace, struggling into the uniform and trying very hard not to touch or notice the wet stain or the faint metallic smell of the blood. He had to admit that however she had killed the guard she had managed to do it with a minimum of blood and without marring the uniform. But he didn't intend to question her on her methods too closely. At least not at the moment.

Whilst he was dressing, she was busily filling the carry sacks, indicating that he should also do so once he was organised. He didn't yet know what it was that he was helping to steal and he couldn't tell from the small bundles that he was packing away now. His curiosity itched but he could tell by Kitra's quick movements that they were obviously pushed for time.

Soon they had reached the bottom of the crate and their bags were bulging. Looking at them piled on the floor Vila wondered how they were going to transport them from the building without getting caught. Even now he didn't know where Kitra's ship was located. It seemed that she must have read his mind because she looked at him with a smile on her lips.

"Just start carrying them to the door. Transport is organised outside." She shouldered a couple of bags and then grabbed one more in each hand and disappeared back into the darkness.

Vila tried to follow suit but found he couldn't see anything beyond the torch light. He paused, in a quandary when he heard her voice drift back to him. "You'll have to bring the torch as well if you're to see where you're going."

Again he wondered how she managed to navigate in the darkness. Sighing, he dropped a sack and picked up the torch instead and made his way to the door. He found it already open and switching off his torch peered outside to see a mobile land unit parked outside and Kitra tossing the bags in the back.

"Hurry!" she whispered to him, before glancing over her shoulder. He threw his load in and hurried back into the warehouse after her, again switching on the torch. It took them three trips to load everything.

"Now for the tidy up." Kitra said, motioning Vila to follow her once more. Sighing, he did so, coming to a stop at the emptied crate. "Lock it up tight and make sure there's nothing to show for the tampering." she ordered, peering around on the floor, picking up a scrap of lint from the carry bags and carefully wiping at a tiny speck of blood that had fallen from his purloined uniform.

Vila did as she bade and quickly sealed the crate, erasing all signs that they had been there. In this he knew his job and did it well. When she was satisfied, they returned to the vehicle and Vila locked the door behind them, resetting the alarm system, before clambering in beside her.

"Here," she said handing him a helmet. "Put that on." She crammed one on as well, tucking any stray wisps of hair underneath out of sight then started the engine.

During that drive Vila's heart was in his mouth the whole time. Twice they were stopped by routine patrols but Kitra's replies and the papers she handed over satisfied these and they were soon pulling up at what looked to be a small troop carrier.

"This is your ship?" Vila queried. It really did look like a Federation troop carrier and again he had his doubts that she wasn't Federation.

"Told you, I'm good at what I do. What better place to hide than right under the Federation's nose?" She moved to the underside air lock and tapped out a sequence on the lock panel. In response, a ramp lowered and she beckoned Vila to drive the vehicle into the interior of the ship. There she quickly began to unload, with Vila assisting.

"Strap them down in that compartment," she instructed him, indicating the place and showing him how to work the straps. "I'm going to return this unit. Be back shortly."

Vila had a little trouble with working out the way the straps were supposed to go so he had only just finished when he heard her light step on the ramp behind him. She brought the ramp up behind her and checked his work, nodding her head in satisfaction.

"Come on. I don't want to hang around here any longer than I have too." and he followed her out of the cargo bay, watching as she secured it and up to the flight deck.

"I can't believe it was so easy!" Vila said ecstatically now that he felt safe and secure and his fright was receding. "It was like taking candy from a baby!"

"We're not clear yet." Kitra reminded him, throwing the Federation helmet to one side.

"But it went like clockwork, just like you said. Not a hitch. You should do this all the time. You'd make a fortune."

She shook her head. "Very infrequently, in fact." she said, punching buttons on the console.

"But why? It was a piece of cake."

"Do it too often and the Federation would start to catch on. Besides, it's only rarely that there's something worth taking from there. This is only the third run I've done here in five years." She looked up at Vila with a grin. "You were lucky I came by at all or you'd still be waiting. Or dead." She straightened up and began to unzip the Federation uniform. "Griffen," she said out loud. "Is the course set?"

"All done, Kitra. We're ready for lift off." a masculine voice answered her.

Vila looked around. "I didn't know there were more of you." he said uneasily.

"Only Griffen. Don't worry," she gestured to one of the empty seats. "Better grab a chair. If the Federation get suspicious we could be in for a rough ride. Griffen, run the clearance program."

"Running now." The flight deck door swished open as the engines began to fire up. Looking around Vila saw a floating silver globe. It came to a sudden stop just inside the door and hovered there. Vila had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

"Who's that?" the voice emanated from the globe.

"That's Vila." Kitra replied, without looking up from her console. "He helped get the cargo so I said I'd give him a lift."

"Sure he's okay?"

Kitra looked up this time and flashed a quick smile to Vila. "Yes, I'm sure."

"All right. Where to?"

"Home. I want to unload first thing to cut the risk of anything going wrong. Damaged goods don't sell."

"Is that wise?" By this time the globe had reached the console next to her and settled itself upon the surface.

Kitra looked over at it in exasperation. "Griffen, it's all right! He's all right! You're getting more and more suspicious in your old age!"

"One of us has to be careful! You're the one going around taking all the risks!"

Vila watched this interchange with interest. He had never seen anyone have an argument with a metal ball before.

"Can we finish this discussion back at the base? We're not getting there any quicker this way." she said pointedly.

"All right, all right! We'll do it your way! We always do! Clearance has just come through, we can take off."

"Finally! Hold on, Vila." The ship lifted slowly, gradually gaining speed until Vila could see only stars before them.

"Looks like we did it!" Kitra said with relief, leaning back in the flight chair. "That's been one of the smoothest operations I've done for a long time. Thanks for your help, Vila." She came down to where he sat. "Where do you want to go to? I still owe you a lift."

"Well, actually, I don't have any particular place to go." She looked at him in puzzlement so he felt the need to explain further. "You see, I'm sort of wanted by the Federation. I escaped from one of their prison planets so I've just been trying to stay out of sight. Things have been getting a little tense lately."

"So you've got nowhere special to go? No jobs lined up?"

"Currently between engagements, you could say." he said with an impish smile.

"Don't do it, Kitra!" The silver globe flew down to hang at her shoulder. "He's more than likely a Federation spy!"

"Am not!" Vila said indignantly.

"It's all too convenient!" the globe pressed.

"I don't think so, Griffen. You didn't see him working. He's good and you don't get that good working for the Federation."

"I swear I'm not with the Federation. Look, I got mixed up with the rebellion and all that a few years back. Once I broke out of prison I've been on the run ever since. I've had enough excitement to last me a lifetime. I just want to settle down to a nice quiet life of thievery."

"The rebellion?" she frowned. "What faction?"

"I was with Blake."

"Blake, the political agitator? He's dead."

"He certainly is now." Vila agreed grimly, blocking the memories.

"Anyone could claim to have been with Blake!" Griffen put in. "Bit hard to check it now they're all dead!"

"Well, I'm not! And I was! I could tell you anything you like about it. You name it!"

"So you say!"

"What are you but a pile of spare parts!"

"Boys!" Kitra held up a hand to forestall the argument. "Look, I don't really care who you were with before! You could have stirred up a hundred rebellions for all I care, I'm not interested. But I do have a business proposition."

Vila leant forward. "I'm listening."

"You know I'm a smuggler. I prefer to actually acquire the goods myself instead of relying on a go-between. Less chance of being doublecrossed that way, and cheaper. Now I'm reasonable with locks and security systems, but no where near as good as you. I could use your talents. With your help I could double my profits."

"Profits?" Vila's eyes lit up at that word.

"Profits. Big profits. I've got a good name in the business and can charge a high fee. The more cargo I can lay my hands on, the more deals I can make, the more money I can get. It'd be a three way split - myself, Griffen and you. What do you say?"

"Just how much money are we talking about?" Vila asked, his eyes beginning to un-focus a little as his imagination kicked in.

Kitra leant forward on the console. "Lots!" she whispered.

"Lots," Vila repeated dreamily, then looked back at her sharply. "You mean it? You're not just saying that? You're not really trying to save the galaxy or something?"

She laughed. "Do I look like some sort of revolutionist?"

Vila eyed her up and down, especially where the undone Federation uniform showed a curve of snowy white flesh. "No, you certainly don't."

She leant forward again. "Then it's a deal?" holding out her hand.

Vila put his hand in hers "What do we steal?" he asked.

She laughed as they shook on it.