Title: Sojourn: Part 2 – Mindblank
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 and Griffen are 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 1
"That's him!" Vila said, catching hold of her arm as they looked across the tarmac.
"Who?" Kitra queried, glancing at everything before them.
"Tarrant!" Vila said intensely.
"Where?" Kitra asked in exasperation. Sometimes Vila seemed to forget that she did not know his past fully nor did she know the people involved in it.
"There!" he replied, pointing out the tallest in a group of three men talking near a land mobile.
"Vila, that's a Federation space captain! Are you sure?" she said, horrified at what he was saying.
"'Course I'm sure. I'd know Tarrant anywhere!" he answered confidently.
"That's it, we're out of here!" She shook her arm free from his grip and turned on her heel to leave.
"No, wait! We've got to talk to him!" Vila reached out to stop her from going.
"Are you crazy!" Kitra said, spinning around to face him. "He's a Federation officer! Look at him!" she said, jerking her head in the group's direction. "He's wearing a Federation uniform, he's got no restraints and he's talking quite happily to other Federation troopers. We are not going over there to talk to him!"
"Tarrant wouldn't have changed sides. He hated the Federation almost as much as Blake did. Besides, he's too much of a hero to have sold out!" Vila said firmly.
"Look again, Vila. He's no prisoner." Kitra tried to impress on him the facts as she saw it. She may not have known Tarrant personally but what she could see before her indicated that if that was Tarrant before them, he would be no friend of hers.
"He may not have been captured." Vila said quickly. "He could be hiding out."
"Use your head! He was picked up at the same time as you! On Guada Prime! From what you've told me there's no way he could have escaped that trap. So he was definitely caught, just as you were. Now, you end up sweating your life away on a prison planet and he's joined the army. In my book that means your supposed 'friend' has turned his coat!" She turned away again.
"There's got to be a good reason." Vila said, trotting after her, still glancing over his shoulder.
"Probably the pay's better!" she replied, still walking.
"There's got to be a reason!" Vila insisted, as they turned another corner, taking them out of sight of the man under discussion.
"Well, I'm not interested in learning it!" Kitra snapped, halting. "I've got a price on my head and that's where I'd rather it stayed. On my head and my head connected to the rest of me! I'm not giving your 'friend' the chance to cash it in and make a profit!" She turned away again.
"Kitra, please! We're got to do some checking to find out for sure!" Vila took hold of her arm. He had to try and convince her now or he never would. This he knew.
"No!" she said, refusing to look at him although she didn't move away.
"Look, he could be just acting." Vila began to think quickly. His fingers weren't the only thing that was nimble, his brain could be also, if needed. "He might have got away like me. And you've always said that the safest place to hide is in full view of what you're hiding from. Isn't that the Federation army?"
"That doesn't mean that I'd join!"
"But he might not have! That's how Avon first met him on the Liberator! He was masquerading as a Federation space captain back then! He could be doing the same now! Kitra, we've got to find out for sure. We've come this far. Please?"
Vila was pleading with her now, and she felt her resolve weakening. She had come to like and care about Vila a great deal, like he was a wayward child or a younger brother, although he was the elder. She didn't like to see his hopes of finding Tarrant alive shattered after the long search. She sighed as she looked at his face, a face trying to hide the fear that she might be right after all, but still needing to know. She knew she would do it for his sake.
"All right. To put your mind at rest we'll see what we can find out. But no risks! The first hint of trouble and we're out of here, no hesitating, no last minutes reprieves and no arguments! If he's joined the Federation we can't afford the chance of being betrayed. And you don't make any direct contact until we've got a better idea of the whole picture!"
"That's all I ask." Vila said with a grateful smile, as they continued on their way back to their ship.
"So, what have you found out, Orac?" Kitra asked, perching on the edge of the console next to him two days later. Vila was seated in a flight chair with his feet on the boards. That was a habit that Kitra hadn't been able to break in him.
"I have gone to a great deal of trouble to obtain this information. It has taken up a large measure of my valuable time which could have been spent on research that would have been exceedingly more enlightening and productive."
"Okay, we're eternally grateful. Now what have you got?"
"Tracing backwards I learned that a prisoner matching the description of Del Tarrant was taken to the penal colony on Thursten. The prisoners there are used for slave labour in the ballan mines."
"Ballan?" Vila asked.
"A crystalline substance that is native to this planet. It has high covalent properties and when mixed with ..."
"Yes, yes, we don't need a chemistry lesson," Kitra interrupted before Orac could go on with a lengthy explanation. "Just the details we want. What next?"
"Very well. After a period of six months said prisoner was registered for termination."
"Then he's dead!" Vila said softly into the silence.
"That is not a certainty." came Orac's surprising reply.
"But you said..."
"I said that a prisoner who was possibly Tarrant was registered for termination. There is no follow-up report as to termination being carried out. However, the day before the termination date a ship from the High Council was logged as arriving, cargo collected and departed. After that departure, said prisoner was no longer found in the colony's files."
"Well, that's pretty usual after a termination." Kitra said turning away. "If he's dead they will hardly have any updates on his presence there."
"The prisoner's number is not found on any of the files." Orac put in firmly. The tone of his voice indicated that they were missing something, something important.
Kitra paused, and turned to look at Orac with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. The files I originally obtained Tarrant's number from are no longer available for general viewing. They were obsolete back-ups stored in the old complex computer that is scheduled for destruction in approximately 6 hours, 32.63 minutes. All the files currently available for scrutiny do not register this number."
"But why?" Vila asked, puzzled. "Why was his file removed once he was killed?"
"Because he wasn't killed, was he, Orac?" Kitra said, coming closer and leaning her hands on his box. "A ship from the High Council arrives just before termination and once it's gone Tarrant disappears from the files. Cargo was collected, Orac, you said. Human cargo?"
"That information was not available. But it does seem most likely given the circumstances."
"Huh?" Vila queried, bewildered.
"Don't you see, Vila?" Kitra said, turning to him with a grim smile on her face. "Tarrant was there, on that penal colony, and then he was wiped out of existence as though he had never been. Why?"
Vila's face lit up as understanding dawned. "He wasn't killed at all! He was taken by that ship!"
"Certainly looks like it."
"But where? And why?"
Kitra shook her head. "I don't know. Orac, keep looking. See if you can match Tarrant's description with any Federation space captain currently serving and assigned to this planet. If that's not in the files, you'll have to do it the hard way and try and trace the movements of that High Council ship once it left the penal colony on Thursten."
"Oh, very well. However, I must warn you that this may take some time."
"Take however long is needed. Just get it right! We can't afford any mistakes here."
"I wish to point out that I am incapable of making mistakes!" Orac stated emphatically.
"Just do it right!" Kitra pressed.
"Of course." came Orac's stuffy agreement. Kitra could almost hear his snort of contempt at her suggestion that he could do anything but.
"What do you make of this?" Vila asked, coming to stand by her side.
"I don't know for certain," she replied, shaking her head. "All I'm sure of is that Tarrant wasn't killed on that planet."
"Then it could have been him we saw!" Vila said getting excited.
"Not necessarily!" Kitra said sharply. She had to make sure that she kept Vila's eagerness curbed until they had all the facts. "It could be a clone, an android, anything, They may even know we're here and he's been set out as bait for a trap for you." Vila paled at that thought. Good, she thought. If he's scared he's less likely to do something stupid. She continued out loud. "And even if it is actually him, it still doesn't explain what he's doing working for the Federation."
"From what I can gather," Orac said. "The ship left Thursten and did not return to Command Headquarters but detoured to the planet Veren."
"What's there?" Kitra asked.
"It is an uninhabited planet of a temperate climate the Federation surveyed and it was decided not to colonise it as it had no particular use. There was little flora or fauna, no specific minerals, and therefore nothing of use to them. However, further checking of the Federation memory banks shows that a research centre was established there for a short time."
"Researching what?" Vila asked.
"The intricacies of the mind," Vila and Kitra looked at each other as Orac continued. "The main stream their research was taking was in mind control, supposedly to be used on felons so they can be released back into society."
"Or for purposes of conquering other worlds," Kitra said grimly.
"Possibly." was Orac's reply.
"And the ship from Thursten went straight there?" Vila queried.
"That is correct."
"Can you access their files? Check if Tarrant was brought in?" Vila asked excitedly.
"I shall endeavour to do so and inform you when I have found anything pertaining to this matter."
"This is great!" Vila said, excitedly. "That's Tarrant out there! They've just messed with his mind so he doesn't remember who he is or what happened before. It might have improved him, you know. We've done it!" He beamed at Kitra and went off happily with a bounce in his step. Kitra merely looked after him.
"So, why aren't you jumping for joy?" Griffen asked her. "Don't believe it's going to be okay?"
"Do you?" she threw back sharply.
"Not really." Griffen replied. "Although Vila does. What makes you think differently?"
"I can't see the Federation letting someone like Tarrant, a known rebel from their most wanted list, out to roam the galaxy freely if they thought there was any chance what-so-ever of him regaining his memory. He'd be dangerous as a free man with all his memories returned. We'll have to see what other information Orac can turn up. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Maybe it can be reversed with an operation. You might have to use your talents on this one."
"I haven't used my medical skills for a long time, Kitra. And I'm not really in a position to do so anymore."
"It wouldn't be the first time I've been your 'hands'." she said, brushing aside his excuses. "Anyway, we'll have to wait until we've got more information. I just hope Vila doesn't do anything stupid in the meantime."
"Tarrant?" Vila queried hesitantly, looking at the straight back before him.
"Excuse me?" Tarrant turned around. He looked Vila up and down. "Who are you?"
"Ah, you are Del Tarrant? Aren't you?"
"My name is Saran Turak, Federation space captain. And I repeat, who are you?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. Sorry to trouble you." Vila began to back away.
Tarrant took a threatening step closer. "I'm not going to ask again. Who are you?"
"Look, I'm really sorry. I just thought you were someone I once knew. No harm down."
"Papers!" Tarrant snapped, holding out his hand.
Vila patted himself down. "Ah, I seem to have left them in my other suit. You know how it is, forget to empty your pockets before washing. You don't have to worry though. They're all in order."
"I'll be the judge of that! You know it's an offence to be found without your papers. You're in for a lot of trouble."
"Oh, come on. I swear I only stepped out for a breath of fresh air. I hadn't intended going anywhere. I just thought I recognised you. I was wrong!"
"I don't really care what you thought. You're coming with me. This way!" Tarrant drew his sidearm and motioned with it for Vila to proceed him. Vila raised his hands, mind racing ahead to think of a way out of this predicament.
"Honestly, that's not necessary. I'll come quietly. I'm not going to try anything." His pleading manner seemed sincere enough to make Tarrant relax a little.
A sound to his left made Tarrant glance that way for a moment, but a moment was all Vila needed. The iron bar he had kept hidden by the side of his legs rang resoundingly against Tarrant's head and he slumped to the ground.
Vila quickly dropped beside him and looked around to make sure that no-body had noticed them. There was no sign of any alarm. He rolled Tarrant over with some difficulty and checked his pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief to feel the strong beat under his fingers. He had been concerned that he could have struck Tarrant too hard and killed him. That brought back unpleasant memories of the Muller affair. He strained and pulled Tarrant to his feet and draped a limp arm across his shoulders. He touched the communicator on his chest and spoke into it softly and urgently. "Kitra, I need help. Now!"
"What's up?" Her voice came faintly to him.
"No time to explain! Get a vehicle out to me along the north east road of the launch mat. Hurry!"
"On its way!"
He stayed in the shadows of the warehouses as best he could, still dragging Tarrant's unconscious form. He hoped that anyone who saw them would assume he was merely helping an inebriated friend home.
Finally he heard the car arriving and moved towards it. The door rose to reveal an empty interior. This didn't upset Vila as he bundled his burden inside. It was being controlled automatically by Griffen from the ship so it was perfectly safe. He pushed the throttle to the full position and roared back to the ship, wondering how fast he would have to talk to prevent Kitra from killing him.
"You fool!" Kitra shouted at him, surveying the limp form at his feet. "You damn idiot! I told you to leave it alone!"
"I just wanted to talk to him!" Vila said defensively, although he backed up a step away from the anger in her eyes.
"Don't you ever think! Griffen!" she spun around, stamping back to the flight deck. "Start firing up the engines and clearing us for lift off! Orac, monitor every communication on the base! Anything you hear about a missing person or the first alarm that goes off, tell me! You," she spun back to face Vila, glaring at him. "Lock that," pointing at Tarrant's unconscious form, "in the cargo hold and get back here."
As Vila dragged Tarrant towards the door she added, "So help me, Vila, if we get caught for this I'll kill you myself!"
As the door swished shut behind him he wasn't too sure that she didn't mean that.
Kitra slammed herself into her flight chair and looked over the board, rage still coursing through her veins and narrowing her vision. She took a deep breath and with an effort tried to control herself and release her hunter vision. Vila truly didn't know how close he had come to dying back there.
"Nothing?" she asked Orac in a voice that sounded close to normal.
"There have been no abnormalities registered as of yet. However, my advice would be to remove yourself from this planet before anyone does raise the alarm."
"My thoughts exactly. Griffen?"
"Nearly ready, clearance is coming through, although they are asking why we're cutting our stay short. We were down for another two days."
"Tell them we're homesick! Just get us out of here!" Her nerves and muscles were strung tight.
"Strap yourself in, we're lifting off." Griffen at least understood.
At that moment, Vila came in at a run and threw himself into a chair. He could feel her glare seeming to burn into his back and subconsciously crouched down in his seat, as though seeking protection. He knew he would be in for it when they reached the base.
Kitra only leant back with a sigh once they had cleared the planet and were on the homeward stretch.