Five hours later, the Dublin landed on a Federation command planet. As they disembarked, a group of soldiers met them at the airlock. Greggs, Cooplan and Cay followed as Blake was marched through a maze of corridors, ascending many levels until finally, they were admitted to the control room. Blake could sense her before he could see her. He couldn't quite articulate his feelings. What did she represent now? Where was her Federation? Blake had strived to destroy it all. Yet here she was. With tired inevitability , Blake waited to be addressed. The setting had changed but the game had not.
Slowly, Servalan spun her chair round so that it faced Blake. She looked just as imperious and arrogant as Blake remembered her, as if all his actions counted for nought. "Roj Blake."
"Supreme Commander," he responded.
Servanlan smiled, "Yes, of course, you wouldn't know would you? You may address me by my correct title, President Servalan."
"Congratulations. I'm sure it was both a free and fair election."
She ignored his jibe.
"Thank you. But come, we are not here to wait on ceremony. I have a proposal for you, Blake."
Blake waited, unsure how to respond. He had assumed he was going to his execution and that the Supreme Commander -President- would want to make sure hers was the last face he ever saw. He felt somewhat surprised to still be alive. However, Blake knew Servanlan too well to count himself lucky.
Servalan nodded to a guard and Blake prepared himself for a fight. He was not in good condition and although he had been fed on the flier, the meals packets had contained merely enough to keep him alive. He glanced quickly round the room. Five guards covered the exits and he was being flanked by three more. Greggs and Cooplan would not support his actions. Which left Cay. Would he help push the odds just a little bit more in his favour?
The guard however, did not raise his weapon. Instead he escorted Greggs and the others from the room.
As the door slid closed, Servalan began.
"You won Blake. You destroyed the Federation and reduced it to ashes. There is virtually nothing left. No control. No authority. No safety."
"I did nothing. The invasion fleet destroyed your Federation."
"Please, you may not have overcome us in the way you had envisaged, but the result is the same.
Tell me, do you know of the chaos which is engulfing the galaxy?" Blake shook his head. "Here, let me enlighten you."
Servalan pressed a button on the side of her chair. A recording began. At first, it made no sense to Blake, just a series of repeating numbers. But then he remembered the galactic distress call sequence and his eyes widened.
"So you remember the distress signal? We have monitored multiple planets and the list grows with each passing moment. The death hasn't stopped simply because the invasion has been repelled. Millions are suffering. Formally stable planets are being overrun by rebel militias. Every malcontent has taken the Federation's collapse as an invitation to riot. It's anarchy. They don't recognise the Federation. The aliens' attack will be nothing compared to the suffering we will bring upon ourselves. Unless…"
She rose, crossing the room to him. Servalan looked earnestly into Blake's eyes.
"Unless we were to unite them!"
Blake looked incredulous.
"We?" he scoffed. "You want me dead, Servalan. And I want… Besides, the rebels would never listen to me."
"You underestimate your influence, Blake. Yours is a unifying voice across every rebel cell on every planet. If a rebel faction heard you telling them to lay down their arms, they would listen. Then Federation peace keepers could land and restore order to the planet. Countless lives would be saved. Consider this: You and I, working together, as equals. A new order, bringing peace to the galaxy."
Blake remained silent for a moment.
"You are asking me to trust you, Servalan. You expect me to believe that your new found humanitarianism is genuine. All you've ever wanted was power and you were willing to go to any length to get it. But now… you have you changed?"
"Blake," she said soothingly, "you don't have to decide straight away. Take some time. You can stay as my guest while you make up your mind."
She motioned to one of the remaining guards and Blake was escorted from the room.
He was taken down several floors and into a comfortably furnished room. There was no obvious sign of surveillance but that didn't mean he wasn't being watched. Blake glanced out of the door. A guard stood outside. He wryly wondered if all of Servalan's guests were treated this way.
Greggs and Cooplan were clearly pleased to be back in the Federation's fold. Cay had never seen them so animated. As they discussed their plans for the future, Cay slipped away.
It appeared that he was free to move about as he pleased so he wandered back the way they had come, towards Servalan's level.
Cay moved slowly, almost without purpose, to avoid raising suspicion. He passed several guards and overheard one mention he needed to check his weapon into the armoury. Cay smiled, that would make his job easier. He paused at an intersection and, when the guard moved on, Cay surreptitiously followed.
As the armoury's door opened, Cay made his move. Coming rapidly upon the guard, he punched him to the floor before dragging him into the room. There was only one person inside and Cay quickly overpowered him too.
Binding and gagging them, Cay moved about the room, selecting a weapon and some spare clips. Surveying the guards one last time, he silently left, smashing the door keypad on the way and sealing the room; it would not increase his chances of success much, but anything was worth a try.
Retracing his steps, Cay began to make his way towards Servanlan's quarters again. He was not entirely sure what he would say when he arrived, he'd been wanting to meet her for what seemed like a lifetime, and this would be the end of the matter. The time of reckoning. He resolutely continued on his journey.
A dull thud woke Blake from a light sleep. The noise had come from outside the door. As he rose to investigate, the door opened and Tamsen hurried in. He rushed to her. A smile breaking across his face as relief flooded through his body.
"Tamsen! I had no idea what had happened to you. How did you find me?"
Tamsen explained she had waited in the ship until the engine ports had cooled. Then she had made her way into the base. Creeping through corridors and avoiding guards, had been no different from dodging gangs so she had managed to remain unseen. It had taken her until now to locate Blake but she was confident she had not been discovered.
"So now we can quietly disappear," she concluded.
"Not quite," said Blake. "I need to go back to Servalan. If we were to escape, we would be caught quickly. The Pursuit ships would soon find us. We need a hostage. Someone they won't shoot down. Come on!"
Three bright flashes of laser fire lit the room and three guards crumpled to the floor. Before the other two could react, Cay had them covered.
"Easy," he said, ushering them into a side room, blasting the lock and sealing them in.
Servalan remained motionless. She had a weapon in a secret compartment hidden in the arm of her chair but clearly, now was not the time to try and retrieve it.
"Cay? What do you want? I thought we were on the same side, that you were loyal to the Federation," she said smoothly.
Cay didn't answer straight away instead checking the room was secure.
"What would you know of loyalty, Servalan? or family? friendship? You are so corrupt you've forgotten the value of life. I'm here to help you remember.
Do you think your deeds don't spread to the outer planets? That we don't hear of what you've done? Or do you simply not care?"
"Cay, what are you talking about?" she began to stand but a wave of Cay's gun changed her mind.
"Earth. I'm talking about Earth. Like many, I had family there. And you murdered them."
"Please," Servalan said. "I would never kill. The Federation provides for its citizens."
"Oh spare me the propaganda, Servalan. You may not have pulled the trigger but you ordered the killings. It makes no difference. There's blood on your hands."
"Do I at least get to know who I had a part in killing?"
"My aunt, Kasabi, my cousin Veron."
Servanlan paused. There seemed little point in denying knowledge of the event as Cay knew too much. If she could just reach her gun…
Cay looked at her, guessing some of her thoughts.
"Yes... yes. You know precisely what I am referring to. I don't want to know the details. I just need to be the one who kills you."
Cay took a step closer and raised his weapon.
"Retribution is not the answer, Cay," said Blake. "It won't bring them back. It's like poison. Once swallowed, it never leaves you. You'll never be free of it."
"You're wrong, Blake. The true test of freedom is choice. Life or death. She makes that choice all the time. But not any more. Now I get to choose."
Blake moved further into the room. Cay glanced over to him, moving his gun slightly. It was the opportunity Servalan needed. While Cay was distracted, she reached for her gun. A single shot rang out.
Cay fell to the floor.
Blake reacted on instinct and fired, hitting Servalan's gun, knocking it out of her hand. He rushed to Cay while Tamsen covered Servalan.
"Blake," murmured Cay, his voice unsteady, his breath erratic. "I'm..."
But he was fading too quickly to finish. He turned his head aside and died.
Blake gently closed Cay's eyes before rising to face Servalan.
"This is what you are Servalan," he spat. "Death."
"Oh come now, Blake. Don't get sentimental. You would have done exactly the same, if your life were threatened."
"There's always another way!" insisted Blake quietly.
"Another way?" mocked Servalan. "You don't really believe that."
"One day you will be held responsible for your actions."
"By you?"
"Perhaps. But you are not going to just going to brush aside another murder. Not this time. Order your flagship to be made ready."
A look of fear crossed Servalan's face but she remained defiant.
"You're a fool, Blake. You could rule the Federation by my side! You're throwing that away. You'll spend the rest of your life running!"
"Rule the Federation? Once the planets were united, I'd be dead. Now contact your flagship!"
"Perhaps you should have killed her," Tamsen said.
Blake's gamble had worked. The Federation, knowing who their hostage was, had not dared pursue them. Once Blake's anger had cooled, they had abandoned Servalan on an inhabited planet.
"I thought about it, believe me. But if the Federation is to be replaced, what comes next has to be morally stronger. Servalan should be tried for her crimes. Not executed to satisfy a desire for revenge."
They were piloting the ship to a free planet, Marca. Blake thought the Federation's flagship would make a suitable trophy for them and if not, he was sure it had immense scrap value.
"Where will you go?"
"I intend to head to Earth. The factions there will need unifying and I may be able to help. You'd be welcome to come with me."
Tamsen shook her head.
"No. Life with you is too dangerous, Blake. I shall find my own way. I am going to stay on Marca. Do you think you will ever see your old crew again?"
Blake smiled, "I'm sure our paths will cross."
He turned to the communicator.
"Planet control? This is Blake. We're making our landing approach now."
The ship began its descent.