Scorpio (Blake's 7)

Infobox Fictional Spacecraft
name = "Scorpio"


caption = "Scorpio", a "Wanderer"-class transport
first = "Rescue"
last = "Blake"
status = Destroyed in episode "Blake"
defense = Minimal armour plating
propulsion = Experimental photonic driveThe "Scorpio" is a spaceship featured throughout the fourth season of the British science fiction television series "Blake's 7".

Originally, the ship was owned by an (alleged) salvager named Dorian, who had a base on the planet Xenon. Dorian rescued the crew of the recently destroyed starship "Liberator" when they were left stranded on the planet Terminal. However, the Liberator crew later killed Dorian in self-defence when he revealed his true intention was to feed them to a living entity known as Gestalt that inhabited a room deep in his underground base (by doing this, the Gestalt entity then enabled Dorian to cleanse himself of "age and appetite" and remain perpetually youthful, a homage to "The Picture of Dorian Gray"). The Liberator crew then took over the Xenon base and the Scorpio starship for their own purposes.

As stated by Tarrant, the ship was an early Mk IV "Wanderer"-class" planet-hopper used by Dorian as a salvage vessel, but was originally a freighter.The "Scorpio" was docked in an underground silo within the Xenon Base when it was not in use. Unlike the "Liberator", which outmatched the Terran Federation's finest warships, the "Scorpio" was initially disadvantaged in almost every way conceivable compared to the Federation's ships. It was slow, ungainly and had no weaponry. In the episode "Star Drive", however, the "Scorpio" was greatly enhanced after being fitted with a new, experimental "Photonic Drive" developed by Doctor Plaxton. This increased the ship's speed to the equivalent of Time Distort 15 but in "real time" (i.e. - without the need for the ship to move into a "time-distorted" dimension), which technically made the "Scorpio" even faster than the "Liberator" had been (and assumingly now the fastest ship in the galaxy). Furthermore, the "Photonic Drive" was powered by light rather than plasma, making it even more superior. However, retreat was always the order of the day whenever the crew faced the Federation, as the ship was better equipped to flee than to fight.

Whilst he owned the ship, Dorian had begun work on a teleport system but he had never been able to complete it due to lack of knowledge and materials. Avon and Orac were later able to complete it with a dynamon crystal.

The ship was shot down in orbit of the planet Gauda Prime and destroyed upon crash-landing during the events of the series' final episode "Blake". The crew escaped by teleporting out, apart from Tarrant who was seriously injured by the crash, but survived. The crew (including Tarrant) were apparently later slaughtered by Federation troops. It is still unknown what happened to Orac.

The ship's interior was designed by Roger Cann using the panelling that had previously adorned the set of the "Heart of Gold" in the "Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy" TV series, and the model was designed by Jim Francis.

lave

Blake's 7 Character


caption = Slave
bgcolor = #fc0
fgcolor = #000
name = Slave
race = Computer
gender = None
affiliation = Resistance
portrayed = Peter Tuddenham
firstappearance = Rescue
lastappearance = BlakeSlave was "Scorpio's" intelligent onboard computer (voiced by Peter Tuddenham).

Slave was designed and built by Dorian and programmed with a cringing personality, which occasionally irritated the crew. It was constantly apologising for its failings, real or perceived. It addressed Dorian and later Avon as "Master", and the rest of the crew as "Sir" or "Madam". It was far less capable, competent and dynamic than Zen, prone to panic in emergency situations.

When the "Scorpio" crashed on Gauda Prime in the series finale, Slave, like Zen before it, demonstrated some unseen characteristics in its final moments as it addressed Tarrant by name, expressing hope that he would survive.