"Some legends must be fought..."
Tiv Brunhauer: 17th Year, 3rd Calendar
It has been some thirty to thirty-five years since the great rebel Roj Blake was reported dead on Gauda Prime, alongside his former band of rebel mercenaries. In that time, the once all-powerful Federation has made a slow but steady return to power over many of its former dominions. However, it has been a more fiercely militaristic rule than previously, Martial Law and scare tactics being used in many colonised systems to return control to that single unit which originally expanded the human race outward through space. Further, with the Administration scattered during the Galactic War with the Andromedans, and a subsequent attempt to reassert its authority toppled internally, the ever-growing military wing of the Federation, once under Supreme Commander and self-appointed President Servalan, took its hold over the systems with ease, later securing that hold through such artificial means as the adrenal suppressant Pylene-50.
Yet despite the fierce stronghold maintained by what many have come to know figuratively as the "Reign of the Emperors" – after the line of Caesars who broke away from the Republic of Roman antiquity – has been as equally fiercely opposed by relatively minor rebel groups, aware of the almost literal slumber the dominions have fallen into. One in particular, known colloquially as "Blake's Brigands", is especially prominent. It follows a self-proclaimed mandate of meeting and maintaining the now-legendary Blake's tradition of blind radicalism as free-form terrorism. However, there are those who say they recall the days of Blake with clarity and precision, and that his radical manoeuvres were never so blind to the innocence which has become so enmeshed with the evil of the Federation: that he never saw things in so black and white a fashion. The young supporters of these voices are increasing in number, and the belief that Blake's legacy has been betrayed grows with them...
There are also those, a subset of these believers in betrayal and restoration, who are convinced that, in the years between the Galactic War and his death on Gauda Prime, Blake was laying preparations for so cunning an ambitious a strike against the Federation that it could not possibly fail: preparations which remain incomplete but intact to this day...
Characters[]
Style[]
A hacker, he is ex-Federation. Until recently, he was based on Earth, working at Central Control (which has returned to Earth since the restoration of the Federation in the wake of the Galactic War). Fully aware of the dictatorial nature of the Federation, Style remained with them for two simple reasons: (a) what he didn't see couldn't hurt him, and (b) he only ever looked out for himself.
But them Style saw something which could hurt him. He stumbled across some astonishing classified information while hacking, purely by chance: that the Federation has an unexpected vested interest in certain illegal rebel groups, including Blake's Brigands. Upon reporting this to a friend, he is betrayed and is arrested, to be sent to a Gulag-like penal space station in the Demtar-Sapphi system: KX42.
Despite an escape attempt, Style is recaptured prior to his show trial, genuine charges such as assault on officers and resisting arrest added to his charge sheet.
As a result of his experiences, Style's opinion of the Federation diminishes considerably, going down even further when he sees what life is like on KX42 for a prisoner of politics. Thus, it is now his goal to somehow free himself and expose the hypocrisy he has discovered...
Asimov[]
A minor member of the Freedom Party, a young political idealist: basically a foolish hippy socialist. During a protest raid on a Federation supply station with other members of the Freedom Party, Asimov is captured. The other prisoners, who are wise enough to smell an opportunity to diminish their sentences, use Asimov as a patsy, claiming he is the ringleader of this and other such protests. Despite his feverish denials, Asimov is genuinely taken to be the ringleader, and is transported to KX42...
Asimov may be something of a coward, but he genuinely believes the Federation should be toppled. He is a passionate idealist, and far more political than Style. He is 22 years old, compared to Style's 30: a young troublemaker who needs straightening out.
Jorma[]
At 25 years, she is fairly attractive and quite knowledgable. Further, she is an extremely competent mechanical engineer. Indeed, it is for this reason in particular that Style latches onto her upon her arrival at KX42: he has plans from the start to escape somehow, and he'll need someone who can fly and maintain a ship.
Why is Jorma on KX42? It was a case of mistaken identity, pure and simple. Somebody else living in her town with her name was believed to be a political agitator, and she was arrested in the other Jorma's place. And setting the record straight would be of no use: even if the other Jorma was ever arrested, it would look bad for the Federation if this Jorma was to be returned to the population with tales to tell...
Hardware[]
The Ship[]
An old Class Two Ship-to-Surface vessel, which had been withdrawn due to major flight design flaws, but offered to its current owners by the Federation as a gift. (Some gift!) It is subsequently hijacked by members of the Freedom Party, and then stolen outright (perhaps "claimed" is more appropriate) by our heroes after their escape from prison.
Powered by a low-grade fusion drive, it is only capable of Time Distort 4. It has no plasma shielding, and definitely no teleport. All up, it has eight rooms: the cockpit (which contains four stations: pilot, copilot, navigator and communications), the mid-section (the central "base of operations"), the galley, two cabins (each with two bunks), the operations room (or science/medical bay), the engine room and the storage hold.
Ident[]
The ship's computer, located in the middle section (the base of operations). Although it is not really a character in itself, it does have a voice (an audio necessity). Its database is completely current, and it is pretty knowledgable, especially once Style gets around to upgrading its input circuits to take a lot of classified frequencies.
Because of the extensive journey periods associated with a ship this slow (despite its limited distance requirements), Ident also operates as a sort of relaxation tool (providing such recreational facilities as computer games and the futuristic equivalent of TV), as well as keeping the crew up to date with the latest news from all the Sectors.
Episodes[]
Blakes Legacy: Restoration consists of a single six-part serial, with each episode at roughly thirty minutes. The serial is a continuous story, with a partly definite end. However, it leaves room for sequels or an episodic series if so desired.
All items (4)
