Developed by Dr Plaxton on Caspar. Using light instead of plasma, it could allow ships to travel at previously unimaginable speeds "in real time". Atlan's space choppers could manage Time Distort 12.6 with the Mark I drive, and theoretically TD-15 with the Mark II (which was, however, too large to be installed in a space chopper, despite being readily portable). Scorpio was fitted with the Mark II drive and was reported to leave Bucol-2 at TD-12.
Plaxton spent three years on Caspar developing the drive, with an unspecified previous period working on it for the Federation. She referred to 3,000 hours of work on Caspar, and Atlan referred to his space rats combing a dozen worlds for the raw materials. Few details of its functioning were given, although a photon generator chamber was mentioned.
See also HYPERDRIVE, SPEED, TIME DISTORT, INTERGALACTIC DRIVE.
Safety screen deployed when testing the photonic drive under laboratory conditions, wheeled around by two resentful space rats. It started to melt before the Mark II drive reached full power.
Sleer requested Justin's photoprint record whilst on Bucol-2. Just how much information this contained was not disclosed.
Two of the people present around the Big Wheel were dressed as pierrots. Others included arabs, cavaliers, a toreador, a vampire and a nun.
Pilot of an Auron C-type Patroller, returning to his home planet when his ship was hit by an ionic beam fired by Ginka. This crippled the ship's systems as well as neutralising his telepathic ability. Pilot 4-0 was brought aboard Servalan's cruiser and contaminated with the alien pathogen which eventually wiped out the population of Auron. The pilot was dead on docking back at Auron.
A mathematical prodigy, who at the age of 18 accompanied Egrorian in his flight from the Space Research Institute. Exposed to Hofel's radiation, Pinder aged fifty years in as many seconds and thus appeared considerably older than 28 when encountered by Avon and Vila ten years later. By this time Pinder was virtually senile, a condition hardly helped by the sadistic way in which Egrorian treated him. Egrorian planned to leave Pinder on Malodar when he left with Servalan, but Pinder overheard and exposed both himself and Egrorian to a lethal dose of Hofel's radiation.
| Avon and Vila crawlled through pipe to enter the Q base on Fosforon. | |
Presumably not common, since they are very sparingly mentioned. In Time Squad Jenna warned Blake that space pirates sometimes used false distress signals to lure their victims. The pirates on Domo sold the prisoners they took as slaves: Soolin stated that the pirates began their operations on Domo ten years prior to Scorpio's visit.
Name used by the professional killer Cancer in her attempt to eliminate the crew of Scorpio for Servalan. Nebrox told Avon that one of the entertainers for sale had been bought by the owner of a black ship (Cancer's). When Avon, Tarrant and Soolin teleported aboard they found a man, as well as a woman claiming to be a dancer: Cancer and purchased entertainer. In fact the man was an actor Servalan had bought to play this crucial role in their plan, and "Piri" persuaded him to work for her by making him believe that he and she would "go off together" when the job was finished. Feigning weakness and terror she won Tarrant's confidence, but got little more than a slap in the face from Soolin. She had to kill Nebrox when it seemed he might realise that she had never been held as a slave on Domo. She then killed the hired actor, and captured Avon.
Piri killed using a crab-like creature she wore as a brooch on her tunic. The creature may have been wholly or partly mechanical in nature. She died when Soolin brushed the creature off Avon onto Piri's arm, where it fatally bit her.
Mentioned by Kara shortly after the London was seen approaching Cygnus Alpha. No further details given in the episode.
Kara may possibly have been referring to the holding cell/landing bay complex where the London touched down. This would be the point where the prisoners would leave to be 'reborn' into their new life on Cygnus.