Sevencyclopaedia - S

STARBURST CLASS PURSUIT SHIP

Requested by Travis when first assigned to hunt Blake. Servalan told him that only three had so far been built and they had all been assigned to the Galactic 8th Fleet. They were described as "high range" pursuit ships, which suggests they were not necessarily built for more speed or firepower than conventional pursuit ships.

STAR CRUISER

The ship Servalan used when President was a Mark II Star Cruiser, and was named as such in Moloch. In Volcano she gave an order to leave Obsidian at Time Distort 10, indicating the speed at which it could travel. Although large and ungainly-looking, it could make surface landings, and did so on Auron and Sardos. It was fitted with a scoop facility for picking up smaller ships, such as Pilot 4-0"s C-Type Patroller from Auron.

STARDRIVE

Referred to by Orac as another name for the photonic drive developed by Dr Plaxton.

STARDUST BLIZZARD FIELD

A harmless electrical phenomenon in space, supposedly passed by the Space Princess on its journey from Zerok to Earth.

STARKILLER

Nickname of Fleet-warden Samor, used by Lye and also Servalan.

STAR MAJOR

Rank adopted by Hunda as leader of the 4th rebel column on Helotrix.

STAR ONE

First mentioned by a dying Provine as the new location of the Federation's Control complex, the hunt for Star One involved Blake, Servalan and Travis each with their own reasons for finding it. It turned out to be located on a single planet circling a white dwarf well outside the galaxy proper, and thus the first star to be encountered by anyone travelling between the Milky Way and M31. The Fool on Goth gave its co-ordinates as "grid reference C17320 in the 11th Sector", a position Jenna later described as imprecise. The planet itself was cold, temperatures rising above freezing point only around the equator during the day. The computer complex was underground, and shielded by some unspecified means. The teleport could not work through this shield, though this was probably coincidental. Orac was able to access Star One's computers, since he mentioned making a cursory analysis of the systems concerned with the antimatter minefield.

Control was moved from Earth, according to Travis in Pressure Point, some thirty years before Blake's attack on Earth, but Travis also later reported, on Freedom City, having seen Docholli "two years ago". Lurena, one of the technicians on Star One, was young enough to have had to have been a child when Control was moved from Earth, as were most of the other technicians seen there. Perhaps she had spent some of her time in suspended animation (to extend the period of time over which she and her colleagues would be present?), or Control was moved from Earth to an interim location whilst Star One was under construction. Alternatively, Travis might have been misinformed or lying.

Many of the technicians

Docholli operated on thirty technicians who had built Star One (other cybersurgeons may have operated on additional personnel, but this is never indicated). Those that chose to remain there were possibly different people altogether. At least twelve people were present at the complex when Blake arrived, although all but one was in fact an alien infiltrator. Named technicians were Stot, Parton, Lurena, Marcol, Leeth and Shokov. Blake killed "Stot", Avon killed "Parton" and one other, Lurena killed "Shokov" and was herself killed along with four others by an explosive device planted by Blake. At least three other aliens were unaccounted for.

Star One was, from what Durkim said, responsible for climate control on many frontier worlds (Sooni, Vilker, Palmero, Carthenis and Heeron were mentioned) and for Computer Flight Co-ordination, sabotage of which caused the collision of the Nova Queen with an unmanned ore carrier above Keldon City. It also maintained and monitored the antimatter minefield sown by the Federation to keep out the threat of an invasion from M31. Durkim referred to no rain on Sooni and continual rainfall on Vilker for 60 days, suggesting that alien interference in Star One's systems might have begun about this time. Travis in The Keeper said that Star One "controls climate on more than two hundred worlds, communications, security, food production... it is the key to our very lives."

Avon on the surface

Travis acquired the location of Star One from the brainprint left on Goth by Lurgen. Blake found the information hypnotically planted in the Charl's Fool: by travelling at Standard by 12 he arrived hours, if that, ahead of Travis, who may have acquired one of the aliens" ships along the way (it was of a type Jenna could not recognise). Blake, Avon and Cally teleported down. Entrance

Blake abandoned his intention to destroy Star One when the alien threat became apparent, and Liberator remained in the vicinity to hold off the alien fleet until Federation reinforcements could arrive. Federation Battle Commander Squadron 6 reported the aliens destroying Star One during a surprise counterattack at some point during the war.

Liberator in front of Star One

Cally pointed out that "many, many people" would die with the loss of Star One, a toll Blake was prepared to accept. The after effects of its destruction, however, were never remarked upon after the War except in Aftermath, when Servalan told Avon that "half the civilised planets" were now left to their fate.

STAR ORBIT BURIAL

Suggested by Tarrant for Vila, after his apparent death on Crandor.

STAR QUEEN

The civilian cruiser from which Tarvin and at least four Amagons boarded the Liberator, using a voice synthesizer to transmit a reassuring message from Gan after he teleported across. Although described as having no heavy armament, it might not have been a civilian cruiser at all, but a ship adapted for piratical purposes.

STASIS FIELD

Sinofar told Blake and Travis that their ships were held in a stasis field and would remain so until the duel was complete. Jenna later mentioned the effect as being like that of a stasis beam, suggesting that "stasis technology" might not have been unknown in Blake's era.

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