Suddenly, the Federation isn’t so much the joke it’s been since the war against Andromeda, what could be behind it? Is that an old friend I see?
Ben and Eugene discuss Traitor!
A pleasant rebel is being questioned by a Federation officer. He reveals all their plans and is sent on his way, back to his rebel friends. Fortunately, his rebel friends keep him away from their base for a while, because the Federation are tracking him and they kill him with missiles, thinking they’ve destroyed the rebel base, too.
On the Scorpio, the crew are alarmed at the rate the Federation is re-establishing itself. Planet after planet are falling rapidly to the Federation. Avon surmises that there must be a new weapon and they must try to find out what it is.
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Unlike the Liberator, the Scorpio is a slow bucket of bolts and they must be very careful, but with Orac’s help, Avon is working on a way to improve their speed. Orac farms the job out to Federation computers elsewhere, to Avon’s amusement.
Soon, a new Federation-appointed president-elect is sent to the planet, here he learns Commissioner Sleer is running the Pacification Police – a new arm of the Federation with a weapon that renders planetary populations docile.
The rebels decide to try to get into the citadel again. The rebel leader hatches a plan to swim under the reactor and succeeds, where he meets Tarrant & Dayna, who have teleported in. They meet with the rebel’s contact – a Federation Officer named Lightz – who is the newly appointed aide to the President-Elect. He gives the rebels info on the current fighting and a possible way to make an assault on the commuications matrix. He also supplies Tarrant & Dayna with information about Commissioner Sleer’s pacification program. It uses a drug called Pylene-50 and it renders anyone completely docile and manageable. They go to try to get a sample.
Meanwhile, the President-Elect is murdered by an unseen assailant and when questioned, Lightz reveals to the military commander that he is a double agent – working for Sleer, and supplying fake information to the rebels. With the traps he’s set, they should all be dead soon.
Tarrant & Dayne meet the creator of Pylene-50 – a pitiable man who is being tortured and coerced by Commissioner Sleer to produce the drug. They get a sample and a prophylactic drug.
Realizing the Lightz betrayed them, they get the drugs to the rebels, who take on the citadel with immunity. During the battle, Tarrant & Dayne see Commissioner Sleer. It is Servelan! She escapes them, and they escape the planet – not a moment too soon because Orac’s use of the computers has been detected and search ships are hunting for Scorpio.
On the planet, Lightz confronts Sleer – he reveals that he now knows she’s actually the former Empress, Servelan – who was thought killed and all her supporters were purged from the government. If people knew she was alive, she’d be killed. He offers her a deal – power for her silence. She offers him a counter offer – she kills him, after which he agrees to be silent.
Tarrant and Dayna break the news about Servalen to the rest of the crew and Avon is almost pleased because he NEEDS TO KILL HER HIMSELF.[/expand]
