WRITTEN BY
No specific credit.
PLOT
The Scorpio is ensnared by a force field generated by the artificial moon Stanal Six, whose alien inhabitants demand that the crew procure a mysterious black box from the infamous Federation weapons development base on Asico Prime.
ANALYSIS
The first half, which eases us into the domestic side of the crew's life and then transitions into the eerie journey to Stanal is masterfully handled and felt so true to the show at its very best. I really enjoyed the scenes with Vila trying to man the post, so to speak, whilst everyone else is asleep, and his growing panic as events spiral out of control. It was very relatable, to say the least.
Once they had, the prose became very evocative as it described Scorpio's capture, and the environment of Stanal. The shadowy, techno-noir imagery practically popped off the page. I thought the scheme put forward by Chief Pantak to infiltrate a top-notch Federation base(the wonderfully named Asico Prime) was classic Blake's 7.
Aaaand that's where things sort of took a nosedive. Avon's desperate struggle to find any way of avoiding the task on Asico was kind of cool, because it took the story in a different direction, which I didn't mind in of itself, but the plot became really convoluted. I didn't really understand how Stanal couldn't figure out that Scorpio was sneaking back towards it, even if Avon was running simulations on Orac and Slave to indicate otherwise, nor why Avon assumed he'd be capable of taking down what clearly appeared to be an advanced race of far more might than them.
Once they were back on Stanal, there's several twists-within-twists and paragraphs of dull exposition clearing up everything that's happened. My eyes began to skip over words and I basically got bored. Not that the concepts Armstrong introduced at the end weren't interesting in their own right, but they weren't presented with the same passion and intrigue as the first half.
CHARACTERS
Avon and Vila have the lion's share of the material, being the ones selected to visit Stanal as well as the only ones who contribute measurably to their eventual escape. Red Moon does a brilliant job of highlighting Avon's strategic mind, the way he pacifies Pantak whilst already thinking of ways to escape from his control and/or benefit from the situation is awesome. He also has a stunning temper tantrum that concludes with him throwing the entire crew off the flight deck. I would pay good money to see Darrow perform that scene!
I feel like everyone's had Vila's catastrophic day on duty, one way or another. Trying to maintain control of a slipping situation and avoiding asking for help to keep your dignity intact is so human.
NOTES
*This story was published in the Blake's 7 Marvel Monthly issue 8.
*It's made clear that the crew's quarters aren't on the flight deck(like they were in the show), meaning that more of the ship is pressurised during flight than usual. Perhaps a modification?
*Another classic example of something that only happens in the written word - the crew laugh hysterically over a mild word gag from Vila.
*I know you're supposed to keep your eyes on the control, but I find it strange that Vila is supposedly left with no entertainment whatsoever for like 4 hours. No books or anything? How is he supposed to keep awake?
*Rather bizarrely, Vila is insulted by having his delinquent past and skill for picklocking brought up in conversation, until Avon tells him to be complimented.
*I love the touch of Avon sardonically telling Vila that everyone already know about the Federation base on Asico Prime - of course the audience doesn't, but it's decent worldbuilding!
*Avon has some balls to announce to Vila that he's planning to cheat Pantak before they've even teleported away!
*Slave quoting HAL 9000 in his refusal to change course("I'm awfully sorry master, but I'm afraid I can't do that") is amazing.
*Probably the most hilarious contrivance is Avon's plan to replace Pantak's box with a random one owned by Dorian and hope it's the same size! Did I say Avon was clever in this story? I take it all back.
*The aliens use cassette tapes! Brilliant.
*A recurring problem I'm noticing with these published short stories is the lack of gaps between paragraphs, which can sometimes make you feel like the story's jumping around when it really isn't.
INFORMATION!
*Shortly before the events of The Red Moon, the crew had some "business with the rebel tribes of Callux".
*Vila references Avon's intent to organise a rebel army against the Federation.
*Slave says that Orac is programmed for games. He was seen playing a Risk-esque board game in Dawn Of The Gods.
*Whilst describing Avon and Vila's criminal past, Pantak mentions Avon's computer credit swindle(which got him arrested as seen in Space Fall).
*It's revealed that the Scorpio contains a good deal of junk left behind by Dorian when the crew commandeered the ship in Power.
*Aliens from another galaxy have been previously featured in Star One and Sacrifice.
BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE
"Do what you always do. Annoy the others."
CONCLUSION
It's definitely worth reading, but I do wish it held together a bit better.
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