Sara (Blake's 7)

Sara is the main antagonist of the Blake's 7 episode "Mission to Destiny".

She was portrayed by the late Beth Morris.

Biography
Sara was a member of the neutral Earth colony Destiny and a crewmember of the spaceship Ortega, which was sent to collect a valuable neutrotope needed to combat a fungal infection threatening to destroy all Destiny's food supply. However, Sara planned to steal and sell the neutrotope. Having made contact with interested parties, during the course of the Ortega's journey back to Destiny with the neutrotope, Sara laced the air supply with somo vapour, knocking out most of the rest of the crew. She then went to the flight deck to sabotage the controls only to discover the pilot, Rafford, still conscious, having turned off the air supply. She bludgeoned him to death, then destroyed the controls, leaving the ship drifting out of control in a fixed circle.

Needing a scapegoat for the murder, Sara killed another crewmember, Dortmunn, as he lay unconscious, intending to send his body into space in a lifepod so it would look as though he murdered Rafford and then fled. However, she was unable to carry his body that far, so settled for hiding the body and launching an empty escape pod. Having set up a homing device to lead her associates to the Ortega's position, Sara took off her breathing apparatus so the gas knocked her out as well, knowing it would run out soon.

Sara's plan suffered a further problem when the Liberator noticed the Ortega drifting. Blake, Avon and Cally boarded and disconnected the gas, causing the crew to revive earlier than anticipated and begin repairs. The damage meant they would have to stay at sub-light speeds and wouldn't reach Destiny in time. Blake offered to take the neutrotope there in the Liberator, leaving Avon and Cally behind to help with repairs. Sara took the opportunity to purloin the neutrotope and give Blake an empty box.

Mandrian, who Sara shared quarters with, found the tracking device and realised what she was doing; he confronted her but kept it from the others. The discovery of Dortmunn's body exposed the fact the murderer was still on board. With repairs near to completion, Sara sabotaged the filtration plant. When Mandrian tried to stop her, she killed him.

Although Sonnheim, the crewmember found standing over the body, was initially accused, Avon exposed Sara as the murderer by revealing a message Rafford had scrawled in blood as he died, assumed to be the number 54124, was actually SARA. Sara shut herself in the flight deck but was lured out when the crew staged a firefight and tricked her into believing her associates had arrived and killed everyone. Avon overpowered her when she emerged.

With the ship carrying Sara's associates approaching, Blake returned and prepared to evacuate everyone to the Liberator. The rest of the crew intended to take Sara back to Destiny to stand trial but she removed her teleport bracelet at the last moment and was left alone on the ship as everyone else teleported out. An explosive Blake had left on the Ortega's entry hatch triggered when the other ship docked with it and Sara was killed in the explosion