The Lovely-Named Nyssa asked Was it a four year fight, the same with real time, or did we just see the highlights?

David Here is an argument for ten years' real time you might like to look at. It comes at a time when I am trying to bring Kasabi and Blake together in a fic in preparation for their raid on Earth Central Control. They use different calendars. First, though, a question: How long had the Ortega's journey been by the time Blake, Cally and Avon arrived on board?

from Mission Kendall: I don't understand any of this. First the trouble with the communicators, and now sabotage. Cally: What happened to the communicators? Kendall: Just after we started back on the return trip, there was a burnout in the main circuits. Grovane, the communications officer, thought the damage couldn't be accidental. Apparently, all the safety circuits were still intact - they had been bypassed somehow. It is still not working.

The impression I get is the journey is only a week or two old. This is borne out in the first line of the programme by the pilot's tracking of time: Log entry 143 Flight time: 010; Elapsed: 090.

Flight time is ten days, but at ninety days, elapsed time is nine times longer than flight time, than ship time, than real time. Before the sabotage, the Ortega was travelling at nine distortions of time, would be one way of looking at it.

The London's sub-commander calls attention to a similar phenomenon: "The journey will take eight months ship-time" at Time Distort five. What would be eight months flight time, will really be forty months real time (ie. 8*5=40; see post 50613). When Leylan sent his report that the Liberator was salvaged by the three, the Federation received it immediately and on a later date. Leylan sent it four months after Blake's second trial; the Federation received it immediately one year and eight months (=20 mos. = 4*5) after the trial.

Let Blake's trial take place on 252-06-08, where the year is 252, the month, six, and the day, eight.

from Aftermath Hal Mellanby: Blake and the Liberator? I have been hearing reports for the last couple of years.

from StarDrive Orac: At the time of the Federation's collapse, the doctor was developing a new space drive system ...

Plaxton: How I ever came to be mixed up with a bunch of psychopathic killers ... It was three years ago, Napier.

from Orbit Sleer: Ten years ago I risked my position to help you continue your work.

The above data give the following chart

Event F.S.T. Vila Time Jenna Time ----- ------ --------- ---------- Servalan helps Egrorian escape 251-MM-DD Blake's Second Trial 252-06-08 252-06-08 252-06-08 Leylan's Report sent / rec'd 253-02-08 252-10-08 252-10-08 At Cygnus Alpha 254-10-08 253-02-08 252-10-09 Earth Central Control is raided ? 254-02-08 253-10-09 Star One (say, one week before Hal Mellanby) 256-10-01 Plaxton leaves Space Drive Research Centre 256-10-01 Mellanby has read of Blake and Lib. two years 256-10-08 Pindar Time Plaxton fits her Drive to Scorpio 259-10-01 ----------- Egrorian dies after ten years 261-MM-DD 320-MM-DD

Calendar in YYY-MM-DD Format FST = Federation Standard Time Both Plaxton and Mellanby were planet-bound for bulk of their time.

Since Vila time is always behind FST, Egrorian's death must be after Vila's last date, and probably well after it; eg. late 261 / early 262. This is some ten years after Blake's second trial, and is perhaps reflected in Sleer's progressive ageing.

DC

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