[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Episode 7

Mission to Destiny

By Terry Nation

The Liberator encounters the spaceship Ortega drifting in space. Blake, Avon, and Cally investigate, finding several crew members unconscious and one murdered. Another crew member is missing and the ship has been sabotaged.

When the unconscious crew members have recovered, Dr. Kendall, their leader, tells Blake that they were returning to their home planet, Destiny, after purchasing a neutrotope, "the most valuable objects in our galaxy." It will stop a disease which is threatening to kill all vegetation on Destiny.

As the ship is sabotaged Blake offers to transport the neutrotope to Destiny in the Liberator, while Avon and Cally try and repair the stricken craft and look into who carried out the deed. Whilst doing this the pair uncover more than they wished as other crew members start turning up dead and suspicion falls on them all.

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This seems like a second rate episode when watched immediately after the excellent Seek..Locate..Destroy, however the reality couldn't be further from the truth. Although the episode is ship bound it is a tightly plotted affair in the vein of Ten Little Indians, or Five Dolls for an August Moon for giallo fans. Its giallo links also involve Avon playing the "inspector" investigating the murders with Cally his assistant and everyone else being a suspected murderer.