Roj Blake was one of the most infamous rebels against the Terran Federation. His resistance was fueled not by any political desires of his own -- indeed, Blake frequently passed up opportunities to gain political power -- but by sheer rage at the Federation itself. This rage, initially, was tempered by a naivety and sense of morality, that soon led way to simple pragmatism. Blake also, initially, frequently sought input from his crew members -- however, he did ultimately begin to act as a commander and would even refuse to explain his plans to his crew.
Despite these changes, Blake still held a reputation for integrity that remained a part of his legend until his death.
History[]
Little is known of Roj Blake's early life, except that he was quite studious. He showed a particular interest in history -- both natural history and the history of civilization. At some point in his youth, he visited his uncle Ushton Blake on Exbar where he met Inga.
As an adult he came to work for the Terran Federation. As a member of the Alpha Grade, little of Blake's work was manual labor. Nevertheless, he acquired some medical expertise. His true speciality, and his career for some time, proved to be in engineering. He worked on special projects such as the Federation's matter transmission project.
Eventually, Blake began to rebel against the Federation. He and his brother and sister began to act as dissidents, founding the political entity called the Freedom Party. This political party rapidly became the only meaningful resistance effort on Earth. Eventually, the Federation sent Travis after Blake. A final confrontation between the two ended badly for both of them: Blake shot Travis' face, leaving him near death, and Blake was captured anyways. Though Blake's siblings were sent to the Outer Worlds and quietly executed, the Federation could not risk making Blake a martyr. Instead, they manipulated his memories so that he would publicly renounce his dissident activities, and then his mind was further altered so that he would believe he was and had always been a peaceful, content, law-abiding citizen.
The Party, however, had been betrayed. Everyone at the meeting with the exception of Blake was killed. Blake was arrested again. At the suggestion of Alta Morag, eleven charges were fabricated against Blake that included sexually assaulting children. Doctor Havant planted false memories in the minds of the three children -- Carl Deca, Renor Leesal, and Payter Fen -- to corroborate this story. The charges against Blake also included:
- ML580/MIN: Incite Corrupt Acts
- ML580/MIN: Commit Corrupt Acts
- CR326/PER: Kidnapping
- CR193/PER: Assault
- CR193/PER: Intent to Injure
- CR193/PER: Cause Actual Injury
- CR333/SEC: Resist Arrest
- ML100/DEV: Moral Deviation
Despite the best efforts of Tel Varon, Blake was convicted and deported to Cygnus Alpha for life. Aboard the prison transport ship, the London, Blake met Jenna Stannis, Kerr Avon, Olag Gan, and Vila Restal -- all of whom would become his traveling companions. Blake attempted to launch an insurrection aboard the ship, but this effort failed. He and his co-conspirators Jenna and Avon were sent aboard a derelict alien vessel when it was discovered. The three of them successfully commandeered the ship, naming it the Liberator and taking off to Cygnus Alpha to rescue any other prisoners they could. Aboard the Liberator and away from the drugs used by the Federation, Blake's real memories began to return to him.
Soon joined by Cally aboard their powerful ship, Blake began inspiring resistance across the galaxy and quickly became the Terran Federation's most wanted. He was relentlessly pursued by Space Commander Travis, as well as the Supreme Commander Servalan herself. He continued to be a thorn in the side of the Federation up until the Intergalactic War. It was at this point that Blake was separated from his cohorts, and forced to fend for himself in the galaxy. Rumors abounded about his whereabouts, though nearly all of them proved to be untrue.
Blake on Gauda Prime
Ultimately, he ended up on the planet of Gauda Prime. There, he posed a bounty hunter in a secretive bid to build a formidable resistance army on the frontier of Federation space. His guise ultimately proved to be too believable, as it led Avon to believe that Blake had betrayed them all. Avon shot and killed Blake before realizing his mistake.
Source[]
Roj Blake is derived from Blake's 7.