Everyone knows that Dalek is an anagram of Kaled.

But Skaro is an anagram of Okras…

Stir fried Okras

Vaaga / Varga Plants – Allies of the Daleks

• Species Type – Plant-Animal  mutation
• Home planet   –  Skaro
• First appearance     Mission to the Unknown
• Latest appearance – City of the Daleks (game)

The Varga plants (sometimes spelt Vaarga) originally appeared in the First Doctor episode Mission to the Unknown the single-episode prologue to  the serial The Daleks’ Master Plan.

The Vaaga plants, like the Daleks, were created by Terry Nation.

Varga Plants grew naturally on the Daleks’ homeworld, Skaro. The Daleks experimented upon them creating further mutations. By the 39th century, the Daleks had imported them to other worlds. (Mission to the Unknown)

When the Daleks set up a base on the planet Kembel they brought some Varga plants with them to act as sentries in the jungle surrounding their base. They were suited to this as they could move around freely by dragging themselves along with their roots.

Varga plants resembled cacti; they are covered in fur and thorns. Anyone pricked by a Varga thorn will be consumed by the urge to kill, while simultaneously becoming gradually transformed into a Varga plant themselves. An infected victim would first become homicidal. As the infection progressed, white hair would grow over their bodies. This grisly fate befell astronauts Jeff Garvey and Gordon Lowery, and their commander, Marc Cory, was forced to kill them.

The plants later made an appearance in the Big Finish audio I, Davros: Purity. In this, it was revealed that the Varga plants were one of the oldest species on Skaro, but for most of their history had been immobile. Since the start of the Kaled-Thal war however, exposure to radiation and chemical weapons had caused them to rapidly evolve into a much deadlier form, capable of self-locomotion. It was this discovery that caused Davros to become interested in genetically engineering creatures in order to create weapons of war. Varga plants existed from an early point in Skaro’s history. The name “Varga” meant “devourer” in the Dal language. Originally they could not move; instead they would wait until their prey approached them. Later, due to the chemical and radiological pollutants in Skaro’s atmosphere and environment, they began to mutate and became able to move. (I, Davros : Purity)

The plant was again found on a terraformed Jupiter where the plant infected a large battalion of Earth Alliance troops. (Dalek Empire II: Dalek War)

Varga Plants appeared in City of the Daleks where after the Time War they infested the ruined Dalek city of Kaalann on Skaro but here their appearance was rather different.

The Varga plants that infested Kaalann were different in appearance, being more akin to a Venus Flytrap and immobile. Their venom also killed with a touch.

So will the Varga / Vaaga plants ever appear again in Doctor Who? Probably not, but you never know…

Cast

“Mission to the Unknown”, sometimes known as the “Dalek Cutaway”, is both a standalone episode and also serves as an introduction to the 12 part story The Daleks’ Master Plan.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You can read a fan-made graphic novel adaptation of the Mission to the Unknown here

Mission to the Unknown is notable for the complete absence of the regular cast, including the Doctor (although William Hartnell is still credited on-screen) is the shortest episode ever as it is only 25 minutes long.. The story focusses on Marc Cory of the SSS (Space Security Service) and his attempts to warn Earth of the Daleks latest plan. This was the first appearance of the SSS, an organisation Terry Nation continued to write about in Dalek spin-off books and annuals and which he hoped would form the basis for a stand alone Dalek TV series.

Synopsis

The Planet Kembel

On the planet Kembel, Jeff Garvey is lying on the ground. He wakes, and gradually gets up, clearly in pain. He starts repeating “Kill, kill.” Meanwhile Marc Cory and Gordon Lowery are having difficulty in repairing their ship.

Gordon Lowrey

Lowery is wondering why Cory landed on the planet Kembel in the first place. They are also wondering where Garvey is.

Marc Cory

Garvey is watching the two men working on the ship, still repeating “Kill, kill.” He keeps behind the ship to make sure that neither of the men sees him. Garvey raises his gun to fire at Lowery, but Cory shoots Garvey first. Garvey is in a lot of pain and then lies still. Cory pulls a long Varga (or Vaaga) thorn out of Garvey from behind the ear. He warns Lowery that if he stung himself on it he would have to kill him too.

Varga / Vaaga Plant

Cory and Lowery go into the spaceship leaving Garvey’s body. Garvey’s hand begins to twitch and hair and thorns start to grow all over his body. He is becoming a Varga plant. Cory has a licence to kill from the Space Security Service and enlists Lowery to help him. Cory explains that the Daleks have been gaining control of many planets and that a Dalek space ship has been spotted in this solar system.

Marc Cory - SSS Agent

Garvey is twitching with life as spines are growing all over his body. Cory tries to contact the rendezvous ship, but cannot get through. Cory and Lowery give up on repairing the ship. Cory believes the Daleks have a base on Kembel and that is why he and Lowery are there. He explains that the Varga plant is native to the Daleks’ home planet Skaro and that you become a Varga plant if you prick yourself on it. This is further evidence that the Daleks could be there.

In the Dalek city on Kembel, the Dalek Supreme waits to be updated on the latest developments. He is told that the representatives from the seven planets will be arriving for a meeting. He tells a Dalek to destroy Cory and Lowery.

Cory and Lowery are observed by three Varga plants. Lowery is making a rescue beacon. Elsewhere in the Kembel jungle, the Daleks are discussing how to exterminate the humans. Cory and Lowery are more concerned with the Varga plants than the Daleks. Lowery continues to make the rescue beacon. A spaceship flies above them and they realise the Daleks are planning something big.

Lowery finishes the rescue beacon and is about to record a message when they notice something moving in the jungle. They duck behind some bushes as four Daleks glide into the landing area. They destroy Lowery’s space ship. Cory and Lowery head deeper into the jungle and Lowery discovers a Varga thorn deeply embedded in his hand. He pulls it out and frantically attempts to suck out the poison. They continue to walk deeper into the jungle.

In the Dalek city, the representatives from the seven galaxies have gathered in a conference room. They are worried about the humans, they believe they are hostile, but the Daleks assure them that the humans will be dealt with. The representatives all approve the Dalek plans to conquer Earth.

Lowery is in pain and is still trying to suck the Varga poison out of his hand. Varga spines are growing all over his body and quickly covers them when he hears Cory returning. Cory realises that Lowery is becoming a Varga plant. He kills Lowery. Cory then picks up the rescue beacon and starts recording his message.

Elsewhere in the jungle a Dalek says that they must kill the humans. Cory is surrounded by Daleks and is exterminated; the beacon and the message survive. All the representatives pledge an alliance to the Dalek cause and start to repeat “Victory.”

Notes :

At times the term “Solar System” is used synecdochically, in that it may refer to the entire Milky Way galaxy. At other times, it is more specific, such as when the seven powers iterate through a list of human planets to be conquered — planets such as Venus and the Moon colonies which clearly lie within the Earth’s solar system.

The Vaaga / Varga plants later appear in the Big Finish audio stories

• I, Davros: Purity
• Dalek Empire II: Dalek War

As well as in the Doctor Who Adventure Games computer game :

• City of the Daleks.

Production

“Mission to the Unknown”

9th October 1965

Only stills and/or fragments exist of the original story

The episode came about because the earlier story Planet of Giants was cut from four episodes to three during post production and an additional episode was allocated to the series. Although the cast contracts had not yet been signed, it was difficult to add a single episode to a planned run of four and six episode stories and so it was decided to make a one-off trailer for the forthcoming epic story The Daleks’ Master Plan.

Terry Nation wrote this episode partially as an attempt to create a story about the Daleks that did not involve the Doctor or his companions, such that he could eventually develop and sell the idea of a Dalek series, divorced from the Doctor Who universe. In the proposed series, the Space Security Service was tasked with hunting Daleks, and it would follow their adventures — an approach that can be seen in short stories and comic strips written for the 1965 Dalek Outer Space Book (cover dated 1966). An unmade pilot titled The Destroyers was written, but the series concept was never sold.

The episode was made by the same team as Galaxy 4 (Serial T), with both stories sharing pre-filming and, possibly, the same production code (see below). It was also the final Doctor Who episode on which Verity Lambert served as producer.

“Mission to the Unknown” is one of the relatively few stories from the Hartnell era that does not lead directly into the next serial. It was followed by The Myth Makers, an unrelated serial. A direct link to this story is made in the first episode of The Daleks’ Master Plan when the Doctor recovers the tape recorder used by Cory to record his final message.

Alternative titles

Perhaps more than any other Doctor Who story, “Mission to the Unknown” generates confusion and debate over both the title used and the serial/production code allocated.

All Doctor Who stories from this period have no overall on-screen title, with the story referred to either by a production code or an internal title by the production team. (For example the early 1965 story featuring Nero was Serial M or The Romans.) The two were confusingly used interchangeably in many production and overseas sales documents.

“Mission to the Unknown” generates further confusion because some documents do not refer to it as a serial but rather as a “cutaway episode”. As the story was produced alongside Galaxy 4 the two appear to have been referred to together. Several of the production codes offered are either Serial T or Serial T +, an appendage.

Early in 1965 the term “Dalek Cutaway” started to be used to describe the episode in the production office. The on-screen title “Mission to the Unknown” came later but both continued in circulation, with “Dalek Cutaway” seemingly being used in places as both a story title and and a production term. The abbreviation “DC” also appears on a few early production documents.

Design documents successively refer to the episode as “‘Serial T/A” and later “Serial T Episode 5”. The episode’s camera script gives “Dalek Cutaway” as a description and a handwritten addition states “Serial T Episode 4” (which is the wrong number). Later when the videotape of the episode was wiped the relevant paperwork referred to “Serial Ta Episode 1/1”.

When it came to offering the story for sale overseas, the synopsis sent by BBC Enterprises gave the title as “Mission to the Unknown (Dalek Cutaway)”. The 1974 Enterprises document A Quick Guide to Doctor Who, which listed the stories produced so far for potential overseas buyers, gave the title as “Dalek Cutaway (Mission to the Unknown)” and did not offer any production code at all.

When fans started compiling reference books in the mid 1970s it was this latter document which formed the basis of many lists. The story was referred to alternatively as “Dalek Cutaway”‘ and “Mission to the Unknown” on many occasions, whilst the production code went vacant until the discovery of the design documents stating T/A. In more recent years the exploration of the BBC’s written archives has exposed the problems of the title and production code.

Cast

“Mission to the Unknown” is the only Doctor Who story that does not feature the character of the Doctor or the TARDIS at all. Despite this, William Hartnell is still credited as “Dr. Who” — this was because his contract specified he would be credited for all episodes, including those in which he appeared only in the reprise or did not feature at all.

The Doctor’s companions Vicki (Maureen O’Brien) and Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) do not appear either. Unlike Hartnell, their contracts did not guarantee they would be credited, though they were in the BBC listings magazine Radio Times (and episode guides taking their information from here).

The alien delegates seen at the Daleks’ HQ on Kembel would return in The Daleks’ Master Plan, but recast with some make-up and costume changes and with a notably different lineup including some speaking characters, leading to some confusion over which is which. The disparity only came to light when the Master Plan episode “Day of Armageddon” was returned to the BBC archives.

Along with Marco Polo and The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve, the Mission to the Unknown survives in audio form only — with no visual footage  other than photographs taken on set currently known to exist. The audio was released as part of the soundtrack CD The Daleks Master Plan. A fan-made reconstruction using the off-air sound recording, off-air photographs and image compilation was released by Loose Cannon Productions in 2000.

Mission to the Unknown

(The Dalek’s Master Plan – Part 1)

Series     Target novelisations
Release number     141
Writer     John Peel
Publisher     Target Books
Cover artist     Alister Pearson
ISBN     0-426-20343-7
Release date     21 September 1989
Followed by     The Mutation of Time

The story was novelised as part of The Daleks’ Master Plan I: Mission to the Unknown by John Peel (published in September 1989). The rest of the book contained an adaptation of the first six episodes of The Daleks’ Master Plan,. An unabridged reading of the novelisation was released in 2010 by BBC Audiobooks.

You can read a fan-made graphic novel adaptation of the Mission to the Unknown here – this was drawn by Tim Keable in 1987 and contains a forward by Gary Russell.

• The Doctor – William Hartnell (does not appear, though listed in closing credits)
• Marc Cory – Edward de Souza
• Jeff Garvey – Barry Jackson
• Gordon Lowery – Jeremy Young
• Malpha – Robert Cartland
• Dalek Operator – Robert Jewell
• Dalek Operator – Kevin Manser
• Dalek Operator – John Scott Martin
• Dalek Operator – Gerald Taylor
• Dalek voice – David Graham
• Dalek voice – Peter Hawkins
• Trantis – Ronald Rich (uncredited)
• Sentreal – Sam Mansary (uncredited)
• Varga plants (all uncredited) – Roy Reeves, Tony Starn, Leslie Weeks
• Planetarians (all uncredited) – Johnny Clayton, Pat Gorman, Sam Mansary, Len Russell

Crew

• Writer – Terry Nation
• Director – Derek Martinus
• Producer – Verity Lambert
• Assistant Floor Manager – Marjorie Yorke
• Costumes – Daphne Dare
• Designer – Richard Hunt
• Designer – Raymond Cusick
• Make-Up – Sonia Markham
• Production Assistant – Angela Gordon
• Script Editor – Donald Tosh
• Special Sounds – Brian Hodgson
• Studio Lighting – Ralph Walton
• Studio Sound – George Prince
• Theme Arrangement – Delia Derbyshire
• Title Music – Ron Grainer

The Outlaw Planet

This text story was featured in “The Dalek Outer-Space Book” way back in the 1960s. It (re)introduces Sara Kingdom (who appeared in “The Dalek Master Plan” and was played by Jean Marsh) as well as other characters from the SSS (Space Security Service) set up to combat the Dalek threat. Several of the SSS characters, or close approximations of them, were reworked to appear in later Dalek spin-offs.

FOR thousands of years all the planets in the universe lived in harmonious peaceful co-existence. Occasionally they visited each other on exchange systems. Scientist for scientist. Teacher for teacher, Student for student. And, by arrangement, they provided each other with details of atmospheric conditions as warnings against future weather hazards, and universal air lanes were agreed to avoid rockets and space­ships crashing into each other.

All was well and peaceful until one planet— Skaro—decided to become all-powerful. She wanted to dominate the universe. To conquer all other planets. To rule as the Romans had during the bygone days of the Roman Empire. Whilst pretending to be friendly with the other planets, the exchange scientists, teachers and students Skaro sent them were all humanoid spies. Their job was to check on the defence weaknesses of the planets they were visiting. The humanoids were simply enslaved humans whose minds had been robotized to obey all the Daleks’ commands.

It took eight years for the Daleks to get ready their invasion force and finally the Golden Dalek gave the order for attack.

First, Skaro invaded some of the smaller uninhabited planets like Phergo, Dizmus and Lagum. These were needed as bases for launching future bigger invasions of the larger planets. The Golden Dalek’s plan was to launch the attacks simultaneously from Skaro Phergo, Dizmus and Lagum so that the unsuspecting victim planets would have the impossible task of defending four fronts at the same time. The Daleks saw themselves mastering the universe in this fashion.

But there was one vital thing the Daleks hadn’t foreseen—that the other planets would band together for mutual defence against Skaro, and work in harmony against Skaro— branded by all as “The Outlaw Planet”.

Leaders of the largest planets, “The Big Four” as they were known, met on Earth to discuss combined defence. Bakabi, leader of Mars, suggested an immediate attack on Skaro on the basis that the best form of defence is attack. He was shouted down. “The idea is just as barbarian as the Daleks themselves,” declared Voccio, leader of Venus, “and anyway there are many of my exchange teachers and students held captive on Skaro. To destroy Skaro would be to destroy them too.” Earth and Uranus offered similar argu­ments against attacking the outlaw planet.

The emergency meeting lasted sixteen hours, during which a long list of suggestions were proposed, discussed, and rejected for their unsuitability in dealing with the brilli­antly equipped Daleks. Finally, it was decided to form the S.S.S. —Space Security Service— an organisation comprised of the foremost brains in the space warfare and defence field. It would be a costly organisation paid for by contributions from all the planets in accord­ance with their size and wealth.

S.S.S. could call on the services of all expert scientists and all planets would guarantee unquestioned co-operation in every­thing required to ensure defence against Skaro and its new satellite invasion bases.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the new Space Security Service was that it was to be top secret. Its headquarters would be in the centre of a mountain. Which mountain nobody outside S.S.S. was to know. Even presidents and prime ministers were not to be told its whereabouts. Contact would be through a liaison member of S.S.S. stationed on each planet who had sole direct communica­tion with headquarters.

Colonel Marc Forest, veteran space pilot and brilliant warfare strategist, was chosen to head S.S.S. It was left to Colonel Forest to select the members of his team on whom so much depended. To help him, he was given Compuvac—a fabulous electronic brain. Compuvac, a super-colossal computer, when fed details of any problem could give more than just an accurate mathematical answer. It had the extra quality of instinct. And its instinct never failed.

The details of thousands of potential S.S.S. members were fed into Compuvac and a small initial force was selected and given rank according to character and experience. In addition to Colonel Marc, other officer leaders of S.S.S. were: Agent Kurt Soren in charge of S.S.S. Weaponry; Agent David Carson in charge of S.S.S. Space Transport; Agent Sara Kingdom in charge of field operations; and Agent “Seven”, a humanoid robot, in charge of internal and field security.

All S.S.S. agents were equipped with two special weapons. The Mk 6 variable effect hand weapon, and the electro knife. The first, with its range of 1½  miles, beams a troniun ray which can be varied in intensity. By setting the dial on the right of the gun, the agent can select the effect the ray will have on its target so that it can either immobilize, stun, or kill. The latter, the electro knife, has a blade made from diametal—the hardest substance in the universe. The knife handle contains a concealed Grauman power unit. When switched on, the blade saws back and forth at tremendous speed enabling it to cut through inch-thick hardened steel. When thrown, the power unit propels it with the speed of a bullet.

Two other specialist weapons are worn by all S.S.S. members as part of their apparel. They are an explosive belt buckle, and blast buttons. The belt buckle is made from neutrovon, an explosive metal. When the prong is snapped off the buckle automatically detonates—a useful device for escape or sabotage. The blast buttons are part of the uniform, and made from a rare metal called magniflare. They merely have to be dampened to burst into flame of great intensity.

Another devastating S.S.S. weapon is the homer dart, an automatic weapon designed specially for night fighting. When the dials are set, the homer dart will seek out any metal weapons, home in, and detonate.

But even S.S.S. members are captured by Daleks, and, in such emergencies, are able to resist disclosing valuable information by using the S.S.S. anti-torture capsule, This minute, almost invisible capsule is swallowed to deaden the nerve centres. It makes the S.S.S. member completely immune to pain for a period of twelve hours. However, all members are strictly warned not to take more than two of these capsules over a thirty-day period. They would cause instant death.

Since it is often essential for S.S.S. members to be in action for excessively long periods, they are issued with energetin tablets which permit the agent to be fully alert and active for a period of one hundred hours without sleep, food or drink. But they are only to be taken in extreme emergency.

Just six weeks after the formation of S.S.S, came its first call for action. Compuvac re­ported an instinctive feeling that the Golden Dalek was readying another large-scale in­vasion. Probably within a week. But, un­fortunately Compuvac was unable to forecast either the time of the invasion, or which planet was to be the target.

Colonel Marc Forest called his senior officers to an emergency meeting.

“On the face of it,” he told them, “our task would seem impossible. We are far too small in number to even keep watch on all the likely planet victims, let alone protect them. If only we knew which planet it was!”

“Can’t our spies on Skaro help?” asked Agent David Carson.

“I’ve tried them,” replied the Colonel. “They didn’t even know as much as Compuvac. My guess is that it’s one of the big four they’re going for this time. Probably Earth, because of Earth’s rich mineral deposits.”

But Forest knew his guesses were nowhere near as accurate as the instinct of Compuvac and he dared not rely on them. Even if the Daleks had chosen Earth for invasion, as soon as their spies learned that S.S.S. were alerting a special anti-invasion force on Earth they would probably switch the attack to one of the other big four. The situation seemed hopeless for the newly-formed S.S.S. to cope with so early in their existence.

But Colonel Marc had an idea that he felt might thwart the Daleks in this particular invasion attempt. He summoned Agent Sara Kingdom to his office.

“Sara,” said Forest, “since we don’t know which planet the Daleks intend to invade, our only chance is to get them to change their minds and invade one we choose.”

If Sara hadn’t known of the Colonel’s remarkable reputation for strategic warfare she would have sworn he had lost control of his senses- But she knew he would explain further and waited as he laid a map on the desk before him. He pointed to a planet some twenty-two million miles from Earth.

“This planet here — Barzilla it’s called — will suit our purpose admirably.”

Sara still couldn’t see how the Daleks were to be persuaded to invade this almost barren planet in preference to any of the big four. The Colonel answered her unspoken questions:

“The reason I sent for you in particular, Sara,” he said, “was because you, as a woman, would be the least suspected by any Dalek spies that may be on Barzilla.”

“Do you think there are any on Barzilla?” queried Sara.

“I hope so,” answered the Colonel. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”

During the next hour, Sara had cause to smile as she heard him outline his plan for her. It was by no means certain of success, but offered a good chance.

As he waved her off at the rocket station he prayed for wisdom and guidance for her. On her rested the future fate of the civilised worlds.

She found the planet Barzilla even more barren than she had pictured it.  Dry atmosphere, caused by periods of long drought, had stripped the place of any vegetation it might otherwise have grown. It had also killed off a large percentage of the population who had died from both starvation and dehydration. The surviving Barzillans lived on water drawn from deep wells. Some bored as far down as five thousand feet to find precious water. They rationed whatever they brought to the surface between themselves, their starving cattle, and their small patches of land in which they grew crude forms of vegetation on which to survive.

Without her container of concentrated vitamin and liquid tablets, Sara knew she would have had no chance.

She sought out the leader of Barzilla and presented her credentials. The leader, a six-foot-seven giant of a man named Harker Libra, recognised the S.S.S. membership card and offered Sara all possible assistance. Knowing of the veil of secrecy surrounding the activities of the S.S.S. he wisely decided not to pry into her reasons for suddenly arriving on the planet. Her presence there must be for the good of the free worlds and that was all he needed to know.

At Sara’s request he showed her areas of the planet. It was heartbreaking to see the diminishing traces of what had once been a planet rich in waters and vegetation. It had once been beautiful, until nuclear bombs of two thousand years ago had so changed weather conditions in the atmosphere, and made Barzilla now prone to long periods of drought. This was the planet Sara had to make attractive enough for the Daleks to want to invade before Earth, Mars, or Venus.

It took two days of speeding over the surface of Barzilla in a miniature super-speed hovercraft before Sara found what she needed. It was the mouth of a disused mine. She asked Harker Libra for details of it and learnt that it had originally been a diamond mine until the owners abandoned it and moved else­where. But, like so many prospectors, they perished wandering the wilderness in search of food and drink for their families.

Sara asked if she could have the mine. Harker Libra readily agreed. Her second request startled him. She asked for a platoon from his dwindling army to stand twenty-four-hour guard over the entrance to the mine. He desperately wanted to ask her reasons, but knew she wouldn’t be allowed to answer anyway. He complied with the request.

Part one of Colonel Forest’s plan had been completed. Now Sara had to mix with the people. It broke her heart as she saw them. Their eyes were forever searching the heavens for the miracle of rain.

But she hadn’t come to sympathise. On the contrary, she told them of the new riches of their leader who had just discovered an unbelievably large seam of pure gold. Gold, still the main galactic currency, could buy food and water from the other more fortunate planets that had an abundance. Sara deliber­ately stirred discontent amongst the Barzillans by starting the rumour knowing that they might take up arms to usurp Harker Libra. It was a risk she had to take to achieve the other effect she sought—she wanted it to reach the Golden Dalek on Skaro.

And, through a Dalek spy stationed on Barzilla, it did.

She sent word back to S.S.S. headquarters that she had completed stage two of the Colonel’s plan. It was now up to Colonel Forest and the Golden Dalek.

Whilst the Daleks were eager for conquest and domination, they were even more eager for easy power through riches, and the prospect of invading a completely defenceless planet like Barzilla, stealing its gold and using it to build an even bigger invasion force to tackle the big four planets, seemed to the Golden Dalek too good an opportunity to miss.

Compuvac gave definite instinctive in­formation that this was the Golden Dalek’s new plan of operation.

As always, Compuvac was right. The Daleks raided Barzilla. But, instead of gold, they found a trap.

As their spaceships landed, they were attacked from the air by surprise forces organised from all the other planets by Colonel Forest.

The Dalek force was destroyed.

S.S.S. had completed its first successful space security task. And for their help the Barzillans were rewarded with supplies con­tributed by other planets to last them through the long drought they had been enduring. Sara Kingdom completed her report on the first S.S.S. battle against the outlaw planet. It was a report that all members of S.S.S. could view with pride.