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   A solemn-looking man, known to us only as "Knight Two," has arrived on
   Babylon 5. Shortly after his arrival, he sees another man ("Knight
   One") in the waiting area and moves over to him quietly.
   
   Meanwhile, right outside the waiting area, a security officer named
   Benson is getting beaten up by two gamblers to whom he owes a
   significant sum of money. The gamblers threaten him with death if he
   does not pay them within 24 hours.
   
   Knight Two has moved into his quarters. Knight One arrives, bringing a
   three-dimensional image projector with him. He activates it, and it
   shows a lifelike picture of Commander Sinclair. "I've identified the
   target," he says.
   
   Sinclair and Garibaldi have summoned security officer Benson in order
   to question him about possible debts he's been accumulating. They
   inform Benson that B5 security officers are strictly limited in their
   gambling--if an officer becomes indebted to the "wrong people," he
   would become vulnerable to blackmail, resulting in a security risk to
   the station. Garibaldi claims to have information that Benson has been
   exceeding the gambling limits, but Benson insists that he's done
   nothing wrong. Sinclair, however, not wanting to take any chances,
   removes Benson from the active duty roster pending an investigation in
   the matter. After Benson leaves, Garibaldi comments that he believes
   Benson is lying.
   
   "Everyone lies, Michael," replies Sinclair. "The innocent lie because
   they don't want to be blamed for something they didn't do, and the
   guilty lie because they don't have any other choice." Knight Two and
   Knight One are building a complex gadget in Knight Two's quarters.
   They have everything they need except for a power source; Knight One
   claims that it is impossible to smuggle an energy source onto the
   station because it would be picked up by the scanners. "So I
   improvised. It'll be here."
   
   Benson, in the meantime, has stealthily made his way to a storage room
   ...
   
   In the medical lab, Dr. Franklin is examining Delenn. He expresses his
   thanks to Delenn for allowing him to examine her; he says that he
   rarely gets the chance to examine Minbari--unless there's something
   wrong with one of them; he says that to have data on a healthy Minbari
   will give him a basis from which to operate. After the examination,
   Delenn rises and asks Franklin about a rumor she heard from one of the
   other doctors--that Franklin used to hitchhike aboard spaceships.
   Franklin confirms this rumor; he had "wanted to see it all," so he
   traded his services as a doctor in exchange for free passage on
   various ships. He explains how he did this until the Earth-Minbari war
   started, but then pauses. Delenn asks him if he was involved in the
   war. He replies that toward the end of the war, all xenobiologists
   were asked by Earth Force to turn over their notes on Minbari
   physiology so that effective genetic and biological weapons could be
   created. Delenn asks him if he did, indeed, hand over his notes.
   
   "I took an oath that _all_ life is sacred. I destroyed my notes rather
   than have them used for killing," he answers.
   
   Delenn smiles and thanks him. When Franklin asks her, however, what
   her involvement in the war was, she only answers that the matter is "a
   topic for another time."
   
   Benson, after securing an energy pod from the storage area, delivers
   it to Knight Two's quarters. The Knights promise to pay him promptly.
   After Benson leaves, the Knights connect the energy supply to the
   device they've been building. "I think we're ready to proceed," they
   agree.
   
   Sinclair, asleep in his quarters, is having a traumatic dream about
   the Battle of the Line, the final battle of the Earth-Minbari war.
   Sinclair's squadron is fighting a Minbari cruiser. One of Sinclair's
   friends, Mitchell, ignores one of Sinclair's suggestions and breaks
   from formation, feeling that he can get a clear shot at the Minbari
   ship. Sinclair has a feeling, however, that Mitchell is entering a
   trap. Just as he realizes that his friend is about to die ... he wakes
   up and rises to get himself a drink. As he looks around his room, he
   notices that his computer is not working. He calls a maintenance team,
   but there is no response. Worried, he calls security; again, there is
   no response. He gets dressed quickly and leaves his quarters, running
   to the bridge.
   
   [9][LINK]Sinclair on his way to the bridge.
   
   When he gets to the bridge, however, it is empty, and the computer is
   not activated. He tries communicating with Earth Central, but does not
   receive a response. Finally, he attempts to activate the computer; at
   length, the computer responds. Sinclair, slightly relieved, asks the
   computer if an evacuation of B5 has been ordered; the computer replies
   that there was no evacuation. Sinclair then asks the computer to scan
   for other life forms on B5; sure enough, the computer finds one other
   life form and notifies Sinclair of the life form's position. Sinclair
   runs to the location, but finds nothing at first. "What the hell is
   going on around here," he asks himself.
   
   Suddenly, the lights in the corridor start flashing off, one by one,
   and a mysterious voice answers him. "Maybe you're asleep. Maybe you're
   insane. Maybe you're dead. Maybe you're in Hell. Not that it matters
   much, Commander Sinclair, because wherever you are, wherever you go,
   you're mine!" Sinclair turns around to find Knight Two staring at him.
   
   [10][LINK]"You're mine."
   
   Delenn has arrived at Garibaldi's quarters. She appears concerned and
   tells Garibaldi that she was supposed to meet with Sinclair an hour
   before. Garibaldi calls Sinclair and receives no response; sharing now
   in Delenn's concern, he begins to search for Sinclair personally.
   
   Sinclair angrily asks Knight Two what he's done to Babylon 5; Knight
   Two replies that he hasn't done anything. He explains to Sinclair that
   they are both inside a "cerebral matrix" (a "virtual-reality
   cybernet"). "It's shadow-play," explains Knight Two, "without form or
   substance. But I'm real, commander, and you're real. And the pain--the
   pain for you is also real." Knight Two steps back, and a "cerebral
   discharge" surrounds Sinclair, putting him through agonizing pain.
   
   Garibaldi has rushed to Sinclair's quarters. When he enters the
   quarters, however, he finds them empty. Alarmed, he contacts Ivanova
   and explains the situation to her.
   
   Knight Two, outside the matrix, orders Knight One to cut the cerebral
   discharge. Inside the matrix, he begins to speak with Sinclair again.
   He notices how important the station is to Sinclair--how his thoughts
   seem to be rooted in Babylon 5. He explains to Sinclair that they will
   "walk together across the bridge of synapses and neurons into the very
   heart of your memories" in order to find the truth about what happened
   to Sinclair at the Battle of the Line. Knight Two tells Sinclair that
   he doesn't believe the testimony that Sinclair gave to Earth Force
   Defense after the war: that, during the twenty-four hour period where
   he was out of contact with Earth Force Defense, he merely blacked out.
   "We're finally going to get to the truth," Knight Two says, "even if
   it kills you."
   
   Garibaldi, Ivanova, and Dr. Franklin are discussing strategies to find
   Sinclair. Garibaldi has organized a search party, drawn from all
   nonessential B5 personnel, but that the search still might take a few
   days. Franklin warns that "a few days" might be too long if Sinclair
   were injured. Ivanova has contacted a nearby station and asked them to
   track any ships that have left B5 in the last eight hours. Garibaldi
   suggests that they also send a few maintenance "bots" to patrol the
   hull of B5--"If someone shoved [Sinclair's body] outside, the
   station's gravity won't let it get far. Just in case."
   
   "Mr. Garibaldi," Ivanova replies, "there are days I'm very glad I
   don't have to think the way you do."
   
   Meanwhile, inside Sinclair's mind, Knight Two is continuing his
   probing into Sinclair's mind. "Your name is Jeffrey David Sinclair.
   Rank: commander. Age: 39. Born on Mars Colony, May 3, 2218, 9:15 A.M.,
   Earth Standard Time. Enlisted in Earth Force Defense, 2237; promoted
   to fighter pilot, 2240; promoted again to squad leader less than a
   year later.... Smart money said you'd make admiral one day. So what
   happened, _commander_? Why'd you fall off the merry-go-round?"
   
   [11][LINK]Sinclair listens to his dossier.
   
   Sinclair merely tells him to "go to hell." He refuses to tell Knight
   Two anything. "I'm betting you don't have a lot of time. Security's
   probably tearing this place upside down, looking for me."
   
   "Assuming you're still on Babylon 5," replies Knight Two. Proceeding
   with his search for information, Knight Two tries to get Sinclair to
   reveal "the truth" by conjuring up an image of Mitchell, Sinclair's
   old friend and fellow officer who died in the Battle of the Line.
   Knight Two's plan appears to be working, because as soon as Sinclair
   sees Mitchell, his old memories of the Battle of the Line spring to
   the forefront of his mind. Sinclair relives the battle--he sees again
   what he saw in his dream, except that this time, he actually sees
   Mitchell's ship exploding. After that part of the battle plays itself
   out, Mitchell begins to speak with Sinclair again. At first, Sinclair
   refuses to speak with Mitchell; he tells himself that Mitchell's image
   is just an illusion. When Mitchell, however, accuses Sinclair of being
   a traitor ("We fought for you. We fought beside you on the Line. We
   swore we would all go down together, but you're alive, and we're dead,
   because of you!" says Mitchell), Sinclair feels that he has to
   respond. He replies, "I tried! I tried!"
   
   "Tried to do what, commander?" asks Knight Two.
   
   Sinclair answers by reliving the part of the Battle of the Line where
   he tries to ram the Minbari cruiser. Knight Two urges Sinclair to
   continue because, as Sinclair himself said, all of the incidents which
   Knight Two has seen so far were in Sinclair's original report of the
   battle ten years ago. Sinclair, however, claims that he cannot
   continue--"I don't remember. I blacked out. I've never been able to
   remember!"
   
   Knight Two moves closer to Sinclair. "You don't want to remember! You
   don't want to remember the twenty-four hours in which you betrayed
   your own race. The day you became a traitor. The day you sold out--"
   
   "That's enough!" screams Sinclair. As he says this, he suddenly hits
   Knight Two in the stomach. Knight Two, taken by surprise, vanishes
   from the matrix without a trace. "Well, well. Looks like the pain is
   real for both of us," comments Sinclair.
   
   Delenn is talking with Ivanova; Delenn explains how concerned she is
   and offers her assistance in finding Sinclair, but Ivanova says that
   they're already doing everything they can to find Sinclair. Delenn
   suggests the use of the station's telepath, Talia Winters, but Ivanova
   explains that Winters is only a P-5 and, consequently, needs to be in
   close proximity with people in order to scan them. Winter's isn't
   trained, according to Ivanova, for a search-and-recover mission.
   
   Knight One, meanwhile, is concerned about Knight Two, who snapped out
   of the cybernet suddenly. Knight Two, however, claims that he's all
   right. He says that he needs to be put back into the cybernet quickly,
   for Sinclair was right--they don't have much time. Knight One
   estimates that the search parties on the station will find them on B5
   in about four hours. "He's tough. Breaking him isn't going to be
   easy," says Knight Two. Knight Two orders Knight One to increase both
   the power of the cybernet and the dosage of psychotropic drugs with
   which Sinclair is being injected. "We're close.... The more I walk
   through his mind, the more I'm convinced he's hiding something,"
   explains Knight Two.
   
   One of the security officers is giving a report to Garibaldi. He
   explains how, although the search teams have covered a lot of
   territory, there still is no sign of Sinclair. Garibaldi orders the
   officer to split the search teams into even smaller units--he also
   orders the officer to bring in every possible available officer. The
   officer explains how he's already brought in everyone--"even Benson."
   Garibaldi is annoyed that Benson was brought back to duty, but the
   security officer explains that he checked Benson's record, and Benson
   isn't in any debts. In fact, he says, there's even a surplus in
   Benson's account. Garibaldi, however, is suspicious, for the other
   day, the account was empty. He checks the account again and finds that
   one very large deposit was made, followed by numerous withdrawals.
   Garibaldi assumes that these withdrawals were used to pay off
   debts--and notes that the large deposit was made only four hours
   before Sinclair was known to be missing. Garibaldi orders the security
   officer to find and bring back Benson for questioning.
   
   Knight Two has reentered the cybernet. Again, he asks Sinclair for the
   truth about the Battle of the Line. Sinclair suddenly finds himself
   surrounded by a circle of people wearing grey cloaks. "What are you
   doing here?" he asks. "What do you want?" Before he receives an
   answer, however, one of the grey figures shoots him.
   
   Meanwhile, Benson has arrived at Knight Two's quarters. When Knight
   One answers the door, Benson frantically asks for protection. "You've
   got to help me. The whole station's looking for me. They think I had
   something to do with the commander's disapp--" Suddenly, Benson hears
   a scream from the back of the room. He curiously enters the quarters
   and is surprised to find Commander Sinclair attached to the cybernet
   device. He's not given the chance to think about it for too long,
   however, for Knight One shoots Benson almost immediately.
   
   Back in the cybernet, Knight Two confronts Sinclair about the grey
   figures. He asks Sinclair to reveal what he's hiding, but Sinclair
   insists that he's not hiding anything.
   
   "We all hide things, commander. That's why we bounced back [to the
   station] again, isn't it? This is where you hide, behind duty and
   responsibility and obligation," says Knight Two.
   
   "Things you'd never understand!" replies Sinclair.
   
   Knight Two disagrees, however. "We're both patriots in our own way. If
   I fail, more will come after me until the job is finished." He presses
   Sinclair again, telling him that they're going to find out what
   Sinclair is hiding.
   
   Some security officers have found a body floating outside the hull of
   Babylon 5. The body turns out to be Benson's.
   
   Meanwhile, in the cybernet, Knight Two is again expressing his
   disbelief at Sinclair's rendition of the events at the Line. Knight
   Two asserts that Sinclair could not have simply blacked out, for his
   ship "disappeared" from the sensing screens. Sinclair, however,
   counters that the postwar hearings proved that the screens
   malfunctioned. Knight Two explains what he believes to be the sequence
   of events that occurred at the Line: The Minbari (Knight Two says)
   realized the extent and power of Earth Force defense and realized how
   difficult it would be to invade Earth. Therefore, they surrendered and
   decided to work through more covert means. At the Battle of the Line,
   Sinclair surrendered to the Minbari rather than give up his life. The
   Minbari took him aboard and asked him to work for them--to be a covert
   operative. "You agreed [to work for them]. You and
   God-knows-how-many-other people."
   
   "You're insane. I never betrayed Earth," insists Sinclair, but Knight
   Two questions him--if Sinclair doesn't remember what happened, how can
   he be sure he wasn't a traitor?
   
   Sinclair, however, becomes annoyed with Knight Two: "That's enough!
   You talk about the war. You talk about Mitchell and the rest, but you
   didn't know them. They were my friends. I watched them die, one by
   one. For years afterwards, whenever I saw a Minbari, I had to fight
   the urge to strangle them with my bare hands.... We never had a
   chance.... When I looked at those ships, I didn't just see my death. I
   saw the death of the whole damn human race."
   
   "Then why did they surrender?" asks Knight Two.
   
   "I don't know. Maybe the universe blinked. Maybe God changed his mind.
   All I know is that we got a second chance."
   
   Knight Two is still skeptical. He asks Sinclair if anything has ever
   made him doubt his story--that he simply "blacked out." Sinclair
   replies that nothing ever made him question it--except for what the
   Minbari who tried to kill Ambassador Kosh said to him: "There is a
   hole in your mind." (cf: [12]"The Gathering") At Knight Two's further
   prompting--and after Knight Two convinces Sinclair that Sinclair,
   himself, wants to know what happened-- Sinclair allows his memories to
   overcome him again. He again experiences the Battle of the Line. He
   sees what he has seen before; except, this time, the take him further.
   The Minbari cruiser stops his attempt to ram into it. The cruiser uses
   some type of energy field to pull Sinclair's ship in. Sinclair is
   taken aboard the cruiser and transported to a room where a bunch of
   grey figures stand. At first, he is hanging in the air, arms bound to
   the bottom of a triangular metal frame. One of the figures holds up a
   small metal device (cf. [13]"Babylon Squared") that shimmers with some
   kind of energy.
   
   Later, the grey figures form a circle around Sinclair, who has been
   freed. Suddenly, he moves over to one of the grey figures and pulls
   back the veil that covers the figure's face. "I know you. I know who
   you are. I _know_ you," says Sinclair. Before he can say any more,
   however, another grey figure shoots him and knocks him out.
   
   Outside the cybernet, however, Sinclair gathers up enough strength to
   break the shackles that bind him to the cybernet device. As he
   disconnects from the machine, the feedback knocks out Knight Two.
   Knight One storms into the room, but Sinclair punches him, knocking
   him out. He picks up a gun and escapes from the room. He is
   delusional, however; he mumbles to himself about how the Minbari have
   broken through and how he must get back to his ship.
   
   Sinclair begins running through B5's corridors. One officer, a member
   of the search party, sees Sinclair and beckons to him. Sinclair,
   however, in his delusional state, believes she is a Minbari and shoots
   at her. Fortunately, he does not kill her, and she links in with
   Ivanova. She begins to explain that she has seen the commander;
   however, before she can finish, Knight One shoots her in the back.
   
   Knight One follows Sinclair; they shoot at each other unsuccessfully.
   Garibaldi finally finds Sinclair, but is utterly surprised when he is
   shot at by his commander. Dr. Franklin, a few seconds later, links in
   and informs Garibaldi that he has found the room where he believes
   Sinclair was held. Franklin believes that Sinclair may have been given
   large dosages of psychotropic drugs and may consequently be delusional
   or even dangerous.
   
   As Garibaldi is hiding under a table, Delenn enters the room and
   approaches Sinclair slowly. She ignores Garibaldi's warnings and
   continues her approach. When she gets close enough to Sinclair, she
   tells him that he's safe now and that nobody will harm him. He doesn't
   listen to her, however; he can only picture the unveiling of the grey
   figure ten years ago--the grey figure who he now knows to be Delenn,
   though she looked younger then and had a silver triangle on her
   forehead. "I know you!" he tells her.
   
   "I'm your friend, commander. Ambassador Delenn. Your friend," she
   replies.
   
   "No!" he says, as he raises his gun. For a moment, it appears as if
   he's going to shoot her. Instead, however, he points his gun in a
   slightly different direction and shoots Knight One, who had just
   arisen and was about to shoot at Sinclair. Knight One drops to the
   floor, dead.
   
   "Welcome home," says Delenn.
   
   One day later, Sinclair awakes in the medical lab. Dr. Franklin has
   finally flushed the psychotropic drugs from Sinclair's system.
   Sinclair asks to see Knight Two, who has been taken; Garibaldi
   replies, however, that Knight Two is about to leave the station. Earth
   Central has decided to exercise jurisdiction in this case because they
   believe Knight Two to be a member of an organization which wishes to
   implicate members of the government as being traitors to the Minbari
   (in fact, there are even rumors that the organization is a covert
   operation run from within the government itself). Franklin explains
   that he doesn't think the trial will reveal much, because when
   Sinclair disconnected himself from the cybernet device, the feedback
   "fried most of [Knight Two's] memory." Sinclair still, however, wishes
   to see his former captor. As expected, Knight Two reveals little
   information--in fact, he even claims that he cannot remember his own
   name. However, just as he's walking away from Sinclair, he turns
   around and says, "Commander Sinclair, there's something in my head. It
   says, 'Maybe you're still inside. Maybe we're both still inside.'"
   
   Sinclair goes to visit Delenn in her quarters. He thanks her for her
   help in rescuing him--he notes that it's strange that seeing her was
   the only thing that could help him. As he is about to leave her
   quarters, she asks him if he remembers anything concerning the Battle
   of the Line? He pictures in his mind the unveiling of the mysterious
   grey figure; aloud, however, he says that he cannot, unfortunately,
   remember anything. It is not clear whether Delenn knows he's lying or
   not. After Sinclair leaves, a Minbari man, silver triangle on his
   head, arrives from another room in Delenn's quarters. "He must _never_
   know what happened. If he should find out, he must be killed. Do you
   understand, Delenn?" says this man. Delenn replies that she does,
   indeed, understand.
   
   Sinclair, alone finally in his quarters, is making an entry in his
   personal log: "I remember. I was taken inside a Minbari cruiser,
   interrogated, tortured. Was that the Grey Council? Maybe. Maybe.
   Before they surrendered, they must have blanked my memory and let me
   go. And Delenn--what was she doing there? What is it they don't want
   me to remember? I have to find out. I have to!"
   
   Shawn Bayern _bayern@cshl.org_
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Copyright 1994, Shawn Bayern. All rights reserved. Permission is
   granted to distribute this synopsis _noncommercially_ as long as the
   synopsis and this copyright notice remain intact. Babylon 5 is a
   copyright of the PTN Consortium; no infringement of that copyright is
   intended by writing these synopses.

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      [20]Last update: October 15, 1995

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