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- During a meeting of the council, Londo complains about the absence of
- Ambassadors Delenn and G'kar. This upsets him greatly, and he moves
- that they reprimand both ambassadors and ask the Narn and Minbari
- governments to assign new representatives to the council. When no one
- seconds the motion, Captain Sheridan adjourns the meeting and suggests
- they all meet the following morning. As the ambassadors leave, Londo
- confronts Na'toth and asks her about G'kar. She tells him only that he
- went to investigate the attack on the outpost in quadrant 37, and that
- he is able to take care of himself.
-
- Meanwhile, G'kar is fleeing from several pursuing Shadow ships,
- smaller than the spiderlike vessels that destroyed the outpost in
- quadrant 37. Though there are other one-man ships with him, they are
- losing the battle against the Shadows, and retreat to the jump gate.
- Two of the ships are destroyed by the Shadows on the way, and the
- final remaining Narn pilot radios G'kar, "Tell the others. Warn them.
- In death we salute you. Honor our names. Goodbye." The ship makes a
- run directly into one of the Shadow vessels, which writhes in pain.
- G'kar makes a pledge to remember the pilot who gave his life, as the
- Shadow ship explodes. G'kar is able to get to the jumpgate, which he
- uses to travel to Babylon 5.
-
- [INLINE] The Shadow fighters in pursuit.
-
- Dr. Franklin enters the officer's lounge, where he encounters
- Sheridan. Sheridan says he has some time before his sister arrives to
- visit. Dr. Franklin tells Sheridan that Garibaldi's situation is very
- bad and that there is little chance of his coming out of a coma by
- conventional means. He mentions that there might be one solution:
- using the alien machine he obtained from Laura Rosen (cf. [9]"The
- Quality of Mercy.") He tells Sheridan about it, and asks for his
- permission. Sheridan is somewhat apprehensive, but gives Franklin his
- permission. He asks who Franklin had intended to transfer the life
- energy from, and Franklin answers that he had planned to take it from
- himself. Franklin leaves.
-
- Later, Sheridan meets up with his sister, Elizabeth, when she arrives
- on her transport. After some small talk, they go off to have dinner
- together.
-
- Meanwhile, Londo receives a visitor: Morden. Morden asks Londo how he
- can be of service, and Londo wants to be reassured that the attack on
- the Narn base in quadrant 37 cannot be traced back to him. "The Narns
- will never be able to prove it was done at your instigation," Morden
- tells him, "and, based on your promise to take care of it, your
- government accepts your responsibility without question or hesitation.
- Perfect symmetry. I believe that this little demonstration will bring
- you some very interesting propositions." When Londo asks what should
- happen if he is asked to provide another demonstration, Morden tells
- him that they will provide it, if only he names the target. "A colony?
- An outpost?" Morden suggests.
-
- Londo laughs at that. "Why don't you eliminate the entire Narn
- homeworld while you're at it?"
-
- "One thing at a time, Ambassador. One thing at a time." Before he
- leaves, Morden asks Londo for another small favor. "If you should hear
- about anything strange happening out on the rim, I'd appreciate being
- informed, even if it seems unimportant."
-
- [INLINE] "One thing at a time."
-
- As Captain Sheridan and his sister eat dinner together, they talk
- about the two years they have been apart, though Elizabeth is a bit
- upset that Sheridan only wants to talk about work. Sheridan explains
- that her being around only "brings it all back." Elizabeth realizes
- that things have not been the same between them since his wife's
- death. Sheridan says he needs more time -- that two years isn't
- enough. He still has to remind himself that she is gone, and he has to
- force himself to remember that she is not alive. Elizabeth
- understands, but wants Sheridan to honor her memory instead of burying
- himself in his work. He says it isn't about work, but doesn't want to
- discuss the subject further. They agree to put off the discussion
- until later.
-
- [INLINE] Sheridan talks about running the station.
-
- Lennier still tends to Delenn's chrysalis while Sheridan finishes
- dinner and goes down to MedLab, where Dr. Franklin is about to begin
- using the healing machine to bring Garibaldi out of the coma. Sheridan
- says that it is his responsibility to make sure that Garibaldi is
- safe, and he also doesn't want Franklin using the machine alone, in
- case a mishap takes his life as well. They agree that both of them
- will split the time on the healing machine: one will operate it while
- the other one is giving their life energy to Garibaldi.
-
- Na'toth returns to G'kar's quarters, and begins studying some
- information she is carrying. While she is doing so, a voice tells her
- to close the door. She investigates the voice, finding it to be G'kar,
- sitting cross-legged on his bed. "Weep for the future, Na'toth," he
- says to her. "Weep for us all." She asks if he is all right, and he
- replies, "I have looked into the darkness, Na'toth. You cannot do that
- and ever be quite the same again. When you told me about the
- destruction of our base in quadrant 37, I knew that only a major power
- could attempt an assault of that magnitude, but none of the
- governments here could have done it, which left only two
- possibilities: a new race, or an old race--a very old race.
-
- "G'Quan spoke of a great war long ago against an enemy so terrible, it
- nearly overwhelmed the stars themselves. G'Quan said that before that
- enemy was thrown down, it dwelled in a system at the rim of known
- space.
-
- "I searched for days, going from one system to another. Then, on dark
- deserted worlds, where there should be no life, where no living thing
- has walked in over a thousand years, something is moving, gathering
- its forces, quietly, quietly...hoping to go unnoticed. We must warn
- the others, Na'toth. After a thousand years, the darkness has come
- again."
-
- Dr. Franklin is in MedLab, exhausted from the time spent on the
- healing machine, when Garibaldi wakes up. He radios to C&C, telling
- Ivanova and Sheridan to get to MedLab. Garibaldi's aide is listening
- in; he leaves his office in a hurry.
-
- When Sheridan and Ivanova arrive, Garibaldi asks is if they were able
- to save President Santiago's life. Ivanova tells him that they were
- not. Garibaldi asks to see Sinclair, but learns about his
- reassignment. Sheridan introduces himself. Ivanova asks if Garibaldi
- remembers who shot him, and while his aide, who has entered MedLeb,
- keeps a firm grip on his weapon, Garibaldi confesses that he never saw
- his assailant because he was shot from behind. At this news,
- Garibaldi's aide removes his hand from his weapon and walks away.
-
- Londo and G'kar meet up in the hallway. Londo asks if G'kar has found
- anything interesting. G'kar answers affirmatively, but tells Londo
- that he is going to tell the council about his findings. He tells
- Londo that the only way to resolve the problems between the Narn and
- Centauri is with Centauri blood, but that what he has found may
- threaten all their races, except possibly the Vorlons, a race he
- doesn't believe could be threatened by anything. G'kar is on his way
- to see Delenn, but Londo tells him that something happened to her
- right after he left. When G'Kar asks if she is still alive, Londo
- says, "That is a very good question."
-
- That question is soon answered as Lennier reenters Delenn's quarters
- to find the chrysalis open. Though he doesn't see her at first, a
- quick search of the room leads him to find her in a dark corner,
- wrapped in a dark cloak. She speaks, her voice frail and weak, and
- asks him to help her. Lennier calls Dr. Franklin, asking him to come
- to her quarters. Lennier warns him before he enters that anything he
- learns must be kept confidential. Delenn tells Franklin that she isn't
- ill. "What I have become, what I suffer, requires you," she tells him,
- giving him her hand, which is now dry and scaly.
-
- [INLINE] The empty chrysalis.
-
- Sheridan and Elizabeth discuss life aboard Babylon 5, and Sheridan
- continues to lament the loss of Anna, his wife. Elizabeth notices that
- he seems to be acting more detached than ever, and asks him what is
- wrong. He claims it was his fault that she died. She tries to convince
- him that he had nothing to do with the explosion of the deep space
- vessel that killed her, but he tells her that he is responsible for
- her being there. "We were gonna get together on our anniversary. She'd
- arranged to meet me when we pulled into spacedock, off of Centauri
- Prime. Well, we hadn't seen much of each other the year before--you
- know what the military life is like. Well, I'd gotten real busy--I was
- up to my ears in inspections, drills...I had to call her and tell her
- I couldn't make it. I was too busy--too damn busy. Well, right after I
- cancelled, she took that science officer's job on the Icarus. Just a
- two week survey. Said she'd back before I even noticed she was gone.
- Well, she didn't come back, and I've been noticing she's is gone every
- minute of every day." Elizabeth tells Sheridan not to blame himself.
- He refuses to believe it isn't his fault, but he tells her the real
- reason he is so upset. "When we used to talk to each other over long
- distance, we would say 'I love you' at the end. The last time I talked
- to her...I don't know, I was rushed...I didn't say it. I didn't even
- realize it. And I figured I'd make it up to her later on. I never even
- got to say good-bye to her. Oh, Lizzy, I miss her. I just didn't want
- her to go without telling her I loved her one last time."
-
- Dr. Franklin makes a new discovery while treating Delenn--he pushes on
- part of her blue, scaly arm and it cracks away, revealing something
- underneath that is flesh-colored. Neither he, Lennier, or Delenn know
- if that is something that should happen or not, so he quickly scans
- her with a medical device. He lifts up her head to get a look at her
- face. "What am I?" she asks weakly. "What am I?" As he looks into her
- face, which is covered with the blue substance, he has no answer to
- give her.
-
- [INLINE] "What am I?"
-
- G'kar address the council about what he encountered at the rim.
- "...which leads me to believe that the ancient race described in our
- holy books may have returned. If true, this holds grave danger for all
- of us." Sheridan suggests that the dead worlds where he found life may
- have been colonized by another race, but G'kar will not accept this,
- as he says that the ships that fired upon him looked very much like
- the drawings made by G'Quan. But, because the rulers of the Narn
- homeworld have reservations about what he has found, no official
- confirmation of his findings have been given. G'kar tells the council
- that he has convinced the rulers of his planet to send a ship "to the
- heart of the enemy's own domain, located at the rim of known space...a
- dark and terrible place known as Z'ha'dum. It has been dead for a
- thousand years. No one goes there...no one. Our ship will arrive in
- twelve hours, coming out of hyperspace as close to the enemy's
- homeworld as possible. They will scan the planet for signs of life and
- return to hyperspace before anyone can attack." Sheridan asks what
- will happen if someone is living there. G'kar replies, "Then all our
- races stand on the end of extinction."
-
- Londo meets with Morden yet again. He tells Morden about the
- information he got from G'kar. Though Morden says little about it, he
- does ask when the ship is scheduled to arrive.
-
- Talia Winters enters MedLab and begins talking to Garibaldi. She
- understands what he wants her to do, but warns him that even if she
- does find anything, it is not admissible in court. She tells him that
- the scan she performs will have to be a deep scan. He understands, so
- she removes one of her gloves, takes his hand, and begins the scan.
- She sees what happened when Garibaldi encountered Devereaux, and sees
- him raise his weapon...Right before Garibaldi is shot, however, she
- also sees the face of Garibaldi's aide, Jack, in a reflective surface
- at the very edge of his vision.
-
- [INLINE] Talia agrees to help Garibaldi.
-
- A security officer enters the office of Garibaldi's aide, and tells
- him that Delenn is emerged from the cocoon, and has wings like a
- butterfly. He urges Jack to go and see, which he reluctantly does. As
- soon as he leaves the office, he is assaulted by a group of security
- officers and held at bay until Sheridan arrives and orders them to
- take him to the lockup and put him under maximum security, with checks
- on him every fifteen minutes.
-
- [INLINE] Garibaldi's aide gets his just desserts.
-
- Despite Dr. Franklin's objections, Garibaldi convinces him to let him
- go talk to his aide and find out why he attacked him.
-
- "I trusted you," Garibaldi tells Jack during the ensuing
- interrogation. "I taught you everything I know. I gave you every
- break. I even treated you like my own brother." He bangs his cane on
- the table and demands to know why Jack did it, to which his aide only
- responds that he had his instructions. Garibaldi asks him who gave the
- orders.
-
- "There's a new order coming back home, Garibaldi. You can either be
- part of it, or you can be stepped on. A winner or a loser. I'm with
- the side that's gonna win." Garibaldi asks if it is Homeguard, but
- Jack tells him that he is wrong; the Homeguard are a bunch of
- amateurs. Garibaldi tells Jack that he is in big trouble. Jack scoffs.
- "You don't even know what trouble is... but you're gonna find out,
- real soon."
-
- Garibaldi tells Jack that the shooting of a senior officer is treason
- and mutiny and that the penalty is spacing. "They put you in an
- airlock, seal it, and then open the space door. You spend the next
- five minutes chewing vaccuum until your lungs turn inside-out, your
- eyeballs freeze, and your heart explodes. It's the worse kind of death
- you can imagine. And when that day comes, I'll be there to push the
- button."
-
- Garibaldi begins to leave, but on the way out, Jack calls to him and
- performs a salute with his hand, the same that Bester once gave. "Be
- seeing you," he says, smiling.
-
- [INLINE] "Be seeing you."
-
- Sheridan is working in his office when Ivanova calls in, telling him
- that he has a call from President Clark. The president tells him that
- he read the report on the arrest of Garibaldi's aide. He asks if
- Sheridan actually believes the aide was in on the conspiracy to kill
- President Santiago. Sheridan has no evidence of that, but does say
- that he is guilty of shooting a senior officer. Clark tells him that
- they need to investigate the matter fully and orders the prisoner
- transferred to Earth so that Clark can assist in the investigation.
- "We can't risk this being mishandled, Captain," Clark tells Sheridan.
- "During the time I served as vice-president under Santiago, I grew to
- admire and appreciate the man. I owe it to his memory to personally
- oversee any inquiry." He orders that all other information regarding
- the matter be sent as well. He compliments Sheridan on his good work.
-
- As the Narn warship exits hyperspace into the system of Z'ha'dum, a
- Shadow ship, that had apparently been waiting for it, appears and
- swiftly attacks, completely destroying it before it has the
- opportunity to reenter the jump point.
-
- [INLINE] The Narn warship is destroyed.
-
- At the council meeting, Na'toth reports to G'kar and the council about
- the ship's destruction. She says the Narn government believes it was
- an accident with the jump engines because it occurred right after they
- left hyperspace. She also tells them that the government cannot afford
- to send another ship. But G'kar doesn't believe it was an accident.
- "When a warship jumps to normal space, it's briefly out of contact
- because of the energy drain. It might have been attacked during that
- period. But that couldn't happen unless...unless they knew the ship
- was coming and were waiting for it. But no one knew, except..." His
- voice falls dead as the meaning of his words hit him. He looks quickly
- at both Londo and Sheridan, both of whom return his glance steadily.
-
- Lennier enters the council chamber and addresses the council, telling
- them that Ambassador Delenn has returned and would like to reclaim her
- seat on the council. Sheridan tells Lennier that it is all right, and
- tells Lennier to let her come in. She does so, dressed in a long white
- cloak with a hood that covers her head. She slowly removes the hood,
- revealing what she has changed into. Her skin no longer is pale like
- that of a Minbari--it is now flesh-colored, that of a human. She has
- long, brown hair which spills down over her ears, which have the same
- size and position of human ears, and what looks like part of the
- Minbari headbone, though it is only about a third of the size it once
- was. While the council observes her, awestruck, she explains her
- change. "Ambassador Sinclair has been allowed to live on my world as
- an act of good faith, to create a greater understanding between
- Minbari and humans. In return, I have undergone this change with the
- blessings of my government, so that I may become a bridge between our
- worlds, in the hope that we will never know war between us again."
-
- Sheridan tells his sister of Delenn's change. She asks if it is just
- her outward appearance that has changed, or if it was her genetic
- structure as well. Sheridan doesn't know, but tells her that Delenn
- wasn't eager to discuss it. Elizabeth tells Sheridan that she has
- something he should watch, and that she decided after their talk to
- let him see it. It is a message that Anna sent her before she left on
- the Icarus. Sheridan plays it and watches silently.
-
- "Oh well," Anna's image says happily, "maybe we'll have the chance to
- try again later. I am really excited about serving signing on board
- the Icarus next week. John and I were supposed to spend some time
- together, but Dr. Chang thinks he's found the ruins to an ancient
- civilization nobody's ever heard of before. The chance to be there
- when the discovery is confirmed is just too good an opportunity to
- pass up. I had already decided to put off our vacation and go when
- John called to tell me that he had to cancel, so it worked out just
- great. Though the poor dear looked so upset about breaking the news, I
- wanted to tell him I was going away anyway, but I...we had so much
- else to cover, and there's never enough time... I'll just have to fill
- him in when I get back. You've got quite a brother there, Liz. I can't
- tell you how...how lucky I feel sometimes, even when he's not here. I
- just... Someone said that love knows no borders, and ours certainly
- proves the point. Well, I'll check in with you when I get back, though
- with any luck, you'll hear about it on the news first. My love to
- Danny and the kids. Bye."
-
- Sheridan says good-bye to her as well. "I love you, Anna," he tells
- the image on the screen.
-
- [INLINE] Saying goodbye.
-
- Garibaldi thanks Talia for helping out, and she tells him that it
- wasn't a problem, but it still isn't admissable in court. Garibaldi
- tells her that, thanks to her help, he can take it the rest of the
- way. He asks her to leave, and speaks to Dr. Franklin and Ivanova. "I
- trust her as much as I trust any telepath, but she's still PsiCorps."
- When Dr. Franklin asks what PsiCorps has to do with the attack,
- Garibaldi explains. "I've been thinking about this little salute Jack
- gave me back in his cell -- same as that PsiCop Bester gave? It's like
- he was rubbing my nose in something he knew I could never prove.
- Remember the last election, there was a big scandal about the Corps
- endorsing Vice President Clark?"
-
- "Sure. It was big news. Made all the nets," Ivanova says. "Their
- charter prohibits them recommending candidates to their members."
-
- Garibaldi continues. "Exactly. Now Jack didn't admit anything, but he
- did say that the Homeguard wasn't behind President Santiago's
- assassination. But what if it was the PsiCorps? What if they wanted
- someone in office who was sympathetic to the Corps? Right before Earth
- Force 1 exploded, the Vice-President got off at Mars, saying he had
- the flu. Pretty convenient, isn't it?"
-
- Sherdian and Elizabeth say good-bye to each other, but he promises to
- write to her, letting her know how he is. He thanks her for coming,
- and thanks her for everything she did. "You're my brother," she tells
- him. She waves to him and leaves. Right after she does, Sheridan
- receives a call from Ivanova, telling him to come to C&C.
-
- G'kar and Na'toth are in G'kar's quarters. "Things have changed,
- Na'toth, and they will never be the same. But we are Narns. We have
- learned to cope with change--to triumph in the face of adversity. We
- will overcome this as well. We have no other choice." Na'toth asks
- about something G'kar is holding, and he tells her that it is a human
- book. He tells her that he has been studying their literature, and
- that he came across that book, and that he believes humans may be
- wiser than the Narns thought. He reads from it, and while he is doing
- so, we see Lennier with Delenn in her quarters, as she puzzles over,
- and examines, her new form:
-
- Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.
- Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
- The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere,
- The ceremony of innocence is drowned.
- And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
- Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?
-
- [INLINE] G'Kar reads the poetry.
-
- Sheridan arrives at C&C and asks Ivanova why she called him there. "On
- a hunch," she explains, "I just checked on the ship taking the
- prisoner back to Earth. He was transferred to another ship a half an
- hour ago. It had EarthForce security markings, it knew all the right
- access and identification codes, had papers authorizing the
- transfer... But I just backtracked with Earth Central. The ID codes
- don't match any ship registered to Earth Force."
-
- "Great," Sheridan says. "So he's gone, and all the evidence with him."
- Sheridan asks if she notified President Clark, but she tells him that
- he isn't taking any calls. "It gets cold up here sometimes, doesn't
- it, Lieutenant Commander?"
-
- "Yes sir," she replies, as they both contemplate the situation. "It
- does indeed."
-
- Synopsis by Matthew Murray (i9717029@unicorn.it.wsu.edu)
-
-
- [15][Next]
-
- [16]Last update: October 11, 1995
-
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