lurkers-guide/synops/092

<h3>Synopsis by Arturo Magidin (magidin@math.berkeley.edu)</h3>

<P>
In hyperspace, a probe is destroyed by passing fighters. Shortly
thereafter, Capt. Lochley is awakened by a call from Lt. Corwin,
telling her of the probe's destruction. "Is it them?" she asks, but
the probe was destroyed too quickly to give much information. She gets up and
goes to C&amp;C.

<P>
When she gets there she informs the command crew that this is probably
the scouting party they've been warned about. A large hostile force is
looking for likely invasion prospects, and Lochley expects them to
attack Babylon 5. She hopes to convince them that the station is more
trouble than is worth, to save themselves from a difficult battle
later on.

<P>
She orders that a lifepod be made ready for Sheridan and Delenn.
Although Corwin assures her neither one will agree to leave the
station, she vows to knock them unconscious herself if necessary to
get them into the pod. Finally, she orders a stand-by Red Alert.

<P>
In Blue Sector, Bo and Mack, two maintenance workers, hear about the
Alert as they finish working on the tubes behind a wall. Later, as Bo
sweeps the floor with a piece of equipment and Mack works on a
computer terminal, they overhear Lochley and Sheridan as they walk by
arguing. Lochley wants Sheridan and Delenn in the lifepod, or at the
very least to know where they are at all times. With all the
White Stars away, this will give her one less thing to worry about, and
allow her to do her job of protecting the station. At first Sheridan
will have none of it, but finally agrees to do what he can after
grudgingly admitting he would be doing the same thing in Lochley's
position.

<P>
As they both leave on a lift, Mack and Bo comment on their approval of
Sheridan's hands-on approach to everything. They like the fact that he
is always down in the trenches, with everyone else. He is a good man,
they both agree.

<P>
Later, their lunch is interrupted by a full blown Red Alert, as the
scoutships activate the Jumpgate, and Mack and Bo are called for some
service calls. Mack goes to C&amp;C, and Bo goes to MedLab.

<P>
In MedLab, Franklin is organizing his team to deal with the wounded,
and asks Bo to look at the console on the IsoLab. It is only giving
them access to standard atmospheres, and he needs to be able to ask
for anything on the fly, in case they need some strange atmosphere to
treat the invaders. As Bo works on the console, he asks Franklin why
he bothers getting ready to heal the invaders, rather than just
letting them die. By way of explanation, Franklin relates that his
father once got caught in the middle of a civil war of mid-range
colonies. The <i>Ares</i>, on which he was XO, crashed, and two months
later, when the Earth forces retook the base, his father and two other
injured soldiers were found alive. The Doctor at the base had taken
care of them despite the objections from his CO, because he believed
life was sacred. It was then, Franklin says, that he decided to become
a doctor, and it is why he will try to save anyone, regardless of
sides.

<P>
"So... what happened to the doctor that helped your dad?" asks
Bo. "Shot and killed by his own men," replies Franklin quietly. "They
said he was a traitor." Bo then finishes the work on the IsoLab console.

<P>
In C&amp;C, the secondary targetting console is on the blink, and Mack
gets to work on it as the crew prepares for the three scoutships, which
come in firing. Starfuries and the defense grid get two of the scouts,
but in the meantime the aliens scan the station and try to access the
codes for the defense grid. As the third scoutship is about to escape,
Mack gets the secondaries back on line, which destroy the last alien
ship. Lochley is relieved, and goes to talk to Garibaldi.

<P>
Mack joins Bo, who is now working on a deck in Blue Sector. Mack says
he likes the new captain and is glad she's on their side. Bo replies
that the rumors are she fought on the side of President Clark during
the Civil War, but Mack dismisses his concerns. Many people were on
the other side, he says, and one shouldn't listen to rumors
anyway. As Bo finishes the work, they are called to fix a problem in
Brown sector. They get in the lift, and are later joined by Lochley
and Garibaldi.

<P>
Lochley and Garibaldi are arguing. Lochley is demanding to know why
Garibaldi didn't tell her the aliens could download the tactical
codes, but Garibaldi claims he is innocent. The Gaim didn't say
anything, and he didn't think to ask. Lochley angrily tells him that
it is his job to think of quesitons like that, and demands he go back
to the Gaim and ask all the questions he didn't think of in the first
place. With the assault fleet on its way, she wants a fighting chance
of surviving the next 12 hours. Lochley and Garibaldi get off, and
Mack and Bo go on their way.

<P>
After Mack and Bo finish fixing the problem in Brown sector, they are
ordered to the Sanctuary to prepare it for a religious ceremony, as
Lochley announces over the monitors that the first wing of the attack
is coming through the jump gate.

<P>
From the sanctuary, Bo and Mack can see the firefight and explosions
outside the station: a red explosion for human pilots blowing up,
green for the invaders. Eventually, a lone White Star arrives and joins
the fight, and Mack and Bo note a breaching pod closing in on the
station. All personnel are ordered to the shelters. The station is
being boarded.

<P>
Bo and Mack are on their way to the shelter, but the lift shorts out
and stops. When they force the doors open, they find
themselves in the middle of a firefight in Brown sector between the
invading aliens and Zack's security forces. Zack orders them out and
covers them, and they stumble into Byron's telepaths.

<P>
Byron assures them they are safe, and advises them to stay until
the fight is done. Mack and Bo eventually figure out these people are
the recently arrived telepaths, and when the fight dies down they get
up to leave. Bo expresses his desire to be out in space fighting
alongside the starfury pilots, and Byron uses his telepathic ability
to make him believe he is, for a few seconds. Bo silently thanks him
as they leave.

<P>
In the shelter, they overhear Londo and G'Kar. Londo is complaining
about the situation, but G'Kar is quite calm. G'Kar practically grew
up in shelters such as this, escaping from Centauri bombardment of the
Narn cities, so he feels quite at home. Londo complains that the
White Stars aren't there to protect them, and G'Kar reminds him they
are coming back from guarding the Imphili homeworld (<a
href="../guide/091.html">"The Paragon of Animals"</a>). They both
leave to "see how things are out there," as the second wave of
invaders comes through.

<P>
One of the invading ships is damaged and crashes onto the station,
making a sizeable hole in the hull. As maintenance bots put out the
resulting fires on the outside, all maintenance personnel are called
to Red One to deal with the fires on the deck burning through the
hull.

<P>
As Mack and Bo are going there, they pass Sheridan and
Delenn. Sheridan insists Delenn should get on the lifepod, but she
refuses. Sheridan enlists Bo and Mack to escort her to the
pod. "Look," says Sheridan to Delenn, "with luck the rest of the White Stars
will get here on time and we won't even need the pods." "But what if
we do?" asks Delenn. "What if the station falls?" "Then, as you said
to me once," replies Sheridan, "I'll see you again in a place where no
shadows fall" (<a href="../guide/040.html">"Confessions and
Lamentations"</a>). They kiss and Sheridan leaves Delenn in Mack and
Bo's care.

<P>
Before they get to the pods, however, Delenn asks them their
names. Delenn also asks what would happen to a lifepod if, shortly
after launch, the equipment were accidentally smashed from the
inside. Mack and Bo agree it would either crash on Epislon 3, or
explode. Delenn then makes it plain that if she is put in a lifepod
and forced to watch the station fall, her pod would suffer such an
accident. "The President is right, ma'am," argues Bo. "It's not safe
here for either one of you." "I know," replies Delenn. "But it is home
for both of us." Mack and Bo let her depart, and she smiles at them
before leaving.

<P>
The station shudders and Mack looks through a porthole
and yells in triumph. "The cavalry is here!" he says. The White Stars
have arrived at last.

<P>
With help from the White Stars, the fighting is soon over, and Mack and
Bo get back to work. The shelter is a mess, and according to Bo there
is a lot of work to do: a damaged hull to repair, garbage to be picked
up, debris to be cleaned up from space surrounding the station,
and airlocks to fix in Brown Level. "Typical," complains Mack. "They
call all the shots, they get all the glory, we clean up the mess."

<P>
Then they see dozens of bodies lying still on the deck, draped in
sheets. Dr. Franklin is going over them one by one, closing their
eyes, making notes, and finally pulling the sheet over their
heads. "Well," says Bo somberly, "maybe not <i>all</i> the mess."

<P>
As the cleanup continues, Mack and Bo are working on C&amp;C and
overhear Corwin reporting to Lochley that not a single alien made it
back to report on Babylon 5. Lochley is pleased, and does not expect
them to try again.

<P>
"Captain, ehr... Captain Lochley!" yells Mack suddenly. The Command
Deck falls into an expecting silence, as Mack continues lamely. "Well,
Captain, ah, I know you're new here and all and, ah, I just wanted to
say, you're okay in my book, ma'am." "Thank you," says Lochley
sincerely, smiling widely. Mack goes back to work.

<P>
Later that day, Mack and Bo are on their way to lunch when they pass
Sheridan and Delenn, walking hand in hand, in a corridor. "Hello Mack,
Bo," she greets them by name as they walk by.

<P>
"Bo?" "Yeah?" "She remembered my name." "<i>Our</i> names." "I think
I'm in love..." "She's married!" "We'll work something out."