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407 lines
21 KiB
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[1][ISMAP]-[2][Home]
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[3][Guide] [4][Background] ### SYNOPSIS ### [5][Credits] [6][Episode
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List] [7][Previous] [8][Next]
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Earth Central has planned a cultural exchange where all alien
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societies on B5 will have the opportunity to demonstrate their
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dominant religious beliefs. Needless to say, this idea has caused
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nightmares for the security officers; at the moment, Garibaldi is
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trying to stop an alien from bringing a ceremonial knife aboard the
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station. Suddenly, he sees Sinclair's old girlfriend, Catherine Sakai,
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arrive on the station. He immediately leaves to warn Sinclair.
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G'Kar is in his quarters, trying to have a quiet dinner when he is
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interrupted by a Narn courier, Tu'Pari, who is carrying a message that
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he claims to be important. After Tu'Pari leaves G'Kar's quarters,
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G'Kar plays the message. The message turns out to be from an old enemy
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of G'Kar, named D'Rog [spelling correction pending]. "I bring what you
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doubtless will consider good news: I am dying." G'Kar smiles in
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appreciation. The message continues, "In fact, by the time you get
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this recording, I will already be dead. Ah, but then, very shortly, so
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will you."
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D'Rog explains that G'Kar should not be surprised--vengeance was
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inevitable after G'Kar humiliated D'Rog before the Narn Council and
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ruined D'Rog's family's name. "You will be dead within 48 hours of
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receiving this message. Already, my agent is close to you. You will
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not know who, or how, or where, until it is too late." Just then,
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Na'Toth--G'Kar's new diplomatic attache--arrives and reports for duty.
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G'Kar can do nothing but stare at her, suspiciously.
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Sinclair, in his quarters, is getting ready for the Centauri religious
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demonstration when Garibaldi arrives. Garibaldi warns Sinclair that
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Catherine is on the station. Sinclair thanks him, saying that he's
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happy to know that she's on board, so he can avoid her. Then,
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suddenly, he asks if she came to the station alone or with another
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man. Garibaldi replies that she was alone.
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The Centauri religious demonstration has begun. It is quite a
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festival, with dancing, drinks, and pretty much everything else you'd
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expect at a Centauri party. "It's a celebration of life," says Vir.
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Londo is immensely enjoying himself--drinking, crawling up on the
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table, explaining Centauri household "gods," telling Delenn that she's
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"very cute for a Minbari" and that Garibaldi is "cute, too, in an
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annoying sort of way."
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[INLINE] "You're cute, too, in an annoying sort of way."
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Finally, Londo falls to the table, unconscious. Vir stands up and
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says, triumphantly, "Ahh! He has become one with his inner self!"
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"He's passed out," comments Garibaldi, smugly.
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"That too," responds Vir.
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Meanwhile, Commander Sinclair--having had enough of the Centauri
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demonstration and having left quietly in the middle--has decided,
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after all, to see Catherine. After he finds her, they speak for a
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while. She says that she hadn't known that Sinclair was in command of
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the station--otherwise she wouldn't have come. "I keep my promises....
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I'll leave now if you want me to." Sinclair won't hear of it, though.
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Instead, he invites her for dinner. At length, she accepts: "This is
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how we get into trouble every three years.... All right, just dinner."
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Later, G'Kar and Na'Toth are speaking in their quarters. G'Kar is
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suspiciously pondering recent events--he mentions, his assistant's, Ko
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D'ath's, recent death in an unlikely airlock accident. He asks Na'Toth
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who sponsored her to be his attache; when she answers, he notices that
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her sponsor's sponsor was none other than D'Rog. He explains to her
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that D'Rog has hired someone to kill him, and evidently this assassin
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is someone close to G'Kar. Na'Toth only replies, "With all due
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respect, if it were me, you wouldn't be here for us to have this
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conversation." G'Kar is unsatisfied--according to D'Rog's message,
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G'Kar would be kept in fear for a while before actually being
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killed--"the last thing he wants is a quick death." He can still not
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discount Na'Toth as a suspect.
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Na'Toth tries to reason with him: "How can you be sure there _is_ as
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assassin on board? What if he only told you this to frighten you?"
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G'Kar replies that this is very unlikely.
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She thinks again, then explains that if D'Rog wanted to make sure the
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assassination were carried through, he would have gone to the
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"Assassins' Guild" to get a killer. She explains that killers from the
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Assassins' Guide traditionally leave a black flower--a "death
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blossom"--as a warning to their victims so that the victims can tie up
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their affairs. She asks G'Kar if he's received one of these flowers;
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he replies that he hasn't. "Then I wouldn't worry," she concludes, and
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adds, "I'm sure the question will resolve itself soon enough."
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Later, G'Kar is sleeping in his bed when he is awoken by a strange
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smell. He calls Na'Toth to his quarters to show her what was left in
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his bed: a black flower. "You have no idea how _that_ got into my
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bed?" he asks.
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[INLINE] G'Kar, about to have a rude awakening.
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"Ambassador," comments Na'Toth, "it is not my place to speculate on
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how anything gets into your bed. Your reputed fascination with Earth
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women, for instance..." She goes on to suggest that G'Kar see
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Commander Sinclair if he's worried. G'Kar declines, saying that he
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prefers to fight his own battles--further, his going to Sinclair might
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raise questions that he'd rather not answer--questions concerning his
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years on the Council. "Personally," he says, "I don't care if the
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information comes out--my only concern is that it might compromise our
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standing in the negotiations. So we have to handle this quietly, for
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the sake of planetary security." Na'Toth asks G'Kar why he is telling
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her all of this, considering that she's currently under his suspicion.
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"Earthers have a phrase: 'Keep your friends close and your enemies
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closer.' I think they stole it from us." He adds that he also would
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like to strengthen the relationship between them. He then tells
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Na'Toth to find Tu'Pari, the courier who originally brought the
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message--G'Kar wants to find out who gave the message to Tu'Pari.
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Tu'Pari must still be on the station, according to G'Kar, because no
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Narn ships have left B5 since the day before. "Finding him will be
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your first test," he commands.
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Elsewhere on the station, Lennier--Delenn's new assistant--has arrived
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on the station. He greets her as "Satai Delenn," addressing her as a
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member of the Grey Council deserves to be addressed. He further
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refuses to look straight at her; he only looks down; "It is
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forbidden!" he says.
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"You can look up...." says Delenn, "I cannot have an aid who will not
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look up. You will be forever walking into things." At length, Lennier
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agrees.
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Lennier comments that he feels that he's in an awkward position. He
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has been, he feels, greatly and suddenly promoted; after all, he's now
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an assistant to a member of the Grey Council. Delenn only comments
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that he received a high recommendation from his teachers and that he
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will soon adjust. "You can begin by promising not to mention the Grey
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Council again during your stay. No one here knows of my connection; no
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one must find out."
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"But, to deny the Council--!" blurts Lennier.
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"I'm denying nothing. But it would lead to certain questions that I
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don't want to answer just now. You will not use my title, 'Satai.' You
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will address me only as 'Delenn.' Do you understand?"
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He says that he does not--but that it doesn't matter: "Understanding
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is not required--only obedience."
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G'Kar, in the meantime, has gone to N'Grath (the insect-like vendor in
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the alien sector) to seek a bodyguard. In a few hours, he will attend
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the Minbari religious ceremony, and he doesn't want to be unprotected
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in public.
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Sinclair and Catherine Sakai are having dinner. They talk about how
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they meet every few years, talk briefly, end up in bed together, then
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go their separate ways. They both agree that their relationship should
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not go on like this--it isn't worth it.
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The Minbari religious ceremony has begun. It is, needless to say,
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quite the opposite of the Centauri celebration: It is orderly and
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ceremonial. Delenn starts out by reading a story that deals with death
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and renewal. Orderly music is played at certain points in the story.
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Red pieces of fruit are then handed out; Delenn tells everyone to eat
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them. She shows a slight interest in Sinclair's eating the fruit, then
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moves on with the ceremony. "So, it begins!" she says.
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[INLINE] "Taste of it."
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G'Kar, during the whole ceremony, has been extremely agitated, because
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his bodyguard did not arrive. He storms into his quarters, screaming
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and complaining; but Na'Toth only directs him into an adjoining room.
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In that room, he sees the bodyguard sitting down, quietly. He yells at
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him for a moment, then hits him in annoyance. The bodyguard falls over
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stiffly, and it is evident that he has been killed. Further, a black
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flower--the warning sign--is hanging from the bodyguard's clothing.
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G'Kar has called Garibaldi into his quarters. Garibaldi investigates
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the murder: "You just came in and found this guy dead in your
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bedroom?" G'Kar explains that he has never seen the person before and
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has no idea who he is or why he was in G'Kar's bedroom. G'Kar claims,
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as an alibi, that he was at the Minbari ceremony when this person was
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killed. Garibaldi agrees, but comments that G'Kar seemed rather
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nervous and preoccupied at the ceremony. Garibaldi continues his
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search of G'Kar's quarters, only to find a hot-pink piece of woman's
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underwear behind the bed. G'Kar is, needless to say, annoyed--he also
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doesn't like that Garibaldi continues to question =him=. He orders
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Garibaldi out of his quarters, invoking diplomatic immunity. "I
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brought you here as a courtesy," says G'Kar. He tells Garibaldi that
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he should be spending more time trying to find out who the murderer
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was, rather than questioning G'Kar.
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Garibaldi humbly apologizes, but doesn't leave before commenting, "And
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just let me say, ambassador, from the bottom of my heart, hot pink is
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definitely your color."
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[INLINE] "Hot pink is definitely your color."
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Na'Toth, after considerable searching, finally finds Tu'Pari and
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brings him back--under slight protest--to G'Kar.
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Catherine is meanwhile in the middle of a business negotiation. She is
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giving information to her associates about a planetoid which she has
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located and which she believes would be a good candidate for mining.
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Her associates are satisfied, and also offer her their
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congratulations--a valuable mineral was discovered on a previous
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planet which she scouted, and, under the contract, she is entitled to
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a percentage of the profits. When they show her the amount of credits
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to which she is entitled, she is almost speechless and quite surprised
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at her good fortune.
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Na'Toth has brought back Courier Tu'Pari to G'Kar's quarters. He
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thanks her and sends her out, saying that he wants to speak with
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Tu'Pari alone. She leaves. He grabs Tu'Pari by the neck and asks who
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gave Tu'Pari the message to deliver. When Tu'Pari replies that the
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message in from D'Rog, G'Kar merely tightens his grip and says that
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D'Rog is dead. Tu'Pari then admits that the message is from Councillor
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Sha'Toth, Na'Toth's father. "The danger is much closer to you thank
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you think, ambassador," says Tu'Pari.
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Sinclair is in his quarters listening to Tennyson's [9]Ulysses when
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Catherine enters. She brings some expensive wine and comments that she
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has terrific news and is "tired of not having anyone to share it
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with." She comments on his liking of old poetry: "What's it take to
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drive you into the 23rd century?" She quotes some of it to him; he is
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surprised to find that she has memorized it. She responds, "I lived
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with you for a year--I didn't have much choice." Sinclair comments
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that what she's doing right now may not be such a good idea; however,
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she pleads with him not to send her out. Although they have
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superficially agreed that their relationship is over and that they
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have no feelings for each other any longer, she says that "you don't
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just turn it off like a switch." She admits that, even though they
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have been separated for a while, and even though she has tried
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relationships with other men, she never stopped thinking about him.
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After a bit of tension, they agree to spend the night with one
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another.
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G'Kar is in his quarters, communicating with the Narn homeworld. He is
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requesting that Na'Toth be reassigned immediately. They confirm his
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request; further, they apologize for the delays in communication.
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"What delays?" asks G'Kar.
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G'Kar's correspondent explains that the appointed courier met with an
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unfortunate accident right before he was going to leave for Babylon 5.
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They have not yet been able to find a replacement.
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"What are you talking about?" G'Kar asks. "The courier is right here.
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I--" Suddenly, he realizes, and turns around to find Tu'Pari staring
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at him, pointing a gun at him, and smiling evilly.
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The next morning, Catherine, in bed with Sinclair, is talking with
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him. They reflect on their relationship, its longevity, and its
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resilience--how it started at the academy, lasted through the war, and
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somehow showed itself every three years since then. They also speak of
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how things might be different this time ...
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Meanwhile, the assassin Tu'Pari has been waiting for Ambassador G'Kar
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to awake. When G'Kar does awake, Tu'Pari gloats a bit about how
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G'Kar's being awake will "make this far more interesting." G'Kar,
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needless to say, is anger and runs toward Tu'Pari in order to attack
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him. However, the devices (known as "pain-givers") around G'Kar's neck
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and arms propel him back--in pain--before he gets close enough to
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Tu'Pari to be threatening. "My orders are quite specific," says
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Tu'Pari. "You are to know pain. You are to know fear. And then, you
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are to die." However, he admits that it will be a pleasure when the
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assignment is finished--"Allaying the target's suspicions can be so
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time-consuming. Do you have any idea how long I sat in the customs
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area waiting for Na'Toth to 'find' me?"
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[INLINE] "You are to know pain..."
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G'Kar tries to reason with Tu'Pari; he offers to double the assassin's
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current payment if he will abort his mission.
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Tu'Pari notes how, though G'Kar could probably make him very wealthy,
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to betray a commission would be a violation of the rules and the
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spirit of the Assassins' Guild. Indeed, if Tu'Pari were to violate
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those rules, the Assassins' Guild would then have to kill =him=. To
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accentuate his point, he increases the intensity of the pain-givers.
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Na'Toth enters G'Kar's quarters and, when she cannot find G'Kar,
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orders the computer to replay the last transmission in which G'Kar
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participated. The computer shows her ...
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Tu'Pari is continuing to use the pain-givers against G'Kar. "The pain
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must be overwhelming. Why hold it in? Cry out, ambassador!"
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"I would die," retorts G'Kar, "before giving you that satisfaction."
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However, it is evident that he is, indeed, in great pain. However,
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just to be sure, Tu'Pari continues to raise the intensity of the
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pain-givers. G'Kar does, eventually, indeed, cry out.
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At that moment, Na'Toth finally enters. She explains how she found
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Tu'Pari and G'Kar--she knew that Tu'Pari would want "complete
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privacy," so she searched for and found which transport tube had
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"suddenly broken down," as Na'Toth comments. Tu'Pari orders her away,
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but Na'Toth refuses to leave. She claims to be Tu'Pari's backup: "I
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have to finish the job in case you fail."
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Tu'Pari skeptically replies that he was not informed about any backup.
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"No, the primary never is--standard practice in the Assassins' Guild,
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as you well know," says Na'Toth.
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Still, Tu'Pari refuses to believe her. Na'Toth ignores him-- she
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comments on the "crude, unimaginative" pain-givers that are being used
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on G'Kar, saying that they are much too quick--that their orders were
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to prolong G'Kar's pain and discomfort as much as possible until "the
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deadline."
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"And what would you recommend?" asks Tu'Pari, still skeptical.
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She answers with action: she brutally kicks him a few times, picks him
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up, and repeatedly hits him, sending him falling out of the room.
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But Tu'Pari is still unmoved. "And this is the part," he says, "where
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I'm supposed to decide I trust you, drop my guard, and let you shoot
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me in the back? Sorry, but I can't take the chance that you're lying."
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However, just by saying this, his guard was lowered enough. G'Kar,
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whose pain-givers are no longer activated, quickly rushes up to
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Tu'Pari and knocks him unconscious.
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"That hurt!" he says to Na'Toth, in a friendly way.
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"Ambassador," she answers, "it was the only way to disable the
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pain-givers. I had to hit them as hard as possible, as often as
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possible, and still make it appear as though I were beating you into
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another incarnation."
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"And you didn't enjoy it in the least?" he asks.
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"I didn't say that!" she jokingly responds. She asks what G'Kar will
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do with Tu'Pari....
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Three days later, when Tu'Pari awakes, he is annoyed to find that he
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has been unconscious for so long. G'Kar explains that to make up for
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any inconvenience, he has deposited a large sum of money in Tu'Pari's
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personal account at home. Tu'Pari realizes what this means--the
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Assassins' Guild will think he betrayed his commission, and it will
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not take kindly to what it believes to be a violation of its rules.
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G'Kar smiles and is glad to realize that he has nothing to fear from
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the Guild any longer--the commission was Tu'Pari's alone, and because
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the Assassins' Guild will be so embarrassed by this incident, they'd
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prefer to forget it all never happened--except for killing Tu'Pari if
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they find him. Happily, G'Kar and Na'Toth send Tu'Pari on his way,
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both saying, "You will know pain, and you will know fear, and then you
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will die. Have a pleasant flight."
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[INLINE] "Have a pleasant flight."
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Sinclair and Catherine are saying goodbye to one another. However,
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they both agree that this time will be different--"I'm not leaving,
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this time," says Sinclair.
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"This should be interesting," responds Catherine. She then asks him
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what he's planning for Earth's religious demonstration. He replies
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that he has no idea--and that he also has no idea how he'll top the
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Minbari demonstration, with all its "Bells, drums, robes, and little
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pieces of fruit."
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"Red fruit?" she asks, her interested piqued. "And was there a serious
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exchange of looks?" He says that there were--it's part of the rebirth
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ceremony, he says. She laughs and says that that type of ceremony can
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also double as a marriage ceremony--"depending on how seriously anyone
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took it, somebody got married the other day."
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"Maybe that's why G'Kar's smiling. Funny, I didn't think Londo was his
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type," Sinclair jokes.
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Catherine leaves, but says she'll return soon. They both wonder if
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they'll "get it right this time."
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Sinclair has finally arranged Earth's religious demonstration. He
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brings the alien ambassadors into a room which contains hundreds of
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people, all of different religions. Sinclair moves along a line formed
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by them, introducing them one-by-one to the aliens. There were, as the
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aliens commented, no drums, no bells, no chants--only a showcase of
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Earth's proud diversity.
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Shawn Bayern _bayern@cshl.org_
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_________________________________________________________________
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Copyright 1994, Shawn Bayern. All rights reserved. Permission is
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granted to distribute this synopsis _noncommercially_ as long as the
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synopsis and this copyright notice remain intact. Babylon 5 is a
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copyright of the PTN Consortium; no infringement of that copyright is
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intended by writing these synopses.
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[15][Next]
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[16]Last update: October 15, 1995
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References
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1. file://localhost/cgi-bin/imagemap/titlebar
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2. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/lurk/maps/maps.html#titlebar
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3. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/005.html
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4. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/background/005.shtml
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5. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/credits/005.html
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6. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
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7. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/004.html
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8. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/006.html
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9. file://localhost/lurk/making/ulysses.html
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10. file://localhost/lurk/lurker.html
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11. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/005.html#TOP
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12. file://localhost/cgi-bin/uncgi/lgmail
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13. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
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14. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/004.html
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15. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/006.html
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16. file://localhost/lurk/lastmod.html
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