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								   (Continuing where [9]Part 1 left off)


								   Garibaldi is relieved to hear that Sinclair and Ivanova are returning

								   from the planet, but his relief is cut short when a tech announces

								   that a ship, a _big_ ship, is coming through the jump gate. He looks

								   down at his computer display. "What the hell?"


								   The ship is an Earth Alliance heavy cruiser, the Hyperion, Captain

								   Ellis Pierce commanding. He says he's been ordered to take control of

								   the situation.


								   [INLINE] The Hyperion comes through the gate.


								   In Medlab, Sinclair and Franklin watch over the alien from Epsilon 3.

								   Franklin says he is still studying the alien's biology, but that he

								   seems to be stabilizing.


								   Pierce is waiting in Sinclair's office, looking at an onscreen

								   introduction to Babylon 5's facilities, when Sinclair arrives. Pierce

								   says his crew will enjoy getting a little R&R on such a "cushy"

								   station. Sinclair wants to know who authorized Pierce to take over;

								   Sinclair has jurisdiction over Babylon 5's sector. Pierce says the

								   Hyperion was in hyperspace when it received orders to divert to

								   Babylon 5. The potential of the technologies Sinclair has discovered

								   are enormous, and Earth wants a show of force so other races don't try

								   to get a piece of the action before Earth has had its pick; if the

								   Hyperion weren't present, the situation could get very messy. Sinclair

								   angrily replies that the situation was fine until Pierce charged in

								   with a heavy cruiser and shook things up.


								   [INLINE] Pierce tells Sinclair why he's there.


								   Garibaldi is at a bar, drinking water and watching the news with some

								   other patrons. The top story, of course, is the revolt on the Mars

								   colony. Earth is sending in shock troops to quell the rebellion. The

								   other bar patrons are delighted, and start insulting the Mars

								   colonists. "We pay taxes so they can have the best atmosphere

								   reprocessors, water reclamation... They ought to be damned grateful."

								   One of them suggests, jokingly, that Earth should do "what my

								   grandfather always said: nuke 'em till they glow and shoot 'em in the

								   dark. That'd take care of 'em, just like magic." Infuriated, Garibaldi

								   performs a magic trick of his own, assaulting the mouthy bar patron

								   and stalking off.


								   Sinclair confers with Senator Hidoshi, complaining that he'd been told

								   personally by President Santiago that he has jurisdiction over Babylon

								   5's sector. He threatens to resign over the issue unless Hidoshi can

								   get Santiago to reaffirm his authority in the matter. Hidoshi says

								   he'll see what he can do, but it might not be much as the President is

								   preoccupied with the Mars colony revolt.


								   In the command center, Ivanova tells Sinclair that the Hyperion has

								   just launched an expedition to the planet's surface, and that the

								   planet's defense systems, much more active than before, are preventing

								   them from getting close. Sinclair demands that Pierce call off the

								   expedition, making up a story about needing a special jamming device

								   to get through the defense systems.


								   Ivanova then tells Sinclair that they've been monitoring greatly

								   increased seismic activity from the planet, activity that seems to be

								   artificially induced and that's increasing in severity. If it

								   continues to do so, the planet will rip itself apart, taking Babylon 5

								   with it.


								   Later, Ivanova reports that they've discovered the planet is

								   honeycombed with passages and fusion reactors, some of them miles in

								   diameter. The fusion reactors seem to be set to overload. She

								   estimates less than 48 hours until the planet is destroyed. Garibaldi

								   says it would take at least three days to evacuate the station even if

								   all the ships in the sector were called in.


								   [INLINE] Discussing the situation.


								   Londo catches up with Ivanova in the corridor and demands to know

								   what's going on. He presses her on the issue, until she replies, "You

								   want to know what's really going on down there right now? Boom. Boom

								   boom boom. Boom boom. _Boom_. Have a nice day."


								   Delenn and Draal are returning to Delenn's quarters when Draal hears

								   the sick alien's voice calling out to him. The two of them head for

								   Medlab.


								   Sinclair goes to talk to Garibaldi about the incident in the bar.

								   Garibaldi expresses his frustration at finding himself helpless; he

								   can't help Lise, doesn't even know if she's alive or dead. "The planet

								   we're parked next to is about to go up like a Roman candle. What am I

								   supposed to do, arrest it?" He says he just snapped. He and Sinclair

								   discuss his reluctance to call Lise over the years -- he was afraid

								   she'd reject him, and even more afraid she wouldn't -- and Sinclair

								   promises to try pulling a few strings to get Garibaldi a comm channel

								   to Mars. He asks Garibaldi to make sure Ivanova leaves the station if

								   they end up needing to evacuate.


								   Draal and Delenn arrive in Medlab. Franklin tries to stop them from

								   going in to see the alien, but the alien awakens and calls out to

								   Draal. He says everyone must stay away from the planet, that it will

								   explode without a heart, "without another."


								   [INLINE] Draal and Delenn listen to the alien.


								   After getting that confirmation that expeditions to the planet will

								   only hasten its detonation, Sinclair arrives in the command center to

								   find that Pierce is about to launch another group of ships to the

								   planet. He knows what the alien (whose name is Varn) said, but feels

								   that Varn has every reason to lie to keep people away. Sinclair

								   threatens to shoot Pierce's ships out of the sky if they approach the

								   planet, and orders the station's fighters to prepare for launch.

								   Convinced that Sinclair feels he has nothing to lose, Pierce backs

								   down.


								   Suddenly, an unknown alien ship enters through the jumpgate and scans

								   the station's language and translation files. Its captain, Takarn, who

								   appears to be of the same race as Varn, claims that the planet belongs

								   to his people, who have been searching for it for 500 years. He gives

								   Sinclair and Pierce ten hours to leave the area, or he'll take the

								   planet by force.


								   [INLINE] The Hyperion and Babylon 5 are scanned.


								   Before Sinclair can respond, Pierce answers Takarn with his own

								   ultimatum: withdraw within nine hours, or the Hyperion will attack.


								   Varn tells Sinclair that the newcomers are outcasts, rejected by his

								   people, who are all long dead now. He has been guarding the planet,

								   connected to the heart of the machine, for five hundred years. He

								   monitored Babylon 5's construction, learned its languages from its

								   transmissions, but the time wasn't right to reveal himself until his

								   failing health forced the issue. He warns Sinclair that the newcomers

								   must not be allowed to take the planet. It is for the future.


								   Sinclair talks to Delenn and Draal, who claim that Varn didn't tell

								   them anything more than what he told Sinclair. Sinclair leaves, and as

								   Delenn and Draal talk about what Varn meant by "another," Londo enters

								   and says the three of them need to talk.


								   Pierce tells Sinclair that he needs Babylon 5's forces to make an

								   effective attack against the alien ship. Sinclair assures Pierce that

								   when the time comes, he'll commit his forces to the battle.


								   Londo, Delenn, and Draal talk about Varn; Londo tells them of Varn's

								   appearance in the hallway earlier. He wants to help, to take a risk,

								   as he did years before when he led the raid on Frallis 12. He realizes

								   that one of the group will have to stay behind permanently.


								   [INLINE] Londo volunteers his help.


								   Ivanova clears a transport to leave the station: "The more we get out

								   now, the fewer we'll have to evacuate later." It flies off -- it's a

								   shuttle with Centauri markings -- just as Garibaldi links in to report

								   that someone has stolen Varn from Medlab.


								   Takarn signals the station, furious that they're allowing a transport

								   to try to go to the planet. Ivanova checks, and sure enough, the

								   Centauri shuttle is headed for the surface. Takarn launches his

								   attack, prompting Babylon 5 and the Hyperion to unleash their fighter

								   wings. The battle is joined.


								   Londo, piloting the shuttle, seems delighted to be back in the thick

								   of things. "Who says the good old days are gone, eh?" Draal and

								   Delenn, tending after Varn, look a little nervous about Londo's

								   daredevil piloting style.


								   [INLINE] Londo looks for the landing thruster controls.


								   On the station, Sinclair and Ivanova note that the planet isn't

								   attacking the Centauri shuttle for some reason. Garibaldi goes after

								   it in a shuttle of his own.


								   Deep within the planet, with the battle raging furiously overhead,

								   Garibaldi finds Delenn, Draal, Londo and Varn in the room where

								   Sinclair and Ivanova discovered Varn initially. Draal tells Garibaldi

								   that he's staying behind; someone has to run the machine, and it will

								   give him the purpose, the life in service of others, that he has long

								   been missing among his own people.


								   [INLINE] The Hyperion fires its main gun.


								   Back in space, the battle continues. The station takes a direct hit,

								   sustaining serious damage. It's about to be fired on again when a

								   strange force emanates from the planet, causing all the controls in

								   the command center to go dark. A translucent image of Draal appears,

								   informing all three parties that the planet belongs to none of them.

								   "It belongs only to itself, and to the future." As the planet's

								   secrets would give a huge advantage to any race that had them to

								   itself, he places the safekeeping of the planet in the hands of the

								   Babylon 5 Advisory Council, whose enlightened self-interest he hopes

								   will cause them to leave the place alone. But if not, he warns that

								   the defense systems are now fully operational, and any ship that

								   attempts to land will be destroyed.


								   [INLINE] Emanation from Epsilon 3.


								   The aliens, apparently not believing the threat, fly toward the

								   planet. As promised, a tremendously powerful weapon fires from the

								   surface, vaporizing them instantly.


								   Delenn says an emotional farewell to Draal. Varn, staying behind to

								   watch over Draal, assures her that the planet is wondrous, that

								   Draal's life will be extended. He will "see all the futures, hear all

								   the songs, and touch the edge of the universe with his thoughts."


								   As the Hyperion leaves, Pierce says he's received a message from Earth

								   reaffirming Sinclair's authority. He apologizes to Sinclair. After the

								   ship leaves, Ivanova tells Sinclair she has a channel to Mars for

								   Garibaldi.


								   Garibaldi is delighted to learn that Lise is alive, even more so to

								   talk to her. She was caught in the crossfire while getting food, but

								   her wounds aren't serious and she's expected to recover. She says the

								   fighting has begun to die down; the Earth-supported provisional

								   government seems to have the upper hand. Garibaldi tells her he's

								   sorry he ever left, and asks if he can meet up with her on his next

								   leave. She tells him she's married, and expecting a baby. The news

								   crushes him.


								   Later, Garibaldi is in an observation area, staring out into the

								   stars, when Delenn joins him. He asks why she and Londo didn't come to

								   Sinclair once they realized someone needed to be in the planet. She

								   says she didn't, "because I know in my heart that if I had, Commander

								   Sinclair would be down there now. He is searching for a purpose. But

								   his destiny lies elsewhere." Garibaldi asks how she managed to get

								   Londo to go. She says she offered him a deal. She now owes him a large

								   favor, which she's sure he'll collect eventually, but she says he

								   enjoyed the adventure, as it awakened something in him that had long

								   been buried.


								   [INLINE] Delenn joins Garibaldi.


								   "One thing I've discovered," Garibaldi says. "Some things are better

								   left buried." He leaves.


								   Delenn gazes out across the stars. "Good night, old friend," she says.

								   "Sleep well."


								  Synopsis by [10]Steven Grimm


								   [16][Next]


								      [17]Last update: March 19, 1997


								References


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								   7. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/018.html

								   8. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/020.html

								   9. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/018.html

								  10. http://www.midwinter.com/~koreth/

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								  15. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/018.html

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