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158 lines
7.0 KiB
158 lines
7.0 KiB
<h3>Synopsis by Katrina Glerum (kat@midwinter.com)</h3>
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<p>
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Z Minus 14 Days
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<p>
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The station is a flurry of activity as war preparations continue. Since
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they can jam the Shadows, telepaths of many races are being recruited and
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assigned to Army of Light patrol ships. G'Kar insists that each telepath should
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be given a Narn bodyguard.
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<p>
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Londo thinks G'Kar has been permitted to escape Centauri wrath for too long,
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however. Vir is appalled that Londo could care about petty revenge when the
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entire galaxy is suffused with war.
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<p>
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<IMG SRC="/lurk/gif/064/religious.gif" ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="120" BORD
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ER="1" HSPACE=4 VSPACE=2>
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Appreciating Brother Theo for the stability his monks have offered in the
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chaos, Ivanova joins him in Docking to greet some religious "colleagues."
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Personal and professional rivalry aside, Brother Theo seems genuinely
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pleased to meet the Baptist minister, rabbi, Buddhist monk and Islamic
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cleric who have arrived.
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<p>
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Looking weary and haggard, Captain Sheridan is lost so deep in contemplation
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that he is oblivious to Delenn's teasing. Nothing about the Shadows'
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strategy makes any sense. The timing and location of the attacks seem
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random and illogical, but the individual engagements are tactically very
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logical. The Captain isn't eating properly, hasn't slept well since Kosh's
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death, and is suffering from nightmares. So Delenn bullies him into meeting
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the new arrivals for dinner that night.
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<p>
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Another arrival has the Centauri flustered - or at least Vir. Nothing seems
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to faze Londo any more, not even Lord Refa and Minister Virini. Londo
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outlines his plan to ensnare G'Kar by having Vir pass on the tale that
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G'Kar's former assistant Na'Toth is imprisoned on the Narn homeworld. G'Kar
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will then rush back to Narn to rescue her and be taken captive by Londo's
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agents. Vir refuses until Londo threatens to humiliate and destroy Vir's
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family in retribution.
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<p>
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As smarmy as ever, Lord Refa presents his case to the Minister of why his
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house should achieve ascendancy over that of Mollari. The ambassador has
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spent too much time among aliens, he claims, and is no longer loyal. The
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Minister wants the rivalry between the two houses ended and is apparently on
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the station to determine which of the two deserve his support.
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<p>
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Cringing pathetically, Vir takes his mission to G'Kar, while Londo informs
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the Minister that the division between the two houses will be ended soon
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through his relieving the Empire of an ongoing embarrassment. Vir can't
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contain his anger when he realizes that Londo intends to kill G'Kar in order
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to curry royal favor. His outrage does not go unnoticed by Refa's spies.
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Vir is captured and interrogated by Lord Refa himself. When he tries to
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hold out, a telepath easily rips Londo's plan from his mind.
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<p>
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At dinner it is revealed that the religious leaders are part of an organized
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resistance and intelligence gathering movement on Earth, and come bearing
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information for B5. Before leaving, Reverend Dexter says that he wants to
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hold a religious gathering on the station. The Captain agrees over Brother
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Theo's humorous objections.
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<p>
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Reverend Dexter finds Sheridan still working late in his office, and asks
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him who he shares his heavy responsibility with. Sheridan grows irritated
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with the minister's presumption, especially with the implication that
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Sheridan is not being a good officer and the suggestion that he should share
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his burden with the woman who loves him.
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<p>
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Z Minus 13 Days
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<p>
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Peering into the cold, wind-wracked desolation of the former Narn capital,
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G'Kar gathers his forces for a mission into the secret caverns below the
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city. The ruins above are being rebuilt and redecorated to look like the
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Centauri Imperial Palace. Refa has just arrived and requests a security
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detail from Lord Drego to assist him in capturing G'Kar.
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<br clear=all>
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<p>
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<IMG SRC="/lurk/gif/064/attackmap.gif" ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="120"
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BORDER="1" HSPACE=4 VSPACE=2>
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Musing in the war room, Delenn and Sheridan realize that the Shadows are
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corralling refugees into zones where they can be annihilated with ease.
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This war is "as much about terror as territory," he argues. A strike
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against defenseless refugees would have a great demoralizing effect on the
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Alliance. "It's what I'd do," he crows.
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<p>
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"What?" Delenn gasps.
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<p>
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When he tries to explain that they need to think like the enemy, she grabs
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him by the arm and drags him out of the war room telling him he seriously
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needs a break.
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<p>
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G'Kar and his Narns proceed underground. Refa and his guards pick up the
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trail and follow him into an ambush. Refa gloats, "You have taken your last
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steps as a free Narn!"
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<p>
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Back on the station, Reverend Dexter begins his sermon. The enemy is not
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just something different. "We are all alien to one another," he argues.
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"The enemy is fear. The enemy is ignorance. The enemy is the one who tells
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you that we must hate that which is different."
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<br clear=all>
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<p>
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<IMG SRC="/lurk/gif/064/hololondo.gif" ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="120"
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BORDER="1" HSPACE=4 VSPACE=2>
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As the service continues, a far eerier ritual begins deep under the surface
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of Narn. Refa orders his guards to attack G'Kar. His face shows the first
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signs of fear when they fail to move. Then G'Kar brings out a holo
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projector with a recording of Londo telling his nemesis his fate. In return
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for Mollari freeing 2000 incarcerated Narns, G'Kar has captured Refa, the
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Centauri who is personally responsible for the planetary bombardment of Narn
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and the deaths of 5 or 6 million Narns.
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<p>
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Holding aloft a data crystal, G'Kar admonishes his Narns only to leave this
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on the body and keep the face and head intact for identification later.
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<p>
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"No hiding place!" the gospel singer begins in the B5 chapel. As the
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congregation joins in joyously, Refa scrambles down a corridor into the arms
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of waiting Narns. "There's no hiding place down here!." He runs terrified
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back the way he came. "You know the sinner's gonna be runnin' at the
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knowledge of their fate!" Refa barrels into a crowd of eager Narns.
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"They'll be runnin' trying to find a hiding place when it comes their time
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to die!" Even the Minbari begin to catch the spirit and try to sing along.
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"No hiding place!" Refa's crest drowns under a sea of spotted heads, and
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he is brutally attacked by the Narn as G'Kar watches, then leaves.
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<p>
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Mollari gives the data crystal found on Lord Refa's body to Minister Virini,
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and explains how Refa had betrayed the Centauri to the Narn and G'Kar to the
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Centauri. The minister seems surprised that Londo asks for nothing in return
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for exposing this plot. Vir is furious again however, this time for being
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set up and lied to. Londo says he knew that Refa had a telepath with him,
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so of course he had to tell Vir what he wanted Refa to believe. But Vir is
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not placated.
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<br clear=all>
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<p>
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<IMG SRC="/lurk/gif/064/fleet.gif" ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="120"
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BORDER="1" HSPACE=4 VSPACE=2>
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Delenn has a final surprise for the Captain. In the long period of
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preparation before the war, the Minbari have completed an entire fleet of
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White Star class ships.
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<p>
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Z Minus 10 Days.
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