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248 lines
10 KiB
248 lines
10 KiB
<h3>Synopsis by Arturo Magidin (magidin@math.berkeley.edu)</h3>
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<P>
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Sheridan is signing copies of a treaty, getting ready for a meeting of
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the Interstellar Alliance. He arrives late in the council chamber,
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but his apology dies on his lips; only Delenn is present. The other
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ambassadors voted to boycott the council until the Alliance can
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guarantee the safety of their shipping lines, or at least find out who
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is responsible for the attacks (<a href="../guide/097.html">"In the
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Kingdom of the Blind"</a>, <a href="../guide/098.html">"A Tragedy of
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Telepaths"</a>). They need a break, and they need it soon.
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre02.jpeg">
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Meanwhile, a break is in the making. A human transport, protected by
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Drazi fighters, is under attack. A single human manages to slip out in
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a lifepod as the attacking forces destroy the convoy.
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<P>
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Later, G'Kar and Londo arrive back from Centauri Prime. Narns are
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looking at G'Kar, and bowing before him, which puzzles G'Kar. Londo
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takes the opportunity to tease him about it.
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<br clear=all>
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre05.jpeg">
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In his quarters, Garibaldi has overslept and missed a meeting with
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Zack. The bottle he drank the night before <a
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href="../guide/099.html">"Phoenix Rising"</a>) lies empty next to his
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bed.
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<P>
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Half an hour later, he joins Sheridan, Delenn, Franklin and Zack for a
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meeting. The Rangers have found the debris from the last attack and
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know a lifepod is missing. This could mean a potential witness, and a
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way to head off the crisis building up in the Alliance.
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<P>
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Unfortunately, since it was a human transport in Drazi space, it is
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likely that they were smugglers, contracted by the Drazi
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Government. The Alliance members use this sort of arrangement to
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bypass Alliance regulations on dangerous substances and equipment. If
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so, the Drazi Government is unlikely to help them.
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<P>
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Fortunately, however, Garibaldi has an old friend from his days on the
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mining colony on Europa (<a href="../guide/011.html">"Survivors"</a>),
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who now works as a security consultant on the Drazi homeworld. He can
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help them locate the pilot and get him out. Sheridan wants the pilot
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to testify before the council as soon as possible. He asks Franklin to
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go with Garibaldi and help him out, but Garibaldi objects. He claims
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his contact will not trust Franklin, and the mission may be
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dangerous. Despite his misgivings about sending Garibaldi by himself,
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Sheridan agrees.
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<br clear=all>
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre09.jpeg">
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A large number of Narns seem to be camped out near G'Kar's quarters,
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and murmur in awe as he walks by. Outside his door is Ta'lon (<a
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href="../guide/033.html">"All Alone in the Night"</a>, <a
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href="../guide/047.html">"A Day in the Strife"</a>). G'Kar greets him
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warmly, but when he walks into his quarters, he discovers that the
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book he has been writing is missing. According to Ta'lon, the Kha'ri
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was worried that G'Kar had been taken prisoner and was to be executed
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in Centauri Prime. Afraid that if something happened to him, the "Book
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of G'Kar" might never see the light of day, Ta'lon helped <i>"liberate
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it"</i>, and took it back to Narn. There, copies were made, and
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eventually it was published. In only a month, over half a million
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copies have been made. It has achieved great popularity, and the Book
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of G'Kar is on its way to outselling the Book of G'Quan.
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<P>
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"Congratulations, Citizen G'Kar," quips Ta'lon. "You are now a
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religious icon."
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<br clear=all>
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre10.jpeg">
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On his way out, Garibaldi is stopped by Franklin. Franklin is afraid
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there may be something wrong between them on a personal level, a
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feeling he got because of Garibaldi's refusal to take him along on the
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mission. Garibaldi assures him it is nothing personal, but rather he
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is worried the mission will be very dangerous and Franklin will be
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unable to help. Franklin is not completely convinced, but has no
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arguments to give. Before Garibaldi leaves, Franklin says: "If you
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ever got a problem, anything at all you want to talk about... you know
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where to find me."
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<br clear=all>
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre13.jpeg">
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Garibaldi arrives at the Drazi Homeworld and is promptly contacted by
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his friend, Tafiq Azir. Tafiq knows the pilot is hiding, and why: the
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pilot's employers are not happy he lost the ship, and the Drazi agents
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that awaited the cargo want to take their losses out on him. They
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would all rather he was dead, including the Government, who would have
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to explain its involvement with smuggling. The pilot, in short, wants
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to get off planet. Tafiq has made arrangements: the pilot will signal
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Garibaldi's balcony from a near-by park, and Tafiq will arrange for a
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shuttle. A knock on the door announces the arrival of room service:
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Tafiq has ordered a bottle of some alcoholic drink. At first,
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Garibaldi refuses the drink, but he quickly changes his mind and
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starts drinking.
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<P>
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As night falls, Garibaldi is asleep on his chair, drunk. Tafiq leaves
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to finalize the arrangements, but he is assaulted in the hallway
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outside the room, and shot in the chest. Garibaldi, however, is too
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far gone to hear it.
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<br clear=all>
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre19.jpeg">
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Some time later, Garibaldi awakes. As he stands on the balcony, he
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notices the signal from the pilot flashing. Garibaldi runs out, but he
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comes upon a Drazi going through Tafiq's clothing. In the ensuing
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fistfight, the Drazi is tossed out the balcony, but a large flying
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vehicle flashes a spotlight on Garibaldi. Garibaldi runs to Tafiq, but
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it is too late to save him. With his dying breath, Tafiq tells
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Garibaldi to go and save the pilot. In the park, three robed figures,
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their heads obscured by hoods, are beating a man. Garibaldi tries to
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intervene, but they are too much for him, and he gets a beating
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instead. As the Drazi authorities approach, the hooded figures
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leave. Before the Drazi arrive, Garibaldi confirms that the pilot is
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dead, and he escapes through the narrow streets of the Drazi capital.
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<P>
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In Sheridan's office, Delenn receives an emergency transmission from
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Garibaldi. The mission has failed catastrophically, and everyone is
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after him. She arranges for a White Star to pick him up and take him
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back to Babylon 5.
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<P>
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Outside G'Kar's quarters, Narns are waiting, reading the Book of
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G'Kar. Ta'lon knocks on the door, only to receive a curt "Go away!"
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from G'Kar. But after he identifies himself, G'Kar lets him, and only
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him, inside.
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<P>
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G'Kar doesn't want to be a leader, religious or secular. He is
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overwhelmed by the attention. "I have nothing to teach them," he tells
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Ta'lon. But Ta'lon disagrees. For a hundred years, the Narns have
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only taught each other to hate and to fight. But in this New Age, the
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Narn need new lessons.
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<br clear=all>
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre26.jpeg">
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"I have not personally read your book," Ta'lon admits, "but I have
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seen the light of understanding come into their eyes. It is not about
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teaching, it is about unlearning hate and fear."
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<P>
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G'Kar does not want to lead others, afraid they may be forced
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to pay the price of his mistakes. What if he leads them the wrong way,
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teaches them the wrong lesson? Even worse, what if they come, not
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because of the lesson but because of the teacher? G'Kar fears his own
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shadow may become larger than his the message.
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<P>
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"If that happens," answers Ta'lon, "I give you my word that I will
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personally kill you." Not much comfort, perhaps, but the only comfort
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Ta'lon, as a warrior, is capable of giving. Mollified, G'Kar comes
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out, faces his admirers, and invites them in.
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<P>
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In Sheridan's office, Delenn, Sheridan, Garibaldi and G'Kar are going
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over Garibaldi's mission. The only thing Garibaldi has is a button
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from one of the cloaked figures; he also knows, from the way they felt
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when he hit them, that they were not Drazi. Garibaldi figures the ones
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behind the attacks are the ones who killed the pilot. The fact that
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they knew about him indicates that there is a leak somewhere.
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<br clear=all>
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre29.jpeg">
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Londo arrives late to the meeting and notices the button Garibaldi
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found. It is, he says, the button of a uniform of the Palace Guard;
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they are not found anywhere else. The others are taken aback by the
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revelation, and quickly move on to the next topic. After Londo leaves,
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however, they stay and talk. They agree the Centauri are almost
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certainly behind the attacks, but that Londo probably does not know
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about them. On the other hand, it was probably through him that those
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responsible found out about Garibaldi's mission.
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<P>
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G'Kar advises that Londo be told nothing. If Londo is told about
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their findings, he will be outraged and try to trace the attacks to
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their source. And shortly thereafter, he will be killed. He recounts
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the assassination attempt on Londo in Centauri Prime (<a
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href="../guide/097.html">"In the Kingdom of the Blind"</a>), and
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explains that two factions are at work in the Centauri Royal
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Court. Londo is alive because one of the factions wants him alive, and
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if he starts to ask the wrong questions he will become a liability and
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be killed. Until they find out which faction is behind it, Londo must
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be kept out of the loop. The rest agree.
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<P>
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Delenn is puzzled, however. There is no reason for the Centauri to do
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this: they need the Alliance as much as everyone else. "There is
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something here we are missing," she muses out loud.
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<br clear=all>
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<P>
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<img align=right width=160 height=120 alt="" src="/lurk/gif/100/tre33.jpeg">
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Franklin later goes to see Sheridan. Dr. Benjamin Kyle (<a
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href="../guide/000.html">"The Gathering"</a>) will retire as head of
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Xenobiological Research in Earthdome at the end of the year, and has
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asked Franklin to take over for him. After careful thought, Franklin
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has decided to accept. He points out this will even help in putting
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the information on cross-species infection together for the Alliance
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(<a href="../guide/094.html">"Strange Relations"</a>). It also means,
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however, that he has to leave Babylon 5 by the end of the
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year. Sheridan is not happy on a personal level, since he values both
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Franklin's work and his friendship. But he agrees it is a great promotion and
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great opportunity.
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<P>
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Franklin promises to tell everyone himself, especially Garibaldi. He
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goes to put a call to the latter right away, but Garibaldi doesn't
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hear the incoming message. He is passed out on his bed, an empty
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bottle of whiskey on his night stand.
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