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								<h3>Synopsis by Arturo Magidin (magidin@matem.unam.mx)</h3>


								<p>

								Garibaldi enters the Zocalo, which lies in ruins, fires and dead

								bodies everywhere. Garibaldi himself looks bloody and beaten. Among

								the dead is Sheridan, shot through the head. Next to him, a sign in

								blood reads, "You failed me." Zack Allan is also dead, next to another

								message in blood: "Where were you?"


								<P>

								Franklin is still alive, barely. "We needed you..." he gasps, before

								being shot. Laughter echoes through the Zocalo. Another Garibaldi,

								carrying a big gun, steps out from among the debris and claims

								responsibility. The beaten Garibaldi backs away, and something creeps

								out of a bar and starts engulfing him...


								<P>

								...and Garibaldi wakes with a start. It was a dream. Sitting on his

								bed is Lyta, her eyes glowing. She explains she has decided to stop

								hiding what the Vorlons did to her, and she is testing her limits. But

								Garibaldi shouldn't have woken up. "This is just a dream," she tells

								him, and Garibaldi wakes up again. There is no one in the room.


								<P>

								Then the door opens, and Lise Hampton comes in. She's come to see

								Garibaldi, since he had promised he would stay on Babylon 5 only for a

								short while (a promise he has not kept), and she misses him.


								<P>

								Delenn is picking up some papers from Sheridan's office when a call

								from Lennier comes in. Since Sheridan isn't around, she takes it

								there. Lennier reports three more attacks on Alliance ships, and no

								witnesses or evidence. However, twenty minutes before each attack,

								they intercepted coded Centauri signals. Given enough time, he will

								be able to decode them.


								<P>

								Lennier also asks if Sheridan knows about his mission. Delenn says he

								does not, but just then Sheridan starts to walk in; he stops outside,

								and overhears the final exchanges between Lennier and Delenn. Sheridan

								now knows where Lennier is and what he is doing.


								<P>

								Elsewhere, Lyta is trying to make a deal with a human

								businessman. Lyta wants a deep-range explorer ship, capable of

								holding two hundred telepaths. They will explore unknown planets for

								the man's company, using telepathy to help in cases of first contact

								and to make things far more efficient. In exchange, if they find a

								suitable, uninhabited planet, they get to form a colony.


								<P>

								The businessman is not interested, though. Working with rogue

								telepaths would invalidate their insurance, and violate their contract

								with the Psi Corps. They cannot afford either one. In his opinion,

								neither can any other company. The resources needed would be too

								great. Lyta thinks about it briefly after he leaves, and gets an idea:

								she schedules an appointment with G'Kar for later that day.


								<P>

								Vir is going over the day's business with Londo. The Royal Court

								wants the schedule of transports from Alliance worlds to Centauri

								Prime. A most unusual request, according to Londo, since the Royal

								Court has never before shown interest in this sort of thing. To

								Londo's surprise, this is in fact the only business for the day. An

								appointment with the Drazi Minister of Finance, and a photo

								opportunity with the Gaim Ambassador have both been cancelled. Vir

								thinks it has to do with the boycott of Alliance business (<a

								href="../guide/100.html">"The Ragged Edge"</a>), but Londo points

								out that these sorts of contacts must be maintained, regardless of the

								situation with the Alliance. Londo is perplexed.


								<P>

								Lise starts to make some coffee, and discovers a bottle under the

								sink. She angrily confronts Garibaldi. She's seen

								what alcohol has done to Garibaldi before, ruining his life at least

								twice. Garibaldi admits to some drinking, but claims he has it under

								control. She demands Garibaldi not drink while she's there, if he

								really has it under control. It won't make her happy, but it is a

								start. Garibaldi agrees, and pours the contents of the bottle down the

								drain.


								<P>

								In hyperspace, aboard the <i>Maria,</i> Lennier is working on decoding

								the Centauri transmissions, when Montoya comes in to ask him about his

								progress. Lennier says all he has been able to decode are three words:

								"do not reply." He believes they are being sent to a staging base. If

								so, the base must have a tachyon stream to help transmissions, and if

								they can locate it at the moment of another transmission, they can

								follow it to the base. Montoya then receives a message from Babylon 5:

								Lennier's theory will stay a theory. The <i>Maria</i> has been

								recalled immediately, by order of Sheridan himself.


								<P>

								On Babylon 5, Delenn is asking Sheridan why the recall. He explains he

								found out about the covert mission, and since it was being done

								without his knowledge, he has cancelled it. It was inappropriate,

								Sheridan claims, to assign Lennier there without telling him. Delenn

								agrees, but also says it was inappropriate for Sheridan not to assign

								Lennier there in the first place. Although he was the best qualified for

								such a mission, Sheridan was trying to protect Delenn by keeping

								Lennier safe.


								<P>

								Sheridan finally admits that his was the case, just when he gets a

								message from the <i>Maria</i>: Lennier has taken a one man fighter and

								left the ship. They cannot find him.


								<P>

								Lennier is in hyperspace, following the tachyon beam as he had

								planned. The possible location for the base, though, is too far for

								his air supply to last. So he enters a meditation trance to conserve

								as much of his oxygen as he can (<a

								href="../guide/102.html">"Meditations on the Abyss"</a>).


								<P>

								Lyta arrives for her appointment with G'Kar. She recalls the offer

								G'Kar made when she came on board (<a href="../guide/000.html">"The

								Gathering"</a>), when he offered to buy access to her DNA. She wants

								to take him up on it now. G'Kar acknowledges the Narn would like to

								reacquire telepaths, and her DNA would be a great help. Lyta offers

								him access to the DNA sequence of as many telepaths as they want, in

								exchange for certain considerations: a lot of money, deposited to an

								account on Mars; at least five deep-range starships, capable of

								holding a hundred telepaths each; and absolute secrecy. G'Kar

								expresses concerns that the last point may violate their obligations

								as members of the Alliance, but Lyta points out this is an internal

								matter for the Narn Government, and thus not subject to Alliance

								jurisdiction. She leaves to let him think about it.


								<P>

								Garibaldi and Lise arrive at the Fresh Air Cafe for dinner. Lise says

								she really is looking forward to Garibaldi's return to Mars: she needs

								him to help her deal with Edgars Industries. There is much she doesn't

								understand about the business, and much that frightens her. She asks what

								Sheridan's reaction was when Garibaldi told him he was leaving, but

								his evasions show he hasn't told Sheridan yet. The Maitre D' arrives and

								asks if they want anything to drink. Garibaldi orders coffee. When it

								arrives, Garibaldi claims it is the worst coffee he has ever had,

								stands up, cup in hand, and heads to the kitchen to complain. But once

								out of sight, he takes out a small vial from his jacket and pours

								some alcohol into the coffee before heading in again.


								<P>

								Sheridan and Delenn receive a report on the search for

								Lennier. Although three more White Stars have joined the search, they

								have found no trace of him. Sheridan orders them to continue. Montoya

								points out that the air in the fighter will be running out any time

								now, even if Lennier went into meditation to lower his consumption of

								oxygen.


								<P>

								Indeed, the air in Lennier's fighter is almost gone. Fortunately, a

								Centauri ship overtakes him, following the tachyon relay. Lennier

								engages full stealth, and attaches the fighter to the warship, drawing

								air from it. Then, the warship jumps into normal space, and Lennier's

								perseverance is rewarded: they have arrived at the Centauri staging

								base.


								<P>

								In bed, Sheridan is apologizing to Delenn for his earlier behavior,

								and acknowledges she was right to send Lennier on that mission. He is

								also trying to convince her it was not her fault that he is missing,

								probably dead. But Delenn will not accept Lennier's death until she

								has seen a body.


								<P>

								In the morning, Londo receives an urgent message from Centauri

								Prime. A Minister says that they have information that Sheridan and

								the others want to blame the Centauri for the attacks, and are even

								ready to fabricate evidence if that is what is needed. Londo claims

								Sheridan would not do that. But the Minister points out that the Narn

								have access to many ships and weapons that were left behind when the

								Centauri left Narn; and even though G'Kar would not fabricate

								evidence, other Narn consider him too close to the Centauri and might go

								ahead without his knowledge. "You must do everything you can to stop

								them from blaming our people for these attacks," the Minister tells

								Londo. "If they attempt to move against us, we will fight back." It

								could cause a war.


								<P>

								Lyta arrives at G'Kar's quarters to hear his answer. G'Kar has

								contacted his government, and they agree to Lyta's terms. They do have

								one more stipulation, however: they want Lyta and her fellow telepaths

								to "listen in" to the other ambassadors from time to time, and report

								to Narn. Lyta thinks about it briefly, but declines. Although she has

								discovered she can do many things she couldn't do before, she cannot

								do this. She still has a shred of decency left. The deal is off. She

								turns to leave.


								<P>

								G'Kar stops her before she exits. There is no such condition: he

								wanted to see how far she was willing to go. Had she agreed, G'Kar

								would have known that he couldn't trust her, and there would be no

								deal. Now, they can go ahead. She'll have her money, the ships, and

								support from the Narn.


								<P>

								Lennier's fighter is still attached to the Centauri ship, which is

								again in hyperspace, part of an attack group. Lennier starts recording

								when they jump back into normal space. There, they attack a convoy

								without warning, destroying it completely despite offers to

								surrender. When the Centauri depart, Lennier stays behind, floating

								among the debris. Once they leave, he sends out a distress call, and

								prays for the dead.


								<P>

								On Babylon 5, Sheridan receives the good news. The <i>Maria</i> has

								rescued Lennier and is heading back to Babylon 5. And he has the proof

								they need. Sheridan tells Delenn, and she is overcome with

								emotion. She leaves, and in the corridor outside she leans against a

								wall, crying and laughing. Londo happens to walk by, and asks if she

								is all right. She turns, and silently goes over and embraces him.


								<P>

								"What? What is this for?" Londo asks, confused. "I have never done

								that, in all the time you and I have been here," Delenn replies. "And

								I think, very soon, we will never have another chance." She walks away

								slowly, leaving Londo just as confused as before.


								<P>

								Later, Delenn and Sheridan welcome Lennier back. Lennier gives

								Sheridan the recordings he made, and goes off to rest. "We have worked

								months to get this information," Sheridan says, "and now that I have

								it, a part of me wants to throw it through an airlock. I was hoping we

								were wrong, Delenn." "So was I," replies Delenn. But now they know the

								truth, and they have an obligation to follow through. They will have a

								closed meeting tomorrow to review the evidence. Garibaldi comes in

								then, since Sheridan was looking for him. Sheridan says wants to meet with

								Garibaldi, Franklin, and G'Kar as soon as possible.


								<P>

								Franklin is with Londo, discussing the plans for a biological data

								base for the Alliance (<a href="../guide/094.html">"Strange

								Relations"</a>), when Vir

								interrupts. He tells Londo that a meeting is in the works for

								tomorrow, a sure indication they have evidence to present regarding

								the attacks. However, everyone is invited except Londo. "I don't like

								this," says Londo. "I don't like this at all. This is going to be

								bad."


								<P>

								Lise is preparing dinner, and Garibaldi comes in. He wants her out and

								back to Mars as soon as possible. Because, barring a miracle, they

								will soon be at war with the Centauri.