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lurkers-guide


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


								<p>

								G'Kar arrives back on Babylon 5 and is greeted by Capt. Lochley before

								he goes through customs. She tells him that that "a few" people are

								waiting for him. G'Kar is relieved to know the cult that has been

								growing around him has cooled down. Lochley laughs to herself as she

								escorts him out, where he finds many Narn blocking his way, holding

								signs, little statuettes of him, and photographs. They start chanting

								his name when they see him. As he starts to speak, they fall silently

								to one knee, awaiting his wisdom.

								<P>


								In his quarters, Garibaldi is nursing a drink. A call from Franklin

								comes in. Garibaldi is late for a meeting of the Advisory Board. He

								thought it was scheduled for four, but it is really about to

								start. Garibaldi rushes in to find everyone there. He starts giving

								his report, hesitant, confusing 'minbari' with 'centauri' and

								acting flustered. He is interrupted by Sheridan: "Mr. Garibaldi, you are

								drunk." He dismisses everyone except Garibaldi, and goes to talk

								to Delenn outside.

								<P>


								Delenn calms him down. Sheridan comes back in, and asks Garibaldi when

								he started drinking again. A couple of months ago, says

								Garibaldi. Sheridan suspected as much, but didn't know for sure until

								now. He isn't angry anymore, after talking to Delenn, but he is

								disappointed. Not on Garibaldi for failing, but on himself for failing

								to notice that something was amiss, and because Garibaldi didn't trust

								him enough to come for help. He doesn't want to fire Garibaldi, but

								cannot let his behavior go either. He suspends Garibaldi until the

								latter works out his problems. "That could take a very long time,"

								says Garibaldi. "It will take what it takes," Sheridan replies. When

								he works it out, Sheridan and the rest will be there for him.

								<P>


								Franklin makes his way to G'Kar's quarters, weaving his way through

								many Narn holding statuettes of G'Kar. Once inside, G'Kar explains

								that more and more of his people arrive every hour. Franklin explains

								that he is there with a message from the Kha'ri, who have been trying

								to contact G'Kar. Narn is up in arms. Half the Kha'ri wants G'Kar to

								come back and take charge. But G'Kar turned down leadership before (<a

								href="../guide/071.html">"The Long Night"</a>), and will not take

								it now. That brings Franklin to what the other half wants: they want

								him to go back long enough to give them his blessings and let them

								rule in his name.

								<P>


								G'Kar's popularity has grown. Many believe it was his presence on

								Centauri Prime that allowed them to attack without retribution, and

								they consider his survival another miracle. "And," Franklin continues,

								"you don't want power. And people love giving power to those they

								believe don't want it."

								<P>


								According to Lochley, more ships arrive by the hour, full of pilgrims

								intent on learning from G'Kar. If he stays they will flood the

								station. "And if I go home," he adds, "they will make me

								into... <i>this!</i>" he says pointing disgustedly at a statuette of

								himself. He has little to no options.

								<P>


								Zack arrives in Lochley's office. A transmission from Earth Security

								HQ is standing by: dozens of terrorist attacks on Psi Corps property

								have been perpetrated over the last month. At each scene, the legend

								"Remember Byron" (<a href="../guide/099.html">"Phoenix Rising"</a>)

								has been found spraypainted on the walls. And they have tracked the

								money used to buy the equipment used by the terrorists, who are

								described as extremely well-armed amateurs, to Babylon 5;

								specifically, to Lyta Alexander. Lochley and Zack are ordered to

								detain Lyta for questioning, arrest her if necessary, and ship her to

								Earth.

								<P>


								Lochley stops by to talk to Garibaldi and check on him. She offers to

								help, claiming she understands. Garibaldi is angry and lashes out at

								her, disbelieving her claim of understanding. Lochley expands: her

								father was an alcoholic, angry at himself for giving up painting in

								order to join the military as was expected of him. Garibaldi is still

								angry, and when he fails to kick her out of his quarters, he storms

								out himself. But Lochley won't leave him until he is done. She follows

								him into a lift and stops it, to finish her story. She tells him how

								she herself become a drug and alcohol addict (<a

								href="../guide/096.html">"Day of the Dead"</a>), ran away, and

								became that which she hated most, until someone close to her

								died. After that, she tried to get better, but every day is a

								struggle. "Maybe that's why we didn't get along from day one," she

								says. "Maybe we recognized too much of ourselves in the other person."

								<P>


								Shortly thereafter, Zack and Lochley are ready to take Lyta, who is in

								the Zocalo negotiating with someone, apparently unworried. A full

								squad approaches, and she is told she doesn't have a choice but to

								come with them. She replies, "Are you sure about that?" and starts

								tapping at the table. All the customers around her also start tapping,

								the same rhythm as she taps.

								<P>


								"I'm tired of being pushed around, Captain," Lyta says. "I do not

								choose to be arrested." Patrons start converging on Lochley's squad. "Lyta,

								don't force us to..." starts the Captain. "To what?" Lyta interrupts. Now

								even the security squad is frozen in place. "You cannot harm me," Lyta

								says. "You cannot stop one who has been touched by Vorlons."

								<P>


								But then a PPG warms up, and is put to her temple. It's Sheridan: "You

								are not the only one that's been touched by the Vorlons. Let them

								go. Let them go or I will blow the back of your skull off!" Lyta

								releases everyone, and is handcuffed. "You can't be everywhere,

								Mr. President," Lyta says defiantly. "Good point," says Lochley, and

								slugs Lyta, knocking her unconscious. Lyta is dragged to level one

								lockup.

								<P>


								Later, Garibaldi finds Lochley. He's been trying to find her to

								apologize for his earlier behavior, and has found out about

								Lyta. Lochley has something to show him, though: Lise Hampton arriving

								on Babylon 5. Lochley sent a message in his name, asking for her

								help, so Lise came. Garibaldi and Lise embrace, and Lochley leaves.

								<P>


								Franklin arrives in Sheridan's office. Sheridan is monitoring Lyta,

								who has been placed isolated from other humans, and with the system on

								full automatic. Just then, Delenn enters, swearing and pacing

								furiously. The Narn government will boycott all shipments to and from

								Babylon 5 until G'Kar returns. They believe he is staying there out of

								a sense of obligation, and that if he is told to go home, he will. But

								before she can continue, she faints.

								<P>


								Garibaldi tells Lise his full story in his quarters. Lise reminds him

								that he was going to leave at the end of the year anyway. Garibaldi

								wants to sober up, but doesn't know how long it will take; and he

								doesn't want to go back to her until he can get everything right, give

								her a normal life. But Lise suggests that he come back to Mars anyway,

								pointing out that nobody ever gets everything right, and that there is

								no such thing as a normal life. And she needs him, to help run Edgars

								Industries among other things. And she still wants to marry him, more

								than anything. Garibaldi agrees to go back, but he is suddenly struck

								by an idea. He gets up to leave: "I am going to kill two teeps with

								one stone," he says.

								<P>


								In MedLab, Franklin tells Sheridan that Delenn is now stable, but only

								time will tell if her system can adjust to the change and stress: she

								is pregnant. Sheridan is surprised, as he didn't know for sure whether

								or not she could get pregnant. The pregnancy is putting a lot of strain

								on her system, and since it is a unique situation, Franklin doesn't

								know if she can carry the baby to full term and survive, although he

								figures the odds are good. Sheridan hopes she can, but if he has to

								choose between the baby and his wife, he will choose Delenn.

								<P>


								In the brig, Garibaldi comes to see Lyta with a proposal. Lyta

								disables the monitoring equipment with a thought, and hears him

								out. In exchange for having her remove the neural block against

								harming Bester (<a href="../guide/099.html">"Phoenix

								Rising"</a>), he will use Edgars Industries' influence with EarthGov

								to have the charges against her dropped, although Lyta will probably have to

								leave Babylon 5. But it isn't enough of an inducement for Lyta, so she has a

								counter-proposal...  <P>


								G'Kar is outside of Lochley's office, and overhears her talking with

								Garibaldi. Garibaldi blames the mess with Lyta and her telepaths on

								the Narns paying Lyta for telepath DNA (<a

								href=../guide/103.html">"Darkness Ascending"</a>). But as Lochley

								points out, even if this is so they can't do anything about it: Narn

								internal affairs are outside of Alliance jurisdiction. Garibaldi says

								that Lyta has agreed to transfer all the money from the secret account

								she has it in now, to a fund to be used to help telepaths, no more

								terrorism. The accounts will be kept, and books made available for

								review by anyone at any time. Garibaldi will pick an administrator for

								the fund, and will use Edgars Industries to have a Senator (who

								receives substantial campaign contributions from the company)

								intercede on Lyta's behalf and have the charges dropped.

								<P>


								But Lochley doesn't want Lyta free to wander around the station; she

								considers her too powerful, too dangerous, and unstable. G'Kar

								interrupts then, coming in, and offers a solution: he will not return

								to Narn, since then they will turn him into what they expect of

								him. And he cannot stay. Both he and Lyta are in the same

								position: unable to go home, unable to stay. So G'Kar intends to go

								"out there," visit places all around the Galaxy in a quest to learn

								and understand more, that his knowledge may one day help his

								people. He will return when he can find a way to destroy the icon he

								has become, without having to destroy his message as well. And he

								could use a traveling companion: Lyta.

								<P>


								"I have learned a great deal about healing wounds and curing anger,"

								G'Kar explains. "Perhaps, in my own way, I can help her deal with her

								own anger, as I dealt with mine." He will leave as soon as his affairs

								are in order, perhaps never to return, whether Lyta goes with him or

								not.

								<P>


								Back in his quarters, Garibaldi tells Lise that Lochley agreed to the

								proposal. He then points out that everyone is either leaving, or has

								left already: Londo to Centauri Prime, Lyta and G'Kar will leave

								together. Franklin will go to Earth at the end of the year, and

								Sheridan and Delenn will go to Minbar when the headquarters for the

								Alliance are finished. And Garibaldi will leave soon as well. It isn't

								going to be the same place again. But Lise is happy that Garibaldi

								has taken the first step in getting his life back together. "You made a

								good deal," she tells him, and goes off to bed.

								<P>


								"I made a good deal," repeats Garibaldi to himself, as he recalls the

								details of the arrangement:

								<P>


								Lyta realizes she doesn't have the background to keep the money secret,

								but Garibaldi does. He can use Edgars Industries as cover, to

								launder the money, and for contacts and resources to do the work

								secretly. She wants two accounts: the public one Garibaldi told

								Lochley about, and a secret one to continue the attacks on the Psi

								Corps. The latter will have most of the money, and Garibaldi is to use

								it to hurt the Corps and help telepaths. "You can't hurt Bester

								directly because of the block," Lyta adds. "But you can help me bring

								down everything he cares about." He can help destroy the Psi

								Corps. But she will not remove the neural block, not yet

								anyway. That's her bargaining chip. She will check back in two years,

								and if Garibaldi has created a force she can use, she'll remove the

								block. Not before. "Then you can deal with Bester," she says, "and

								I'll deal with the Corps."

								<P>


								"Aren't you taking an awful chance?" Garibaldi asks. "I could just

								take the money and run." "I don't believe you would do that," answers

								Lyta. "If I thought otherwise, I would kill you where you stand."

								Garibaldi has one more demand, however. He wants to know what's going

								on with her, what the Vorlons did. The way she figures it, the Vorlons

								created her as a superweapon, a telepathic equivalent of a

								thermonuclear bomb, a doomsday device, to use against the Shadows when

								all other weapons failed or ran out. A very serious prospect.

								<P>


								In her quarters, Sheridan and Delenn are in bed. But Sheridan can't

								help staring at her. "One would think," she jokes, "that you've never

								seen a pregnant half-human, half-Minbari before." They laugh, and

								Sheridan asks her why she wasn't sleeping either. She says she misses

								Londo; they haven't heard from him since they left Centauri

								Prime. Sheridan blames it on Londo's ascension to the throne, pointing

								out that it will require a big adjustment on Londo's part.

								<P>


								"Hell, he's probably still celebrating his coronation," Sheridan

								adds. "Partying all night." "I hope so," answers Delenn.

								<P>


								In the Centauri Royal Palace, Londo sits on the imperial throne, alone

								and in silence.