Airdate: May 19, 1997
Episode # : 80
Production # : 414
Guest stars: Walter Koenig as Bester, Scott Adams (the creator of DILBERT!!!!) as Mr. Adams, Bart Mcarthy as Shakiri and John Vickery as Neroon.
TEASER
Babylon 5
Garibaldi is awakened during the night by a transmission from Mars, sent by William Edgars, the Great Humanitarian. Edgars, by the way, doesn't show his face.
Garibaldi: "Mr. Edgars, have I mentioned to you that there is a 7 hour time difference between Babylon 5 and Mars?"
Edgars: "Yes, you have. However, I am on call 24 hours a day and I expect the same from everyone who works for me. The weekly retainer I'm paying you entitles me to some, small, eccentricities."
Garibaldi: "What do you want?"
Edgars: "A package will be arriving. I want you to get it through customs without any trouble, and forward it to my people."
Garibaldi agrees to get the job done, and then asks Edgars when he will be able to travel to Mars to meet him.
Edgars: "In the fullness of time, Mr. Garibaldi. Goodbye."
Sheridan's quarters
Sheridan wakes up in the middle of the night, calls C & C. He asks if they have been able to get any word through to Minbar or if Delenn has sent a message since she landed. The C & C duty officer reports they have been unsuccessful in contacting her, but will keep trying. Needless to say, Sheridan doesn't sleep well.
Minbar
Delenn walks through a religious temple, observing the Minbari Religious Caste members who have been injured in the war. Lennier says that the Warrior Caste has surrounded the city and threatens to level the city unless the Religious Caste surrenders by the next day.
Babylon 5
Lyta Alexander has a job interview. Her interviewer is impressed with her talent and experience, but when she mentions that she will have to execute the normal background checks and Psi-Corps verification, Lyta explains that she is not with the corps. The interviewer explains, somewhat heatedly, that her company can't hire non Psi-Corps commercial telepaths because their insurance policy won't allow it. Dissappointed, the interviewer leaves. Devastated, Lyta leaves.
Minbari Cruiser
Neroon meets with Shakiri, the leader of the Warrior Caste. Shakiri, very arrogantly, explains to Neroon that the death of a few Minbari now will prevent the death of countless Minbari in the future. He explains that the dead Minbari will be reborn into the next Minbari generation, perhaps even as Warrior Caste. When Neroon questions the high price that the war cost, Shakiri waves off Neroon, saying that the cities can be rebuilt. Also, when Neroon inquires about the cost of life, Shakiri replies:
Shakiri: "For a warrior, life or death are the only consequences. Each equal, neither feared or valued above the other. For a warrior, death is the release of his obligation."
Babylon 5
Zack meets Bester in the customs area.
Zack: "Back so soon, Mr. Bester?"
Bester: "Seemed like forever, Mr. Allen.
Zack: "So, why have you honored us with this visit?"
Bester: "I'm not here to meet with you or the command staff. I'm here as a representative of Psi-Corps. Believe it or not, I have a life that does not include Babylon 5, Sheridan, Ivanova and the rest of the command staff."
Zack, half paying attention to Bester's rambling, notices Mr. Garibaldi secretly meeting with someone, who gives him a package. Garibaldi then disappears around a corner.
Zack rushes off to find Garibaldi.
Bester: (to guards)"I think Mr. Allen is under a lot of stress. He's not eating right. Make sure he gets a lot of fiber."
Guard: "Mind you own business."
Bester: " 'Humanity is my business.' . . . "
Guard: " ?????"
Bester: "Scrooge, Dickens? A Christmas Carol? . . . I can see they're upholding the fine tradition of hiring from the shallow end of the gene pool."
After some time, Zack finds Garibaldi hustling through the Zocalo and intercepts him. When Zack inquires about the package, Garibaldi clams up.
Garibaldi: "I work hard and I'm honest. Maybe you don't appreciate that."
Zack: "Slipping packages through customs. Is that honest, Michael?"
Garibaldi: "Yeah, about as honest as breaking away from Earth, taking over military equipment and starting our own little empire out here.
Minbar
Lennier enters a place where Delenn is.
Delenn: "I have discussed it with the others. Tell the Warrior Caste that we are prepared to surrender, at a time and place of their choosing."
Lennier: "But. . . "
Delenn: "Tell them, Lennier. Just tell them."
Lennier bows and leaves.
Babylon 5
Lyta has a snack and views the Voice of the Resistance in the Zocalo. Bester approaches behind her. Lyta sends a telepathic message, loud and clear, to Bester. Bester, however, has a proposition for Lyta.
Bester: "I know you've been looking for work. A couple of the corporations you approached called us for a reference. Naturally, we couldn't provide one. I imagine you must be desperate for money."
Lyta: "I'm fine."
Bester: "Of course you are. It's just unfair. Sheridan and the rest have a support mechanism. Their salaries are paid by the docking fees of the alien ships. Their meals and clothing are all free. But what about poor Lyta Alexander? How does she earn a living? I mean, being a freedom fighter, a force for good, is a wonderful thing. You get to make your own hours, looks good on a resume, but the pay. . . sucks. So, I want to make a deal with you."
Lyta: "I won't go back."
Bester: "You won't have to. Here's what I have in mind."
Bester explains he can take her name off of the rogue list and put it on a "special deep cover agent" list. He says she'd be corps in name only, and although she'd have to wear the insignia and the gloves, she'd be free to do what she wants.
Lyta: "In exchange for what?"
Bester: "I want your body."
Lyta: "WHAT?!?!? Are you out of your mind?"
Bester calms her down and explains that he knows the Vorlons altered her, and he wants to study her body after she dies to find out how the Vorlons altered her.
Lyta: "I'd rather put a bullet through my own brain."
Bester: "I'll be here a few days, just in case you change your mind. . . "
Lyta storms out. From a short distance, Garibaldi observes the whole scene.
Minbari Cruiser
Neroon and Shakiri meet. Neroon tells Shakiri that the Religious Caste has agreed to surrender. They discuss the location of the event. Neroon then asks Shakiri what will be done with Delenn.
Shakiri: "She'll go along with it for a time. But she'll soon turn against us. She is a threat to our authority. She will return to Babylon 5. I think we can guarantee that her ship will never reach its destination."
Babylon 5
Zack enters Lyta's quarters. Lyta is having dinner, invites Zack to join her.
Zack: "I can't. I have to be in five places at once. I've got business here. Station resources wants you to move to smaller quarters."
Lyta: "What? Why? I mean, I just got this place fixed up."
Zack explains that until last month, the Vorlons paid for her room and board, but now that she no longer has a steady income, and B5 needs every credit it can get, they need her to move to smaller, F-sized quarters. Lyta concedes, and thanks Zack for telling her, since it was easier accepting it from him than some stranger. Zack then offers her a proposition: he wants to hire her to scan Garibaldi, without permission. Lyta stresses she needs the money, but can't scan him without permission.
Zocalo
Mr. Adams!!!!!!! wants to hire Garibaldi to find his dog and cat (presumably Dogbert and Catbert), who are, by the way, planning to take over the galaxy! After Mr. Adams leaves, Lyta approaches Garibaldi and asks for a job. Garibaldi balks at first, saying he distrusts telepaths, but not Lyta. He hires her on a trial basis. Bester approaches, very inconveniently, and scans Garibaldi. When Lyta informs Garibaldi, he jumps Bester and tells him to stay out of his mind. Security nabs Garibaldi. Bester turns to leave, and runs straight into Zack Allen. . .
Minbar -- Temple of Varenni
Delenn and members of the Religious Caste meet Shakiri. Before meeting, however, Delenn hands instructions to Lennier, telling him to keep them until the event is over. Seen across the entire planet of Minbar, Delenn formally surrenders to Shakiri. Shakiri boasts of the strength of the Warrior Caste, but Delenn interrupts him, goes on a tear about ancient tradition and then opens the Starfire Wheel, a device which leaders of castes would step into to settle power disputes. The Starfire Wheel would "consume" the people inside. The one person who stayed inside and sacrificed his life, would determine which caste would lead. Delenn steps in, invites Shakiri to enter. Shakiri calls her mad, but is faced by the dilemna of being known as a coward.
Delenn: "The Warrior Caste began the war, the Religious Caste ended it. Now, we say, we are willing to endure the Starfire Wheel for the good of our people. If the Warrior Caste will not do the same, then you are not fit to leave. Valen said: 'Will you follow me into fire? Will you?"
Minbar -- Temple of Varenni
Lennier: "Delenn, don't do this!"
Delenn: "What's done is done. You have your instructions."
The Starfire wheel continues to widen. Shakiri will not step into the wheel, calls the whole exercise madness. Neroon confronts Shakiri over his unwillingness to sacrifice himself:
Neroon: "You said that a warrior does not fear death. You said that death was only one of two consequences, neither valued above the other. Death is merely a release from our obligations."
Shakiri, moved by Neroon, steps into the Starfire Wheel and is overwhelmed with pain. Delenn, too, is in pain but does not show it. Shakiri tells Delenn that they can walk out together and share the power. He says no one would move against them together. Unable to endure the pain, Shakiri jumps out of the Starfire Wheel, only Delenn remains. Neroon watches Delenn fall inside the Wheel, and jumps in with her. He picks her up and gives Delenn to Lennier. Alone now, Neroon yells:
Neroon: "I was born, Warrior Caste. But I see now, the calling of my heart, is RELIGIOUS! The war is over. Listen to her. Listen. . . "
The Starfire Wheel envelops Neroon. The Fire disappears, as does Neroon.
Babylon 5
Edgars contacts Garibaldi about his hiring of Lyta Alexander. Edgars instructs Garibaldi to immediately fire Lyta, because he doesn't trust telepaths. He tells Garibaldi to fire Lyta or lose his job.
Later
While Bester Voices-Over, Garibaldi is seen firing Lyta, who storms away.
Bester: "Personal log, August 23, 2261. By provoking Mr. Garibaldi, I've put him further at odds with his former associates and further on the path I need him to folow. "
While he speaks, the scene switches to Lyta's quarters. She is seen, with tears in her eyes, wearing the Psi-Corps pin and putting on the gloves. . .
Bester: "What I came here to get, I got. Even her. I guess you could call it a bank shot. yes, I've had a nice day. . ."
Minbari Cruiser
Delenn is still weak, and Lennier protests, but she insists on restoring the government as soon as possible. In the former Grey Council chamber, Delenn restores the Grey Council, with 2 members each from the Religious and Warrior caste, and 5 members from the Worker Caste. She explains that in the past, the Workers have been ignored and caught in the middle. She explains that Religion and War are meant to service the people, not the other way around. She reserves the space in the middle in memory of Neroon, until the One Who Is To Come takes his place. Then, she leaves.
Babylon 5
Sheridan gets ready to go on duty. Ivanova storms into his quarters.
Ivanova: "Those bastards!"
Ivanova shows Sheridan a video recorded by a commercial liner. She says that there were ships carrying injured people away from Proxima 3, 5 of them each loaded with 2000 passengers, crammed in like sardines. The video shows an Earth Alliance destroyer destroying all of the ships.
Sheridan: "This madness has gone on long enough. I don't care if we're not ready yet. I don't care if we're outnumbered or outgunned, I don't care what ISN says about us. This stops and this stops NOW! If Earth wants to declare war on us than it's time we take the war to Clarke. You tell the others, starting right now, we fight back and we fight back HARD!"
Ivanova: "I thought you were looking for some other way than firing on our own ships. They were following orders."
Sheridan: "Any crew that executes an order like that is guilty of war crimes. They deserve whatever they get. No, we're riding in. Anyone who wants to defect and join us, fine. If they get in our way, we'll knock 'em down. If they kill one of our ships, then we'll kill three of theirs. And we keep going. We never slow down and we don't stop. No, we're going after the colonies, then Mars. . . then Earth. . . . . . . . And God help anybody who gets in our way."