[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b5momentsoftransition_6114.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Step into the fire.]]
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->''Valen said, "Will you follow me into fire?" [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Will you?]]''
-->-'''Delenn'''

[[WokenUpAtAnUngodlyHour Garibaldi is woken up in the middle of the night]] by a call from William Edgars. He has another package arriving on B5 that he wants Garibaldi to get past customs and through to Io. Edgars doesn't trust anyone except Garibaldi, for now, to make it happen, and Garibaldi says he'll do it. He then asks when he'll be coming to Mars for the face-to-face Edgars promised and is simply told, "In the fullness of time".

Sheridan is also having a restless night. Ever since fighting broke out on Minbar he's been worried about Delenn, who he hasn't been able to get in touch with.

On Minbar, the crystal cities are burning, and Delenn walks among the wounded refugees. Lennier brings her an update. The Warrior Caste has them surrounded and delivered an ultimatum: surrender, or they will end the war by destroying the city and anyone in it.

In the Zocalo, Lyta is being interviewed for a contract job, but the offer is rescinded when Lyta admits she's not in Psi Corps. Lyta tries to find a work-around, but the company rep shuts her down completely.

Neroon comes to meet with Shai Alyt Shakiri. He congratulates Neroon for a successful mission and enabling them to end the war. Neroon is worried about the cost, but Shakiri assures him that, while regreattable, the cities can be rebuilt and the dead will be reborn into the next generation of Minbari. He feel they need to teach the Religious caste a lesson about what wars should truly be fought for, not holy wars or conflicts over ideals. Shakiri makes some observations about Delenn, that she values life, which will be her weakness, and prompt her to surrender. Neroon wonders if it is truly a weakness, is it not what they fight for? Shakiri responds that they fight because it is their nature.

-->'''Shakiri''': Life and death are simply two possible consequences, both equal, neither valued nor feared above the other. For a warrior, death is simply a release from out obligations.

Zack is trying to organize arrivals in the docking bay, when he notices Garibaldi and his contact. Before he can do anything about it, some of his people bring Mr. Bester over. He's not here on anything that involves the command staff this time, but while he deals with Bester, Garibaldi disappears. Zack says he needs to get approval from the captain to let Bester aboard, then goes to chase after Garibaldi. Zack catches him and demands to know where the package he was given is. Garibaldi refuses to say anything about it, and Zack tries to confront him about his association with William Edgars. Again, Garibaldi will not confirm or deny, and starts to get annoyed when Zack tries to dig further. He's just a guy trying to make an honest living. Like smuggling packages past customs, which is about as legal as taking over a major space installation along with all the military grade equipment on it.

-->'''Garibaldi''' You know, Zack, if you got a problem maybe you should take a peek in the mirror and don't bother me, ok?

On Minbar, Delenn has Lennier send a message to the Warrior Caste. They are prepared to surrender, at a time and place of their choosing.

Lyta is watching Ivanova's story on another defection from Earthforce when Bester come up. She's not in the mood to talk, but Bester has a proposition anyway. He can slide her name off the rogue list into a special category for deep cover agents. She'd have to wear the badge, and the gloves, and the 10% fee to the Corps, but there's something else. He wants her body. Not in the way it sounds, but just when she's not using it anymore. He has a power of attorney giving him access to her body after she dies, of natural causes, of course, otherwise the contract is null and void. He knows the Vorlons altered her, and he wants to know how. It's a chance to put her life back together, but she just stalks off. He'll be there a few days in case she changes her mind. Meanwhile, Garibaldi was watching the whole thing.

Neroon informs Shakiri of the surrender. He's chosen a place called the Temple of Varenni to accept it, where disputes between Minbari were settled before Valen came. It will show that they are returning to the old ways. And it is equipped for a planet-wide broadcast. They will begin as soon as they arrive.

Shakiri has plans beyond that, however. He sees Delenn as a threat in the long term, and intends to make sure her ship back to Babylon 5 [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident never arrives]].

Lyta is making dinner in her quarters when Zack comes by. She invites him to stay and join her, but he has bad news. The lease the Vorlons paid for is expired, and they need her to move to smaller quarters. Initially irate, she apologizes for snapping at him and thanks him for telling her himself. He then brings up a possible job he has for her: scan Mr. Garibaldi. She's willing, as long as it's with his consent. Yeah...no go on that regard. Lyta refuses to do an invasive scan, [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules even if she is desperate for money]]. Zack had to try at least.

For Garibaldi's part, he's dealing with the weirdos when Lyta comes up and asks for a job. He asks a few question, what's her range (officially about 25 meters; unofficially a lot more), and he's willing to give her a try, but Bester interrupts. He just seems to want to annoy Garibaldi but as he walks off, Lyta detects him scanning Garibaldi. Michael runs off after him and shoves the Psi Cop to the wall yelling threats until security hauls him off. Bester watches with a grin, the turns to find Zack standing there. "Hi."

At the Temple of Varenni, Lennier is lamenting this turn of events, but Delenn says the day is not over yet. She then gives him something to hold on to until the ceremony is over. The instructions are inside. Before he can ask about it they are called in to meet Shakiri and Neroon. As the people of Minbar watch, Delenn, speaking for the Religious Caste, offers their surrender. Shakiri triumphantly begins announcing his plans to rebuild Minbar into something greater, to reform the Grey Council into a Warrior's Council...

-->'''Delenn''': Excuse me.\\
'''Shakiri''': Yes?\\
'''Delenn''': I said that we surrendered. I did not say that we gave up our sovereign rights to form a new government.

Surrender of one side is the natural conclusion of any conflict, and she recognizes that the Religious Caste has no chance against the warriors they had helped to arm and train and prepare for their duties. She addresses the people watching, telling them some of the temple's history, that it was where the leaders who began and ended wars would show that they were willing to lay their life on the line for the good of their people as well.

An opening in the roof begins to open, and a beam of light is cast down to the floor. Since they are reverting to the old ways, Delenn calls Shakiri to honor the ancient laws.

-->'''Delenn''': The leaders of each warring caste would step into the circle. The Starfire Wheel would open and its [[IncendiaryExponent fire would begin to consume them]]. Those who did not deserve to rule, who would not sacrifice themselves as they asked others to do on their behalf, would escape the fire. The sacrifice of the one who remained, who believed so much in his caste that he would lay down his life for them, that would determine which caste would be dominant among us.\\
'''Shakiri''': This is a violation of...\\
'''Delenn''': It is the tradition of our people!

She declares that she is willing to endure the Starfire Wheel, and calls Shakiri to do the same or be seen as unworthy. Lennier tries to talk her out of it, and Shakiri tries to find a way out of it. Neroon reminds him he said that for a warrior, death was one of two consequences, neither valued nor feared above the other. Why is he afraid then? His pride challenged, Shakiri joins Delenn. He immediately recoils in pain and tries to persuade Delenn to walk out with him, and share the power. She flatly refuses, and as the Wheel opens further, the pain becomes too much and [[DirtyCoward he throws himself out]]. Delenn remains, which confuses Neroon. When she proposed this she said she would come out of the fire after Shakiri did. Suddenly she collapses, and Neroon goes in after her. He picks her up and hands her to Lennier, then stand inside the circle.

-->'''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 Wheel opens completely and Neroon is incinerated, leaving stunned onlookers behind.

Mr. Edgars once again calls Garibaldi early in the morning. He's calling about Lyta, and he doesn't like having a telepath working for one of his retainers. He insists Garibaldi fire her immediately. Garibaldi tries to protest, but Edgars won't budge, threatening to terminate their relationship if he doesn't fire her.

Later, Bester watches as Garibaldi breaks the news to Lyta, who walks off angry, confused and hurt.

-->'''Bester''': Personal Log: Bester, Al. August 3rd, 2261. By provoking Mr. Garibaldi, I've put him even further at odds with his former associates, and further on the path I need him to follow. What I came here to get, I got...even her. Guess you could call it a bank shot. Yes, I've had a nice day.

Signed contract on her table, Lyta looks at herself in the mirror wearing her new Psi Corps uniform, and breaks down into tears.

Despite barely being able to walk, Delenn comes to the ''Valen'tha'' to reform the Grey Council. One by one she calls them forward: Dhaliri of the Religious Caste, Mazetch of the Warrior Caste, Bhurlee of the Religious Caste, and Shakat of the Warrior Caste. In the past they have sought balance with three each from the three castes, but now it will be different. She calls for the representatives from the Worker Caste to come forward, Durlan, Katz, Zakat, Nur, and Varenn. She then addresses the Warrior and Religious Castes.

-->'''Delenn''': You have forgotten the Worker Caste, haven't you? When our two sides fight, they are the ones caught in the middle, forgotten, until it is their time to serve, to build and to die. They build the temples we pray in, the ships you fight in. They looks to us to guide their hands. But prayer is fleeting and wars forgotten, but what is built endures.

From now on, the Council will consist of two each from the Warrior and Religious Castes and five from the Worker Caste. For their desire to build the future, they will now have the chance to do that. The Religious and Warrior Castes will serve as advisers. She bids them judge wisely and justly. And the center, the place of the Chosen One, is reserved in memory of Neroon, until it is taken by the One Who is to Come.

On Babylon 5, Sheridan is getting ready for the day when Ivanova storms in. She has news, bad news. Worse, it's not just a rumor. She has footage of an Earthforce warship firing on and destroying two starliners carrying sick and wounded near Proxima III. There were ten thousand casualties. Sheridan decides this has gone on long enough. It's time to move. Whether they're ready or not, they're taking the fight to Clark. Ivanova reminds him that they were trying to find a way without shooting at their own people, that the crews were following orders, but Sheridan says anyone who executes such an order is guilty of war crimes. If some want to join them, fine, but the rest will get what's coming to them.

-->'''Sheridan''': If they get in our way we'll knock 'em down. If they kill one of our ships, we'll kill three of theirs! And we keep going, we never slow down and we won't stop. No, we're going after the colonies, then Mars...and then Earth. God help anybody who gets in our way.

!This episode contains examples of:

* BadassBoast: Sheridan declares if Earth destroys one of their ships, they'll destroy three in return.
* BatmanGambit: Bester arrives on the station and does everything he can to antagonize Garibaldi, hoping to alienate him and Lyta from the rest of the station staff. And how much you want to bet he's the one who tipped off Edgars about Lyta?
* {{Cincinnatus}}: Delenn calls the Council together--an honor normally reserved for the One--but reserves the spot held by the One in memory of Neroon, giving up her spot among the Council to return to Babylon 5.
* ContinuityNod:
** Lyta mentions her time as an [[Recap/BabylonFiveS02E19DividedLoyalties intern with the Psi Cops]].
** Garibaldi was the first person Lyta met when she [[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E00TheGathering first arrived on Babylon 5]].
* CosmicPlaything: Poor Lyta. She just can't get a break.
* CowardiceCallout: Delenn effectively calls the warrior caste's head a MilesGloriosus for being more afraid of committing ritual suicide than of starting a CivilWar.
* DealWithTheDevil: Lyta clearly regards Bester's offer as this.
* DirtyCoward: Shakiri is ultimately revealed to be this. First he proposes that he and Delenn walk out of the Starfire Wheel together, which she refuses, then he jumps out when he can't take it anymore.
* DoomedMoralVictor: The Starfire Wheel is designed to invoke this. The leaders of a Minbari civil conflict would enter to face the same fate they had sent so many others under them to, and the one who jumped out first was declared unfit to lead. Any leaders who stayed until the wheel fully opened became this by default, with their caste being the victors and having the right to set terms but the leader themself being dead. Delenn almost lets it happen to herself, until Neroon takes her place, declaring himself Religious Caste so that Delenn's side wins.
* TheEngineer: Delenn gives the Worker Caste a majority control of the Grey Council. As she points out, prayer is fleeting and wars come to an end. But what is built, ''endures''.
* ExactWords: Shakiri talks about going back to the old ways of the Minbari people before Valen and the Grey Council. Delenn and Neroon point out that this means he must accept the ancient tradition of the Starfire Wheel.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Edgars doesn't want telepaths working for him, even indirectly...
* HeroicSacrifice: Neroon sacrifices himself to prevent Delenn sacrificing herself. It's all very noble.
* HeroismWontPayTheBills: Lyta is finding this and Bester is able to work it to his advantage.
* HonorBeforeReason:
** Delenn and Neroon invoke this on Shakiri, forcing him to choose between death or humiliation.
** On a less fatal note Lyta refuses to "take handouts" from the command staff, despite the fact that they'd likely be quite willing to help her out, given all she's done for them.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Shakiri jumps out of the Starfire Wheel despite earlier having said that a warrior doesn't fear death any more than life.
* IncendiaryExponent: Back when they still had wars amongst themselves, the Minbari decided caste dominance in ancient times by having the caste leaders step into the Starfire Wheel. This literally burns them to death if they remain inside for too long - which they're supposed to do, to prove their willingness to face danger themselves, not just force others into it, and their belief in the rightness of their caste's cause. They who burn longest, win.
* IronicEcho:
** As Delenn states, Valen asked the Minbari if they would "follow me into fire". Turns out, [[NotHyperbole he wasn't speaking rhetorically]].
** Neroon reminds Shakiri of what he said about life and death being simply two possibilities to get him to join Delenn in the Starfire Wheel.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Bester rightly highlights the fact that Lyta put herself at great risk to help the others, and all of her problems lately are because she can't get paying work and the station staff aren't giving her financial support.
** Garibaldi, who's been an increasingly hostile JerkAss toward the crew, points out that seceding from Earth Alliance, taking their valuable space station and everything on it, was hardly legal.
* MadeOfIron: Delenn barely flinches as she's being roasted alive by the Starfire Wheel.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Shakiri says they can make sure Delenn's ship never arrives back at Babylon 5.
* NavalBlockade: Earthforce ships have a blockade going around the colony of Proxima III. One ship participating in it ruthlessly destroys two passenger liners attempting to escape, killing over ten thousand civilians, and provoking Sheridan into going on the offensive.
* NoPointsForNeutrality: Averted. The Worker Caste doesn't seem to have taken part in the fighting and Delenn gives them the majority on the new Grey Council. She reasons that they are the only ones without an agenda to push, and are mainly concerned with keeping the Minbari Federation operating. Also, they were the ones who had to clean up after every war the Warrior and Religious castes got them into, and are the largest of all the Minbari Castes but have historically been treated as second-class citizens by the Religious and Warriors.
* OrwellianRetcon: In the first airing of the episode, there wasn't supposed to be a close-up shot of the ''Omega''-class destroyer that destroyed the civilian vessels. So they used the ''Agamemnon'' as the model. Turned out there *was* a close-up shot. Oops. Later airings showed the attacking vessel as the ''Pollux'' instead, in line with it being mentioned as one of the ships who fired on civilians.
* OutOfFocus: Sheridan and Ivanova, in order to let the episode focus on Delenn and Neroon on the one plotline and Lyta and Bester in the other.
* ThePawnsGoFirst: The ancient Minbari were well aware of this, and built the Starfire Wheel as a direct rebuttal of it. If caste leaders were going to throw the lives of their followers into battle, they would have to face it themselves.
* {{Pride}}: Shakiri's weakness, used against him when Delenn enters the Wheel to prove her willingness to sacrifice her life for her people, forcing him to do the same or be disgraced. His pride forces him into the Wheel, his cowardice forces him out.
* TheReveal: Neroon was working with Delenn all along to end the war.
* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Lyta refuses Zack's request to scan Garibaldi without his knowledge on these grounds, though she does admit she might consider it if it were anyone other than Garibaldi, who was the first person she met on Babylon 5.
* ShoutOut: [[ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} Dogbert and Catbert]] are planning to take over the galaxy, direct from Scott Adams himself.
-->'''Garibaldi''': **''{{Facepalm}}''**
* ShutUpHannibal: Delenn shutting down Shakiri's attempts to get her to work with him.
* TestOfPain: Delenn ends the Minbari Civil War by inviting Shakiri to an ancient site where both leaders are expected to stand in a circle and be blasted with successive waves of energy from an emitter in the ceiling. Whomever endures longer is the winner. [[spoiler:Shakiri can't endure and flees, but Delenn collapses before she can exit the circle. Shakiri's NumberTwo Neroon, [[HeelFaceTurn a former enemy of Delenn]], then enters the circle [[HeroicSacrifice to pull her out at the cost of his own life]], while crying to the heavens that "the calling of my heart is religious!"]]
* ThisMeansWar: After learning that Earthforce is firing on unarmed civilian transports, Sheridan declares that they will put an end to it.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: Bester's offer to Lyta is not a bad one on the face of it; Psi Corps will put her on the books, meaning she can get work, but will ask nothing of her beyond wearing the uniform for the rest of her life, with language in the contract that voids the deal if she dies of anything but natural causes so they can't have her killed. The sting in the tail is that once she does die Psi Corps gets their hands on Vorlon alterations to telepaths and that cannot be good.
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Turns out, Neroon and Delenn discussed this whole plan in the previous episode. Except she didn't tell Neroon about her intent to sacrifice herself as an example.
* WeCanRuleTogether: When Shakiri realizes he's going to lose the contest in the Starfire Wheel, he attempts to offer this to Delenn. [[ShutUpHannibal She isn't having it]].
* WokenUpAtAnUngodlyHour: William edgars has a tendency to call at odd hours in the morning. Garibaldi is quite irritated, but Mr. Edgars tells him he expects all his retainers to be on call 24/7.
* YankTheDogsChain: Lyta is suffering from money trouble. Garibaldi hires her to work for him. Garibaldi's boss, Edgars, orders him to fire her because he [[FantasticRacism refuses to employ telepaths, or to allow his employees to do so.]]
* YoureInsane: Lyta's reaction when Bester says he "wants her body":''' "[[NoIndoorVoice Are you out of your mind?]]"'''