- Sheridan: We need a break, a witness...something.
Delenn: Yes, we do, badly.
Sheridan and Delenn are running late to to council meeting, but it turns out to be a moot point as the rest of the Alliance have decided to boycott all future meetings until they can guarantee the safety of their shipping. Sheridan is getting frustrated at their actions, but they can only act within their own space, and the attacks are occurring between their territories where the Alliance has jurisdiction. Sheridan sighs and resigns himself to the fact that it's up to them. But they can't do anything until they get a solid lead of some kind.
Sheridan's wish seems to be coming true as an attack is underway at that moment on the Redstar 9, but one of the crew manages to get to as escape pod and get away.
Londo and G'Kar have arrived back onstation. Londo is noting that he used to enjoy getting away from Babylon 5 and going home, and now he feels the opposite. He's starting to feel he doesn't have anywhere he can truly call home. G'Kar thinks maybe he's just not meant to be happy anywhere. Londo takes a little umbrage at that.
- Londo: I thought you were supposed to be protecting me, looking out for my best interests?
G'Kar: I am. The warrior in me is watching out for your life. But the Narn in me has decided that it's your spirit that's in the greatest need of protection.
Londo suddenly notices that Narns keep staring at them. Specifically, they're staring at G'Kar...and bowing to him. And neither of them can imagine why.
Garibaldi is in his quarters where he's awoken by a call from Zack. Zack is a little surprised he's still sleeping this late. He also notices that Michael seems a little worse for wear, but he brushes it off as a bad night's sleep. In any case, Zack was calling to tell him there's a meeting in the president's office soon that he needs to be at, and Garibaldi says he'll be there. After Zack signs off, Garibaldi picks up the now-empty bottle from the night before and stares at it.
At the meeting Delenn informs the others that the Rangers investigating the Redstar 9 discovered one of the escape pods had been jettisoned during the attack, which means they have a possible witness. The problem is the ship may have been smuggling illegal goods, weapons, items and substances forbidden by the Alliance charter, into Drazi space on orders from their government. Officially they boycott them, unofficially they trade in them all the time, and use smugglers to keep their hands clean. This means they can forget about cooperation from the Drazi, but that's a different problem altogether. Right now they need to find out if there is in fact a witness and if they can get him to testify about what he saw. Garibaldi says the only way to be sure is to go in and see for themselves. Garibaldi knows someone on the Drazi homeworld as a security consultant who should be able to locate the survivor, if he's alive.
Sheridan agrees, and asks Franklin to accompany Garibaldi as backup. Garibaldi says he'd rather do this alone. His contact will only trust him and so there can't be anyone there when he gets in touch. Sheridan reluctantly agrees and gives him the go.
G'Kar is approaching his quarters, which has a mass of Narns loitering about, all seemingly reading some book, and is surprised to find Ta'Lon there. He's been guarding supplies to and from Narn for the rebuilding effort, and apparently some of G'Kar's things. G'Kar rushes into his quarters, looks around and demands to know where his book is, the one he's been writing for two years. Ta'Lon tries to explain that they didn't know what had happened, all they knew was that he was on Centauri Prime for some reason, and they were afraid they would never see him again. G'Kar again demands to know where the book is, it was his only copy. Well, that's not quite true anymore. Since the Kha'Ri were afraid his wisdom might be lost they liberated it. ("Liberated it?") They took it home, made some copies, ("Copies!") Then a few more. G'Kar demands to know how many, but Ta'Lon doesn't have an exact number due to confusion at the printers ("PRINTERS!"). G'Kar again demand how many and Ta'Lon says five or six hundred...thousand. He looks to outsell the Book of G'Quon. G'Kar sinks onto his couch.
- Ta'Lon: Congratulations, Citizen G'Kar. You are now a religious icon.
Garibaldi is giving Zack the rundown on what he needs to do to fill in for him while he's gone, but Zack's more worried about him taking care of himself. Before he leaves, Franklin comes up and asks for a word. Something seemed off earlier and Stephen wants to make sure there's nothing coming between them for some reason. Michael assures him everything's fine between them, and Stephen eventually relents and lets him go. But he does say if Michael ever has a problem to come and talk.
G'Kar, with some groupies tagging along, finds Londo in the Zocalo. Londo asks if this is the Book of G'Kar he's been hearing so much about, and G'Kar affirms that it is.
- Londo: And am I in here?
G'Kar: Not by name, by description. Na'Tak Burella. It's a colloquialism.
Londo: Which means?"
G'Kar: Prideful Wind Catcher.
Londo: Well, as Mr. Garibaldi says, "I think I'll wait for the movie."
G'Kar was actually looking for Delenn to find out why their meetings have been postponed. All Londo knows is there's been a break and they should know more in a few days.
Garibaldi lands on the Drazi homeworld and meets with his friend, Tafiq, at his hotel. They spend some time catching up, then he asks about the pilot. The news is not good; despite getting away from the attackers, the man is marked, having everyone from the ship owners to the ship's customers to the Drazi government all wanting him dead. He's gone to ground and wants a way off planet as soon as possible. That works to Garibaldi's favor.
Tafiq tells him a little about the city and the odd traditions the Drazi, and humans for that matter, have before getting to how they'll be meeting. The pilot will meet them later tonight by shining a signal light up to Garibaldi's room balcony. Then they can talk and Tafiq will handle getting them back to Babylon 5. He raises a drink in toast, and Garibaldi accepts.
Back on station, Stephen is just about to eat when a priority call comes from Earthdome. He decides to take it in his quarters.
Garibaldi is passed out on the balcony when Tafiq, a little tipsy himself, goes to take care of arrangements. He gets outside the door where someone shoots him. Shortly after Garibaldi wakes, looks around for Tafiq, then notices the signal light coming from the park. He goes outside but is attacked by a Drazi. There's a brief fight, but Garibaldi eventually wins and rushes over to Tafiq, but it's too late for him. He urges Garibaldi to get to the pilot before they do. With authorities on the way now, Garibaldi rushes off.
He finds where the pilot is, but a trio of cloaked figures surrounds him. Garibaldi charges in but he's overpowered and knocked to the ground. As the attackers leave, he goes to check on the pilot. Dead. With nothing more he can do, and Drazi security closing in, he beats a hasty retreat.
Delenn is in Sheridan's office when Michael's call comes in. He needs to get out of there fast, but he doesn't think he can risk civilian transportation. Delenn sends a nearby White Star to extract him.
Ta'Lon is pacing outside G'Kar's quarters and finally goes and chimes the door. G'Kar lets him in, asking if the crowd is still there. Yes, and there are more of them now. They want to hear from him, but G'Kar does not believe it is his place. Ta'Lon takes out his sword and reminds G'Kar of the time he said G'Kar had an unfair advantage, that he carried a sword in his heart and mind, while Ta'Lon only has one in his hand. He urges G'kar to once again weild them for the betterment of his people. G'Kar does not feel he has anything to teach them, but Ta'Lon assures him he does.
- Ta'Lon: For a hundred years we have taught ourselves one thing: how to hate and how to fight. This is a new age, G'Kar. We have to learn other lessons. Our leaders back home, they know only the old ways. But you have been beyond and survived it and have come back to teach us what it is like.
He says in recent days he has seen a light begin burning in their eyes and feels G'Kar has an obligation to teach them to unlearn their hatred. G'Kar still has doubts; what if he shows them the wrong way, or they come to revere him but not his teachings?
- G'Kar: I worry, Ta'Lon, that my shadow may become greater than the message.
Ta'Lon: If that happens, I give you my word that I will personally kill you.
G'Kar: This is supposed to put my mind at ease?
Ta'Lon: I'm a warrior. It's what I have to give. We both have our burdens to bear, G'Kar. (slices his hand) I will carry mine, if you will carry yours.
G'Kar opens his door and invites the gathered throng in.
In Sheridan's office, Garibaldi is presenting what he found. Not much, just a button that came off one of the pilot's killers. The only thing he does know is they weren't Drazi; their skin was too soft, the Drazi didn't know where the pilot was but these guys did and they ran off so they wouldn't get caught by the Drazi police. The cloaked figures came from somewhere else and they're behind the attacks, they knew where the guy was and how to find him, which means there's a leak somewhere.
Just then Londo comes in. He gets a drink and then sits with the rest of them. He notices the button Garibaldi pulled off the attackers. He says it's from the uniform of the palace guards, then asks where he got it. Garibaldi says it was at some stall in the Zocalo.
Later, in Delenn's quarters, she, Sheridan, Garibaldi and G'Kar discuss the situation. It's fairly certain now that the Centauri are responsible, but that Londo doesn't seem to be in on it. It also explains where the leaks came from, Londo sharing information with his government not realizing they're the one doing it. This revelation answers a lot of questions, except the all-important why? The Centauri have too much to lose if the Alliance fails, so why try to tear it apart?
There's also the question of Londo, do they tell him or not? G'Kar says not to. He recounts some of what happened while they were on Centauri Prime, how an attempt was made on Londo's life, but was foiled by an unknown force. There are two factions at work there, and one of them are undoubtedly the ones orchestrating the attacks, but which one? If they tell Londo, he will be outraged and attempt to trace this corruption to its source and in so doing will run afoul of this mysterious force and will be dead not long after that. Until they know which faction is responsible, G'Kar says they can tell Londo nothing.
Sheridan agrees; until further notice, Londo only hears what he needs to know. Delenn asks when he will be returning to Centauri Prime, 4-6 weeks, and G'Kar assures them he will be there as well.
Franklin is recording his journal about the message he got from EarthGov and pondering what he should do about it, saying it's one of the hardest questions he's had in a long time. He says he's going to miss this place, then gets up and heads off.
Later, G'Kar is speaking to a group of Narns. He teaches them that while their instinct is to fear and distrust those that are different, the time has come to embrace others. One of them seems to take issue, quoting the Book of G'Kar, which says "Centarui cannot be trusted". G'Kar tries to explain that this was written near the beginning when he had not learned several lessons himself. The Narn declares that if the Book of G'Kar is holy, and was inspired by the Universe itself, then the whole of it must be true. G'Kar shares an exasperated look with Ta'Lon then asks to see the passage in question. He then takes the book and tells the Narn to put his face in it. After some prodding he closes his eyes and with great dignity places his face in the book...where G'Kar snaps it shut on his head.
- Ta'Lon: There's lesson number one.
Sheridan is in his office when Stephen comes in. He came to talk about what he's decided. The call from Earth was Dr. Benjamin Kyle, who is retiring at the end of the year. He's asked Stephen to take over his position, and Stephen has decided to accept. Sheridan asks about the compilation of alien biologies and disease transmission he's been doing for the Alliance. Franklin intends to continue that, which should be easier with the resources back on Earth, a larger staff, and the authority to go wherever he needs to. He still will be there until the end of the year, but on January 1, 2263, Doctor Stephen Franklin will be the new head of Xenibiological Research at Earthdome.
Sheridan's not happy to lose such a valuable resource, but it's his right, and it's quite the promotion. He congratulates Stephen, and asks if he wants him to tell the others, but Stephen wants to do that himself, particularly with Garibaldi.
Garibaldi is currently asleep with a message blinking for his attention, another empty bottle nearby.
This episode contains examples of:
- Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards: Garibaldi's friend works security on the Drazi homeworld, and notes that this trope is in effect; human bodyguards are a status symbol among Drazi.
- Call-Back: Ta'Lon reminds G'Kar of the conversation they had about their swords.
- Continuity Nod: Before sheathing his sword, Ta'Lon cuts his own hand with it.
- Divide and Conquer: Discussed; Sheridan's initial thought is this is the Centauri plan, but Delenn points out it doesn't actually benefit them to pull something like that right now, so there's something they're missing.
- Face Palm: G´Kar does it when one of his acolytes blurts out a silly presumption.
- Groupie Brigade: G'Kar now has these, much to his dismay.
- Locked Out of the Loop: The Advisory Council decides not to tell Londo about their recent findings to keep him from poking around himself and provoking whoever's responsible before they can figure out who it is.
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?: While Sheridan is trying to catch up on paperwork, asking Delenn to stall for him, she says she'll declare war on Earth.Sheridan: Fine, fine, just bring me the paperwork and I'll sign it.
Delenn: (grinning wickedly) Done.
(Delenn walks off and Sheridan looks up wondering what he just agreed to) - Plausible Deniability: The Alliance worlds use smugglers to trade in illegal goods so they can maintain good standing.
- Throw the Book at Them: A variation; G'Kar snaps the book shut on a Narn after telling him to "put your face in the book" in order to make the point that they shouldn't blindly trust him.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: During Garibaldi's flight to the surface of the Drazi homeworld, one of his Drazi co-passengers gets motion-sick and vomits into a bag. Naturally, we don't see the vomit.
