The Face of the Enemy

Synopsis written by Richard Heider.
*Alternate synopsis written by Rosa L. Smothers can be read here.

TEASER
Pieces of silver.

SPACE

We hear Commander Susan Ivanova recording a personal log entry while we watch two Earth fleets slugging it out.

Ivanova (VO): Commander's personal log. The war to liberate Earth and her colonies continues.

At first, we can't tell one fleet from the other. Both are made up of the same types of destroyers, cruisers, and fighters.

Ivanova (VO): We have more Earth ships on our side than ever before, but the battles are becoming more desperate the closer we get to home.

Now we see the White Stars fighting on one side. Captain John Sheridan and Marcus Cole are on the bridge of White Star 2, which has just taken a minor hit. Marcus reports that two enemy destroyers are out of the game, but the rest are forming up for an apparently suicidal counterattack.

Sheridan is baffled.

Sheridan: Damn it! They're outnumbered, their jump engines are down, they can't beat us, they can't escape! Why don't they surrender?

White Star 2 takes another minor hit. Ivanova's log continues.

Ivanova (VO): This is the hardest part of all: fighting our own.

As one more Starfury explodes (and we can't tell on which side of the battle), we leave the scene and go to...

MARS

...where a tube shuttle is seen approaching a dome.

Ivanova (VO): Franklin and Lyta should be on Mars by now, along with their cargo. [Inside the car are Franklin and Lyta and two other passengers who don't appear to be traveling with them.] Our resources are stretched to the limit. Everything's riding on what happens in the next few weeks. This is endgame. We'll be all right as long as nothing goes wrong. [And what are the chances of that?]

EDGARS' HOUSE

Edgars is reading a newspaper as Garibaldi walks in.

Edgars: You took care of it?
Garibaldi: Yeah. Yeah, it's done. Captain Sheridan's father is in custody. He's being shipped to a temporary staging area on Mars so we can keep an eye on him. I'll contact Sheridan as soon as everything's in place.
Edgars: Are you sure he'll come?
Garibaldi: Yeah, he'll come.
Edgars: Good, good. Let me know when he's in custody. [Garibaldi starts to leave the room.] Mr. Garibaldi! I know this is hard for you, but it really is for his own good. It's for everyone's good. Once he's out of the picture, President Clark will lower his guard. Then we can deal with him and the Psi Corps. In the final analysis, once he's better, Sheridan may even thank you.
Garibaldi: Somehow I doubt it.
Edgars: Well, we'll have to see. Still, once this is done, I can tell you the rest. The truth --- the whole absolute truth is only a few days away. How many people can say that?
Garibaldi: I don't know. But I think the last guy got thirty pieces of silver for the same job.

ACT 1
Strange cargo.

SPACE

The battle between the Earth fleets is still raging. One of the White Stars takes a heavy hit. Marcus notes that the stricken ship is withdrawing until its repair systems can mend the damage.

Sheridan is still frustrated by the enemy's dogged persistence.

Sheridan [pacing the bridge]: I don't understand! They have to know they can't win! Why don't they surrender? They can't want to die, not for Clark! [He takes his seat and opens a comm channel.] This is John Sheridan to Earth fleet! I say again, you are ordered to stand down and surrender your vessels! We have no desire to destroy your ships, but if you continue to fight, we'll have no choice!

One of the opposing captains answers. He sounds desperate.

Voice: What difference does it make? We're dead anyway!
Marcus [reading his console]: It's the Cadmus, Captain Leo Frank.
Sheridan [to Frank]: What are you talking about?
Frank: What do you think I'm talking about? We've been briefed on your campaign, Sheridan! As soon as our forces surrender, our crews are taken out, executed, and then replaced by Minbari crews!
Sheridan [floored]: Is that what you've been told?
Frank: It is. And I believe it!

One of Sheridan's captains breaks protocol by joining the conversation. It's the right voice, the right time, and the right message.

Captain Edward MacDougan: Then you're even dumber than when you were at the academy!
Frank: Who is that? Mackie? Mackie, is that you?
MacDougan: Alive and well!
Frank: We heard...
MacDougan: Yeah! I know what you heard and it's a load of crap! I'm alive! Every member of my crew is still here! I don't care what you've heard about Sheridan, you know me, Leo! Everything I tell you is on the up-and-up! Stand down! You won't be harmed.

Frank takes a longish moment to digest what he's heard, while the smoke filling the bridge gets thicker. Sheridan waits impatiently for the decision.

Sheridan [under his breath]: Come on, don't be stupid!

Seconds later, Marcus picks up the surrender order. Sheridan immediately calls a cease-fire.

Marcus: Just a moment, there's a jump point opening!

Another destroyer drops into normal space, and a new voice comes in on the comm as we see the ship's name emblazoned on its forward section.

Voice: Agamemnon to Sheridan! Agamemnon to Sheridan!
Sheridan [to Marcus]: That's my old ship! [Toggles his comm.] Sheridan to Agamemnon! Tell me you're not here for a fight!
Voice: Negative, Captain! We've been chasing you for days, but you're too fast! We couldn't catch you! We're looking to join up, if you don't mind.
Sheridan: Mind? Hell, you've just made my whole day! Stand by, I'm coming aboard!
Marcus [aside]: Is that a good idea?
Sheridan: They're my crew! I trained them myself, including her captain. I trust them implicitly! You have the helm, Marcus.

MARS --- UNDERGROUND

Number One meets Franklin and Lyta in the tunnels. She greets the doctor warmly, taking no notice of his companion. They don't stand around, but move quickly toward their destination.

Number One: You got here fast!
Franklin [cheerfully]: Yeah, well, with so many ships called away to fight our forces, we were able to slip through. This is Lyta Alexander. She's a telepath. Lyta, this is Number One.

Franklin's off-handed introduction stops Number One in her tracks and wipes the smile off her lips.

Number One: Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! [Looks Lyta over suspiciously.] You came through here a couple of years ago. You didn't say anything about being a telepath!
Lyta [apologetic]: I couldn't. I was on the run from the Psi Corps.
Number One [sternly]: You should have told us! [To Stephen:] And you --- are you out of your mind? What the hell are you doing, bringing a teep down here when we're ready to move? Are you trying to compromise my security?
Franklin: Look, it's okay.
Number One: No. It's not okay. I didn't know about her, but you did! You should have warned me!
Franklin: You can trust her! I --- I'd put my life in her hands!
Number One: Fine! That's your choice. But when it's my life, I'd like to have a thing or two to say about it, if it's all the same to both of you!
Franklin: All right, all right, I'm sorry!
Lyta: If it's a problem, I can go topside. I'll find a place to stay until you need me.
Franklin: No. It's okay. [To Number One:] Now, she needs to stay here with the rest of us. We may need her at a moment's notice.
Number One [skeptical]: What for?
Franklin: Our cargo.
Number One: What cargo?

Franklin nods in the direction of some large canvas-covered containers being carted through on hand trucks.

Franklin: That cargo.

Number One halts the next container and throws back the canvas. Under the glass of the container she finds an unconscious woman with nasty-looking black implants on her head. She notes the Psi symbol on the container. She's not happy.

Number One: More telepaths. [It's not a question.]
Franklin: Yup.
Number One: How many?
Franklin: A lot.

Number One looks back down the tunnels and sees more of the containers being trundled in.

Number One: Mister, you've got one hell of a lot of explaining to do!

She throws the cover back over the container --- fiercely.

SPACE

Sheridan's fleet, now somewhat larger than before the battle, moves on.

AGAMEMNON

Sheridan and Captain James, the ship's captain, walk onto the bridge. The first officer to see them calls out:

Officer: Captains on deck! [And the bridge personnel come to attention.]
James: As you were. [And the crew goes about its business.]
Sheridan [looks around, pleased]: The place hasn't changed!
James: Well, not perceptibly, sir. We have updated the DX-419 tracking system.
Sheridan: It's about time.
James: Of course, the main reason for the update was to make it easier to find you, sir.
Sheridan [smiles]: At least some good has come out of this! That thing never worked right from the first day we got it! How's the crew?
James: Good. Good! Lieutenant Chase is out on pregnancy leave, Miller is back Earthside recuperating from injuries he sustained in a firefight against raiders off of Io a couple of months ago, and the rest of the crew has been busy following your adventures, sir, ever since you made it known Clark was responsible for Santiago's assassination. To tell you the truth, Captain, some of us thought maybe you were out of control. We just kept hearing these stories!
Sheridan: I understand.
James: And then came Night Watch, and the illegal orders to take out civilian targets, so we knew who was telling the truth. The crew trusts you, Captain. They believe that you're a pain in the ass, sir, but they trust you. So we voted to join up with you as soon as we could.
Sheridan: Well, I can't tell you what it means to have you aboard. Makes me think we might actually win this one!
James: Well, you haven't lost one yet, sir!
Sheridan: Oh, I've lost a few. I just made damn sure nobody heard about it!
James [looking across to the comm officer]: We've got a signal coming in for you, sir.
Sheridan: Okay, put it through to my ------ main console.

Marcus, still on White Star 2, comes on the screen.

Sheridan: Marcus, what's up?
Marcus: We're receiving a transmission from Mr. Garibaldi. He needs to speak with you. He says it's important.
Sheridan [not happy, he nods]: All right. Put him through. [Garibaldi appears on screen.] Mr. Garibaldi. What is it?
Garibaldi: Captain. I just thought you should know. Okay, look, we're not exactly on the best terms right now, but --- they've got your dad, John. They traced him through his medication, picked him up at a safe house two days ago just outside of Chicago.
Sheridan [worried]: Is he all right?
Garibaldi: It's hard to get good information, but I think so. They're gonna use him to get to you. If you don't surrender, they're gonna kill him. Now look, we've got a couple of days before they can move on this, and we should be able to break him out. I've got some people who can help, but they want a meeting. They know your rep, but, thanks to Clark's police state, they're afraid of being set up. So it's gotta be just you and me. Nobody else. [Sheridan's mind whirls, trying to digest all this.] Come on, John, if we're gonna do this, we gotta move fast! I need an answer. I need it now!
James: Captain, I don't think you should.
Sheridan: If it were your father, what would you do? [Nods his assent to the monitor.] All right. I'll have to verify this through my people. But if it's true, you tell them I'll be there. Alone.

ACT 2
Trapped.

HYPERSPACE --- AGAMEMNON

Sheridan is on the comm with Ivanova at B5. She's not happy with the news he has just dropped on her.

Ivanova: Captain, I strongly object!
Sheridan [somewhere between angry and annoyed]: Your objection is noted.
Ivanova: I mean it, John! And I don't like the way this thing sounds, I don't like the way it looks, I don't like anything about it! It stinks of a setup!
Sheridan: Look, Susan, Michael and I have had our problems lately, but he has never given me reason to think he meant me harm!
Ivanova: Well, maybe so, but what if his information is wrong?
Sheridan: It's not. I just got word from my contacts on Earth. They got my dad two days ago, just like Michael said!
Ivanova: Well, at least let me send Marcus with you.
Sheridan: Marcus needs to be here as your liaison with the rest of the fleet while I am gone. Now, I will listen to what Garibaldi has to say, and if there's any way we can make this work, we'll find it!
Ivanova: What do you mean, "my liaison"?
Sheridan: I want you to take my place during my absence. Take White Star 40 and get here as fast as you can!
Ivanova: Shouldn't Delenn...
Sheridan: Nah, she's not back yet. We need to keep this a clean fight. That means human commanding officers only! Last time an assault fleet came to Earth, it was under Minbari command. We don't want the folks back home thinking the Minbari War is happening all over again! It has to be one of us!
Ivanova [sadly]: All right. I guess you have to try and get him back.
Sheridan: I have to. If I don't, I'll regret it the rest of my life. Take care, Susan. I'll see you soon.

Sheridan terminates the call and turns his attention to Captain James.

Sheridan: Are you sure you want to go along with this?
James: We've got the current access codes. We can get in and out of the area surrounding the colony without setting off the early warning system.
Sheridan: All right. As soon as we make the jump from hyperspace, I'll take down one of your Thunderbolts, land just outside the colony. If everything goes right, I'll be in and out in a few hours.
James: You'll have the best fighter we've got! [To the crew:] Stand by to change course!
Officer: Standing by.
James: Transfer navigation to Beacon 119176!
Officer: Aye, sir!

Sheridan swallows hard, knowing the risk he's taking.

Agamemnon turns away from the fleet.

MARS --- NIGHT

Beneath a night sky, the dome is dimly lit from within. Most of the colony is asleep.

UNDERGROUND

Number One, Franklin, and Lyta sit silently at a table in a tunnel, while a few resistance men work nearby. Number One and Franklin have plates of food in front of them. We can see that Number One is still in a bit of a snit about the telepaths Franklin has brought her.

One of the men brings a third plate of food and practically slams it onto the table in front of Lyta. She takes the hint.

Lyta: Maybe I should just go.
Franklin [cajoling]: No, no, it's all right.
Number One: Says you! [Head down, she pointedly ignores both her guests.]
Franklin [irritated]: What?
Number One [fixes him with an angry stare]: You really don't know! But I'll bet she does!
Franklin [turns to Lyta, then back to Number One]: Well, in that case, you only have to let me know what the hell is going on!
Number One: She can do it. [Takes her napkin off her lap and drops it on the table.] Someone just dumped several dozen cryonic freezers on me and I have to find room for them. [Gets to her feet.] I have no time for this!

As Number One stalks off angrily, Franklin buries his face in his hands and sighs in frustration.

Lyta: She's talking about the new Bloodhound units. [She now has Franklin's attention.] Telepaths assigned to the military divisions occupying Mars. [Lyta is nervous about the subject.] Anyone suspected of being in the Resistance is scanned. They're very deep scans. The trouble with deep scans is, they can cause heart attacks, seizures, strokes --- there's been several deaths. She's right to be upset.
Franklin [takes a moment to process this news]: Well, how did you find out about this?
Lyta: Once I got taken off the rogue list, I began to hear things, but we always keep it inside the Corps.
Franklin: Wait a minute, wait a minute! Always? This has happened before?

Lyta gets up --- she wants to walk away. But Franklin is right with her. They speak quietly, to avoid being overheard.

Franklin: Lyta?
Lyta [decides to get it off her chest]: While I interned with the Psi Cops, there were a number of murders. Someone was killing commercial telepaths. And the mundanes didn't care! For them, it was just one less teep to worry about. So the Psi Cops took care of it!
Franklin: What did you do?
Lyta: What we had to! We scanned anyone who might have had a lead. No warrant, no permission, and no trace! Just gaps in their memory, missing hours, headaches.
Franklin: Did you find him? [She nods.] Did you...?
Lyta: No. That would have been too quick! And we couldn't go to the police because we didn't want to explain how we found him. Somewhere on Beta Colony there is an institution. In one room of that institution there is a man who spends his days and nights screaming at things only he can see --- things we planted in his mind! They have to keep him in a straitjacket twenty-four hours a day, or he'd claw his own eyes out, just to make it stop! [The long version of this story is in Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant.]
Franklin: My God!
Lyta: When it was over, I --- transferred to commercial work. I wanted out! The Corps took me in when I was just a few years old! They taught me what a telepath was, what we could do! And all that time, I'd never been afraid of who we were --- until that day. When we did what we had to do because no one else would! [Franklin nods reassuringly.] Someday there's gonna be a war between telepaths and mundanes, Stephen. I just hope I don't live to see it!
Franklin: Maybe, uh --- maybe after the Captain takes care of President Clark, we're gonna work on this, okay? We're gonna build some bridges and find a more positive way of dealing with the Corps.

Number One walks back in on them.

Number One: You're going to have a long wait. We just received a coded message from Babylon 5. It's about Sheridan. [Hands a piece of paper to Franklin and moves on, speaking over her shoulder.] I hope he told you what to do with those frozen telepaths, because it looks like you're on your own for a while!

Franklin and Lyta read the message with somber faces.

SPACE --- BABYLON 5

A Minbari flyer enters the central docking ring.

BLUE SECTOR

Delenn and Lennier, just arrived, happen to meet Commander Ivanova as they step out of a transport tube.

Ivanova: Delenn, Lennier! I'm glad to see you! I was just about to leave!
Delenn: It's good to be back, Commander. Is there a problem?
Ivanova: I'm afraid so. President Clark's people have found John's father. They're holding him captive. Mr. Garibaldi thinks he can help. The Captain's en route right now. He wants me to take over the fleet in his absence. I was hoping you could keep an eye on things around here until I get back?
Delenn: Of course. We'll do everything we can. Good luck!
Ivanova: Thank you.

Ivanova steps into the waiting tube car and the doors close. Delenn bites her lip --- she's worried.

Lennier: Do you think the Captain's all right?
Delenn: He knows what he's doing, he'll be all right. [She's trying to reassure herself as much as her aide.] Assuming Mr. Garibaldi can still be trusted.

Delenn moves on, and Lennier follows quickly.

SPACE

In the thin upper reaches of the Martian atmosphere, flames dance around Sheridan's borrowed Thunderbolt as it plunges downward to land in hostile territory.

MARS

Sheridan, in civvies, walks into a seedy bar. The background music, a female voice with an acoustic guitar and drums accompaniment performing a languid song of lament, plays throughout the entire scene. Sheridan finds Garibaldi alone in a booth. He sits.

Sheridan: Hello, Michael.
Garibaldi: Captain. I was starting to think you wouldn't make it here.

They stop talking as a waitress stops at the table. Garibaldi waves her off.

Sheridan: Have you heard anything else about my father?
Garibaldi: No, just that he's being held at a facility here on Mars. He's not being heavily guarded right now, 'cause Clark hasn't announced that he's been captured yet.
Sheridan: So we need to move before that happens?
Garibaldi: Yeah.
Sheridan: All right. What do you want me to do?
Garibaldi: You've already done it.

Garibaldi suddenly reaches across the table, slapping one hand down onto the back of Sheridan's hand and grabbing his wrist with the other.

Sheridan [alarmed]: What...!
Garibaldi: It's a tranq. Don't fight it! [Sheridan tries to pull away.] Just give it up, or they're gonna hurt you!

Sheridan manages to get to his feet, but rocks back against the wall in a stupor. The drug has taken effect already. His vision going, he tries manfully for the exit, but he has no chance. He is set upon by four toughs. Sheridan manages to get in a couple of good blows, but he goes down, taking a vicious beating. Garibaldi simply sits at his table.

ACT 3
The real threat.

SPACE

An Earth shuttle flies from one White Star to another.

WHITE STAR 2

Marcus Cole is sitting at the comm station as Ivanova walks onto the bridge.

Ivanova: I got here as soon as I could.

No one speaks as she crosses over to the captain's chair. Then Marcus tries to speak.

Marcus: Susan ---

Catching the tone of his voice, she looks around at all the crewmen.

Ivanova: What's going on? You all look like a Pak'ma'ra just ate your cat!
Marcus: We picked this up off the ISN feed just as you were coming out of hyperspace.

He punches a button and the ISN broadcast takes shape in the air before them. The announcer is Alison Higgins, one of the new ISN crew, always happy-happy-happy. [We met her in The Illusion of Truth.]

Alison: We interrupt our regular programming for this important announcement!

MARS

In a prison cell in an undisclosed location, someone gut-punches an already battered and bloody Sheridan. As Sheridan crumples, he takes an uppercut to the chin.

WHITE STAR 2

The ISN feed continues as Ivanova watches, stunned.

Alison: The leader of the renegade fleet that has been attempting to destabilize Earth for months has finally been located and detained.

MARS

Sheridan is pushed up against the cell wall and battered from behind in the kidneys. We see that heavy wrist cuffs are chained to a thick waist shackle.

WHITE STAR 2

Alison: Captain John Sheridan, formerly of Earthforce, was captured earlier today by forces loyal to President Clark, and is now being held in a secure facility. Unlike many of his victims, he is being given proper care and treatment until a hearing can be convened.

Ivanova and Marcus share horrified looks.

MARS

Sheridan collapses to the floor of the cell. His tormentor begins to stomp on him.

BABYLON 5 --- DELENN'S QUARTERS

Delenn is startled awake.

Delenn: John!

Lennier opens the bedroom door and stands in the opening.

Lennier: Something's happened.

MARS --- EDGARS' HOUSE

Garibaldi sits in the living room, waiting. Edgars comes in, with Wade in his wake.

Edgars: Wade just brought me a message from President Clark. He's ecstatic over Sheridan's capture, sends his thanks and his compliments. He seems to think the whole resistance movement will fall apart now.
Garibaldi [not reacting, just staring straight ahead]: He's wrong.
Edgars [at the bar, fixes himself a drink]: Possibly. But it'll take them a while to regroup. And that'll give us the time we need to get everything in place.
Garibaldi: And what's that? [Gets up, turning to look at his boss.] You said you'd tell me the rest of it when I proved my loyalty, when Sheridan was in custody. Well, I held up my end of the bargain. Now I want the truth!
Edgars: Fair enough. Wade?
Wade: We're engaged in a very dangerous game, Mr. Garibaldi. In this game, you have to pick your target very carefully, because you only have one shot. And this is much, much bigger than you suspect.
Edgars: President Clark isn't the real problem. He's trivial! In one way or another, he'll be gone in a few years, but the telepaths he put in power, the Psi Corps, those will be with us forever! That's the real danger! If information is power, then telepaths represent the greatest threat to freedom we've ever seen! [Opens a panel in the wall.] We have to deal with that, or face the very real possibility of our own extinction. [Places his hand on a scanner in the wall. The machine beeps and opens the door of the safe.] The danger before us is nothing less than the death of human liberty and human thought! [Takes a block of crystal from the safe. It has a small vial of amber liquid in it. We've seen it before.] Do you recognize this?
Garibaldi: Yeah. Yeah, that's the package I helped Wade smuggle past Customs on Babylon 5. Lise said it was a cure for telepaths against some kind of genetic mutation.
Edgars: Lise is a very good woman. She believes me when I tell her these things, but, uh, lately I couldn't tell her the truth, because I knew that the Psi Cops were after this. They don't know what's going on, but they do know enough to be worried.
Garibaldi: And that's the reason why you didn't come yourself --- and why you had me fire Lyta.
Edgars: Any telepath is a potential risk to my work. If they knew for certain what was going on, I'd be dead in five minutes! This vial does contain a cure, Mr. Garibaldi. It took my people three years to develop it! [Puts the vial back in the safe, then removes another --- this one encased in red crystal.] Almost as long as it took us to develop the virus itself! This virus is encoded to embed itself in the gene that activates a telepath's abilities. It's airborne, one hundred percent contagious, and utterly harmless to normals. Only telepaths are susceptible. Once infected, they have to receive injections of the antidote every two weeks. If they miss even one injection...
Garibaldi: ...they die. And your people in the government control the antidote.
Edgars: It's insurance against the day when they try to do to us what we've done to them, turn us into second-class citizens! If they try it, we simply withhold the antidote.
Garibaldi: And the net result is, you create a slave race to serve --- or die.
Wade: It's the tyranny of evolution. Sooner or later, you have a species that will have a genetic or technological advantage, that that species will always conquer a species without that advantage. Carthage, the triumph of the Homo sapiens over the Neanderthal showed us that! Now what do we have? We have Homo superior versus Homo sapiens. On a level playing field, Homo superior wins every time!
Garibaldi: Unless we cheat.
Edgars: I turned this company into one of the biggest medical research facilities in existence because I wanted to help people, not harm them! But I won't stand by and let telepaths turn into a ruling class! So, first we remove that danger, then we'll deal with President Clark! Telepaths are his power base. Neutralize them, and you take away the instrument of terror he's used to suppress and intimidate others! [Puts the vial away, locking the safe.] Does any of this pose a problem for you, Mr. Garibaldi?
Garibaldi: No. No, it doesn't. I think what you're doing is right. Telepaths have an unfair advantage. I think it's right that we make an advantage of our own in return.
Edgars: Exactly. [Takes a drink.] I'm very tired. It's been a long day, but we've made a good beginning. With Sheridan out of the way, Clark will relax, and I expect we can start moving the virus out in a few days. Three weeks after that, according to our projections of the infection rate, the telepath prob... ------ the telepath problem --- will finally be over. [Walks out wearily.]
Wade: Now that you know, you'll have to stay on the compound until the virus starts moving out. I'm sure you can understand the danger.

Wade leaves the same way Edgars did, leaving Garibaldi alone --- almost. Just out of view, Lise has been listening. How much has she overheard? Enough to shatter her illusions, evidently. She turns sadly and walks away.

Left alone, Garibaldi sits on the couch. He reaches into his mouth and pries out a tooth. He squeezes it, breaking off the top. Inside, a tiny electronic device begins to chirp softly.

EDGARS' PRIVATE TUBE SHUTTLE PLATFORM

A shuttle pulls into the platform. Garibaldi steps into the car and sits down with his head low. A few seconds behind him, and walking much more quickly, is Lise. She sits across from him, perched forward on the seat so she can be as close to him as possible. The shuttle remains standing at the platform.

Lise: Michael, I heard what Bill told you. I --- I can't go back there, not now! You gotta help me stop him! What he's doing --- I understand why he's doing it, but it's wrong! I've felt that something was going on for a while, but I had no idea! [Michael doesn't react. He's got that thousand-yard stare.] Michael? Michael, are you listening to me? You've gotta do something!
Garibaldi [still no change of expression, zombied out]: You have to leave here.
Lise: But I...
Garibaldi [now looking directly at her]: Now!
Lise [stares back at him for a few moments, not comprehending]: But what am I gonna do?
Garibaldi: Go home.

She stares at him in disbelief. Shaking her head, she gets up and leaves. Only seconds later, someone else enters the car, and as he takes the seat Lise has just left, the shuttle leaves the platform.

Bester: Hello, Mr. Garibaldi! I received your signal. Now, tell me what you know. All of it.

The two men make eye-to-eye contact, and Garibaldi sits helpless as the telepath slides effortlessly into his mind.

ACT 4
Remember.

THE SHUTTLE CAR

The car speeds away from Edgars Industries. Inside it, Bester takes from Garibaldi the history of his time with Edgars. The Psi Cop sees:

Edgars: This virus is encoded to embed itself in the gene that activates a telepath's abilities. It's airborne, one hundred percent contagious, and utterly harmless to normals. Only telepaths are susceptible. Once infected, they have to receive injections of the antidote every two weeks. If they miss even one injection...

The zombie Garibaldi, facing Bester, finishes the sentence as he had before.

Garibaldi: ...they die.

Bester's face betrays only mild surprise, mixed with a somewhat larger dose of self-satisfaction. He takes pleasure in baiting the helpless mundane.

Bester: Well! Thank you. Not that you had much choice. I knew there were forces out there with plans for my telepaths, but this? I had no idea! The sheer scope of it! Well, we'll stop it now, of course, in our own way. I can feel you, you know. The real you, beating at the inside of your skull, screaming to get out, to know what's going on. For a long time, I've been debating what to do when this day came. Do I let you know what happened to you, or do I leave you like this, trapped in a prison of meat and flesh and bone, forever? [Smiles.] I've decided to be magnanimous, Mr. Garibaldi, not that you'll appreciate it, because you have prevented a new holocaust --- the enslavement and murder of several million telepaths. Though I doubt very much you'll appreciate that, either. [Immobile, Garibaldi still has that thousand-yard stare.] Go back, Mr. Garibaldi. Go back and remember.

Garibaldi remembers. He sees himself in his Starfury, leading the B5 fighter squadrons against the Shadows while Sheridan and Anna had gone to Z'ha'dum (Z'ha'dum). Bester even lets him remember things he had not seen: Sheridan's meeting with Justin, for example. Bester explains the Shadows' agenda:

Bester: They knew there were three people who could replace him [meaning Sheridan]: Delenn, Ivanova, and you. Given your checkered background, they thought you would be the easiest to turn to their side. Once Sheridan was dead, Ivanova and Delenn would be eliminated. They left the station intact on the theory that it could be used for their purposes. And you they took back with them. To --- "adjust" you. By this time, I knew they had infiltrated the Corps, so when they pulled in some of my people to help in your adjustment, I was able to intervene. Not so much on your behalf as on my own. This virus that kills only telepaths --- I'd bet good money it's Shadow technology. They probably got it to him through third parties, helped his people work out the details. We both know that telepaths were a threat to the Shadows --- one they wouldn't mind eliminating. It's ingenious, really. They played Clark's drive for power on one side, and Edgars' fear of telepaths on the other, leaving us in the middle, controlled or dead. But let's get back to you.

Bester now shows Garibaldi what had happened to him once the Psi Cop had "intervened".

Bester: I arranged to have you rerouted to our research facility here on Mars. Then we got to work.

THE RESEARCH FACILITY

Garibaldi lies unconscious on a gurney, while Bester gives instructions to another Psi Cop.

Bester: All right. I want a complete neural workup. I want to know all the soft points where we can go in without disturbing the neural landscape. We can't leave any fingerprints. He may have to pass a telepathic scan.
Psi Cop: You don't want us to do a full reprogram on him?
Bester: Unnecessary. By nature, Mr. Garibaldi is rebellious, stubborn and suspicious. He has an innate distrust of authority figures. And he's very good at figuring out when a conspiracy is taking place and tracking it back to its source! We need that part of him, so I don't want to risk tampering with it. We don't have to reprogram him; just accentuate his natural instincts. More rebellious, more stubborn, more suspicious of his fellow officers. Then all we have to do is nudge him in the right direction from time to time and let nature run its course!

Garibaldi remembers being in the cell, being badgered by the unseen interrogator (Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?, Epiphanies). Bester explains the purpose of that ordeal.

Bester: After we finished, we had to make sure that you didn't remember anything we had done to you. That was the hard part. We were, shall we say, less than gentle.

Garibaldi relives his breakdown and gassing.

Bester: Once we felt it was safe, we put enough information out there to let your people find you. [Garibaldi remembers the pod in which he was found (The Summoning).] After that, all we could do was wait and hope for the best. It worked even better than I could have imagined. You resigned your position (Epiphanies), something I hadn't expected, but it put you in the perfect position to be recruited by William Edgars. And it isolated you from the people who cared about you and might try to help you.

Garibaldi remembers his resignation.

Bester: From time to time, we updated your conditioning, continued to point you where we needed you to go...

Garibaldi remembers drawing the face in his mirror and the mysterious Babcom message (Epiphanies).

THE SHUTTLE CAR

Bester: ...until, in the end, the old Garibaldi was gone, and the new one worked only for us. You would do anything to find what we wanted you to find, even sell out Sheridan. Your final orders were to report back when you had all the information we needed. So --- now the question becomes, what do I do with you, now that I have no further use for you? I could kill you, I suppose. In some ways, it might be a mercy. [Draws his PPG and aims it.] By know your friends know that you betrayed Sheridan. So, as the saying goes, you can't go home again. And your current employer is not going to be around much longer. [Lowers the PPG.] Or --- I could leave you just like this --- forever. Whatever you think of me, Mr. Garibaldi, I'm not capricious or cruel. I used you because I had no other choice. I have what I want. My interest in you is over. [A bell rings in the car.] We'll be docking in a moment.

The car glides to a stop; the door opens. Bester looks intently at Garibaldi for a moment, and then flashes a smile.

Bester: I've just sent the all-clear signal telepathically. After I'm gone, you'll be able to move again. You'll remember it all. You'll be yourself again. You can try to tell the others what happened, but under the circumstances, I doubt very much anyone will believe you. Be seeing you, Mr. Garibaldi!

Bester gets up and walks out of the car. The door closes, and the shuttle continues onward. Slowly, Garibaldi comes back to himself, and the memories of his recent past wash over him in a flood of pain. He screams...

TAG
Found dead.

HYPERSPACE

The liberation fleet continues on its way. On the bridge of White Star 2, Marcus Cole turns at the sound of footsteps entering. Susan Ivanova returns to the bridge in a dismal mood.

Marcus: Did you get through? Is it true?
Ivanova: They've got the Captain, all right. [Takes the captain's chair.] It was a setup. And Garibaldi was behind the whole thing!
Marcus: I just heard he's tried to contact Babylon 5.
Ivanova: You tell Corwin to refuse his signals! There's nothing that he has to say to me right now that I have the slightest interest in hearing! And you tell them --- that if he turns up on the station, I want that son of a bitch shot on sight!
Marcus [taken aback]: Susan...
Ivanova: I mean it! [Takes a long breath, lets it out.] What's our status? [Gets up and moves forward for a better view out the windows.]
Marcus: The other ships want to know what we're going to do now.
Ivanova: We finish what we started! If Clark thinks this is gonna slow us down, he's in for a very big surprise! The Captain once told me, "The person is expendable; the job is not." We keep going!

MARS --- EDGARS' HOUSE

Garibaldi rushes into the house, frantically calling for Lise. He finds the living room in disarray, furniture tossed and tumbled. Wade lies underneath an overturned sofa. Edgars lies on the floor near the safe. Garibaldi checks --- Edgars is dead. But that's not who he's looking for.

Garibaldi runs through the rest of the house, still calling for Lise. He doesn't find her. But when he returns to the living room, he hears a groan. Mr. Wade is not quite dead. Garibaldi rushes to his side.

Garibaldi: Wade! Wade, what happened?
Wade: Five of 'em --- hit us out of nowhere. They knew.
Garibaldi: Where's Lise? Where?
Wade: I don't know, she wasn't here. She was gone when they got here. She ---
Garibaldi: What? --- Wade?

But Wade has said all he's going to. He's gone.

Garibaldi gets up and checks the open safe. As expected, it's empty.

Garibaldi: Oh, damn it!

He rushes out.

THE ISN NEWS CHANNEL

Alison Higgins is giving us the latest.

Alison: This is Alison Higgins with an update on our earlier stories. President Clark declared today a day of celebration and rest, noting that the capture of renegade Earthforce Captain John Sheridan signals that the war of aggression against Earth is unraveling.

SHERIDAN'S CELL

Alison continues in voiceover while we watch Sheridan's "good treatment".

Alison (VO): Sheridan continues to be well-fed and well-treated. Now that he has been freed of alien influences, he has reportedly indicated feelings of remorse and regret for his actions against his own homeworld. [The beatings are over, for the moment. Sheridan sits on a bare floor, shackled in heavy irons.] We hope to have more on this soon. In other news, William Edgars, founder of Edgars Industries...

EDGARS' HOUSE

Earthforce security agents pore over the crime scene. We can be fairly sure they won't come up with anything leading to the killers. Meanwhile, Alison continues in voiceover.

Alison (VO): ...one of Earth's ten largest medical research corporations, was found dead this morning, along with at least one of his staff. Two personal bodyguards outside the estate were also killed. Preliminary reports from investigators on the scene indicate that the Resistance may have been responsible for the attack as they continue their assault against business and political targets. Nothing is known yet concerning the whereabouts of his wife Lise Edgars.

THE ISN NEWS CHANNEL

We're back to Alison at the studio.

Alison: Finally, ISN sources within Earthdome have indicated that Captain Sheridan may have been turned in by his own former head of security [Garibaldi's photo is shown over her shoulder], Chief Warrant Officer Michael Garibaldi. If this is true, we at ISN want to convey our personal thanks and gratitude to a true hero of the people!

The End.