So, this is Babylon 5.
It's everything I expected.
Noisy, crowded, and constantly in trouble.
Still, you have to give it credit. It has lasted 10 years.
Nobody back home thought it would last even a year.
Lots of things hang on longer than they should:
Poison ivy, measles...
Babylon 5, some people.
- Are you saying you'd like me to go away? - No, of course not.
Clearly there is some wisdom in tagging along with someone like myself.
In case of trouble, I can fling myself into action...
at a moment's notice on your behalf.
Still, there is something to be said for exploring on our own for a while.
I can take care of myself.
I just thought you might want the company...
but sounds to me like you had something particular in mind...
like maybe exploring the dark, seamy side of the station.
Doctor.
I hear anything can be had around here for a price.
- At another time, you might be right, but... - Hello, Max.
I was worried that you didn't get my message.
You worry too much. Always have.
I'm sorry. We haven't met.
Dr. Sarah Chambers. She's assigned to the Excalibur, same as me.
She just came to check out the station while the Captain was negotiating.
- A pleasure. And you are... - Cynthia Allen.
- You and Max seem to go back a ways. - We should.
I'm his ex-wife.
Either we have a deal or we don't. Which is it?
- If you can't be trusted to keep your word... - I resent that.
Gentlemen, there's nothing to be gained by shouting.
Now, Ambassador, perhaps if you could explain to me...
why the Excalibur can't land on Lorka 7.
While some of our worlds in that area of space are Brakiri colonies...
others are under our jurisdiction only for the purposes of mutual defense.
We ensure they aren't attacked or invaded...
in exchange for 10% of their annual planetary income.
Other than that, we leave them alone.
We don't interfere with their internal policies...
and one such policy is that no outsiders may land on Lorka 7.
There is nothing we can do.
You'll have to negotiate with the Lorkans yourself and work something out.
Ambassador, we have little over four years...
to find a cure to the plague that hit Earth.
If we don't, every man, woman, and child on Earth dies.
That is why...
we signed treaties with every major alien government in the first place.
So we wouldn't have to stop and negotiate at every step along the way!
There are exceptions to every rule, Captain.
- This is one of them. - Great!
How many other exceptions are there?
If we can't move faster than this, we'll never find a cure in time.
Then your people will just have to die, won't they?
Matthew Gideon, Captain.
Attached to the Earth Alliance starship Excalibur.
To find a cure to the Drakh plague before it wipes out all life on Earth.
Anywhere I have to.
Ripped By mstoll
Who do you serve and who do you trust?
So, any further progress with the ambassador?
Progress?
Let's see, how do I put this?
Plato once said that for everything that exists...
there is a perfect form of it somewhere...
a perfect human being, a perfect chair, a perfect stick...
so that everything is a shadow of that one perfect form.
If we follow that train of thought, that means somewhere in the universe...
there exists the perfect form of an absolute and...
complete idiot.
And he left here an hour ago.
Then I have some news that'll cheer you up.
You found me somebody to talk to?
Because, technically, the Lorkans are in Brakiri space...
they don't have an official ambassador, but they do maintain a presence here.
I have spoken to them on your behalf, and they've agreed to a meeting.
But I wouldn't hold my breath about being allowed to land.
They can be pretty stubborn.
I can be pretty stubborn myself.
Well, thanks.
All part of the service.
So tell me, why is this planet so important to your search for a cure?
It's a long story.
Then you can tell me over dinner.
After everything that happened last time, it's the least I can do.
And I know a great place. Unless you have other plans.
Let's see. Radium's already been discovered, so that's out.
I've done my laundry...
as far as this whole medal-of-honor business goes...
I'm sure the President can find someone just as deserving, so no.
No plans to speak of.
- So, how've you been, Max? - Fine. Busy.
- How's the cat? - Better.
Still on medication for that liver thing. But he's hanging in there.
Got the neighbors looking after him while I'm gone.
I was surprised you agreed to see me.
I was going to be in the area. It's no big deal.
So what's wrong?
I need money, Max.
How much?
- 100,000 credits. - 100,000... Cynthia!
Most of my income came from selling alien artwork and pottery back home.
The quarantine completely killed business.
I tried to take a loan, but with the impact on the economy, everyone was short.
Earth credits were falling in exchange rates...
the banks wouldn't give me anything.
I had to go to another source for the money.
Tell me this isn't going where I think it's going. An independent.
- A crook. - I didn't have any other choice.
I got 50,000 credits, enough to keep me afloat until things calm down a little.
50,000? I thought you said 100,000.
50,000.
With 100% interest compounded every six months.
- But that's not the worst of it. - There's more?
The man who loaned me the money is Rolf Mueller.
Ever since we made the deal, he's been following me.
Everywhere I go, he's there.
I get the feeling that even if I pay him off, he won't go away.
He'll just keep after me until...
I don't know what else to do.
The police won't get involved until something happens.
By then it'll be too late.
There's no one else I can turn to.
Is he here?
Where I go, he goes.
He showed up a little after I did.
I'll see what I can do. But I'm not paying him 100,000 credits.
50,000, yes, to take care of the debt, but not the rest.
This is my life we're talking about here. How can you put money over my safety?
It's the principle of the thing.
Great. I'll make sure that's engraved on my tombstone.
What's important about Lorka 7 is that it's a resettled planet.
The original inhabitants died off a long time ago.
500 years ago, colony ships arrived from another planet in the area...
and the current population has moved into the abandoned ruins, made it their own.
You think whatever killed the original population...
- is the same thing that hit Earth? - I don't know.
They won't release any information on that subject.
That's why we have to go there and find out.
But even if they didn't die from the same thing...
who knows what technology they left behind in the ruins?
That does explain a few things.
On a personal level, the Lorkans have always seemed...
less advanced than their technology would imply.
Because they didn't invent the stuff. They just found it.
They've got to let us land there and check the place out.
I don't know. Some days, it's like trying to nail smoke to the wall.
And if the job is hard enough...
why does everybody keep trying to make it harder than it has to be?
The bigger the job, the more of a target you become.
Saving Earth. That's a pretty big job.
How are you handling it?
Better. Thanks to seeing you.
So, what will you do if the Lorkans refuse your request?
Find another way. I didn't get this far by giving in.
I learned a long time ago that if you can't get in the front door...
you go in the back door.
Go over them, tunnel under them, you go around them, but you...
get the job done.
It is as I said, Polix.
They cannot be trusted.
And we cannot tolerate the risk of exposure.
I agree.
So what are we to do?
He said that he will find a way.
Another might not prove so persistent.
Perhaps the best way to eliminate the threat of the ship...
is to eliminate the captain of the ship.
Rolf Mueller?
You got him. Who are you?
Maximilian.
What can I do for you, Max?
I'm here to give you some money. 50,000 credits.
That's the way to start a conversation.
How come none of you ever start a conversation with me like that?
50,000. And what for?
This settles the account for Cynthia Allen.
I don't think so.
I do.
Wait a minute. I know you.
You're her ex. I heard all about you.
You're some kind of big shot, brainy guy back in school.
The term is "prodigy."
Seven letters, three syllables. I can see why it might give you problems.
Always correcting everybody else.
Always thought he was a little bit better than everybody else.
Never got along with anybody. Buried in books.
- She told you all this? - No.
Just the first part. I got a special way of looking at people.
I can tell a lot about somebody just from his face.
And what else does my face tell you?
- You still owe me another 50,000. - No.
You will get back what she borrowed, nothing more.
The rest is extortion. And from now on, you will stay away from her.
Really? Or what?
Or you will inherit a world of trouble.
Did you fall on your head or something?
- Are you actually threatening me? - No.
I never threaten.
Take the 50,000, go home, declare victory. It's the best offer you're going to get.
Games. He likes to play games.
That's great. I love games. Give me a channel back home.
And so the most holy...
appeared to our people...
500 of your years ago.
He declared that those of us who were without sin...
who were without corruption...
would be led to a promised land.
And that would be Lorka 7.
Exactly.
There we found the great machines and secrets and mysteries...
that were to be revealed only to us.
The most holy...
had turned his anger against those who had lived there before us...
and deemed them unworthy of his bounty.
Prophecy states that it is ours as long as we who live there remain pure...
- and without corruption. - Yes.
I still haven't heard a reason why we can't land on your world.
We have maintained our purity as a people by ensuring that...
no outsiders come to our world.
If we were to allow you to land...
we risk destroying all...
that the most holy has given us.
Then how can you come here and live on Babylon 5?
Aren't you worried we might corrupt you just as easily here as back home?
No. It is not we who are at issue here.
We are above corruption, above temptation.
Because of our own purity...
we may walk amongst you without being affected.
But if you were to come to our world...
with all of your...
impurities and your innate corruption...
you would taint Lorka 7...
destroy the covenant of the most holy...
and our people would fall from grace.
So you see, we feel for your people...
but there is nothing that can be done.
I can't believe you. How can you do this to me?
Do what? You asked me to help, I helped.
All I needed was the money. I didn't ask you to interfere.
You can't expect me to hand over 100,000 credits.
This is something that you got yourself into. I didn't do it.
I came up to the plate here.
I gave him 50,000 credits of my own money, for your sake.
Why am I getting beat up here?
Please, Max. You're not the one who's going to get beat up if...
Yes?
God, Cynthia, I am sorry. I just took my eyes off him for a minute.
What are you talking about? What happened?
Your cat. He was sitting out in the front yard sleeping.
I looked back and there was a skimmer driving off...
and he was gone. He was just gone. Cynthia, I am sorry.
And then a few minutes ago, this man called...
and he said if you don't give him another 50,000...
first he kills the cat, then he's coming after you.
I'm sorry, Diane. I'll call you back.
Well, Max, are you happy?
You're just going to walk out the door, just like you walked out before.
I didn't walk out. You did.
Mr. Kitty was my cat a hell of a long time before you ever walked into my life...
or out of it.
Eilerson, Excalibur.
Find me Dr. Chambers and a shuttle. I'm coming aboard.
Open.
I heard you were looking for me.
Yeah, I just got off the line with President Sheridan's office.
He can't make any promises...
but the Alliance can bring political and economic pressure on the Lorkans.
Just might be enough to make them change their mind.
- How long before we hear anything? - A few days.
Is there anyplace you can go in the meantime?
We're checking out some leads with the Rangers, there's nothing solid.
I'd rather not head out just to come back a few days later.
- So, it looks like I'm stuck here for a while. - Looks like.
I'm off duty right now. You want to go out, get something to eat...
I can't. I got paperwork stacked up three levels...
they're screaming for the revisions to this week's status report...
I understand. We both got other things we should be doing.
All this nonsense about the Lorkans. I just wish they weren't so...
damned unreasonable.
I wouldn't call them unreasonable.
- You wouldn't? - You just don't understand their culture...
- their social dynamics. - And you do?
Yeah, I think so. At least, a little better than you do.
I mean, be practical.
Out there in that ship, you're isolated. You're living in a bubble.
At least I deal with these people on a daily basis.
That doesn't mean that you know them.
Look, you live in a bubble just as much as I do.
Only difference is, yours is made up of several hundred levels of bureaucracy...
closed doors, that uniform.
I'm dealing with these people on their own worlds...
not in a safe, controlled environment.
So, if I'm out of touch, you're even more out of touch.
- Really? - Really.
If you really want to understand what's going on out there...
I say lose the uniform and go take a look outside.
Come on. Even if I go out without the uniform, I'll be recognized.
Maybe, and maybe that's what you'd like to think.
I wouldn't recognize the mayor of my town if he came and bit me on the ankle.
I'll tell you what...
I've got 100 credits says nobody will even know who you are.
- 100 credits? - That's right.
I'll even go along, keep an eye on things.
Who knows? You might learn a thing or two while you're at it.
Mister, you got a deal. Wait there.
So, now what?
Now we watch, as life happens all around us.
Yeah. That.
It is as I said, Polix.
The most holy will always show us the way.
We shall eliminate them ourselves.
That way, no one will know.
And Captain Lochley?
As I said, no one will know.
Her death will be unfortunate...
but she should keep better company.
Enter.
Hi.
I got a call from Max.
He asked if I could stop by and keep you company...
make sure you were okay.
Figures. Max always finds someone to do what he should be doing.
Look, Ms. Allen, Cynthia...
I'm not a fan of his, either.
I work with him every day, and at least half the time, I'd like to strangle him.
Even so, I think you're being a little hard on him.
He did help out. And he did send me.
A doctor.
When this is over...
I'll need a mortician, not a doctor.
With all due respect, he should've sent a squadron of Marines.
I think he'd like to keep this a private matter.
And I just might be able to help out here.
Please.
So, as long as I am here, why don't you give me the dirt on Max?
I'm sure there's a million things he doesn't want anybody to know about.
See, this is what I'm talking about.
It's good to get out, get a change of scenery...
see places you normally wouldn't go anywhere near.
Now, this is life the way I have to deal with it...
and, frankly, the way I prefer to deal with it.
Raw, unfiltered, in your face.
You're getting a sense of the way people really live.
- You know? The way... - A sandwich?
No. I don't think so. Some things even I won't touch.
I'll have the usual.
It's always a mistake to make assumptions...
about people you've just met.
- I come here all the time. - Then why didn't you...
Because I could use the 100 credits, which, as of now, you owe me.
That's only if you got recognized.
- Here it is, Captain Lochley. - Thank you.
That'll be 100 credits.
- You cheated. - Absolutely.
I like that.
- So, what's down here? - Nothing.
No Babcom units, no staff...
no ambassadors, no nothing. That's the point.
Every once in a while, when the politics and the nonsense get to be too much...
I come down here.
I get myself a barbecued beef sandwich...
or whatever this is, and I just sit.
I give myself one full hour where nobody can find me and bother me...
where it's just quiet.
After I've had my one hour of peace...
I can handle just about anything.
I think you need that every once in a while.
On my planet, we call it sleep.
No. Sleep doesn't count. Want some?
See, if you just go to sleep, then you close your eyes on trouble...
and then you open them up again on trouble.
No, you've got to have conscious time and really appreciate silence.
You know what?
It's not bad.
- Best you'll find on the station. - Whatever it is.
If you always come here, and could've shut down my routine at any time...
Which, by the way, was pretty transparent.
Then why didn't you?
Because it was more fun to play it out.
Because the look on your face was worth it.
And because I think people like you and me need to...
make up some excuse to do things other people do without thinking about it.
So we get to be co-conspirators for a little while.
I can live with that, given the company.
Do you smell something?
Ozone.
What the hell was that?
Some alien weapons use a of a lot of energy.
They build up before they fire, smell like ozone.
- Lochley to C&C. - Gideon to Excalibur.
We're being jammed.
You don't have a gun on you, do you? I had to check mine at customs.
I never needed one down here until you came along.
What makes you think this has anything to do with...
Ozone.
After a while, you just stop having things to talk about.
Silences get longer and more awkward...
until one day, you just know you have to leave.
I did.
Silence isn't usually a word I associate with Max.
That's just a smokescreen.
He'll talk your ear off about work, trivial things.
But not the really important things.
Sometimes I think he just doesn't know how.
He was one of those too-bright kids...
who jumped through all the academic hoops...
but never made any friends along the way.
Most of his life was either spent alone or...
getting beat up for being too smart.
They'd pound him, he'd come back with some smart remark...
they'd pound him again...
he'd be this smear on the pavement, still mouthing off.
That sounds like him.
He never had anybody, really.
Until me.
And the company.
With Interplanetary Expeditions...
his intelligence was finally appreciated for what it was.
And he became a company man.
Head to toe.
And that's when I lost him.
- Who is it? - Maximilian.
Enter.
Hello, love.
Handy little things, recorders. Carry them with me wherever I go.
Never know when you'll need one.
- Get away from me. - I don't think so.
We're going to negotiate.
I think we can find something for you to do...
to help bring down that remaining 50,000 you owe me.
Maybe even bring your cat back before I have him stuffed and mounted.
We can't let them keep pushing us toward the hull.
The further we go this way, the less chance there is of us getting help.
Then we have to stop them here.
The only advantage we got is they aren't professionals.
A good shot would've taken us long ago.
What they lack in accuracy, they're making up for in enthusiasm.
I think I have an idea.
Don't shoot. I'm unarmed.
Look, there's no reason for this. We didn't do anything.
Where is Gideon?
He went that way. But he's hurt really bad.
Most unwise.
This way. Move!
- You okay? - Yeah, I think so.
When the Drazi asked me how rough they should be...
when they took you down and brought you here...
I didn't want to be pushy, so I left it to their own discretion...
but I forgot.
In the Drazi language, there is no equivalent word for discretion.
I've handled worse.
And if you think this is going to get me to back off...
you're wrong.
I want what I want. I want what's coming to me.
And unless you figure on killing me, I'm going to get it.
And her.
- How do you know I won't kill you? - You'd have done it by now.
Yeah, like I said before...
I can read a man's face.
You don't have the stones for it. You've made the situation worse.
For her and you.
Sooner or later, I'm coming after the both of you.
There's not a damn thing you can do about it.
Not necessarily.
Smile.
Get it off me.
I wouldn't pull too hard on that. For starters, it's seamless.
It's made out of some alien material that I haven't been able to analyze yet...
but it does resist lasers and acids...
so anything you would do to take it off would probably kill you in the process.
What is this thing?
I found this on a world out on the deep range.
It's at least 1,000 years old, and from what I can tell...
it was probably used to control prisoners during transportation.
Let me show you.
Once in place...
the guards set the perimeters with these.
You come within 10 feet of one of these...
I'm giving one of these to Cynthia, and I'm keeping one for myself...
so that if you come near either one of us...
well, the results are obvious.
These are also set to be detonated manually...
so if anything happens to either her or me...
all someone has to do is push in a four-digit code.
You're right about me. I'm not a killer.
Not if I can avoid it, but...
in this case, I don't have to do anything...
because if you come near either one of us or bother us...
you will be your own executioner.
You will now go back under whatever rock you climbed out from.
You will leave my wife alone. You will leave me alone.
And you will return my cat safe and sound.
Not only that, you will bathe and groom him...
because I don't know where he's been...
and I don't want him coming back with anything.
Is that clear?
Now get out. That way.
You're a real piece of work, Max.
In case you haven't heard, she's not your wife anymore.
I know.
I hate this. I've got to take a shower.
Me, too. It'll take hours to vibe this stuff off.
No. I have got a real water shower.
You do? Real honest-to-God hot running water?
But you'll have to wait while it recycles.
It's okay. I can wait. I got to get my adrenaline down, anyway.
Yeah. Me, too. I'm still buzzing from head to toe.
- Makes you feel alive, doesn't it? - Yeah. It does.
We don't have to wait to recycle the water. We could share.
- Environmentally safe. - Waste not, want not.
Absolutely.
I was in the back room when I heard someone pull out in front.
I barely got out in time to see a skimmer pulling away...
and there was a box on the front step.
At first I was afraid of the worst, but when I opened it, Cynthia...
Mr. Kitty is back, and he is just fine.
- Thank goodness. - They even bathed him.
Bathed him?
I asked politely. Manners maketh man, after all.
Anyway, I have to go. The kids are screaming for dinner.
Go on, then. I'll call you when I get in.
After you left earlier, I was thinking...
and I just want to say I'm sorry for laying into you the way I did.
It's all right.
I hate calling you for help all the time.
It's just rough sometimes.
That's all.
Sometimes I wonder why you even bother picking up the call.
I pick up the call because in my entire life, I have loved three things:
My work, that damned cat...
and you.
Pathetic, isn't it?
Goodbye, Cynthia. Take care of yourself.
You, too, Max.
So you see, once we were able to speak with Ris and Polix...
we were able to determine why they tried to kill you.
Apparently, for several years, they had been selling...
the technology we found on Lorka 7 to alien races...
and keeping the profits for themselves.
They were afraid that if you came...
and began investigating our world, you would discover their activities.
- I'm sorry to hear that. - Not as sorry as we are.
We had sent them here as emissaries, not just of our people...
but of the most holy...
as two examples of our own moral and ethical superiority.
If the leaders of our religion cannot maintain their vows...
in the face of temptation...
if they do not embody all the principles...
they tell others to obey...
then perhaps...
it is time to question whether or not the whole system is flawed.
What temptation?
They are saying it was being exposed to your corruption...
that led to their downfall.
Then we're right back where we started.
We can't land because we're not morally perfect.
No.
I have spoken to our leaders back home, and they want you to come.
Yes, they want you to land on our world...
and move freely among us.
See? They've decided we're not as bad as they thought.
Not correct, but the opposite, in fact.
What is moral superiority without temptation?
Without something to test our faith, we have grown complacent...
and we have seen the result with the two who tried to kill you.
No. Interacting with a species as corrupt as yours...
will be the supreme test of our faith.
Thank you.
I will tell them to prepare for your arrival.
In the name of the most holy...
good day.
- Can I smack him? Just once? - No.
I never get to have any fun.
Sorry. Almost never get to have any fun.
Speaking of which, and I think we should before you leave...
I'm still not entirely certain how things went so fast between us.
It's really not like me to, well...
Anyway, I mean, I don't regret that it happened...
Neither do I.
I just don't want you to get the wrong impression.
I'm responsible for this whole place...
and I'm not looking to get into a relationship right now.
I'm not looking to commit to anything.
I just hope you understand.
Absolutely. I'm in the same situation. It's not a problem.
Good. And that's nice of you to say.
I'm not saying it just to say it.
I'm saying it because that's what I'm saying. That's all.
Good. That's good.
So, you want to get something to eat before you leave?
- I know a great place. - Love to.
- Yes? - Delivery for you, Mr. Eilerson.
Enter.
Thank you.
I didn't know if you had a picture of Mr. Kitty.
Figured you'd like one. Cynthia.
Ripped By mstoll