"Meanwhile, on Earth and Minbar, preparations continue for next month's celebration marking the fifth anniversary of the Interstellar Alliance." "Aside from one brief conflict with the Centauri Republic early in its first year ISA President John Sheridan has delivered on his promise to maintain peace among all its member worlds." "Although ISA Vice President Delenn continues to make appearances during these preparations, Sheridan himself has not been seen for several days." "Speculations on his absence ranged from the flu to a goodwill mission to Narn." "In other news, ground was broken today in Earth Dome for a monument dedicated to the many who died in the recent telepath crisis, including...." "That's him." "All right, move us away as soon as he's onboard." "Tell them to have some dinner ready." "He's probably hungry." "And if he's not, I am." "I appreciate you getting into this, Michael." "I haven't been able to be as involved in the construction of the new ships as I'd have liked." "You got a galactic empire to run." "Leave the nuts and bolts to the other guys." "Kicking butt is what I do for a living." "Speaking of which, how are things going on Mars?" "Couldn't be better." "You know, I never figured myself for the corporate type." "I mean, think about it, me-- Me, running Edgars Industries one of the 10 biggest corporations on Mars." "I mean...." "But I, you know, I love it." "But you know me if there's something I can do to help, I'm here." "Good." "I take it you have talked to the head of construction." "What's his name, Drake?" "Drake." "I've talked, I've yelled, I've screamed." "He's a bright guy but he has to get everything just perfect before he'll sign off on it." "Since nothing's ever perfect, nothing gets finished." "I understand his caution." "A job like this reverse-engineering Minbari and Vorlon technology so it'll work with human tech?" "I mean, it's never been done before." "Yeah, but once we're done, you are gonna have the leanest and meanest fleet on the block." "Of course, once the other races find out about it, they are gonna go nuts." "I know." "So far, though, we've been able to hide the funding and Delenn's kept everyone's attention back on Minbar getting ready for the anniversary." "Nobody knows we're even here." "Yeah, we hope." "Excuse me, Mr. President?" "Yeah?" "We've cleared all the shipping lines." "We're ready to jump." "Good." "Proceed." "One thing's for sure, even if anybody does know we're here no one's gonna be able to follow us from here on out." "I haven't seen anything yet that could keep up with a White Star on full burn." "Galen." "Galen!" "The circle requires your presence." "I'm busy." "They know of your activities." "You will come to them or they will come to you." "Either way, you will be called to account." "We are all called to account sooner or later." "And to whom am I supposed to explain my behavior this time?" "To everyone involved." "Everyone?" "Must be a very large room." "Galen." "All right." "All right." "Show me the way." "The long road." "But then, it always is a long road, isn't it?" "And you...." "You may be called to account even sooner than you imagined." "Mr. President." "We've arrived at the rendezvous point, sir." "Good." "Lock in coordinates, prepare to jump to normal space." "Ready to jump at your command." "Jump." "Should be coming into visual range any time now." "I hope this was worth it." "I haven't seen anything on these ships since the initial designs came across my desk." "If it's anything like what I saw here a week ago I think you're gonna like this." "Yeah, I think you're gonna like this a lot." "There she blows." "Our first two prototype destroyers." "Mr. President, Samuel Drake." "It's an honor to meet you, sir." "Mr." "Garibaldi, it's good to see you again." "I can tell." "So let's begin the tour, shall we?" "So far, we've only been able to get the gravitetic propulsion system to provide a workable gravity of slightly less than 1 G." "After three months of trying Mr. Garibaldi suggested that we declare victory and move on." "I figured less than a full G was better for everybody anyway." "I kind of like the idea that every time I come onboard I weigh 5 pounds less." "Incidentally, sir, I wanted to thank you for bringing me aboard." "It's not easy for Mars-born citizens to get work on major Earth contracts." "Well, I don't have much patience for that kind of politics." "Under the terms of the Alliance Mars-born and Earth naturals are entitled to equal opportunities." "Besides, you were highly recommended." "We decided on a non-standard bridge configuration based on the submarine model." "Linear instead of circular." "From the captain's chair, it's a straight throw back and across to the other compartments." "Map room." "Conference room." "Navigation and helm controls." "Com system." "Weapons." "We designed the controls along Earthforce lines to make them easier for us to deal with." "The system's very intuitive." "You can run it like almost any other ship." "It's what's inside that sets her apart from anything else that's out there." "How does she handle?" "We don't actually know." "Well, we wanted to wait until you got here and she was completely fitted out." "Don't you think you should find out whether or not this thing will actually go anywhere before you spend a lot of time polishing the chrome?" "What if this new propulsion system doesn't work?" "All the tests have indicated that" "Yes?" "Message for President Sheridan on Stellarcom." "It's Delenn." "You can take it in the conference room, Mr. President." "Attention." "Reactor is back online." "Repeat, reactor is back online." "Drake did I or did I not tell you to take her out before I got back here?" "Did I not introduce you to the theory that it doesn't have to be perfect..." "..." "let's just see if it works?" "Yes, but" "Well, then, let me introduce you to a new theory:" "Shut up and do exactly what I say." "Now, ease her out of space dock." "Yes, sir." "Cast off ties, prepare to ease away from space dock." "Engines are good to go." "Ready to engage at your command." "Power up." "I'm sure there won't be any problems." "Engage main engines." "Drake..." "Tracking power loss." "...was that a problem?" "So it would seem, sir." "Message received." "Ready to display." "Okay, let me see it." "Mr. President?" "Mr. President?" "You okay?" "You were in here almost half an hour." "Oh, no, I just got here." "The message was scrambled, gibberish." "Must've hit some kind of interference." "You were looking at gibberish for 20 minutes." "You wanna do that, swing by my place some time I'll show you some 20th century television." "Look, Drake has a few bugs to work out." "It's nothing serious, but it's gonna take a little while." "So why don't you get some rest and we'll finish up the tour later." "Fine." "Fine." "Good idea." "I guess I'm more tired than I thought." "And now, we're gonna figure out how to get this thing moving." "Or you're gonna go outside and push." "Things were so much easier on Babylon 5." "Weapons violation." "Weapons violation." "Ma'am?" "Ma'am!" "Can I see you over here?" "I guess you didn't read the postings outside." "Babylon 5 has a strict weapons policy." "Now, either you give me whatever you're carrying or I'll have to ask you to leave the station." "All of it." "You can pick it up when you leave." "Thanks." "Where do the lost people go?" "Who?" "The forgotten, the castoffs, the neglected." "The lost people." "Downbelow." "Brown Sector." "Do you hear that?" "Hear what?" "Listen." "I don't hear anything." "Exactly." "No birds, no animals no voices, no machines no insects, starships or music." "You are hearing the sounds of a dead world." "A murdered world." "An attack?" "A test." "Can you imagine?" "All this, just for a test." "This is a dream." "No, not a dream." "A nightmare." "And if sometimes dreams come true then what of our nightmares?" "Who are you?" "A friend." "My name is Galen." "I called to you earlier." "The message from Delenn." "That was me." "I apologize for the deception." "A connection was necessary for the electron incantation." "I thought you said this world was dead." "It is." "The killers have returned to check on their handiwork." "We should go." "I doubt they can pick up on my probe, but there's no point risking it." "Remember what you have seen." "They must have got it fixed." "Well, it ain't pretty, but at least it'll get us out to the firing range." "You get to live another 10 minutes, Drake." "Yes, sir." "Thank you, sir." "Good night!" "No." "No, I can't be back." "I can't." "Can't you?" "Aren't you?" "You." "This is not your world, Dureena Nafeel." "But it shares the same fate as your world." "When the time comes to choose your target, be sure to pick the right one." "Because you will only get one shot." "You were having a bad dream." "And have awakened to another." "What's your name?" "Dureena." "Dureena Nafeel." "Do you have the mark?" "Show us!" "Who trained you?" "Who brought you into the Thieves Guild, taught you our ways?" "Mafeek of Tripani 7." "Mafeek is known to me." "Who was his teacher?" "Gant the Elder." "And how long have you been a thief?" "Long enough to be good at what I do." "But not good enough to avoid being seen, captured and restrained." "I didn't exactly hide the fact that I was looking for you." "I wanted to check in and the quickest way to do that was to draw your attention." "I was captured because I chose to be." "There was no reason to treat me this way." "Had I known the level of your hospitality it would have been you on the floor, not me." "You talk pretty good for someone who's all chained up." "What chains?" "You made your point." "You made your point!" "We welcome you." "Welcome you, as one Guilder to another." "Welcome." "While you're here you'll live by our rules:" "Do not interfere in the activities of any other member of the Thieves Guild." "Do not betray our presence to the authorities." "We support rigged games, petty theft, con jobs pickpocketing, black marketeering and barter but nothing violent." "Nothing that will cause the authorities to notice us." "We will take 10 percent of your earnings in exchange for a place to stay and, of course, the pleasure of our company." "If by some chance you are captured by the authorities, you are alone." "We cannot help you." "Do you have any questions?" "No." "Then you can go." "I'll have this one show you out." "Don't touch me." "One last thing!" "Your kind is unknown to us." "You are very far from home, Dureena Nafeel, wherever that is." "What are you doing here?" "I don't know." "Good morning." "You're just in time for the weapons demonstration." "Shall we?" "Any time you're ready." "You are ready, aren't you?" "Ready, willing and able." "Aren't we, Drake?" "Yes, sir." "All hands prepare for level one test firing." "Repeat, prepare for level one test firing." "Weapons control, stand by." "Weapons control, aye, aye, sir." "Target, 12 degrees by 9 degrees by 25 degrees." "12 by 9 by 25, aye, aye, sir." "Confirm target lock." "Fire." "What do you think, Mr. President?" "Well, I'm a little disappointed." "That wasn't much more firepower than the average White Star." "Now, these ships are supposed to pack a bigger punch." "Well, then, I guess we're just gonna have to deliver on that promise." "You see, that was level one." "Drake, go to level two." "Sir, about the main guns, there's a slight...." "A complication." "What kind of complication?" "The enhanced weapons array is based loosely on Vorlon designs." "They were intended for ships far more advanced than we're capable of building with a far greater energy reserve." "Firing the main guns takes virtually all of our power." "So they should only be used as a last resort." "Duly noted." "Now, would you like to take a shot at our next target?" "Let's say that big asteroid over there, huh?" "Yeah." "Mr. President." "You may fire when ready." "Weapons control, ready to fire." "Aye, sir." "Target bearing 9 by 6 by 23." "Nine by 6 by 23, aye, aye, sir." "Target locked, ready to fire." "Ready to fire, sir." "Fire when ready." "No!" "No, we can't." "How did we...?" "How did we what, sir?" "That's Earth out there." "What?" "I said, that is Earth" "Sir?" "Nothing." "Prepare to fire." "Standing by." "Well, fire." "Fire." "Firing main guns." "As I said it drains nearly all of our energy, leaving barely enough for gravity control." "We can't navigate or fire again for at least a minute." "Which leaves the ship vulnerable." "Yes, sir." "For one minute." "A lot can happen in a minute." "I said, a lot can happen in a minute." "It's a mistake!" "You shouldn't have brought him here." "Bad enough you've been sending probes outside sending signals that could be tracked back to us, but this?" "You're endangering all of us!" "We agreed to have no contact with the outside." "And if our silence means the death of billions?" "You said I should explain myself to all involved." "He is involved, whether he knows it or not." "Galen, this is premature." "We can't make contact without proof." "We can't get proof unless we contact someone on the outside." "This is insanity!" "Perhaps that's true, but these are insane times." "And this one." "Is he the best you could do?" "As a matter of fact, yes." "He is the one person who can give us what we need." "We all know what is at stake here if I am right." "Yes, we must protect ourselves but we cannot do so by abandoning those we left behind." "All right." "We will allow this one contact, but no more." "And if your actions compromise our hiding place if we risk death because of your actions, understand that you will be the first of us to die." "They're upset with you." "Not upset, afraid." "Fear makes wise men foolish." "In my case, I can only hope it makes fools wise." "Do you know who" "What we are?" "Well, you called this an electron incantation you and the rest are in hiding so my guess is, you're techno-mages." "You use technology to simulate the effect of magic." "I met one of your kind before." "He was joining the rest of you in leaving known space." "We came to this place during the Shadow War to prevent our secrets from falling into the wrong hands." "And though the war is over, our leaders are in no hurry to return." "So we will continue hiding for a bit longer." "Twenty, 30 more years, just to be safe." "They like being safe." "And where is this place?" "Wrong question." "I'm hip." "Listen to me carefully, Sheridan." "We don't have much time." "The connection between us is a delicate one." "Do you recognize this place?" "Z'Ha'Dum." "The Homeworld of the Shadows before they left for the Rim." "An ancient race dedicated to chaos and destruction." "They left, but their allies remained." "Some of them you know as the Drakh." "We've been watching the Drakh for some time." "We knew that sooner or later, those who had once served other masters would choose to become masters themselves and continue the work the Shadows began." "Lately we've heard rumors stories from other races who've encountered the Drakh." "We think they are preparing to move testing their resources, weapons, capabilities." "But with the Shadows gone and their world destroyed..." "...how much power can they have?" "That is what you will have to find out." "Why me?" "Because I believe they're going to start their war by attacking Earth." "Remember, it was humans who organized the war against their masters, humans who finally obliterated them." "Such things are not quickly forgotten." "You said resources." "How much do" "No, I have told you all I can and some of what I suspect." "I am not allowed to tell you more." "The rest you and your companions must learn on your own." "But do not tell anyone what you are doing or why or most especially, who told you." "The Drakh have spies everywhere." "If they know we are watching, they will move before we can prepare." "I don't think anybody would believe this anyway." "The dreams, all of this...." "They'd think I was crazy." "Hell, I don't even know if any of this is real." "But you're curious enough to find out, which is why I chose you." "Your spirit is such that you will go even if it means going alone." "I wish I were going with you." "I wish I could help, because if I'm right...." "Oh, my friend unless you act Earth may suffer the fate of Daltron 7." "Mr. President?" "Mr. President?" "I was saying that the hull is a plasteel crystalline alloy capable of refracting 80 percent of any energy weapon used against it." "Although, as I'm sure you can imagine, that 20 percent can mount up pretty fast..." "...in a major battle." "We should always" "We have to go." "What?" "But we just" "Tell the White Star to pick us up." "We have to go and we have to go right now." "Go where?" "It was above the faces." "Over them all." "Babylon 5." "John." "Mr. President." "You wanna tell me why we're heading to B5 in such a rush?" "No." "Not yet, because I'm not even sure I believe it myself." "I have to find out if what I think is is." "And what if "is" isn't?" "If it isn't, then it's not." "But if it is...." "Well, there you are." "Look, why don't we stop by Minbar." "We can see Delenn." "You've been under a lot of pressure lately" "I'm fine." "And we are going to Babylon 5." "Right." "Absolutely." "Whatever you say." "I'll just get some work done while you're..." "...drawing" "Good." "Oh, while you're at it see what you can find out about a planet named Daltron 7." "Never heard of it." "Me either." "Is it important?" "Could be." "Get Captain Lochley at B5 on the line." "I'll be in my quarters, chasing fireflies." "Are you sure about this, captain?" "Quite sure, commander." "Why?" "Is there a problem?" "No, sir." "It's just...." "Our last instructions from Earth Dome ordered us to Vega colony for a routine security patrol." "Now we've changed course for Babylon 5 without notifying HQ." "Phil, you worry too much." "Now, go on with your status checks." "I know what I'm doing." "I hope." "Lockdown complete." "Switching over...." "Captain, good to see you." "And you, Mr. President." "Quite a surprise." "Well, perhaps not that much of a surprise." "I need you to do me a favor." "I want you to run these pictures see if these people are on the station." "The likenesses may not be exact, but should be close enough for the computer to do an analysis." "Are you sure they're here?" "No." "But if they're not, they will be soon." "I think." "Do you have any idea what this is about?" "Not a clue." "Better keep our eyes open down here." "Let me see that picture again." "Roger that." "Squad six, report." "Squad six reports...." "She's making a run for it." "Let's go!" "Hold it!" "Hey!" "Hey, we just wanna-- We just wanna talk." "Get her!" "Get her." "Well, I'll give you this one." "She's a dead match for the drawing." "Who is she?" "You don't know?" "You drew her." "It's a long story." "What's her name?" "Dureena Nafeel." "She got here a few days ago." "Judging from the half-dozen purses and wallets she had when the guards found her, I'd say she's a petty thief." "But a good one, to steal that much without anyone noticing it." "Where is she from?" "I've never seen an alien like that before." "Zander Prime." "I thought that was a dead world." "It is, now." "Zander Prime was wiped out during the Shadow War." "During the last days of the war the Shadows revealed their biggest weapon:" "A death cloud capable of engulfing whole worlds." "Thermonuclear missiles from the death cloud penetrated deep into the planetary core, where they exploded destroying the planet from the inside out." "Zander Prime was one of the last planets destroyed by the Shadows." "We thought no one had survived." "Until now." "We told her we were throwing her off the station." "We'll bring her by to see you on her way to deportation." "Might make her a little more cooperative." "Yes?" "We've got Captain Anderson of the Charon online." "He wants to speak with the president, says it's urgent." "All right." "Put him through." "You know this guy?" "I don't think so." "Hello, Mr. President." "By any chance, have you been looking for me?" "So it would appear." "Mr." "President." "Captain." "So you were drawn here same as I was." "Yes, sir." "You know, it's good to meet somebody who won't think I'm crazy if I say the man in my dreams told me to find you." "Well, if you're crazy, then we're both crazy." "Good." "Dureena Nafeel, this is captain" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Let go!" "I said, let go!" "What the hell is wrong with you?" "My world is dead!" "My people, my family, they're all dead and it's your fault!" "So?" "You think he's losing it?" "Oh, I don't know." "I mean, on the one hand, two of the pictures he gave us did pan out." "On the other hand, it could be random chance." "All I know for sure is that he is not behaving rationally." "It's almost as if he's acting under some kind of outside influence." "Well, could be." "All this started when he got a signal that was supposedly from Delenn." "The signal was a mess." "I figured it got scrambled, but it could have been coded downloaded directly into his brain somehow." "There don't seem to be a lot of choices." "Either something really is happening or someone's trying to make him think it is in order to...." "What?" "Discredit him?" "End the Alliance?" "Yeah, maybe." "All we can do is keep an eye on him, because if he's right we'll need to be here to help him." "And if he's wrong we may have to intervene before somebody gets hurt." "I don't understand it." "Why did you say I killed your world?" "It was a war." "Both sides" "We had nothing to do with it." "We were neutral." "When worlds near us were being destroyed we called to you for help." "You did nothing." "There was nothing we could do." "Our forces were scattered out all over the place." "Other worlds were threatened." "We were barely hanging on." "We didn't hear about your planet until it was too late." "By the time" "You could have done something." "No!" "Now, for years after the war, I asked myself the same question:" "Could I have done more?" "Could we have saved more lives than we did?" "But the truth is, even if we had heard in time we didn't have anything that could stop a Shadow planetkiller." "We were outgunned." "Dureena, you are angry with me because you see me as a symbol for what happened to your world, but I am not responsible." "The Shadows gave the orders..." "...but they didn't pull the trigger." "What are you talking about?" "The Shadows had others working for them who carried out the orders." "They're called Drakh." "And the Drakh are still out there, Dureena." "Dureena." "Dureena." "You're looking for a target, a way to make someone pay for the death of your world." "You picked me because you thought you couldn't get to them." "But you can." "I can give you a chance to strike back at those responsible for the death of your world, before they do the same to someone else." "Then perhaps that is what the dream meant." "I thought they were memories of what was but perhaps they are warnings of what is yet to come." "One thing, Mr. President:" "There are three of us in this drawing." "Where's the other one?" "The Drazi?" "I don't know, and that worries me." "Should we wait for him to get here?" "No." "If Galen was right and the Drakh are preparing to move any delay could be costly." "We have to go and hope that he catches up with us later." "It's true." "It is me." "I don't understand." "Why us?" "I don't know, but I assume we each bring something unique to the mission that increases the odds of its success." "Speaking of which, Mr. President we may have a serious problem." "The type of forces you're talking about are beyond anything I've ever fought before." "Now, my ship can take us into the battle, but against odds like this you're gonna need something a lot bigger and nastier than an Earth destroyer." "I think I just may have the thing." "Good morning, captain." "Mr." "Garibaldi." "Sleep well?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I did." "Boy, I needed it too." "So where's the president?" "Well, I thought he was coming with you." "No." "When he didn't call, I figured he'd be meeting me here." "Well, that's odd." "Lochley to C  C." "C  C online." "Did you send Sheridan the message about our meeting this morning?" "Yes, captain, but he's been working and hasn't checked in." "If he hasn't checked in, how do you know he's working?" "That's what the message says." "Show me." "Hello." "This is the president." "I'm busy with affairs of state and can't come to the link right now." "A t the chime, leave a message and I'll get back to you at the earliest opportunity." "Oh, he wouldn't-- -lf he wanted to skip out, he could." "He knows all the ways in and out of here." "Is the White Star still berthed outside?" "Affirmative." "That's a relief." "No, wait." "Were there any departures during the night?" "Just one, the Earthforce destroyer Charon." "Hell." "Listen, I want you to get me an outside frequency." "I wanna get on the line ASAP with Samuel Drake." "Who?" " Yes, sir, Mr. President." "Mr." "Drake, we have a breach in security." "Our communication frequency has been cracked and Mr. Garibaldi feels there are certain people that may use it to send you false or misleading information." "I see." "If I may ask, where is Mr. Garibaldi?" "Consequently, you are not to receive any further messages unless they come through on this frequency." "Block everything else out of your system." "Do not acknowledge, receive or answer them for any reason." "Is that understood, Drake?" " Yes, sir." "Good." "I'm counting on you." "We're en route and will be there shortly." "End signal." "You talked to your crew about this?" "I have." "What about you?" "Are you sure you wanna do this?" "You'll be going AWOL, risking your career." "During the civil war, we had a chance to join your side and we didn't." "We were wrong." "When this dream came to me, I didn't know if it was real or not." "That's why we came." "If you hadn't been here I would have written it off as a delusion and moved on." "But you were here and Earth is in danger." "And this time, I intend on being on the winning side." "Now, the crew feels the same way." "We let you down once." "We won't do it again." "Thank you, captain." "So is everything ready?" "I think so." "Then we're in good shape." "I see." "And what does the phrase "good shape" mean on the planet where you live?" "Mr. President, I'm sorry." "We're not ready." "We didn't think you'd be back so soon." "It's all right." "Mr. Drake, meet Captain Anderson." "I brought him along to see the tour." "I see." "This is quite irregular." "He hasn't been cleared." "And a few of his friends." "No." "No, no." "This is out of the" "We don't have the facilities for a tour." "You can't go in there." "Of course they can." "Now, tell me that part again about how the systems were designed to use standard Earthforce controls." "So it won't be too hard to learn how to run this thing, right?" "Well, yes, but..." "Yeah, good." "...you're not supposed to be here." "I repeat." "This is White Star 90 to Samuel Drake." "Please respond." "No good, sir." "They're blocking us." "Damn it." "It doesn't make any sense, sir." "Why would he go back there?" "It's not as if he's going to steal the ships or any" "He wouldn't, sir." "lf he thought he needed them and he thought he was right, he'd do it." "Victory to Excalibur." "We're ready to go." "Arm gravitational engines." "Ahead one-quarter." "Unable to comply." "We are still locked into spacedock." "Problem solved." "Set course for...." "Unless you act Earth may suffer the fate of Daltron 7." "Set course for Daltron 7." "Prepare to jump to hyperspace." "Jump." "Daltron 7 dead ahead, sir." "This can't be." "The reference table on Daltron 7 describes this as the next best thing to paradise." "Clear skies, warm weather." "Ship, environmental analysis of planet." "Nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere in proportions dangerous for human life forms." "High degree of carbon ash and particulate matter in upper atmosphere indicative of surface eruptions." "Temperature of planetary core far below normal levels." "Anomalous surface details." "What kind of surface details?" "Detail on navigation display." "This is what they did to my world." "But it doesn't make any sense." "Daltron 7 was well outside the war zone." "Besides, the war's been over for six years." "Any attack here, even this far off the main routes we would have heard about it by now." "Are you picking up any life forms, anything at all?" "Negative on life forms." "We're picking up one power source." "Identify power source." "Distress signal is of Drazi origin." "Fire up a shuttle, tell Captain Anderson to do the same." "We are going down there." "Notify Captain Anderson that the president ordered an excursion down to the planet." "This is it." "This is the place I saw in my dream." "Anything beyond that northern ridge?" "Aye, sir." "There's a plateau that stretches 100 yards or so." "Checking it out." "Report back in about five." "I found the beacon!" "And something else." "Is this the Drazi we were supposed to meet up with?" "Well, it's hard to be sure, but, yes, it looks like him." "Looks like somebody got to him before we could." "I want the body searched." "Maybe you can find a note or something to explain what happened here." "Here's the planetary report, captain." "What is it?" "I had my crew do a detailed surface analysis." "Scan the planetary core back-check records, see if anybody made a report about what happened." "And?" "Look, I wasn't in the Shadow Wars you were, so I didn't see these death clouds but are you sure this is caused by a Shadow planetkiller?" "I'm positive." "Nothing leaves a pattern of craters like we saw from above." "I've never seen anything like it before or since." "And this all happened six years ago, right?" "Correct." "The Shadows left and took it with them." "Well, we have a serious problem, then, Mr. President." "Because if what I'm reading is correct, this just happened over a week ago." "Look, the Drazi looks like he's been dead for only a few days." "He might have seen something." "Anything on the body?" "Negative, sir." "So it's a dead end." "Not necessarily." "Hey!" "Hold on." "Wait a minute." "Male Drazi have a pouch under their left arm." "There's a skin flap." "You can't see it if you don't know what to look for." "Drazi smugglers use it to transport small items into other parts of space." "If he was in trouble and wanted to make sure it wasn't found it'd be the logical place to hide it." "How did you know the Drazi had a skin pouch under their arms?" "It's not a pouch." "At least, not technically." "It's their reproductive area." "Why'd you have to tell me that?" "Hey, lady." "Dureena!" "Listen, the only thing valuable I carry on me is my watch." "I want you to know that in case this ever comes up in the future." "Okay?" "You did well back there." "But I can't help wondering how someone who's supposedly just a pickpocket knows so much about smuggling and alien life forms." "I'm more concerned with what you said." "You said you beat the Shadows." "You said they went away and took their weapons the weapons used to murder my people." "You were wrong." "We knew they'd hidden some weapons on other planets as a safety measure." "But we didn't think anyone else knew where they were or how to use them." "But the Drakh knew." "They probably helped build the damn things." "So this has happened before?" "Leftover Shadow tech?" "Yeah, a few times." "But nothing this major." "Then what happened?" "We got our butts kicked every time." "Perhaps I should just shoot myself now and save myself a great deal of time and trouble." "But no." "No, that would be selfish." "As their enemy, they would have terrible plans for you if we do not stop them." "That's it." "First I will shoot you, then I will shoot me." "I would consider it a public service." "I'm honored." "You're welcome." "It was terrible, Mr. Garibaldi, absolutely terrible." "Sheridan was like a madman." "He just broke in here and stole the prototypes." "You should've seen the look in his eyes." "I was sure he was going to kill me." "Yeah, whatever." "Did he say where he was going?" "No." "He was in a big hurry to get there, I can tell you that." "Then where the hell--?" "Wait a minute." "He wanted me to check out a planet out on the deep range." "What was the name?" "Dal" " Dal" " Dal" "Daltron 7." "Is that where he went?" "I don't know, but it's a lead." "It's the only one we got." "I can have you shuttled back" "No." "No, no." "After what I've been through I wanna be there when you catch him." "Besides, those two prototypes are my babies, Mr. Garibaldi." "I should be there when they're found." "All right." "All right, I think they've got a spare bunk room downstairs." "Why don't you check with Lennox, see what he can do for you." "Garibaldi to bridge." "Set course for Daltron 7." "Best speed." "Captain, we've managed to get a clear signal through to Earth." "Good." "Put it through." "Hello, Lynne." "Leonard." "My God." "Where have you been?" "They've been calling, saying you've deserted." "I haven't deserted." "Let's just say I've been transferred by a higher force." "Listen, I can't really talk on an open channel." "I just wanted to make sure that you and Sarah were okay." "We're fine." "I'm just worried about you." "I'll be fine." "You know how I am." "Hey!" "Hi, Sarah." "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm okay, but I had a bad dream." "I dreamed I was being a chased by a monster and it ate me." "She's saying she won't go to sleep tonight..." "...because the monsters will get her." "They will." "No." "No, they won't." "I'll make sure of that." "No matter where I am, far or near I'm gonna keep those monsters away from you." "I promise." "Captain." "They've got the Drazi data crystal decoded." "I'm on my way." "I gotta go, Lynne." "Sarah, now, you get some rest." "And you listen to your mommy, okay?" "I love you, Lynne." "I love you too, Leonard." "And the dreams spoke to me." "They called to me to come to this place." "When I arrived, the destroyer was here." "I sent a probe in to examine it." "It looked like this." "Maybe you should" "No." "I'm all right." "Just promise someday you'll let me kill that thing." "It isn't alive." "No?" "It is a terrible thing, a slayer of worlds an echo of the darkness we thought had finally left us." "When it was finished, the others who were with it took it away." "I followed them to this location." "I would have investigated further, but there were too many." "So I am returning to Daltron 7 to see if there are any who can be saved." "Then I will wait for the others in my dream to come." "With luck  the dark ones will not find me before they can arrive." "End message." "Mr." "President." "Yes?" "Yes, captain, what is it?" "Check your long-range scanners." "We've got company." "Show me." "Are those Drakh?" "They're either Drakh or the weirdest looking pizza delivery trucks I've ever seen." "Have they taken any hostile action?" "Negative, sir." "We're picking up scanners." "I think they're trying to figure out who and what we are." "They don't recognize our ships." "Good." "That's what I was counting on." "Let them get closer, captain." "Understood." "We'll lay low until we can see right down the gun ports." "Keep your finger on the trigger." "If they do anything suspicious, knock them down." "Sir, we're getting a transmission from the Drakh ship." "Receive transmissions but do not respond." "Video or audio." "If we can get a look at them without them getting a look at us...." "Coming through." "Message is in Interlac." "Using auto-translation system." "You have no business in this area." "Who are you?" "Identify yourself." "It's the face of the enemy." "Don't respond." "Wait, wait." "I have a better idea." "Send them a reply in Interlac audio only." "Tell them we came to attend to our enemies but found someone had already dealt with them." "We were hoping to thank whoever was responsible." "It doesn't matter how powerful they are." "They'll need all the allies they can get." "Let's see if we can convince them we could be that ally, see what happens." "Send it." "What was that?" "Transmission coming in on Drakh frequency." "Extremely powerful." "Tachyon-enhanced." "It definitely came from outside the system." "There's no way to trace it." "Are you sure it was meant for them?" "Positive." "What's their position?" "They've stopped their approach." "Holding steady." "I don't like this." "Any further communications?" "No, sir." "Damn!" "I knew it was too easy." "All hands, man battle stations!" "Communications, jam their transmissions." "Navigation, give me full power to the engines..." "...as soon as" "Here they come!" "Anderson, take the two-one approach." "We'll go after the others." "We got them, sir." "Forward guns..." "...prepare to fire." "Aye, sir." "The target's coming into range." "Enemy ships are locking on firing." "Damage report." "Minor damage to the outer decks." "The hull appears to be refracting away most of the energy." "Outstanding." "Weapons control, fire!" "She's making a run for it." "Stay with her." "Distance to target." "Two thousand kilometers to optimum firing range." "Closing fast." "Sixty seconds to target acquisition." "Fifty-five." "Fifty." "What the hell is that?" "We're getting nothing on the scanners." "It's like a null field out there." "Absorbing everything, even the light." "And those ships are headed right for it." "How long before they enter the field?" "Thirty seconds." "Prepare to fire main guns." "Captain, if the main guns are fired" "I know." "Stand by to fire." "Aye, sir." "Main guns powered up and standing by." "Stand by." "Fire!" "Temporary power loss." "Fifty seconds to rebuild." "Distance to null field?" "Ten seconds." "Navigation just an idle thought." "Does this location by any chance correspond with the one in the Drazi recordings?" "Yes, sir." "That's what I was afraid of." "Are you sure they went in there?" "Aye, sir." "But we can't read anything beyond the null field." "What the hell is that?" "Hard to starboard, right now!" "Rear guns, fire!" "Aye, sir." "Excalibur, what happened?" "Fleet is on the move." "All of them!" "They sent after us the only ships they could spare." "Listen, captain, I don't think any of their ships are jump-capable..." "...so I've got a plan." "What is it?" "Run and hope they're not fast enough to follow us into the jump point before it closes." "Stand by." "Prepare to jump." "Standing by." "Jump!" "Are you picking up the enemy fleet?" "Aye, sir." "They're riding the primary hyperspace beacon in this area." "Ten thousand kilometers ahead of us, moving fast." "Take us off the hyperspace beacon, we'll try to slip past them." "They're as fast as their slowest ship." "We've got an edge." "Put us on a course for Earth, maximum burn." "Get me Captain Lochley on Babylon 5." "Captain, call coming in for you." "It's President Sheridan." "Put it through." "Mr. President." "I'm glad you finally decided to check in." "We've been worried about you." " You've got good reason to be worried." "I'm about three hours ahead of a Drakh assault fleet headed right for Earth." "And captain, they've got a Shadow planetkiller with them." "I see." "Well, perhaps if you were to stop off here on your way..." "... we could discuss" "Damn it, I know how this sounds  but it's true." "Now, I've contacted Delenn." "She's calling in as many Alliance ships as she can get on short notice." "But that's not enough." "We need a full-scale mobilization back home." "Earth isn't gonna scramble every ship they've got because I tell them." "Then you'll have to be more persuasive." "Why me?" "Because you're still part of Earthgov." "They're still wary of me given what happened the last time I brought a fleet into Earth space." "Captain Anderson doesn't have the clout and since he went AWOL to join us his word's not gonna count for a lot." "You're asking the impossible." "Then I am asking the right person." "Elizabeth if you've ever believed me, ever trusted me trust me now." "You haven't seen what a death cloud can do." "I have." "It'll wipe out all life on Earth unless we stop it." "Hell, I don't even know if we can stop it." "All I do know is that we have to try." "All right." "I'll...." "I'll do what I can." "Thanks." "I'll be in touch." "Now, get me Garibaldi." "Lochley to C  C." "C  C online." "Activate Gold Channel one." "Put me through to Earth Dome President Susanna Luchenko's office." "Captain, it's 3 in the morning there." "Thank you." "I know." "Always knew I'd get court-martialed for something someday." "May as well be now and get it over with." "What's up?" "Something odd." "We had an anomaly in the communications system during a routine check." "A sustained coded message routed through the Stellarcom system tapped into the main power..." "...to boost the signal beyond the usual." "Somebody wanted to call home." "No, sir." "I don't think that" "Incoming signal from President Sheridan." "Put it on-screen." "Michael, the balloon's gone up." "We've got an attack fleet headed for Earth." "They've got a Shadow planetkiller." "And how do you know they're heading for Earth, another dream?" "Yes." "But more than that." "Look at the timing, Michael." "This is the fifth anniversary of the Alliance, the primary threat to the Drakh and whatever plans they have for the future." "The Alliance was born because humans got into the Shadow War." "Can you think of a better target?" "I don't wanna argue with you." "I just wanted to warn you because the Drakh know we're onto them." "Well, if there is a leak, you may wanna look close to home." "I got a message from Babylon 5 a little while ago." "That woman who joined up with you is a member of the Thieves Guild." "It's an organization of crooks, con artists, extortionists, you name it." "She's got a record as long as your arm." "I wouldn't trust her any further than that." "Is this true?" "Why didn't you tell me?" "There's no sense belonging to a secret group if you tell everybody about it." "But if I were your leak I'd be stupid, since I could've been killed alongside you." "Killed how?" "We were approached by four Drakh ships trying to make contact." "Suddenly, they just attacked." "They knew who we were." "They recognized our ships." "It's not possible." "Nobody's seen the design." "They couldn't have known." "That's my point." "Now, they attacked just after receiving an extremely powerful transmission." "Someone told them who we were." "Someone knew where we'd gone and identified our ships." "But that's" "This transmission, when did it come in?" "About 1600 hours EST." "That's about the same time that" "I think we found the leak." "I will have to call you back." "Michael" "There's a colony one jump from here." "You're gonna drop me off and I'm" "Why did you do it, Drake?" "The Alliance went to bat for you." "They gave you the chance that nobody else back on Earth would give you." "So why?" "The Drakh made me a better offer." "And you don't care what happens to Earth as a result?" "Why should I?" "They never cared about what happened to me." "I say let them burn." "That's an easy thing to say, Drake." "Maybe even easy to do." "Nice and impersonal." "But pulling the trigger, turning my head into a canoe..." "...you got the stones for that?" "Just stay away from me!" "If you are gonna blow my head off, you do it now or I am gonna tear your heart out." "And if you do shoot me the rest of my people will be all over you." "What they'll do to you is worse than anything that I could dream up in a thousand years." "And I can dream real dark." "You are gonna tell me everything that's going on around here." "You're gonna tell me everything that you know or I am gonna turn you over to them." "Yeah." "Yeah." "You were right, John." "After some convincing our friend confirmed the Drakh are headed for Earth to try and make a statement to the Alliance by wiping out Earth." "They may have a good chance of pulling it off." "I hope Lochley was successful in convincing Earth to mount a full-scale operation." "We should be entering Earth space anytime now." "All right." "Anything else?" "Yeah, good news." "It appears the Drakh only have one planetkiller, the one the Shadows left behind." "They don't want anybody to know same as the U.S. didn't want anyone to know  they only had two nukes when they went after Japan." "But if we can stop this one, we won't have another one to worry about." "Yeah." "Well, we still have to stop this one." "That won't be easy." "Standing by." "Ready to enter Earth space." "Well, I have to go, Michael." "It's time." "Get here when you can." "If we fail, we'll need someone to pick up the pieces." "Save as many survivors as you can." "Assuming anyone...." "I'll see you on the other side, Michael." "Excalibur out." "Alert the Victory and jump to normal space." "I just hope they believed Lochley." "This is General Yuri Mikhailovich Denisov of the Hermes to Excalibur." "Do you copy?" "Confirmed, Hermes." "We are all here as you requested, but so far we have seen nothing." "General" "Certainly, on behalf of the Russian Consortium which has lost many of our citizens in recent conflicts..." "...it is our hope that this exercise" "This is no exercise." "Good God." "General, listen to me." "The fleet is not our main concern." "Leave them to the defense grid." "The death cloud itself is the real danger." "They will try to knock your fleet aside to position their planetkiller where it can strike." "You have got to stop that from happening." "What do you want me to do?" "Captain Anderson and I stand the best chance of taking it out." "Give us a flying wedge of ships to help punch a hole through their defenses and get us within striking range of that thing." "And then what?" "Then we kill it." "Somehow." "Delta 6." "We've got a target lock." "Fire." "Firing." "Now." "Come about." "Fire." "Distance to target." "10,000 kilometers." "Fire forward guns." "Maximum power." "Full dispersion pattern." "At this range, the beams will disperse." "It won't do any damage." "I don't want damage." "I wanna find out what that thing's made of." "Aye, sir." "Firing." "There." "Some of them went right through." "The others were stopped." "That tells us there's a superstructure of some kind inside." "Now, if it's solid, we can hit it." "If we can hit the right point, we can destroy it." "Scanners to maximum." "Full spectrum." "Starting at infrared and moving outwards." "Nothing we had before could penetrate that thing." "Let's see how advanced this ship is." "Aye, sir." "Come on, come on." "I could paint this thing in oils by now." "There." "My God." "How are we supposed to stop something like that?" "It's as big as a planet." "David and Goliath." "You just have to find the right point." "When the time comes to choose your target be sure to pick the right one because you will only get one shot." "There it is." "That has to be the control center." "It's right in the middle of it." "We hit it with everything we" "No." "Excuse me?" "You hit that part and you'll fail and your planet will be destroyed." "Well, we don't have much time." "We can't take too many hits like that." "Then listen!" "Your friend was right about me." "I am a thief, and proud of it." "I work like a thief, I live like a thief and I think like a thief, and so do they." "The first thing a thief learns is the biggest jewels aren't hidden in the safe." "They're hidden in a box next to the safe." "They're never in the obvious place." "So you learn to look where they don't want you to look." "Maybe they assumed no one could penetrate the death cloud's center." "And maybe they did." "So they would know that the centerpiece would be the obvious target." "So they'd reinforce it but move the main segment..." "...of the control system elsewhere." "Such as?" "Here." "Magnify." "Looks like a joint between parts of the device, same as 1000 others, right?" "Nothing special about it." "Why's it surrounded by short-range weapons?" "Why are they determined to protect it?" "If it's just one more joint in the mechanism there'd be no reason for the extra weapons." "Unless it's more than it appears." "Yes." "Exactly." "Sheridan, we're monitoring your situation." "Enemy ships closing in on our position." "Time is running out." "We can get one or the other, but not both." "Whatever you're gonna do, you better do it fast." "I wouldn't be here if there wasn't a reason." "If I didn't have something to contribute." "Now, maybe it's not a thing." "Maybe it's a way of thinking." "I know I'm right." "Engines at full." "All weapons prepare to fire as soon as we're within range." "Which target?" "Hers." "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire." "Fire." "Weapons fire is not getting through, captain." "Auto-defense systems are bad enough, but we had more ships join the defense." "How long until it can hit Earth?" "We're minutes away, sir." "Main rear weapons are hit." "How bad?" "They're destroyed, sir." "My daughter's out there, Phil." "I made a promise to her that I'd protect her from the monsters." "What kind of father am I if I can't keep my promise?" "You stay on the helm." "Get me Sheridan." "Aye, sir." "Sheridan, standard weapons fire isn't getting through." "I know." "There's only one thing to do." "You fire your main gun it'll put you out of commission for one minute." "Then we'll cover you until you can navigate your way out." "At this range, all we'll be able to do is knock out some of those ships." "Exactly." "But at least you'll clear the way so that we can use our main guns." "And then you can cover us." "Just open up the door, Mr. President." "We'll take it from there." "Ready main guns." "Stand by to fire." "Fire." "Main target missed by 0.6 degrees." "Looks like you won't get your chance to shoot either of us." "I've grown accustomed to disappointment." "Ramming speed." "Aye, sir." "Sir." "The Victory, she's breaking away." "What?" "Anderson." "Sir." "The mechanism, it's moving all around us." "Missiles active on all sides." "The impact must have activated the mechanism prematurely." "Sheridan to fleet command." "Everyone clear out." "I repeat: evacuate the area." "Get us the hell out of here." "Fast." "Faster." "This is as "faster" as I can go." "Sir." "Look." "What is it?" "What happened?" "Galen?" "The circle requires your presence." "The Romans had a phrase for it." "They called it "poisoning the well."" "What they couldn't conquer, they killed." "After they were driven from an area, they poisoned the wells so no one could live there." "It's the ultimate act of spite." "If they can't have it, no one can." "So they've finished analyzing whatever it was the Drakh sprayed into Earth's atmosphere?" "It's a biogenetic plague." "Earth has been completely quarantined." "No one's allowed in or out." "The death cloud was the only one the Drakh had left." "But it wasn't the last weapon in their arsenal." "From the complexity of its structure, the bioweapons division back home thinks the plague was probably engineered by the Shadows." "How much time do they have?" "This looks like it's the only bright spot." "Apparently the Drakh didn't have time to finish adjusting it to our biology." "Or they just didn't know how." "But either way, it's going to take time for the plague to adjust to a new host." "Now, they're saying five years." "Could be less." "And some people will be affected by it sooner than others." "But probably five years is the best guess for now." "And at the end of five years?" "Every man, woman and child of Earth will be dead." "Unless they can find a cure." "If the plague was created by Shadow technology centuries ahead of our own how do they plan to solve it in five years?" "They can't." "But since this came to us from outside then maybe we can find a cure out there." "I mean, we know there are other races as old as the Shadows." "One of them must have found a cure." "We'll find them." "We have to." "I've told President Luchenko that we'll put all the resources of the Alliance and the White Star fleet at their disposal." "We'll turn the Excalibur into a traveling research vessel manned by the best crew we can find." "The Rangers will search every corner of space looking for clues to a cure." "Then the Excalibur and her crew will go in to follow it up." "Legend said one day the real Excalibur would return in our greatest hour of need." "I guess this is it." "What about the rest of the new fleet you were building?" "The Drakh hit the construction dock on their way out." "Years of work wiped out in a second." "Oh, we'll start over, but it'll take time." "Until then, the Excalibur is the only one of her kind." "Those who command the Excalibur will never stop never give up and never slow down until a cure is found." "And we'll take any help we can get, wherever and whoever it comes from because this is a cause that surpasses borders and differences and distrust." "This is a mission about the survival of Earth itself." "What we do over the next five years here, at home and across the darkness between the stars  will determine whether an entire world will live or die." "It's a fight we can't afford to lose." "And we won't." "We won't."