...with Earth Central reporting a 15% drop
in station revenue over the past 2 months.
Why the drop?
We've had a lot of Earthforce military transports
come through lately, forcing us to route
some of our commercial traffic elsewhere.
They say it's only temporary.
We should be back on track soon.
Good, good. Anything else?
Just one last item
which also affects the station budget.
Since we've been running at a deficit for a while,
and--I thought you
would have heard about it by now.
Heard about what?
The space on Babylon 5 is at a premium.
The larger the living quarters,
the more Earth can charge for rent.
They've decided that our quarters
are larger than necessary.
They want us to relocate
to smaller quarters or start paying rent.
Rent? Yes, sir.
30 credits a week, starting immediately.
And this "us" would be--
you and me, yes.
Everyone else is pretty much to code.
Oh, yeah? Well, you can tell Earth Central
they can take a flying--
it's only 30 credits a week, sir. It's not that much.
I don't care if it's one credit a week.
I don't care if it's one credit a month.
It's the principle of the thing.
Some of the smaller quarters
are actually quite nice.
Ivanova, I am not moving,
and I am not paying the rent,
and neither are you. Sir?
Look, we can't let them divide us on this.
It is wrong. I mean, we are on call
24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
busting our butts for Earth,
and now they want to charge us
for an extra 5 square feet?
7 feet.
Whatever.
I'll go live in down below
before I'll pay them a penny,
and you can tell those bean-counters
that they can go to hell,
and that's for both of us.
Yes, sir.
And it was starting out to be such a nice, quiet little day.
This is unnecessary, you know.
If you just give us the information we need,
we could stop this. We don't blame you.
You fell under the influence of outsiders.
They used you and then abandoned you.
You mean nothing to them.
You were raised by the corps,
clothed by the corps.
We are your father and your mother.
Don't force us to do this.
We know there's an underground railroad
helping unregistered telepaths.
We know you gave them access to our files.
Who was your contact?
Who's running the operation?
I don't know.
We never used names.
But you know where they're going, don't you?
There has to be a central clearing house
for the underground railroad. Where is it?
♪ Mary had a little lamb ♪
♪ little lamb ♪
♪ fleece was white as snow ♪
♪ everywhere that Mary went ♪
♪ the lamb was sure to-- ♪♪
Aah! Aah!
He's dead.
It doesn't matter.
I caught it just before he died.
Betrayed by his final thoughts.
[Blows]
Babylon 5.
The Babylon project was our last, best hope for peace--
a self-contained world, 5 miles long,
located in neutral territory.
A place of commerce and diplomacy
for a quarter of a million humans and aliens,
a shining beacon in space, all alone in the night.
It was the dawn of the third age of mankind,
the year the great war came upon us all.
This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations.
The year is 2259.
The name of the place is Babylon 5.
Captioning made possible by Warner Bros.
Are you sure you know what you're doing?
Oh, absolutely.
Those paper-pushers back home
probably figure that since I'm new here,
I'll go along with this whole rent idea
just to make everybody happy.
Yeah, well, that's how it starts.
Believe me.
They nibble a little bit here,
a little bit there. Next thing you know,
you're not even in charge
of your own command anymore.
"No taxation without representation."
"Give me Liberty or give me death."
Abso-fraggin'-lutely.
A bunch of butt-scratching,
hand-wringing, penny-pinching,
let's-stick-it to- the-new-guy pinheads!
All of them.
30 credits a week--
I say let them cut back
on those expense account lunches,
then come talk to me, right?
Right, right. Yeah.
You're doomed, you know.
We'll see.
Well, if you need a place to stay,
I've got a spare cot at my place.
You've got a spare cot?
Yeah.
I don't even have a spare cot.
How the hell do you rate a spare cot?
Well, I requisitioned it for medical purposes.
Damn. I always knew
I should have been a doctor.
Captain, there you are.
I was looking for you.
May I speak with you
for a moment... Privately?
Of course. Why don't you go ahead,
and I'll catch up?
Of course. Ambassador.
So, what can I do for you?
I was wondering
if you could help me--
this is difficult--
if you could help me better understand
what it is to be human.
Though I now look more like you,
I'm not one of you, and if I am
to be a bridge of understanding
between humans and Minbari,
it would help
if I knew more about you people.
I see. So, what would you suggest?
Dinner.
Dinner?
Dinner.
In all my time here,
I have rarely sat and just talked
with you or with any other human,
and I think that I would like to.
Talk about what?
Anything.
Everything
except business and negotiations
and whose trade agreement
is being most unfair to the others.
Yeah.
Just...talk.
All right. I'll set it up and get back to you.
This evening ok?
Perfect. Until then, Captain.
Ambassador.
One day, they're shooting at you.
The next day, they're taking you out to dinner.
What a universe.
[Woman] Babylon 5 control,
a Psi-Corps representative
requests an immediate appointment
with full command staff.
[Man] Roger that.
For some time now, we have been aware
of an underground railroad
smuggling unregistered telepaths
away from Earth
to the outer colonies,
where the corps can't reach them.
Well, so far, I don't see a problem.
The problem, Commander Ivanova,
is that unregistered telepaths
are a security risk.
The corps helps to ensure
their safety and privacy of normals.
We believe the underground railroad
is operating through Babylon 5.
It must be closed down.
We'd appreciate your cooperation, Captain.
I'd like to talk to my people
for a moment.
Of course.
Well, you've been pretty quiet.
Is he right, or isn't he?
Technically... Yeah, I suppose.
We're obliged to uphold the laws of Earth Alliance.
That doesn't mean we have to like it.
And if there is some kind
of illegitimate travel going through here,
it's a threat to station security,
and we have to know about it.
Oh, come on, Garibaldi.
You can't tell me you agree with this.
You want to help them?
Want, agree--
that has nothing to do with it.
The law is the law.
That's damn ironic, isn't it?
The corps got started
because we were afraid of telepaths.
Now they're victims of our own fears.
We took away every right they had
and shoved them into a big black box
called Psi-Corps. Now look at them--
black uniforms, jackboots, giving orders.
Some days, they scare the hell out of me.
Yeah. If you ask me,
we created our own monster,
and maybe we deserve it.
All right,
give him whatever help he needs
but keep an eye on him.
And by the way, Captain,
I suggest you check the files on Mr. Bester.
We had a few problems with him last year
involving a rogue telepath named ironheart.
You might want to find out
a little bit more about who you're dealing with.
[Bester] I think they'll do as we ask.
You seem awfully confident.
I am.
Did you scan them?
Ms. Winters, you know the rules
against scanning normals without their permission.
Mm-hmm. So are you scanning me?
You'd notice.
Not if it was just a surface scan.
I'd only do that if I suspected
you were doing something inappropriate.
Are you?
No. Of course not.
Well, then, you have nothing to worry about.
[Man] Murderer, murderer, murderer, murderer.
What's wrong?
You didn't hear that?
What?
Open up. Drop the walls. Listen.
I'm sorry. It's all background noise.
They're here.
I was right.
He's here, all right. I saw him.
Did he sense you?
I don't know. Maybe.
Look, we knew this was going to happen
sooner or later,
so what we have to do now is warn the runner
and get the hell out of here.
I know. I know Bester will try to stop us,
so we don't have any choice.
We have to kill him.
I apologize for being late, Captain.
I decided that
as part of learning more about humans,
I would try to dress like one tonight.
I hope it does not offend you.
No, no, not at all.
I mean, it's very attractive.
Uh, please.
Something I can do for you?
It appears my choice was successful.
The woman who sold me this
told me that I would definitely...
Turn heads?
Yeah, well,
if they turned much further,
you'd be sued for whiplash. Ha ha!
What would you like to start with?
Start with?
Mm-hmm.
I don't know.
This is all so new to me.
What would you recommend?
Well, let's see what we have, hmm?
Hey, Michael, over here!
Look, can I talk to you for a second?
What? Is this official business?
Yeah.
Hey, everybody,
Garibaldi's here on official business.
Oh, well, then...
[Ding ding]
Next round's on Mr. Garibaldi!
Yay! Yay!
Come on, you know the rules.
No official business inside earhart's,
or you buy everybody drinks.
I know, I know, but I was kind of hoping
to talk to you on the qt.
Oops.
Yeah, oops.
So, what can I do for you?
I need a contact
inside the underground railroad.
Great. Good hunting to you.
So, what have I got to do with it?
Come on, Ivanova, this is me.
Yes, it is, and you're so cute
when you're worried about investigating
someone close to you.
This time, you're dead wrong.
Look, Michael,
there's no love lost between me and the Psi-Corps,
but I've got nothing to do with this.
Ha! You look like you just swallowed a bug.
An operation like this
couldn't work without support
from someone inside the station.
I figured it was you. Nuts.
Well, have a good time figuring it out.
Me--I'm going to go back to my quarters
and get some sleep.
That's the other thing
I wanted to talk to you about.
After we cleaned up the debris,
I told him, "mack, if you ever bring that cat
"within 15 feet of me again,
I will have you both up on charges."
Ha ha ha!
We do not have cats on Minbari.
We have gogs.
Gogs?
Gogs. Ha ha ha!
I think such creatures
are an attempt by the universe
to make sure that we never
take ourselves too seriously.
You know what's funny?
When I think of Minbari,
I don't generally think of them laughing.
Is that part of the change you've gone through, or--
we believe that no race
can be truly intelligent
without laughter.
In temple, we spend one whole year
just learning how to appreciate humor.
This must seem very strange to you.
No other race we've encountered
has anything similar.
Oh, then, you're in for a big shock.
Back on Earth, we have the laughing Buddha,
and then there's the school of zen mysticism
that teaches enlightenment through laughter.
It would appear that we have
much more in common than we imagined.
Yeah.
Who'd have thought?
[Beeping]
Ah, Ms. Winters. Good.
I know it's late.
I hope I'm not disturbing you.
I've been thinking about
our last experience together--
the Jason ironheart situation--and now this.
I've been more than a little rude to you,
and I'd like to make up for it.
As our representative on Babylon 5, it occurs to me
that we should know each other a little better.
Perhaps you'd join me for breakfast tomorrow morning.
I'll be there.
Good. Good night, Ms. Winters.
[Beep]
[Bester] His name is Jason ironheart.
[Winters] We were lovers.
Do you know what it's like
when telepaths make love, Commander?
There is no more Jason.
I am something else.
I am becoming...
Becoming what?
Everything.
He came to say good-bye, Commander
he came to say good-bye.
I give you a gift--
the only gift I have to give.
[Echoing]
He's been in my mind twice today.
Why isn't he seeing this?
Was that the other part of the gift?
[Beep beep beep]
Forget it. They've been sealed.
What?
Direct orders from Earth Central.
Your quarters and mine have been sealed
until we either move to smaller quarters
or begin paying rent on the bigger ones.
Garibaldi let me know a little while ago.
If they think that they
are going to pressure me like this,
they're wrong.
You got something we can Jimmy this thing with?
I already tried it on my door--
set off the sprinklers,
scrambled the lock codes on both sides of the hall,
and scared the hell out of security.
I was just on my way
to rent a room when I saw you.
No! No way in hell.
That's just as bad as paying them
for using our own quarters.
No, sir.
Millions for defense,
but not one penny for tribute.
All right, then, what do you suggest?
Again.
They can't scan us if they don't catch us.
We just have to make sure
we don't get caught.
That's what Jason thought,
and just before he died, he cracked.
We can't afford it. Do it again.
[All reciting] Mary had a little lamb.
Her fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.
Mary had a little lamb.
Her fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.
Comfortable?
Couldn't be better.
Good.
Got to take a hard line
with these people, Susan.
Can't show a moment's weakness.
Yes, sir.
I heard a good one today.
How many Minbari does it take
to screw in a light bulb?
I don't know, sir.
How many Minbari does it take
to screw in a light bulb?
None. They always surrender
right before they finish the job,
and they never tell you why.
Oh...
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Kosh.
Kosh who?
Gesundheit.
I thought that was a good one.
Were you like this when you were married?
Huh? Yeah.
The woman was a Saint.
Well, at least
I'm an intelligent life form
according to the Minbari.
I think I like that.
I think I like that a lot.
So obviously things back home
have been a little tense
ever since the President died.
Yes. That was quite a blow here, too.
Do they ever talk about what happened--
the Captain, the others?
Sometimes. Why?
According to the news, it was an accident.
And so it was.
Still, if you could keep an eye
on things for us, we...
[Man] Almost ready. In position.
We've made it-- made it--made it--
get down!
Oh!
They must be getting desperate
to try something like this.
They know we're on to them.
Why else would they try to kill me?
Is this a multiple choice question?
What about Talia?
As far as I know, she got out.
You mean you haven't heard from her since the attack?
No. But I'm sure she's fine.
It's me they were after.
Unless they took her in order to get to you.
Has that thought ever occurred to you
now that you've managed to save your own skin?
Won't do them any good.
She doesn't know anything
that could hurt me or the corps.
Doesn't get it, does he?
Hey, wake up!
To hell with what she does or doesn't know!
She could be dead right now!
Garibaldi!
You should have told us she was missing
as soon as you called in.
If you're this worried,
Mr. Garibaldi,
I suggest you double your efforts
to find these people.
You've got two bodies to start with.
Make the best of them.
[Woman] It's too risky. It's too risky.
[Man] We'll have to kill her
before she identifies us.
Wait.
We don't want to hurt you.
We will if we have to,
but we don't want to.
You're--you're only hurting yourselves.
The corps is here to protect you.
I don't believe that, and neither do you.
That's not true.
It will be, very soon. You're almost there.
Almost where?
What do you want from me?
We want you...
To understand.
Just heard from the people
running the underground railroad.
They've got Talia. No. No. No. She's ok.
They haven't hurt her,
and they don't intend to.
They want to arrange a meeting
between you and the head of the operation.
Just you. Nobody else.
And if anyone else shows, the meeting's off.
And if I don't come, what happens to Talia?
Nothing.
This isn't a hostage situation, Captain.
The situation is spinning out of control.
They're trapped.
They're trying to find a way out
without anyone else getting hurt.
And you think I can trust them?
Yes.
Why?
I can't tell you right now.
I guess you're just going to have to trust me.
All right. When and where?
And I guess that's how they found my brother
before they found me.
They said he could either join the corps,
go into a relocation camp,
or take the sleepers
so he wouldn't accidentally violate
the privacy of normals.
He took the sleepers.
They shut off his talent,
but it didn't stop him
from speaking out against the corps.
He wrote the senate, the media,
got interviewed by I.S.N.
Till one day when they came
to give him his injection,
he closed his eyes and never woke up.
The corps doesn't murder its own.
I was there.
All you need to do
is scan me to see for yourself.
I don't want to.
You're afraid to.
The corps raised me. It gave me everything I have.
And took away everything you were born with--
took away your freedom,
made you wear that badge and those gloves
every day of your life
while you were out among normals,
keeps you separate from them,
from each other, dependent, afraid.
You're distorting everything.
Am I? Bester shot your friend ironheart,
but, hey, he was a rogue,
a runaway just like us,
but that's not the worst.
You wanted to see me?
Wanted to? Not really.
But I guess I have to, don't I?
Mr. Garibaldi,
I know we've had our problems in the past,
but I'm not the enemy.
We have the same concerns, you and I.
We want to protect our own
and protect Earth.
Would it interest you to know
that I am married, Mr. Garibaldi?
That I have a 5-year-old daughter?
That on Sundays when I'm back home,
we pack a picnic lunch
and go out under the dome on Syria Planum
and watch the stars come out?
Hardly the description of a monster.
Smooth.
You're getting good at this.
Keep working on it. One of these days,
I might be convinced that you're human.
Here's the information you asked for.
The two shooters were living in down below
like I figured.
It's tough to track expenses down there--
most of it's barter--
but they were both living on the same level.
Probably wanted to stick close together
for mutual protection,
which means the others might be there as well.
That's what I figured.
I'm putting a team together now.
We'll pick you up at your quarters
in an hour, and we'll go in together.
That's together. Clear?
Of course.
My talent woke up when I hit puberty.
The corps took me in,
said I was a p-11--
as high as you can go
before they turn you into a psi-cop.
After 2 years, they picked another p-11
and said I had to marry him.
They wanted to increase the odds
of breeding a p-12 or higher.
I refused.
One night I woke up, heard voices...
Something soft over my face,
felt hands lifting me out of bed.
The next morning, they tried to tell me
it was all just a dream.
Four weeks later,
I discovered I was pregnant.
Oh, my god.
When she was born, they took her from me.
As soon as I could walk,
I escaped from the hospital.
I never saw my baby again.
Maybe the corps served a function
a long time ago.
Now it's something else.
I know it. You know it.
We can't let it go on this way.
So what do you expect me to do?
Snap my fingers and make it all go away?
You're asking me to take everything I believe
and turn it upside down.
Why?
Why are you telling me this?
Because you're special.
How do you know?
Your friend ironheart...
He was my friend, too.
They experimented on both of us.
They pushed me up here.
They made me a p-12, maybe even a p-13,
but ironheart...
Went further than I did.
He went further than anyone
will ever go again.
When he escaped, I went with him--
help set all this up.
I know he touched you.
I know he gave you something.
I know you can help us
if you want to.
Hello, Captain.
But I thought the message said
for me to come alone.
It did.
Well, don't you think your presence
might scare off the guy who's running this operation?
No. Not really, considering
I am the guy running this operation.
I hope you have
one hell of a good explanation
for this, doctor.
I think he does, Captain,
and I think you should listen to him.
I think you should listen to all of them.
Back on Earth I heard things--
the kind of things
you're not supposed to hear about.
Genetic manipulation,
breeding telepaths against their will,
so-called relocation camps
for rogue telepaths that aren't much better
than concentration camps.
It started when a few doctors
began referring latent telepaths to each other,
keeping them out of circulation,
losing reports
and changing medical history files.
But we couldn't just keep
moving them around like checkers.
We had to get them away from Earth.
They were filtered into Babylon 5
on business visas.
Last year, I set up a clinic down below
so we could start processing runaways
and changing records without anyone
from medlab knowing about it.
I trust my staff, but the Psi-Corps
has a knack for intimidation.
Look...
In principle,
I agree with what you're doing,
but there are laws,
and whether I like them or not,
I'm a soldier.
I am honor-bound to obey the law.
And as a doctor,
I'm honor-bound to help these people.
So what am I supposed to do now?
If I turn you in-- and right now,
I'm more than a little tempted--
I embarrass the station, Earth Central,
and give the folks back home
one more reason to shut us down.
If I don't turn you in,
I'm an accomplice.
No.
There's a third option.
He's coming.
I remember you.
And I remember you.
That's why I started all this.
Listen to me.
You have nothing to be afraid of.
Come back with me.
You won't be harmed.
Of course they will.
Talia?
You'll destroy them, inch by inch,
as a lesson to the rest.
You want to keep us frightened and isolated,
not just from normals,
but from each other.
That's the real reason
we wear gloves, isn't it?
To keep us apart.
But what happens when the gloves come off?
Don't... Force me to...
It's not working.
Someone is fighting us.
You!
Now!
I'd have preferred to take a few alive,
but better to set an example.
The main thing is the leader is gone.
Cut off the head,
and the body dies with it.
You had me going for a moment there.
The corps is mother, the corps is father.
I know where my loyalties lie.
I'm going back up now.
Security will be here within 20 minutes.
I didn't want them
asking these people any questions,
and I don't want to answer any myself.
I suggest you take a different route back.
We'll, of course, deny all knowledge
of this... Unfortunate incident.
Of course.
I don't suppose anyone would like to tell me
what just happened.
What did you see?
Bester came down the hallway. He said something.
Talia came out, joined the others.
Then he stopped.
He stared for a moment.
Then he smiled
and went back the way he came.
But that's not what he saw.
Which was?
He saw what we wanted him to see.
An illusion?
A telepathic projection.
I thought psi-cops were too strong
for that sort of thing.
Individually, yes.
Any of us alone never could have done it,
but together,
we were able to burrow past his defenses.
As far as Bester is concerned,
the underground railroad is dead,
along with its leader.
He won't press the issue
because he doesn't want to be linked
to a bunch of dead bodies.
He'll go quietly.
And all I have to do
is let him go.
And avoid seeing him before he goes.
If he suspects anything,
he might scan you, and you don't have
the defenses to block him.
And no more underground railroad?
Babylon 5 has gotten too hot for it.
Others will pick up where I left off.
My part's over.
Well, if there's nothing illegal going on here--
anymore--
and Mr. Bester drops his request...
Who am I to argue?
You get your people out of here.
I don't want to see any of them around here again.
Clear?
Clear.
Thanks.
Don't thank me yet.
Get one thing straight--
anything like this ever happens again,
I will personally turn you in
and let them hang you out to dry.
Understood?
So you don't think what I did was right?
I didn't say that.
Well, what are you saying?
I'm not saying what I'm saying.
I'm not saying what I'm thinking.
As a matter of fact,
I'm not thinking what I'm thinking.
There's only one thing on my mind right now.
What's that?
I need a drink.
And a place to stay.
Thanks, doc.
I just about managed to forget about that.
You know you can't go back again.
I can't leave the corps.
They'll come after me.
No. I mean in here.
You know too much.
If Bester scans you, he'll...
Can you keep him out?
I think so.
Jason's little gift.
He gave you more than you know.
What we did back there
shouldn't have worked,
not with that psi-cop.
You tipped the balance.
I felt it when we were joined.
You are more than you think you are.
Then what am I?
The future.
Captain, I'd like to note two things for the record.
Yes, Commander.
Item one-- I don't think
this protest is going to work.
Earth Central never gives in
when it comes to money.
But if you're determined to keep at it,
I'm prepared to do the same.
Item two--
you snore.
No, I don't.
Yes, you do.
Captain, either you snore or last night
we had a hell of a breach in the hull.
I get dibs on the couch.
Unnecessary.
You can sleep
in your own quarters tonight.
Security has probably unlocked them by now.
They gave in?
Uh, no.
You gave in?
Not exactly.
I'm deducting 60 credits per week from the budget
set aside to maintain combat readiness
and applying it against the rent.
On what grounds?
On the grounds
that I'm not ready to fight anybody
until I've had
a decent night's sleep in my own bed.
You got a problem with that?
No, none whatsoever.
I rather like the idea
of Earth Central paying rent to itself.
It has a certain symmetry.
Ha ha ha!
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I think I'll go to my quarters and collapse.
Wonderful idea.
Dismissed, Commander.
Well, I'd better get back.
There's always
a mountain of paperwork
waiting for me. Mm-hmm.
I hope you'll give some thought
to what I asked the other day.
I was informed that Sheridan
would be supportive of the corps.
I'm...I'm disappointed
by his attitude.
You won't have a problem
keeping an eye on him, will you?
No.
No problem at all.
Good.
Well...
See you next time, Ms. Winters.
[Doorbell chimes]
You're having far too much fun
at my expense.
Yes.
I bring gifts.
Ms. Winters, it's late.
I know.
I'm sorry.
I just wanted to say
that you were right and I was wrong
about the corps.
I can't go into details,
but in light of recent events,
I think we need to re-evaluate
our relationship, which is just
a formal way of saying
that I need someone to talk to,
and strange as this sounds,
you're the only one I can think of--
unless my being here offends you.
No.
You don't offend me,
but that does.
Better.