Babylon 5 s03e02 Episode Script

Convictions

Let me get this straight.
You two are missionaries? Yes.
Great sign.
We hear you have recent visitation by Drazi higher being.
- Yeah, yeah.
Drabonka.
- Droshalla.
Whatever.
Appeared in garden, we hear.
Droshalla lights the way.
- Yeah, great.
Look, we're up to-- - Chief.
You got a minute? Sure.
Zack, do me a favor and explain the missionary position to these folks.
Yeah.
Sure thing, chief.
Okay, so here's how this-- What are you doing? Droshalla visitation means station blessed.
Everything here blessed.
You also blessed.
We touch to share your blessing.
Don't.
Don't poke me.
I don't like it.
I don't want to share my blessing, okay? You see that plant over there? Now, that was in the garden when your people saw this Drabawa.
- Droshalla.
- Right.
Anyway, it was real close, so it's gotta be more blessed than me.
So here.
Why don't you go poke the plant for a while while I take care of your entry visas.
Okay? Yeah? Three anonymous messages have come into C & C in the last three hours.
The first one said, "Chaos is four hours away.
" Second one came an hour later and said, "Chaos is three hours away.
" - Then two hours.
- Anything after that? No.
And they all came from a public Babcom unit, audio only.
- Sounds like a crank, but I'll look into it.
- Thanks.
Nothing.
Check over there.
There's gotta be something around here we can sell.
- I got something here.
- That's nothing but chopping wood.
Check this out.
The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace.
It failed.
But in the year of the Shadow War, it became something greater our last, best hope for victory.
The year is 2260.
The place, Babylon 5.
Jay, we just had an explosion in Downbelow.
I need you to get 10 more guys down there for crowd control.
Will do.
Listen, before you go, we.
We just got another ship in, and I think you better come have a look.
Yeah, okay.
Let's go.
Hello.
I'm Brother Theo.
We're going to be staying here for a while.
Captain, over here.
Any progress? We found two more bodies.
That's four dead so far.
Doc thinks there may still be some live ones in the rubble, so we're being extra careful.
She didn't see anything.
Said she was just walking past when all hell broke loose.
- You got any idea what happened? - No, not yet.
Place is full of old pipe and junk.
Any number of things could have gone wrong.
- You're ruling out a bombing? - After what we've been through? Not a chance.
Nine times out of 10, you got a bomb, you got a political statement.
But there's nothing here worth blowing up.
I'll know more when the forensic team is done.
All right.
Keep digging.
Let me know as soon as you find anything.
All right.
Sorry I'm late.
We've had a bit of a problem.
Oh, yes, I heard.
Is there anything we can do? No, not at this time, but thank you.
Please.
So I take it you are Brother Theo? Yes.
My brothers and I are from New Mallory back home.
We have applied to Earth Dome for permanent resident status on Babylon 5.
The documents and permissions from Archbishop Francis are all right there.
- You want to live here.
- Yes.
Is that so extraordinary? - You live here, after all.
- I'm stationed here.
Just about everyone who lives here works here.
Dockers, shop owners, environmental specialists, that sort of thing.
The rest are just short- term visitors-- Yes, yes.
We've studied Babylon 5 very carefully.
It's perfect for our needs.
Which are? To learn and to teach.
The Bible says that even the smallest sparrow does not fall without God seeing it.
What then of all these other races on distant worlds? Would he abandon them? Or reveal himself in some other way? God goes by many names.
Perhaps some are alien- sounding different faces and histories, but all describing the same creator.
We've come here to learn all those names in hopes of better understanding the one who is behind them.
Well, that's fine, but why here? To visit all the other worlds would take centuries.
With all the aliens who come through Babylon 5, we can accomplish our task in four or five decades.
We are used to being patient.
Whether it's illuminating manuscripts or programming a system analysis, our work has always been very detailed.
Brother Theo, I understand the idea but we really don't want the aliens that come through here being harassed.
That is not our intent.
We will simply be here for those who wish to talk and to listen.
- We don't have a lot of space.
- We'll live in what you call Downbelow.
We can pay for modest rooms.
We're not used to fancy accommodations.
- A cot, a table-- - I'm gonna have a hard time justifying-- We're prepared to earn our keep by providing services to others.
I've chosen my companions carefully.
They're highly sought- after experts in computer research biogenetics, physics, chemistry, engineering-- With all due respect, if these people are so much in demand why are they involved with this spiritual exchange program of yours? They also believe.
Morishi.
Come here.
Check this out.
From the pattern of the debris I'd say this was the center point for the blast.
Looks like it.
Scoring on the wall indicates tremendous force.
We haven't been able to find anything around that could have caused this naturally.
- Bomb? - Bomb.
There goes my vacation.
One week off in three years.
Whoever's behind this has really honked me off now.
Okay, listen up.
I want this whole area sealed off.
Security personnel only.
Tell the environmental cleanup crew that they can wait.
- Do what you can to reconstruct this thing.
- Will do.
Good.
I'll tell the captain.
He ain't gonna like this.
I said,"Sheila.
" "Sheila," I says,"you change that vid channel one more time and I'm out of here, you got it?" Well, she did, I did, and here I am.
You should have seen the look on her face, let me tell you.
But it's great.
I get to meet all kinds of people.
I mean, look, me sitting next to you, a Minbari.
You know, us in that war and all.
But I don't hold a grudge.
No, sir.
You know what? I say live and let live.
You know, look, I got hair, you got a bone.
So where you going? Home.
I have been diagnosed with Netter's Syndrome.
Since I have only seven days to live, I thought I would return home to put my affairs in order before the end.
Netter's Syndrome? I've had a few syndromes, but I've never heard of that one.
Neither had I.
Apparently, it's passed by physical contact.
I gotta make a call.
I will do penance later.
"Passengers on Minbari liner" Za'Fal "are" now disembarking through customs.
- Delenn.
How was your journey? - Very productive.
Hull breach.
Dropping pressure doors.
Lennier.
Lennier! Lennier.
Lennier! Bring it on.
Come on.
Pick it up.
Let's move.
BP's low.
Pulse is a little shallow.
Tell Medlab we're coming in.
Let's move.
Now! Come on.
- Doctor, how is he? - We won't know till we get him into Medlab.
- He was hit pretty badly.
- Give him the best of care.
He saved my life.
He could have saved himself, but he waited for me.
- We'll do everything we can.
Let's go.
Move.
- Doctor-- Please.
We've established that the same type of device was used in both explosions.
There aren't any significant structures I'd consider targets in either area but they're both heavily- trafficked areas, which confirms what I've been afraid of: The bombings are targeting people, plain and simple.
Our tests indicate that the bomb contained a highly explosive form of diridium nitrate a concentrate explosive similar to plastique.
It's available through several commercial manufacturers.
Commercial explosives have a molecular code that lets you backtrack where it came from, who bought it.
We're analyzing it now to try and trace it.
- Any chance it's Home Guard or Free Mars? - Yeah, there's always that chance.
Earth Central's putting together a list of terrorist groups that might be expanding their range of operations, but my gut says that ain't it.
- Medical? - We now have a total of seven dead and 19 injured, including Mr.
Lennier.
News of the attacks has spread all over the station.
People are scared out of their wits.
The sheer randomness of it.
How do you get on with your life not knowing when or where the next blast is gonna come? Which fits with what I told Garibaldi earlier.
We received several anonymous calls at C & C just before the first explosion.
- All they said was,"Chaos is coming.
" - Yeah, well, we've got plenty of that.
So we will assume that there is a connection until we hear otherwise.
As of right now, this is our number one priority.
Do whatever you have to do, but I want this stopped.
Until this is over, I want halls cleared of groups larger than 10.
There's no point in providing easy targets.
Unidentified packages will be confiscated and scanned.
Anyone found in a restricted area without proper authorization will be taken in for questioning.
Now, whoever's responsible, I want them found and found fast.
Do you have any idea how long he will remain unconscious? Not yet.
He was hit pretty hard.
Hairline fracture of the skull and shoulder, concussion.
The only thing that saved his life was the external bone structure covering the anterior lobe.
All we can do now is wait.
What kind of monster would do such a thing? To do all this without reason.
- Franklin.
- "Ivanova here.
Is Delenn there?" - Right here.
- "Ambassador, the next of kin" of some of the Minbari killed in the explosion are waiting for you.
Thank you, commander.
I will be right there.
You will keep me informed of his condition? I'll let you know the second anything changes.
It's obvious the Centauri are the ones planting these bombs.
G'Kar, we are considering all leads, but saying it doesn't make it so.
You don't have any evidence.
The explosion that almost killed your captain was caused by a Centauri.
That was an isolated incident.
There's no reason to believe it had to do with this.
Oh, no, no.
Of course not.
I suppose we've had a convention of mad bombers arrive here at the station.
Yes, that must be it.
From now on I must remember to check - the Babylon 5 social calendar more often.
- G'Kar.
This is obviously the beginning of a campaign of terror by the Centauri.
Several Narns have been killed in these recent explosions.
- And so have two Centauri.
- A Narn ship had just arrived.
- And a Centauri ship was leaving.
- There, you see? Their rage against us is so irrational that they will sacrifice their own people to get to us.
Don't you see? It is perfectly obvious to anyone that the Narns are responsible for these atrocities.
There have been similar incidents of terror back on their homeworld directed against our forces of liberation.
This is one of the few places they can gather freely.
Why would they want to damage it? They are an irrational people, captain.
I've told you that before.
Now that Earth has wisely signed a non- aggression treaty with my government it is only natural that they begin to do to you what they have been doing to us all this time.
Now you see what we have been going through, yes? At this stage, I think it's a little early to start pointing fingers.
And I would hate to think that anyone would try to use this tragic situation to their own political advantage.
There's nothing political about the truth, captain.
As you will discover soon enough.
How is it out there? Bad.
People are afraid to leave their quarters.
There's no telling where the next bombing's going to happen.
There's no pattern to it.
No one's claiming responsibility.
It just doesn't make any sense.
Not to us, no.
But to whoever is doing it, it sure makes sense.
You know, Garibaldi was right when he said when you've got a bomb nine times out of 10, someone's trying to send you a message.
What we've got to do is figure out what the message means and who's trying to send it.
Well, I'm not sure you should be here.
Well, of course I should.
Dr.
Franklin has given his approval.
Do you know that sometimes talking to someone who has been injured like this can help them to come around? I can't help everything else that is going on but talking, that I can do.
All right.
I'll check back later.
Hey.
Try not to touch anything.
It is a strange thing, Lennier.
As I think of it, I realize no one has ever saved my life before.
Thank you for that.
And so here I am.
It is the least I can do.
If I were in your position, I am sure that you would do the same for me.
Of course, if I were in your position and you were still in your position neither one of us could do very much for the other.
So I suppose, properly, I should say that if I were in your position and you were in my position, you would do the same.
Of course, if both of us were in my position and neither of us were in your position there would not be the need for anyone to do anything.
I'm not sure that actually made sense, but I'm afraid that if I try to go back and figure it out I will start bleeding from my ears.
I heard a joke today.
I probably should not repeat it, but who are you going to tell? How many Centauri does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one.
But in the great old days of the Republic, hundreds of servants would change a thousand light bulbs at our slightest whim.
Well, I guess you had to be there.
I'm going to take a break now and wait for you to talk.
And if you don't, I will just start talking again.
And we wouldn't want that, now, would we? Take your time.
No pressure.
I'll wait.
- We just had another hit, in Brown 7.
- Fatalities? No, we got lucky.
My team found the bomb before it went off.
We were able to clear the place out.
Couple small injuries, nothing major.
- Find out anything about the bomb? - Not much.
It looked pretty primitive so I don't think we're dealing with a pro.
The question is, why? What's in it for him? I've been thinking about that.
We've been looking for political agendas.
So far all of his targets have been general.
He's been striking out at people randomly.
Yeah, and he's got everybody terrified.
Maybe that's what he wants.
Create fear.
Maybe that's the message.
- "Chief, you there?" - Right here, Morishi.
What's up? We just finished our analysis on what was left of the explosives.
Molecular coding was intact on enough of it to get a trace.
So where'd the stuff come from? Seems it was stolen from an "ice"- "mining operation on Vega 7.
" When we dug into it, we found out the same batch of explosives were used in a series of bombs on Proxima 3.
- "Little creep gets around.
" - Thanks, Morishi, I'll get back to you.
Run a check on all the ships that've come in from Proxima 3 in the last two weeks.
Passenger manifests, cargo, everything.
Run the names against station records.
- See who's still here.
- You'll have it in an hour.
One more thing.
If whoever's behind these bombings wants to create fear and chaos he might be sticking around afterwards to see the results.
That's a good thought.
We should go over the security- camera records for a period of three hours after the bombings.
See if there's the same face more than once.
You're talking a hell of a lot of video.
We sent in 10 extra recorders at each blast site to find survivors and monitor damage.
- Use a computer.
- You still have to give it parameters.
You can't just tell it to search all the recordings and look for the same face.
We're talking human instinct.
We've gotta be detailed-- Chief.
Chief.
I think I know just the people.
Come with me.
Excuse me.
- What is the time? - 1600 hours.
Thank you.
I have an errand to take care of.
I will be back soon.
What we need you to do is go over the footage taken after the bombings and see if anyone appears at more than one.
It won't be easy.
- You've got people going and coming-- - That's all, then? - Then we need to-- - We'll call you as soon as we have him.
Good day.
May I be the first to say that this is the nuttiest idea you've ever had.
Thank you.
Never mind.
I'll wait for the next one.
- How bad is it? - We don't know.
The explosion blew out most of Red 15.
We can't even get down there.
We think there might be 10, maybe 20 people still left in the hallway.
- Three transport tubes are down.
- Anyone still inside? Unknown.
Green 2.
Green 2! Hello? Is there anyone out there? Can anyone hear me? There's no one there.
It would appear that we are on our own.
I don't know how long I have been unconscious.
Two standard hours.
Two hours? And you have done nothing? I would point out to you that this door is extremely hot.
There is a very good chance there is a fire out there.
And even if the fire doesn't get in here the smoke and heat will eventually make it impossible to breathe and we will die in here.
With enough effort we can probably force our way through the ceiling.
Perhaps I have not made myself sufficiently clear.
There is no telling when help will come.
Unless we get ourselves out of here on our own, we will probably die here.
- So we must work together! - No.
No? - What do you mean,"no"? - No.
You want to live as much as I.
Oh, yes, but I would much rather see you dead.
I see.
Well, here I am.
Come on.
Kill me.
Come kill me! You forget the terms of our surrender.
The penalty for the killing of any Centauri by any Narn will be the death of 500 Narns including the perpetrator's own family! But I don't have to kill you.
I don't have to do anything.
And I still get to watch you die.
I find this most appealing.
This is insane.
We must work together.
No.
As the humans say: "Up yours.
Die!" I don't believe it.
You are mad.
Do you know that? We're in here! - Can anyone hear us? - I hear you.
- In here! - We're in here.
This better be good.
We got all hell breaking loose out there.
That one.
We found him at the site of every explosion.
Just watching.
Are you sure about this? Okay.
Let's cross- reference his face against the passenger manifest that came in from the last two ships from Proxima 3, the last place hit by these bombs.
Match found.
Subject: Robert J.
Carlson.
Hired by Engineering and Station Maintenance Division, 11 January 2260.
Personal quarters located on Blue 95.
Oh, great.
Great.
He's been working here.
Pull his file.
Give me everything we've got on him and scramble a tac team.
Full armor.
I want that area cleared.
- Captain.
- What've you got? According to his personnel file, he's a loner, a quiet guy.
- Save me from loners and quiet guys.
- But with a real bad temper.
He's got several disciplinary notes, and according to his supervisor - he can't keep his mind on his job.
- Well, now we know why.
Yeah.
All right.
Everybody out? Great.
Now look, we're gonna play this by the book.
- Somebody just rewrote the book.
- Hit the deck! - Really bad temper.
- Yeah.
Listen up out there.
I'm holding a dead man's switch.
Anything happens to me, anybody tries to rush the door and you've got an explosion big enough to blow the whole station.
Do you hear me? Oh, yeah.
We hear you.
We both know you can't get out of here, so why don't we talk this over? No talk.
Is Sheridan out there? - No.
- Yes.
I want you in here, captain.
You've got 30 seconds or I drop the hammer on the biggest one yet.
And captain, leave the link.
What are you doing? You heard him.
If we can buy some time, we can figure out what he's up to.
Twenty seconds.
And don't try and follow him in.
The door is wired from the inside.
That's no good.
You stick it inside your shirt, he's gonna find it.
Well, where do you suggest I put it? All right.
You'll hear me? We jack up the volume, we'll be able to tell what you had for lunch.
Great.
- All right.
You find that bomb, Michael.
- We will.
Just don't do anything stupid.
Too late.
- Garibaldi to C & C.
- "C & C online.
" Open the captain's link.
Receive only, max volume.
Get me a secure link to Morishi and the bomb squad.
Whatever you do, don't let anyone page the captain.
You hear me? Confirmed.
Move away from the door.
Take off your jacket.
Open your shirt.
I wanted to make sure we could talk privately.
You satisfied? For now.
- Where's the bomb? - Somewhere you'll never find it.
As long as the trigger keeps transmitting, no boom.
- But if it stops.
- I understand.
Now, what do you want? I want you to get me out of here, Sheridan.
You're going to escort me to a ship.
And then I'm going to leave here.
You gotta know we can't do that.
Yes, you can.
Because if you don't, I'll let this go and this whole place will go up in an explosion as bright as the sun.
Well, you do that and you're gonna die along with the rest of us.
If you arrest me, I'm dead already.
The way I see it, I've got nothing to lose.
And you've got everything to lose.
- Garibaldi here.
Morishi? - "Standing by.
" He said something about an explosion bright as the sun but the stuff he's got isn't capable of anything that big.
I got a hunch.
Check out the fusion reactor.
If he worked maintenance, he might have had access.
Will do.
Okay, let's say I give you what you want.
It's going to take time.
Now, that hand of yours is going to get tired holding that remote.
So why don't we just settle this between us? You got me.
Security is not gonna open fire if I am a hostage, so why bring other people into it? Why not? - I suffered.
Why shouldn't they? - Because they didn't do anything to you.
They're an audience.
And what good is an artist without an audience? - What are you saying? - Look around! These are chaotic times, captain.
I'm simply an instrument of my time.
People need to understand fear.
Do you understand fear? Do you? No! Wait.
He won't kill his audience.
Not yet.
Yes, I see you do.
You know, back home I was no one.
Nothing.
My wife walked out on me.
I lost my job, my apartment.
Couldn't pay the bills.
People walked all over me because they could.
Because they like it when you are afraid.
So now it's my turn.
When I was fired, when they took away my apartment, they all said: "It's nothing personal.
It's just the times.
" Well, it's nothing personal, captain.
It's just the times.
Opening hatch.
We're going in.
Anybody back there got any ideas where the bomb might be? Got an awful lot of ground to cover here.
Not yet.
Keep looking.
Scanners at maximum.
I'm not gonna ask you again.
Get on that damned line and get me a ship.
You seem awfully nervous for someone who's so prepared to die.
I tell you what.
I'll make you a deal.
You tell me where that bomb is, I will get you that ship.
- Not a chance.
- Then why should I cooperate? I mean, how do I know there even is another bomb? There is.
Trust me.
It's there.
I got something.
This thing's big enough to blow straight through the reactor core.
- All right.
Can you see any wires or panels? - "Negative.
The whole thing's welded shut.
" You gotta try and move it out of there.
This guy isn't a pro, so he probably didn't set it up with any vibration detectors.
He was probably hoping we wouldn't find it until it was too late.
You sure about that? Hell, no.
But we're running out of options here.
Okay, let's see what we can do.
Carlson, this isn't gonna work.
Look, even if you do get off- station, you really think you're gonna get away with this? We've got your lD flagged to every Earth base for 30 light years in every direction.
- There's nowhere you can go.
- That's enough! - Sit down.
You're making me nervous.
- I'd rather stand.
I said, sit down! What the hell was that? Oh, damn, we lost him.
Garibaldi to tac team, we got troubles.
You get that bomb and you get it out now! You lied to me.
Just like all the others, you lied to me! Set me up.
You've had them working all this time.
Spying on me.
Well, to hell with you.
To hell with all of you! See you in hell, captain.
No.
It didn't-- It's not fair.
It's not fair! What can I say? Life's tough sometimes.
- You okay? - Yeah, I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Pick him up and throw him in the brig.
Be careful.
Check out the area in case he left any surprises behind.
- You found the big one? - Yeah, just barely.
- A few seconds earlier and.
- Yeah.
Everybody else okay? They're still clearing out the last explosion, but they think they got everybody out.
Ambassador, I'm sorry.
I didn't see you.
I was just going to-- Yes, yes.
Is there any change? No, not yet.
Not that I've noticed.
Is there any word? They caught the bomber 20 minutes ago.
A human.
He will be judged and punished for his crimes.
Good.
I was hoping it wasn't a Centauri.
The way things are going around here, that's the last thing we need.
You know, I heard a joke a little while ago.
How many Centauri does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one.
But in the great old days-- In the great old days of the Republic, hundreds of servants would leap to change a thousand bulbs at your slightest whim.
Heard it.
Welcome back.
How do you feel? As though a great many heavy objects had fallen on me.
But I suspect I will live.
I just spoke with Ambassador Mollari a little while ago.
He's most grateful for what you did.
The Centaurum will probably want to give you a medal for this.
I should have stayed in the coma.
Come on, Lennier.
You saved his life.
You deserve a little recognition.
I did what I did because all life is sacred.
But when the object of your actions does not share that belief.
I fear I have served the present by sacrificing the future.
Hey! In here! We got two more.
No! Get that spanner over here fast! There, you see? I'm going to live! So it would seem.
Well, it is an imperfect universe.
Bastard.
Monster.
Fanatic.
Murderer.
- You are insane! - And that is why we'll win.
"Go be the ambassador to Babylon 5," they say.
"It will be an easy assignment.
" I hate my life.
So do I.
Shut up!
Previous EpisodeNext Episode