05x03 - The Paragon of Animals

[bunniefuu]

Please, please, everyone.

Listen!

Everyone, please!

You have to understand,
the Alliance is moving as quickly as it can.

You promised us
technological advances...

...when we joined you.
- They're coming.

As soon as all your governments
sign the Declaration of Principles.

You have agreed to abide by everything
else. Why can't you sign the declaration?

You cannot legislate morality, Delenn.

No, but we can encourage others
to act with charity toward one another.

The Alliance is about
more than hardware!

I would remind the Drazi ambassador
that the Centauri Republic...

...has already signed the declaration.

And if the Centauri can sign it,
anybody can sign it.

Right. L...
Wait a minute.

The Drazi have always respected
the rights of our neighboring worlds.

We have never enslaved a race
or exploited another race.

We do not need others
to teach us morality.

The Drazi refuse to sign
because we do not need to sign.

Who stands with us?

Wait, wait, wait. Listen.

Everyone, please, listen.

That was quite a little circus
you had going there, Mr. President.

Londo thinks we should drop
the Declaration of Principles.

Yeah, well, you gotta
consider the source, right?

G'Kar's taking it as a personal rejection,
since he wrote the damn thing.

Writers. They are a sensitive bunch.

- And Delenn?
- Ready to strangle someone...

...which is saying a lot for her.

So where do you stand?

I hate to say it, but I'm with Londo.

This isn't the time to start legislating
morality or ethics, fairness.

Hell, we've been working on that for over
6000 years. You're not gonna settle it now.

If we don't make it clear what we stand for
from the start...

...then we don't stand for anything.

I didn't go through all this just to make
a social club or some high-tech store.

- This is about something.
- I'm not arguing.

I'm just saying
this isn't the right time.

Right now, we should be concentrating
on more concrete issues.

Call me a warmonger
or slightly to the right of Attila the Hun...

...but as your duly appointed director
of covert activities...

...l'd like to see less of the touchy-feely and
more of the iron fist and the velvet glove.

These people respect strength,
nothing else.

That's exactly the problem.

We have to get them
to think in other terms.

In time. But for now,
you have to get their attention...

...and prove to them
we're a power to contend with.

Then you can send them
the roses and the chocolates.

Look, John, I'm not trying
to tell you how to run your empire.

Hell, I can hardly
even organize my socks.

But this alliance of yours is at
a very critical stage. It's still an infant.

And it's gonna stand or fall depending
upon what you do over the next six months.

Now, sooner or later, you're gonna
have to use force to make this thing work.

If I were you, I'd be spending my time
contemplating that nasty reality...

...and let morality take care of itself.

Come all the way out here
just to depress me?

No, I could do that anytime.

I had a couple ideas I wanted to run by
you, but you've got enough to think about.

- It can wait.
- Will it depress me?

Probably.

Merkat.

Merkat.

He is here. They have come.

He is a Ranger.

He will help us, Merkat.

He will take word of our situation to the
Alliance at Babylon 5, and they will come.

They will fight for us,
and they will save us.

They must save us.

We have no other hope.

And so it begins.

- There's a hole in your mind.
- What do you want?

No one here is exactly what he appears.

Nothing's the same anymore.

Commander Sinclair is being reassigned.

Why don't you eliminate
the entire Narn Homeworld?

I see a great hand
reaching out of the stars.

President Clark signed a decree
declaring martial law.

These orders have forced us
to declare independence.

Unless your people get off their
encounter-suited butts and do something...

- You're The One who was.
- lf you go to Z'Ha'Dum, you will die.

Why are you here?
Do you have anything worth living for?

I think of my beautiful city
in flames.

Now, get the hell out of our galaxy!

We are here to place President Clark
under arrest.

The Abbai delegation
will be willing to join the Alliance...

...if they can be guaranteed
food shipments during winter months.

They have had trouble with the weather,
leading to crop shortages.

Why not just sell them
weather-control technology?

We do not sell, we give.

And that doesn't address
their immediate concern.

What about the Pak'ma'ra?

They have an outpost just a couple of jumps
from there, an agricultural colony.

It produces far more food than they need.
Maybe they can help.

G'Kar.

G'Kar?

Oh, sorry.

I was modifying clause 12
in the Declaration of Principles.

I was thinking that if I could make it
more linguistically suitable to the Drazi...

...they might be open to signing it.
- Great Maker, I need a drink.

Well, they don't like
to say "we commit" to anything.

They prefer,
"The universe, through us, agrees to."

- Make that two drinks.
- Somehow, G'Kar, I don't think a rewrite...

...will solve the problem.

We may be able to get
the Pak'ma'ra onboard to help...

...but they are going
to need something in exchange.

Offer them my body. Another 10 minutes
of this, I'll be dead anyway.

I second the motion.

- G'Kar...
- Just a moment.

My muse is speaking to me.

All right, while we're waiting
for G'Kar's muse to finish up...

...I believe Mr. Garibaldi has some business
he'd like to put before us. Michael.

Few weeks back,
after they saved your life, Mr. President...

...you gave a small colony of telepaths
permission to take up residence here.

At the time, they said
they'd work to earn their keep.

I may have a solution.

- Go on.
- I've been collating the latest reports...

...from the Rangers. While they're
very thorough and considering...

...they could be better, more complete.

How? They use every available means
of gathering information.

Not every means.

I think I know where this is going.

I want permission to use these telepaths
to gather covert intelligence on our behalf.

- There are rules against that sort of thing.
- Yeah, that's right, Psi Corps rules.

But who in this room
supports the Psi Corps anyway?

And, besides, the rules
apply only to human telepaths.

Minbari telepaths can do
whatever they want.

The Centauri have been using
m*llitary teeps for 300 years.

Every race, except ours and the Narns,
use telepaths...

...in some m*llitary
or intelligence capability.

The Narns don't do it only because they
don't have natural-born teeps. No offense.

- None taken.
- Now, look, I know you have reservations.

I'm not big on telepaths myself.

I'm not big on g*ns either.
But if everyone else has them...

...I wanna make sure I get my hands
on the biggest one I can.

So why handicap ourselves
when everyone else is doing it?

These people are on the run.
We provided them food, clothing...

...a place for meeting
more of their kind.

Michael, we know there is a crisis
coming between normals and telepaths.

I let them aboard
figuring we could keep them...

...in our back pocket
until they were needed.

All I'm saying is, let's move them
to the front pocket instead of the back.

Use them now instead of waiting
till the last moment.

If they wanna work,
I say great, here's a chance.

All right, look,
this may be a moot point anyway.

They may say no. All I want
is permission to have the conversation.

They say no, end of discussion.
They say yes, we can vote on it.

Call it a fact-finding mission.
Nothing wrong with facts, is there?

Never met a fact yet I didn't like.

All right. All right.

I suppose there's no harm
in just having a conversation. Go on.

But don't commit us to anything.

Done. I'll be in touch.

You've misspelled.

- There's no Y in "liberties."
- Oh, go away.

- Repress someone else.
- As you wish.

I...

Afternoon.

I'm looking for a guy
named Byron.

Hear he's kind of in charge
around here.

Okay. Let's try this again, shall we?

Now, I'm here on behalf
of President Sheridan.

You know, the guy who
lets you live here and eat here and...

Whatever here.

Anyway, if you won't cooperate,
then I'm gonna have to tell him...

...that you're just being
downright unfriendly.

- Afternoon. My name's Michael Garibaldi...
- Yes, it is.

And the answer is no.

Wait a second.
You didn't hear what I had to say.

Yes, I did.

I heard your proposition.

I heard what you thought
I would probably say in response.

And I heard the counterarguments
you planned to use.

I know you're having
discomfort with those shoes...

...and that lunch is not sitting well
with you just now.

Not big on privacy, are you?

- I did nothing.
- Wait a...

Do you know what a telepath has to do
in order to avoid picking up stray thoughts?

We have to kick down
our natural abilities.

Run rhymes and little songs
through our heads, round and round.

All that to keep from picking up...

...what you're broadcasting loud enough
to be heard halfway down the hall.

You're one of those people
who rehearses everything, Mr. Garibaldi.

You never enter a situation until you've
gone over it and over it a hundred times...

...worked out what you will say...

...what the other person will say,
how you'll respond. It's quite remarkable.

And extremely depressing.

That little personality quirk must have cost
you more than a few relationships.

Mundanes want us to fill our heads
with noise and babble...

...so we won't hear what you're shouting
at the top of your minds.

I didn't need to scan you,
Mr. Garibaldi.

And even if I did,
since you were here to ask us...

...to do the same to others
on your behalf...

...you do not exactly have the moral
high ground to complain, now, do you?

You said you wanted to work
to earn your keep.

We did.

We do.

We will work.

We will fix, sell, rent...

...our services.

We will do whatever we must
to survive.

But we will no longer
take orders from mundanes...

...or belong to organizations which
take us in only when it is convenient...

...when they need us
and when they can use us.

That includes Psi Corps...

...and that includes you.

Good day, Mr. Garibaldi.

White Star 90
requesting emergency docking.

Medical assistance needed.

Trauma team to Medlab 1.
Trauma team to Medlab 1.

- How is he?
- Not good. Multiple fractures...

...lost a lot of blood.
I think he's in shock.

Let's go, people! Let's move!
Let's move, now! Come on, bring it in!

Bring it in.

Listen, you've got to help them.

- They're all gonna die.
- I understand.

- You gotta help them.
- Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

That's it.

Can you do anything for him, Stephen?
Anything at all?

I've done everything I can, Delenn.

The ship was sh*t to hell.

Computer systems down, long-range com
system is dead, life support nonexistent.

It's a miracle he got here in one piece.

He's in a deep coma,
and the damage is just too severe.

At most, I'd say he has a few hours.

Were you able to find out
why he was coming here?

No. He passed out before
he could say anything.

One thing's for sure, though, somebody
wanted to stop him from getting here alive.

If we do not find out,
then his death will be meaningless.

And whoever did this
will be allowed to escape justice.

- We need a telepath. Quickly.
- It won't be admissible in court.

There are higher courts, Stephen.

Surely, we will find justice
in one of them.

They must save us.
We have no other hope.

Our world has many resources
other races might find valuable.

We kept this to ourselves
because we do not have the capacity...

...to defend ourselves from those
who would take them from us.

Ten years ago, the Raiders fell upon us.

They came in great ships
and destroyed our cities, our fields.

They imprisoned and k*lled our leaders.

They come twice each year
and take what they want...

...leaving us with
barely enough to survive.

We cannot b*at them,
but we have chosen to fight.

This time, we have said no.

We have hidden away everything
they would take from us.

And their anger has been terrible.

We wish to join your new alliance.

What others have taken by force,
we wish to give freely to your cause.

In 12 days, they will come by force.

If you come by then to help,
then we will live.

If you do not come...

...we will die.

I'm dying, aren't I?

Aren't I?

I'm sorry.

The Enfili are a good people.

Decent people.

Don't let them die because I failed.

Let my life...

... my death, have meaning.

Heart rate, respiration: Zero.

Brain activity: Zero.

He's dead.

Did you get it?

Lyta says they're called Enfili.

Their world is located on the edge of Drazi
Space, but the Drazi never claimed it...

...as a protectorate, never shown
much interest in the outer territories.

So they are on their own
unless we help them out.

Which means getting into a firefight.

Garibaldi was right.

- I know. I hate it when he's right.
- Yeah.

Well, have you spoken to Londo
or G'Kar about this?

Yes. They wish this could have come
at a better time...

...as if there is ever a good time
for this...

...but agree that we must intervene.

The Enfili have asked for membership
in the Alliance.

They have asked for our help, and now...

...according to G'Kar's Declaration of
Principles, we are obligated to provide both.

Oh, I can just hear Londo now.

"I imagine you are finding
your principles...

...most inconvenient now, yes?"

He went on for a bit longer,
but that was the sense of it.

Yeah.

Well, he's right.

Yes, this is going to be inconvenient.
Yes, I wanted to avoid this for a while.

But we knew we were going to have to
get into it sooner or later.

We may as well get it over with now.

I just wish I knew
what we were getting into.

Whoever's out there bombing the Enfili,
they managed to trash a White Star.

That means...

...superior firepower
in strength or in numbers.

Or both.

Yeah, thanks.

So I have no idea how many White Stars
to send out there to deal with this.

Well...

...if you're going to make a point,
why not make it so that no one misses it?

Send all of them.
Or at least as many as we can afford.

Dukhat once told me, "If you can create
sufficient fear in your enemies...

...you may not have to fight them.

Always remember that terror
is also a form of communication."

He taught you well.

- Sheridan to C & C.
- C & C, go.

Contact the White Star fleet,
send as many as possible...

...to rendezvous at a staging area
in sector 500 by 9 by 13.

Confirmed. What's the mission?

The new Interstellar Alliance,
fresh out of its crib...

...and before it's even learned
how to walk...

...is gonna go find
the neighborhood bully and pick a fight.

- Then you are familiar with the Enfili.
- Only distantly.

They are on the furthest edge
of our territory.

- We have little interest in that area.
- I understand.

Still, I thought you should know
our intentions.

These people have been
victimized by Raiders...

...and they deserve every bit
of help we can give them.

Since this encroaches on Drazi Space...

...I wanted you to know that
we were going in and ask for your help.

Here's the background information.

Of course.

I will speak with my government.
If we can help, we will do so.

Thank you, thank you.

We'll wait for you at the rendezvous
point for as long as we can.

Hi.

I've been looking all over for you.
I've got a job for you.

Why, I'm fine, Mr. Garibaldi.
Thank you so much for asking.

Sorry. How you doing?

I have had a day.

I heard. Delenn told me.
That's why I'm here. I thought that...

Did she tell you I was inside his mind
when he d*ed?

Do you have any idea what that feels like?
Do you have any idea what that does to you?

- No, not really.
- And do you know why?

Because you're not supposed to know.

No one is supposed to know
except the person who is dying.

When it happens...

When it happens,
you see it as a door opening.

Because there's no other way for the
human mind to interpret what you're seeing.

You feel the other person slipping away.
And for a second, it catches you.

It pulls you in...

...and a part of your soul
goes with him.

I don't believe in souls.

Call it whatever you want.

But inside...

...in here...

...there's a part of you that goes cold.

Empty.

And after that...

...you're never quite whole again.

I've only been through it twice.

I've seen other telepaths
who've been through it...

...four or five times.

And you look into their eyes...

...and there's
nothing there anymore.

The rumor around Psi Corps is that's what
happened to Mr. Bester. Did you know that?

No.

They say he was always volunteering
for deathbed scans.

I guess he wanted to know
what was on the other side.

They say he was there,
inside someone's mind, when they d*ed...

...and he went too deep.

Saw more than anyone
should ever see.

And when the door closed...

...the rest of him...

...maybe the best of him...

...never came back.

So, yeah, I've had a day.
I've had one hell of a day.

And what kind of a job would you
like me to do for you, Mr. Garibaldi?

I'm putting together
a covert intelligence unit.

I'd like to include a small group
of telepaths.

Since we have a bunch of them
living down in Brown Sector...

...I went to see them.

Did they tell you they're tired
of being used by mundanes?

Yes.

- Did they tell you to go to hell?
- In so many words.

Well...

...then I don't see a problem.

Nice talking to you, Michael.

Lyta, I know you've had a tough day
and you're upset.

But I need you to get
past that for a second.

All the other races use telepaths
as information-gathering resources.

- We need the same to compete.
- So you want me to talk to them?

- One teep to another?
- They'll listen to you.

You're one of their kind.
I'm asking this as a personal favor.

If not for me, then Sheridan, Delenn.

Lyta!

They believe in this new alliance.

They think they can make
a difference, help people. Me?

I don't know
what to believe anymore.

But they're trying, Lyta.
They're trying so hard.

They're gonna need all the help
they can get, whether they know it or not.

I came back because I figured they deserve
a chance to make this work...

...and I'm gonna give it to them.

You do this for me, and I swear,
I will never ask you for anything ever again.

Until the next time.

All right.

Open.

John, what are you doing out there?

I couldn't sleep.

Just kept running it
all through my head.

If we're doing the right thing.
I mean, we hardly know these Enfili.

I understand.

What is that?

It looks like the opening
of G'Kar's Declaration of Principles.

I guess he finished revising it.

Read it to me.

Oh, I'm not nearly as good
a speaker as G'Kar is.

Read it.

"The universe speaks
in many languages...

...but only one voice.

The language is not Narn or human
or Centauri or Gaim or Minbari.

It speaks in the language
of hope."

It speaks in the language of trust.

It speaks in the language of strength
and the language of compassion.

It is the language of the heart...

... and the language of the soul.

But always it is the same voice.

It is the voice of our ancestors
speaking through us.

And the voice of our inheritors
waiting to be born.

It is the small, still voice that says:

"We are one."

No matter the blood,
no matter the skin...

... no matter the world,
no matter the star...

... we are one.

No matter the pain...

... no matter the darkness,
no matter the loss, no matter the fear...

... we are one.

Here, gathered together
in common cause...

... we agree to recognize
this singular truth...

... and this singular rule...

... that we must be kind
to one another.

"Because each voice
enriches us and ennobles us...

...and each voice lost, diminishes us.

We are the voice of the universe,
the soul of creation...

...the fire that will light
the way to a better future.

We are one."

We are one.

You're keeping us out.

You're keeping all of us out.

- Why?
- I don't let anyone in anymore.

Pity.

- Mr. Garibaldi...
- Yes, I know, he sent you.

You're used to running
other people's errands, aren't you?

I can see it in your eyes...

...your bearing.

Here, sit.

- No!
- What are you...?

It was not phrased as a request,
now, was it?

It was phrased as an order. Sit.

Stand. Roll over. Bark.

Always taking orders,
running errands for other people.

Good little telepath.
Good little lap dog.

Has it occurred to you
that you deserve better?

Sit.

Please?

It felt better, didn't it?

To be asked.

To have someone
do for you for a change.

That's why we're here. Because we're
tired of being ordered around...

...by those who cannot hear
the song we hear.

Tired of being used
as cannon fodder...

...as inquisitors, as executioners,
and as bloodhounds.

- They forget we're human beings too.
- No, not human beings. Better.

That's why they're afraid of us.

It's all ego, you know.

What a piece of work is man.

How noble in reason.

How infinite in faculties. In form
and moving, how express and admirable.

In action, how like an angel.

In apprehension...

...how like a god.

The beauty of the world...

...the paragon of animals.

The paragon of animals.

Six thousand years of brutality,
m*rder and sl*very.

An animal does not do this to its own kind,
but they do it to each other.

And they would do it to us,
unless we stop them.

Unless we find a way
to help each other.

Unless we care for one another.

Tell me that it matters to you
that I help your friend.

It matters to me.

Then, for your sake, I will do it.

Tell your friend we will find him two
among us who are trained beyond reproach.

They will find for him all the things
that are hidden...

...all the things that are dark...

...and all the things that are secret.

Thank you.

One more thing.

A first installment on my promise.

I passed the Drazi ambassador shortly
after he finished talking to Sheridan.

He was broadcasting
his thoughts quite loudly.

Tell your friend that the White Stars they've
sent to help the Enfili are going into a trap.

In a little while, they will all die.

And all those they sought
to protect will also be dead.

The Drazi were behind
the whole thing from the start.

They gave the Raiders g*ns, ships,
support, equipment...

...and let them go after all the independent
worlds at the edge of Drazi Space.

In return, the Drazi shared equally
in whatever they took.

It's a beautiful little scheme.

The Drazi keep all the worlds at their
borders beaten down and submissive.

Their economy gets a periodic boost
from the Raiders' att*cks...

...and they get to stay above it all.

"Oh, no, not the Drazi,
we do not exploit other worlds."

- Give me a break, lying sacks of...
- What about the White Stars?

Byron's information is sketchy
on this part.

But he believes the Drazi are gonna lead
the White Stars into an ambush...

...guaranteeing no further interference.

Before that happens, though,
they're gonna hit the Enfili Homeworld...

...and wipe out everything in sight
as retribution for bringing us in.

k*ll everybody who might know
or find out they were involved.

Exactly.

Michael, contact the fleet.
Tell them not to wait for the Drazi.

They are to leave the rendezvous point
and head straight for the Enfili Homeworld.

And take up defensive positions.

Maximum burn. They have to get there
before the Drazi arrive.

You saved a lot of lives today, Lyta.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Merkat! Merkat! Come.

Come see.

I thought it was a new star
in the skies.

Perhaps a good omen.

But they are not stars.

Look!

Sorry to bring you out in the middle of the
night, but we thought you should see this.

Ambassador, good, you should
most definitely take a look at this.

Here, come on over here.

This is the Enfili Homeworld.

They've recently been att*cked by Raiders
that have decimated their Homeworld.

Now, they have asked for membership
in the Alliance and for protection.

We asked the Drazi government
to support our action...

...since the Enfili are on the edge of
Drazi Space. Isn't that right, ambassador?

Yes, yes.

But what are those shapes
around Enfili?

Those are White Stars, ambassador.

How many?

All of them.

They've taken out the few Raiders
that were harassing the population...

...and taken up defensive positions
around their planet.

But they were supposed to wait
at the rendezvous point.

You see, we had information
that there may be a larger fleet...

...coming to att*ck
the Enfili Homeworld.

The Raiders your ships defeated,
do you know if they had a chance...

...to send out a distress signal?
- Oh, no.

They were sh*t right out of the sky
with great efficiency.

We have offered your worlds advice
and technology...

...offered to help you coordinate
food supplies and resources.

Now we put another
of our promises into effect.

Your enemy is our enemy.

Isn't that right, ambassador?

L...

That's why we wanted you to be here
in particular, ambassador.

To see our fleet in action.

Unless you can think of a reason
why we shouldn't.

Is there something wrong, ambassador?

I...

I need to call my government.

We're in the middle of a council meeting.
I'm sure it can wait until later.

Yes, the battle should be starting
very soon now.

No, I need to talk to them.
I need to talk to them right now.

Why?

Could it be because those are your ships
coming to att*ck the Enfili?

Your ships have been working
with the Raiders...

...to exploit and terrorize
those people for 10 years?

- I can't...
- Answer the question, ambassador.

Yes. Yes, it's true!

Please, you have to let me save them.

We have hundreds of our people
onboard those ships.

And the Enfili have been dying
by the thousands because of you!

You can't fire on our ships.
We're your allies!

We fought alongside you during the
Shadow w*r. We're on the same side!

Are we?

Ask them.

Let them decide.

Please.

Let me stop our fleet,
tell them to turn around.

We will leave the Enfili unharmed, I swear
to you! We will never bother them again.

Please.

All right. There's an open
Stellarcom link in the other room.

Go on.

Some of you have asked why you should
have to sign a Declaration of Principles...

...before being allowed
full membership in the Alliance.

What you've just seen fully illustrates the
point far more eloquently than I ever could.

G'Kar?

Here.

I thought you were going to file those
away someplace safe.

In a little while.

I was just trying to
savor the moment a little.

We don't do that nearly enough,
I think, sometimes.

If you're celebrating...

...why aren't you smiling more?

I was just thinking.

Both our problems
were solved by telepaths.

First, by getting the important
information from the Ranger...

...and then from the Drazi ambassador.
Mr. Garibaldi was right.

- Again, I'm not...
- Mr. President!

Oh, good, good, good.
I was looking for these.

What are you doing?

Well, we need to get everyone
to sign them again.

- What?
- Well, l...

Do you understand what we went through
to get them signed even once?

I revised it again. It's better.

- G'Kar!
- Well, look.

- It's better.
- I'll be in touch.

Some days it's like living
in a madhouse.

Where was I?

You were going to call Mr. Garibaldi
and tell him that you approve of his idea...

...of working with telepaths.

Right.

Under the circumstances,
I don't see how I can say no.

We've got to watch this, Delenn.

We've got to watch this very closely.

Because we are standing
on the proverbial slippery slope.

And if we're not careful, there's a big fall
out there that's just waiting to happen.

Excuse us.

What you were saying earlier
about telepaths...

...l've decided...

...l'd like to hear a little more
about your ideas.

Of course.

This way.

Please?