Babylon 5 (1994–1998): Season 3, Episode 11 - Ceremonies of Light and Dark - full transcript

- Are those the last of the Nightwatch?
- It's the last batch we could find.

Garibaldi's trying to find the rest.

The others are civilians heading for Earth,
Mars and the colonies on Proxima and Orion.

- What happened to you?
- I fractured my elbow and wrist...

...when we went hand- to- hand
when the marines tried to board us.

I figured I could get by with bandages
but Doc wants me in a cast. It's no big deal.

How is it out there?

It's quiet.

They're all pretty stunned.

It's not every day that we secede from Earth.

They're unhappy the com channels
are shut down.



We can't put Stellarcom back
online until we've added some insurance.

The computer system that runs this place
was installed by Earth Central.

- They have all the access codes.
- Once we open the com channels...

...they can send a message out
to override the system...

...erase our passwords and lock us out.

Cute. They could shut down
the defense grid, life support--

No problem.
I've got the access codes locked away.

It shouldn't be too much trouble
to go in and change the passwords.

So how much longer
are you gonna stay out of uniform?

- Until this is over.
- That could be a long time.

As long as we are on our own,
I can't justify wearing an Earthforce uniform.

My hypocrisy only goes so far.

What about later?

Then I'll....



I'll wear it then.

But that's the last time.

Now if you need me,
I'll be out making the rounds.

Are you sure that's a good idea?

We have to reassure everyone
that we are in control of the situation.

We can't do that hiding in our offices.

I still think you should have an armed escort.

That kind of defeats the purpose,
Mr. Garibaldi.

I can take care of myself.

Capt. Sheridan has asked me to convey
his thanks for helping save this place.

The trial ahead of us
will be long and difficult...

...but our first step
has been an honorable one.

When you return to your ships...

...tell your captains that history
will remember them with reverence.

Delenn, Fleet Capt. Lennan has asked...

...if he may come aboard
for a tour of the station.

Of course. I'll meet him personally.

Lennier, you still haven't told me
what you think of all this.

Opinion doesn't enter into it.

What is, is.

Prophecy said one day we would unite...

...with the other half of our soul
in a war with the ancient enemy.

This we have done.

Prophecy is a poor guide to the future.

You only understand it when
the event's already upon you.

And, not all of the prophecies
are good ones.

There is darkness
and fire still ahead of us.

There are no guarantees
that any of us will survive it.

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.

- I told you to wait.
- I had a clear shot.

You had nothing.

If you take him down, he's a martyr.

Five hundred men will stand up where he fell.

Now, we do this by the numbers
or not at all.

Don't worry. Before this is over...

...we'll have our pound of flesh.

Hello, Marcus. Welcome back.

Delenn, Lennier.

- Any news?
- I think we are safe for a while.

Your government will think twice
before engaging a Minbari fleet.

They're not my government.

Back on the colony, Earth was just
a place that sent us books and vids...

...and took 30*/ of our income.
Should've given it the boot years ago.

- Now we can make a fresh start.
- Yes.

Which is why I decided
to call for the Nafak'cha.

This may not be a good time.

The rebirth ceremony commemorates
a great change that is coming...

...or a great change that is here.

We stand between both.

Why is this not an appropriate time?

Your people need to heal.

All of us here need to heal.
The ceremony will help.

I just think everyone's going to be busy
with ceremonies of their own for a while.

In breaking away from Earth, we have
begun a difficult and uncertain journey...

...and none of us can see its end.

But our cause remains a just one.

That truth honors and sanctifies
our fallen comrades...

...who have made the ultimate sacrifice...

...so that we might carry on
the work that is ahead of us.

We are gathered here today...

...to honor their memory and their names.

About- face.

Hamilton.

Rodriguez.

Spinelli.

Singh.

Osterman.

Massie.

Cooper.

Kim.

lndari.

Nagashima.

Lietz.

Mankowski.

From the stars we came,
to the stars we return...

...from now until the end of time.

We therefore commit
these bodies to the deep.

- Will you have a drink, Lord Refa?
- Yes, thank you.

I'm sure it was a tiring journey.

Yes, it was.

Now, what was so important
that you felt you had to drag me out here...

...instead of coming to Centauri Prime?

Well, I have been going there
quite a bit lately.

I think it is good for you
to come to me from time to time.

Now, I have been studying
these reports from the frontlines.

You'll note the plural form,"lines."

Is there anyone along our border
with whom we are not currently at war?

We need room to expand.

Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts.

Only the heir to the throne of the kingdom
of idiots would fight a war on 12 fronts.

We can handle it.

Our resources are greater than you think.

Oh, you mean your recent alliance
with Mr. Morden, yes?

I don't know what you're talking about.

We asked Lord Refa
to secure the planet for us.

I have gotten into the habit
of recording important meetings.

One never knows when an inconvenient truth
will fall between the cracks and vanish.

Mr. Morden and his associates worry me.

After the Narns were defeated, I took steps
to put some distance between us.

Refa, I have the feeling
that he and his associates...

...are carving a great, dark hole
in the middle of the universe.

And when they go down,
anyone nearby will go with them.

That will not happen.

You don't appreciate their strength.

I appreciate their strength, all right.

And that is why
this unfocused aggression worries me.

By drawing our forces
into a dozen smaller wars...

...you have effectively weakened
our main line of defense...

...should they turn an eye to Centauri Prime.

- They will not do that.
- No, they will not.

Because you are going
to take steps to prevent it.

And you will start by breaking off
your relationship with Mr. Morden.

Oh, Londo.

You are a fool.

You walked away
from the greatest power I have ever seen.

And now you expect me to do the same?

They are the key
to my eventual rise to the throne.

Why would I abandon them?

Because I have asked you.

And because your loyalty to our people
should be greater than your ambition.

And because I have poisoned your drink.

Yes.

And it is very interesting poison.

It comes in two parts.

Both are harmless on their own,
but when combined, quite lethal.

The first settles into the bloodstream
and the intestinal walls.

It stays there for years:
silent, dormant, waiting.

When the other half of the poison
enters the body, the two meet...

...have a little party
in your cardiovascular system...

...and suddenly you are quite dead.

Your drink contained
the first half of the poison.

Why?

Why did you do this?

To guarantee your cooperation.

And because sooner or later
you would do it to me.

Yes, we are returning to the old ways, Refa.

And poison was always
the instrument of choice in the old Republic.

Being something of a sentimentalist,
I got here first.

What do you want me to do?

You have encouraged that fool Cartagia
to attack worlds that have no value to us.

You will now encourage him otherwise.

You will bolster our lines of defense
around Centauri Prime.

And you'll have nothing
more to do with Mr. Morden.

If you do not comply,
one of my agents in the royal palace...

...will introduce you
to the second half of the poison.

To your health, Lord Refa.

Okay, I've accessed the command codes.
We're all set, go ahead.

This is Capt. John J. Sheridan.

Serial number XO 7Y39- Alpha.

Security code: obsidian.

This is Cmdr. Susan Ivanova.

Serial number Z 48M27- Epsilon.

Security code: griffin.

This is Chief Warrant Officer
Michael Garibaldi. Serial number V17L98.

Security code: peekaboo.

Authorizations confirmed. Orders?

All right. List all command- level passwords...

...replace all entries with new passwords,
then restart system.

Captain?

- If this is not a good time....
- No, no, no. It's fine.

They can take care of the rest.

Peekaboo?

Would you have guessed it?

- A rebirth ceremony?
- Yes.

I demonstrated
a small part of it two years ago...

...in an exchange of religious ritual.
Now I think we could benefit from all of it.

Who are you inviting?

You, Ivanova, Mr. Garibaldi,
Dr. Franklin, several in what's left...

...of the League of Non- Aligned Worlds,
G'Kar, Ambassador Mollari--

Londo?

With everything that's been going on,
he's the last person I'd invite.

Which is why he was the first one
I decided must be invited.

We have gone through so much pain, John.

If we do not put it behind us,
if we are not born into new possibilities...

...it will surely destroy us.

One of our people just got in carrying orders
from the Nightwatch office back home.

They want everyone in the Watch...

...who's managed to go undetected,
to keep a low profile.

Except for us.

We've been authorized to proceed.

For now, Sheridan is not the primary target.

Damn Minbari.

We nearly had Sheridan
until those war cruisers showed up.

Can't do anything until they're gone.

Exactly.

So that's our target.

Ambassador Delenn
is walking a tightrope back home.

She got those ships here
through sheer force of personality.

They think that she's
the Second Coming or something.

You take that away
and their support will fade.

The Minbari warships will vanish.

Our forces can come in and finish the job.

Minbari are funny about their leaders.

We kill Delenn,
they might take it kind of personal.

Don't worry.

We've got that angle covered.

We'll make it look like
it was Sheridan's fault.

That way he loses on both sides.

During the war...

...I once took seven days to kill a Minbari.

First you tie off the fingers one at a time...

...then you slice off the fingers...

...then the feet...

...the hands...

...the arms...

...the legs.

You should have seen it.

Don't worry, we will.

I thought you might be here.

Of course.

This is where my contacts come see me.

Doesn't look like much,
but this place is a gold mine for information.

Mine, theirs.

Some kind of syndicate, I think.

But we've come to an agreement:
I don't bother them, they don't bother me.

So, what can I do for you?

I thought you would
be preparing for the ceremony.

Yeah, well, I thought I'd opt out, actually.
There's so much to do.

You've been nervous
about this ever since I mentioned it.

What are you afraid of?

Nothing.

Well, spiders.

Marcus, the rebirth ceremony
was part of your training on Minbar.

I missed it, overslept.

- It lasts all day.
- Oh, that's right, I was ill.

Wanted to go, couldn't. Same as now.

Love to. Can't, really.

Next time.

- Someone I've been waiting for.
- We'll talk about this again, Marcus.

If you'll excuse me.

There.

I finished inputting the command codes,
now we just reset the computer system...

...and once it comes back online,
it should operate under the new passwords.

Computer, initiate complete shutdown,
restart in 10 seconds.

Confirmed.

God, I hate this part.
I'm always afraid I've broken something.

It'll be fine. I've done this before.

Told you.

Computer.

- Computer?
- "Hey, what are you looking at?"

Run diagnostics.

What, you got a broken arm or something?
I got a station to run here.

- Computer!
- "Fine, I'll do a diagnostics."

So maybe Level 42 doesn't get
its quota of oxygen for today...

...because I'm distracted,
"but if it makes you happy"--

Stop.

Garibaldi-- ?

They installed
an artificial intelligence subroutine...

...when the station went operational.
They shut it down because it didn't work.

Must've come back online
when the system rebooted.

Great. How do we shut it down?

I heard that.

Are you two easily offended, or what?

Could you tell me a little more about
what is involved in this rebirth ceremony?

Reflection.

Meditation upon what has gone before,
what is now and what is to come.

For a moment, I was thinking women,
drinking and debauchery.

I forgot I was speaking to Minbari.

This, by you, is a good time, is it?

What else?

You must tell someone a secret
that you have never told anyone else before.

And you must give away something
that is of great value to you.

Sounds positively festive.

It is time for us to come together.

To restore that which has been torn apart
and to heal the wounds we have suffered.

With everything that has been going on,
I'm surprised you invited me.

In the matter of confessions, meditation...

...and the closing of past wounds,
ambassador...

...you were at the top of my list.

I am already attending to my past,
my present and what remains of my future.

I do not require your assistance...

...or your approval.

Enjoy your ceremony, Delenn.
I intend to have other plans.

Since we've begun working with
station security, we have greater obligations.

We need to prove our value to Sheridan...

...so we can retain our position
when the crisis ends.

I'll try and stop by
for the closing ceremonies.

What matters is everything
leading up to that point.

Leaving behind the old,
preparing to be reborn.

I've already been born once,
and quite sufficiently, I think.

I'm sorry, but I'm simply too busy.

Good day to you, Delenn.
Mr. Lennier.

Well, it was a good idea while it lasted.

It still is a good idea.

We will hold the ceremony.

If some choose not to attend,
the loss is theirs.

Delenn, you asked me
to remind you about the ship.

Oh, yes, of course.

A captain from one of our warships
has asked for a tour of the station.

It seems fair to let them see
what they have saved.

I will meet him in the docking bay.

Good. I will go with you.

Marcus will accompany me.

It will give us a chance to talk.

Lennier.

I wish you would trust me enough
to talk to me, Marcus.

Why are you so reluctant
to take part in the rebirth ceremony?

You asked me to give something up, Delenn.

I don't have anything left.

It's all gone.

My brother was the last of our family,
and he died because of my stupidity.

He warned me of the Shadows.
I didn't listen.

And when they came, I lost him, our home...

...the colony where we'd grown up,
a woman I was quite fond of.

I escaped with only the clothes on my back
and went off in search of these Rangers...

...that he'd been going on about.
Because he believed in them.

And in you.

Everything I was, everything I had...

...all of it, died that night.

I don't have anything left to give.

Then that is exactly what you must give up.

Yes, you have lost much...

...endured much, sacrificed greatly...

...but you cling
to the memory of your sacrifices...

...of all the things
you have lost or left behind.

They drag behind you
like chains of your own making.

And they can have
a terrible power over you, Marcus.

The power of grief and loss and regret.

Yes, you have let go of the people,
the places, the things.

But you have not let go of the pain.

You have not forgiven yourself.

For what?

Being alive.

"Minbari flyer" Lumini","
now ready for debarkation in Bay 8.

I'll tell Security
we're bringing him through.

You know how they are
about unannounced guests.

Delenn.

Lennan!

Come with us...

...or die.

You know, you're looking very stressed.

This is not good.
Hey, how about something to eat?

Maybe a nice piece of brisket,
you'll suck an orange....

Would somebody please fix this thing
before I go out of my mind?

Michael, I just heard.

Somebody grabbed Ambassador Delenn
and one of the Minbari captains.

He's hurt.

You should attend to him,
or allow me to do so.

If I were you, I'd be worried
about my own health right now.

I have faced far worse than you.

Word's out.

Got that monitor line scrambled? Good.

All right, people, let's get ready.

It's my fault.

I should never have left her alone,
even for a minute.

- You couldn't have known.
- It's happening again.

I don't listen, I turn my back for two minutes
and somebody else pays the price.

Captain, we've got someone on hold.
It's about Delenn.

Put them through, and trace the call.

- Boggs.
- "Hello, chief."

Looking for me?

Yeah, you and your other
Nightwatch buddies.

And you just gave me
one more good reason to find you.

Where's Delenn?

She's with us.

We've also got a Minbari captain
and one of his aides.

And don't bother tracking this call.
We scrambled the Babcom lines.

What do you want?

To put this station back under Earth control
and to kick out the alien influence.

Now, you either get rid of those
Minbari cruisers in the next six hours...

...or I'll kill the hostages.

First the captain, then Delenn.

One last thing:
We're monitoring all security channels.

And some of our people
are still in with your people, chief.

So don't do anything stupid,
or these two die instantly.

Just to show you I'm serious....

No. No!

Let him go!

No! No!

Bastards.
Bloody bastards.

- Marcus!
- Let him go!

He has sources of his own
that don't involve Security.

Maybe he can find something.

The trigger man. I know his face.
He's an old war buddy of Boggs'.

A real psycho, stone killer. He worked
behind enemy lines during the Minbari war.

Get me everything you've got
on his contacts. I want this call analyzed.

If it can't be traced,
find me something else we can use.

Hello.

Thought I'd deal myself in.

I thought we had an understanding.

We don't bother you, you don't bother us.

That was before a close friend of mine
was abducted by some very bad people.

Being bad people yourselves...

...it occurs to me that one of you
might know where she is.

Well, we don't talk to Security.

Why should we talk to you?

Because if you don't, then in five minutes...

...I will be the only person
at this table still standing.

Five minutes after that...

...I'll be the only person
in this room still standing.

- So who's in?
- Yeah.

Then we should tighten them.

I picked up your language
from some POWs I took during the war.

It came in real handy when I told them
to start digging their own graves.

You do realize, of course, that neither
of you are getting out of here alive.

Got any thoughts about that?

Yes.

I feel sorry for you.

Me?

You feel sorry for me.

Now, that's comedy.

So how do you figure you feel sorry for me?

Among Minbari, one individual leads,
but we move as one.

We are at our best when we move together.

And we are at our worst
when we move together.

When our leader was killed by your people...

...we went mad together.

We stayed mad for a very long time.

A madness that almost consumed your world.

Until finally, before it was too late,
we woke up together.

But you...

...you are alone.

You have no one to awaken you
from your madness.

For this, and nothing else,
I feel pity for you.

- Screw it.
- No!

Lennan! No!

Damn it!

That's enough.

- What are you, crazy?
- Maybe.

Ask her.

- He's not dead.
- Not yet.

Now, we need these two alive
until this deal is finished.

Once that's done,
they're all yours, not before.

You hear me?

I hear you.

Where is she?

I'm telling you, I don't know.

Then you know somebody who knows
somebody who knows something.

Who? What?

Answer me!

Bugger.

Now I have to wait for someone to wake up.

I would advise against it.

I see they trained you well back home.

Yeah.

They said I was carrying
a lot of repressed anger.

- And?
- I'm not repressed anymore.

I failed once before
to save someone I cared about...

...I refuse to fail again.

What are you doing here?

I came here to discuss
the rebirth ceremony with you.

You will come, I assume.

Rebirth? Why are you worrying about that?
There's much more important things--

It was the last thing she asked me to do,
and I will see that it is done.

And if you are saying you will not come,
then we have nothing more to discuss.

Forget about it, it's not important.
Lennier!

Do not touch me in that fashion.

We may sometimes look like you,
but we are not you.

Never forget that.

Point taken.

Don't you think that I want
to tear this station apart looking for her?

She is my mentor, my teacher, my--

As part of the rebirth ceremony...

...I am required to tell someone
that which I have never told anyone before.

This is as good a time as any.

I love her.

You'll forgive me if I'm a little surprised
at your admission.

My love for Delenn
is not quite what you might think.

It is not romantic love as you consider it.

It is something higher and nobler.

A purer, perfect love, if you will.

I know that Delenn is fated for another,
and I've accepted that in my heart.

But I have vowed to stay at her side
through all things for as long as I live.

That's a dangerous promise, Lennier.

Well, since I can never tell her...

...I tell you as my part of the ritual.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

- Hello?
- God!

This is your wake- up call.

- Come on, give me a break.
- Certainly. What would you like? An arm?

A leg? We're fresh out of broken hearts.
We just had a run on those.

How about we start with your fingers
and work our way up?

Hey, look, you know, maybe,
maybe I have some information.

- A name?
- You see?

It's like I've always said, you can get more
with a kind word and a two- by- four...

...than you can with just a kind word.

Please, continue.

Hello, chief.
Been looking for me?

We haven't traced the call,
but we processed a signal...

...to pick up some details about the room,
and we got this background sound.

I know that sound.

It's the cooling system that feeds
the fusion reactor. It's in Grey Sector.

Well, it's a start. That still
leaves us a lot of ground to cover.

If we start poking around,
they'll find out and kill the hostages.

We need an exact location.

Try Level 14.

Why 14?

A kind stranger volunteered
he'd delivered some components...

...needed to make calls that can't be traced.

He said he'd heard one of the men
talking to someone from Security...

...about getting the equipment
to Level 14.

- He didn't hear which sector.
- Well, it's a shot.

Susan?

Grey 14.

Environmental support,
storage areas, cooling plant.

Chief, you had a problem in 14A?

No, why?

This section's been sealed off
under your orders.

Never happened.

That's the place.

There's only one way in or out.

Walls are fortified.

They could hold us off for a long time.

We can't stop them
from killing the hostages if things go wrong.

- When is the deadline?
- Less than an hour.

- If security's been compromised--
- I can make a team of people I trust.

A small team. The more people,
the more chance they'll hear about it.

Marcus, did your contact
give a description of the guard?

Yes. Very detailed, in fact.

Good, because I have an idea.

- Which is?
- We're going to surrender.

- How much longer?
- Ten minutes.

They've got to know we're not bluffing.
They can't be that stupid, can they?

Always bet on stupidity.

Boggs, are you there?

Right here.

- I told you not to call me on this channel.
- "The Minbari have pulled out."

What? Are you sure?

See for yourself.

"Going to secure"- "cam input."

They jumped about five minutes ago.

They gave Sheridan his walking orders.

Any harm comes to Delenn,
they'll hunt him down.

So he won't move against you
so long as she's in custody.

Excellent. We're in business.

Send a narrow- beam transmission back home.

Tell them to send in the marines.

Our people will be here in less than an hour.
Once they get here--

- They're coming in.
- No, that doesn't sound right.

Hey, what's going on?

Coolant line to Reactor 7 just blew!

There's a leak in the fusion reactor,
and it's venting this way! Let me go.

Oh, no. Look at this.

Please remain calm.

Everybody out! Take them with you.
We need them for insurance.

Move!

Security! Drop them! Freeze!

Cover me.

John! John, look out!

- Oh, my God.
- Delenn!

- Delenn, you'll be okay.
- Medics!

Medics!

Let her go, John. We'll take care of her.

- We'll take care of her. Go!
- You take care of her.

He's mine!

No more. No more of you!

No more Nightwatch.
No more hostages. No more lies!

Not on my station.

Not on my watch. No more!

No more.

Lennier, any news on Delenn?

Yes. The knife missed her vital organs
and embedded itself in a rib.

Dr. Franklin says
she will make a full recovery.

Then we can go ahead
with the rebirth ceremony.

I'm afraid that is impossible for now.
The ceremony must be held within...

...a certain amount of time once preparations
have begun and that time is almost past.

And Delenn is in no condition
to conduct it now.

So where's Garibaldi? I figured he'd be here.

He and a crew are trying to get
the computer system back in shape.

They say they'll finally have
the artificial personality purged by midnight.

Oh, not that my bruised feelings
would have any meaning for you...

...but why are you having these people
poke me all over the place?

I'm a perfectly reasonable
artificial personality.

Nobody's ever complained before.

But I guess some people just aren't happy...

...unless they're messing it up
for everyone else.

You should stand up straight. Your mother
and I have been worried about this for years.

We've been trying
"to talk to you about it, but"--

You should get some rest, Lennier.

You haven't slept since I was put here.

I will rest. When it is time.

Hello, Delenn.

You know, I was thinking, if you couldn't
come to the rebirth ceremony...

...well, the ceremony should come to you.

I've given up something
that really mattered to me.

My uniform and everything that goes with it.

What I've never told anyone before now:

When you were hurt...

...when you were in my arms...

...I was ready to kill that guy
with my bare hands.

And I realized I'd never told you...

...how much I cared about you.

How much you mean to me.

I think it's time you knew that.

I can no longer imagine my world
without you in it.

I don't know exactly when
or how it happened...

...but I'm glad it did.

No one knows, but I'm afraid all the time.

Of what I might do if I ever let go.

I think I loved Talia.

I think I have a problem.

Wait, please.

Before you go, as part of the ceremony,
Delenn had something made for you.

I think she was expecting your actions.

The gifts are waiting for you in your quarters.

What's the matter, haven't you seen
someone who's been reborn?

The crisis, for now, is over.

Tell the ships, we're open for business.

(ENGLISH)