Babylon 5: The Gathering Page #2

How much do you have?

More than you, it would seem.

Naturally, it's all classified.

Naturally.

Here is a copy of everything I have.

It may be of use.

If anyone asks, say it fell from the sky.

I imagine I will be quite astonished

by this breech of security.

Why?

The war between us

has been over for almost 10 years...

...but there are still people

on either side who'd hang both of us...

- ... for this kind of-

- Commander...

...you know everything

about your stone garden...

...but clearly...

...you have not spent nearly enough time

looking at it.

Good day.

- What is it?

- We've got an energy surge at jump point.

There aren't any more ships due until...

Put it on screen.

Vortex active. Confirm incoming ship.

Damn. That's a Vorlon ship, all right.

Ambassador Kosh. Two days early.

I knew he'd pull something like this.

Security isn't ready, we're not in place...

...all because he wants to play mysterious

and catch us off guard.

Get me the Commander. Fast.

And let's hope nothing else goes wrong.

- About time.

- Sorry. I was delayed.

Patch incoming signal.

Full audio and video decode.

- Hi.

- Hi.

I thought you weren't due back

for another week?

Yeah. Haggling with the Centauri

is always a slow process.

Until you explain,

unless payment is made promptly...

...their merchandise will be dumped

into space and fired into the sun.

Not exactly fair-market bargaining.

I was in a hurry.

- I didn't think you'd report me.

- We'll discuss that later.

I'm glad you're back.

- When do you dock?

- One hour and 40 minutes.

Just in time for the reception.

I'll tell you about it when you arrive.

I was thinking about something

a little more intimate.

On my way,

I picked up some carnelian bed sheets.

They're supposed to be

completely frictionless.

See you in an hour and 40 minutes.

Lieutenant Commander Takashima.

About our supply ship, I have reconsidered.

With the new ambassador about to arrive,

this is hardly a time for petty squabbles.

I have told our captain

to submit to your weapons search.

That's great.

Since you doubtless have your hands full...

...our captain will wait until

after the Ambassador's ship has docked.

- Is that satisfactory?

- Yes, it is.

Are you feeling all right, Ambassador?

Couldn't be better.

See you at the reception, then.

Good eating to you.

Yes. And now we need a nine.

And now we need a nine, yes?

We're going to play...

Ambassador.

Londo.

What? Not now, please. I'm busy.

Go away.

I'll take two and roll for the balance.

And, come on, now.

There, you see?

It's your fault.

You're bad luck.

I've always said that about him.

Now, come on, go.

You're a security chief.

Shouldn't you be out securing something?

Strike.

I am. I'm securing you.

The new ambassador arrived early.

Commander wants to make sure

you'll be in the welcoming party.

Mr. Garibaldi, I'm a very busy man.

Take three, no roll.

Eight, ten, seven, no strike, sir.

House wins again.

No, God damn!

Well, that's it.

And it's too bad.

I had almost finished working out

my new system.

Just a few more credits and I...

Wait, Garibaldi.

My good, close friend, Garibaldi.

No, you don't.

- Not again.

- Lend me your support, your good cheer.

My wallet?

Come on, Garibaldi,

I know there's an adventurer...

...lurking inside that steel shell,

bursting to get out.

I'm confident my system will work.

We'll take them together, side by side,

just like in the old days...

...when my dear republic moved in

and conquered the entire Beta system...

...in nine days!

- Did I ever tell you that story?

- Several times.

We came out of the sky,

a veritable cloud of starships...

- ... and then we fell on them, I was in-

- Londo. No!

No!

Look, I'd love to stay,

but I have things to do.

Now, be a good ambassador

and be at Docking Bay 9 in two hours.

- I don't want to have to come and get you.

- I'll be there.

What else have I got to do? I'm broke.

Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing.

This system of yours, it's a sure thing?

My good fellow,

I've worked it out to 15 decimal points.

All it requires is a little backing, Mr...

- Varner.

- Varner?

- Del Varner.

- Del Varner.

- Two Minbaris is what you'll need.

- No.

This looks fine.

We can deposit the down payment

in 24 solar hours.

But we need to take possession

of the spare parts no later than the 15th.

Can you deliver by then?

Absolutely. No problem.

The 22nd.

He's thinking he can't deliver

any sooner than the 22nd.

He figures that once he has the contract,

you can take a flying-

That's what I meant to say.

The 22nd.

Unacceptable.

But wait, we...

We can make the 15th...

...just I'd have to pay the workers more,

but that would cut my profits in half.

He's telling the truth.

Better half of something

than all of nothing.

Done. See you on the 15th.

Thank you again for your services.

Someday I am going to find the guy

that thought up the idea...

...of renting telepaths to businessmen,

and I am going to kill him.

Funny, I just knew

you were going to say that.

- Lyta Alexander?

- Yes?

Ambassador G'Kar, of the Narn regime.

- May I speak to you for a moment?

- Of course.

When I learned of your arrival,

I ran a genetics scan of your records.

Most impressive.

A sixth-generation telepath.

It goes back further than that,

but that's when Earth Central...

...started keeping track of people

with psi capability.

We have no telepaths among my people.

A genetic oversight, I suppose.

One which you could help correct.

I am empowered to compensate you

for your genetic background.

The process would be either

a direct mating, you and I...

...or a donation of vital cells

from which we could clone a replica.

Yes, obviously the cloning is less efficient,

since we have to grow the clone...

...so payment would have to be

proportionately smaller.

We'd still have to fuse your genes

with ours and that would take even longer.

The direct mating is far more...

...cost-effective.

Now, would you prefer to be conscious

or unconscious during the mating?

I would prefer conscious,

but I don't know what your...

...pleasure threshold is.

Confirmed, Ambassador,

you are clear for docking.

Please surrender control of your vessel

to central computer, on my mark.

Mark.

Commander, the Vorlon ship

is on approach to Bay 9.

On my way.

Status report.

Momentary power loss.

Re-routing to secondary power supply.

Time-delay factor: 2.3 minutes.

Please, standby.

Sorry, there was a problem with the tube.

Did you get Londo?

He was supposed to meet me right here.

The others are in the reception area.

Station alert.

Notify security.

Get the doors open.

Oh, my God!

Be careful, Michael...

...that's an environment suit.

He can't take our atmosphere.

Open it here and the air will kill him.

Could be dead already, I can't tell.

Get Ben, tell him we have a med alert.

Get the isolab ready, fast.

On my way.

Damn.

How much longer?

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