Value Judgements
Gideon - "If I lived up to my name, well, I'd be in every hotel room in Earth space."
Governor - "Not that the women would mind, certainly."
Dureena - "Just because you didn't see me doesn't mean I wasn't there."
Gideon - "I see you're taking after Galen again."
Dureena - "Actually, he's been taking after me."
Voice - "You've been stripped of all rank and commission. You are no longer a member of the Psi Corps. You have undeniably misused your power. The following charges have been brought against you."
Bester - "Under torture ... anyone will admit to anything about anybody. These are false accusations."
Voice - "How do you plead?"
Bester - "Not guilty."
Bester - "A cordial greeting to you, Lt. Matheson. It's been a very long time since we last saw one another."
Matheson - "Al ... ALFRED BESTER!"
Bester - "Crisis? It was a WAR, not a crisis. I don't know why everyone feels the need to minimize it. Won't you come in? I was just having some tea. I can make some for us all."
Gideon - "That's all you're going to say? It was a war, not a crisis, won't you have some tea?"
Bester - "Yes. And the tea is getting cold."
Eilerson - "I happen to *like* tea."
Bester - "I never fancied myself a martyr."
Gideon - "It's not martyrdom. It's due process."
Bester - "I'm sure there are a lot of women from the Salem Witch Trials who would argue that point with you, Captain."
Bester - "I guess it depends on which side of the right you're on. How much do you value what's in that vault? How much do you need my help to get it? How little time do you have left to find a cure before the body count starts?"
Eilerson - "This is it?"
Chambers - "Looks like we went all this way for nothing."
Dureena - "You guys are always missing the point. I keep forgetting that your culture has come to rely on everything but nature."
Pilot #1 - "Top Dog just wired in. He wants a full report."
Pilot #2 - "You go right ahead. I hate telling him bad news. He gets really cranky."
Pilot #1 - "This is UnderDog to Top Dog. When we arrived at the colony, Al Bester was not here. There are no records of him leaving the planet. I'm sorry Mr. Garibaldi. he got away again..."
To the Ends of the Earth
Gideon - "One more thing. These new uniforms, how long have we been stuck with them now?"
Matheson - "Almost two months."
Gideon - "And in those two months, have your communications with Earth given you any indication that the change to a more serious uniform has boosted morale back home?"
Matheson - "None whatsoever. You ask me, the change was made just to give the brass back home something to do."
Gideon - "I agree. So I want you to send a message back home. Tell them - tell them there’s been a horrible accident in the laundry. All of the new uniforms have been destroyed. Pending resupply, we’re going back to the uniforms we started out with."
Matheson - "Will do. But what happens when they check the computer logs and find out there was no accident?"
Gideon - "There will be, John. I’ll make sure of it."
A-Box - "The ship you have been searching for."
Gideon - "Yes .. what about it?"
A-Box - "It is on the move again."
Eilerson - "But I still think the main vault is in this area. Why else would these big towers be over here?"
Dureena - "To throw off people like you who think size is everything. If it’s big is must be important, and if it’s important it must be big."
Eilerson - "Well, that’s very kind of you, but let’s not get distracted."
Gideon - "It’s no secret that the first ship I served on nine years ago was destroyed. According to the official records, the Cerberus went up when her jump engines malfunctioned. I was the only survivor. What is not reflected in the official report - what has been known to only a few of you in this room - is that the Cerberus was not destroyed by a malfunction. She was attacked and destroyed by a vessel of unknown origin. I saw it. No one back home believed me."
Gideon - "They aren’t going to authorize this little diversion and I don’t want any of our people filing reports that can be proven false later."
Matheson - "Already taken care of. I called EarthDome and told them we have reason to believe there may be hostile forces in the area."
Gideon - "Based on what?"
Matheson - "Well, it seems like everywhere we go, there’s somebody who doesn’t like you, so it’s a fair assumption."
Galen- "It’s cold."
Gideon - "Yes, it is."
Galen - "I meant the coffee."
Gideon - "I didn’t."
Galen - "If we survive, then we did the right thing. If we don’t - well, at least we won’t have to put up with anyone saying ’we told you so’."
Galen - "A TechnoMage has ways of knowing things that seem - well, mysterious to outsiders. Sources of information not generally available to the public. Some of them are quite dangerous. From what I’ve been able to piece together, you did not find out about this ship through conventional means. That leaves only unconventional means. I worry, Matthew. I worry that you are holding something back. I worry that you may be using something quite beyond your control. And that something quite beyond your control may be using you."
Eilerson - "I’ve been studying the record of the battle, and I found something I think might interest you. These ships were built by the Shadows, an ancient race that left known space about five years ago."
Gideon - "I’ve heard of them. The Drakh worked for them."
Eilerson - "Yes, but this design isn’t Drakh. It’s definitely Shadow in origin. There aren’t many close pictures of Shadow vessels because if you got too close you usually got destroyed, but as you can see, there is a definite resemblance. What if someone else - has been doing the same thing?"
Dr. Chambers - "Where’s Galen? Usually where you are, he isn’t far behind."
Dureena - "He’s in his ship. One thing I’ve learned: When he’s in there, I don’t bother him. Ever."
TechnoMage Dirk - "Are you sure it was Shadow Tech?"
Galen - "Positive."
Dirk - "Then it seems your choice to leave us was correct after all. Does the Captain know of our involvement?"
Galen - "No. Not yet, but he will. In time."
Dirk - "Perhaps. But you should do all you can to delay that particular revelation."
Galen - "I will do - what is right."
Dirk - "That is not an answer, Galen."
Galen - "Quite true."
Gideon - "Today, everything changed. Until today, there were still days when I doubted myself. Wondered if I’d really seen what I saw that day. No more. I’ve proven that these ships exist. But that’s not the same thing as proving that one of them killed the Cerberus. Before I can bring this back home, I need more information, to narrow the gap between what I know - and what I can prove."
End of the Line
Galen - "Matthew."
Gideon - "What?"
Galen - "Shhhhhh."
Gideon - "Marbles?"
Galen - "If you’ve been wondering where they’d gotten to, this may be the answer."
Gideon - "Thanks."
Gideon - "Lieutenant - we have a leak. I want it found and plugged. You have exactly ten minutes."
Galen - "Why exactly ten minutes?’
Gideon - "Last time we did this as a drill, he ran the whole com system in twelve minutes, which I believe was a record. What good’s a record if you can’t break it?"
Galen - "I’m sure the first man to run the Greek marathon felt the same way."
Gideon - "Why? What happened?"
Galen - "He died."
Galen - "Think about what you are doing, Matthew. There is a point of no return in such things."
Gideon - "I know it’s dangerous."
Galen - "I was not speaking of the physical danger, although that’s part of it. You could be killed if you are found in the wrong place at the wrong time. But more than that, if you go, you may learn things you do not wish to know. See things you should not see. There is very little innocence left in you. Are you sure you want to sacrifice the last of it?"
Dureena - "You’re up late. Going somewhere?"
Gideon - "I have - things to do. I need a favor. I’m about to break just about every regulation in EarthForce, and if things go wrong, I need to get some information to Lt. Matheson. If I leave it for him directly, it’ll look as if he was in on it, when I’ve deliberately kept him out. He’s got a great career ahead of him. I don’t want my mistakes to be his mistakes."
Dureena - "What do you want me to do?"
Gideon - "My personal logs are kept in six datacrystals hidden in my quarters. They have all the information I’ve been able to gather about the ship that destroyed the Cerberus. If this doesn’t go well - I want you to break into my quarters and get the datacrystals."
Dureena - "Where are they?"
Gideon - "If I wanted them found that easily, I wouldn’t come to a thief. Mess up the place, don’t be subtle about it. The more they look stolen, the better. When the time’s right, give them to John. Tell them to hold onto them until after a cure has been found. Them ask him - to finish what I couldn’t."
Dureena - "Consider it done."
Gideon - "Goodnight, Dureena."
Dureena - "Goodnight, Matthew."
Major Lee - "Your ship is a combination of Minbari and Vorlon technologies, highly advanced, reverse-engineered so that we could incorporate them into our own designs. Did you think she was the only one of her kind? .. or that we weren’t looking at other possibilities? There was another race, just as old as the Vorlons, and just as advanced."
Gideon - "The Shadows."
Major Lee - "I don’t see why you’re being so judgmental about our tactics, Captain. After all, someone very close to you has been using Shadow Tech for a very long time."
Gideon - "What’re you talking about? Are you saying that Eilerson-"
Lee - "No. Not Max Eilerson. Galen."
Lee - "Captain, where do you think the TechnoMages got all that advanced technology? Technology so advanced it looks like magic. Ships that have a mind of their own - personal control systems that are merged right into their own bodies. It’s organic tech, light years beyond anything anyone has got. Shadow tech, Captain. Stolen, same as ours. That’s why they left known space during the war. They weren’t running from the Shadows. They were running from us. Because we wanted what they had - and they wouldn’t share. So now you know the truth. The question is - what do you want to do from here? The Cerberus was an accident, the unfortunate by-product of our efforts to try and keep Earth at the forefront of new technology. You’re a sharp man. You can choose to join the right side and be a part of the solution, or make yourself part of the problem. So what’ll it be, Captain?"
Gideon - "You were right about one thing, Galen. I did learn things I didn’t want to know. About you, and the other TechnoMages."
Galen - "What you saw back there - those things - that was why we left. That was the secret we were afraid we had discovered that -"
Gideon - "can wait. You know - I must be an entirely new and undiscovered kind of stupid not to have put it together until now. Why you and all the other TechnoMages who were running away just happened to be passing right through the area where my ship was destroyed. Why you’ve been keeping an eye on me ever since. Why you came back from your hiding place. And why you volunteered to come along. You wanted to find out how far we’d come in trying to adapt Shadow tech."
Galen - "My job - my responsibility - was to keep track of left-over Shadow tech. It was the only thing that could pose a threat to us. Whether it was the Drakh, or our own race - didn’t matter."
Gideon - "Is that why you saved my life ten years ago, Galen? And why you’ve stayed so close to me ever since? Because you know that I was a connection to that technology? That sooner or later I’d lead you to it? All this time, Galen - have you just been using me?"
Galen - "What does your heart tell you?"
Gideon - "Not to trust anyone, ever again. For any reason."
Galen - "I should give the ship new orders. They will try to follow us."
Gideon - "One more thing. I want you to drop me off at Mars. Tell the others to meet me there. I’m going to blow this little secret wide open, and I’ll need their help to do it."
Galen - "And what do you want me to do after that?"
Gideon - "Just drop me off - then - go away."
Galen - "For how long?"
Gideon - "I don’t know. I honestly don’t know."
Crusade, first season’s final words:
Galen - "No! Matthew! Matthew! GET DOWN!"
Gideon - "If I lived up to my name, well, I'd be in every hotel room in Earth space."
Governor - "Not that the women would mind, certainly."
Dureena - "Just because you didn't see me doesn't mean I wasn't there."
Gideon - "I see you're taking after Galen again."
Dureena - "Actually, he's been taking after me."
Voice - "You've been stripped of all rank and commission. You are no longer a member of the Psi Corps. You have undeniably misused your power. The following charges have been brought against you."
Bester - "Under torture ... anyone will admit to anything about anybody. These are false accusations."
Voice - "How do you plead?"
Bester - "Not guilty."
Bester - "A cordial greeting to you, Lt. Matheson. It's been a very long time since we last saw one another."
Matheson - "Al ... ALFRED BESTER!"
Bester - "Crisis? It was a WAR, not a crisis. I don't know why everyone feels the need to minimize it. Won't you come in? I was just having some tea. I can make some for us all."
Gideon - "That's all you're going to say? It was a war, not a crisis, won't you have some tea?"
Bester - "Yes. And the tea is getting cold."
Eilerson - "I happen to *like* tea."
Bester - "I never fancied myself a martyr."
Gideon - "It's not martyrdom. It's due process."
Bester - "I'm sure there are a lot of women from the Salem Witch Trials who would argue that point with you, Captain."
Bester - "I guess it depends on which side of the right you're on. How much do you value what's in that vault? How much do you need my help to get it? How little time do you have left to find a cure before the body count starts?"
Eilerson - "This is it?"
Chambers - "Looks like we went all this way for nothing."
Dureena - "You guys are always missing the point. I keep forgetting that your culture has come to rely on everything but nature."
Pilot #1 - "Top Dog just wired in. He wants a full report."
Pilot #2 - "You go right ahead. I hate telling him bad news. He gets really cranky."
Pilot #1 - "This is UnderDog to Top Dog. When we arrived at the colony, Al Bester was not here. There are no records of him leaving the planet. I'm sorry Mr. Garibaldi. he got away again..."
To the Ends of the Earth
Gideon - "One more thing. These new uniforms, how long have we been stuck with them now?"
Matheson - "Almost two months."
Gideon - "And in those two months, have your communications with Earth given you any indication that the change to a more serious uniform has boosted morale back home?"
Matheson - "None whatsoever. You ask me, the change was made just to give the brass back home something to do."
Gideon - "I agree. So I want you to send a message back home. Tell them - tell them there’s been a horrible accident in the laundry. All of the new uniforms have been destroyed. Pending resupply, we’re going back to the uniforms we started out with."
Matheson - "Will do. But what happens when they check the computer logs and find out there was no accident?"
Gideon - "There will be, John. I’ll make sure of it."
A-Box - "The ship you have been searching for."
Gideon - "Yes .. what about it?"
A-Box - "It is on the move again."
Eilerson - "But I still think the main vault is in this area. Why else would these big towers be over here?"
Dureena - "To throw off people like you who think size is everything. If it’s big is must be important, and if it’s important it must be big."
Eilerson - "Well, that’s very kind of you, but let’s not get distracted."
Gideon - "It’s no secret that the first ship I served on nine years ago was destroyed. According to the official records, the Cerberus went up when her jump engines malfunctioned. I was the only survivor. What is not reflected in the official report - what has been known to only a few of you in this room - is that the Cerberus was not destroyed by a malfunction. She was attacked and destroyed by a vessel of unknown origin. I saw it. No one back home believed me."
Gideon - "They aren’t going to authorize this little diversion and I don’t want any of our people filing reports that can be proven false later."
Matheson - "Already taken care of. I called EarthDome and told them we have reason to believe there may be hostile forces in the area."
Gideon - "Based on what?"
Matheson - "Well, it seems like everywhere we go, there’s somebody who doesn’t like you, so it’s a fair assumption."
Galen- "It’s cold."
Gideon - "Yes, it is."
Galen - "I meant the coffee."
Gideon - "I didn’t."
Galen - "If we survive, then we did the right thing. If we don’t - well, at least we won’t have to put up with anyone saying ’we told you so’."
Galen - "A TechnoMage has ways of knowing things that seem - well, mysterious to outsiders. Sources of information not generally available to the public. Some of them are quite dangerous. From what I’ve been able to piece together, you did not find out about this ship through conventional means. That leaves only unconventional means. I worry, Matthew. I worry that you are holding something back. I worry that you may be using something quite beyond your control. And that something quite beyond your control may be using you."
Eilerson - "I’ve been studying the record of the battle, and I found something I think might interest you. These ships were built by the Shadows, an ancient race that left known space about five years ago."
Gideon - "I’ve heard of them. The Drakh worked for them."
Eilerson - "Yes, but this design isn’t Drakh. It’s definitely Shadow in origin. There aren’t many close pictures of Shadow vessels because if you got too close you usually got destroyed, but as you can see, there is a definite resemblance. What if someone else - has been doing the same thing?"
Dr. Chambers - "Where’s Galen? Usually where you are, he isn’t far behind."
Dureena - "He’s in his ship. One thing I’ve learned: When he’s in there, I don’t bother him. Ever."
TechnoMage Dirk - "Are you sure it was Shadow Tech?"
Galen - "Positive."
Dirk - "Then it seems your choice to leave us was correct after all. Does the Captain know of our involvement?"
Galen - "No. Not yet, but he will. In time."
Dirk - "Perhaps. But you should do all you can to delay that particular revelation."
Galen - "I will do - what is right."
Dirk - "That is not an answer, Galen."
Galen - "Quite true."
Gideon - "Today, everything changed. Until today, there were still days when I doubted myself. Wondered if I’d really seen what I saw that day. No more. I’ve proven that these ships exist. But that’s not the same thing as proving that one of them killed the Cerberus. Before I can bring this back home, I need more information, to narrow the gap between what I know - and what I can prove."
End of the Line
Galen - "Matthew."
Gideon - "What?"
Galen - "Shhhhhh."
Gideon - "Marbles?"
Galen - "If you’ve been wondering where they’d gotten to, this may be the answer."
Gideon - "Thanks."
Gideon - "Lieutenant - we have a leak. I want it found and plugged. You have exactly ten minutes."
Galen - "Why exactly ten minutes?’
Gideon - "Last time we did this as a drill, he ran the whole com system in twelve minutes, which I believe was a record. What good’s a record if you can’t break it?"
Galen - "I’m sure the first man to run the Greek marathon felt the same way."
Gideon - "Why? What happened?"
Galen - "He died."
Galen - "Think about what you are doing, Matthew. There is a point of no return in such things."
Gideon - "I know it’s dangerous."
Galen - "I was not speaking of the physical danger, although that’s part of it. You could be killed if you are found in the wrong place at the wrong time. But more than that, if you go, you may learn things you do not wish to know. See things you should not see. There is very little innocence left in you. Are you sure you want to sacrifice the last of it?"
Dureena - "You’re up late. Going somewhere?"
Gideon - "I have - things to do. I need a favor. I’m about to break just about every regulation in EarthForce, and if things go wrong, I need to get some information to Lt. Matheson. If I leave it for him directly, it’ll look as if he was in on it, when I’ve deliberately kept him out. He’s got a great career ahead of him. I don’t want my mistakes to be his mistakes."
Dureena - "What do you want me to do?"
Gideon - "My personal logs are kept in six datacrystals hidden in my quarters. They have all the information I’ve been able to gather about the ship that destroyed the Cerberus. If this doesn’t go well - I want you to break into my quarters and get the datacrystals."
Dureena - "Where are they?"
Gideon - "If I wanted them found that easily, I wouldn’t come to a thief. Mess up the place, don’t be subtle about it. The more they look stolen, the better. When the time’s right, give them to John. Tell them to hold onto them until after a cure has been found. Them ask him - to finish what I couldn’t."
Dureena - "Consider it done."
Gideon - "Goodnight, Dureena."
Dureena - "Goodnight, Matthew."
Major Lee - "Your ship is a combination of Minbari and Vorlon technologies, highly advanced, reverse-engineered so that we could incorporate them into our own designs. Did you think she was the only one of her kind? .. or that we weren’t looking at other possibilities? There was another race, just as old as the Vorlons, and just as advanced."
Gideon - "The Shadows."
Major Lee - "I don’t see why you’re being so judgmental about our tactics, Captain. After all, someone very close to you has been using Shadow Tech for a very long time."
Gideon - "What’re you talking about? Are you saying that Eilerson-"
Lee - "No. Not Max Eilerson. Galen."
Lee - "Captain, where do you think the TechnoMages got all that advanced technology? Technology so advanced it looks like magic. Ships that have a mind of their own - personal control systems that are merged right into their own bodies. It’s organic tech, light years beyond anything anyone has got. Shadow tech, Captain. Stolen, same as ours. That’s why they left known space during the war. They weren’t running from the Shadows. They were running from us. Because we wanted what they had - and they wouldn’t share. So now you know the truth. The question is - what do you want to do from here? The Cerberus was an accident, the unfortunate by-product of our efforts to try and keep Earth at the forefront of new technology. You’re a sharp man. You can choose to join the right side and be a part of the solution, or make yourself part of the problem. So what’ll it be, Captain?"
Gideon - "You were right about one thing, Galen. I did learn things I didn’t want to know. About you, and the other TechnoMages."
Galen - "What you saw back there - those things - that was why we left. That was the secret we were afraid we had discovered that -"
Gideon - "can wait. You know - I must be an entirely new and undiscovered kind of stupid not to have put it together until now. Why you and all the other TechnoMages who were running away just happened to be passing right through the area where my ship was destroyed. Why you’ve been keeping an eye on me ever since. Why you came back from your hiding place. And why you volunteered to come along. You wanted to find out how far we’d come in trying to adapt Shadow tech."
Galen - "My job - my responsibility - was to keep track of left-over Shadow tech. It was the only thing that could pose a threat to us. Whether it was the Drakh, or our own race - didn’t matter."
Gideon - "Is that why you saved my life ten years ago, Galen? And why you’ve stayed so close to me ever since? Because you know that I was a connection to that technology? That sooner or later I’d lead you to it? All this time, Galen - have you just been using me?"
Galen - "What does your heart tell you?"
Gideon - "Not to trust anyone, ever again. For any reason."
Galen - "I should give the ship new orders. They will try to follow us."
Gideon - "One more thing. I want you to drop me off at Mars. Tell the others to meet me there. I’m going to blow this little secret wide open, and I’ll need their help to do it."
Galen - "And what do you want me to do after that?"
Gideon - "Just drop me off - then - go away."
Galen - "For how long?"
Gideon - "I don’t know. I honestly don’t know."
Crusade, first season’s final words:
Galen - "No! Matthew! Matthew! GET DOWN!"
