Well, here it is. The sequel to "From Finish to Start". This is the first half of the new story, "And Back to the Finish". The second half will be posted whenever I finish writing it, possibly tomorrow. The introduction to this story I particularly like... it has nothing to do with the rest of it, but heck, I thought it was funny. Oh, and "Lazer" rhymes with "faster" (without the 't'). It's *not* pronounced like "laser", no matter the similarities. I'd appreciate comments, if you have any. And now... -- Babylon 5: AND BACK TO THE FINISH Copyright (c) 1995, Alexei Kosut . All rights will be transferred to J. Michael Straczynski, Babylonian Productions Inc., or the Prime Time Entertainment Network upon request. This document may be freely distributed. "I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind. It began in the Earth year 2257. It was the founding of the last of the Babylon stations, located far into neutral space. It was a port of call for smugglers, diplomats, refugees, businessman, and travelers from a thousand worlds. It was a dangerous place, but we accepted the risk, because that station was our last, best hope for peace. Under the leadership of its final commander, Babylon 5 was a dream that was given form: a galaxy with no war, species from different worlds living side by side in mutual respect. A dream that was in danger as never before, with the arrival of this one man on his mission of destruction. Babylon 5 was the final Babylon station. This is its-" "Aw, grandpa, we've heard this story a million times," whined one of the young Centauri children. One of the others chimed in. "Yeah. It was better last time, too." The aging Londo Mollari pushed his glasses up onto his nose. "So you want to hear a differnt story, eh?" The children all shouted, "Yes!" "All right then. This was during the third year of my tenure on Babylon 5, when it was under the command of Captain John Sheridan. This was about three weeks after that awful Roy Zimmerman affair. It all started with me doing some important diplomatic business..." *** "I'll see your bet, and I'll raise you five hundred," said Londo Mollari. He took a drink from his glass and pushed five black chips into the center of the table. He leaned back, put his arms behind his head, and smiled. Then all hell broke loose. Lights flashed, alarms sounded, the doors slammed shut and locked. The atmospheric vents shut off and sealed. The emergency bulkheads dropped down to block off the area. The Zocalo had just been secured, at the level Londo recognized as an Ultra-violet prority. From the side entrance, a double-sealed door slid open to reveal security chief Michael Garibaldi, followed by over a dozen armed and armoured security troops. Garibaldi pointed his PPG rifle at the ceiling and fired. "All right," he shouted to the suddenly quiet crowd. "Everyone lie down on the ground. Now." As the mixed human and alien crowd lowered to the floor, Garibaldi motioned to his troops to spread out. He turned back to address the people now lying flat on the ground. "We're looking for a criminal, goes by the name of Lazer. We know he's here. He's wanted for murder on fourteen systems. The Earth Alliance, the Centauri, the Narn and three independents all have warrants out for his arrest. We're going to find him, or no one leaves here alive." The crowd began to whisper exitedly to each other. Garibaldi fired another round into the ceiling. "Shut up! Now, my gaurds here are going to search each and every one of you. If you resist in any way, they have orders to shoot you. Understood? Good." The security troops stepped into the crowd and started their search. After about ten minutes, one of them turned to Garibaldi. "Hey, chief! I got something." Garibaldi walked over. "What is it?" The man motioned at the Centauri he was examining. "I found this in his pocket," he said, pointing at a palm-sized device. "A minature T-22," nodded Garibaldi. "The most lethal, painful weapon known to the universe. And the one Lazer has used seventy times." Garibaldi used his food to rotate the Centauri suspect face-up, while three security gaurds trained their PPGs at him. Garibaldi suddenly took a deep intake of air. "Londo?" Indeed it was. Ambassador Londo Mollari stared up at the four grey-suited Earth Forcers, and groaned. "What is this all about, Mister Garibaldi?" Garibaldi swallowed. "You are under arrest." *** "This is an outrage, Captain!" shouted Londo from behind the steel-reinfoced plexi-glass in the station's maximum security ward. "I'm sorry, Ambassador," explaned Sheridan, "There's nothing I can do. The Centauri government has a warrent out for Lazer's arrest, and there's enough evidence to say it was you." "What kind of evidence?" "The gun found in your posession, for example. It's the exact make and model used by Lazer." "I was framed. It must have been planted on me." Sheridan activated his computer console. "According to this, you have been off-station every time Lazer has striked." "Let me see that," shouted Londo. Sheridan shrugged, and the screen in Londo's cell flickered on. He scanned the list rapidly, then turned back to Sheridan. "What are you trying to pull, Captain? I was never at these places then. Take Argus III. I've never even been there!" "Three witnesses say you were. There would be five, but two of them are dead." "I don't believe this!" yelled Londo, then threw his hands up in the air and sat on the bed. "I have powerful friends, Captain. You haven't seen the last of me." "Anything you say," said Sheridan. He then finished the sentance under his breath. "Can and will be used against you in a court of law." Then he left. *** "What???" exclaimed Garibaldi. "Ambassador Mollari is to be released." explained Captain Sheridan. "I can't do that. He's under arrest. For murder, treason, and half a dozen other crimes. None of them subject to bail, and half of them punishable by spacing." "I know," sighed Sheridan. "But I've just been told by the Centauri government to release him." "The Earth Alliance will never stand for this, Captain. And neither will the Narns. They want him, Captain." "Michael, I know. But there's nothing I can do. He's a Centauri diplomatic citizen, and subject to their laws. You have to release him." "All right, fine." Garibaldi stormed out of Sheridan's office to unlock Londo Mollari. *** Talia Winters was lying in the operating chamber in Medlab. Doctor Franklin emerged to find the expectant crowd consisting of Sheridan, Garibaldi, and Ivanova. "She's going to make it," Franklin said. "But just barely. If Mr. Garibaldi had found her one minute later... she would be dead." Commander Susan Ivanova turned to look at Garibaldi. "Good job, Mr. Garibaldi. Tell me, how did you do it?" Garibaldi shrugged. "I was patrolling Red 7, when I heard a scream. I rushed towards it, and I found her." Sheridan stroked his chin. "You said you heard her scream... could you make out any words?" "Yeah... I think she said, 'It's you!'" Franklin nodded. "All right. Well, she'll probably wake up in about twenty hours. I had to give her some pretty heavy sedatives. Then we can ask her." *** "All right, Londo, back in the cell." Londo turned to see Garibaldi pointing a PPG at his head. "What is it this time?" "Oh, maybe you haven't heard," said Garibaldi sarcastically. "Talia Winters just got shot. The murderer used a T-22. And you never showed up to a Council meeting scheduled for that time." "I was late. Besides, it was probably just some lurker. I'd wager these 'T-22's aren't that hard to find." Garibaldi sighed. "I might agree with you, but I heard her shout, 'I know it was you'. She doesn't hang out with lurkers that much." He leaned in closer. "She does hang out with you." *** With Londo back in the brig, Lou Welsh - assitant security cheif - walked out into the Zocalo with a smile. He walked through it in a hurry, as he was on his way to a friends birthday party. He was working the graveyard shift, so he was going to be a couple hours late, but he was looking forward to it. He approached the conference room where the party was being held, Blue 14, and pressed his palm to the door. It slid open, and Welsh walked inside. He was greeted by someone falling onto him. He looked at the face. It was Bob Trentor, a friend of his. And he was dead. He looked about the room. They were all dead. *** "Well, Mr. Garibaldi... Now, we have a problem," sighed Sheridan. Garibaldi nodded. "Londo was under constant surveilance the whole time. It couldn't have been him. But the pattern of murder matched Lazer's profile exactly." "That means Londo is innocent. And Laser is still loose on the station." "Not so fast. The intelligence reports we have say that Lazer hasn't been confirmed to be one person. It could be a group. And we have more than enough evidence to hold Londo for the other two murders." "I suppose you're right. All right Michael, keep him locked up. And start looking for whomever killed those people." "Aye, sir." *** Londo was sitting in his cell, staring at the wall, when the visitor signal beeped. He glanced up to see G'Kar, the ambassador from the Narn Regime, staring down at him. "So, Mollari, you finially found your home." "Shut up, G'Kar. I'm not in the mood." "Oh, but I am. I want you to know that this is but the least of your worries. When you are extradited to the Narn Regime for your crimes, we will not be as lenient as the Earthers have been. You can quote me on that." "I'll try and remember, G'Kar. Now go away." The Narn tilted his head and stood up to leave. "As you wish..." Hey... Here's part two of my sequel to "From Finish to Start", entitled "And Back to the Finish." Both are available via FTP at ftp.nueva.pvt.k12.ca.us:/pub/babylon5/stories/ and via the WWW at , or simply by mailing me and asking. I keep hoping the ending won't be too obvious... well, we'll see. Please let me know if you guessed what was happening before you were told. I tried to keep this story in-joke-free, but failed... there's a Zima scene, dialouge stolen from a JMS post... ignore it if you like. I'd appreciate comments, if you have any. And now... -- Babylon 5: AND BACK TO THE FINISH Copyright (c) 1995, Alexei Kosut . All rights will be transferred to J. Michael Straczynski, Babylonian Productions Inc., or the Prime Time Entertainment Network upon request. This document may be freely distributed. PART TWO Susan Ivanova surveyed the Zocalo and winced. Garibali's security troops were certainly not being friendly to the local residents and travelers. To be certain, there was a mass murderer known to be on the loose, but surely the heavy-handedness with which Garibaldi was treating the situation wasn't warranted. She turned to see Garibaldi likewise looking at the area. He turned to Ivanova and smiled. "A thing of beauty, isn't it?" Raising an eyebrow, Ivanova turned back to the locked-down marketplace area, with the heavily armed security troops forcibly interrogating everyone in sight. "Defenitly beautiful," she muttered sarcastically. *** "Look, Captain," exclaimed Garibaldi, "All the evidence points to him." "Let me get this straight," sighed Sheridan. "First you lock up Londo. Now you want to put G'Kar behind bars too?" Garibaldi nodded. "See, here," he said, pointing to the computer terminal. "He had excused himself from the Council meeting at the exact time Welsh's party last night was murdered." "Could be a coincindence," muttered Sheridan. "Mister Garibaldi... Michael, all the evidence you have is circumstancal, it'll never hold up in court." "Be that as it may, I have a signed order from the Attorney General of Earth Force, warrenting the arrest of anyone I think could be Lazer." Sheridan sighed, and rested his hands on his desk. "Will you be releaseing Ambassador Mollari?" "What?" replied Garibaldi on his way out, "Do you think I'm crazy?" *** For the first time that week, Londo Mollari began to smile as he watched security gaurds pushed G'Kar into the cell next to his. Londo leaned back and activated the intercom. "So, G'Kar, I see they found the real murderer. It's about time." G'Kar grimaced. "I am innocent. As are all Narn. We were a peaceful people until you came along. You Centauri. You are the real murderers. You, Mollari, and your race." "Oh," exclaimed Londo, grinning, "But that face, that clothing... You so look the part." "That's not funny, Mollari." "Oh, but it is, G'Kar... it is." *** Now well into the second week of the chaos that was overtaking the station, Susan Ivanova sidestepped her way into Sheridan's office, past the two security gaurds that stopped her at the door and made her present her ID. She sat down at Sheridan's desk, and just as quickly stood up. "This is madness, Captain. Garibaldi's insane! He's got the entire station locked down, a quarter of a million people confined to a limtied area... he's not letting any ships in or out. He's got forty people down in Security under a charge of murder... this is getting out of hand." "Yet you can't deny that there have been fifty-six people killed in the last ten days on this station. No matter how we may dislike his methods, Mister Garibaldi has the authority to do what he's done. Nothing he's done is inapproriate for the situation." Ivanova sighed and got up to leave. "I guess not" She continuted out of Sheridan's office to the security office. Seeing Lou Welsh there, she asked him, "Where's Garibaldi?" Welsh shrugged. "He left about half an our ago. I think he said he was going to Earheart's. To get a beer or something." Ivanova almost left, then suddenly something clicked. "But Garibaldi doesn't drink..." Welsh and Ivanova locked eyes for several seconds, then they started running. *** Michael Garibaldi was sitting at the bar, slowly sipping a dark ale. Next to him was a man, likewise drinking and talking at, if not to, Garibaldi. He had been rambling on for some time now. He stopped to gulp down some more of the clear alcoholic beverage he was drinking, then continued in the drawn-out slur of someone who's had a bit to much to drink. "Zo then I zayz to him, nize ztation..." Garibaldi, able to take no more, balled his hand into a fist and reached down towards his belt. At that moment, Ivanova arrived at the doorway. grabbing her PPG, she fired into the ceiling. "Everybody down," she shouted. Garibaldi spun around and grabbed his own weapon. He fired it at Ivanova, knocking a support beam down almost on top of her. After several minutes of this, he buryed the gun deep into the guy next to him's back. "You put that gun down," he yelled, "Or he gets shot." Glancing about her, Ivanova slowly lowered the weapon. Taking a step back from it, she watched in horror as Garbaldi fired the weapon he held in his hand. The man screamed, then crumbled to the ground. "You said you wouldn't hurt him!' she exclaimed. He cooly lifted his head. "I lied." He then fired a grazing shot across the crowd, as Ivanova dove for her PPG and returned fire. One of Garibaldi's shots singed Ivanova's left arm, and she fell unconcsious. At just that moment, Lou Welsh and two other security gaurds arrived at the room with PPG rifles. Two of them began to fire streams of phased plasma at Garibaldi, while the other tended to Ivanova. Unfortunatly, because the security men were being careful not to hit innocent partrons of Earheart's who had the misfortune of being there, and Garibaldi was not, he was nowhere near being hit. Eventually, he obliterated the two gray-shirts, and a shelf full of plates had collapsed onto Welsh, leaving Garibaldi unchallenged. He raised his arms in victory, and leveled his weapon at the pinned Welsh. He never even saw the man that killed him. From behind, a limping figure in indescript, beige clothing fired a hand PPG pistol, hitting Garibaldi square in the back. He moved closer to the body to examine it, and even though the face was shrouded in dirt and shadows, he was recognizable. It was Michael Garibaldi. He reached down to other man, with his face and his uniform, and fumbled about until he located a small device and flicked a switch. The face and body of Garibaldi faded into something else, someone unknown. The onlooking crowd gasped. Garibaldi propped the dead figure up against a table, and spoke. "This, my friends, is the real Lazer." Turning to the dead man, he said, "You're under arrest." *** "So, Captain, that's it. Lazer broke into my quarters, and locked me into my bathroom. He put a static-field around it, so I couldn't call for help, and he put some sort of defense system up so if I tried to escape, it gave me a shock. I had water from the sink, but nothing to eat... I tell you, after two weeks with no food, you get pretty hungry." "I imagine," replied Sheridan. "So how did you escape?" "I swam. I managed to rip the toilet off of the floor, then went down that opening until I got to a ventilation system, and came out. You'd be surprised how many air pockets there are in our water reclimation system." "We'll have to have that fixed," Sheridan said dryly. "But moving to another subject, you've identified this man as being the real Lazer?" "We're pretty sure. His records identify him as a Leslie Zefram, convicted twice for third-degree homicide, and his travel plans fit Lazer's hits exactly. He used a changeling net to make himself look like me, and it appears to be that Centauri net we never found with the Zimmerman affair." "Hmm... Does that mean that this Zefram is assocaited with Homegaurd?" "Not that we can tell. He was in Paris at the time of that big Homegaurd rally a couple weeks ago. Most likely he stole the changeling let from a bona fine Homegaurder then, after killing him." Sheridan sighed. "Well, I'm glad that's taken care of. We've released the people your imposter arrested, and formally, none of their governments are going to press charges, but I've a good feeling I'm going to get a lot of complains on this desk real soon." Garibaldi opened his mouth to say something when Sheridan's link beeped. He tapped it, and lifted it to his mouth. "Sheridan here." "This is Ivanova. You're needed at C&C right away..." THE END