Zack Allan walked briskly down the corridor towards Captain Lochley's 
office.  He checked his chronometer, it read 0750 hours.  'Good,' Zack 
thought to himself, 'I'm here with plenty of time to spare.'  It wouldn't 
do to be late, not with the 'Dragon Lady' now in charge of the station.  
Zack shook his head.  Sheridan was never like this.  Well......most of the 
time, anyway.  Zack stood at the door and signalled his presence.  At the 
sharp "Enter", he walked into the office and stood before her desk.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?"

Lochley briefly looked up from the papers on her desk.  She had been 
reviewing the station's personnel files before Zack came in, trying to get 
some idea as to how close Zack and Garibaldi were.  Garibaldi's file 
bordered on the unbelievable.  She was amazed that someone with such a bad 
record could have become Chief of Security on Babylon 5.  Zack's file, 
while undistinguished, had several commendations noted by Garibaldi 
himself.  Yes, they obviously worked closely.  She knew that the less Zack 
Allan knew, the better.

"Yes, Mr. Allan," Captain Lochley began.  "I've been informed that 
representatives from the Ministry of Justice are coming to the station this 
afternoon.  You will meet their ship, The Ganymede, when it docks and 
provide them with whatever they need. You will give them your full 
cooperation."

"Yes, maam," Zack replied.  He thought for a moment, and asked, "Captain, 
if you don't mind my askin', why are they coming here?"

"The purpose of their mission is classified, Mr. Allan," Lochley replied.  
"As far as security is concerned, they are here on an inspection tour.  No 
one is to know of their arrival, and I mean no one.  Dismissed."

"Yes, maam."  Zack came to attention, saluted, and turned to leave.  As he 
left, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on.  'If the Captain won't 
tell me,' he thought to himself, 'I'll just have to find out for myself.'


---------------------------------



Zack stood in the crowded customs area of Babylon 5, waiting for the 
Ministry of Justice agents to arrive.  He had spent most of that morning 
trying to find out what was up, but couldn't.  He hoped he'd have better 
luck with the people who were just arriving.  Five well dressed men 
approached him.  Underneath the fashionable clothes, Zack knew "muscle" 
when he saw it.
  
"Welcome to Babylon 5," Zack intoned.  "I'm Chief of Security, Zack Allan."

"Major Nathan Otombe," the tallest man replied.  "What have you been told 
of our mission, Mr. Allan?"

Zack was momentarily taken aback by the man's bluntness.  He recovered 
quickly and said, "Not much, just that you were coming, and to give you my 
full cooperation."  Zack noticed that the other members of the team were 
looking around the customs area, checking out everyone there.
  
"Good," Major Otombe said.  "It is imperative that our mission remain 
secret until it's completion."

"We've got that covered," Zack replied.  He hated all this cloak and dagger 
stuff, but orders were orders.  "As far as station records go, you are here 
on an inspection tour."

While Zack was talking to Major Otombe, he didn't notice that the other 
members of Otombe's team had moved away from them, their attention focused 
on someone in the customs area.
  
"Hey," whispered one of the men, "it's him, over by the far wall."
  
They slowly and casually looked over, and saw Michael Garibaldi engaged in 
conversation with several security guards.
  
Another of the men whispered, "Should we take him now?"

"Might be a bad move," the first man answered.  "He's armed," noting 
Garibaldi's holstered PPG, "and from what we know, he carries one, possibly 
two backups.  It's too crowded if we have to shoot it out.  Too many people 
around who could get in the way."  That said, he caught Major Otombe's 
attention, and with his eyes, indicated to him who they were looking at.
  
Otombe looked over at Garibaldi, then looked back at his men.  He barely 
raised his hand in a gesture that said "not now", and they indicated their 
understanding with nods of their heads.
  
Zack, not aware of what was going on, said, "Major, I'll escort you and 
your men to your quarters.  If you'll follow me."

The men followed Zack towards the exit.  Major Otombe hung back just a bit, 
and whispered to one of his men, "Follow Garibaldi, but not too close.  
Keep me informed of his movements."

"Right," the other man said.


----------------------------------------
   


The shuttle launch area was quiet this time of night.  Michael Garibaldi 
had just finished his last minute inspection of White Star I, satisfied 
that everything was ready for tomorrow's early morning departure.  It had 
been a long day, and now that everything was secured, he looked forward to 
a shower and some much needed sleep.  As he stepped off the ship, he 
surveyed the rest of the shuttle bay.

Earth Force and Alliance of Planets security personnel were stationed at 
various points in the bay.  The maintenance crew he noticed when he first 
entered the bay were finishing up with an Earth Force shuttle, and were 
packing their tools.  Everything appeared to be normal.  Nothing was out 
of place.  So why was his gut instinct telling him something was wrong?

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and slowly walked towards the exit.  
But that nagging feeling just wouldn't leave.  He stopped, and decided to 
leave additional instructions with his security guards.  'Being paranoid 
is better than being dead,' he thought to himself.  As he turned around, 
he heard a noise and found himself staring into the business ends of five 
fully charged PPGs, held by members of the maintenance crew.

"What the hell?"

"Michael Garibaldi, by order of the Ministry of Justice you are under 
arrest for the murder of William Edgars," said one of the 'maintenance' 
men.

Garibaldi heard someone yelling from across the bay.  He noticed that the 
security guards stationed at the far end of the shuttle bay had started to 
run towards him.  Their weapons drawn, they were shouting at the 
'maintenance' crew.  Garibaldi slowly removed his hands from his pockets 
as three of the 'maintenance' men turned and tried to wave off the security 
guards.  In one quick motion, Garibaldi shoved the other two men together 
and drew his own PPG.  The men fell with a loud 'thump'.

Garibaldi ran towards the exit, firing his PPG high over everyone's head.  
He was almost to the door when he felt a searing pain in his left knee.  
Losing his balance, he sprawled on the floor.  Still firing, he managed to 
half crawl out the door.  He closed it, and fired his PPG at the locking 
mechanism.

"What the hell is going on?"  He looked down at the wound in his leg, it 
didn't look as bad as it felt.  'Gotta think of someplace to hide, try and 
work things out.'  The pain in his leg was making it hard to think.  He 
pulled himself up on one foot.  'Now, where to hide?'  He quickly ruled out 
Downbelow.  He was too well known, and there were too many people just 
itching for a chance to turn him in.  Or worse.
 
He tried to put his weight on the injured leg.  He found that it would hold 
a little of his weight, but not much.  He began to limp down the corridor.  
As he went, he thought of and rejected hiding place after hiding place.  
Each one was too far away.  He'd never make it without being spotted.  And 
the pain was beginning to get unbearable.  Then, he thought of Cargo Bay 3.  
It was close, and it was abandoned.  Zack knew about it, though.  Well, 
that couldn't be helped right now.
   
He carefully made his way to Cargo Bay 3, managing to get there without 
being seen.  He closed the entryway door, and found a pile of boxes to hide 
behind.  He slowly sat down on the floor without causing too much more 
pain, and began to tear away at the leg of his trousers.


-----------------------------------  



Zack turned off the vid screen, looked up at the ceiling of his office, 
and wondered what else could possibly go wrong.  After he got the call 
from his security guards in the shuttle bay telling him what had happened, 
he immediately contacted Captain Lochley and told her what had happened.  
He half wondered if the resulting explosion from the Captain registered on 
any of the station's seismic sensors.  It didn't make her any happier when 
he explained that his guards interfered in Garibaldi's arrest because they 
weren't informed of the Ministry of Justice's mission on the station.  
Lochley then told him of the charges against Garibaldi, and ordered Zack 
to find him at all costs, while Lochley informed Sheridan of what was 
going on.

"Michael, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?"  At first, Zack 
flat out didn't believe anything about the charges.  Normally, Michael 
would never have done such a thing.  But, under Bester's control, that was 
another story.  So many of the things Michael did were also things he would 
never have done on his own.  Resigning as Chief of Security, turning 
Sheridan over to President Clark's forces.  Could he have killed those 
people?  One person knew for sure.  Lyta.  And maybe, just maybe, she 
could help him find Michael.


--------------------------------------



As Zack made his way through Red Sector, he thought he saw Lyta walking 
down the corridor.  He ran to catch up with her, calling out her name as 
he ran.  She stopped and turned towards him wondering, not for the first 
time, what could he possibly want now?

He was slightly out of breath as he asked, "Lyta, can I talk to you for a 
minute?  I need your help."

Lyta didn't exactly roll her eyes, but she did give Zack a look that told 
him exactly how she felt about "helping" him, without being paid of course.  
She had bills to pay, just like everyone else.

Zack picked up on the look.  "Lyta, this is really important.  I need you 
to help me find Michael."

"Find Michael?"  Her concern was echoed in her voice.  "Has he disappeared?"

Zack's answer was as vague as he could make it.  "Yeah, you could say that."

"Ok, Zack, what's going on?"

Zack looked around the crowded corridor.  "Not here," he said.

He led her part way down a deserted branch of the corridor.  Making sure 
they wouldn't be overheard, he told her about the charges against Michael, 
and of the shoot out and his escape from the Ministry of Justice agents in 
the shuttle bay.  Zack finished the story by telling her that he was under 
orders to find and arrest Michael, and to turn him over to the Ministry of 
Justice agents.

"Zack," Lyta exclaimed, "you can't do that!  Michael didn't kill those 
people.  I know, I saw everything he did when I scanned him on Mars."

Zack forcefully let out the breath he had been holding.  "You don't know 
how glad I am to hear you say that."

"But Zack," Lyta said softly, "the results of my scan aren't admissible in 
court.  I'd want to testify, but I can't."

Lyta looked around to make sure they wouldn't be overheard.  "When 
Garibaldi was still under Bester's control, they met in one of the 
transport tubes on Mars.  Garibaldi had found out about a conspiracy 
against the Psi Corps, orchestrated by William Edgars.  Zack, the whisper 
around the Corps is that the Psi Cops killed Edgars, and planted evidence 
to deflect suspicion away from  themselves.  Bester even told Garibaldi, 
and I quote, 'Your present employer isn't gonna be around much longer'."

Zack was stunned by Lyta's information.  Before talking with her, he felt 
torn between his friendship for Garibaldi and his duty as Chief of Security.  
But now, he knew the truth.  He knew he had to do something to help Michael, 
even if it meant there'd be hell to pay for doing it.

"Lyta, we have to find Michael and figure out some way to get him out of 
this."

Lyta nodded in agreement.  "If the Ministry of Justice gets their hands on 
him, you can forget about the truth ever getting out.  The Psi Corps will 
help bury it deeper than they bury Michael."

"Then we need to find him before they do," Zack said.  "Will you help?"

Lyta smiled at Zack.  "Just try and stop me."


--------------------------------------



Garibaldi looked at the make-shift first aid job he had done on his knee.  
There wasn't much more he could do about it at the moment.  It wasn't 
bleeding, which was good, but the pain still made it hard to think.  And 
he had to think of a way out of this mess.

Mars.  Every idea that he had, every angle he could come up with, pointed 
to going back to Mars.  The only place he could come up with any evidence 
at all was the Psi Corps base there.  And the chances of that were slim 
and none.  He knew they were involved in William Edgars' death.  No doubt 
they erased all their computer files before they abandoned the site.  His 
only hope was to hack into the system and find a way to reconstruct the 
data.  If there was any data left to reconstruct.  That would be difficult 
at best, but if anyone could do it, he could.  No, the problem was getting 
there.  Getting to Mars without being captured or killed was the part he 
couldn't figure out.
  
No doubt Captain Lochley had the station locked down tight.  Guards would 
be posted everywhere, and after the shoot out in the shuttle bay, they were 
more than likely to shoot first and not bother about asking any questions.  
Search parties would be combing the station.  It looked hopeless.

Suddenly, he heard the door to the cargo bay open.  He grabbed his PPG, 
struggled to his feet, and pressed against the wall behind the boxes.  He 
knew there was no way he was going to allow himself to be captured. 
'Dammit,' he thought to himself, 'I can't believe it's going to end like 
this.'  The pain in his leg was all but forgotten.  He slowly peeked around 
the corner of a box, trying to see how many searchers had come into the 
cargo bay.
  
His heart sank when he saw who it was.  'Aw, Zack, why did it have to be 
you?'  He ducked down behind the boxes, not seeing Zack wave Lyta into the 
bay.  He looked at his PPG and knew that there was no way he would ever 
shoot Zack, just as he knew there was no way he would ever allow himself 
to be captured alive.  He continued to stare at the PPG while he listened 
for Zack's footsteps.

Zack turned to Lyta and whispered, "Is he here?"  He held his PPG close 
to his chest.

Lyta's face knotted in concentration for a moment as she scanned the bay.  
She nodded 'yes.'

"Michael, it's me, Zack.  We know you're in here."  Zack waited for a 
reply, any reply.  "Come on Michael, talk to me."

Zack looked at Lyta when he got no answer.  "I know he's desparate," Zack 
whispered.  "I hope he doesn't do something stupid like shoot at us."

Lyta's face again took on a look of concentration.  "I can sense him," she 
whispered.  "He's got a PPG."  She scanned even deeper.  "Zack, he won't 
shoot at us.  He's planning to use the PPG on himself to avoid being 
captured."

"Stay here," Zack ordered.  He walked further into the cargo bay, coming 
closer to the boxes Garibaldi was hiding behind.  "Michael, I know you 
didn't kill those people on Mars.  Lyta told me what she saw when she 
scanned you, and I believe her."  Still nothing but silence.  "Michael, 
we want to help you prove your innocence."

"That's far enough, Zack."  Zack turned towards the voice to find 
Garibaldi pointing a PPG at him from behind the pile of boxes.
  
"Michael," Zack said, "I know you won't shoot me, just like I know you 
didn't kill those people on Mars."

Garibaldi's PPG wavered in his hand.  "Ya know, Zack, I'd really like to 
believe you, but I can't take the chance."

It was then that Lyta walked up to stand beside Zack.  "Michael," she 
said, "you once trusted me to do a deep scan on you.  Because of that 
scan, Stephen and I know that you didn't kill those people, and now Zack 
knows it, too."  She could see Garibaldi's expression begin to change from 
desparation to hope, but he remained silent.  "I told Zack what Bester 
said about William Edgars in the transport tube.  We both think that 
Bester is the one behind the murders."  Lyta could see that Garibaldi was 
almost ready to trust them.  "Michael, there aren't any other security 
guards with us.  We came here alone because we know you didn't do it."

Zack put his PPG back in it's holster.  "Michael," he said, "you know Lyta, 
and you know me.  You have to trust us.  It's the only way we can help you."

Garibaldi looked at Zack and Lyta for a long time, going over everything 
they had said to him.  Was this a trick?  Could he really trust them?  He 
finally lowered his PPG saying, "I hope this doesn't turn out to be the 
dumbest thing I ever did."

Zack smiled.  "It won't be."  He started to walk towards Garibaldi, 
relieved that Michael finally trusted them.  "With our help," he continued, 
"you'll be around long enough to do lots of dumb things."
  
Garibaldi started to laugh, but then winced in pain.  He grabbed his leg 
and tried to stiffle a moan.  Zack and Lyta grabbed him by the arms and 
helped him sit on the floor.

"Caught a PPG shot when I escaped from the shuttle bay," Garibaldi 
explained.  "Hurts like hell."

Zack examined the wound.  "We need to get Dr. Franklin."

"No, no, no," Garibaldi said emphatically.  "I've patched it up, and it'll 
do for now."  He saw their dubious looks.  "Really, it'll be ok."

Neither Zack nor Lyta looked impressed with his first aid skills.  But 
that couldn't be helped now.

"Lyta," Garibaldi began, "I know you can't testify for me at a trial.  The 
only way I can prove my innocence is to go back to Mars and get into the 
Psi Corps' base.  I need to find a way off this station."

Zack shook his head.  "Michael, the station is locked down tight.  They're 
searching everywhere.  Even ships belonging to the ambassadors are being 
searched."

Garibaldi nodded.  "Yeah, I figured as much."

An idea flashed into Zack's mind.  "Wait a minute, I've got an idea."  He 
hurried on excitedly, "We could get G'Kar to help us out.  We could smuggle 
you onto his ship."

Lyta looked at Zack like he was crazy.  "Zack, you just said that they were 
searching all the ambassadors' ships."

Zack was smiling broadly.  "It all depends on who's doing the search, and 
if I'm doing the search, well, I might just happen to overlook a few 
things."  He looked at Garibaldi and said, "After we create a diversion 
and get you aboard."

Garibaldi smiled at Zack and said, "Sounds like a good plan to me."

Lyta looked at both of them like they were crazy, but since she didn't 
have a better idea, she kept quiet.
  
Zack reached a hand to Garibaldi.  "Come on Michael, we need to get you to
 a better hiding place, then we go talk to G'Kar."  He helped Garibaldi to 
his feet.  "Can you walk?" he asked.

"Yeah, I can walk," he replied.  "Lyta, can you go ahead and make sure the 
coast is clear?"

"Sure, just don't make too much noise, ok?"

"Yes, maam," Zack said as Lyta started off.  He helped Garibaldi and 
together they left the cargo bay.