Season One: "Signs and portents" (Part five)
1.11 "By any means necessary"
Ah yes. JMS meets Alan Bleasdale! Looking at the big wide universe from the view of the little guy, a theme he would return to in season five, this episode focusses mainly on a strike by the docking workers at Babylon 5, the man sent to break the strike and Sinclair's uncomfortable position in the middle. He wants his station back in business, but he knows also that he has to work with these people when the hotshots have gone back to Earth. Equally, he knows he can't rock the boat too much back home and so must try to find a compromise that suits, or at least appeases, everyone.
As the workload mounts at Babylon 5, there is an accident at one of the docking bays and one of the workers is killed. In addition, a priceless plant being shipped to Ambassador G'Kar is lost when the ship carrying it is involved in the accident. Tensions rise, and when the news that the promised increase in the budget is not now going to materialise, the labourers at the dock ballot for strike action. It's all looking very precarious and quite dangerous, with riots looking likely to break out. The shop steward, a young woman called Neeoma Connally, keeps the hotheads under control for now, but it's not a situation that can be allowed to escalate.
Meanwhile, G'Kar is distraught at the loss of his plant, called a "G'Quon Eth", which he needs in order to celebrate the Holy Days of G'Quon, his religious icon, and has Na'Toth make enquiries to see if anyone on the station has one for sale, at any price. Sadly for him, the only one who does is Londo, who refuses of course to sell it to him. Eventually, after playing with his old adversary a little, (and after G'Kar breaks into Londo's quarters in search of the plant) he relents, but the price he asks is astronomical. Although furious, after thinking about it for some time, and given that his time to celebrate the Holy Days is running out, G'Kar agrees to pay the price, whereupon Londo tells him he has changed his mind: the plant is no longer for sale.
Although dock workers on Babylon 5 are expressly forbidden in their contracts from striking, more and more of them are calling in sick, and Garibaldi realises they now have a case of "Blue Flu" on their hands: no-one is really sick, but it's a way around an all-out strike, though it may as well be one. Sinclair asks to speak to Connally, and tells her he can give her no guarantees, but he worries that if the dockers don't go back to work the Senate could invoke the Rush Act, a sort of martial law wherein troopers are used to force the workers to bend to the will of Earthgov. Such a situation would get very messy, and Connally does not believe the Senate has the guts to take such a radical step. Sinclair however reminds her that things are not as they used to be, and Babylon 5 does not have all the friends it used to in the early days.
Indeed, in the end Earth forces the issue by sending their "top labour negotiator", one Orin Zento, to Babylon 5 to take control of the situation. His meeting with Connally, and later the workers, is nothing less than the throwing down of an ultimatum: go back to work while you still can. When the workers call off the pretence of being sick and go for an all-out strike, he is furious and determined to invoke the Rush Act, despite Sinclair's counsel that this can only lead to bloodshed. He is a one-dimensional man, used to getting his way and trampling over workers' rights, and it seems he only ever came here with one thing in mind: the Rush Act.
G'Kar asks Sinclair to intervene in his dispute with Londo, explaining to the commander that as the highest-ranking member of his faith on the station and the ambassador of his people, it is G'Kar's responsibility to provide the G'Quan Eth plant for his followers to all observe the ritual, which must be performed when their sun rises over the G'Quon Mountain, back on his homeworld. Londo however will not be convinced, and the intervention by Sinclair is useless. He has his own problems anyhow, as Senator Hidoshi calls from Earth to advise that a majority of the Senate have voted to give Zento the authority to invoke the Rush Act. The senator agrees that only violence and ill-feeling can result from such a course, and sadly reflects that this is most likely the aim of many in the government: to provoke a reaction that will damage the president's standing and lead to calls for the station to be shut down.
Sinclair calls for the entire text of the Rush Act, studying it for a loophole he can use, as it's now obvious that he has to obey a direct order from the Senate. Luckily he finds one, so that when Zento invokes the Act he's able to use it, as the terms state he can break the strike "by any means necessary", and the means he chooses are to allocate funds from Babylon 5's own budget to upgrade docking equipment and hire more workers. He also declares an amnesty for anyone involved in the strike, which though it infuriates Zento allows the men to go back to work with honour still intact.
There's still the matter of G'Kar's plant to be dealt with. After telling Londo that the G'Quon Eth plant is a restricted substance and taking possession of it on that basis, he hands it over to the Narn, but G'Kar is angry, as he says the time for the ritual is past. However Sinclair points out that the light that touched the holy mountain ten years ago is only now due to arrive at the station, and surely that will be sufficient for G'Kar to perform his ceremony. Impressed by the commander's logic, and somewhat mollified, G'Kar agrees this will work.
Back in his quarters, there's a message for Sinclair from Senator Hidoshi, which warns him that, though the senator himself approves of the way the commander handled the crisis, the Senate does not, and he has made himself some new enemies. He warns Sinclair to watch his back.
Important Plot Arc Points
The spiritual side of G'Kar
Arc Level: Red
We saw this first come out in "The parliament of dreams", when at the end the Narn waxes philosophical about the place of the younger races in the galaxy at large. When we first meet him, in the pilot, G'Kar is portrayed as a bully, a petty, scheming man whose only real aims in life are to further the position of his people and if possible destroy the Centauri. Here, we see a different side to him. He is a religious man, a man devoted to his --- well not quite god: I don't think the Narns worship gods in the same way the Centauri do, but they more seem to devote themselves to the teachings of religious figures, perhaps more like buddhists. He believes fiercely in what is right, and he takes his position as both spiritual and diplomatic leader of his people very seriously indeed. This side of him will begin to develop over the next few seasons, and you will be surprised, even amazed at where it will take him, and the change it will engender in him.
"Trouble at home"
Arc Level: Red
It's been intimated before: things are changing back on Earth. In the previous episode we saw an actual attempt on the life of the president (and it won't be the only one) and we've seen the emergence of the radical Earth group Homeguard. When Neeoma Connally doubts the Senate would go so far as to invoke the Rush Act, Sinclair tells her not to be so sure: things are changing on Earth. Now Hidoshi confirms this, warning Sinclair that the balance of power is shifting, and people are jockeying for position. There are big changes coming, and they will not be for the better. Babylon 5 will find itself standing on one side of a drawn line, with its enemies --- who will be many --- on the other side.
QUOTES
In the wake of the accident with the Narn ship, everyone tries to blame everyone else:
Connally: "Don't try to blame my people for this! We've said all along that the dockside equipment isn't up to handling the amount of traffic we get."
Sinclair: "The computer malfunction might have been caused by operator error."
Connally: "Even if that were true, what do you expect? My people have been forced to work triple shifts because we are understaffed in every area!"
Sinclair: "Ms Connally, we're not here to assign blame..."
G'Kar: "Maybe you are not, Commander, but my government will want to know who was responsible for damaging our ship."
Ivanova: "Then I suggest you start with its captain, who panicked and fired up his engines inside the docking bay against my direct orders!"
G'Kar: "Now don't try to blame this on us, Lieutentant Commander! We are the victims here!"
Connally: "You lost some cargo, Ambassador. Alberto del Vientos lost his life!"
Londo, in mock sympathy for the loss of the G'Quan Eth plant to G'Kar:
"If there is anything I can do to be of assistance, you will let me know, yes?"
G'Kar: "No."
When he is told who the one person on the station is who has a G'Quon Eth plant, G'Kar sighs "Why does the universe hate me?"
When Garibaldi goes to see Connally to take her to see Sinclair, and asks her why she hasn't reported as requested:
"I've been tied up. I got a lot of sick workers here," Connally replies.
When the workers start to pretend to cough, Garibaldi is annoyed. "You think this is funny, huh Well, I don't."
"We're as serious as a rip in a spacesuit," replies Connally, "and we want the Senate and Commander Sinclair to know it."
"By staging an illegal strike?" asks Garibaldi. "I thought you were smarter than that."
"Sinclair and Ivanova are career military," replies Connally. "I don't expect them to understand. But I figure you for blue collar under all that Earthforce grey."
(Indeed, as it turns out, Garibaldi's grandmother was a cop in Boston back on Earth, and so he knows of the "blue flu". He sympathises with the workers, but is worried what escalation will lead to, and he has after all a job to do, like it or not).
Connally to Sinclair: "Don't tell me about consequences! My father was shot dead during the '37 mining strikes on Ganymede. I have spent my entire life defending workers' rights," she tells Sinclair, "and I'm not about to stop now. You get us decent pay and equipment and hire enough workers to do the job safely, then we return to work."
Londo and G'Kar bargain for the plant:
Londo: "Care for a drink? Oh, I forgot! The Days of G'Quon forbid it. But they come to a close very soon, do they not?"
G'Kar: "You know why I am here."
Londo: "The G'Quan Eth plant, yes? Difficult to grow, expensive to transport, very expensive to own, but so very important to you at this festive time."
G'Kar: "I understand you are in possession of a G'Quon Eth plant. If this is so, I am here to purchase it."
Londo: "Ever since we left your beautiful planet G'Quon Eth plants have been hard to find. Mine, which is being cared for in a safe place, I have been saving for a special occasion. When you drop the seeds into a proper mixture of alcohol --- boom! Whole new universes open up! It's a shame you Narns waste them, burning them as incense."
G'Kar: "Name your price!"
Londo: "You are asking for quite a sacrifice from me, but in the interests of interstellar peace and friendship, ummm, fifty thousand commercial credits, in cash, in advance."
G'Kar: "That's an outrage!"
Londo: "Of course it's an outrage! The question is, how important is your religious ceremony to you?"
G'Kar leaves in a rage, but is soon back. He tells Londo "I have the money. Fifty thousand credits, in cash. Where is the G'Quon Eth?" But Londo, smirking, replies
"Actually G'Kar, I have changed my mind. The G'Quon Eth plant is no longer for sale. I have also changed my lock code, so don't bother visiting me. Consider this a small - a very tiny - portion of revenge for what you did to our colony on Ragesh 3, and to my nephew. Did you think that I had forgotten that?" (see "Midnight on the firing line")
Leading to G'Kar's outburst: "I'll kill him with my bare hands.... Sinclair can only kick me off the station. He might even thank me!"
When Sinclair asks Londo to compromise over the plant, this is Londo's response: "You know I would do anything for you, my good friend, Commander Sinclair - but not this.... This isn't about money, Commander, or spiritual beliefs. G'Kar is only worried about losing face. The Narns ---- bah! They're a barbaric people. They're all pagans, still worshipping their sun. No, I would rather burn the plant than give it to him."
It's clear from this that Londo neither knows nor cares for G'Kar's beliefs, and how he observes them. The Narn do NOT worship their sun: it is the rays of the sun glancing off the tip of their holy mountain that inspires them to prayer, much in the same way that muslims face towards Mecca when they pray. The sun plays a part in their worship, certainly, but it's merely a facet of their religion, not their god. In fact, as mentioned the Narn do not worhsip gods, but rather revered religious figures from their history. It's rather ironic that Londo doesn't see his own people, who DO still worship gods --- a whole pantheon of them, if only through lipservice --- as barbaric. In terms of religion, the Narn are probably closer to the Minbari than the Centauri are.
Connally to Zento, right before the decision to invoke the Rush Act:
Zento: "Every other guild on the station has signed our agreement. They understand that our government is not a bottomless pool of money!"
Connally: "I don't care if they've agreed to wear bunny suits and sing the Hallelujah chorus! We're not putting up with this kind of treatment from Earth Central any longer!"
Sinclair's solution to the strike:
"Under the Rush Act," begins Sinclair, "the Senate has empowered me to end this strike. I'm authorized to use any means necessary. Correct Mr Zento?"
Zento: "Yes, any means necessary."
Sinclair:" Am I assured of your full support on this?"
Zento: "Absolutely."
Sinclair: "Then under that authority I choose the following means to end this strike. One, I am reallocating 1.3 million credits from Babylon 5's military budget in order to begin necessary upgrades of docking equipment and to start hiring additional workers. Two, I am declaring a complete amnesty for any striking worker or guild representative who have committed no other crime during this period."
Zento: "You can't do this!"
Sinclair: "You're right, I couldn't, until you convinced the Senate to invoke the Rush Act. You should never hand someone a gun unless you're sure where they'll point it. Your mistake."
Zento: "You know damn well you twisted the intent of that order, and you won't get away with it."
Sinclair: "I think Ms. Connally said it best the other day - 'stuff it!'"
Sinclair explains to Londo how he can still carry out his ceremony: "This ritual is supposed to be performed in the sunlight that has touched the G'Quan Mountain at a particular time on a particular day, right? But as your people went into space it wasn't always possible to be at the foot of that mountain and pray in that sunlight. But what you forgot to take into account is that sunlight also travels through space. Think about it: this station is 12.2 light years from Narn, that's just a little over ten of your light years. The sunlight that touched the G'Quan mountain ten of your years ago will reach the station in twelve hours. It's been on a long journey, but it's the same sunlight. Good enough for you to complete your ceremony, wouldn't you agree?"
And a final warning from Senator Hidoshi:
Hidoshi: "Remind me never to play poker with you, Sinclair: you are a hell of a gambler. This time you won: the Senate has decided to let your decision on the strike stand without comment."
Sinclair: I'm glad they see it my way."
Hidoshi: "They do not. But... public opinion is on your side.
Sinclair: "I see."
Hidoshi: "Commander, I admire what you've done there. My great-grandfather worked the New Kobe spacedocks till the day he died. I will admit, the discomfort you've given some of my colleagues pleases me. This is why I am telling you this. Orin Zento has powerful friends. By embarrassing him, you've embarrassed them. Today you have made new enemies. If I was you Commander, I would watch things very carefully. You are not the most popular person in government circles right now."
Sinclair (after the senator is gone): "So what else is new?"