“The Exercise of Vital Powers” is episode sixteen of season four of Babylon 5.
The episode opens with an announcement from Ivanova, as the Voice of the Resistance. She says that the resistance is retaking territories seized in contravention of the Earth Alliance constitution. Then Garibaldi starts narrating his personal log, as Sheridan’s fleet is seen. Garibaldi, who left the station for Mars in the previous episode, “No Surrender, No Retreat”, says they are actually doing it. Sheridan would never have gone up against his own people, own government, before he went to Z’ha’dum. Which avoids the fact that Sheridan, and Garibaldi, had started doing precisely that before.
Garibaldi is concerned that Sheridan wants to take over, and this has brought him back to Mars. A planet that has three times almost killed Garibaldi, and he swore he would never return to let the planet finish the job. Garibaldi is in one of the Mars transit tubes with Wade, who wants him to put on a blindfold. Garibaldi doesn’t want to and Wade says the average guy would, given all that Mr Edgars has done for him. Garibaldi replies that he isn’t average and Wade agrees – because Mr Edgars does not like average guys.
In Medlab, Dr Franklin is working on one of the telepaths taken in “Ship of Tears”. He is having no luck, and has to stop. He tells Zack that the Shadow implants have defence systems on top of defence systems. The telepaths bond instantly to any computer system if woken, and are hostile. Sheridan keeps asking the doctor how he is progressing, but hasn’t told him why. Franklin is frustrated.
Lyta arrives, in the Psi Corps uniform that Bester got her to start wearing again in “Moments of Transition”. Zack wants her to do a scan in Medlab 4; a mugging victim doesn’t remember much of his assault and, even though they think they have the right guy, they can’t be sure. Lyta starts protesting that she can’t scan a suspect in a criminal investigation; Zack reassures her that it’s the victim who wants scanning. After Zack leaves, and Franklin is distracted, Lyta looks at the telepath Franklin was operating on, hearing what sounds like a Shadow vessel scream as she does. The man’s eyes open. When the doctor Franklin is speaking to drops her clipboard, Franklin looks around to see the telepath and Lyta pressing their hands on the glass separating them. When Franklin speaks, Lyta looks around and the telepath collapses.
On Mars, when Liss sees Garibaldi she starts telling him he shouldn’t have come. When Edgars enters the room, it looks like Liss changes what she was going to say about why Garibaldi shouldn’t have come. Edgars tells Garibaldi that he said he would invite Garibaldi when the time was right. But Garibaldi insisted on seeing him now. Garibaldi is tired of not seeing the face of the man he is working for. He wants to know what he was sneaking past Babylon 5 customs. And that someone should stop Sheridan before he reaches Earth.
Edgars says they knew Clark had Santiago assassinated even before Babylon 5 announced it, but they needed to work within the system to get rid of him, not by using military force. Garibaldi says that Sheridan must be stopped before he tears Earth apart. He can’t hand the captain over to Clark, because he will simply be killed. He wants Edgars to intervene on Sheridan’s behalf, to give Sheridan protection and proper treatment. Edgars tells Garibaldi that he is half way to the truth. Before he brings him the rest of the way, Edgars must know he can trust Garibaldi. And he is sure that the reverse is true.
Franklin chases after Lyta and she apologises for messing up his experiment. He says she didn’t, she got a reaction from the patient. Who was conscious and responding and not a danger to anyone, including himself. Lyta heard a sound in the telepaths head. She isn’t sure that Franklin will believe her, but it was the scream that a Shadow vessel makes when it goes live. Lyta reacted instinctively and made it go away. When Franklin pleads with Lyta to return, she does agree.
Garibaldi is in his room in Edgars’ house on Mars when men rush in and bundle him away. To another room, where there is a table and two chairs, one of which is occupied. Edgars, who isn’t present physically, tells Garibaldi he is in no danger. The other occupant is a telepath. She knows nothing and has been hired to do a surface scan only, only telling Edgars if Garibaldi is telling the truth when he answers. The drama was so that Garibaldi had no time to prepare. The first question is how Garibaldi feels about telepaths. He doesn’t trust them and believes they are a menace to society. Edgars also confirms other things that Garibaldi has said.
One question was whether Garibaldi was still in love with Liss – Edgars’ wife. He did not tell the truth on that one. Nor does Edgars to Liss. Ward delivers the payment the telepath was promised. Well, a payment anyway – she is killed. Now, Edgars appears to be genuinely against telepaths – and is doing some nasty things as a result. Yet in “Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?” it looked as if he was a prisoner of the Psi Corps. Specifically, Bester. And a programme was activated. So, is Garibaldi unwittingly working for the corps against Edgars? Sheridan finally tells Franklin just what he wants the telepaths for. It isn’t shared, but it obviously isn’t good.