“There All the Honor Lies” is episode fourteen of season two of Babylon 5.
Ivanova is in a meeting with Sheridan. She has found out that Babylon 5 is going to be merchandised. She is not happy. Nor is Sheridan; he fought against it and failed. Apparently the Babylon 5 Oversight Committee wanted ways for the station to become more self-sufficient. System-wide, the merchandised goods are expected to earn 2 million credits the next year alone. Ivanova asks why they don’t just open a gift shop. They are doing so right now. Ivanova says welcome to Babylon 5, the last, best hope for a quick buck.
Sheridan wants Ivanova to be in charge of the gift shop. She wants to know why, seeing as she hates the whole idea. That hatred is the reason why; Sheridan wants her to use it to stop the station from being demeaned, as she put it. Sheridan is going to see Ambassador Kosh after the meeting, for another one of their lessons to help understand each other better. Ivanova asks what Kosh is going to teach Sheridan. He doesn’t know. He isn’t sure he’ll know after the lesson either. Before he leaves, Sheridan asks Ivanova to see if the gift shop has a baseball cap. For his sister.
On Sheridan’s way to meet Kosh, someone bumps into him. Sheridan realises that whoever bumped into him took his link and goes after them in pursuit. Sheridan bumps into a Minbari, who then attacks Sheridan, knocking him to the ground. On the floor is a PPG which the captain picks up. He tells the Minbari to get back, but said Minbari replies ‘Death first’ and reaches into his clothes, so Sheridan shoots him. Another Minbari witnesses this and flees.
In a meeting afterwards with Garibaldi and Ambassador Delenn, Sheridan says that the Minbari was reaching for a weapon, but Delenn replies that no weapon was found on the deceased. Garibaldi comments that, if you wait long enough to confirm something like that, you will probably end up dead. The dead Minbari came from a highly respected family and Delenn says that her government will want answers. She has been asked to conduct her own independent investigation as the Minbari government believes that is the only way to decide whether to charge Sheridan with murder. After Delenn leaves, Garibaldi asks Sheridan for a description of the witness. Bald, with a bone on his head, is the less than useful reply, as that describes every Minbari except Delenn.
Garibaldi is questioning various Minbari and Lennier is turning up every time he does so. Sheridan wonders if maybe Lennier is covering something up, but Garibaldi, who admits he is suspicious, doesn’t think so. He also likes Lennier. The captain’s link is still missing, and Garibaldi suggests that it may have been stolen as a way to guarantee that Sheridan follows the thief. Where the PPG that Sheridan found came from is another question. Garibaldi doesn’t think the Minbari carried it, as it would be an affront to his warrior pride. The chief does think that the whole incident is a setup..
The witness, Ashan, is found, and he states that Sheridan attacked the dead man without provocation, and that Sheridan shot the Minbari when he tried to surrender. Ashan says that what the dead Minbari said was a Minbari phrase that only sounded like ‘Death first’ but was actually a Minbari phrase meaning ‘I yield to your authority.’ Sheridan accuses Ashan of lying, when speaking about the matter to Delenn and Lennier, and the ambassador tells him not to say that, and that she and Lennier will forget he did. For Minbari do not lie, as to do so is a stain on their honour, one which demands an immediate and fatal response from the accused. Then Sheridan’s lawyer, who he did not even know he had, arrives and ends the conversation. Delenn does not believe that murdering a random Minbari is in Sheridan’s character, and finds Ashan’s statement dubious.
The lawyer, Guinevere Corey, tells Sheridan that Earthdome has decided to issue an indictment against him,. but she does not believe that there is sufficient evidence for a case. They want to go to trial so that both sides can be heard and show all their evidence. Corey believes that the captain will be found not guilty but tells Sheridan that, if the matter does go to trial, he will have to step down from command of the station. Probably permanently. There is a motive to set Sheridan up. So, is Ashan in on things.
Ivanova discovers that the gift shop is willing to sell just about anything. Londo is not pleased. Vir gets a message from the Centauri homeworld telling him that he is being replaced; he was originally shipped out to be Ambassador Mollari’s assistant because the post was not an important one. Now it is. Vir is not happy.