Captain Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) puts Ivanova (Claudia Christian) in charge of a new gift shop opening in the Zocolo which sells Babylon Five merchandise, because she hates the idea. Then he goes to attend a lesson by Kosh. On the way, someone steals his link. He chases after the culprit, is attacked by a Minbari, and when the man reaches for a blade, Sheridan shoots him with a PPG he found on the floor. He discusses the incident with Security Chief Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) and Ambassador Delenn (Mira Furlan). He learns that the deceased, Lavell, comes from a respected Minbari family. No weapon was found on the body. Delenn is asked to begin an independent investigation. Sheridan asks Garibaldi to track down a Minbari who witnessed the event.
Garibaldi’s investigation goes bad. Every time he speaks to a Minbari, Lennier (Bill Mumy) is just leaving or just arriving. Sheridan believes his link was stolen because it was the only thing that would cause Sheridan to chase after it. Doctor Franklin (Richard Biggs) performs an autopsy, but it neither corroborates nor disproves the Captain’s story. Garibaldi wonders why there was a charged weapon lying nearby.
Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson) finds Vir (Stephen Furst) barhopping and drinking heavily. The Minbari witness, named Ashan (Sean Gregory Sullivan), is found by Lennier, who is of the same clan. He refuses to speak to Delenn and calls her a freak. Delenn and Lennier meet with Sheridan and Garibaldi. Ashan has stated that Sheridan attacked Lavell without warning and killed him even though he was surrendering, and everyone knows Minbari do not lie. Sheridan says he must be mistaken then, and the man is brought in to speak to Sheridan.
Ashan calls Sheridan Star-killer and stands by his story. Zack Allen (Jeff Conaway) arrives with Guinevere Corey (Julie Caitlin Brown), who claims to be Sheridan’s lawyer, provided by Earthgov. To avoid allegations of collusion, Earthgov is proceeding with the indictment. Sheridan may have to step down as commander of Babylon Five. Ivanova tries to cheer him up, and then Kosh arrives, leading him to Downbelow. There, in the worst place on the station, he listens to a group of monks singing a glorious song.
Mollari finds an inebriated Vir, who says his family arranged this job because it was a joke to them, but now that Mollari’s star has risen, the Centauri want to replace him. Mollari finds women playing with a doll made in his image. He complains to Sheridan about it. Delenn finds something distressing about Lavell’s background. Zack follows Ashan into Downbelow, sees him talking to a human, and is knocked out by Lennier. Lennier confronts Ashan, fully aware that the human is the one who stole the Captain’s link. Lennier insists that Ashan come clean, but instead he runs.
Mollari is angry about the Mollari doll, but it appears what he objects to is that it has no genitalia. When Sheridan states that Minbari do not lie, Mollari corrects him. They are willing to lie to help another preserve their honor. Sheridan receives a comm from the Minbari representative on Earth. He finds Delenn in the Zen Garden and tells her that the Minbari government wants Ashan sent back to Minbar and without a witness Sheridan will be unable to prove his innocence. She says that Minbari believe service to the clan is more important than life itself. Sheridan replies that humans believe in honor as well.
Ashan is called to Lennier’s quarters to receive departure instructions. Lennier tells him that he will announce his own complicity in the matter. Ashan begs him not to do so, as it will bring dishonor upon their entire clan. It was at the instigation of the clan leader, who hates Sheridan, that it all took place. Then Delenn, Sheridan, Garibaldi, and Corey emerge from the next room. Ashan’s confession was recorded, and Garibaldi takes him away. But, as long as Ashan agrees to a public statement that Sheridan acted in self-defense, Sheridan will not reveal the entire truth. Mollari has insisted that Vir remain as his attaché and praises him highly to his family. Ivanova reveals the latest item in the gift-shop—a Bab-Bear-Lon Five John Sheridan Teddy Bear. Sheridan takes it, orders the gift-shop shut down, and the bear is seen drifting away from the station soon thereafter.
Julie Caitlin Brown, who plays Sheridan’s lawyer Corey, played G’Kar’s aide Na’Toth in the first season and would again in a later episode. Kosh’s perfect moment of beauty in the Babylon Five slums was a Gregorian Chant arranged by J. Michael Straczynski. The incident in which Captain Sheridan shoots down an unarmed alien, though it was a set-up, would carry a rather different freight these days, and I suspect it would be written quite differently. There are Narn and Drazi dolls as well as Centauri, and I assume they are not anatomically correct either.
The Teddy Bear came from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. There were plans to produce a Minbeari Teddy as well, but I don’t know if that happened. The whole idea was sparked by the merchandising of science-fiction, which Joe Straczynski deplores. However, the JS initials on the Teddy Bear not only stand for John Sheridan, but they also stand for Joe Straczinski, and it turns out the bear was a gift to JMS from the writer’s wife. Straczynski hates cute, so the bear was spaced. The writer, Peter David, with Bill Mumy, was producing an SF shows for kids. In one episode, they found the Teddy Bear floating in space. Who would do such a thing? The kids ask. Why, an evil race called the Straczyn. Apparently, the bears stalked JMS at conventions for years, watching his panel appearances.