Michael Garibaldi was woken by the sound of the com. He had been having the most wonderful dream. He tried to ignore the beeping ,but it didn't work. Growling vituperatively , he climbed out of bed and answered it. The face of Commander Jeff Sinclair appeared on the screen.
"Sorry to wake you, Mike ,but we have a problem," the commander said.
"Can't it wait, Jeff. It's 2 AM. I'm exhausted and running on fumes," Garibaldi said.
"Sorry , Mike, but there was an urgent distress call. I don't have a choice but to send you. I have a report to finish by noon and if I don't there won't be a Babylon 5 for you to come back to. Sinclair out."
Garibaldi was in a foul mood as he climbed into his fighter. Being woken up at two in the morning to answer a distress call, urgent or otherwise, after three weeks of double shifts had definitely not improved his mood. He strapped himself into his fighter ,yawning. He needed rest but duty called and he had to answer. Not going could result in the death of an innocent person , and the Chief of Security didn't want to risk innocent lives. He couldn't do that; it wasn't in his nature. Garibaldi set out with five of his security officers. He had a strong feeling that something was very wrong. He just wasn't sure what.
"Alright , let's prepare for the jump," he ordered and the others acknowledged.
The jump gate was activated and the five ships entered it. Sinclair paused a moment from typing his report to watch. He was worried about Garibaldi. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up.
"Is something wrong ,Jeff?" Catherine asked.
"Just worried is all. Mike's the best man for his job and he takes it seriously but he gets hurt sometimes," the man said.
Catherine knew by the look on her fiancée's face what he was talking about. Several months prior Garibaldi had been injured after he uncovered the plot to assassinate the president. She also knew that the two men were like brothers and trusted each other completely.
"He'll be alright," she said.
"I hope so. I hope so," Sinclair responded ,watching the jump gate close.
After John Sheridan had worn out Earthforce command ,Sinclair had been brought back to Babylon 5 to run the station conjointly with Sheridan. A bizarre turn of events had allowed him to fulfill destiny and go home to his friends and the love of his life on Babylon 5.There was nothing Catherine could say that could stop him from worrying.
Garibaldi tried to stifle a yawn but he failed miserably.
"Not falling asleep on us are ya ,Chief?" asked on of the officers .
"No. The day I fall asleep on the job is the day hell freezes over," he answered
Right now , Garibaldi would have given almost anything to be back on Babylon 5 ,sleeping. He tracked down the ship .
" Damaged vessel ,this is Michael Garibaldi of Babylon 5 . We received your distress call. How can we assist you?" he asked.
"That was quick. I could use a hand getting to your station," said a woman's voice.
"Acknowledged. I'll send one of the fighters with you to make sure you reach Babylon 5 safely. The rest of us will try and find what may have attacked you," Garibaldi said.
The woman acknowledged and as one of the fighter began to attach the towing lines to the woman's ship, Garibaldi thought he saw what looked like shapes on either side of the damaged ship. He attributed it to his lack of decent sleep. As the two ships past by , the figures grew clear a bit and seemed to take on a more definite shape. The security chief once again attributed it to lack of sleep. He could almost seem them completely , whatever they were. They appeared to be slug-like creatures. Suddenly , he became aware of the fact that someone was speaking to him.
"Chief? Chief are you alright?"
"Yeah , I zone out for a moment."
"Are you sure you want to stay out here? You haven't got much sleep."
"I'm sure. I'll be fine. Don't worry."
Once the jump gate was activated , Garibaldi took the other four with him ,to continue on with the investigation. They didn't get very far when a jump opened in front of them. The ship that came out was sleek , silver and insect-like.
" Unknown vessel , this Michael Garibaldi of Babylon 5 . Please acknowledge," the officer said.
There was no response. Garibaldi tried twice more and still no response. Without warning , the ship opened a panel on the outer hull of the ship and fired a beam of light. For an instant there was a bright light and unimaginable pain. After that instant , everything went black.