Appearances

Mind War

(Season 1) Bester comes to Babylon 5 for the first time, chasing down Jason Ironheart, the result of a Psi-Corps experiment in telepathic enhancement.

"Anatomically impossible, Mr. Garibaldi, but you're welcome to try."

A Race Through Dark Places

(Season 2) Bester searches for an "underground railroad" for rogue telepaths operating out of Babylon 5; the trail leads to Franklin, but Talia manages to trick him.

"Would it interest you to know that I'm married, Mr. Garibaldi? That I have a five-year-old daughter? That on Sundays, when I'm back home, that we pack a picnic lunch and go out under the dome on Syria Planum, and watch the stars come out? Hardly a description of a monster."

Dust to Dust

(Season 3) G'kar is having the dangerous drug Dust shipped through Babylon 5. Bester works with a reluctant Garibaldi to track down the source of the shipments and arrest the dealer.

"I'm sorry. Did I say something? That happens sometimes, when I feel strong emotions from two feet in front of me. It just jumps out of my mouth before I can stop it."

"I'm here to save your butts. Next time, show a little gratitude."

"A pinata, huh? So, you think of me as something bright and cheerful, full of toys and candy for young children. Thank you! That makes me feel much better about our relationship."

Ship of Tears

(Season 3) Bester has discovered that the Shadows are manipulating Earthgov and the Psi-Corps. He temporarily allies himself with Babylon 5, to capture a Shadow ship he thinks is carrying weapon components. The ship is actually carrying "frozen" telepaths, one of whom is Bester's lover Carolyn.

"You know, if this keeps up, I'm going to start thinking the people around here, just don't like me."

"She's the only thing I have, Captain. The only thing I care about. I promised her I would take care of her and the baby. It's the only promise I've ever made that means a damn to me."

"So how did you find out about all this?"
"I'm... a telepath. Work it out."

Epiphanies

(Season 4) Bester betrays Clark, in return for being taken to Z'ha'dum, so he can look for abandoned technology that might help his "frozen" lover Carolyn Sanderson. Z'ha'dum, however, is evacuated and explodes, thanks to Lyta.

"I assume my usual quarters in the brig are available. I've grown so attached to the place."

"The Corps is Mother. The Corps is Father."
"In that case, Mr. Bester, I'm an orphan."

"I... miss you. There is no one at home for me to talk to. Good night. I'll see you soon."

Moments of Transition

(Season 4) Bester arrives on "personal business". He's checking up on Garibaldi, but what he really came to Babylon 5 to obtain was Lyta's re-inductance into Psi-Corps.

"Mr. Allen seems to be under a great deal of stress. I don't think he's eating right. Make sure he gets enough fiber. That's always important."

"I mean, being a freedom fighter, a force for good, it's, it's a wonderful thing. You get to make your own hours, looks good on a resume, but the pay... sucks."

The Face of the Enemy

(Season 4) Bester shows up on Mars to put his crowning touch on the destruction of Garibaldi's life. He explains to Garibaldi exactly what he did to him, gloats a little, and leaves.

"Now. Tell me what you know. All of it."

"I have decided to be magnanimous, Mr. Garibaldi."

Rising Star

(Season 4) Bester goes to Sheridan to make sure that Carolyn is safe, and wasn't one of the telepaths used to disable Earth's Shadow-technology vessels. He also does a bit more gloating about what was done to Garibaldi.

Strange Relations

(Season 5) Bester arrives with Bloodhound units, trying to track down his former protege' Byron and his group of rogue telepaths. The command staff finds a way to use a regulations loophole to prevent him from taking them away; Bester allows this to pass, in hopes of retaining the good working relationship with Lochley that he had in the past.

"And the bartender says to Renee Descartes, 'Another beer?' And Descartes says, 'I think not,' and disappears."

A Tragedy of Telepaths

(Season 5) Bester responds to Lochley's request for his help. He is, for the moment, ineffectual at getting the rogue telepaths to come out from their barricaded isolation, though.

"I'm blocking them. You can go back to work. It's safe."

"A little depressed about the inflation rate, and hem lines are going down again, but otherwise..."
"Shut up!"

"What family doesn't have its difficulties?"

Phoenix Rising

(Season 5) Bester makes one final attempt to capture the telepaths, and bring Byron back into the fold. He's stunned when Byron chooses to commit suicide rather than doing so. Garibaldi also discovers, when he tries to kill Bester, that he can't -- Bester's planted something in his mind to prevent it.

"You can talk to me. Everyone talks to me. People like talking to me. I guess I just have that kind of face."

"How stupid do you think I am, anyway?"

"And even the President, despite his liberal attitudes, knows that you can't let killers get away."

"And if Garibaldi is killed?"
"Zack gets his room?"

"So they'd understand who the real enemy was."
"Us. The mundanes."

The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father

(Season 5) Bester tracks down a rogue telepath, with the help of two Psi-Corps interns. A look at the Psi-Cops from the "inside".

"We don't often see a sense of humor in Psi Cops."
"Reports of our depression are vastly exaggerated."

"My parents were killed in an accident; I was barely a month old. When I was put into a foster home, I turned up in the random DNA checks. The Corps took me in, raised me, and taught me that because we're special, we need to watch out for each other, even more than we would as... mundanes."

"Besides, this is an internal Psi Corps problem. That means we deal with it within the family."

"Personally, no. But as a doctor, I have to treat all my patients equally. Even the annoying self-righteous arrogant ones with self-important delusions of godhood."
"Ah, thank you. I feel far more at home now."

"The struggle between mundanes and telepaths will be no struggle at all."

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