Desmond Musychenko, better known as Deuce was a smuggler, extortionist and racketeer in Babylon 5's Downbelow.[2]
History
Sometime prior to July 2258, Deuce managed to smuggle a Na'ka'leen Feeder on board the station and had it kept in a replica Vorlon Encounter suit. He used the Feeder to mindwipe several other lurkers including Mirriam Runningdear, a shopkeeper in Red 26 and one of the few willing to testify against him, all the while keeping up the pretence that the Vorlons and Ambassador Kosh were working for him. Around the same time Deuce had loaned money to Thomas Jordan, aka "Jinxo" a former zero-G construction worker turned incompetent petty thief. When Jinxo failed to make a payment, Deuce intimidated him by making him watch as Runningdear was wiped by the Feeder.
At the time Deuce was charged with extortion, however since Runningdear - the only witness willing to testify - had been mindwiped and all previously submitted evidence deemed insufficient, Ombuds Wellington was forced to dismiss the case and set Deuce free. Shortly afterwards, Deuce abducted Ombuds Wellington, intent on giving him to the Feeder. When Security rescued Wellington, Deuce fled, though not before fatally wounding Aldous Gajic.
After N'Grath was taken down, Deuce was one of several to fill the power vacuum and by 2261 he was still on the station and running half the rackets in Downbelow.[3] When the Thirdspace artifact was brought to the station, Deuce was one of the first to fall under its sway, first approaching IPX second Bill Morishi, telling him to "work faster" and was later caught attempting to open the airlocks so he could "go outside".[1]
Notes
- While it's never stated why Deuce was still a free man in 2261, despite the abduction of a judge and the murder of Aldous. It's possible he somehow avoided a murder charge and instead served a limited prison sentence on the station for manslaughter before being released. The limited options dealing with such criminals were directly addressed in ("The Quality of Mercy") and ("Dust to Dust").