The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
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  1. [1][ISMAP]-[2][Home]
  2. [3][Guide] [4][Background] ### SYNOPSIS ### [5][Credits] [6][Episode
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  4. Synopsis by Matthew Murray (mmurray@wsu.edu)
  5. Sheridan is brought around to face Londo, and Sheridan insists that
  6. what he sees on Centauri Prime couldn't happen. He demands to know
  7. what year it is, and Londo tells him it is the last year, day, and
  8. hour of Sheridan's life -- seventeen years after he began the war
  9. against the Shadows. Londo tells the guards that he is tired, and
  10. wants Sheridan taken back to his cell. Londo promises Sheridan he will
  11. meet whatever God he worships when next they meet, and Sheridan is
  12. taken away.
  13. On Babylon 4, Major Krantz arrives on C&C to find that there is still
  14. another hour or hour and a half until the sensors are back online
  15. following the explosion. He says that he wants search teams increased
  16. so that they are prepared in case anyone tries to breach the hull.
  17. Ivanova and Marcus are searching through the station for an access
  18. panel, and though Ivanova thinks it will take a bit of luck to find
  19. one, Marcus insists he doesn't believe in it. Ivanova, however, keeps
  20. walking and doesn't notice that Marcus has disappeared until she is
  21. trapped in the corridor between two security guards. Marcus, however,
  22. drops down on them from above, and they are able to easily dispatch
  23. the guards. After Marcus accidentally dislodges the cover from an
  24. access panel with his staff, Ivanova is able to get right to work.
  25. Even though Sheridan is alone in his cell back on Centauri Prime,
  26. without his time stabilizer, he is still unstuck in time, and
  27. reappears briefly upon Babylon 4, noticed only by Zathras, as he
  28. reaches, in pain, for a time stabilizer. Meanwhile, Sinclair and
  29. Delenn prepare to set up their equipment, but the room in question is
  30. currently occupied by a group of officers. Delenn is then overtaken by
  31. a strange feeling, which she describes as someone walking over her
  32. grave.
  33. Sheridan reappears back in the future just in time to have a visitor
  34. -- an older Delenn. He asks why she is there, and she insists that she
  35. didn't tell them anything, and that there is nothing they can do to
  36. her. She was allowed one last moment with him, and she tells him that
  37. she isn't afraid, that their son is safe. She tells him that she loves
  38. him, and kisses him.
  39. Ivanova finishes her tampering, and the computer announces a hull
  40. breach in the area. The pressure doors fall down behind the evacuating
  41. crewmembers, leaving Sinclair, Ivanova, Delenn, and Marcus to do what
  42. they need to until the station personnel manage to burn through the
  43. door.
  44. Sheridan tells Delenn in the future that he isn't really there, and
  45. that he isn't supposed to be -- he tells her that the last thing he
  46. remembers was his time stabilizer being hit. She believes him, and
  47. remembers that he had told her, a long time ago, that he had seen this
  48. moment in their future. She tells him that there is much pain and
  49. grief ahead of him, and that she sees in his eyes an innocence he lost
  50. long ago. Delenn tells him that the war against the darkness can never
  51. truly be won, but that they've created something that will endure for
  52. a thousand years, that they succeeded at everything they set out to
  53. do, but at a terrible price. Sheridan asks if there is anything he can
  54. do, but Delenn knows the only way to change this future is to
  55. surrender to the Shadows -- a price too high to pay. The guards arrive
  56. again, and it is time for them to leave.
  57. Sheridan and Delenn are once again brought before Londo, who has
  58. apparently been drinking quite a bit. Londo says he has to drink,
  59. since it is the only way they can be alone -- he has no desire to wake
  60. "it" -- his keeper. It doesn't care why he does what he does, as long
  61. as he does it, and as long as Sheridan ends up dead. Londo sits
  62. forward, painfully, showing the keeper attached to his neck. The
  63. alcohol is the only way Londo can control himself for any period of
  64. time, though he has very little time left. Londo tells them that his
  65. world and all he hoped for is gone. He tells them that they are his
  66. last chance for the Centauri, and his own redemption. He tells them he
  67. has a ship hidden behind the palace, but that, in exchange for their
  68. lives, they must help to free the Centauri. Londo tells them to leave
  69. quickly, since his keeper is beginning to wake. They leave the throne
  70. room quickly, and are taken away by a guard. After they have gone,
  71. another visitor comes to Londo -- G'Kar, whom Londo refers to as "old
  72. friend." Londo says they have no hope if the keeper wakes up and sees
  73. what he has done. They have unfinished business, and Londo wants it to
  74. end before the keeper stops him. He says he is as tired of his life as
  75. G'Kar is, and G'Kar knows what to do. He places his hands around
  76. Londo's throat, but after G'Kar begins to choke Londo, the keeper
  77. wakes up, and Londo puts his hands around G'Kar's neck as well.
  78. As Sheridan and Delenn move toward the ship, Sheridan lurches
  79. suddenly, and knows he's being pulled back again. But, before he goes,
  80. Delenn gives him words to take with him back to the past. "Treasure
  81. the moments you have. Savor them for as long as you can, for they will
  82. never come back again. John, listen to me. Do not go to Z'ha'dum. Do
  83. you understand? Do not go to Z'ha'dum!" Upon hearing these last words,
  84. he falls to the floor, and is pulled away in time.
  85. In the throne room, both Londo and G'Kar lie on the floor, dead.
  86. Another figure, however, arrives and picks up the imperial medallion
  87. Londo wore around his neck. It is Vir.
  88. While the others move to set up the equipment, Zathras tells them that
  89. he believes that the power supply in a spare blue space suit may be
  90. able to make the time stabilizer work long enough for Sheridan to be
  91. rescued. Though Marcus isn't convinced that Sheridan will reappear in
  92. the suit, Zathras' plan succeeds, and that is indeed where he
  93. reappears. Sheridan comments, however, that he feels like he could
  94. drift away again at any moment. Marcus tells Sheridan that they have
  95. secured a path to the central power core, and Sheridan plans to go
  96. with Sinclair, until Delenn arrives, glad to see that Sheridan has
  97. returned. He doesn't, however, tell her what he learned in the future.
  98. Sinclair and Sheridan are nearly done placing the homing device in the
  99. power core, while Ivanova reports to them that she has rigged the
  100. scanners to make it look like the station is about to explode. C&C
  101. discovers this, but Major Krantz insists that they increase the output
  102. to the power core, despite its not having been tested. The sudden
  103. increase throws Sinclair and Sheridan away from the station just as
  104. the surge of tachyon particles increases, and Babylon 4 begins its
  105. journey through time.
  106. Zathras understands the problem, but insists it isn't his fault. He is
  107. able to stop the station's movement through time, but not before
  108. Sheridan becomes unstuck in time yet again. Zathras tells them that
  109. the time device placed in the core activated prematurely, sending them
  110. four years into the future, to when Babylon 4 reappeared before.
  111. Zathras says they can't do anything else until they adjust the time
  112. system. Ivanova tries to contact Sheridan, but Sinclair reports that
  113. he has gone again, and that they have a slight problem.
  114. On C&C, the first officer convinces Major Krantz that, despite all
  115. their work, it is necessary to evacuate to protect the lives of those
  116. on the station. Krantz reluctantly agrees and orders a distress signal
  117. to be sent out. Just as they are sending it, though, another increase
  118. of tachyon particles hits the station, and Delenn...
  119. ...is standing against a wall in Sheridan's quarters, watching him
  120. sleep peacefully. She walks over to a nearby table, and picks up a
  121. snow globe, which she turns over, and admires. Without warning, the
  122. door to the quarters opens, and a woman's voice says, "Hello." Delenn,
  123. in shock, drops the snow globe, which shatters at her feet...
  124. ...just as she finds herself again aboard Babylon 4. Zathras explains
  125. what she experienced was a timeflash, where one sees oneself forward
  126. or backward in time, due to the instability of the system. Sinclair
  127. arrives, but he isn't quite the Sinclair they knew -- he now appears
  128. much older. He explains that, when he and Garibaldi went to Babylon 4
  129. previously, they were exposed to the time field without any
  130. protection. He didn't want Garibaldi along because he knew that
  131. Garibaldi, too, would have something similar happen to him if they
  132. should be exposed to it again. Sinclair says they need to finish their
  133. job, and that they need to get Sheridan back. Zathras says he can fix
  134. the time stabilizer, but needs equipment. Ivanova and Zathras leave to
  135. try to find the equipment elsewhere on the station. Sinclair says he
  136. is going back to the core to readjust the equipment, and tells Marcus
  137. and the rest to stay with the White Star and monitor the readings.
  138. While Zathras searches through some equipment to find the tools he
  139. needs to repair the the time stabilizer, Lennier reports to Sinclair
  140. that seven ships are approaching the station -- one of which contains
  141. Garibaldi and another Sinclair. Zathras finally finds what he needs to
  142. repair the time stabilizer, and finishes just as he is discovered by
  143. several security guards who level their PPGs at him.
  144. Zathras tries to explain to the security guards that he means no harm
  145. as he takes them away, and Ivanova sees this and reports back to the
  146. White Star. Marcus tells her that it will take them another two hours
  147. to finish the repairs, but Ivanova knows they don't have that much
  148. time. She says she will find a way to get to C&C to adjust the power
  149. there.
  150. While Major Krantz brings the other Sinclair and Garibaldi onto the
  151. station, explaining to them what happened aboard the station before it
  152. was brought forward in time, Delenn arrives back in the station from
  153. the White Star and sees Sheridan, still in his space suit, reappear.
  154. Krantz introduces the other Sinclair and Garibaldi to Zathras, who
  155. looks up at Sinclair, and says, "Not the One." This confuses Sinclair,
  156. but Zathras won't say anything else to him, and claims merely that he
  157. does what he is told.
  158. Everyone on C&C evacuates, leaving Ivanova free to sneak in and begin
  159. readjusting the power to the fusion reactors.
  160. Zathras tells Sinclair and Garibaldi that they need Babylon 4 for a
  161. great war, as a place to gather to fight and organize, to help save
  162. the galaxy "on the side of Light." Zathras explains further, saying
  163. that, without the station, it is the end of everything. "The One leads
  164. us. The One tells us to go, we go."
  165. Two security guards arrive in the corridor to find a figure in a blue
  166. space suit, appearing and disappearing. The guards run and tell Major
  167. Krantz, and everyone leaves the room where Zathras was being
  168. questioned, including Zathras. They find the figure in the space suit,
  169. which Zathras identifies as being the One. The figure in the space
  170. suit apparently is having difficulty standing, and Sinclair begins
  171. approaching it.
  172. Ivanova finishes what she is doing, and warns Sinclair, who has
  173. finished readjusting the homing device in the core, to back off, as it
  174. will soon become operational.
  175. The other Sinclair approaches the blue-suited figure and touches its
  176. outstretched hand, but is thrown back by a large blast. In the
  177. resulting commotion, Zathras runs to the figure and gives it the
  178. repaired time stabilizer, warning the figure to take it and leave
  179. quickly. The figure vanishes.
  180. Ivanova activates the station, and it begins moving. Zathras warns the
  181. others to leave quickly, or else be trapped there forever. As Sinclair
  182. moves away from the power core, Marcus discovers Sheridan, once again
  183. on Babylon 4, with a new time stabilizer. Sheridan says that someone
  184. must have put it on him and switched places. This confuses Marcus, who
  185. doesn't know who has been running around Babylon 4 in the blue suit.
  186. The other Sinclair and Garibaldi, while trying to escape with Zathras,
  187. lose him as he becomes trapped under a fallen pipe. Though Sinclair
  188. tries to save Zathras, Zathras insists that he leave, telling him that
  189. he has a destiny. Sinclair, though clearly confused, does as he is
  190. told, leaving Zathras behind.
  191. As the ships carrying the Babylon 4 crew and the other Sinclair and
  192. Garibaldi leave the station, Sinclair, just leaving the station's
  193. core, stands on the outside of the station and activates his
  194. communicator, to try to deliver one last message. "Babylon 4 to
  195. Garibaldi, Babylon 4 to shuttle one. Garibaldi, do you read me? Watch
  196. your back, Michael. Watch your back." But the target is outside of
  197. communication range. Sinclair moves toward the airlock, just as
  198. Babylon 4 begins to vanish one final time.
  199. Zathras, still trapped under the pipe, is approached by the figure in
  200. the blue space suit. He looks up, and smiles. "Zathras knew... you
  201. would not leave him. Zathras trusts... the One." The figure removes
  202. its helmet; it's Delenn. The station vanishes again.
  203. Sinclair, inside the airlock, removes the headpiece from his own space
  204. suit. "I tried," he says. "I tried to warn them. But it all
  205. happened... just the way I remember it."
  206. "I know," Delenn tells him. "It's time. We have to go. They're waiting
  207. for us." Delenn, and a morose Sinclair, leave to join the others.
  208. Sinclair and Delenn arrive on C&C, and Ivanova says that the
  209. time-shifting controls can now be controlled from C&C. Sinclair says
  210. he will set them off by himself and then return to the White Star, but
  211. Marcus doesn't believe it. He knows that the system isn't fully
  212. automatic, and that someone has to ride Babylon 4 back into the past.
  213. Though he offers to do so, Sinclair won't allow it. "I'll take it back
  214. because I've always taken it, and I always will. It's already
  215. happened."
  216. "You don't know that," Ivanova protests.
  217. "Yes I do," Sinclair tells her. "You asked what brought me here.
  218. Before I left Minbar, I was given a letter... from nine hundred years
  219. ago." He hands the letter to Sheridan.
  220. "Whose handwriting is this?" he asks.
  221. "Mine," Sinclair explains. "I wrote this from the past... nine hundred
  222. years ago. I went. It's as simple as that."
  223. "He's telling the truth," Delenn says. "I received one as well."
  224. "No," Ivanova insists, "I can't accept this."
  225. "If I go back to our time, the aging effect will probably kill me.
  226. Isn't it better to choose life?"
  227. "Damn it, Jeff, I..."
  228. "Susan, it's all right. My whole life has been leading to this,"
  229. Sinclair tells her. He asks her and Marcus to leave them for a moment,
  230. so they can discuss something alone. After they have gone, Sinclair
  231. asks Zathras why he pointed to Delenn when he said he followed the
  232. One.
  233. Zathras explains that he is the oldest living caretaker of the Great
  234. Machine, and knows things about it that even Draal doesn't. He tells
  235. them that he knows all three of them. "All Minbari belief is around
  236. three. Three castes -- worker, warrior, religious. Three languages.
  237. Light, Dark, and Grey. The Nine of the Grey Council -- three times
  238. three. All is three... As you are three. As you are one... As you are
  239. the One." He turns to Sinclair. "You are the One Who Was." He turns to
  240. Delenn. "You are the One Who Is." He indicates Sheridan. "You are the
  241. One Who Will Be." He again refers to them in turn. "You are the
  242. beginning of the story, and the middle of the story, and the end of
  243. the story that creates the next great story. In your heart, you know
  244. what Zathras says is true. Go now. Zathras' place is with the One Who
  245. Was. We have... a destiny." Sheridan and Delenn both say their silent
  246. goodbyes to Sinclair, and return to the White Star.
  247. Sheridan sits down in the captain's chair, and though it is clear that
  248. everyone will miss Sinclair, Sheridan says they need to leave and
  249. respect Sinclair's wishes. They break the docking seal, set the
  250. engines to maximum, and head back home.
  251. The White Star emerges from the temporal rift, which closes behind it,
  252. Sheridan assumes, to make sure no one else is trapped there. "That
  253. door is closed forever," Delenn tells him. "And it is not the only
  254. one. Lennier told you that a thousand years ago, human and Minbari
  255. souls began to merge -- Minbari souls were being born in human bodies.
  256. Something happened that opened that door between us. My change was, in
  257. part, to even the scales and restore balance between our races, using
  258. a device my people discovered a thousand years ago. You see... if my
  259. people had found Babylon 4 with a human aboard, they would never have
  260. accepted it."
  261. Marcus instantly knows what this means. "Dear God... 'A Minbari not
  262. born of Minbari.'"
  263. As Babylon 4 continues its journey through time, Sinclair places a
  264. Triluminary in the top of a machine -- the same one Delenn used to
  265. begin her change. The machine glows a bright light, and a new
  266. chrysalis begins to form, as Sinclair remembers his year aboard
  267. Babylon 5, and how his whole life had, indeed, led up to where he is
  268. now. As time passes, he finds himself inside the chrysalis, beginning
  269. a change of his own.
  270. A thousand years earlier, two Minbari ships arrived at Babylon 4, to
  271. be met by Zathras. "Good. Good," he told the two Minbari that came
  272. aboard. "Zathras knew you would come. This way." He ushered them
  273. further into the station.
  274. When they arrived at the docking bay, they saw a great sight. Two
  275. floating, winged figures of light, each hovering above an encounter
  276. suit, flanked a Minbari figure. "I welcome you, and present this place
  277. to you as a gift," the Minbari said. "I am called Valen, and we have
  278. much work ahead of us."
  279. [14][Next]
  280. [15]Last update: June 2, 1996
  281. References
  282. 1. file://localhost/cgi-bin/imagemap/titlebar
  283. 2. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/lurk/maps/maps.html#titlebar
  284. 3. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/061.html
  285. 4. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/background/061.shtml
  286. 5. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/credits/061.html
  287. 6. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
  288. 7. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/060.html
  289. 8. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/062.html
  290. 9. file://localhost/lurk/lurker.html
  291. 10. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/061.html#TOP
  292. 11. file://localhost/cgi-bin/uncgi/lgmail
  293. 12. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
  294. 13. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/060.html
  295. 14. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/062.html
  296. 15. file://localhost/lurk/lastmod.html