Contents: Overview - Backplot - Questions - Analysis - Notes - JMS

Overview

As Sinclair's trial begins, Sheridan and his crew race to unravel the mystery of the Chiyoda-Ku.

Setting: Between "Revelations" and "The Geometry of Shadows"

    Writer: Mark Moretti
   Premise: J. Michael Straczynski
    Artist: Carlos Garzon
  Colorist: Robbie Busch

Synopsis

On Minbar, Delenn visits Sinclair after the inauguration of the "Chosen One" as leader. Sinclair is sure someone was out to frame him. He's further puzzled when Delenn mentions that the message that told the Minbari there was an assassin on their world came from Babylon 5.

On Babylon 5, Sheridan is talking to Senator Hidoshi, who seems to believe that Sinclair might be guilty; he mentions Sinclair's suspicions about a plot to assassinate the president, and conjectures that maybe Sinclair thought the Minbari were behind the plot. Hidoshi passes along a message from Psi-Corps: Dexter Hall is to be kept isolated, under guard. An Earthforce internal affairs officer, Colonel Rabock, is being sent to take control of the situation.

In his quarters, Jason Colby listens in on the conversation as Sheridan objects to an outsider taking over an ongoing investigation. Hidoshi dismisses Sheridan's claim that what Talia saw in Hall's mind indicates that someone else nearby is involved. Hearing that, Colby prepares to get rid of Talia. Sheridan says he intends to continue the investigation until Rabock arrives; Hidoshi begins to tell him that Hall is a rogue telepath known as "Cypher."

Talia walks through the Zocalo, Colby close behind. She senses powerful anger, but when she turns, Colby is gone. He has stepped into a comm booth and is talking to a bearded man called "Webster," who tells him to get rid of Hall, but leave Talia alone. Colby asks Webster to get him off Babylon 5; he thinks he's fulfilled his end of the bargain and wants to go home. Webster agrees and says he'll use G'Kar to get Colby out.

Meanwhile, Garibaldi doesn't believe Hall is Cypher; he thinks Cypher isn't even a real rogue, just "plausible deniability for deep cover ops." He also tells Sheridan there's no way Sinclair is guilty.

On Minbar, Sinclair is led to trial. Delenn meets the head prosecutor: Alit Neroon (cf. episode "Legacies.")

G'Kar has called a council meeting, outraged that the council wasn't informed of the accusation against Sinclair. "Are our leaders in danger, also?" he asks. Sheridan smooths things over just in time to be called to medlab.

Colby grabs Talia and pulls her into a transport tube car. She knows instantly that he's Hall's attacker. Garibaldi appears; Colby makes a run for it, leaving Talia behind. She and Garibaldi arrive in medlab, where they find Sheridan. Talia agrees to do a deep scan of Hall. Ivanova reports that Colonel Rabock's ship has arrived early; Sheridan tells her to stall him.

Talia begins her scan. She sees Hall undercover, infiltrating a group called the Homers. They're on the Chiyoda-Ku, celebrating the death of "that 'Minbari stooge' -- President Santiago." One of the celebrants claims there's an even bigger event coming up, that he delivered a weapon to someone on Babylon 5 to use in the assassination of the new Minbari leader. Hall slips away to send a warning to the Minbari, but someone notices him, and a firefight ensues. He's hit, but reaches the cockpit and locks the door. He orders the pilot to call for help. Before the pilot can finish, the others break in and start shooting, hitting the pilot and the communications console. In desperation, Hall grabs for a breather and opens the ship's exhaust vents. The others perish in the near-vacuum, and Hall himself is half-conscious, on the verge of death, when Babylon 5's Starfuries arrive. Much later, he awakens in medlab to find a gun pointed at his head; he reacts reflexively, blasting his assailant with pain, and forces himself to seek out another telepath.

As Talia reaches the end of his memories, Hall dies. Colonel Rabock barges into medlab -- he's "Webster," the man who was talking to Colby.

On Minbar, Sinclair stands before an imposing panel of Minbari. "Ambassador Sinclair," one of them says. "You stand accused of plotting to assassinate the Chosen One, our leader. How do you plead...?"

Backplot

Unanswered Questions

• What was the bargain between Colby and Col. Rabock?
• Is there still an assassin on Minbar? (see Analysis)

Analysis

• For once, Garibaldi's sixth sense about Talia and the transport tube (cf. episode "A Voice in the Wilderness, part 1") works to her advantage rather than her annoyance!
• It's still not clear that Sinclair was the intended recipient of the weapons and map; the Homer thought that there was going to be a real assassination attempt, something Sinclair obviously would never do. If that's the case, there's still a would-be assassin at large on Minbar.
• Further, Sinclair would never have gotten in trouble if it hadn't been for Talia's discovery of an assassination plot, which presumably prompted the call that warned the Minbari to look for an assassin.
• Why did Colby continue to go after Talia even after he was explicity told not to? That would seem to indicate that whatever the bargain between Col. Rabock and Colby is, it's not something Colby considers a matter of life and death, something to be respected at the risk of his own discovery.

Notes

• This issue's behind-the-scenes pages:
  • John Iacovelli discusses the design of the sets and some of the show's philosophy.
  • Roland Rosenkranz describes the design of the Narn fighter cockpit.
  • Marc-Louis Walters describes the show's hand weapon design, from PPG pistols to grenade launchers to Minbari knives.

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Last update: June 10, 2018