####Overview

The Vorlon ambassador is nearly killed by an assassin shortly after arriving at the station, and Commander Sinclair is the prime suspect.
####Guest Stars

Tamlyn Tomita as Lt. Cmdr. Laurel Takashima. Blaire Baron as Carolyn Sykes. Johnny Sekka as Dr. Benjamin Kyle. Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander. John Fleck as Del Varner. Paul Hampton as the Senator.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/000.html
####Backplot

Earth has been keeping genetic records of telepaths for the last 6 generations.

The Psi Corps takes children with psi abilities when they are young and trains them to use this ability in a very strict manner. There are definite rules governing the use of psi. No unauthorized mind scans. No gambling.

All races but the Narn have telepathy.

The Narn are a young but powerful civilization, with (G’Kar claims) unlimited manpower.

The Narn heard about the reason for the Minbari surrender in the Earth-Minbari war – a decision from their Grey Council (a secret group of “holy men”).

The Minbari are the oldest of the “five federations,” and centuries ahead of the others technologically.

Londo says to Garibaldi: “You know why I am here? I’m here to grovel before your wonderful Earth Alliance, in hopes of attaching ourselves to your destiny. […] There was a time, when this whole quadrant belonged to us! What are we now? Twelve worlds and a thousand monuments to past glories, living off memories and stories, selling trinkets.”

Centauri status is based on family history. Political and personal power must be built up over generations.

The Narn were once enslaved by the Centauri and have only recently gained independence. This seems to be a sensitive spot for the Narn, or at least G’Kar. (cf: [[Midnight on the Firing Line]])

Sinclair fought in the last battle of the Earth-Minbari war, the Line. In the midst of battle, he blacked out while attacking a Minbari warship and remained unconscious for 24 hrs. He has no idea what happened to him during those 24 hrs. (cf: [[And the Sky Full of Stars]])

Takashima used to work at a corrupt mining station on Mars. Refusing to go on the take, she was never going to get promoted out of there. She recounts lashing out and “breaking the rules” out of frustration at it all. However, Sinclair was her superior there for a while, and he got her to shape up and play things by the book.

Garibaldi has been “bounced from station to station” for a long time before Sinclair requested him for Babylon 5. (cf: [[Survivors]])
####Unanswered Questions

####The Station

Why was Babylon 5 really built, and rebuilt, and rebuilt, and rebuilt, and… rebuilt? Sinclair’s story about human stubbornness doesn’t hold water. B5 is a monstrous project, especially for a society very recently decimated by war. Yet it was made five times, the fifth time from SCRATCH.

Who sabotaged B1-B3, and why? Who vanished B4, and why?
####The Minbari Assassin

How did the assassin get the voice and image of Sinclair in diplomatic dress before he poisoned Kosh? For everyone else he obviously impersonated, we’d seen him in close proximity to them earlier.

The assassin-as-Varner pointed a gadget at Lyta in the bazaar. It is widely assumed that this acquired her visual pattern for the changeling net, but it could have been something else.

Why did the assassin-as-Varner arrange to make Londo late for the reception? He kept Londo in a public place, making him unframeable.
####Takashima

What hold did G’Kar et al. have on her? (see Analysis) Perhaps she was on the take in that corrupt mining colony, and she’s still living on the take today.
####Lyta Alexander

Why was she talking to the assassin-as-Varner, as reported by Garibaldi and Londo? Garibaldi must have asked her at some point, but we never get to see this.

How was she involved? (see Analysis) Perhaps her role was only passive – agree to scan Kosh if asked, report any information she gathers (possibly via telepathy).
####Sinclair

Judging by the headlines of Universe Today, Babylon 5 is a very big deal back on Earth. Why is Sinclair, a lowly Commander, both in charge of the station and acting as the Earth diplomat? (cf: [[Signs and Portents]])

What happened to Sinclair on the Line? (cf: [[And the Sky Full of Stars]])

What is the hole in his mind? Is it simply the 24 hour memory loss from his experience on the Line, or something more significant?
####Del Varner

According to Garibaldi’s information, Del Varner would normally stay far away from B5. So, why was he recognized by a local tech (Eric)?
####The Vorlons

Why did they request that the monitors in the docking bay be turned off? Kosh was walking out in public, hidden safely in his encounter suit.

What is Kosh inside that suit anyway? (cf. Lost Scenes from Babylon 5)

How did the poison get through to Kosh? He must have had his hand, or whatever the limb was, completely outside his encounter suit. Perhaps that explains why the Vorlons wanted the monitors turned off; they didn’t want anyone else to see Kosh’s hand. In that case, why did they want Sinclair to see it? Special Edition (spoiler for a pivotal revelation later in the series): Kosh greeted what he thought was Sinclair by addressing him as “Entil-zha Valen,” indicating that he already knew Sinclair in some context.

Is there anything to that legend about someone turning to stone when they saw a Vorlon? Have people ever gotten into situations where they could conceivably have seen one?

The Vorlons seem to be puppet thugs of the conspirators in the pilot, yet clearly they do some things for their own reasons. Why such secrecy around their technological inferiors? Why break the veil to send an ambassador to B5?

For that matter, why agree to ship Sinclair to their world? Surely that would mean him finding out about them. Unless they never intended to bring him there alive, of course.

Did Delenn really tell Sinclair everything the Minbari know about the Vorlons? Either way, how much does he know now?
####The Minbari

Why did they surrender at the Line? It’s already pretty clear that Sinclair had Something to do with it. Furthermore, what was the real reason the Minbari were fighting the war to begin with?
####The Centauri

Why have they fallen so far from power? From Londo’s stories it seems they were a great Empire within his lifetime (which may be quite long, for all we know).
####Miscellaneous

Why was the access panel outside Varner’s quarters busted, by the time Garibaldi arrived? It probably has something to do with the assassin using Takashima’s clearance to gain entry. Perhaps the panel keeps the only record, locally, of who’s used it, and thus breaking it would prevent the illegal entry from being discovered.

The very presence of a changeling net aboard the station invites us to open the question, “Who else did we see that could have been that Minbari in disguise?”

Four major actors in the pilot left the production for various reasons and do not have permanent roles in the series (though Lyta Alexander reappeared later.) However, since jms slipped reasons why in the B5 universe two of the the characters no longer appear, it is meaningful to ask:

Why was Lyta Alexander replaced as station telepath? Did she get in trouble for unauthorized mind-scanning after all, or was it because she’s been in the mind of a Vorlon?

Why has Carolyn drifted out of Sinclair’s life?
####Analysis

####The Plan

G’Kar et al. wanted to start a war between the EA and the Vorlons. The primary plan was for Kosh to be dead; Takashima’s announcement that the Vorlons had forbidden the opening of his suit should have nailed that coffin shut. Framing Sinclair for the murder was probably also part of the primary plan (the Vorlons’ request that the bay monitors be turned off could well have been a surprise to them).

There may have been a secondary plan to achieve the same results: having Lyta scan Kosh. This could have been foreseen, impromptu, or coincidence.

The assassin was Minbari, which indicates a violent faction of the Minbari still exists (cf: [[Deathwalker]]). The goals of that group are unknown, but so are the goals of the mainstream Minbari government.

In particular, the Minbari warrior class may have had their own reasons for getting Sinclair sent to the Vorlon homeworld.

Takashima was somehow involved

The assassin used Takashima’s palmed security access to gain entry to Varner’s quarters.

Takashima agreed to Kyle’s plan of getting Lyta to scan Kosh even though (by her own story) it went very much against her grain. “I guess I’m about due” is hardly a believable reason.

Takashima broke into Varner’s files. 260 years from now, would someone be able to crack open a technology criminal’s secure files in a matter of hours without inside information?

There were lots of instances when very recent information was used to further the Plan, for all of which Takashima was in an ideal position to be responsible.

The assassin met Kosh at the right docking bay at the right time.

In general, the Plan proceeded smoothly in spite of Kosh’s 48 hour early arrival (the angriest response we saw from Takashima was to this very discovery).

Sinclair was trapped in a lift at just the right time for just long enough, and the record cleared.

Someone actually contacted the Vorlons and told them about the poisoning, thus acquiring the predictable response that opening Kosh’s suit is verboten.

Someone leaked – very quickly – the fact that Sinclair had been fingered by a witness. This is what brought on the Vorlon cruisers.

G’Kar found out – again very quickly – that Kosh would recover from the poisoning (“There has been a complication”).

Lyta may have been involved

She seems to have exchanged glances with the real Del Varner as she walked off with Sinclair at the very beginning. The two probably came in on the same ship.

Later, she’s seen talking to the assassin-as-Varner. Yet the latter scans her image for the changeling net without her knowledge (if that was what he was doing), so their level of cooperation is mixed at most.

The assassin, disguised as Lyta, didn’t kill her in the ample moment they shared outside the medlab.

On the other hand, her conversation with G’Kar within “privacy” would almost certainly have been very different if they were in cahoots. So perhaps she was only in contact with Del Varner and/or the assassin.
####The Minbari assassin

The assassin didn’t need any special clearance to enter Varner’s quarters; he was expected. So he must have used Takashima’s clearance in order to leave a record of her entry at that time. Since the panel was broken before this could be discovered, this suggests clandestine cross-purposes.

“There is a hole in your mind” may have been his response to Sinclair’s question, “Why did you do it?” Interesting.

It was not part of the plan for the Minbari to set off his explosives. Else why arrange to be able to get off the station? So, they were just to prevent his capture/interrogation.

Sinclair is inexplicably trusting and friendly with Delenn

He would have sacrificed his life to kill a few more Minbari during the war ten years ago, yet:

He does not appear to be discomfited by Delenn’s evasions in their Garden conversations.

When he encounters Delenn after escaping the exploding assassin, it would have made sense for him to confront or question her, or at least be suspicious. Instead, he was relaxed and jovial. Later, he made sure Delenn knew he didn’t hold her responsible.

Delenn

“The power of one mind to change the universe” likely refers to Sinclair. (Recall the other Minbari’s reference to his mind.)

There were two stones in the stone garden.

She evades most of his questions, yet volunteers two big files during the episode, and drops lots of other hints to him. As with her abstention on the council, she seems subject to contrary forces. Keep him in the dark, yet point him toward the light.

She is a personally powerful representative of a very powerful race. Yet we don’t observe her taking any active hand in the big picture so far.

In the B5 council vote to extradite Sinclair to the Vorlon homeworld, an abstention was equivalent to a “No” (presumably abstentions are interpreted to mean “None of the above” or “Take no action”, whichever is appropriate). So, what conflict prevented Delenn from explicitly voting against the motion? Special Edition: Delenn claimed she couldn’t vote one way or the other because she didn’t yet have all the information at hand, and that her orders where Sinclair was concerned were simply to observe, not interfere.
####Londo

He fills Garibaldi’s ears with stories of the good old days of conquest. Bygone days, unlike the way things are now. He may be honest, or he may be trying to allay suspicions. More likely the former, since Garibaldi’s suspicions don’t have much political significance.

A heavy drinker and compulsive gambler.
####G’Kar

Notice his jollity in telling Takashima his transport will submit to the weapons search (now that the assassin has successfully come aboard). True, if she was in cahoots with him, that little exchange was for show, as was their earlier confrontation at Ops. He’s nonetheless consistently transparent in his emotional states.

A schemer and warmonger.
####Takashima

Some of her ideas were faultlessly loyal to the EA (eg “You better take a recorder – the way things are going you may need a witness.”). So, her heart’s in the right place, at least.
####Garibaldi

Self-esteem trouble. He’s ready to give up on the investigation after Varner’s death. He’s used to failure at his other jobs.

Garibaldi also messes up the investigation in several ways:

No guards around Kosh.

Losing sight of Varner while questioning Londo.

Not talking to Lyta about Varner while it’s still relevant.

Not noticing all those Takashima timing and information clues.

Lets the Commander get into a shooting fight with a superior foe, alone.
####Notes

An alternate introduction was written, but not filmed.

Universe Today main headline: Vorlons to Make Contact

Universe Today sub-headline: Narn Protest of EA’s B5 Heats

Among the messages flashing by on Lyta’s identicard: ELVIS STILL LIVES

When the assassin scans his hand at Varner’s door, words are visible on the screen. If you have a lucid pause function on your VCR, you too will be able to read what they say – “Laurel Takashima Cleared”.

Minbari ships have short-range FTL, or cloaking, or jamming (Sinclair: “They came at us out of nowhere”). Basically, they can put themselves right where they want to be without Starfuries noticing them en route.

Cruisers can “wait” in hyperspace outside a jump gate.

Unscheduled uses of the jumpgates, at least during this earlier part of B5’s history, are practically unheard of.

Special Edition: Two plot points, Kyle’s use of stims to stay awake and Takashima’s use of the Garden to grow coffee, were both transferred to the characters who replaced them in the series.

Ed Wasser played C&C technician Guerra, and later went on to play Mr. Morden (first appearing in “Signs and Portents.”) There’s no evidence that the two characters are related, however.