Earthgov decides Sheridan’s fate. Delenn makes a remarkable proposition to the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. Garibaldi searches for Lise. Denise Gentile as Lise.

##Overview

###Guest Stars

Rance Howard as David Sheridan. Beata Pozniak as President Luchenko. Walter Koenig as Bester.

###Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/087.html

##Plot Points

Delenn has overseen the coming together of the nonaligned worlds, the Centauri, the Minbari, the Narn, and Earth into a new Interstellar Alliance, and Sheridan has been
elected its first president. The Alliance, which among other things promises to share advanced technologies like artificial gravity with Earth, is a confederation whose members
retain most of their sovereignty, aside from certain rules of conduct. Its armed forces are the Rangers and the White Star fleet, and its temporary headquarters are on Babylon
5 until permanent facilities are built in the Minbari city of Tuzanor (novel “To Dream In the City of Sorrows”.)

Sheridan only used 30 telepaths out of 100 to attack the destroyer fleet ([[Endgame]].) The rest, including Bester’s lover Carolyn Sanderson, remained on Babylon 5.

Clark has been succeeded by President Susanna Luchenko of the Russian Consortium.

Ivanova has been promoted to captain and reassigned to shake down an experimental new Earth military vessel, a Warlock-class destroyer, for one year.

Londo has been asked to return to Centauri Prime; the Regent is ill and after his death the royal court plans to name Londo the next Emperor.

Garibaldi and Lise are together, and she has apparently inherited some or all of William Edgars’ money.

Sheridan and Delenn have been married.

Sheridan’s father has been released; Clark’s forces never captured his mother.

##Unanswered Questions

Did all the nonaligned worlds join the Alliance?

##Analysis

Delenn’s reply to Lennier’s comment about unrequited love can be read either of two ways: that she is indeed oblivious to his feelings for her (“Ceremonies of Light and
Dark”) or, more likely, that she loves him too, albeit not in the same way she does Sheridan. The latter interpretation seems to have been lost on Lennier if true.

Sheridan knew about the telepath virus ([[The Face of the Enemy]], among others.) How many more have been told? Will its existence become common knowledge, and if so,
will the fact that it’s known to be possible prompt enemies of the Corps to start trying to duplicate it?

Bester goaded Sheridan about Garibaldi by telling him that only a scan performed by a member of Psi Corps would be admissible in Earth court if Garibaldi’s memory were
used as evidence. The implication was that since Bester controls the Corps to some degree, no Corps telepath would cooperate. But Lyta is now a Corps member, officially
anyway ([[The Exercise of Vital Powers]]) and is certainly no friend of Bester’s. To refute her credentials in court, he’d have to reveal the deep-cover program he’s using to
give her the appearance of Corps membership.

Sheridan told Bester he knew what it was like to lose someone, only to find them again and lose them again, clearly a reference to Anna ([[Z’ha’dum]].) He said he’d never wish
that on anyone. But in a sense, he’s putting Delenn through the same ordeal over a much longer timespan: she lost him at Z’ha’dum, got him back thanks to Lorien, and knows
that in 20 years she’ll lose him again ([[Falling Toward Apotheosis]].)

The Alliance was most likely what Delenn was referring to in [[War Without End part 2]] when she told Sheridan that they’d built something that would endure for a thousand
years. Whether that figure was just a generality on her part or reflected additional knowledge about the future isn’t clear.

Sheridan and Londo have followed similar paths: both of them rose up against their own governments to fight Shadow influence, and both were helped in their quests by
resistance movements working against those governments (the Mars resistance in Sheridan’s case, the Narns in Londo’s.) Both of them arranged to have the captive
populations freed after defeating the old order. Are their fates going to be similar as well? Londo sacrificed himself to kill his Keeper and allow Sheridan and Delenn to escape
([[War Without End part 2]].) Will Sheridan make a similar sacrifice to save someone? One could argue he already has, by dying on Z’ha’dum to save Centauri Prime
([[Z’ha’dum]].)

All the major ambassadors on Babylon 5 have been offered leadership roles of some sort, in fact. In addition to Sheridan and Londo, G’Kar was offered leadership of his people
in [[The Long Night]]. Delenn was elected leader of the Minbari in [[Babylon Squared]]. And Sinclair became leader of the Minbari of 1000 years past in “War Without End part
2”. Kosh is apparently an exception, though for all anyone knows, he already was the leader of the Vorlons.

Perhaps not coincidentally, all the major ambassadors have been willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Delenn was willing to die to stop the Minbari civil war
([[Moments of Transition]].) Londo was ready to give up his life to save Centauri Prime from the Vorlon planetkiller ([[Into the Fire]].) Sheridan ordered a suicide run to stop
Earth from being razed by a defense platform ([[Endgame]].) G’Kar offered to return to Narn and face certain death to save the families of the Narn on Babylon 5 ([[A Day in the Strife]].) Kosh forfeited his life when he arranged for the Vorlon fleet to attack the Shadows ([[Interludes and Examinations]].)

Ivanova apparently only gets promotions when her commanding officers leave: she went from Lt. Commander to Commander when Sinclair left Babylon 5, and from
Commander to Captain when Sheridan resigned Earthforce.

Has Babylon 5 reverted to Earth ownership? If so, who’s in command now that Sheridan is no longer a member of Earthforce? Presumably Corwin is in charge temporarily
until a new commander is assigned.

##Notes

Both Clark and Sheridan were succeeded by Russian women after their deaths (though Sheridan didn’t remain dead.) Both women have similar first names.

President Luchenko’s comment about “the better angels of our nature” was a reference to the last line of Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, in which he urged the
United States not to lapse into civil war.