A Call To Arms
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the formation of the Interstellar Alliance, Garibaldi – who has been heading up the project to construct a new destroyer-class starship with Earth, Minbari and Vorlon technology – picks up President Sheridan for a secret test run of the new vehicle. However, the test run is neither successful nor secret. Unknown to Sheridan or Garibaldi, a technomage called Galen is watching them, against the wishes of his fellow wizards. Galen uses the technological magic of his order to contact Sheridan secretly, warning him that the Drakh – the surviving servants of the Shadows who engineered the Alliance’s war with Centauri Prime – are preparing to ascend to the throne of their former masters by launching an attack on Earth. Galen drops a hint about the planet Daltron 7, and is then gone. Galen also sends Sheridan a vision of Babylon 5, and Sheridan immediately sets off for the station at top speed with Garibaldi in tow, sketching a handful of faces from his vision…faces of people whom he has never met.
After arriving at the station, the faces from Sheridan’s vision begin to appear – Dureena Nafeel, a skilled thief and the last known survivor of the Shadow-destroyed world of Zander Prime, and Captain Anderson, an Earthforce officer who, like Sheridan and Dureena, has been contacted by Galen through mysterious visions. With three pieces of the puzzle together, Sheridan puts a plan into motion to stop the Drakh before they can attack Earth, until Anderson points out that his Earthforce heavy cruiser may not be enough to stop the Drakh if they now command abandoned Shadow technology. Sheridan, Dureena and Anderson quietly slip away, returning to the proving grounds for the two new destroyers and hijacking both ships. Soon, the Excalibur and the Victory – under the command of Sheridan and Anderson, respectively – are en route to Daltron 7. But upon arrival, they find an annihilated world and a dead Drazi, the only remaining face from Sheridan’s vision. The Drazi, however, left a recorded message with a warning – the Drakh have revived a Shadow planet killer, the most powerful weapon in their arsenal, and intend to use this to wreak vengeance on Earth.
Sheridan convinces Captain Lochley to warn Earth of the impending attack as the Excalibur and the Victory race to lead the battle. But when the Drakh assault on Earth is over, the human race’s days are numbered, the Earth’s ecosystem poisoned with a lethal, contagious, time-released toxin of alien origin. And all at once, nothing will ever be the same…
written by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Michael Vejar
music by Evan H. ChenCast: Bruce Boxleitner (President John Sheridan), Jerry Doyle (Michael Garibaldi), Jeff Conaway (Security Chief Zack Allan), Carrie Dobro (Dureena Nafeel), Peter Woodward (Galen), Tony Todd (Captain Leonard Anderson), Tracy Scoggins (Captain Elizabeth Lochley), Tony Maggio (Drake), Michael Harris (Bishop), Scott MacDonald (First Officer), Wayne Alexander (Drakh), Carlos Bernard (Communications), Burt Bulos (Navigation), Ron Campbell (Drazi), David Coburn (Minbari Ranger), Matt Gallini (Rolf), Valeria Ghiran (ISN Reporter), Marjean Holden (Navigation), Endre Hules (Yuri), Tim O’Hare (First Mage), Tom Ramirez (Second Mage), LaRita Shelby Mullen (Lynne), Kayla Spell (Sarah)
LogBook entry by Earl Green
