Babylon Squared

Tachyon disturbances in the area of space which was once occupied by Babylon 4 concern Sinclair, especially when a fighter pilot who investigates returns to the station dead. Then a message arrives from the long-gone station – a distress call from B4. A convoy of fighters and transports departs B5 to see if the ghostly station can be evacuated. It turns out that B4 and its crew have been lost in time for years, and the station, according to an unusual and evasive alien named Zathras, has been brought back to 2258 so its occupants can escape. Zathras also mentions The One, a space-suited figure who appears ghostlike in the corridors of B4, and tells of how the station has been lifted from its present to serve as a staging base in a great war of the future. Sinclair offers his help, but Zathras refuses his help. As time runs out and Babylon 4 is due to return to its future soon, Sinclair and Garibaldi are confronted with the impossible task of evacuating the station’s inhabitants.

written by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Jim Johnston
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: Kent Broadhurst (Major Krantz), Tim Choate (Zathras), Denise Gentile (Lise Hampton), Frank Costa (B4 Guard), Mark Hendrickson (Grey Council #2), Doug E. McCoy (Alpha Seven), Tommy Rosales (Panicked Man), Marianne Robertson (Tech #1)

Notes: The “kidnapper” of B4 is revealed in season 3. Additionally, though it is unknown how or why, some manner of life form from the sector 14 region where B4 disappeared made its way to B5 at some point – intriguingly enough, possibly well before the events in Babylon Squared. This is revealed in Knives. And if you have seen this episode and just don’t get it, watch it back to back with both episodes of the third season’s War Without End.