Messages from Earth
| "Messages from Earth" | |
|---|---|
| Babylon 5 episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Mike Vejar |
| Written by | J. Michael Straczynski |
| Production code | 308 |
| Original air date | 19 February 1996 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Nancy Stafford (Dr. Mary Kirkish) |
|
Nancy Stafford (Dr. Mary Kirkish)
Vaughn Armstrong (Security Guard #1)
"Messages from Earth" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.
Marcus Cole escorts Dr. Mary Kirkish, a former member of Interplanetary Expeditions, to meet with the Babylon 5 War Council about something that is so secretive that Marcus had to initially defend Dr. Kirkish from assassins who don't want her information to be released.
Upon meeting with the War Council, Dr. Kirkish reveals that many years ago, she was part of an archeological dig on Mars that was able to unearth a Shadow ship buried beneath the soil. Her expedition team witnessed as another Shadow vessel arrived days later and finished digging out the first Shadow ship; both vessels subsequently escaped. Kirkish and her team were then dispersed and were told to keep the discovery a secret.
Now, she reveals that another Shadow vessel has been located, this time on Ganymede. However, unlike the ship on Mars, Earthforce is not willing to let go of this one and instead plans to use it by merging a human with it in an attempt to control the ship.
Sheridan takes the White Star to Ganymede in an attempt to destroy the Shadow ship before it can be used. He does this under extreme risk, as the entire Solar system is riddled with early warning systems which will detect the White Star and possibly expose him as a member of the "conspiracy of light" aimed against President Clark.
While en route to the Solar System, Delenn and Sheridan share an intimate moment in the White Star's sleeping quarters. Sheridan tells Delenn a story about how his father helped him sleep prior to a big examination in the Earthforce academy by spraying the roof with water from a hose in order to mimic the effect of rain. Delenn, promptly, orders the White Star acoustics to create the sound of rain so that Sheridan can relax and sleep prior to their arrival on Ganymede.
However, upon arriving, they were unable to stop the awakening of the Shadow ship. Delenn claims that because the human selected to serve as the CPU (or pilot) of the Shadow ship is "unprepared", the merger is flawed, making the Shadow ship "insane." Soon enough, the Shadow ship obliterates the Ganymede base where it was being kept, and then chases the White Star into Jupiter.
Sheridan plans to use the tremendous atmospheric pressures on Jupiter in order to defeat the Shadow ship. He plunges the White Star deep into Jupiter's atmosphere as the Shadow ship gives chase. The Shadow ship's weapon detonates some of the local hydrogen, causing Lennier to think that it's a new weapon.
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Wikipedia