A Distant Star

Infobox Television episode
Title = A Distant Star
Series = Babylon 5


Caption =
Season = 2
Episode = 4
Airdate = 23 November 1994
Production = 204
Writer = D.C. Fontana
Director = Jim Johnston
Guests = Russ Tamblyn (Captain Jack Maynard)
Daniel Beer (Patrick)
Art Kimbro (Ray Galus)
Miguel A. Núñez Jr. (Orwell)
Patty Toy (Ogilvie)
Episode list = List of "Babylon 5" episodes
Prev = The Geometry of Shadows
Next = The Long Dark

"A Distant Star" is an episode from the second season of the science-fiction television series "Babylon 5".

ynopsis

In the opening scenes of the episode, an enormous EarthForce Explorer-class ship, the EAS "Cortez", is finishing a mission to build a new jumpgate. The ship's captain, Jack Maynard, is an old friend of Captain Sheridan, the Commander of Babylon 5. Maynard decides to take the "Cortez" to Babylon 5 to be resupplied; during the stopover he plans to visit his friend Sheridan before the "Cortez" returns to the remote galactic rim to build more jumpgates.

When the "Cortez" arrives at Babylon 5, the entire crew - even the usually hard-to-impress Commander Ivanova - is impressed with her size and appearance. Captain Sheridan proudly shows Captain Maynard around Babylon 5, but during his tour Maynard observes that being a space-station bureaucrat doesn't seem to suit a "die-hard spacer" like his friend John, something which upsets Sheridan, who envies Maynard's deep-space command and begins to wonder if he's in the right job. At a dinner party held in Maynard's honor, Maynard tells Sheridan and other Earthforce officers - including Lt. Keffer of Zeta Squadron - about a strange experience he had on the galactic rim; while patrolling near the "Cortez" in a shuttle, Maynard spotted what he believed to be a huge, dark, ominous vessel hovering nearby. The vessel vanished before his co-pilot could see it, but Maynard is clearly troubled by the incident as he tells it to Sheridan and the others at the dinner.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari is being questioned by her own people as to whether or not she is still "one of them"; her physical change into a half-Minbari/half-Human hybrid has led some Minbari to reject her. Despite her attempts to answer the concerns of the Minbari on Babylon 5, some of the station's Minbari still reject her authority and insist on dealing with their government at home, something she reluctantly agrees to allow.

Commander Susan Ivanova, Babylon 5's Executive Officer, is still recovering from the broken foot she suffered while trying to stop a Drazi riot in an earlier episode, and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi is also still recovering from being shot in back by an Earthforce traitor, one of his own security officers. Dr. Stephen Franklin, Babylon 5's medical chief, takes this opportunity to subject Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Sheridan to a "food plan" to improve their health; they are all placed on strict diets. All three find their diets most unappealing and look for ways to sneak other foods into their diet.

The "Cortez" finishes resupplying and heads back out to hyperspace. Suddenly, an explosion on board causes the ship's tracking system to lose the signal from the nearest jumpgate, resulting in the ship becoming lost in hyperspace. Since no ship has ever been found once becoming lost in hyperspace, the prognosis for the "Cortez" and her crew is grim.

Babylon 5 launches a dangerous rescue operation using Starfury fighters to relay the jumpgate signal to the "Cortez". They follow a plan devised by Captain Sheridan in which each Starfury forms a link in a long chain of fighters - each fighter stays locked onto the fighter behind it. Lt. Galus, the Commander of Zeta Squadron, and Lt. Keffer locate the "Cortez" and are about to implement rescue when a huge, dark vessel suddenly materializes, destroying Lt. Galus' Starfury, and disabling Lt. Keffer's engines. The vessel looks exactly like the one described by Captain Maynard in his story at the dinner party. The ship vanishes before Keffer can even sound a warning.

Still using the signal from the jumpgate for his bearing, Keffer repeatedly fires his fighter's weapons towards the direction of the jumpgate; after some time Captain Maynard realizes what Keffer is doing and moves the "Cortez" towards the jumpgate beacon, thus saving his ship and crew. Lt. Keffer appears doomed, as his damaged fighter drifts in hyperspace. However, he is miraculously able to escape hyperspace when another of the mysterious ships appears and vanishes; Keffer follows the vessel's trajectory until he locates the jumpgate beacon and is able to return to Babylon 5. However, Keffer is disturbed by his experiences with the mysterious vessels and becomes determined to obtain "proof" that they exist, a decision which will have a tragic consequence in later episodes. The vessels, of course, are those of the ancient and awesome Shadows, a sinister alien race who will play a major role in future episodes.

Arc significance

* Some details of the structure and navigation of Hyperspace are revealed.
* Lieutenant Keffer sees a Shadow ship in Hyperspace, leading him to an obsessive, season-long effort to learn what they are.
*Lt. Keffer is promoted to command of Zeta Squadron following the death of Lt. Galus.
*Ambassador Delenn's physical change is becoming increasingly controversial among her own people; she feels increasingly isolated from them.

External links