Season 3, Episode 5: The Man In-Between

by Simon-F. Laflamme

At the Centauri Imperial Retreat on Morbis III, Carlson, Enoch and Ta’Ren undergo a scéance with the last wife of Emperor Turhan and leader of the Jaddo Cell, the seeress Lady Morella. They share a forgotten recollection of their past, mingled with visions of Minbari implicated in a battle of the last Great War, and an urge to journey to Thenothk, to meet Dr. Christopher Spears, the mysterious “Man In-Between” they feel will hold the answers to their questions. Seeing how they are haunted by the unanswered questions related to their silenced common past, the Lady Morella releases them of her service until these issues have been resolved.

The trio leaves for the spacedock of Zafran VIII to catch up with Va’Nur of the Ta’Var Cartel who has been tracking the Hurr ship who destroyed BrakEarth’s secret research station in Dilgar space.

From the cover of his docked flagship, the Ni’Ko, Va’Nur has tracked the Hurr to the neighboring system of Thenothk and, seeing the mission will be dangerous, took the liberty of recruiting extra personnel for the Behemoth. One is a Gaim pilot, the other, a mercenary captain the heroes recognize as Mr. Smits.

Together, they raid the compound of Dr. Christopher Spears at the Artasa Hotel in Thenothk City, and first come across a mind-wiped Christian Mendoza. Then, they face his tormentor, Isabel Lovegrave, in battle, to finally meet with Spears himself.

Spears admits being an agent of the Drakh, and having been involved in the heroes’ capture at the destruction of Babylon 3, and their subsequent “reprogramming”. Bloodied, Carlson, Enoch, Ta’Ren, Smits and the Gaim pilot, now revealed to have been Emily Jane Banks in disguise, flee the Artasa after having defeated Spears and escaped the creatures guarding him.

In orbit, the Behemoth is waylaid by the Hurr ship, now overtaken by the Shadow technology its crew had gathered from the BrakEarth station. The Behemoth flees in Hyperspace, but is quickly overtaken. Its weaponry is ineffective, and Carlson fails to hold the attacker at bay long enough for the transport to make its escape. As Banks plots an escape route, Ta’Ren, seemingly under the influence of the Goliath, remembers the way into Quantum space, and the Behemoth jumps, destroying its pursuer in the process.

Depleted the craft crashes upon its arrival at its destination, the Minbari world of Eudu. There, Banks takes the heroes to the man who healed her: a Minbari claiming the name of Valen.

NPC: Dr. Christopher Spears

Played by Stephen McHattie

First Appearance: Season 3, Episode 5: The Man In-Between

There is little fact at the heart of the matter of the mysterious "Man In-Between" of Thenothk City. It was Enoch who, upon his rescue from Quadrant 93, recalled having used the name because it was the only one he recalled from the time before his abduction during the destruction of Babylon 3 in 2253.

Still, during their odyssey of 2265, Carlson, Enoch and Ta'Ren, were continuously referred to a mysterious "Man In-Between", a dangerous power broker operating from the gateway to Z'ha'dum, who might hold the answers to their questions.

When they reached Spears' lair at the Artasa Hotel in Thenothk City, the middle man admitted he had been the designer of their destiny and the architecht of their downfall, plucking them from a burning Babylon 3, submitting them to a mindwipe, and using them as agents of chaos in the dark devices of his Drakh masters.

Spears then proceeded to dismiss his victims unceremoniously, confident they would be crushed under the weight of the revelation. He was dead wrong.

NPC: Isabel Lovegrave

Played by Famke Janssen

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 2: Not of Minbari

Officially PsiCorps' new resident Commercial Telepath for Babylon 5 following the station's return to Earth control, Isabel Lovegrave arrived on Babylon 5 in 2263 and immediately distinguished herself from her predecessors by the extreme zeal she showed towards the Corps. She also distinguished herself by the particular interest she had taken in one of B5's unique denizens, Captain Thomas Carlson.

When in 2264, faced with the growing popular malcontent with their treatment of Rogues and Sleepers, the Psi Corps sought to curb the trend by delegating the administration of sleeper drugs to the individual taking the medication, Isabel Lovegrave jumped at the opportunity to introduce Carlson to the new technique.

Carlson and his friends only discovered the truth about Lovegrave much later, in 2265, when they raided the compound of Dr. Christopher Spears on the planet Thenothk, where Lovegrave had also holed herself with Christian Mendoza:

Born in 2231, she enlisted at 16 in the GROPOS to fight in the Earth-Minbari War, but never saw any action. By the time she finished Basic Training and her regiment given an assignment, the Minbari had surrendered at the line, but the universe still had surprises in store for young Isabel. No sooner had her regiment been recalled to Earth that her latent telepathic abilities manifested, and she was off to Mars for Psi Corps training.

Isabel was soon evaluated as being a very powerful telepath, and applied for being a Psi Cop. She interned with Metapol under Avis Ames, but her rating was determined to be a strong P-11, not the P-12 required to wear the black uniform. Under the direction of her mentor, she remained in the service of the Corps for special assignments, and was stationed on Babylon 5 to secretly accrue the Psi Corps’ presence, and keep an eye on and serve as a handler for their asset, Thomas Carlson.

Isabel Lovegrave died at the hands of Thomas Carlson at the Astaria Hotel in Thenothk City in late 2265, defending the shadowy stronghold from Carlson’s commando.

Season 3, Episode 5: Known Enemies

ISN presents an interview with Earth Alliance Senator Samuel J. Clemens to discuss his allegations towards Mark Baggett as well his position towards the Earth Alliance economy and campaign financing. Meanwhile, Thomas and Enoch return to Eden and meet several members of Cynthia's group. They are questioned about their feelings towards the Psi Corps. She mentions that the Psi Corps was good to them and that they know of Alfred, Jonas and Avis.

While continuing to repair the Behemoth, the heroes discuss their strategy given their dwindling resources. A plan is hatched to contact Vlur/Nhar, the former Pak'Ma'Ra ambassador for help. A shell corporation, EnTom, is created by Enoch to serve the immediate needs. After setting up a meeting using his new alias of Robert Beck, the stolen Brakiri shuttle is used to travel to Melat, the Pak'Ma'Ra homeworld. Once at the Abattoir, the Pak'Ma'Ra space station, the meeting is held and Vlur/Nhar's assistance will be provided.

After a close call in a restaurant where 2 Brakiri seem to be keeping an eye on them, the Brakiri shuttle is traded to a Grome mining outfit for their old mining shuttle. Enoch then hatches a plan to pull of the greatest heist in known space where 1.5B credits worth of Q40 shipments is diverted to purchase BrakEarth public stock.

The trio then departs the Abattoir for parts unknown...

NPC: Senator Samuel J. Clemens

Played by Harry Connick Jr.

First Appearance: Season 3, Episode 4: Unknown Allies

Born in New Orleans, North America, in 2222, in a working class family. He worked his way up the political ladder from a young age. He started as a city council member in his early 20's and rose up the ranks to Mayor of New Orleans and finally at age 36, to the Earth Alliance Senate.

His views are not Earth-centric like many in the Clark administration. He believes in protecting the well-being of humans within the Interstellar Alliance. He is open to interstellar trade and deals with everyone in a fair and honest manner.

Season 3, Episode 4: Unknown Allies

As reported by ISN, the war between the Psi Corps and Byron's followers is nearing its end. Of all high ranking Psi Corps members, a handful are missing including Alfred Bester and Avis Ames. Meanwhile, Carlson and Enoch awake in a grassy field on an unknown planet and are welcomed by a woman who informs them that they are in Eden. During their visit to Eden, Ta'Ren piloted the shuttle away from the Drazi pirates and on course for any safe haven. A plan is formulated to go to Quadrant 26 to set up camp at an old Narn listening outpost where Ta'Ren was once stationed. While on route, a derelict ship was found in hyperspace and salvaged.

ISN next reports that the Telepath Crisis has ended and new rules for human telepaths will be put in place such as telepaths being able to serve in EarthForce. Carlson and Enoch return to Eden be learn that the woman's name is Cynthia and that they are among telepathic friends.The heroes arrive at Quadrant 26 and locate Nar'Sha and make repairs and upgrades to the newly-named Behemoth. Several days later, two Brakiri ships jump into the system, one of which is Kronnir, the famous bounty hunter. Enoch manages to scare off the Brakiri ships before they cause any undue troubles for the trio.

Finally, ISN reports that Earth Alliance Senator Samuel J. Clemens has accused Mark Baggett of questionable campaign financing in association with the sale of MarTar to BrakEarth. Which has caused large numbers of Clemens' constituents to lose their jobs. Also announced is the warrant for questioning that has been emitted by EarthForce Security for Thomas Carlson and Christopher Spears in the disappearance of Ta'Ren.

NPC: Major Emily Jane Banks

Played by Kristen Bell

First appearance (as Zebruune): Season 1, Episode 2: Not of Minbari

Ten years Thomas Carlson's junior, Emily Jane Banks joined his squadron in the EarthForce Army Foward Air and Space Combat Control Regiments in 2244, fresh out of the academy, becoming his rookie wingman. It was not until after they had fought together, and survived, the Battle of the Line, that they admitted their love for one another. From then on they were inseperable.

An accomplished pilot in her own right, Banks progressed through the ranks under Carlson, and soon became his deputy Wing Commander, position which was cemented when Colonel Tommi Salmainen requested them both to serve on Babylon 3.

Although Carlson would discover later that she had escaped the station's destruction with him, she was long thought killed in Babylon 3's destruction. It was not until late 2264, when Carlson, Enoch, and Ta'Ren rescued the Minbari Ambassador Zebruune from a Streib research station orbiting the dead world of Markar, that it was revealed the "Ambassador Zebruune" serving on Babylon 5 was a fake. When Carlson investigated, he found the false Zebruune had been waylaid by her own assistant Darzus, whom Carlson defeated in single combat. When he brought her to Medlab, Doctor Hobbs discovered the impostor was really a Human who had been transformed into a Minbari by a parasitic infection, and that the human parts of her DNA matched the records of Emily Jane Banks.

Banks was saved by receiving a massive blood transfusion from Carlson, and moved to Minbar with Mr. Smits to undergo gene therapy.

NPC: Colonel Tommi Salmainen

Played by Don Johnson

First appearance: Season 2, Episode 3: Babylon Cubed

Born in Finland, Earth in 2197, Tommi Salmainen was the friend and mentor of Thomas Carlson throughout his formative years. As soon as he enlisted, Carlson was assigned to Salmainen's command, the Avenger-class carrier Perseus, and rose through the ranks during the course of the Dilgar War, eventually becoming the Salmainen's Wing Commander.

Carlson continued to serve under Salmainen in the clean-up operation and pacification of Dilgar-invaded space following the war proper, up until the destruction of Omelos in 2235. During this time, Salmainen's talents as a diplomat and negociator came to be reknowned throughout the Earth Expeditionary Force and the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. It came to no surprise to anyone when, in 2251, Salmainen was given the command of the first completed Babylon Station, Babylon 3. It was natural that he offer the post of Wing Commander for the station to his friend Thomas Carlson.

When Babylon 3's superstructure began to collapse shortly before it was going to go on-line, Tommi Salmainen stayed behind to coordinate the station's evacuation and was killed in its destruction.

NPC: Mr. Smits

Played by Graham McTavish

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 3: From the Shadows of the Past

St-John Smits was MarTar Enterprises' head of security. Like many in his profession, he was a GROPO during the Earth-Minbari War. Mr. Smits was working under Ta'Ren on Babylon 5 until 2263, when he started to fall out of favour with his employer after the Narn began to associate with the Techno-Mage Enoch, who was operating on the station under one of his many aliases. After suffering the embarassement of having his employer poisoned on his watch, Mr. Smits was transferred to serve under Mark Baggett on Beta IX, relinquishing his position on Babylon 5 to Enoch.

Carlson, Enoch and Ta'Ren caught up with Mr. Smits on Beta IX in 2264. When together they investigated a raider cell which led them to an alien station orbiting the neighboring dead homeworld of the Markab, it was revealed "Mr. Smits" was in fact a Dark Minbari impostor. The real Mr. Smits was on that very station, under the spell of a strange alien parasite. Mr. Smits was rescued and moved to Minbar to receive treatment.

NPC: Mark Baggett

Played by Paul Reiser.

First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 4: The Ghosts of Omelos

BIOGRAPHY: A spacer born on Beta IX in 2220, Mark met Ta'Ren during the Earth-Minbari War, as they both worked in civilian shipping. Together, after the war, they founded their own company, MarTar, which they expanded into R&D after they opened shop on Babylon 5 in 2257. Mark took care of the head office on Beta IX, while Ta'Ren oversaw the operations on Babylon 5.

Ta'Ren was the best man at Mark's wedding, and is godfather to his second daughter.

Mark sold his shares in MarTar to BrakEarth in 2264 in order to pursue his political ambitions. He was elected to the Earth Alliance Senate late that year, and is a vocal member of the conservative Senate Committee for the Unity of the Earth Alliance.

Season 3, Episode 3: In the Walls of Eryx

by Simon-F. Laflamme

Dubbed « Hessius’s Folly » by the Centauri, Quadrant 93 is a world of ruins rumored to occult fable riches, located in a tumultuous region of hyperspace. It is also a place from which no one returns, and Captain Carlson is persuaded it is the resting place of his and Ta’Ren’s missing friend, the Techno-Mage Enoch. After a brief encounter with a hostile crew of stranded Drazi privateers, the Human and the Narn reach the shore of an ocean of Shadow-stuff, where they are waylaid by the degenerate descendants of the original Centauri explorers. The timely intervention of the fallen Minbari Ranger Lennier allows them to retreat to the Ruins of Iscolas, the ancient fabled city of Quadrant 93. Lennier tells them how, in a quest for penance, he was tricked into coming to Quadrant 93 by the “man in-between”, the oracle, of the dark city of Tenothk: a Human named Christopher Spears. That night, Carlson and Ta’Ren are visited by a ghostly incarnation of Enoch, who explains how, after his defeat on Babylon 5, the Shadow technology used by his Technomancy instinctively led him to Iscolas to be recycled in its oceans, where his body and ship now lie. Enoch’s brush with death also had the fortunate consequence of “rebooting” his memory, and the Techno-Mage confirms that what he, Carlson, and Ta’Ren saw in the Virtual Reality Net regarding Babylon 3 is true. After his abduction from Babylon 3, Enoch remembers being put in a Shadow Ship by a man named Christopher Spears. The predicament of Spears’ victims becomes explicit: Quadrant 93 is a giant Prisoner’s Dilemma built by the Shadows to favor their ideology: only the opening of two simultaneous jump points will allow one to reach hyperspace; only the cunning and the ruthless will escape Quadrant 93 by sacrificing the weak and the foolish. Carlson, Lennier and Ta’Ren con the Drazi pirates into retrieving Enoch and his ship from the dark matter, and take turns in volunteering who should pilot Enoch’s ship, which is to be sacrificed. Lennier seizes this opportunity for redemption, making Ta’Ren swear to bring his love to his Entil’Zha, Delenn. The Drazi patrol boat makes the jump to hyperspace, followed by the Brakiri shuttle transporting Carlson, Enoch and Ta’Ren, while Enoch’s Pinnace is vaporized, and Lennier along with it.

Season 3, Episode 2: Mindwalkers

by Simon-F. Laflamme

When Carlson and Ta’Ren retreat to Narn to recoup from their ordeal on Shambah III, the Narn trader learns the consequences of his life amongst the stars and his abduction: Ta’Ren is regarded a pariah among his people, and his former associate Mark Baggett has seemingly let MarTar fall entirely in the hands of its main competitor, BrakEarth. At the suggestion of Va’Nur, a preeminent leader of Ta’Var Cartel, Ta’Ren’s soul searching brings him and Carlson to the headquarters of the Kana Rituk, a civilian Narn ecological organization dedicated to the restoration of Nar’Shal, whose leader is Ta’Chunq, an anthropological geneticist specialized in telepathy. Ta’Ren is surprised by the fact that half of her staff is composed of Humans, and Carlson astonished to learn that they are all telepaths. Avis Ames’ visit to the Kana Rituk’s compound makes the situation clear: the Rituk had a deal with Psi Corps to study captive Rogue Telepaths in their efforts to restore the telepathic gene to the Narn pool; along the way, the Narns turned the table on the Corps and used this agreement to ferry as many rogues as possible to a secret telepath colony they founded on the remote world of G’Quan’Ri. Now the Corps has learned of this and wants them all back. With the help of Va’Nur, Carlson and Ta’Ren escape with Rogue Telepaths to Gortha, the City of Dead, and orchestrate the Psi Corps’ downfall. Summoned by the Ta’Var Cartel, a Narn harass group meets and destroys the Psi Corps mothership Apophis in a battle in orbit around G’Quan’Ri. While Carlson lives out a brief idyll with Eliane Castronovo, the leader of the Human telepaths on Narn, Ta’Ren strengthens his ties to Ta’Var Cartel. Beyond arranging for the secret construction of a new ship for Carlson and Ta’Ren to use in their quest, Va’Nur also evokes the Forbidden City of Thenothk, where a “man in-between” is rumored to have the answers to every question.

Season 3, Episode 1: The Grim Harvest

By Simon-F. Laflamme

Deep in the savage jungles of the Drazi world of Shambah III hides an abandoned research station. There, in a concrete cell stark in contrast with the lush greenery outside, the captive Mr. Ta’Ren’s life is on trial. "Dr. Robert" asks the questions, but Ta’Ren lacks the answers: nothing in his life justifies his personality or his success since the mysterious destruction of Babylon 3 in 2251. Meanwhile, onboard the Psi Corps Mothership Apophis, Captain Carlson learns firsthand the cold, privacy-less existence reserved to telepaths under Psi Corps’ hierarchy of telepathic power, but manages to use his fledgling command of his newly iberated telepathic potential to track his Narn friend to the Drazi jungle. There, Carlson comes across a Soul Hunter, apparently after Ta’Ren himself. The two friends reunite as the station comes under attack by the resurrected Dilgar and their Drakh allies, and barely escape their clutches over the dead body of "Dr. Robert", using the Brakiri agent’s shuttle to make it into orbit. The pursuit turns into a space battle between joint Dilgar/Drakh forces and Psi Corps’ Black Omegas, which turns quickly in favor of the Shadow minions, forcing the Apophis to strand her fighters and Carlson and Ta’Ren in her retreat. Our heroes are plucked from the slaughter by the forces of the Jaddo Cell, with whom Carlson had struck a parallel alliance before leaving Babylon 5, promising to deliver them his other missing friend, the Techno-Mage Enoch.

Season 2, Episode 5: A Matter of Honor

By Jean-Philippe Viau

Jonathan Desloisiers` plans for a conference on the Shadow War come to frutition. Held on B5, it is the social gathering of the year, a veritable who`s who of the players implicated in its drama, and its impact on today`s galaxy. President Sheridan, Delenn, even a returning G`Kar, and a secretive Lyta Alexander arrive at the station. As a foremost collector of artifacts, Ta`Ren is on the short list of speakers, but Enoch doesn`t like it: too many circumstances are reaching their apex at the same time for it to be a coincidence, and for the Techno-Mage to manage the situation safely. Captain Carlson has chained himself to the bedside of Ambassador Zebruune (who was discovered to be his former wingman Emily Jane Banks), and Christian Mendoza, the CEO of MarTar`s rival corporation, BrakEarth, has issued an open challenge to Ta'ren. But the Narn will not be distracted from the opportunities for business the conference presents, even if he has to face its foreboding atmosphere alone, for pretty soon, Enoch has trouble of his own: the mysterious Centauri Lord Inoki, secretly a Techno-Mage himself, arrives on the station to teach Enoch a hard lesson, crushing the human out of Babylon 5 into space. This leaves Ta'Ren open to the machinations of a Brakiri Agent who easily kidnaps him after poisoning his food and leaves B5 by diplomatic courrier aboard the Shadowtech shuttle promoted by BrakEarth. By the time Carlson emerges from Medlab, Ta'Ren has been abducted, Enoch has disappeared and Lyta Alexander has left for Mars using the Techno-Mage`s fake I.D. The captain has no choice but to turn to his nemesis, the PsiCop Avis Ames, for help.