Doctor Franklin (Richard Biggs) is talking with Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) in his quarters, asking him how he escaped from captivity on Mars. When he presses for details on the Martian Resistance, Sheridan hesitates. In fact, he’s still in captivity and this is an induced hallucination. It’s not working, so Earthforce has no choice but to make him submit.
Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) is wandering through an industrial area to meet a member of the Mars Resistance. He is surrounded and knocked unconscious, then brought before the Resistance in a hood. Number One (Marjorie Monaghan), the real Franklin, and Lyta Alexander (Patricia Tallman) approach him. Number One offers to let Franklin kill Garibaldi, but Franklin wants to hear Garibaldi’s story. Alfred Bester (Walter Koenig) of Psi Corps stole him from the Shadows and programmed him as a mole to infiltrate an anti-telepath conspiracy. Garibaldi offers to take them to where Sheridan is held, but Number One is suspicious. Despite Number One’s objections, Garibaldi offers to let Lyta scan him. Lyta finds that Garibaldi is telling the truth and passes the thoughts to Number One.
Near Beta IX, Commander Ivanova (Claudia Christian), aboard White Star 2, has cornered the Damocles and the Orion, giving them the ultimatum: surrender or be destroyed. They decide to fight, she allows them the first shot, and then the White Star cripples their weapons and engines. Marcus (Jason Carter) wonders why they stop to pick up survivors. It is to bring the guilty to justice and to encourage defectors. Garibaldi locates Sheridan’s prison, and Number One sends Garibaldi, Franklin, and Lyta in on their own.
On Babylon Five, Lennier (Bill Mumy) gives Delenn (Mira Furlan) some bad news. The Advisory Council and the League of Non-Aligned Worlds have met without her knowledge. She confronts them, to find that Londo (Peter Jurasik) has raised a motion to try to free Sheridan with a fleet of alien ships. She is grateful. Garibaldi, Franklin, and Lyta are being led through an underground tunnel, prone to Marsquakes and under a shoot-to-kill order, but they reach Fort Walters.
On the White Star 2, an officer from the Damocles is brought in, David Eisensen (Marc Gomes), who warns that some of the defectors are really President Clark’s spies. Thus, Clark knows that Mars is the next target, and it will be guarded by advanced destroyers. Marcus and Ivanova cannot let the defectors die. They will spring the trap. Garibaldi, Franklin, and Lyta try to sneak into the compound, are attacked, and Garibaldi gets a knife in the back. Doctor Franklin saves him. They hide the bodies of the guards they killed and press on in Earthforce uniforms.
Ivanova convinces Captain James (David Purdham), of the Agamemnon, to join their plan. Garibaldi and his group find the prison cells, and Garibaldi talks his way in. But Lyta has to use her powers to put down the guards and obtain the passcode. They find a drugged Sheridan. Garibaldi and the others extract him from the prison. The White Star fleet comes out of hyperspace. They are attacked by creepy advanced Omega-class destroyers with Shadow technology. Declaring herself Death Incarnate, Ivanova opens fire. The White Stars manage to prevail and destroy the loyalist fleet, but Marcus has to rescue Ivanova from the White Star before it explodes.
The remaining ships link up with a Sharlin-class Minbari warcruiser in the new League fleet. Sheridan is reunited with Delenn. Ivanova is gravely wounded. She opens her eyes and greets Sheridan. At her dying request, he takes over the war from his old command aboard the Agamemnon.
Claudia Christian was supposed to be in Season Five. She says she was fired, Straczynski says there was a contract dispute and she backed out. It sucks. Ivanova is by far my favorite Babylon Five character, and that’s saying a lot. Her threatening tirade against the Earth fleet is pure Ivanova and the best part of the episode. Garibaldi is stabbed in the back, which is kind of appropriate. The opening trick on the viewers is very Prisoner-like. I loved the classical names of the ships. Lyta is becoming scary as hell.