Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner), Ivanova (Claudia Christian), and Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) are having breakfast. Garibaldi complains about having the same slop every day, but Ivanova has fresh bacon and eggs, which she got from Ranger Marcus Cole (Jason Carter). In Downbelow, Cole and Mary Kirkish (Nancy Stafford) fight off a group of assailants, but Kirkish is injured. Later, Sheridan and Ivanova watch a disturbing news story on President Santiago’s assassination and a worse one on the Shadows. Cole brings Kirkish to Medlab, explaining to Doctor Franklin (Richard Biggs) that she was attacked by bounty hunters.
Garibaldi visits G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) in prison, finding him pleasant and happy. Apparently, his singing makes the other prisoners think he’s being tortured. He is writing about his thoughts and experiences, and the Fall of Narn. He asks Garibaldi how he’s getting on with the Book of G’Quan. Garibaldi tells Sheridan that he arranged to bring Kirkish to Babylon Five because she was on the run from Earth. She was on an expedition that uncovered a Shadow vessel on Mars. The command crew listen to her briefing.
She says one person died from just touching it. They were told to leave while a second Shadow vessel came to dig out the first. Garibaldi witnessed this and found a charred Psi-Corps badge. Kirkish adds that Earth Alliance has found another such vessel on Ganymede. Sheridan decides to take the White Star to Ganymede and destroy the Shadow vessel, as President Clark must not get his hands on that technology. He leaves on the ship with Delenn (Mira Furlan) and Lennier (Bill Mumy).
At a Nightwatch meeting, Zack Allan (Jeff Conaway) learns that high-ranking figures in Earth Alliance are about to be arrested as traitors to the Human Race. He is disturbed, others not. One officer notes that Sheridan is missing. Cole briefs Ivanova on enemy movements, but she is distracted. They talk about his place in the conspiracy and her fears for Sheridan. The White Star arrives at Jupiter, setting off alarms. They learn that Earth is trying to reactivate the Shadow vessel by allowing it to merge with a human being. The Shadow vessel blasts free.
It has been driven mad by Earth’s clumsy meddling and is destroying its surroundings. Sheridan uses the White Star to lead the Shadow vessel into Jupiter’s gravity well. It is crushed and the White Star escapes. The Agamemnon attacks, but Sheridan refuses to respond. The White Star opens a risky jump-point in the atmosphere and vanishes. Sheridan, Ivanova, and Garibaldi see official reports on ISN that Ganymede Base was destroyed by an alien ship that was destroyed by Agamemnon. Zack Allen is conflicted because he is ordered to spy on Sheridan. Also in the news: President Clark has declared Martial Law.
When Garibaldi saw the Shadow vessel on Mars, he was with Jeffrey Sinclair—the first time they met. Escape velocity from Jupiter would be 134,692 MPH. Ivanova’s bacon breakfast was not exactly kosher. The scenes with the Shadow ships are monumentally creepy. Thousand-year-old crab-monsters attacking us as the Earth tilts toward fascism—it reminds me of 2020.