Original Airdate: July 26, 1994 Written by J. Michael Straczynski Directed by Janet Greek Episode #: 18 Production # : 120
Guest stars: Louis Turenne as Draal. Curt Lowens as Varn.
The dying operator of the Great Machine on Epsilon 3 must find a replacement before the machine destroys the planet and Babylon 5.
Babylon 5, the interstellar space station, is in a permanent orbit around Epsilon 3, an uninhabited planet. Detecting seismic activity within the planet, station commander Jeffrey Sinclair (MICHAEL O'HARE) and Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova (CLAUDIA CHRISTIAN) send geologist Dr. Tasaki (JIM ISHIDA) and his crew to Epsilon 3 in a shuttle craft to learn if a volcanic eruption will damage Babylon 5.
A massive beam of light suddenly emitted from the planet destroys most of the shuttle's controls. After being rescued and re-equipped in another shuttle, Dr. Tasaki and his crew approach the planet once again. This time, the shuttle is targeted by three rockets launched from deep chasm but returns to Babylon 5 with minimal damage. Tasaki suspects that the Epsilon 3 chasm may contain an automated defense system built by a long-forgotten civilization and reactivated by the seismic activity. Sinclair and Ivanova agree to descend into the chasm in a shuttle to search for the truth.
Meanwhile, Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (JERRY DOYLE) is concerned when he learn of a violent political revolt on the Mars colony where his former girlfriend, Lise Hampton (DENISE GENTILE), is stationed. Unable to contact her through normal communications channels, Garibaldi asks Talia Winters (ANDREA THOMPSON), Babylon 5's resident commercial telepath, to contact the colony on the secret frequency used by the Psi Corps, the military unit that regulates all telepaths. Talia learns that Lise's name is not on any list of survivors nor any list of the deceased and missing. Still in love with Lise, Garibaldi is determined to discover what happened to her.
Minbari Ambassador Delenn (MIRA FURLAN) is visited by one of her former teachers, Draal (LOUIS TURENNE). They discuss the increasing political conflict between the Minbari's religious and military social castes and agree that the Minbari people are restless and eager for an enlightening change.
Before boarding the shuttle with Ivanova, Sinclair sees a vision of an ancient, withered alien creature pleading for help.. With Babylon 5's battleships firing their weapons to distract the planet's automatic defenses, Sinclair's shuttle descends into the black chasm on Epsilon 3 and stops at a docking port. Following a tunnel protected by automatic defense lasers, Sinclair and Ivanova discover a huge cavern filled with active machinery, dwarfing them in a massive scale beyond anything ever conceived by Mankind.
After reporting their discovery to Garibaldi on Babylon 5, an earthquake traps Sinclair and Ivanova in another tunnel, blocking their return path to the shuttle. Searching for another exit, they both see the floating vision of the endangered alien, whom they learn is called Varn (CURT LOWENS). The vision leads them to the actual creature, who is fastened to a cybernetic circuit panel against the wall of a tunnel. Varn tells them, "Help me, or all your people will die."
