In military strategy maintaining lines of communication and supply is considered the most important thing.  You cannot do anything intelligently if you do not know what is going on out there, and you cannot do it if you cant be supplied.  Given the emphasis on lining things up for a confrontation with Earth this title makes a lot of sense.  This is another business-like episode that moves us along while at the same time letting us know we are not finished with instability on Minbar.

We start off the episode with Sheridan still stewing over ISN’s propaganda coverage depicting the station as an alien run horror show.  ISN is clearly trying to prime people for the eventual Earth assault against the station.  Ivanova calls him on winding himself up but Sheridan points out that they need to know what the Earth government is planning even indirectly.  Franklin interrupts with a coded message about meeting with the Mars Resistance. 

Things transition to Mars with Franklin and Number One discussing the upcoming meeting.  She also lets him know that even the resistance thinks that Earth will prevail in the next few months if nothing changes.  Marcus runs in and breathlessly reports that there has been a bombing at a hotel that took out a security force from Earth as well as ten civilians.  

Delenn meets with another Minbari named Forell and he reports that there have been increasing numbers of attacks on the smaller worlds that the Minbari have traditionally protected.  It seems that without the Grey Council, each caste is just doing their own thing and not bothering with agreements made on behalf of the whole planet.  As they end their conversation we get to see a Drazi ship hunted down and destroyed by mysterious new aliens.

Delenn lets Sheridan know that she is heading out with a detachment of White Star ships to investigate the attacks.  Sheridan has a moment of concern and asks if she could just send Lennier instead, and while Delenn is touched by his concern she reminds him that she has a history.  Makes you wonder if she shared some more of her past with him after the Dreaming.  

Back on Mars, Number One assaults a member named Phillipe about the bombing.  The attack was not authorized by Mars, and she points out that when the dust settles she will be held responsible by whatever government comes next.  

Sheridan continues to stew about ISN, until he gets a bright idea and storms into Ivanova’s quarters in the middle of the night in excitement.  Ivanova is irritated at the lateness, and Sheridan’s lack of concern about her attire.  He drags her to the war room, and announces that he wants to create an underground news station “The Voice of the Resistance” and that Ivanova is now in charge of making it work.

Delenn has a conversation with Forell about events on Minbar.  He claims that the Warrior Caste is trying to create their own council, and that they have ethnically cleansed their own cities by driving out any Religious Caste members. 

Franklin meets with the Mars Resistance heads.  He faces some headwinds due to the fact that Sheridan put down riots in Mars after the Earth-Minbari War, and many Martians still hold a grudge.  Franklin uses his own initiative to demand an end to the bombing of civilian targets, and Marcus points out that the Shadow War has influenced the Earth Civil War, as evidenced by the Keeper on Captain Jack.  Franklin also lets them know that Sheridan promises Martian freedom if they side with Babylon 5.  

Delenn and the White Stars show up but not in time to save a Pak’ma’ra ship from attack.  They try to make contact with the attacking ships to find a cause for it, but get blindsided by the fact that the Drakh, as they call themselves, already know their language and are in league with Forell who pulls a gun and takes Delenn hostage.  He explains that he wants her to hear out the Drakh and go with them to begin talks.

Number One reports that Franklin and Marcus have been successful, even if she calls out Franklin about the bombing thing being his idea and not Sheridan’s.  Marcus points out that Number One is also interested in Franklin personally.  Franklin is doubtful, until Number One comes back in to announce that since the duo’s hotel had been bombed, she is inviting Franklin to dinner and asking Marcus to help with guard duty. 

Forell leads the ships to a larger Drakh vessel and a very blurry emissary comes aboard.  Forell reports that his whole family died in the ethnic cleansing of a southern city when they were forced to try to walk to the next city in arctic conditions.  He claims that the Drakh want several small worlds in Minbari space, and agree to protect the Religious Caste in return.  Delenn and Lennier clock pretty quickly that the Drakh need a new home because they used to live at Za’Ha’Dum.  Everything seems to be ok until Forell thoughtlessly uses Delenn’s name.  Delenn springs into action immediately, knowing that once they learn her name they will attack.  Sure enough, as soon as the Drakh ambassador leaves the ships begin surrounding the Minbari ships.  Delenn figures out a way to escape the trap by hugging the skin of the mothership, and they manage to escape.  

In true Minbari fashion they only escape long enough to reorganize and then swiftly return to destroy the Drakh mothership.  Once they are done, Delenn returns to the station, though she is clearly deeply troubled by the goings on at her homeworld.  

Sheridan and Delenn share a short scene where they discuss Sheridan’s plan, and the Drakh.  She also lets him know that she will have to return to Minbar to prevent an open civil war among the Minbari.  Delenn then talks about how they now must both work to put things back together, but also work to build whole new things and she suspects that Sheridan has ambitions in that direction.

Pieces are moving around the board, getting ready for some big action episodes to come.  I feel that with a longer season we also would have checked in with the Centauri more as well, after showing off that the regent ended up with a keeper.  As it is I kind of like these different stories running in parallel and widening the scope of the show.  It is only kind of sad that this was done because everyone involved thought the show was ending and they wanted to get as much stuff out there as they could.  Next we continue this trend and focus a little more on Garibaldi this time with “Conflicts of Interest”. 

Where do I know them from?

• Paolo Seganti as Phillipe, has some hefty credits to his name and has worked in America and his native Italy.  I remember seeing him in L.A. Confidential.
• G.W. Stevens as Forell has had a short mostly TV career, and I cant recall seeing him in much of anything, though he apparently shows up in the background of an episode of The X-Files.

The Good

• Delenn gets an exciting battle sequence and more evidence that though she is surrounded by war heroes and rangers, she is absolutely not to be fucked with.
• It is great to see Sheridan making pro-active moves, as Bruce Boxlietner excels at playing him as optimistic. 

The Bad

• I am not a fan of the Drakh blurring effect, and I must not be the only one, as this is the only time it is used.  Maybe an idea that worked better on paper. 

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• The Minbari are fracturing and it is having negative effects outside of their own race.  Delenn indicates that she is afraid of a coming civil war, but ethnic cleansing programs would suggest that it is already under way.
• Sheridan is hoping to counter propaganda with truth, and certainly sees himself and his people in the same light as the French Resistance that he mentions.
• The Martian Resistance is shown to be cooperating with other resistance movements, and apparently recruits Earthers for their ranks, even if Martians cannot always shake their resentment of them.  
• Franklin continues to rival G’Kar as the horniest of the Babylon 5 characters.