2288. Babylon 5 destroyed, Sheridan disappears and Delenn self-secludes on Minbar. InterStellar Alliance (ISA) now led by bureaucrats maintaining status quo.
On Mars, CEO of Edgars Industries Garibaldi investigates a business deal too good to be true, following leads taking him to covert Earth military research installation.
His team finds several clone workers who act as one. A telepath with Garibaldi taps into clone memories to find they are male and female copies of Ganya Ivanov, conceived before the original died, connected through a hybrid Earth-Shadow internet called SkyMind. SkyMind allows neurons to communicate indirectly via wireless transceivers between them in place of synapses, allowing the neurons to be, instead of next to each other, as far apart as the transceivers can transmit.
Garibaldi shares memories of Ivanova with Ganya and SkyMind. After deliberating, Ivanov clones decide to help the team. Doing so, however, they turn other soldiers and automated defenses against the intruders. Ganya and SkyMind reveal the installations, formerly investigating Shadow tech and creating hybrids, found even more advanced alien tech. Barely escaping in time, Garibaldi and his team are informed by Ganya that the Hand planted 'seeds' in members of its servant races, which exert telepathic control, spread like a virus and eventually sprout enemy biomatter. Thus, Drakh, Earth covert military research and other 'dark servants' are first to fall.
We learn Thirdspace aliens control the Hand, mostly members of First Ones (Vorlons, Shadows, 'Walkers' of Sigma-957, ...) telepathically converted to serve the enemy. The Hand builds portals which allow Thirdspace aliens to enter with blue lightning weapons and kilometers-long spindle-shaped gateships, who begin to destroy all other races after selectively assimilating some biology and technology into their hive and absorbing all energy from their suns.
Unprepared ISA, with allies, is fighting a losing battle. Many willingly choose to give themselves to the enemy, with those of a race who arrive first hoping their technology and biology will be assimilated, giving them a degree of survival. The Hand also uses strong telepathy urging surrender, fighting 'ghosts' walking on sun surface to harvest energy and other weapons tech implemented through cloaked nanobots moving in space that the ISA and other races learn too late about.
Only hope is to find non-converted First Ones and recruit their help or at least advice. From Coriana 6 a method is developed to track where First Ones went and go there. But the fleet is ambushed and only a few ships escape. When they arrive to place 'beyond the rim' after thorough searching they find nothing. They return to Coriana 6 to find the civilization annihilated, the star put out and former fleet a graveyard.
In despair, Garibaldi retires and begins to drink any alcohol he can find. Intoxicated, he examines last empty container in his hand after his binge as alien markings begin to glow on it. Assuming alien poison or tech, he is surprised to see Dureena Nafeel walk through a wall melting around her energy cloak as he falls into dream. In her hand, she carries Apocalypse Box, bearing same glowing markings.
The dream depicts Adam (Vorlons), Eve (Shadows) and the Serpent (Lorien). Serpent convinces Eve to bite apple and give it to Adam. It is then explained the apple represents suffering but also free will (without righteous suffering there could be no free will). By expelling the First Ones, younger races exercised it, without knowing the consequences (likely demise).
Apple is eaten and Eden transforms into a harsh environment. Serpent loses its appendages and explains that the same can happen to the enemy, without its Hand it is nothing. All tools to counter it are already in place, given that the enemy's universe is the 'equal and opposite' of this one.
Garibaldi, Dureena and Ivanovs set out to Technomage hiding place, an asteroid where Galen waits for them. With Galen's Technomage/Shadow tech, Garibaldi coordinates the Hand into an approach during which a female Ganya, Galen-enhanced in looks and voice to draw attention, sacrifices herself on the asteroid, using it as a diversion to take a small expedition through their Thirdspace portal into enemy's universe. In the 'equal and opposite' dimension they use skilled Ivanov maneuvering as one, Dureena's intuition and modified enemy nanotech/telepathy to find enemy factions fighting the major group. Leading opposing factions back to the normal universe, Garibaldi, Dureena, Galen and the Ivanovs use expedition to surgically lure Thirdspace aliens and their enemy factions in range of the Vorlon homeworld's planetary defenses. They then use Vorlon-powered cascading jump points to accelerate the portal generators and gateships into a black hole, while the remaining fleets of Thirdspace alien factions, the Hand and Vorlon automatic defenses battle until they destroy each other or disperse.
Babylon 5: Exile from Eden Trailer
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