No Surrender, No Retreat

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“No Surrender, No Retreat”

Babylon 5 episode

Episode no.

Season 4
Episode 15

Written by

J. Michael Straczynski

Directed by

Mike Vejar

Guest stars

Marcia Mitzman Gaven (Cmdr. Sandra Levitt)
Richard Gant (Capt. Edward MacDougan)
Ken Jenkins (Capt. Trevor Hall)

Production no.

415

Original airdate

26 May 1997

Episode chronology
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"Moments of Transition"	"The Exercise of Vital Powers"

List of Babylon 5 episodes

"No Surrender, No Retreat" is a key episode from the fourth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. The episode also gives its name to the entire fourth season of the series, thus emphasizing its importance.

[edit] Synopsis

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Captain John Sheridan, the commander of the Babylon 5 station, organizes an attack to liberate the Proxima 3 colony from the forces of tyrannical Earth Alliance President William Morgan Clark.

Sheridan finally decides to take the offensive against President Clark after learning of the murder of 10,000 civilians by Clark's forces. Before taking the offensive, Sheridan gets support from the League of Non-Aligned Worlds for his actions. In exchange for continued protection of their borders from skirmishes and pirates, they are asked to provide for the defense of Babylon 5, to break contact with Earth except for humanitarian reasons, and to otherwise remain neutral in the pending civil war. Sheridan then takes a fleet of the small but swift and highly advanced White Star warships to the besieged Proxima 3 colony. President Clark has positioned six massive Omega-Class Destroyers around the planet to prevent any colonists from leaving and to prevent any supplies from reaching the colony. As a result of the blockade the colonists are starving and on the verge of surrender. Sheridan's plan is to surround the destroyers with superior firepower and then convince as many destroyers as possible to defect to his side.

The Earth fleet blockading Proxima 3 is led by EarthForce Captain Trevor Hall. Hall is a ruthless officer who is loyal to President Clark and his dictatorial regime, and he has already resorted to slaughtering helpless civilians to force the colony to surrender. Hall commands the Earth Alliance destroyer Heracles; it serves as his flagship. Sheridan sends the White Stars at Proxima 3 in three waves to confuse Captain Hall: the first wave, consisting of only 3 ships, exits hyperspace on the far side of the planet; this leads Hall to order the destroyers Pollux and Nemesis to investigate. A second, larger wave of White Stars exits hyperspace closer to the main destroyer force. The final wave of White Stars, commanded by Captain Sheridan himself, exits the local jumpgate. Sheridan orders the Earth Destroyers to either leave immediately or surrender to him. Instead, Captain Hall orders the Destroyers to arm weapons and launch fighters. However, the Vesta, under the command of Captain Edward McDougan, an old friend of Sheridan and one of his teachers at the EarthForce Academy, refuses to fire on Sheridan's ships. Instead, he tries to talk Sheridan into leaving Proxima without a fight; Sheridan tells him that Clark is violating the Earth Alliance Constitution and the Proxima Treaty; his blockade of Proxima 3 is illegal. He asks McDougan to switch sides. Furious at McDougan for breaking radio silence and communicating with the "enemy", Hall tries to force McDougan to take sides by opening fire on Sheridan's fleet. A fierce battle then erupts. The Heracles is joined by the destroyers Juno and Vesta in the battle, while the separated Pollux and Nemesis form a second group. Sheridan concentrates on the known hostiles: the Heracles and Pollux. The Heracles damages a White Star vessel, but another White Star fires a devastating beam of plasma energy which cripples the Heracles. In desperation, Captain Hall orders Captain McDougan's second-in-command to take over the Vesta and help the Heracles; the XO then puts a pistol to Captain McDougan's head and demands that he turn over his command. Sheridan then flies past the destroyer Furies to determine her stand; she refuses to fight Sheridan and is left unharmed. The Vesta begins firing at Sheridan's White Star, but the destroyer's crew seizes their XO and arrests him; command is returned to McDougan and the Vesta surrenders. At the same moment, the destroyer Juno flees the colony via the jumpgate without ever engaging. The Pollux is completely destroyed when a White Star it has damaged collides with it; both ships explode. The Nemesis then surrenders after suffering heavy damage. This leaves only the crippled Heracles still opposing Sheridan; the ship's defenses are down and the bridge is wrecked. Sheridan orders the Heracles to surrender or be destroyed. Captain Hall, who believes that Sheridan is bluffing, tells his crew that he plans to flee the system rather than surrender and face the consequences, believing he'd be facing death anyway or the like if he surrenders. His second-in-command, Commander Sandra Levitt, does not agree with Hall's belief that Sheridan will not open fire and does not want the crew to die needlessly, so she has Hall arrested and removed from the bridge. Levitt then takes command and surrenders. Sheridan then meets with the surviving captains and tells them they have three choices: they can return to Earth and continue to fight for Clark, they can help defend Proxima 3 from further attacks, or they can join him in his crusade to overthrow Clark and liberate Earth. Sheridan then leaves so the captains can talk it over. Captain McDougan then tells Sheridan that the Heracles is withdrawing to the Beta 9 colony for repairs; Captain Hall will be kept under arrest and the ship will not participate in fighting for either side. The Furies will stay and defend Proxima 3, while the Nemesis and the Vesta will join Sheridan in his crusade to free Earth.

Meanwhile, on Babylon 5 two smaller stories play out: Ambassador Londo Mollari of the Centauri goes to the quarters of his old rival, Ambassador G'Kar of the Narn. He tries to convince a suspicious G'Kar to sign a joint declaration of support for Sheridan's crusade to liberate Earth; he believes that if two old enemies such as the Narn and Centauri can agree to support Sheridan it may convince other alien races to do the same. But G'Kar coldly refuses Londo's offer and refuses even to share a drink with him to signal their new alliance. Eventually, however, G'Kar agrees to sign the declaration (but not on the same page as Londo). Former Security Chief Garibaldi decides to permanently leave Babylon 5 to work for the powerful but mysterious businessman William Edgars on the Mars Colony.

[edit] Arc significance

The Earth Civil War begins between those loyal to Sheridan and those still loyal to President Clark.
Garibaldi moves to Mars.
The reconciliation begins between Londo and G'Kar