Babylon 5: Accusations
| Babylon 5: Accusations | |
|---|---|
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Lois Tilton |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Babylon 5 |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | May 1995 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 278 pp |
| ISBN | 0-440-22058-0 |
| OCLC | 32351621 |
| Preceded by | Babylon 5: Voices |
| Followed by | Babylon 5: Blood Oath |
Accusations is the second book in the series of original science fiction novels based on the Emmy Award-winning series Babylon 5 created by J. Michael Straczynski. This book is authored by Lois Tilton.
The novel is set somewhere in the season 2 timeline of the Babylon 5 TV series, between "Points of Departure" and "Divided Loyalties". The story revolves around an overzealous independent investigation of a murder on Babylon 5.
After receiving a call for help from an old acquaintance, Commander Ivanova responds to a distress signal from a cargo ship being attacked by raiders. On her return, Ivanova is informed, by Garbaldi, that her acquaintance - J. D. Ortega - is dead. Unable to decipher a message Ortega left her, Ivanova begins to look for patterns in the raider attacks. With little effort, she finds one - the raiders are attacking ships with morbidium - a substance used in the manufacture of weapons.
Shortly after this revelation, a group of independent investigators arrives from Earth and implicate Ivanova in the murder of Ortega. Ivanova is removed from command and confined to her quarters while Garibaldi is ordered to not pursue this Ortega's murder. When evidence of another murder surfaces, Garibaldi begins to investigate.
Ivanova, meanwhile, is ordered to pro actively defend cargo ships that are at risk of being attacked by raiders as per the pattern she discovered. During these runs, she manages to capture a raider alive and learns that an arms company on Mars is likely behind the attacks.
When one of the independent investigators is murdered, everyone from Mars is brought in for questioning and a riot breaks out. This and other factors lead to Sheridan to defy orders from the Joint Chiefs and involve himself in the independent investigators investigation. In doing so, evidence is found implicating them in the second murder and the afore mentioned arms company in the first murder.
Eventually, the independent investigators are removed from the station, and Ivanova is cleared of any wrongdoing. Still unable to decipher Ortega's message, she asks Babylon 5's resident telepath Talia Winters to help her remember. With her help, Ivanova learns of a substance called supermorbidium - a newly developed substance that would greatly improve a weapons effectiveness.
In the end, it is revealed that Ortega was murdered because he had this information and that the Joint Chiefs had wanted to minimize the number of people that knew about it.
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