“Confessions and Lamentations” is episode eighteen of season two of Babylon 5.
Sheridan is in C&C when Ivanova approached him. She says that there’s a Markab transport that’s almost 10 hours overdue and isn’t responding to communications. Ivanova wants to send a flight of Starfuries out to check. Sheridan agrees that it’s better safe than sorry. Ivanova suggests sending out Zeta squadron as soon as Keffer returns. Sheridan thought that Zeta were on stand down and Ivanova tells him that Keffer thought he saw a ship of unknown configuration in hyperspace and goes to look for it in his free time. Indeed Keffer did see a ship – in “A Distant Star” he came close to one of the Shadows. Sheridan probably realises what Keffer saw and tells Ivanova to get him back and to stop any more freelance investigations.
Dr Franklin is with a Markab, Dr. Lazarenn, regarding the death of another Markab. Lazarenn says that Franklin could have just accepted his certificate of death. The Markab had been ill for some time and died of natural causes. Dr Franklin tells Lazarenn that it’s policy that all deaths have to be checked by station personnel. Plus this is the fourth Markab in three days who has died of natural causes, which is way out of proportion.
Ivanova briefs Zeta squadron on their mission but, before they go, tells Keffer that he can’t go traipsing around in hyperspace looking for strange ships any more. Keffer isn’t happy about this but Ivanova points out with her usual subtlety that she’s Keffer’s superior and what she gave him was an order.
Sheridan is having dinner with Delenn. As he had a human meal with her in “A Race Through Dark Places”, she wishes to return the favour with a traditional Minbari meal. Delenn tells the captain that Lennier has spent two days preparing the meal, as there are many rituals that have to be followed during its preparation. He wasn’t allowed to sleep whilst cooking the meal either. Just as there are rituals for preparing the meal, there are rituals for eating it. If they are not followed, the meal is no longer sanctified – and Lennier will have to start all over again. There are many, many rituals, and the meal will take a long time to eat as a result.
Zeta squadron locates the Markab vessel which is drifting in space and is still not responding. Keffer has his Starfury’s computer scan the ship, but it detects no lifesigns. Keffer instructs it to scan again, as there were over 200 Markab on it. This time the computer detects over 200 lifeforms. Lifeforms, not lifesigns – it’s a ship of the dead.
Franklin has found something in his examination of the latest dead Markab and examines the others again to check. He confronts Dr Lazarenn when the Markab transport is towed in. Lazarenn is trying to stop the ship being boarded and Franklin says he knows why – so that a disease won’t be discovered.
When questioned, Lazarenn says that the disease is 100% fatal and 100% contagious. It appeared once, centuries before, and it wiped out an island noted for certain excesses. The plague was sent to be a punishment of the gods for immoral behaviour, and was named Drafa after the island. Drafa was isolated by weather for over a year, and by the time anyone went there, there was no one alive to pass on the disease.
Since that time, Drafa has been said to be a punishment for the immoral. When the first new case was discovered a year ago, no-one spoke about it because of the stigma. So it spread. Everyone was convinced they were moral, and that they would therefore be immune. The Markab leaders ordered Lazarenn and others not to talk about the disease, for doing so would be to accuse the victims of being immoral. So it spread, and spread faster. Those fleeing the homeworld took the disease to the colonies. No funds were provided to look for a cure either, but that didn’t stop Dr Lazarenn and others from trying. Even worse, he has no idea as to whether Drafa can jump to another species.
Babylon 5 is quarantined until something can be done. Currently, nobody knows how the disease is spread, or whether it can jump species. Garibaldi says that there will be panic, and things will get ugly as the Markab are blamed. Things do start getting unpleasant, and Franklin is desperately trying to find a cure.