ISN Anchor Desk - Babylon 5 Short Stories

There have been a total of six Babylon 5 short stories, published in Amazing Stories and the Official Babylon 5 magazines. They include:

Amazing Stories #597 - "Shadow of His Thoughts" by JMS
Amazing Stories #599 - "Genius Loci" by JMS
Amazing Stories #602 - "Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic" by JMS
Official B5 Magazine #22 - "Hidden Agendas" by JMS
Official B5 Magazine #23 - "True Seeker" by Fiona Avery
Official B5 Magazine #24 - "The Nautilus Coil" by J. Gregory Keyes

I won’t give detailed information that would spoil your enjoyment of the stories, but here is what I CAN say about each of them ...

In "Shadow" JMS details Londo’s first days as Emperor of Centauri Prime. It takes place during Season 5, and should be read second, if you’re reading them in chronological order. While other characters are mentioned, the only ones from B5 present are Londo and Minister Virini, who appeared in several episodes during season 5.

"Genius" shows one of the adventures of G’Kar and Lyta, shortly after they leave the Babylon 5 station at the end of season 5. On board their ship, the Na’Toth, Lyta and G’Kar find an abandoned Psi Corps ship, which sends them on an intriguing journey into the chaos. This should be read third.

"Space, Time..." Ok, the only thing I will say about this is that it takes place 300 years after B5 (so it should be read last), with Marcus waking up - 3 centuries after his death. This is the story that literally split fandom right down the middle, due to its controversial ending, and is a very beautiful, touching story.

"Hidden Agendas" brings Susan Ivanova back to Babylon 5 during early season 5. It features Susan meeting Lochley, the first hints of - well, something - between Lyta and Byron, and ShadowTech ... tying directly to the two "lost" episodes of Crusade by JMS. This should be read first.

"True Seeker" by Fiona Avery - who also wrote 4 scripts for Crusade - reintroduces us to Alyssa, the telepath from season 1. Alyssa had just come into her telepathic abilities, and had to choose between Psi Corps or being Rogue ... and went off to learn on the Minbari Homeworld. In this story, we meet up with her about 15 years later, still working for the Minbari. She’s assigned a case on Narn, the daughter of a prominent member of the Kha’Ri (ruling body of Narn). In order to complete her case, she teams up with Na’Toth ... All I can say about that is, "It’s about damn time!" This should be read fifth.

"Nautilus Coil" by J. Gregory Keyes presents Lyta and Garibaldi during year 7. Lyta is no longer on her adventures with G’Kar, and is hunting down what she believes to be the planet the Vorlons created telepaths. She is racing the clock, as Bester has sent his own agents to the same place. Are the Vorlons really gone? This should be read fourth, right after Genius Loci.