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Legions of Fire timeline question...
I'm finally getting around to reading Legions of fire, but something struck me as odd. I'm about halfway into the first book, and I'm having trouble placing where it currently is in relation to the rest of the series. I'm at the part where Vir returns to B5 after visiting Londo and getting the veiled messages that something's wrong (he's trying to find out about Rem Lanas or something...), and upon his return to Babylon 5, he's brought to Sheridan's office by Garabaldi.
My confusion stems from the fact the book's plot is currently at least eight months after the events in The Fall of Centauri Prime, but in order for Garabaldi to still be working as head of intelligence for the Alliance, it would have to have taken place before the beginning of Wheel of Fire (Garabaldi was placed on suspension at the beginning of the episode, and as far as we were told, never took the position back up after Number 1).
So is the book's timeline just a little wacky, or was there really a span of 8+ months between The Fall of Centauri Prime and Wheel of Fire?
And please, no spoilers for further in the series.
My confusion stems from the fact the book's plot is currently at least eight months after the events in The Fall of Centauri Prime, but in order for Garabaldi to still be working as head of intelligence for the Alliance, it would have to have taken place before the beginning of Wheel of Fire (Garabaldi was placed on suspension at the beginning of the episode, and as far as we were told, never took the position back up after Number 1).
So is the book's timeline just a little wacky, or was there really a span of 8+ months between The Fall of Centauri Prime and Wheel of Fire?
And please, no spoilers for further in the series.
Comments
One of the later books makes a reference to this, saying the lengths of times were intentionally fudged because this is the Earth translation, and since Centauri years are (apparently) shorter than Earth years, the dates were futzed around a bit to compensate (so that Centauri birthdays and whatnot were dated on the same day on the Earth calendar, even though they might've been weeks or months apart from the stated date in actuality). I then "begs the forgiveness of the chronological purists among the readership", which I suspect was Peter David's little jab at that Amazon reviewer.
Anyway, I compensate for it by having two or three months between "The Fall of Centauri Prime" and "The Wheel of Fire", and I mentally edit all the dates so those eight months on Centauri Prime are condensed into about three. Just change all references to "months" to "weeks", and it should fit better.
I remember the Babylon 5 magazine had a timeline in it, a new section every month, where it was putting together all the novels and episodes and movies, but I have no idea if it got to that point in history. I only got one issue, and they stopped making it a short while after that.
[B]I think there probably is a bit of a gap between "The Fall of Centauri Prime" and "The Wheel of Fire". It's also worth noting that Garibaldi wouldn't have to be head of intelligence to bring Vir to Sheriden's office, and he did hang around for a bit after resigning anyway. I can't remember if it states him being head of intelligence when he delivers Vir. [/B][/QUOTE]
I really gotta pick up the Season 5 DVDs, as I'm having a tough time remembering Wheel of Fire well enough to know if it gave any indication how long after TFoCP the episode takes place.
As far as Garabaldi goes, it isn't said either way if he's been suspended or not, but I doubt that Sheridan would want him to be running errands so quickly after he told him to take the time off and get his life straightened out.
And now that I think of it, it's entirely possible that a Centauri month is a heck of a lot shorter than an earth month, and since the character who was referring to the timespan was a Centauri, maybe the time period isn't that long after all.
I've already come across yet another strange little inconsistency, though...
The Death Clouds referred to in the second book, aren't those supposed to be the same as the one(s) that the Shadows used near the end of the Shadow War? The description is the same as what we saw in the show (surrounds a planet and bombards it). Now, given that, it not only struck me as odd that three techno mages that were with Vir were referring to them as if one had never been used before. Not only that, but then Vir starts going on about how if one had been used, then the Vorlons could have helped them to defeat it. However, Vir knew as well as anybody that the Vorlons weren't exactly on their side (especially near the end of the Shadow War, what with the whole "almost blowing up Centauri Prime" thing), so it seemed really strange that he'd refer to them as potential allies or anything.
Fairly minor nitpicks, sure, but in a story as generally consistent as B5, stuff like that seems rather out of place.
Also, just to make sure, the one Death Cloud that got away from Xha'dam was the same one that the Alliance fought in A Call To Arms, right? It's been a while since I saw it, and I don't remember all the details.
[B]is it just me or is activity here spiked... alot? Lurkers are coming out of the woodwork everywhere! [/B][/QUOTE]
Yeah... And it's [i][b]YOUR[/b][/i] fault Croxis!
:p :D ;)
heh heh...
Seriously though, Yeah, I think the recent exchange over TMoS recasting has opened up some B5 comunities to the existence of other B5 communities...
The universe grows a little more today...
;)
1. a new entry in the B5 univers on the way
2. rumors and speculation about said entry moving towards the gloomy side of things.
[B]Also, just to make sure, the one Death Cloud that got away from Xha'dam was the same one that the Alliance fought in A Call To Arms, right? It's been a while since I saw it, and I don't remember all the details. [/B][/QUOTE]
Right. And the cloaking field that surrounded Xha'dam was the same one that the Drakh fleet was hiding in when Our Heros discovered them mobilizing in that selfsame movie.