| “ | Why not? Only one human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari Fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else! | „ |
| ~ Delenn to a stubborn EarthForce Captain. |
Delenn was a protagonist of the television series Babylon 5.
She was portrayed by the late Mira Furlan, who also portrayed Danielle Rousseau in Lost.
Born in Minbar's southern regions in the early 23rd century, Delenn was a descendant of the human Jeffrey Sinclair, who had traveled back to the past, transformed into a Minbari-Human hybrid and became the Minbari religious figure Valen.
The Minbari leader Dukhat took her under his wing and named her his aide. Under his tutelage she eventually became a member of the Grey Council and was the chosen of Dukhat to succeed her. When Dukhat was killed by the humans in their tragic first contact with humanity, Delenn cast the deciding vote to declare war on the humans. After Sinclair was captured at the Battle of the Line and revealed to have the soul of Valen, Delenn convinced the other members of the Grey Council to end the war against Earth before humanity was wiped out.
Keeping a close eye on Sinclair over the next decade, she became friends with the former fighter pilot and helped ensure that when Babylon 5 was built he was named as its commander while she became the Minbari's resident ambassador on the station. As the Shadows awakened and began to return to the galactic stage after 1,000 years of hibernation, Delenn and Kosh Naranek monitored the situation and prepared for the eventual return of the Shadows.
Using the same chrysalis device Valen had used a millenia earlier, Delenn transformed herself into a Minbari-Human hybrid in late 2258 and early 2259. When she emerged from the cocoon she met the station's new Commander John Sheridan, who would evenutally become her husband.
She continued her working alongside Kosh and her allies in preparing for the upcoming war with the Shadows. When Mr. Morden showed up at the station she and Kosh warned him that continuing to interrogate Morden would lead to disaster as the Shadows would learn the younger races and the Vorlons would learn of their return before Delenn and her allies were ready.
The following year with Earth falling into fascism, she went to confront the Grey Council over their inaction in the face of the Shadows returning to the galactic stage. Delenn broke the council, convincing five of the nine members (presumably all the religious works and workers) to follow her and save B5 from being overrun, as it was vital to the fight against the Shadows. Arriving just as the second wave of EA forces were about to attack the station, she told these EA forces to withdraw. When the lead EA captain protested, she coldly reminded him that John Sheridan - the only Captain to defeat Minbari ships in battle - was behind her and he was in front of her. Quickly realizing that trying to fight Delenn was suicidal at best, the second wave of EA forces quickly departed from the system.
After marrying Sheridan in late 2261 she would later have a son they would name David after her husband's father. She was still alive in 2362, being 150 years old when she showed up at a symposium discussing her late husband.
Quotes
| “ | Three years. For three years I warned you this day was coming, but you would not listen. Pride, you said, presumption. And now the Shadows are on the move. The Centauri and the younger worlds are at war, the Narns have fallen, even the Humans are fighting one another. The pride was yours, the presumption was yours. For a thousand years, we have been awaiting the fulfillment of prophecy. And when it finally happens, you scorn it, you reject it because you no longer believe it yourselves. "We stand between the candle and the star, between the darkness and the light." You say the words but your hearts are empty, your ears closed to the truth. You stand for nothing but your own petty interests. "The problems of others are not our concern." I do not blame you for standing silent in your shame. You, who knew what was coming, but refused to take up the burden of this war. If the Warrior Caste will not fight, then the rest of us will. The council has lost it's way. If it will not lead, if we have abandoned our covenant with Valen...then the council shall be broken! As was prophesied. We must stand with the others now before it's too late. Between the Worker Caste and the Religious Caste, we control two thirds of our forces. To you, I say, listen to the voice of your conscience. Break the council and come with me. Our time of isolation is over. We move now, together or not at all. | „ |
| ~ Delenn to the Grey Council. |
| “ | Delenn:You will do nothing! You ignored his request to be cremated and have his ashes put in space! You disobeyed your war leader one of the greatest of our religious caste. You showed disrespect. You had to display the great warrior's body! You had to have your military spectacle! It stops here! Or the Star Riders will be destroye, dishonored by your actions. Neroon:Do you speak for yourself? Delenn:I speak for the entire Grey Council! I'd hoped to avoid this, but your insistence on investigating has left me no choice. You will support my statement that his body was transformed. That is a direct order from the Grey Council. You will obey it, as you did our order to end the war. |
„ |
| ~ Delenn dressing down Neroon. |
| “ | End this. | „ |
| ~ Delenn ordering the destruction of a Drakh carrier. |