Famously, the station goes back in time to the first shadow war. However, it seems difficult to believe that it had much to do with fighting the shadows, since they are an ancient race and 1000 years of technology won't make much of a difference to them. So what was the point of Babylon 4 going back in time? I get that we needed a way for "Valen" to exist, but was there something specific about Babylon 4 itself that was required to win the war that couldn't have been accomplished simply by Valen going back in time without it?
asked Sep 5 at 16:42
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4IIRC, it was used as the base for the Minbari fleet.– Klaus Æ. MogensenCommented Sep 5 at 17:16
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@Michael Stachowsky Why do you call it "the first Shadow war" instead of "the previous Shadow war"? What makes you think that the Shadow war during Babylon 5 was the second shadow war instead of the 457th shadow war or the 10,256th shadow war?– M. A. GoldingCommented Sep 8 at 0:17
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1 Answer
Yes; the finer details are glossed over but it provided a needed base of operations for the Minbari after their previous base was destroyed. I would surmise that a thousand years ago they had fewer resources and the loss of a key station would have crippled them.
Taken from the episode synopsis on the Lurker's Guide page for War Without End:
"This is one of the few surviving records from that war. Toward the end, the tide of battle had turned against us. Our greatest starbase, the center of our efforts in the war, had been destroyed by the Shadows. Without a long-range base of operations from which to launch our forces, we were doomed to lose the war. Then, as if in answer to our prayers, a replacement arrived." She touches the device again, and something very familiar appears on the screen.
"Babylon 4!" Sheridan says in amazement.
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3There is also a comic series, In Valen's Name that gives some glimpses of that time.– RadhilCommented Sep 5 at 19:38