Ulkesh

From The Babylon Project

Ulkesh Race: Vorlon Affiliation: Vorlon Empire Rank: Naranek Portrayed by: Ardwight Chamberlain

"Respect is irrelevant."

– Ulkesh

Ulkesh^[1] Naranek^[2] served as the Vorlon ambassador to Minbar in the years 2259 and 2260 and replaced Kosh as ambassador to Babylon 5 after his death.

Contents 1 History 2 Physical Appearance 3 Background Information 4 References 5 Appearances

[edit] History

Ulkesh was present with Kosh Naranek onboard the Grey Council’s Minbari cruiser before the death of Dukhat in 2245, and remained onboard until at least the Battle of the Line in 2248. ^[3] Ulkesh was the Vorlon ambassador to Minbar at the time Jeffrey Sinclair was assigned as the Earth Alliance ambassador to that planet in 2259. ^[4]

Ulkesh spoke to Rathenn following Sinclair’s departure for Babylon 5 in 2260 after he received a letter from Valen. Ulkesh told Rathenn, “He [Sinclair] is the closed circle. He is returning to the beginning.” ^[5]

After the death of Vorlon Ambassador Kosh in 2260, the Vorlon Empire sent Ulkesh to replace him as ambassador to Babylon 5. The Vorlons intended Ulkesh, for all intents and purposes, to impersonate Kosh, going so far as to insist that the new ambassador be addressed as Kosh in public. Ulkesh even refused to tell Captain Sheridan his name, cryptically remarking that “We are all Kosh.” Ulkesh saw the silhouetted image of two Shadows and Morden on the wall of Kosh’s cabin, presumably “burned” there by Kosh’s death. Ulkesh questioned Lyta Alexander as to whether a piece of Kosh might still be alive, but she informed him that she was not present at his death and did not carry such a piece. Ulkesh later attended Sheridan’s strategy session in the War Room on using telepaths as weapons against the Shadows. ^[6]

Lyta subsequently carried pieces of Ulkesh within her, although the experience was more painful than when she carried Kosh. After Sheridan’s attack on Z'ha'dum, Lyta began to suspect that Ulkesh was hiding things from her. In early 2261, Ulkesh stopped attending meetings and failed to return Delenn’s repeated calls. When Delenn approached the Vorlon for his help in mounting a rescue mission to search for Sheridan at Z’ha’dum, Ulkesh refused. He cared nothing about Delenn’s resulting lack of respect for him. ^[7]

Ulkesh responded condescendingly to Lyta’s demands for answers about the Vorlons’ plans when she grew weary of Ulkesh’s abusive use of her. When Lyta attempted to telepathically scan Ulkesh, he telekinetically slammed her against a wall and apparently caused her great pain telepathically. ^[8]

The Vorlon ambassador refused Security Chief Michael Garibaldi’s demand that he leave the station because of the Vorlon Empire’s destruction of planets influenced by the Shadows. He used a forcefield to deflect the security team’s PPG fire and a hypersonic pulse to shatter their oxygen masks, forcing them to exit his quarters. When Lyta later informed Ulkesh that a piece of Kosh was indeed still alive--inside a human--the Vorlon demanded that she show him who imprisoned Kosh. Garibaldi’s and Lyta’s actions were actually part of Sheridan’s plan to kill the ambassador so that he could no longer feed the Vorlons information about the plans of the younger races. However, Ulkesh became suspicious, almost evading the trap--an electrical field that caused the head of the Vorlon’s encounter suit to explode. The enraged Ulkesh exited the suit and attacked Sheridan. However, the piece of Kosh inside Sheridan revealed itself and engaged Ulkesh in a fierce battle. The two combatants exited the station and entered Ulkesh’s Vorlon transport, causing it to explode and apparently killing both Vorlons. ^[9]

[edit] Physical Appearance

Ulkesh’s encounter suit featured high, pointed shoulders; a swept-back, dual-pointed head; and a darker, red-purple color. His eyepiece exhibited a single red point that flared when the Vorlon angered or exerted his telepathic or telekinetic abilities.

When Ulkesh emerged from his encounter suit, he appeared as a non-humanoid diaphanous creature with tapering tendrils running the length of his elongated body, which had a slightly purplish coloration.

[edit] Background Information

Ulkesh’s name and his presence onboard the Minbari cruiser ^[10] and on Minbar ^[11] were confirmed by J. Michael Straczynski in his newsgroup postings. He also provided further insight into Ulkesh's character and his relationship with Kosh.

• "I wouldn't call them friends. They had a certain respect for one another, but Ulkesh always thought Kosh was soft, and Kosh always worried that Ulkesh was dangerous. In their own ways, both were right." ^[12]
• It wasn't so much a case of Ulkesh turning against the effort, but finally hitting the end of his patience with the humans, and his predecessor's decision to let the 'natives' get out of control." ^[13]
• "...Ulkesh was the more military of the two, very isolationist, while Kosh was the curious one, interested in the younger races, and more willing to extend himself (with sometimes unfortunate results). Kosh always worried what Ulkesh would do without his moderating presence...and ultimately had to be the one to take him down to allow the younger races to step forward." ^[14]
• "The design [of Ulkesh’s encounter suit] is a matter of form following function.” ^[15]
• "[Kosh and Ulkesh] are not that far apart in age, but yes, Kosh would be a bit older…." ^[16]
• In To Dream in the City of Sorrows, Ulkesh shared the title Naranek used by Kosh. ^[17]

It is possible that the two Vorlons who greet Valen at the end of "War Without End, Part II", are Kosh and Ulkesh; the encounter suits are the same.

[edit] References

[edit] Appearances

• In the Beginning
• War Without End, Part I
• War Without End, Part II (unconfirmed)
• Walkabout
• The Hour of the Wolf
• The Summoning
• Falling Toward Apotheosis