| Number One/Theresa Holloran | |
| Babylon 5 character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Racing Mars |
| Last appearance | Objects at Rest |
| Portrayed by | Marjorie Monaghan |
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Mars Resistance Interstellar Alliance |
| Home planet | Mars |
Tessa Holloran, also known as Number One, is a recurring fictional character in the television series Babylon 5, and was portrayed by American actress Marjorie Monaghan. On the show, Number One was initially the leader of the resistance movement on Mars and later became head of covert intelligence for the Interstellar Alliance. During the time frame Babylon 5 takes place, Mars was a human space colony seeking (at times violently) independence from the Earth Alliance, and the issues on the red planet were story elements throughout the Babylon 5 series.
About the character
Number One first appeared in the series during the season 4 episode "Racing Mars", when Dr. Stephen Franklin and Marcus Cole travel to Mars to meet with the resistance leaders there. The names Number One, Number Two, etc. were used on Mars by the resistance to protect the identity of its leaders. Once there, Franklin manages to convince her to stop her fellow members from attacking civilian targets, citing that such acts only weaken their position, and to support Capt. Sheridan's Earth Alliance Civil War efforts against President Clark.
Later in the show, she provides assistance to Dr. Franklin, Michael Garibaldi and Lyta Alexander as they form a plan to break Sheridan free from prison, events depicted in the episode "Between the Darkness and the Light". During the time that Franklin is on Mars, he and Number One develop a friendship that turns into something more, and the two would rekindle that relationship later in the series.
Number One reappears at the end of Season 5 in the episode "Objects in Motion", when she comes to the station to deliver a warning of an assassination attempt on both Mr. Garibaldi and his soon-to-be wife, Lise Hampton-Edgars. Garibaldi departs the station to run Edgars Industries at the prompting of Lise, leaving his job as Head of Covert Intelligence for the Interstellar Alliance. In the subsequent episode, "Objects at Rest", it is revealed that Sheridan chose Number One to replace Garibaldi.
The character's attitudes towards Telepaths is vividly shown during the show's run. In the episode "The Face of the Enemy", Franklin and Lyta bring special cargo to Mars for smuggling onto enemy ships. Number One recognizes Lyta from past encounters and is quite angered when she learns Lyta is a Telepath, and later during dinner in the episode she continues to act hostile towards her. In addition, as Garibaldi tries to convince Mars Resistance of his innocence and the forced telepathic adjustments made to him, he requests to be scanned. Though Lyta states her opinions won't carry much with the resistance, Lyta scans him for the truth of his story. However Number One flatly doesn't believe the results and chooses to try to execute him then and there, confirming her low faith in the word of telepaths, as seen in the episode "Between the Darkness and the Light".
Throughout the series, she is only referred to as Number One, until the last few episodes of season 5. As she comes aboard the station in the episode "Objects in Motion", she experiences problems with her identicard and identifies herself as Tessa Holloran. After that Garibaldi, Franklin, and later Sheridan refer to her as Tessa and no longer as Number One. She remains on board the station in her new role, upon Sheridan's recommendation that she would have access to more resources at Babylon 5 rather than being on Minbar.