Messages were sent to Sinoval, but there was no reply. Reports were coming in of fighting on one of the colonies, but there was nothing definite.
Many non-essential personnel were evacuated back to Kazomi 7. Lethke was one of these, as he knew he would be able to do more there. The dream of unity at Babylon 4 might have been lost, but it could still be recreated at Kazomi 7. G'Kar went there as well, to recover from his wounds. Before he left he spent more than an hour in discussion with both Ta'Lon and Garibaldi — considerably against doctors' advice.
Between them Captain Sheridan, Delenn, Ta'Lon and Taan Churok managed to co-ordinate the defence of the station and the Machine. Wherever possible telepaths were placed on the capital ships. Lyta Alexander instructed them thoroughly on how to spot and paralyse the Shadow ships. Few of the others had any experience in such matters.
A great deal happened in those two days. Some of which is known to history….
<Are you ready?>
Lyta looked up at the Vorlon before her, and nodded. She knew his name, Kosh, even without being told. He was a part of her, after all.
'Yes,' she said. 'I'm…. I'm ready….'
<I will not be returning.> There was a great and terrible sadness in his voice.
'Why?' she asked, walking up close to him, touching his armour. It seemed so warm, almost alive.
<A bargain was made. It is time for me to pay. Another will come for you soon.>
'I don't understand. What do you mean?'
<You will.>
Light blazed up around her and she screamed, her mouth wide open. Her eyes glowed pure golden, slowly returning to normal as the light passed through her and into him. When it was over she slumped to her knees, looking up at him. 'I…. I can't feel you any more,' she whispered, horrified.
<I need to be whole. You will not be alone for long.>
'You're…. Oh my God. You're going to die.'
He turned to leave, and as he reached the door he stopped and looked back. <Remember me.> She could not be sure from the tone, but it sounded more like a plaintive request than an order. He then left.
She never saw him again.
Elsewhere, work on the
Captain Smith sat in his ready room, Captain Sheridan and Commander Corwin with him. 'It's a fine ship,' Smith said.
'It should be,' acknowledged Sheridan. 'But it was a fine ship before. What have you people done to it?'
'I didn't do anything. It was…. repairs, upgrading. I only supervised the final stages. The rest of it was all done before I was appointed.'
'Why are you doing this?' Corwin asked suspiciously.
Smith studied him. 'Why do you trust me enough to make the offer?'
'I don't,' said Sheridan. 'Delenn does, and I trust her. Still…. you made a brave offer…. yourself for your crew. I don't think many people would have done that.'
'It was the right thing to do. You'd have done the same.'
Sheridan nodded. 'Maybe I would.'
'Even so, there aren't many people who would trust me to fight alongside you.'
'Delenn explained the significance of this?'
'Oh yes, she did. But I can't help but feel she left something out. That's if I even believe her. Time travel? Am I really expected to understand that this…. Babylon Four must go back in time or the whole fabric of whatever will be torn apart?'
'That's as much as I know,' Sheridan lied. 'It's not our place to question such things. We're soldiers. We obey orders, and that's it.'
'True enough. But I'm helping you here for the good of my crew. Don't forget that.'
'I won't.'
And on the station maintenance workers and Rangers hurried around under the seemingly omnipresent direction of a strange little alien everyone deferred to, making repairs and alterations to technology they did not really understand.
'Yes yes. Do that. That is good. No no, not that tool, never use that tool, use this tool…. ah, no this not right tool. Ah yes, this right tool.'
'That's the one I was using before!'
'Yes. Zathras know that. Do as Zathras says. Ah, everyone listen to Zathras. Zathras knows what Zathras is saying. Trust Zathras.'
Sometime during this frantic charging around Zathras managed to meet with Valen, who had been mainly talking either to Catherine or Kosh, or both together.
'Zathras be going back with you. Yes. You need Zathras to help you, you see. Zathras has…. great destiny in past, yes. Not as great as Valen's destiny, but almost. Zathras must make sure Valen does not trip over own feet, yes.'
Valen smiled. 'I would be honoured to have you with me, Zathras.'
'I'll be going too,' announced Catherine.
Of all those gathered there, only Valen seemed surprised. 'What? Catherine, you….'
'Don't you dare try to say I can't. I will not be separated from you again. I'm going, and that's the end of it.'
'But….'
'Don't, Jeffrey. There's nothing left for me here. I'm going with you.'
Zathras looked at Kosh, with a knowing sense of sadness in his eyes.
There was an equal fluster of activity on the planet, in the heart of the Great Machine, where Michael Garibaldi's physical body was enshrined surrounded by technology immeasurably old and powerful.
'Isn't that…. weird?' asked Commander Corwin, looking at both his friend's real body and the holographic form Garibaldi had created.
'No. Well, yeah, but…. It's hard to explain. I'll be glad to see the back of it, though.'
'This is only temporary?'
'You bet. G'Kar said he can take this thing back once he's recovered. I'd prefer it if I didn't have to do this temporal rift thingy, but its mostly done anyway. I'm just following the instruction manual.'
'Er…. yeah. Michael, what about…. Bester?'
'What about him?'
'He betrayed us all. You as well as the rest of us. And…. well, with Lianna on Sanctuary and everything. You've known Bester a lot longer than the rest of us, but….'
'I don't know why he did what he did, but he had his reasons. He's still a good man, and he must have had his reasons, whatever they were. I'll…. take it up with him later.'
'Later, yes. What about Lianna? What should we tell her?'
'Tell her? Nothing. I told you, I'll only be in this thing a couple of weeks at most. Nothing can go wrong, so…. what's to worry?'
'What happened to the person who was in here before you…. that's a pretty major thing to worry about.'
'Won't happen to me. Trust me, David. Nothing's going to go wrong.'
Alone and almost forgotten in her cell, Susan Ivanova was sitting bolt upright, long-forgotten memories returning to her, a part of her soul that had been taken away coming back. She remembered Marcus, she remembered Laurel, she remembered her mother.
And she heard the voice of the Shadows in her mind, telling her that they would be coming soon, and telling her what she would have to do when they arrived….
Two days later, all was done. The temporal rift was open, the machinery on Babylon 4 was complete. Valen stood alone in the command centre and breathed out slowly. Footsteps in the sand.
