"How are the engines comming?" David asked RES.  "Two more hours..... look we should at least try to defend..."

"NO!!!! We are the only hope for the galaxy and right now we have no hope we have to wait untill the upperhand. How long until the evacuation is complete."  "Three hours we'll be there in 4 hours......and the furies will be there in 4 hours."

****************************

"DA*& These cows are everywhere how long untill the station blows?"

"4 hours we should have everyone off in half that time."

"Good now let's move people go go go."

"It was in storage on Mars. I'd nearly forgotten about it, it's been there so long. This is the first time I've had a place big enough to bother sending for it, and I actually sent for it before Zha'ha'dum was destroyed, so transport wasn't exactly swift!"

"Hmm...War and Peace, Madame Bovary, Grimm's Fairy Tales..." Morden listed off a few of the titles in the box.

"Anywhere on this wall...European classics."

Morden picked up a stack of the books, then paused.  Something else was in the box, wrapped in paper. She set the books down and dug it out. A large photograph in an elegant frame...Gwyn, standing on a marble staircase, surrounded by a group of men.

"Well you had quite a following! What is this?"

Gwyn looked down and practically fell of the ladder. "My God! I didn't know I even had that!"  Gwyn looked like she was going to cry, and hugged the photograph to her for a moment.

"This was my family. Behind me is Maxwell, a few months before we were engaged. My father on my left, and then Faber on my right. The other four are Matthew, Dalton, Jason, and Ellis." Gwyn pointed out each of her brothers as she named them. It was a formal photograph, each of the men in tuxedos, Gwyn in a ball gown of hunter green chiffon, absolutely glowing. She sighed as she gazed at the photograph. "This was taken at my father's 3rd inaugural ball. I thought this photograph had been lost...someone must have saved a copy."

"You don't talk about your past."

"No. It was happy though. I was the only woman in a house of 6 men who adored me. 7, when Maxwell came to the colony."

"You were lucky."

"Yes, I was."

"One of these days I'll pry something out of you," Morden said, setting up the photo on Gwyn's desk.

"One of these days I'll tell you. But not today. I have a doctor's appointment."

Morden looked at Gwyn, concerned.

"The Tribunal was complaining...something about a vaccine I haven't had?" Gwyn shrugged.  I dunno. They said it wouldn't take long."

Gwyn cleared a path to the door, and called to Louis and Kahnweiler (the nickname the Shadow had adopted for Gwyn's benefit, as the intracasies of the Shadow language were still beyond her. Actually, the alaphabet was still beyond her, but she was working on that....) that they were welcome to stay, as long as Kahnweiler didn't have some where to be, and as long as Louis listened to his mother.

*****

Gwyn had to admit she was relieved when she was met by a human physician, an middle aged woman with a pleasant face and rather blithe, distracted air about her.  The Shadow techs still made her nervous, after her last encounter with them.

"This is all pretty painless," the physician assured Gwyn.  "We'll need some samples, some baseline data. You're system is already a bit skewed since they did such a sloppy job trying..." the physician died off and flushed, but continued, "but that shouldn't have too much of an effect. So relax, it's all routine!" She smiled pleasantly, and Gwyn felt reassured. After 15 minutes of scans and some bloodwork, the doctor declared Gwyn finished.

"Just one more detail, rather unpleasant I'm afraid. We haven't had much trouble with diseases jumping species, but we can't take any risks. We've lost too many humans to illness...it's a one time injection..." Gwyn stared at the large syringe the physcian had prodouced.

"You've got to be joking!" she protested.

"Nope. This a vaccine for the Shadow version of the common cold. A minor annoyance to them, but for humans...well, it does some pretty nasty stuff to the central nervous system.  It's a simple procedure, really.  We slip it right in between two vertabrae in the Lumbar region of the spine..." the doctor brandished the needle as she spoke, falling silent as Gwyn's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed in a faint at the doctor's feet.  "Well, that makes things easy!"

"Garibaldi!" Neil cried. "How could you?!"

"What? I have a cold!"

"The last little bit of air and you have to sneeze all over it. Thanks a lot."

"Geez, you really get grouchy when you're oxygen deprived."

"I will have you know that I am not oxygen deprived in the least! All the air is here on the floor where it is supposed to be."

"Not so, Neil. As I've been saying for the ten minutes, we were going down before we left the station. So most of the air should have shifted up here."

Neil looked up at Garibaldi, who was sitting just as comfortably on the ceiling. "I'll be sure to remind you of that after you pass out."

"And I'll--" Garibaldi stopped short. He had suddenly begun to lift up from where he was sitting, first at a very slow speed, but then he fell like a log on to the floor.  "What the hell?!"

"We're moving! Someone must have found us! We're saved!"

"How's the evac going."

"Not well we can get them all out of here alright but unless the Salvation gets here soon the furies will kill us all before we can get away."

"What happened to the salvation?" Jim asked.

"We don't know one moment there following us the next.....boom gone. We expect David tried to fight them."

****************************

"We just got word David the furies have passed us." RES said with more than a slight air of sadness.

"*SIGH* How long?"

"About ten minutes befoe we can bring the engines back on-line we should be able to beat them by 3 or so minutes."

"Think we could cut it a little closer. At least they know to group up and be ready."

"I thought you knew.........Comm won't be up for another hour."

"WHAT YOU MEAN THEY DON'T KNOW!?!?! Oh this just get's better."

asdfasdfas

*****

Its one eye seemed mesmerized by the sights and sounds coming from the vid screen.  It had crawled up the back of the sofa and was right behind Domi's head where it had been watching movies with them for the last hour or so.  Suddenly a high pitched almost soundless scream shook the room.

Jesi and Mari had seen it at the same time.  {A keeper!}

The girls communicated quickly, backing away from the sofa.

{That must mean that a Drakh is nearby.}

{What would a Drakh be doing in this apartment?}

{Where would it have been hiding all this time?}

The keeper felt somehow disappointed that there were no humanoid life forms here now on which to attach itself.  The three older Centauri women had left before it had its opportunity.  It would need to go somewhere that afforded more choice.  The keeper stayed low and close to the darkening places of the room, moving stealthily.  These Shadow girls would be leaving eventually and it would find a way to go with them . . . back to . . . Boojilon?

A Shadow appeared at her side, and Gwyn forced herself to get a grip on her emotions. She scanned the ship, reassuring herself there were no telepaths (she still didn't trust the Sahdows about that... and stepped on board. She felt the scream pass through the back of her mind, briefly, but it no longer bothered her. She also felt the press of the organic technology against her telepathic blocks, but that would ease off once she become accustomed to it. It all felt remarkably ordinary, and Gwyn sighed in relief, then turned to the Shadow who had ushered her on board. Its readiated nothing but focused intensity, and Gwyn could not repress feelings of intimidation. The Shadow was ancient, even by their standards, and Gwyn suddenyl felt the full measure of her inferiority as in its gaze, a mix between contempt and measured exectation. The Shadow turned suddenly, and spoke.

{The lesson begins here. Evolve or die.}

"We have to get out of here.  We are in our aunts' place on Centauri Prime but we do not have any credits to make the trip to Minbar.  Help!"

Flarnstar was passing through and noticed Spoofoo talking to the girls.  He immediately explained their dilemma.

"I certainly cannot take any action without consulting Lindaru or Jim first.  I am certain that being they are Shadows, the keeper cannot do anything to them, but get their com coordinates and I will see what I can do about contacting their parents."

Flarnstar was already making arrangements to house a number of followers in her home.  She was grateful for all the help that the young rangers in training were giving her, otherwise she would not be ready in time.  She paused at a photograph of the Boojilon station hanging on her wall.  Next to that was a dimly lit likeness of the Booji Temple on the planetoid.

Flarnstar gathered Spoofoo close to her and gave him a very tender but tight hug.  "What is to become of all of us?"

"How fast?"

"Two maybe three minutes."

"WHAT WE CAN'T MANAGE THAT. David we have at least 50 ships."

"Just group them on a horizontal plane and the salvation will abzorb them into the upper hull we can sort it out when we have more time."

"Just how powerfull are these furies."

"Combined..... about ten times more powerfull than the salvation."

"......Sigh....... I'm sure going to miss the station David."

"Me too lindaru but it's time to say good bye."

asdfasdfasdf

Once in the cargo bay, Leanna eyed the turbolift apprehensively. She was wondering how in the name of Booji a turbolift had gotten into space when she noticed Lindise looking at her, waiting for directions. Leanna took a deep breath, "Well, I guess we'd better open it before whoevers inside suffocates". Lindise nodded agreement, and they began to pry open the turbolift doors.

Leanna trained her PPG on the door and pulled it open.  She knew the two people inside were most likely followers, but she couldn't take any chances at a time like this. She looked at the two figures gasping for air on the floor of the lift. "Well," she said "can you shed any light on the matter of what you were doing in a turbolift in the middle of space with no air?"

"Dief!"  Flarnstar ran to her and they gave a long embrace.  "What happened to you?"

Dief was ushered to a long comfortable sectional where she sat down quietly.  "Our ship was ambushed and I had to use a life pod to get out.  The life pod landed a couple thousand kilometers away from here, and I walked the rest of the way."

Flarnstar noticed the life pack nearly empty and hanging limply in the doorway next to where Dief had been standing.

"First lets get you into some clean clothes after a hot bath, then a good meal, and then we will talk."

Dief weakly smiled and blinked.

The Shadow brought up a three dimensional holographic display. {Watch. Correct. Learn.} it said as it ran the image of Gwyn's last attempt. One Shadow vessel - hers- against a convoy of Narn heavy cruisers and accompanying military vessels. She watched hopelessly, running over every move, every command, every decision as they played out before her, but saw nothing. She wasn't a brilliant strategist, she didn't know anything about fighting, and certainly wasn't a pilot - but she knew she couldn't have won.

"There were just to many!" She said. "I could not have defeated them! Maybe I did something wrong, I don't know...but I couldn't have won!" The Shadow heaved a great sigh, thinking to itself that preparing Gwyn was going to be a tremendous task.

{Victory does not end in defeat. Defeat does not end in death. Evolve or die. Repeat the simulation.}

Gwyn settled back into the command chair with failing determination. She hated riddles, and it was becoming clear that this simulation was not a drill or an exercise, but a riddle. If she couldn't learn to command a single ship, she would never learn to handle a fleet. This was obviously meant to aid both goals, but an hour later she felt herself no closer to the answer then she had been when she arrived. Frustrated and confused, she turned to the Shadow, who had remained a silent watcher.

"I don't know what to do! I can't win! No amount of skill can compensate for the numbers! If I can't win, and I can't fight, the only option left is retreat!"

{Yes.}

"What?" Gwyn was not sure she had heard the Shadow correctly, who simply replied {Repeat the simulation.} This time, Gwyn did not try to fight. She merely cleared a path through the Narn ships until she could gain enough room to jump to hyperspace. She escaped relatively unscathed.

The Shadow nodded approvingly, and turned to her.  {Victory does not end in defeat. There is only evolution and death. Fight, and die. Retreat, and live...to evolve.}

Gwyn stared at in shock for a moment, trying to absorb all that had passed. She stared at the Shadow for a long moment. "I think I understand."

{The lesson has been learned. Go. You will be sent for.}

Gwyn did not return to her quarters. Evening was falling, the artificial lights dimming and casting a warm glow on the city. Gwyn wandered the streets aimlessly for some time. She realised how quickly her life had moved of late, how much it had changed. Perhaps it was time to slow down, to put things in perspective, before all the change melded together and was forgotten.

Was it really so simple? Death was never inevtible.  Necessary at times, but never inevitable. She had "died" becuase retreat had never occured to her. She had thought the objective was to fight, to win. She recalled the Shadow master's words: There is only volution and death. Victory was not the objective; only evolution.  Gwyn suddenly felt very humbled as she realized how little she really knew about the creatures she had come to serve, to live among.

She wondered if she should perhaps fear them. She stood in the center of the city, at the base of the Great Shadow Statue, staring at it in morbid contemplation.  She remebered her first look at it, when she had come to ask the Shadows to allow her to join. She worked through her mind, and found Morden's memories, searching for his first encounter with the great monument. His soul had shivered at first sight of it...why hadn't hers? She laid a hand against the cool, alien stone, lost in thought, opening her mind to the feel of the city, to the hum of so many alien minds.

{Never fear us. Fear only what we can do.}

It was only a whisper, not so much heard as felt, like a cold breeze passing across her soul.  Her hand fell away from the Shadow. She had told Ranger there was nothing left to do but face the future with honor and without regret. She didn't regret what had brought her to the base of this statue. She might have wanted to regret it, and she certainly regretted some of her actions, but she didn't regret her past, didn't regret her future.  She was not blind to the implications of today's lesson.  The Shadows were signalling their full acceptence of her and her services, and were training her to be one of them.

She never would be one of them, not in the sense that Marichka or Leonora was, or in the sense Leonora's father had been. Yet in looking back, she knew now that the moment she set foot on Zha'ha'dum, they had become part of her. She didn't regret that either.

His encounter suit swished down the corridor where he saw David sitting, contemplating.  "We must talk."

David turned quickly.  "What is it?"

"It involves our nemesis and your alternate side, Neirol."

David stared at him.  "Yes, you have my attention."

"Keep in mind that forgivenness is irrelevant but understanding is necessary."

David did not even blink.  "Yes?"

"There is a secret to their technology that I helped Neirol create.  It pertains to . . . you remember . . . the furbies."  Jim wheezed a variety of colors before continuing.  "I helped create them.  There was what humans would consider to be an adorable species of mugwi which would never harm so much as a Brakiri flea.  However, there are a couple of things you can do to mutate them into an evil species.  One is to get them wet.  The other is to feed them after midnight.  I did both.  I did not, however, have anything to do with the Shalons."

David now shifted uneasily. "Why did you do such a thing?  What could have been going through your energy essence?"

"I had no choice.  If I did not cooperate with Neirol, the anti-Booji would have destroyed the planetoid."

David stood up and faced Jim.  "It looks like he may do that anyway."

*****

The sisters and Leanna stood numbly watching the panicked populace of Boojilon 5 streaming towards every docking bay.  Garibaldi and Neil were safely out of the turbo lift.  Lindaru came running up to them.  "Have you seen Jim?"

All four shook their heads "no".

"Why?" Leanna asked, concerned.

Lindaru held up a parchment with a black bucket on it and in white, the words, "Thank you for all of your help.  You will be rewarded.  The anti-Booji."

"Don't you dare say it...."

"I won't...."

"You'd better not...."

Neil grinned some more

"guys, come look at this" Leanna said waving the two to join her and Lindaru

"Nice handwriting" Baldi replied

"didn't even know the Anti-Booji could write" Neil continued

With that Lindaru eyed them stricktly "Weren't you two oing something about them cows?"  And she pointed owards the nearest working torbolift Go... chase cows!"

Baldi and Neil looked at each other, then eyed the Turbolift

"We'll walk...."

"David shouldn't we stay and fight we could at least..."

Before she could finnish Lindaru was mesmerized by the screen one of the furies shot a beam out of it's mouth. it compleatly destroyed the planetoid.

"My god get us out of here."

"wait picking up a com signal it's a small escape pod it's got the kids and flarn."

"Are we still missing anyone."

"I...I don't know." RES said. The furies shot another beam at the salvation it overshot and hit the planet.

"well it's a little late now." David screamed shoting a beacon to open up a rift.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"What are we to do....The planetoids gone.....we have nothing to stop those things and we don't evan know if we've lost anyone." Lindaru said.

"well, I can't do anything about that last one but a few days ago I discovered something in the middle of the ship we don't know how they knew but..." "The zocolo.....and the temple There are recreations on the ship."

"Down to the coffe shop. As for stoping the furies.  Garibaldi are you available for a mission? I need some help on breaking into suit HQ to get more info on these things."

"Well now that the stations gone we don't have much to defend.  Sure.'"

"We need everyone's help. Try to come up with some other plans... Just in ca

A piece of mail was propped up on the desk and Gwyn opened, to reaveal a plain bound paperback witht he words "Ranger Training Manual" printed in neat black type. A small note was enclosed: "This is good for a laugh. You're picture is on page 58. Justin" Gwyn smiled, and opened the book to the page that was marked. It was an 8 x 10 surveilence photo of herself, included in a section labeled "Confirmed Shadow Agents." Her statistics were listed along the bottom, and she made a mental note to write to them and inform them they misspelled her name...it was Roxburgh, not Roxbug. She settled down on the couch to flip through it, but set it aside when she got to Mr. Morden's picture, included with two others under the heading of "Confirmed Deceased." She was having enough of a time dealing with her own memories, she didn't feel like calling up his.

"Incoming transmission...."

"Receive. Audio only. Hello?"

"Gwyn?" Einat asked tentatively.

"Einat! Computer, video!"

Einat's face appeared, worn and tired. "I wasn't sure if this would get through, but I thought you should know.  The planetoid has been destroyed. The temple is gone."

Gwyn was stunned. She sat in shock for a moment before speaking. "Is everyone safe?"

"We don't know. There are a lot of people unaccounted for."

"I don't know what to say...thank-you for telling me, Einat."

Einat frowned sadly. She was too sweet to feel any bitterness towards Gwyn. "I didn't think you'd know. But I felt you should." She paused. "Gwyn...?"

"Yes?"

"Please keep in touch."

"I...I will. I promise."

"I have to go now. There's a lot of work to be done."  Einat didn't give Gwyn a chance to respond; the sreen blacked out and brought up a menu. Gwyn turned off the com channel and sighed. Now what was she going to do?

Now she was awake once more but she had no idea where she was. It was a planet, that was obvious, it could even be a moon. It was full of old craters and quite devoid of life and yet she was breathing so there had to be oxygen.

Her telepathic powers picked up a strange thought drifting her way. "Hello? Is there anyone there?" She asked nervously. She had no idea how much time had elapsed since she had teleported off the Shadow vessel.

At first there was no reply and then a dark figure walked towards her.

Laura gasped as she recognised the person before her.  "It can't be, you're supposed to be dead..."

The shuttle was barely halfway to the planet's surface when it dropped its package, taking off afterwards to get its cargo, refugees from Boojilon, out of danger. The package, a cylinder ten-feet in diameter and twelve-feet in height, dropped for a full two minutes before releasing an array of parachutes, which braked it to hardly a crawl by the time it struck earth.

Garibaldi pulled the hatch off and immediately ran out to the northwest. The terrain was flat and grass-covered, with very little in the way of variety or wildlife (though several cows were visible on the horizon). After running for nearly half an hour, Garibaldi arrived at his destination: a seven-foot high metal dome with a manhole on the top.

"Suit HQ." He said with a laugh. "How the mighty have fallen." He pried off the manhole and descended into the structure. Soon he was at a computer console, tapping away desperately to get the information, any information, David had requested.

Just as some information began to surface about the current crisis, a nearby door opened and a man in a tasteless white suit strolled in. When he saw Garibaldi he stopped, for a moment looking confused.

"Garibaldi?!"

Not having time for a chat, Garibaldi jumped up and pounded the suit in the face. He fell to the floor without a struggle. But it wasn't long before another group of suits came in and this time managed to sound an alarm. Soon Garibaldi was held to the floor by several suits.  Another, this one in a dark blue suit, walked in cautiously.

Hey, Garibaldi thought as he stared at the only part of the man he could see, I know those shoes!

"Now get out of here I must talk to him he's been on a long range mission."

The suits left the room quickly.

"Mr Garibaldi what have I told you about wnadering off on your own." As Neirol said this he morphed back into his natural form.... of David.

"Thought it was you. *cough* Mind giving me a little help here."

"Sure!" David said pleasently he began typeing quickly on the console. About ten minute later as they were waiting for the download of all suit info on the Furies the com system went up.

"Nice try father but unfortunatly the garuds report to me every half-hour."

"7*&^ how long?" garibaldi questioned.

"Three minutes tops.... Got the info."

"Let's move."

"No I have an idea just a moment......YES!"

*BAM*

"Put your hands on your.... D^%N they're gone. Check the com screen for what they got."

9.....8....7....

"Holy god every one out the first one set up a bomb 2....1....0 the screen changed to David's face."

"Psyhch your mind, have a very Booji day.... you thought I'd kill you?"

The suits noded.

"Good."

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

"What did you do David?"

"Overworked the computer the CPU. It burst into flames and ignighted the self destruct system." He said watching the flames. "Now let's get to our fighters everyone." The refugees
 noded

**********************

"I am aware of the power the suits offer us oh leader but we mingeled with the opposing race for the good of the younger races did we not?"

"What you say is true young one but who would we turn to...the shadow's, Vorlon's, Would the followers exept us after all we've done? No there is nothing we can do, we have chosen our path, now we must walk it."

*********************

"David more bad news."

"What Mr. Garibaldi?"

"Suit fighter group on our tale."

David swung his ship around and the rest soon followed sui er um his course of action.

"Alright people.....stay Frosty." David said "....here they come."

 asdfasd

"No thanks, I've eaten, but as I obviously look awful, I'll try some of that green tea you're always drinking."

Morden busied herself around the kitchen for a few moments, then settled down across from Gwyn with an expectant galnce. Gwyn took a sip of the tea and winced, but took a larger sip before speaking.

"I take it you heard from Einat?" Gwyn asked, and Morden simply nodded silently. "She wants us to join the followers."

"I know."

"I want to go...I wish to gods I could, but I simply can't.  If I known, perhaps even as little as 24 hours ago, I might haev been able to go, but not now. The Shadows are training me, I've got to see it through to the end. If I leave now, they will not let me come back, but I know too much for them to simply close the door in my face..."  Gwyn let the thought lay unfinished, and Morden simply nodded, knowing all to well what happened to agents who betrayed the Shadows. And any attempt Gwyn made to leave before her training was complete would be considered a betrayal.

"Yes, I was a little surprised when Kahnweiler told me who was in charge of you. If the Shadow master weren't dead, he'd be considered a myth. He trained my father as well..."  Morden shook the thought off, and refocused her gaze on Gwyn. "So you don't go. You have bigger obligations now."

"What about you? They could use your help. Will you go?"

Morden reached across the table and picked up Gwyn's of of tea. "You don't need to drink it to be polite. Let me get you something stronger, more to your taste."

"That didn't answer my question," Gwyn said, hanging onto the mug, forcing Morden to sit back down.

"No, it didn't."

"That won't answer my question either."

Morden began fussing again, her face grave, but at the same time level.  "I'll be much more useful here," she finally said.

"Here? How?"

Morden smiled and let out a breath of a laugh, "not useful to the followers, my dear. Useful to the Shadows.  Useful to the universe. Useful, period."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Gywn asked.  Morden came around the counter and set a cup in front of her. "It's a bit old, you'll have to excuse me. I seldom have company that drinks coffee." She sat down and stirred her own tea a bit. Not really doing anything but
 whipping the leaves and grit at the bottom of the cup into a dance.

"Why don't you want to be useful to the followers?"  Gwyn asked, pressing for an answer.

"They don't want my loyalty anymore. My presence is not missed anymore then it is required. They don't want me there. And I don't deal in giving people what they don't want."

"What makes you think that?"

"Everything I've done. I see it in their eyes when they look at me. Killing Sheridan, sabotaging plans, sacrificing us to further evolution. They don't like me for it. None of them do. But I was doing what I believed to be right.  They can blame me all they want to, doesn't mean I'll be sorry for it."

Gwyn sighed, her tone soothing. "How do you know any of that? We know why you do what you do."

"But do you believe it? You may know what I say, but do you actually believe that's what I'm acting on? I've been Marichka good little lackey for so long now, that I'm not even sure I know anymore." Morden closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. Gwyn looked away, drumming her fingers on the table slightly. "If you'd just go back..."

"No," Morden snapped. "They don't want me, and the don't need me." Morden thought back over the conversation. She was even starting to gain Marichka's woe-is-me complex. She laughed a little. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go get Louis. He's been at a lesson all morning." Morden started to go.

"Leonora, wait," Gwyn called after her.

"You can let yourself out." And the door shut behind her.

"You'd have done the same thing!" he chuckled.

"That is not the point. What are we going to do about Leonora?"

"Oh no! Not we...you. Don't bring me into this. Besides, what is there to do? She's made a decision that was hers to make. Not yours."

"No, she hasn't!" Gwyn burst out. "That's just it! This has Marichka stamped all over it! If I thought she really HAD made this decision, thenI would let it go. Maybe. But this feels wrong...I jut...know," Gwyn said, appealing to Jsutin. Justin sobered a little bit, and asked Gwyn to explain.

"Marichka and Morden were linked at one time, and in some ways, still are...maybe not directly, maybe only in what rubbed off onto Morden's personality, but there is still..a...a taste of it there. Morden still isn't thinking like herself. This whole business about being useful and useless...it just...it isn't her. Or maybe it is her, and I just don't know her as well as I thought. But I scanned her while she was speakign to me, and she is really hurt, by...by a lot of things, real and perceived. I didn't go any deeper, I feel guilty enough as it is."

"I think you know Morden as well as any of us, Gwyn, but don't presume to know what's best for her."

"I hadn't thought of it that way..." Gwyn said, her face quizzical.

"You said however, that Morden "didn't know anymore", yes? And so I agree with you...she needs to figure out what she believes, She needs to get her motivations straight. Until she does, she a liability to everyone, including herself. We can't have that. But I don't think you should try and talk her out of this descision."

"I suppose...but the followers do want her. Yes, they are suspicious of her, but they still know her, know her for who she is, beyond simply what she is. They would welcome her. Which is what infuriates me most about this entire affair! She insists on wallowing in self pity, and I simply want to slap her up side the head and tell her to get a grip!"

"Not if you want to live, you won't!" Justin laughed. Gwyn scowled at him, and spat out:

"And another thing! She makes TERRIBLE coffee!"

Morden smiled, "{Of course. Go on.}"

He rushed out. Morden went out onto the balcony and watched him run around in the street with a few of his friends. She sighed and looked around. She ended up in a staring contest with the Great Shadow God. She saw the eyes blink at her, then came the angry hiss. "{Get a grip. You're no good to us feeling sorry for yourself. Next you'll be a member of the tribunal for novelty.}"

Morden's eyes went wide with shock. She blinked once, and the statue was silent, lifeless once again. She turned back into the room. There was Justin, watching her intently. "Can I help you?" she asked him.

"No. Gwyn expressed some concern about you, so I thought I'd drop by and see how you were."

Morden laughed a little. "Gwyn. Hardly surprising. If I'd just go back, everything would be fine. It would be something to do I suppose, since no one here wants me to do anything." She laughed again. "God, I do sound like Marichka."

"She has a genius idea. Something for you to do. As an order from the Tribunal, you can't refuse without a fuss.  This should be interesting."

A Shadow entered and pointed to Morden. "{You. Come. The Tribunal wishes to see you.}"

Morden arched an eyebrow. Justin smiled. "This is going to be a doozy."

She followed slowly. She was taken straight to Marichka.  Marichka sat forward at her desk, and clapsed her hands on top of it, smiling in her usual faction. "You're annoying.  You don't get it from your father, so you must get it from your mother."

Morden sneered, "bitch. What do you want?"

"To give you your next assignment."

"Then give it to me, don't patronize me."

"Fine. You're going beyond the rim, sweetheart."

Marichka smiled again when she saw Morden simply blink.

David heard over his com system. He fliped his ship around until it was traveling downward in relation to where he was a moment ago and shot the fighter from behind his alli.

"Done, done, and done Mr. Garibaldi. I think that covers it."

"Exept one." With that garibaldi pitched backword firing on the fighter that had just apeared behind David.

"It appears we're even Mr. Garibaldi now let's get back to the Salvation."

***********************

"Now this is confusing, so far the furies have only atacked non-important targets. Mostly fringe worlds and small members of the ISA. Drazi Brakiri etc... Not a single report of them
near Minbar, Earth, Narn or Centari prime. What do you make of it Jim."

"A mystery wraped in an enigma Lindaru."

"Or a gold brick wrapped in a slice of lemon." RES said sarchasticly Jim and Lindaru stared blankly.

"No one appreciates good literature."

"Who d' man" David said

"You d' man" Mr. Garibaldi

"Who d' man"

"You d' man"

"Who d' man"

"You d' man"

"Who d' man"

"You d' man"

"Sounds like David and Garibaldi are back." Lindaru said "We got it Lindaru!"

"The Idiots guide to the Furies?"

"It's suprisingly intelegent comentary I hear."

"So what have we got so far?"

"Nothing I'm going to look at it right now."

 Tally-ho!

asdfa

RES sat in her chair and pondered.

"Well David, what've we got?" RES said leaning over the chair looking at the display.

"The Vorlon and Shadow furies require a pilot. While the First one Furie is compleatly self-sufficient."

"That's good that means we can use telepath's to at least slow 2 of them down."

"Nope the First one's anticipated that and have some feild that blankets telepathic activity."

"We seem to be living at square one."

"It's nice here actullay, 1st class acomidations and a good dental plan."

"heehee thanks David guess I needed to be cheered up."

"Don't get to giddy. We just got word. The furies are making tacticle strikes against ISN boosters." Lindaru said walking into David's impromtu lab.

"The generators that Let ISN go throught Hyperspace.  Why would they attack that?" RES questioned

"Of course!!" David said jumping out of his chair.

"What?"

"The Vorlons and Shadow's built these things right? Well they must have lockdown codes. But so far they are being predictable. Not doing anything."

"So the Suits are fighting a war of information. To give them as much time to take out the younger races before they attack the older ones."RES added

Right, and going by current estimates. we have.....three days to find away to stop them before everything we hold dear starts being strategicly blown to bits." David said.

Everyone looked around at each other. The time had come, the folowers must do.....something.

Tally-ho

QWERTYU

He yawned and shook his head. "better do something before I fall asleep" he thought to himself. He moaned a little as he got up, and sleepily waddled into his shop. As expected, two lost tourists browsing though the video selection. Boring. He walked over to the door and leaned against the opening, eyeing the few people shopping in the Zocalo. He sighed and stepped aside so the two tourist could leave, empty handed he noticed, and closed the shop for the day.

Lunch at the coffee shop tasted great, but not as great as it would have tasted if he wasn't so damned bored...... where was everyone? Oh yes, ofcourse they were all fighting against... uhm... Neil didn't have a clue anymore who they were fighting against. He would have joined them, but he was sick of fighting and wanted some rest..

And now he was bored......

"Oh David, how are you?"

"How do you think I feel after all that's happened?"

"Well at least we still have the station."

"Um.....Neil did you by chance sleep on your way back here?"

"Well yes as a matter of fact I did."

"Neil this isn't the station This is the Salvation The Station has been destoyed by the furies.  The Vorlons placed replicas of parts of the station in this ship"

"That explains the sudden redecoration of my quarters.  Who are the furies?"

"Giant war beings. The older races made to fight the Thirdspace aliens. Neirol stole them and is using them to destoy the ISN beacons then he'll attack all the races from least to most powerfull."

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S BOOJI!!!!!!!!"

"Calm down Neil, we'll handle it, we always do."

"What inspired you to come down here by the way."

"You know, Gwyn's coffee shop always open to hear your troubles."

"Well Gwyn's not here but the policy still stands."

"Neil," He started after a while. "this is all my fault I made Neirol, he did this."

"Don't be silly, if it weren't for you we'd already be dead a thousand time over. Now get going if we're get out of this we'll need all the help we can get."

"You sure your okay."

"I'm fine now that I've had someoone to talk to."

David walked out.  "Thanks Neil" he said returning to the Lab to find a way to save the Folowers with the others.

TALLY-HO

asdf

She didn't know why she was here. Perhaps to say goodbye. Perhaps to muster the courage to tell Marichka to go screw herself. Perhaps to prepare herself for the hell she would have to pay for saying it.

She was to take a fleet to the other side of the rim, and see if there anymore Vorlons were moving back into Vorlon space. There was no doubt that they would be detected. And there was only the smallest possibly chance that she would come out of this alive.

She looked at the coffee shop and the shirt shop. Saw Niels talking to David. Nothing that concerned her. She walked on, her arms crossed. Everyone was gone.  Spread out here and there. Giving her a chance to think.  She just hoped she could come to a decision.

Curious, Garibaldi flipped to the back of the book and found a short glossary. Under White Suit's he read:   "White Suits- the few good-intentioned suits that survived Earth's twenty-first century found themselves in a universe increasingly controlled by their evil breathren.  Seeing no choice, they broke away and formed a rebellion known as 'The White Suits'. They are rumored to have many ships filled with powerful technology, but Suit high command has many times denied such rumors, pointing out that the only contact with these White Suits has been a group of three or four infiltrators."

He was about to return to his reading when something popped into his mind. Something about the book...then it came to him -- he'd seen some people in white suits when he was trying to locate the book.

Garibaldi quickly jumped into his starfury and blasted out of the hangar bay.

White Suits?  Could there actually be good Suits?  Only Garibaldi knows for sure.  Can RES and Lorien defeat the upcoming attack?  What is to become of Gwyn in her Shadow Agent duties?  What will happen the next time Morden faces Marichka?  Read on in Episode 3.