"Nothing." Kat said. "Nothing wrong with you. Nothing there that shouldn't be."

"You mean, I am implant free?"

Kat sighed, "Jim was just worried."

"I'd wager he was." Morden stood and left. She went to the first empty room she could find and opened a channel to Z'Ha'Dum. She was patched straight through to Marichka.

"<Very good. Worthy of the first Morden. But you have no talent for playing people against each other.  Not yet. But you'll learn." Marichka held up a data crystal and looked at it.  John Sheridan." She laughed a little. "<I should have killed him when I had the chance. Trust him to find a way to annoy me. For all the annoyance I gave him. I know what I need to know."

"<When will you move?"

"<When they move. I wouldn't want to whack on anyone who didn't deserve it. Will you stay there?"

Morden nodded.

"<Good. I may need you for something else."

And the link was severed.

weak as she was RES was restd a bit a lay have unconscience in the lab. David was looking through a microscope and Jim just stood in the corner. Finally RES spoke..... "Get EVERYONE in here!" Her voice was trembling but none the lest her comanded was carried out with not the slightest thought about who really was in charge.

When EVERYONE had assembled in the lab RES spoke.  "Ok here's what i have to say.  David-your are doing great, just don't get frustrated.

Lindaru-don't worry i'll be fine just keep your gaurd up!

Kat-the same to you.

Jim-I know what's happening to me. I don't particullary like! And i know you can help David, so if you don't want me to seriously turn your molecules inside out and then feed you to some really nasty things i suggest you get of you encountersuited a$$ and help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Morden smilled at this comment. At this RES got even more energy back.  Morden-I don't think you have any room to even breath! I know who you are i know who you work for, if i wanted to i could know the first thing you ate...EVER! So if you don't help find away to help
instead of doing what i know you are doing, the same thing that i do to jim i will do to you...it will just hurt more!

When RES started Morden turned pale white.  Everyone saw this. Lindaru and the others were very confussed, but as RES knew what they were feeling they expected that everything she said to Morden and Jim (especially the turn you molecules inside out part).

Everyone but Lindaru left she wanted to ask RES about her coment to Morden.  "RES what was that coment about i know who you are and i know weho your working for mean?'

"Remeber when you 2 were together pondring why the shadows have let Morden go?"

"Yeah", not very suprize the RES knew it and that she wasn' there.

"Well, there is a reason they let her off. Jim has the right idea. and you know what i don't think you should trust her. No sracth that...DON'T TRUST HER!!!!!!!!! I tell you the rest later, but please for my sake at least don't trust her!"

Morden was looking out a window into space. Lindaru wanted to talk to her, to ask her what was going on. And since she was the most gentle of the group present, she did.

"We're your friends Morden," she said. Morden shot a glance back at her and smiled, "No. Not anymore.  You're all suspicious of me. You don't trust me. Just like the old days. I'm a Shadow agent, and I'm evil. We're evil. It's not the first time. And it won't be the last. The Darkness and the Light and all that jazz." Her head cocked to one side, and she fell silent.

"What did you do to RES?"

"Viewed that data crystal. Made a copy of it and gave it to Marichka," she said casually.  Lindaru grew puzzled, "why? How could you?"

"What could I, a simple mundane, have done against telepathic programming?"

Lindaru looked down.

"Never once thought, did you all? How could I have scanned Jim? You think I'm nosey enough to view that data crystal on my own?" She laughed and shook her head. "It's always the Shadow agent's fault. Typical. I am utterly expendable. RES will kill me, or the Shadows will kill me. Either way I'm dead." She pulled out another data crystal, "I might as well go out in a blaze of glory, and take out an enemy while I'm at it."

Lindaru grew worried. Morden saw this and smiled wickedly. "My Associates dropped this off only a few minutes ago. Lets find RES and take a look at it. I think she'd be interested too."

"Morden," she hesitated, "Maybe you shouldn't. If that is as bad as you're hinting..."

"You always cared. You always tried. I appreciate that.  But now is not the time to try. And now is not the time to care. It'll only hurt you."

Lindaru followed her slowly. They came to RES's room. Morden's eyes narrowed, "My Associates gave me this. I think you might like to see it. You see, Marichka is a lot like you. She can find something out in one dimension, in one time, and the knowledge spreads to all the other Marichka's that have, or will existed. And sometimes, all those heads together come up with a genius idea." Morden popped the crystal in. It was an ISN feed from another time.

"And tonight, shocking news from Minbar. John Sheridan, the leader of the covert group known as the Rangers, as found dead today, along with his wife, Interstellar Alliance president Delenn of Mir. No one knows who is responsible, but it is clear that this was an assassination. The most gruesome fact so far is that head of Sheridan has not been found on the premisis. The search is on, and any information that might lead to an arrest will be rewarded."

Morden looked at RES. "You should be honored, you're the sister of the only human ever to see the capital of Z'Ha'Dum. Even if it was only his head." She smirked.  Lindaru froze, breathless.

Jim's eye piece fixed on Morden.

David's jaw clinched. He opened a ship wide intercom, "Mr. Garibaldi to C&C. Escort Morden to the brig."

Morden shook her head and looked down. Then back up, "Louis stays here," she fixed on RES, "Anything happens to him, and Marichka will be the least of your worries."

Garibaldi looked puzzled as he came in. Morden turned to him and gestured out the door, "Lead on, Mr. Garibaldi."

Neither of them had said anything as they walked to the brig. Garibaldi was surprised, not much though. He had a gun to Morden's back, but it was on safety. He thought momentarily that Morden might somehow know this and make a move, but then she would undoubtedly know how quickly Garibaldi could snap it off, so he didn't want to take the chance of shooting
her. Yet she really didn't seem to care.

"Morden." Garibaldi said as they reached the door.  "Why?"

"I'll remind you Mr. Garibaldi that I personally have done nothing.

"Oh." Garibaldi was so consistently without a clue.  "Open brig door." The walked through. The suit jumped to his feet and started banging on the wall. "Shut up you!" He opened the cell door and let the CEO inch past Morden, then he threw her inside. Closing it, he turned his attention to his double. "Come with me.  There's trouble."

Silently, Garibaldi clicked the trigger lock off.

RES was watching the data cyrstal over and over and over. so much her eyes started bleeding (wither that was from anger or fear or a combination if things we don't know).  Although all these tears she make a sound, she just wathched and watched.

Lindaru put her arm in her shoulder. Finally RES spoke.

"You know that I only said that to Morden to try to scare the part of her not held under lock to try to break free?"

"I know." Lindaru agreed although this information was ne to her.

RES just kept on watching, and wathching..................... BREEP, BREEP, BREEP, BREEP!

"INCOMING SHIP...CONFIGURATION...WHITESTAR."

"What now?!" Lindaru went to C&C to check things out. She hailed the ship. The ships reply was only audio.  "HE's dead! Let me dock! HE's dead!!!!!!"

Lindaru didn't like the sound of it but she let the whitestar dock. After she thought about it she didn't really like the idea, but something in side her said to do it, well maybe someone inside her mad her do it.

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

"Where is she?" This was a Ranger, he was frantic, and Garibaldi didn't know what to do. At that moment Lindaru came in. The Ranger rushed over to her.  "Where is she? Tell me i need to know!!!!!"  "In med lab." Lindaru answered without relizing it. She now had the suspision that RES knew about this visitor.

The Ranger was lead by Lindaru to Med Lab. When he went in RES was still watching the cyrstal. She Looked up and turned it off.  "HE's dead!" the Ranger spoke with a voice that chilled everyone to the bone.  "I know. I was just informed." AT that RES nearly clappesed, David told her to satay off her feet but she was a stubborn thing, the Ranger caught her. RES held on and held on. It did't seem like the Ranger wanted to let go either.

"I know, and they'll pay. We'll make them pay. We wont let them get away with it!"  And with that David came in a started yelling and screaming about how RES need rest and she was to
be lying down. No one gave him any trouble.

Jim took Lindaru aside, appearing to be unemotional about the entire situation.  "It is the time rip.  Things are returning back to the way they were when we first arrived and breeched it.  The only way to bring Sheridan and Delenn back to life and prevent a war between the Shadows and Minbar is to repair that damn rip!"

*****

Louis nestled in comfortably with the three Shadow girls.  <Who is Booji?

<He is an ancient Vorlon God who came to save us from the initial ice age, Jesi replied.

<That is what he did, but who is he? Louis persisted.

<He was once a human ranger who died to save the life of a woman he loved and was
resurrected to take the form of our God, Mari responded.

<That is the history of his physical form.  You still have not answered my question.  WHO IS BOOJI?  Louis almost seemed angry.

<He is the spirit of all of us who are followers and he keeps us together with love, humor and purpose, Domi replied.

<So why does he only protect the followers?  Would he not protect, say, me? Louis asked.

Spoofoo wandered into the middle of the conversation.  "I will protect you," he told Louis and sat down beside him.

Koshia was not far behind Spoofoo in coming into the room.  "We are all Booji, in a way, for Booji could not be unless we are.  Like the goodness of the universe, you only have to become aware that it is there for your taking and it all shall be yours.  Booji is the universe waiting to unfold its higher good to you."

Louis blinked his rows of eyes and then rested back against one of the chairs.  "So, who wants to see what is in the kitchen to munch?"

The Ranger watched Morden carefully with narrow, angry eyes. Her Associates had brought her a book.  She was about half way through it. She read, ignoring the Ranger as long as she could. Then she looked him dead in the eye. "Is there something I can help you with?"

The Ranger muttered something in Minbari.

"My my, such a sharp tounge. If that's what the Minbari have been teaching you, perhaps it's better if we wipe them out."

RES appeared, leaning on the wall.

"You shouldn't be here. You should be lying down in medlab," Morden said.

"What do you care?" the Ranger spat. Morden shot him a venemous look. "She was my friend once. I do have some degree of loyalty."

"I'm all right. Where did things get so bad between us?"

"Hard to say. Don't suppose it really matters now."

They both looked a little upset. "I only wanted to scare you. Maybe shake the programming."

"There's only one way to do that. Feeling up to tearing my mind appart?"

RES frowned, "the sarcasm is unappreciated."

"It seldom is. I didn't like being used any more then you liked me being used. In fact I'm more angry at Marichka then you are. I've had a lot of things taken from me in my life. I sided with the Shadows on the condition that I would never have implants, and I would never be used. That promise was broken. The Shadows aren't happy about it, but something has been set in motion, and if I screw with it, I'm dead."

RES arched an eyebrow. "We don't know anything about how you became a Shadow agent.  You just appeared on our door step wanting to join."

"No. You don't." Came the icy reply. When I'm ready, her eyes said. "Look, RES, I'm not sorry for what I did.  I hated Sheridan. We all did. He killed more Shadows then people he would have "saved" by stopping us.  We can't forget that. And we won't. No Shadow will ever be sorry for what Marichka did. And we'll never be sorry for the horrible way we treated Sheridan's body. But I am sorry that he happened to be your brother. Truly sorry that you got caught up in all this. I don't know if you believe me or care. But it's more then any Shadow will ever give you."

Morden sat down and went back to her book, shutting them both out again.

The Ranger was about to say something but RES stoped him and said,"Look you've never had an implant before. It screws with your head and you end up saying things and doing things you don't want to do and there is nothing you can do to stop them."

Morden glansed up from her book almost undetectable but RES saw it. She knew Morden was wondering "how does she know what it's like?"

RES took the arm of the Ranger and they left. You may be supprized that RES didn't say anythig aginst the shadows. But she was smart and she knew anything she said would end up back to markitia and as long as she didn't have her full strenght she wasn't about to get in a pissing contest with her.

RES and the Ranger walked the halls both thinking.  Supprizing enough for some reason RES was getting strength back. David haden't done really anything and she was feeling better.  They made ther way to C&C.  Lindaru was suprized to see her up and about.  "You should be resting."

"Everyones saying that! Well i'am not tired. Anything interesting happen latly?"

Everyone laughed. RES knew what was going on but she still wanted to hear it from them.

"Well besides us finding a suit that looks exactly like Garibaldi, An actuall Ranger coming in board, you metamorphsising into a fisrt one, Morden being a shadow agent, Sheridan and Delenn dead. Nothing new."

RES laughed, and promptly collapsed.

"You Boojists are real fools, you know that?" The CEO smiled smuggly as he was led at gunpoint down the long twisting corridor.

"How's that?"

"Well, I mean, any ruler or supreme being is inherently cautious of temporal anomalies. In fact I can't think of a one that hasn't outlawed technology that could allow their enemies to kill them long before they had their power. But you followers just seem to go plowing through every warp you can find. And what does it get you, hmm?"

"The first warp was an accident. Happened when we got our planetoid back. Second time we got sidetracked by the Anti-Booji and thrown off course.  Only the third one did any follower directly cause."

"And yes," the suit whistled, "without the 'Third One' I wouldn't be standing here before you.  Did I forget to say thanks?"

"Here we are." Garibaldi pounded the lock and the doors to Main Communications swished open. They stepped through and the CEO approached a console.  He tapped for less than ten seconds when suddenly a fleet of White Stars jumped from hyperspace right into Minbar orbit.

"That was fast." Garibaldi said, impressed.

"Those aren't mine." the other Garibaldi frowned. "I leased those ships to the Minbari government." It suddenly became clear the Minbari ships' objective when they fired into space. Taken off guard, the cloaked Shadow vessel didn't stand a chance. The fleet continued past the Pulsar and struck at another of the Shadows that had been orbiting Minbar. A third visibly jumped out just before it could be engaged.

The White Stars were about to jump to persue when a giant, translucent hand appeared ahead of them. With a sweeping motion it threw the comparably tiny ships towards the planet. Bright explosions punctuated where each of them crashed. A figure began to fade in
to connect with the hand. It was huge. It was...the Anti-Booji.

"Oh no..." Garibaldi stared in disbelief. "He's back from wherever Gwyn and Marichka sent him. Comm to C&C, Lindaru please respond!"

"We've got a bit of a problem here with RES, Garibaldi, is it important?"

"The Anti-Booji is back! You've got to lock weapons before he --"

The Anti-Booji glowed with fury, and he extended his hand towards the Pulsar. A huge red beam shot forth, and the Pulsar had nearly been cut in half before the attack subsided.

Halfway through the first beam, the window in Communications blew out. Both Garibaldis held on to whatever they could as the room's air spewed out into space, freezing into a river as it went. Finally the blast door came up over the opening, and the twins dropped to the ground.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were shredded. The only light came from the fires that were the sole remnants of the workstations. Garibaldi scrambled up and searched for his gun, but it had been lost in the hurricane along with most of the air pressure. Dizzily, he walked over to the CEO and nudged his shoulder.

The suit suddenly sprang to his feet, swinging his arm wide and screaming a weak but effective battle cry.  By the time Garibaldi realized what was in his double's hand, the shiv was buried deep into his chest.

Garibaldi dropped back with a cry. The piece of jagged metal had clipped the lower end of his left lung. He couldn't seem to catch his breath, and as he wheezed droplets of blood flew from his mouth.

"As I said," the suit gloated. "Fools. The anti-booji has no such vermin in his company." With that he ran out the exposed doorway and clattered down the hall.

---

He had hardly gone a quarter of the way to Docking Bay 4 when suddenly Morden emerged from the destroyed wreck of the brig right in his path. He tried to react but she was quicker, her hand shot outwards and jabbed him in the throat. Surprised and fatally wounded, Garibaldi strumbled backwards against a wall. Morden dove and pinned him to the ground until he stopped squirming. When he was quite dead she got up and started the way he had come.

It wasn't long before she found the real Garibaldi in a pool of his own blood, struggling to stay conscious but unable to move. Yet as the second ray of the Anti-Booji's fury sent alarms blaring all over the ship, Morden began to think that escape was the higher priority.

"wait a minute!" David screamed running down the corridors tward med-lab 1 closest to c&c so david could check up on RES.

"RES....Idea bubble."

"........WHAT?:

"Nothing.....listen this whole thing started when you were subjected to that anomoly out there right."

"yeah....that's your theory anyway."

"That's a temporal rip and you said if we repair it then all will go back to the way it was."

"Anythind directly caused by it yes........wait a minute!"

"Precisely."

"but how do we close the rift."

"The same way you close any rip in space time. A really big explosion resulting in the death of at least one main enemy."

"so what your saying is we lure the anti-booji tward the rip so we can push him into it the resulting paradoxs in space time should destroy both our problems."

"Why?"

"Because it's the easist solution and we've been stuck in a story dead lock since neil left on his not so breif reprive."

Lindaru, Jim i want everyone on the ship but RES outfitted with a time stabalizer. RES can your ship hold enogh memory to store your memory of these events."

"Almost centainly."

"Good, quick we have to try to do this before the anti-booji disappears again."

asdl

After the children had been escorted out of the break room and Morden had left to see what she could do, they overheard some of the adults talking about the luring of the anti-Booji into the time rip.

Spoofoo said, "It is obvious who should lure the anti-Booji."

Koshia, thinking he was talking of her tilted her head piece to the side and said, "Who?"

Spoofoo beamed a triumphant smile.  "Louis, of course."

<Why Louis? Domi asked.

"Because all of the rest of us are followers of Booji and Louis is not," Spoofoo was fairly bursting with pride at his idea.

<What does that have to do with it? Mari insisted.

"Simple.  The anti-Booji truly knows he cannot convert a follower, but for one who has made no choices, there is still a chance."

<So you mean to use Louis as bait because the anti-Booji will think he can convert Louis? Jesi clarified.

<I dunno, guys, Louis hesitated.

"The idea is to get you out of the area before they boom the time rip.  I have been working on a life size Vree saucer that has some of the Pulsar's technology.  The anti-Booji will never suspect a thing."

The kids put their heads together and started working out plans much to the oblivion of the adults who were trying to fix up Garibaldi and hold off the attacks.

RES was working on configuring her ship to what they needed. When Morden came in, it was almost time for her to leave, she was almost frantic.  "RES they want to send Louis out to lure the Anti-Booji into the rip!"

"I know." RES was cold. She was suprized that Morden actually thought she didn't know.

"Well you can't let them! What if they wanted to send one of your babies out to the anti-booji?"

"I would be honered."

"HONERED! how can you say that?"

"Easy the job that LOuis may take on will save the whole universe. It will make everything go back to normal. my brother and Delenn will still be alive and MAYBE you wont be a pon anymore. But we can only help."

Morden looked at her. All of unsudden she didn't feel as bad anymore. RES was right. They could always kill sheridan agian or at least everyone would know they had. And MAYBE she wouldn't have to work for Markitia and the shadows anymore. That was the thing that inticed her the most. She loved the shadows and would work for them, but she didn't like to be forced to do things she didn't want to do.

"Good. everythings ready."

"For what?" Morden asked without warning.

"I think it is time for you to leave. They are waiting for you." and RES showed Morden the shadow ship that appeared right in front of them on the screen.

"How di you kno...right sorry. You're right i better go.  And i don't blame you for not trusting me." And with that Morden left the room.

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

The Ranger came into the room.  "You ok?" His formality was gone when they were alone.

"Yeah, i am fine. I miss him. even though he was never here."

"I know. I think everyone misses him. even if they don't relize it. Just think if we get this back to normal you will be able to see him agian."

"Yeah, i am praying."

"I have a question. You weren't his real sister were you? I mean i thought it was a mistake made by the time rip."

"No i wasn't blood. But everything that we went through, that i went through in that time really happened. I traveled time so long that i was born there and i lived with him and i played with him and i fought with him. I lived a whole life time there. I didn't live that long anywhere else."

The Ranger then relized what RES was always going through. She had lived a whole life time with him. She became his siter, was his siter. She knew him inside-out. he knew that from first hand. He had seen them together. they were closer than anyone could imagine. He was suprized when she didnt kill morden.  And after she got attached to him and that life she had to leave and then she never got to get attached to anything agian. It was like somthing (or someone) wanted them to become close and just close to each other.

All of the children snuck over to RES' ship where her own little children were.

<What is that? asked Cleo.

Dev jumped in.  <A Vree saucer.  You have seen many before.

<But it is so small! Lizzy interjected.

<It has to be . . . Louis will be operating it, Gabe explained.

They busied themselves with getting everything running on it when a figure showed up momentarily in the doorway to RES' ship, the bright light from behind shadowing all recognizable features.

The figure remained quiet, still, almost frozen; then, without warning, the figure moved away.

"What or who was that?" Spoofoo asked.

<Mommy.  I love you and I am doing this for you, too, Louis whispered after the now gone figure.

*****

In the Temple on Minbari, the rip had caught up and overtaken that section of the planet.

Flarnstar sat in her humble quarters, no longer a deity but a mere visitor, watching out the window at the constant patrol of Shadow ships in the sky.

Only she remembered that this was a temporal shift - a time rip - and she dared explain it to no one else, for no one else would remember that this was their second journey back to the days when John and Delenn had been assassinated.

Flarnstar had been sad to see Spoofoo and the other children returned to the Pulsar, but she knew that she had to get them back there at that particular time because things would be violent once again on this world.  Was there no safe haven?

She longed greatly for her real time period and the sanctuary of the original Temple in Sector 45.  How she wished she could turn back the clock from the day that Neil was kidnapped - make it never happen.

She delicately touched the gold bucket pin on her flowing white robe and shed a single tear.

Morden sat down in the command chair of the Shadow ship. "<Leave now. Before the Anti-Booji sees us."  And the ship phased out.

Louis wouldn't die. And Morden would never give up on the Shadows. It was never the Shadows. It was Marichka.

You see, Morden had friends and a family once. Before all this started. The Shadows were the first to come to her. Maybe they'd like her more if the Vorlons got to her first, and she was a good, obediant, little soldier.  But that's not how things happened.

When they got to Z'Ha'Dum, she went to see Marichka against that wishes of her very nervous looking Associates.

"Hello, Morden. Something I can do for you?" she asked casually, not looking at the woman across from her.

"Yeah, there's something you can do for me. You can get out there and be bait for the Anti-Booji so I don't have to sacrifice my son."

"So the Anti-Booji is back." Marichka looked at Morden.  "Too bad. I thought we were done with that annoyance."

"Well you're not. So will you kindly go back out and fix it?"

"With all the plotting you and your little cronies have done against us? I don't think so."

Morden's eyes narrowed and she wiped her mind blank. She as listening when her Associates taught her anti-telepath techniques. Marichka looked at her suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

Suddenly, Morden pulled a dagger and threw it with Marichka, nailing her dead in the throat. Marichka gagged for a moment before pulling it out. "You little," she growled, but before she could use any of her powers, a Shadow rushed at her from the side, taking her down. "<You broke the promise, you will pay."

Marichka growled.

"Remove the programming," Morden demanded.

"Then what?"

"Don't worry about it. Just remove the programming."

Begrugingly, Marichka did.

The ship rocked lightly from the blow. Lorien informed the group that it had done slight damage to the auxilliary power core, but nothing else.

"Why did it do so little damage?" Lindaru wondered.

Lorien said, "Remember the Anti-Booji is still very weak from his jump into this universe. He can use his powers, but they drain him. Otherwise he could easily have destroyed the Pulsar by now."

Outside, the Anti-Booji growled at the weakness of his attacks, and he dove forward and started pounding the Pulsar's outer hull.

"He'll leave soon." Garibaldi wheezed from the operating table. Kat hushed him and went back to work stitching the wound.

"He's right." Gwyn said. "If the Anti-Booji gets bored he'll take off and we might not find him again until it is too late. If Louis is going to act, he had better do it soon."

Just then a tiny saucer launched from Docking Bay 2 and sped off in the direction of the rip that hovered over Minbar. The Anti-Booji seemed not to care at first, but after one last kick he turned and flew in pursuit of the small spacecraft.

"He took the bait." Lorien said. "Every get your time stabilizers on and strap in. All we have to do now is wait."

"Hope we'll see Louis on the other side..." Spoofoo said to the other children as they put on restraining harnesses.

And unknown to any of the followers, a cloaked shadow vessel was trailing the Anti-Booji, and gaining.

"i have a bad feeling about this! I hope everything goes well. the Ati-Booji is smart enough not to fall for another trick if this doesn't work."

"I know RES but we have to pray." And LIndaru ot quite.

All the little ones were looking at the screen and seeing Louis fly threw space,unknown he was being followed by TWO vessels.  "Wait, my ship is detecting something,"RES had hooked up her ships scaners to the pulsar and then to her console.  "I'll check it out." RES started checking her console.  "OH NO!!!"

"What!?!?" everyone screamed in unison.

"There is a shadow vessels following the anti-booji.  and they are gaining on him! Booji i hope it's not Morden trying to save Louis!"

"Put scaners on full power and start seeing if we can detect something." Lindaru was use to comand on her ship.

"I'll send the info to the pulsar and you can direct your scaners to the area the disturbance is."

"Ok good."

All of a sudden someone hailed the pulsar.

"It's a recorded mesage from one of the nova class cruisers." Lindaru said.

"Put it through." RES said.

"Hello, everyone."

"DAVID!" everyone looked around the room searching for David.... he wasn't there.

"I know I have to do this. I already have. While I'm gone RES will control the pulsar besides me he knows it the best.

Whatever happens I want you to know I will return."  The small craft turned tward the anti-booji as it began turning tward Morden's ship. The nova rammed into the anti-Booji knocking them both into the rip.

"DAVID!!!!!!"

The rip exploded in a feild of light which hit the pulsar like a brick. as light filled the corridors RES transfered his memories to his ship to assure he would remember the events that had transpired.

Louis' little ship was pushed well out of the way of the rip at the moment of the explosion.  He lost consciousness for a few moments and then felt a jolt upon waking.  A shadow vessel had phased in and locked on to him.

*****

Barista and Wicket recovered from the tremendous wave that hit the Pulsar.  Numerous jars and microscope slides crashed to the floor as cupboard doors flung open under the impact.  One of the most intriguing things that rolled across the floor was a soul hunter sphere - yes!
The one that Koshia had captured Jim in!

Wicket and Barista neither spoke a word but rather donned their space suits, grabbed the sphere and prepared to take a shuttle to David's last known location before the explosion.  Before departing, they checked to make sure that Lorien's body restructured from DNA was still on full life support.

Gwyn slipped off the bridge while everyone was in shock from the explosion, and went to her quarters.  She was feeling useless, and she hated feeling useless. It made her jumpy, and she hated that too.  But as she packed a bag, she realised that what was really unnerving her was Marichka. Marichka would be back some day, whether it was next week or next year, to claim a favor. Any favor. Marichka was an eye for eye, tooth for tooth kind of person...which meant she wouldn't hesitate to claim life for life...and that scared the hell out of Gwyn She pursed her lips in determiantion and pushed the thought the way. She had known what she was getting into the moment she had thought about Marichka. And Gwyn paid her debts, no matter what, and until Marichka came to collect, worrying about how she was going to pay was useles.  Gwyn closed the bag and walked silently down the halls of the pulsar to the docking bay, taking out a personal shuttle. She was going to find Flarn, who had been alone on the surface for too long. Gwyn couldn't do anything for anyone on the pulsar, but some how she sensed that Flarn needed help. Or a friend.

"Sensors indicate two shuttles leaving," Jim said once he had picked himself back up from the floor.

"On screen!" announced Lindaru.

"Oh great!" She Who Must Be Obeyed said dejectedly.  "Everyone is deserting us!"

"I am getting a reading that one shuttle contains Gwyn and the other contains Barista and Wicket," Jim said as he widened the censor band to cover the entire area.  "It also indicates that Louis' ship is being held by a tractor beam originating from a Shadow ship."

Critty was anxious.  "Did the time rip thingy get fixed?  Just what the Booji is going on?"

"Hail the two departing shuttles," Lindaru commanded.

Barista's and Wicket's shuttle responded first.  "Yo, daddy-oh, what's shakin'?" Barista said in an extremely upbeat mood.

"Where are you going and what are you up to?" Lindaru demanded.

"To find Lorien and bring him back," Wicket responded, holding up the soul hunter sphere.

"Incoming message from Gwyn," Jim declared.

"Tell her to hold a moment," Lindaru said, training her concentration on the girls.  "David," she corrected the name, "is now dead."

"So was Jim once," Wicket responded. "Do not forget that we have his first one body recreated from his original DNA in the laboratory.  We can recapture his soul and get it back into his body."

"Gwyn said she cannot *hold*," Jim interrupted.

Lindaru continued her conversation with the girls.  "How do you propose to gather his soul from space?"

"Easy," Barista answered, "the soul trace we took from his aura has been programmed into the shuttle's computer and we can locate a similar pattern using subspace frequencies."

"Be careful!" Lindaru cautioned, then turned to Jim.  "I will take that message from Gwyn, now."

"Too late," Jim said, shaking his head piece, "she is now out of range."

"Damit!!!!!" RES was obvisouly frustrated. The caose in her DNA was settleed for the time being. She needed David be cause he was one of the only ones would could help her.

"I can't believe they are deserting us!" a voice called from the group.

"they aren't deserting us. They all have legitament reasons for leaving us. And they are helping us. Now lets work on Louis. He may be a shadow and that may be a shadow ship, but we are responsable for him."

"but what if it is Morden come to get him?"

"Then we will let her take him. But if it isn't we are putting up hell of a fight!"

"agreed." Lindaru also wasn't going to let them take Louis away without a fight.

"Hail the shadow vessel Jim." RES took control just as David wanted her to.

"No response."

"well hail them agian."

"no response."

"well keep hailing them till there is a response.'

"What if there is no response?'

"give them a few warning shots."

"understood."

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

Meanwhile Louis was trying to hail the pulsar. He finally got it.

"Lindaru, RES anyone there?"

Morden was back home on Z'Ha'Dum. She knew nothing about a Shadow ship near the Pulsar.

It was a moment of weakness that caused her to go to RES looking for sympathy. Louis was her son, but the loss was exceptable. A wise man once said, "a few get lost along the way... That's unfortunate. I don't think it was ever easy. But you can't let that get in the way of the dream." That same man said, "Evolution must be served one way or another."

She would loose her son, and a martyr's death, but if everything would be better, and the common good would be served, then the lose was an exceptable one. Of course, with the time rip repaired, there was no telling where that would leave Morden.

"Louis!" Lindaru exclaimed, practically pushing Jim out of the way to get to the view screen.  "Who is the ship that has you in the tractor beam?"

<I want my Mommy, Louis conveyed.

RES answered.  "Your mother is back at home on Zahadum.  I will find out who has you and what they want with you."

RES closed her eyes and an image of not a shadow but another entity filled the space on the bridge of the Shadow ship.  Her eyes darted wide open and she instructed Jim, "Hail them!"

Jim was about to say that they probably would not respond but found himself obeying RES' command.

An image of a couple with a poodle filled the screen.

Bailin asked, "Are we fashionably late?"

They heard Bo in the background.  "I think the little guy can get to the Pulsar from here."  The tractor beam was released and Louis' ship returned to the docking bay.

Critty tensed.  "If Mr. Warner finds out you have that ship . . . he will have your heads!"

Bo smiled.  "Mr. Warner is, er, um, detained at the moment."  A bound and gagged Suit sat on the floor behind them.

As everyone busily went about hailing ships and searching for all the followers, Garibaldi sat quietly on a table. He tried to get up but felt a sharp pain.  Somehow he had gotten stitches.  He thought for a minute but couldn't remember what had happened so that he'd need them.  He concluded that the time rip had fried his short-term memory, though he seemed to know that RES's ship would fill the gap. So one day he would have to check its files.

A little seen display in the corner of the room blinked with two circles. Focusing, Garibaldi could see one circle to be a readout on Minbar. He got up slowly and was at the console a minute later. No sooner had he typed orders to scan the planet then results came back. Just what he had hoped, very few suits, and almost all Minbari.

A flashing icon in the bottom of the display caught his attention and he tapped the screen.  Suddenly the other circle got bigger and more detailed. It was immediately recognizable.

"The Planetoid! Right where we left it outside the rip!"  Garibaldi looked around but no one seemed to care at the minute so he did his own scans. Soon he would have to check to make sure it had also survived the numerous time jumps.

Louis came running in to C&C. He came over to the Kids and said hi and started telling them how cool it was to fly his own craft. Then RES came to him.  "You alright?"

"Yes, i want my mommy though."

"I'll see if i can reach her at Za'ha'dum. OK?"

"ok." Louis was cheered up by this remark and went back to the kids.

***********

"Lindaru can we get a message through to Za'ha'dum from the pulsar?"

"I think so. Why?"

"I want to try to reach Morden and tell her that Louis is alright."

"Ah, ok well i get on it. I'll tell you when i got it right."

RES then left C&C and started wandering the ship, thinking, not thinking, thinking, not thinking.......it felt like it went on forever.

'RES come to C&C' RES went to C&C imediatly. "I've got your conection."  "Put it through."

"Yes what do you want...Oh it's you. Did you call to tell me how bravely my son dies?"  Morden was obvisouly just i little btter.

"No, i came to tell you how david sacraficed himself to save him and how WE ALL lent a hand in gettign him back safely on the pulsar. Any objections to that?" RES was use to sacrcastic remarks from people who really didn't mean them them, so she shoot a harmless remark back. Morden knew she didn't mean anything by it.

"rteally he's ok?"

"Yes and he wanted to see you so i told Lindaru to get a conection to za'ha'dum and get you.  Do you eant to pick him up or wait till we pass za'ha'dum?" the last part of that sentace was obvisouly a joke.

"I'll pick him up. Can i see him?"

"Yes. Louis....Louis come here."

<what RES?

"I got your momma for ya."

<mamma!

Louis and Moreden talked for a secound and then louis left.

"i just want to say thank you for everything you did. I am sorry about David. I'll be there asap." Morden was out.

Morden took the Raven. Marichka didn't protest, just gave Morden the look of death, and said, "it's a good thing the first one died like that. Had he set foot on Z'Ha'dum, I would have snapped his neck myself. And I would advise you to remember why Louis has a mother to begin with."

Morden didn't even respond, just left.

Louis was waiting for her her in the docking bay.

"<Mama!" He was overjoyed. Morden smiled, "<hi sweety. Let's go talk." They went to a room. "<Are you ready to go home?" she asked.

"<No."

Morden arched an eyebrow, "<no?"

"<I want to stay here. I want you to stay here too."

Morden hesitated. "<I don't know if that'll be possible."

"<Please, Mama."

Morden took a deep breathe and looked away from him. "<Stay here for a minute."

Morden went to C&C. When everyone saw her, she started. "I know how things have been lately, but I'd like to ask if anyone has a problem with my staying here."

Garibaldi sat and watched as the Thunderbolt's computer plotted a course around the planetoid. The landscape zipped past him, and within minutes he could see the temple. He slowed the craft to a crawl then zoomed the hud to get a better look.

Just like he remembered it. In the real time-line they had been gone mere hours. Garibaldi sighed with relief that his fears were not coming true.

Or were they? What was that grey figure beside the temple? The computer scanned for a moment then updated the HUD. A bright green box surrounded the ship, a Suit Heavy Cruiser. It was parked and its compliment of 3400 suits were coming out the airlock to inspect the Temple. Most carried large boxes, the rest screamed orders at the ones with the boxes,
telling them where to go. Because the angle was all wrong, the boxes were not in view long enough to scan completely. But Garibaldi didn't need to scan them to know what they contained.

Explosives. In the future the suits had blown up the Planetoid.

His tried but couldn't think of a solution. He was in no shape to land and fight them all, and there wasn't enough time to mount a full-scale attack from the Pulsar. Though suit bombs had fail-safes and could be destroyed without setting off a chain-reaction, the suits were stacking them inside the Temple. Could they really blow up the Booji temple, to save the planetoid?

There was no choice. He wasn't qualified to make that decision. He had to go back and explain the situation to the others.

He only hoped it wouldn't be too late by the time he got there.

RES looked at Moden and then Replied "Yes."  Everyone looked at her suprized that SHE had said it first.  "RES, but what about......?"   "She doesn't have the programing on any more.
Marchitia took it off."  "Oh, then we would be happy to let you stay."

'BLEP<BLEP<BLEP' (that was the sound of someone hailing us)  "Put it on screen Jim."  As Jim did so Morden wispered to Lindaru why RES was comanding the ship. Lindaru replied
only.............. "david wanted her to."  It was Garibaldi, he started talking so fast that you
souldn't understand a word he was saying other than:suits, booji, help.

"Woh, Woh slow it down 'baldi. Ok tell us what you saw."  garibaldi related his whole experiance to the others.  And then asked what should we do?  RES broke in "Ok we'll start heading toward the plantoid. When we get in range i will comand my ship while I hand comand of the Pulsar to Lindaru."   RES was on full speed she could have taken all the suits by herself. But, as everyone knows who as delt with a suit, its funner with your friends.    "Here's what we'll do........."

What will happen to Bo and Bailin if Mr. Warner ever escapes gains the upper hand?  Will Garibaldi and the others reach the planetoid in time?  Will Morden stay with her Louis and the other followers?  What is in store for Gwyn now that she has left the Pulsar?  Read on in Episode 3.