brennen
/
lurkers-guide


								<h3>Synopsis by Matthew Murray (n9641343@cc.wwu.edu)</h3>


								<p>

								"Commander's Personal Log.  We're still searching for First Ones to use

								in our war with the Vorlons and the Shadows.  There's less than

								twenty-four hours left before everything hits the fan.  We can't afford

								to waste any more time.  We have to get back to Babylon 5 and catch up

								with the fleet."


								<p>

								Ivanova tells Lorien that they need to move on--the five First Ones

								they have found are enough, and she doesn't believe there are any

								others.  Lorien disagrees, saying that they need to have all six, and

								that all they have to do is wait for a response to their signal.

								Ivanova says she'll give him ten more minutes, but then they'll have to

								go back.  She says she hopes Sheridan's plan of attacking Vorlon

								targets to force out their troops is working.  Lorien admits it is an

								interesting tactic--possibly futile, but very human.  Suddenly, a large

								ship appears outside, one Lorien apparently recognizes.  He tells

								Ivanova that this race is nearly as old as the Vorlons, and hasn't

								spoken to any outside their race for centuries.  Ivanova asks if

								they'll remember him, but he knows they will.


								<p>

								Sheridan and Delenn, in command of the White Star fleet, manage to

								destroy a Vorlon observation post without too much trouble, and head

								off to the rendevous point.  After they enter hyperspace, Sheridan

								looks at the fleet he has assembled--thousands of ships, dozens of

								races, working together for the first time.  "We've put together a hell

								of a team, Delenn," he tells her.  "You should be proud.  Win or lose,

								we'll go down fighting.  Pour it on, Mr. Lennier.  Take us into the

								fire."


								<p>

								As the fleet travels to Coriana 6, Lyta tells Marcus that she heard the

								Vorlons are planning to move against Centauri Prime about the same time

								they will arrive at Coriana, and she wonders why the fleet isn't making

								its stand there.  Marcus explains that Coriana was the logical choice

								for the fleet to defend, since its population is twice as large.

								Marcus hopes, though, that they pulled enough of the Vorlon ships away

								to give the Centauri enough time to remove all Shadow influence.


								<p>

								Londo and Vir make their way to the throne room, followed by the

								Regent, who begs for further instructions.  Londo tells him that, with

								the Vorlons less than 12 hours away, he wants the Shadows off the

								planet.  He tells the Regent to bring the ministers of War,

								Intelligence, Transportation, and Security, and to clear the palace of

								everyone who worked for Emperor Cartagia.  The Regent leaves to follow

								Londo's orders, and after he's gone, Londo tells Vir that they have

								very little time left, but that they need to find Morden to tell him

								the news.


								<p>

								Delenn arrives on the bridge of the fleet's flagship, where Sheridan is

								waiting, and tells him that Ivanova and Lorien have found all the

								remaining First Ones.  She tries to convince Sheridan that Ivanova's

								ship won't help turn the tide of battle, but Sheridan explains that he

								promised Ivanova she would be there at the end, no matter what.  He

								tells Delenn to radio Ivanova to arrive at the rendezvous point as

								quickly as possible.


								<p>

								Ivanova, after arriving back on the station, is preparing to leave for

								the battle when Lorien comes in.  He says that he was told she was

								ready to leave, but she isn't quite--she says he seems quite impatient

								for an immortal.  He explains that he isn't immortal, and could die if

								he fell ill or was injured.  He was the first of the First Ones and the

								last of his race.  Ivanova doesn't believe he can be as old as he

								claims, since no one could discover the technology necessary to develop

								an immortality serum in one lifetime.  Lorien explains, however, that

								all of his kind were born naturally immortal.  Ivanova can't accept

								this; she is positive that everything dies.  Lorien explains that

								things are that way--now--but they weren't always.  The generations of

								beings that followed his own were mortal, and could eventually die, but

								those of his time were immortal.  He explains that his race discovered

								the Vorlons and Shadows as infant races and guided them, and the other

								First Ones, along the evolutionary path.  Most of the others eventually

								died or passed beyond the Rim to what lay beyond.  He explains that to

								live forever means to give up everything else--love, companionship,

								friendship--since those will come and go.  Only races with a much

								shorter life span can truly appreciate these things and experience them

								for all they are worth.  "You should embrace that remarkable illusion,"

								he tells her.  "It may be the greatest gift your race has ever

								received."


								<p>

								As the Vorlon fleet makes its way through hyperspace, the minister of

								Intelligence arrives in Londo's quarters and asks to speak with him.

								The minister tells him that the death of Lady Adira was preceded by

								rumors that Londo had attempted to poison Lord Refa, and the minister

								was asked, by Cartagia, to look into the matter.  The minister

								discovered these two matters were connected, and continued his

								investigation even after Refa's death.  The report he presented to

								Cartagia was to be kept secret until after Cartagia's death.  Londo

								says that Refa was responsible for her death: the liner Adira was on

								when she died came from Centauri Prime, and the poison that killed her

								was of Centauri origin.  The minister explains that it was not Refa who

								ordered Adira's murder, but Morden.  He says he suspects Morden wanted

								to secure his position by making it appear as if Refa had killed

								Adira.  Londo dismisses the minister.  Londo, alone, finally realizing

								what he has done, loses control and starts tearing the room apart in

								rage.  Crying, finally understanding how Morden manipulated him, he

								falls to the floor in tears.


								<p>

								Ivanova and Lorien are trying to get the rendezvous as fast as they

								can.  Lorien tells her to be patient--patience and logic will win the

								war, not weapons and firepower.  He says that Sheridan knows this, but

								he doesn't know if Sheridan knows he knows it.


								<p>

								Sheridan looks out the window of the flagship, commenting that the

								fleet, while not bad, is still not big enough to win.  Marcus asks why

								they are there, and Sheridan says, "Hoping the truth will set us

								free... Before it kills us."  He asks if the nuclear weapons are ready,

								and Marcus says they are camouflaged by asteroids.  Sheridan tells Lyta

								to keep her mind open, and be ready for anything from the Shadows or

								the Vorlons.  They need her--she is their only advantage.


								<p>

								Two guards bring Morden into the throne room, where Londo is waiting.

								Morden demands to know what is going on, and Londo tells him about the

								Vorlon fleet that is now headed to Centauri Prime.  Londo tells him

								that, now that Cartagia is dead, he wants the Shadow fleet removed from

								the island of Selini.  Morden declines, believing that the Vorlons

								would never attack a world with 3 billion people.  Londo realizes that

								Morden and the Shadows are afraid.  He says he must make sure that he

								and Morden may speak privately.  Two of Londo's guards fire their

								weapons to the left and right of Morden, killing two Shadows, who

								flicker into sight only briefly as they die.  Morden tells Londo he's

								insane, and Londo admits that--today--that's true.  He gives Morden one

								more chance to move the ships, but Morden refuses again.  Londo says

								that while the ships are impressive flying, at the moment, they are on

								the ground.  Morden notes that they can sense an approaching ship miles

								away, so Londo doesn't have much choice.  "What are you going to do,

								Mollari?  Blow up the island?"


								<p>

								"Actually," Londo says, producing a small device from his pocket, "now

								that you mention it..." As the island explodes, Morden reels as if in

								pain.  Londo tells him that most of the Centauri were evacuated from

								Selini during the night, but that some stayed to maintain the

								illusion.  Londo orders Morden to be imprisoned, and the guards drag

								him away.  But, as he goes, Morden promises that, even if the Shadows

								lose, their allies will make sure Centauri Prime pays for destroying

								the Shadow fleet.


								<p>

								Ivanova meets up with the rest of the fleet and tells Sheridan that

								Lorien wants to come over to Sheridan's ship right away.  Almost as

								soon as Sheridan approves, though, Lyta realizes that both of the

								fleets have just arrived in the Coriana system.  As soon as they

								appear, they begin moving toward each other.  To get their attention,

								Sheridan detonates some of the nuclear devices, which do damage to both

								sides.  This substantially angers both the Vorlons and the Shadows, and

								the battle begins.


								<p>

								Sheridan opens up communication with the Vorlon fleet, and implores

								them to not destroy Coriana 6--its residents were forced by the Shadows

								to allow a fleet to be based on their world, and don't deserve to be

								destroyed for that reason.  The Vorlons, however, don't respond, and

								Lennier suggests they might not even be listening.  Delenn asks Lyta to

								send the Vorlons a telepathic signal to get their attention.


								<p>

								As the battle rages on, Vir arrives in the throne room, where Londo is

								waiting.  Londo tells him that, despite the Vorlon fleet on its way to

								Centauri Prime, they are no longer a threat, as he has removed the last

								Shadow influence from the planet.  Londo tells Vir to go into the

								garden, where "a gift" is waiting.  Vir does so.  The gift is Morden's

								head on a pike.  Recalling the promise he made long ago, Vir looks into

								Morden's eyes and waves.


								<p>

								Sheridan asks Lyta if she's had any luck, but she hasn't been able to

								open communication.  Lennier informs Sheridan that the Vorlon

								planetkiller is almost in range of Coriana 6.  Delenn is reluctant to

								call in the First Ones so soon, but Sheridan is not willing to let the

								planet die.  Sheridan orders Lennier to send the signal.  Lennier does,

								and the First Ones' ships instantly appear.  Wasting no time, they

								concentrate their fire on the Vorlon planetkiller, which is destroyed

								easily.  They turn their fire on the other Vorlon ships and on the

								Shadows.


								<p>

								Londo arrives in the Garden and joyfully explains to Vir that he has

								sent a message to the Vorlons informing them that all Shadow influence

								has been removed from Centauri Prime.  Londo is sure they will turn

								back, but Vir does not share his enthusiasm.  Vir tells Londo that he's

								wrong, that there is still one thing left that has been touched by the

								Shadows.  He points to the sky, where the sun is being eclipsed by

								another Vorlon planetkiller.  Londo realizes that they have come for

								him, and since he sent the message, they knew exactly where he can be

								found.


								<p>

								The Vorlons still refuse to communicate with Sheridan and his army, but

								Lennier does detect that they are sending a message to their other

								ships, for reinforcements.


								<p>

								Londo pleads with Vir to kill him so that Centauri Prime will be safe,

								but Vir refuses.  Londo's pleas are interrupted by the planetkiller

								moving away to join the Vorlon fleet at Coriana.


								<p>

								Lorien arrives on the bridge of the flagship of Sheridan's fleet.

								Delenn begs him to talk to the Vorlons and the Shadows.  She is

								interrupted, however, by the voice of Lyta, now distant and ghostly.

								"There is nothing to tell," she says as she turns around, her eyes

								glowing bright blue.  "You thought we could not touch you," she tells

								him.  "You were wrong."  She focuses on him and Sheridan is paralyzed

								in an energy field.  Delenn moves to help him, but is warned by Lorien

								not to do so, as it will kill him instead.  "And you they have left..."

								Lyta says, her eyes now glazed over with black, "...for us."  She

								glares at Delenn, who is paralyzed as well.


								<p>

								Lennier runs to help Delenn, but Lorien warns him that, should he

								interfere, they will lose the one chance they have to end the war.

								Lorien explains that Sheridan hoped both sides could be provoked into

								doing this.  Lorien says that Sheridan wants everyone to know the

								truth, what they may be asked to die for.  Lorien puts one hand in the

								air next to Delenn and Sheridan, and Lennier and everyone else can see

								what Sheridan and Delenn see...


								<p>

								Sheridan is wandering around in darkness, shouting, "Where are you?

								Show yourselves!"


								<p>

								Suddenly, a large block of ice is highlighted, with a woman frozen

								inside, a glowing amulet around her neck.  Without moving her mouth,

								she speaks to him.  "We are here.  We do not understand you.  We have

								wished only the best for you.  We only want to help you."


								<p>

								"You're destroying whole worlds!"


								<p>

								"The others are a disease.  You have given us the opportunity to

								eliminate it.  We are grateful.  Why do you oppose us?"


								<p>

								"Because I don't like being used... or lied to."


								<p>

								"We have not lied.  Our goal is the same as yours--to destroy the

								darkness."


								<p>

								Sheridan asks why, in that case, they haven't struck at the Shadows

								directly, since they had the technology to destroy Z'ha'dum all along.

								The response he receives is, "You do not understand." But Sheridan does

								understand, and he says that's what has the Vorlons worried.  "The Vorlons

								have a saying: understanding is a three-edged sword.  Your side, their

								side, and the truth." Sheridan believes the truth is that the younger races

								no longer need either race to guide them.


								<p>

								Delenn, too, stands in the darkness, when Ivanova's voice begins

								speaking.  Ivanova appears and walks toward her.  "The Vorlons stand

								for Order above anything else.  No passion, no dreams...  just

								discipline.  Obedience.  They're frozen in place, an evolutionary dead

								end!  Why side with the old?  Embrace the new.  Growth through pain and

								struggle, conflict and war.  You of all people should understand this."


								<p>

								"Your race came out of the last war stronger, better." Franklin says,

								appearing from the darkness as Ivanova vanishes.  "How much better, how

								much stronger will they be after this war?  You will rise from the

								ashes with a strength and power beyond your imagination!"


								<p>

								"Until you do it to us again!"  Delenn tells him.


								<p>

								"It is the cycle," Lennier explains to her.  "It is the force of

								history itself.  You cannot win against that.  We have embraced it.

								We've helped it along, by creating conflict.  Weak races die.  Strong

								races are made even stronger.  Evolution must be served.  There is no

								other way."


								<p>

								"No, that's what you want us to believe," Delenn says.


								<p>

								Sheridan tells the Vorlon figure that he knows why they are doing it

								the way they are--they don't want to destroy the Shadows, they just

								want to destroy their message, their way of doing things, so everyone

								will have to follow the Vorlons.  Delenn knows the Shadows feel the

								same way, wanting to leave the Vorlons alive so they can see the

								Shadows were right.  "It's about ideology," Delenn says.


								<p>

								"Of course," Marcus says to her.  "What isn't?  Order versus Chaos.

								Choose one."


								<p>

								But Delenn says they shouldn't have to choose, because they aren't

								given all the choices available.  They are only given two.  The battle

								between the Vorlons and the Shadows is no longer about guiding or

								helping the younger races, it's just about whether the Vorlon or Shadow

								philosophy is the correct one.  Sheridan knows this, too, saying they

								are acting like arguing parents, manipulating their children, getting

								them to take sides.  "But what if the right choice is not to choose at

								all," he asks.


								<p>

								"What if we reject the idea that we must decide which of you is

								right?"  Delenn asks.  "What if we simply walk away?"


								<p>

								"You cannot do that," says another Delenn, coming of the shadows and

								facing the first.


								<p>

								"Then the war will never end!"


								<p>

								"That is correct."


								<p>

								"Then there is no hope."


								<p>

								"There is only Chaos and evolution."


								<p>

								"There is only Order and obedience," the figure in the ice says.  "You

								will do as you are told."


								<p>

								"You will fight because we tell you to fight," the other Delenn says.


								<p>

								"You will die for us when we tell you to die for us," the woman in the

								ice says, "because the others know no other way."


								<p>

								"That's where you're wrong," Sheridan tells her.


								<p>

								A stray asteroid hits the flagship, and Lorien stumbles, accidentally

								touching Delenn.


								<p>

								"You've let them see," the other Delenn says.  "You've let them

								know..."


								<p>

								But she cannot finish.  Lorien removes both Delenn and Sheridan from

								their paralyzed state, and that world shatters around them.  The image,

								and the illusion, is broken, but it is too late--the Shadow

								planetkiller has engulfed the fleet.  Ivanova calls to confirm that she

								saw what Sheridan and Delenn saw, but the cloud is making the ships so

								cold, it is affecting the engines and preventing them from escaping.

								The temperature is dropping so low, it will kill them all in ten

								minutes.  Sheridan can't believe the Vorlons and the Shadows would let

								the younger races die instead of ending their war, but Lorien knows

								they aren't finished yet.  Two figures appear on the bridge--one Shadow

								and one Vorlon.  Lorien explains they are giving Sheridan a second

								chance to change his mind and ask forgiveness, to choose.  Lorien says

								that Sheridan's next words will decide the outcome.


								<p>

								"The Vorlons ask only one question, over and over," Sheridan tells the

								two figures.  'Who are you?'"  He turns to the Shadow.  "You... for

								you, the question is, 'What do you want?'  I have never heard you

								answer that question.  Who are you?  What do you want?"


								<p>

								"You don't know, do you?" asks Delenn.  "You've been fighting each

								other so long, you've forgotten.  You've lost your way.  So how can you

								guide us?  How can we learn who we are and what we want if you don't

								even know it any more?"


								<p>

								Sheridan tells them that, no matter who wins, in a thousand years, the

								battle will start again.  They are all a part of the cycle, but

								Sheridan doesn't want to be a part of it.  The younger races have

								learned to stand on their own, and are prepared to make the mistakes

								they will make as they find their own way.  Delenn tells the Vorlon and

								the Shadow that their secret is out, and asks them what they plan to do

								next.


								<p>

								"You do not speak for the rest," the Vorlon figure intones.


								<p>

								"They will not follow you if you are dead," says the Shadow figure.


								<p>

								Lennier detects a missile from the Shadow planetkiller being launched

								at the flagship.  With only ten seconds until impact, one of the Drazi

								cruisers moves in front of the ship, and is destroyed by the missile's

								impact.  The other ships in the fleet follow suit, and another missile

								strikes a Minbari ship, which moves in front just in time.


								<p>

								Delenn tells the figures that the other races as well have begun to

								reject them, and demands to know how they can have a war with no one to

								fight it.  Sheridan tells them they refuse to take sides in the war,

								and refuse to let either race turn them against one another--they will

								find their own way.


								<p>

								"You can kill us one by one," Delenn continues, "and those who follow

								us, and those who follow them, on and on, every race, every planet.

								Until there's no one left to kill.  You will have failed as guardians.

								And you will be alone."


								<p>

								"It's over because we've decided it's over," Sheridan says angrily.

								"Now get the hell out of our galaxy!  Both of you!"


								<p>

								When neither the Vorlon nor the Shadow move, Lorien steps in.  "As I

								taught you and stepped aside, now you must do the same.  Our age is

								past.  This... belongs to the younger races now.  They have learned to

								stand on their own.  They have learned... to understand.  Time to let

								them go."


								<p>

								"Will you... come... with us?" asks the Shadow figure meekly.


								<p>

								"I have been here since the beginning.  I will not leave you now.  I

								will go with you beyond the Rim, and we will see again all those who

								went ahead of us, all those who we have missed for so long."


								<p>

								"Then... we will not be alone?" asks the Vorlon figure.


								<p>

								"No," Lorien tells them.  "Never alone."


								<p>

								The two figures vanish, and the Vorlon and Shadow fleets quickly leave

								the system.  As the power returns to the White Star flagship, the other

								First Ones leave as well, all at the same time, leaving only Lorien

								behind.  "I waited a long time for someone to find me," he says.  "Now,

								like the others, I find I hate to leave.  But none of us can stay

								behind this time.  That was why it was necessary to find all the

								remaining First Ones.  This... is yours now.  And you have an

								obligation... to do as we have done.  To teach the races that will

								follow you and, when your time comes, as ours has, to step aside and

								allow them to grow into their own destiny.  If your races survive, if

								you do not kill yourselves, I look forward to the day when your people

								join us beyond the Rim."  Lorien begins dissolving, changing into a

								tiny ball of light.  "We will wait for you..." And then he too is

								gone.


								<p>

								Londo tells Vir that he can't quite accept that the war is over, that

								he doesn't know what to feel.  Vir says that, given all they

								accomplished, happy would be appropriate.  Londo says that, every time

								he has felt happy, something bad has happened to him.  Vir says that he

								thinks Londo should enjoy one single night of happiness while he can

								get it.  Vir is planning to return to Babylon 5, but Londo needs to

								stay behind for a while and tidy up political matters, perhaps

								returning to Babylon 5 himself, away from whatever repurcussions he may

								have to face.  Vir leaves, and Londo begins to enjoy his evening.


								<p>

								The fleet comes through the Babylon 5 jumpgate, and as the flagship

								approaches Babylon 5, Delenn and Sheridan sit, looking out a window as

								the station grows nearer.  He tells her the younger races have entered

								a third age.  First, they were too primitive to make their own

								decisions.  Then, they were helped along by the Vorlons and the

								Shadows.  Now, finally, they stand on their own.  Sheridan says that

								Lorien was right, that it is a great responsibility.  Delenn says that

								the galaxy seems smaller with the First Ones gone.


								<p>

								"Feels like the magic's gone," Sheridan comments.


								<p>

								"No," Delenn tells him.  "Not gone.  Now we make our own magic.  Now we

								create our own legends.  Now we build the future.  Now we stop..."


								<p>

								"...being afraid of shadows," Sheridan finishes.  Delenn smiles, and

								the two of them hold each other, looking out the window at Babylon 5,

								and the future they must begin to build.