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lurkers-guide


								<h3>Synopsis by Arturo Magidin (magidin@matem.unam.mx)</h3>


								<i>Garibaldi: "The Interstellar Alliance, based on the homeworld of

								the Minbari Federation, was founded in the Earth year 2261, shortly

								after the end of the Shadow War, twenty years ago. Twenty years of

								history. Those of us who have survived have seen it all. And those of

								us who understand, have been waiting, and dreading, the arrival of

								this day..."</i>


								<P>

								Sheridan is dreaming: he dreams about Lorien reviving him on Z'ha'dum

								(<a href="../guide/068.html">"Whatever Happened to

								Mr. Garibaldi?"</a>); and Lorien explaining that he will live for at

								most twenty years after his fall in Z'ha'dum (<a

								href="../guide/070.html">"Falling Toward Apotheosis"</a>). He

								wakes with a start, and begins to get up. Delenn wakes up and asks him

								where he is going, and he replies he only wants to get some air.


								<P>

								He dresses in the robes of Ranger One, and walks to a balcony, to

								await the comng of the day. Delenn joins him; she didn't go back to

								sleep, and wanted to see what Sheridan was up to. They sit together,

								and Sheridan explains he wanted to see the sun come up; he has never

								done it since he got to Minbar, and wants to carry the picture

								of it in his head.


								<P>

								"You had the dream again," says Delenn, more observation than

								question. It is the third night in a row, and both of them know what

								it means. It's been twenty years since Sheridan died on Z'ha'dum, and

								he is almost out of time. "Do you want me to send the messages?"

								Delenn asks. "Yes. Send them," he replies. The sun starts coming up,

								and they both watch the sunrise, embracing in silence.


								<P>

								On Earth, General Susan Ivanova's secretary is letting her know her

								schedule: nothing important, really... Ivanova is clearly tired of the

								whole thing. "I feel like an old war horse," she says, "trotted out

								after a parade so all the kids can point at it."


								<P>

								Suddenly, a Ranger bursts into the office. A security guard is thrown

								to the floor, and the captain of the guard follows apologizing for the

								intrusion. The Ranger insisted, but the captain didn't think it appropriate

								(even though Ivanova had given orders that any Ranger was to be shown

								in immediately). "I have a message", the Ranger says simply as way of

								explanation. "Who from?" asks Ivanova, and he replies: "I think you

								know." He hands her the message. She reads it silently, and then

								orders a shuttle readied so she can go to Minbar. She'll leave within

								the next fifteen minutes.


								<P>

								In Centauri Prime, a Ranger is escorted into Emperor Vir Cotto's

								bedroom, where he is "entertaining" two ladies. Vir's mood sobers when

								he sees the Ranger, and takes the message. He orders all his

								appointments cancelled for the next few days. He doesn't need to read

								the note; he already knows what it says.


								<P>

								On Mars, Garibaldi reads a newspaper, when Stephen Franklin comes in

								with Garibaldi's daughter. They've just been playing tennis. Garibaldi

								is still married to Lise and running Edgars Industries. Lise is out

								shopping, and Garibaldi promises his daughter he'll come out to play

								her soon. She leaves, and Garibaldi asks Franklin when he is due back

								on Earth. By tomorrow, says Franklin; as head of Xeno-Biological

								research, he has a lot of work that needs to be done.


								<P>

								Garibaldi's daughter silently escorts a Ranger in. The Ranger gives

								Garibaldi a card, which he opens and reads. "Is that what I think it

								is?" asks Franklin. "Yeah," Garibaldi replies, "Sheridan's dying. He

								wants us to come to Minbar for one last get-together before... well,

								before." Franklin's office can wait; he'll book a flight out. Should

								he book one for Garibaldi as well, he asks? "John and I may have had our

								differences in the past," Garibaldi says, "but he is a good man, and

								he is my friend." He is indeed going.


								<P>

								In Tuzanor, on Minbar, Sheridan again watches the sunrise.


								<P>

								Later, Franklin is checking Sheridan over. He never really understood

								what Lorien did, or how he kept Sheridan alive. He can't really tell

								much, but his best guess is that Sheridan has 4 or 5 days left, a week

								at most. Delenn comes in as Franklin heads out. But Sheridan doesn't

								want to talk about it: he wants laughts, a celebration, not a wake.


								<P>

								At dinner, Garibaldi is telling a story involving a Pak'ma'ra, a dead

								cat, and a data crystal; Franklin, Delenn, and Sheridan are laughing,

								while Vir listens intently. Ivanova sits silently, absorbed in her own

								thoughts.


								<P>

								When the story is over, Vir recalls another incident. Once, on Babylon

								5, he and Londo happened to hear a group of Pak'ma'ra singing; a very

								rare occassion, done for religious reasons but a couple of times a

								year. It was, Vir says, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard,

								full of sadness, and hope, wonder, and a terrible sense of loss. Even

								Londo was moved, a year running down his face at the sound. "When it

								was over," Vir continues, "Londo turned to me and said 'There are

								forty-nine gods in our pantheon, Vir; to tell you the truth I never

								believed in any of them. But if only one of them exists, then God

								sings with that voice.' It's funny. After everything we have been

								through, all he did... I miss him."


								<P>

								Sheridan proposes a toast: "To absent friends, in memory still

								bright."


								<P>

								They raise their glasses. Garibaldi: "G'Kar."


								<P>

								Vir: "Londo."


								<P>

								Delenn: "Lennier."


								<P>

								Franklin: "Ma..." but Ivanova interrupts: "Marcus."


								<P>

								Later that night, Vir is fast asleep on the balcony, as Franklin,

								Sheridan, and Garibaldi talk. Ivanova looks at them, still silent, and

								moves away. Delenn follows her, and asks if she is all right. But

								Ivanova claims she is. Ivanova asks Delenn how she handles it;

								Delenn has had twenty years to prepare. As much as anybody can be

								ready, she is ready. "But I'm going to miss him terribly, Susan."


								<P>

								"So will I," Ivanova says. "I've buried so many friends, Delenn. I'm

								beginning to resent it, and I don't want to. It seems like, some days,

								there's no one left to play with. There's no joy any more."


								<P>

								Ivanova tries to change the subject, asks where David is. Sheridan and

								Delenn's son is away on a Ranger training mission, and they made it

								clear when he joined that he would not receive special

								treatment. Besides, Sheridan wanted to see his old friends, and wants

								David to remember his father the way he was.


								<P>

								There is something else Delenn wants to talk with Ivanova about. When

								Sheridan refused to accept re-election as the President of the

								Interstellar Alliance two years ago, Delenn was elected. Unable to

								devote her attention to the Rangers, she passed the mantle of Ranger

								One to Sheridan. When he leaves, she will have to choose a new leader

								for the Rangers, and she would like a human to maintain the sense of

								balance she and Sheridan have achieved. In fact, she would like

								Ivanova to take the job. Delenn knows Ivanova is not happy with her

								responsibilities at home, and here there will be no politics or

								bureaucracy in her way. She can create something new, answering only

								to Delenn. Ivanova thanks Delenn for the offer, but she'll have to

								think about it for a while. She thanks Delenn for everything, and goes

								off to bed.


								<P>

								Sheridan joins Delenn, who tells him the others are putting Vir to

								bed. They head to bed themselves, but Sheridan is not

								sleepy. Tomorrow, he says, is Sunday. As a kid, his father used to

								take them out for a drive every Sunday. And he is going to go for a

								drive tomorrow. He'll go early, before the others are up. They've had

								their time together, said what they wanted to say. And Sheridan wants

								to feel space again, for he belongs in space.


								<P>

								Besides, he adds, the Alliance, Sheridan and Delenn... it has all become

								half legend, half mythology. If it ends on Minbar, prosaically... But

								if it ends in space, he can add to the mythology, make it easier for

								Delenn to hang on to everyone after he's gone. There will be more

								legend to remember.


								<P>

								In the morning, Sheridan dresses in his old Army of Light uniform, and

								prepares to leave before sunrise. Delenn, dressed up in white, greets

								him in the corridor. After all, it's Sunday, and one dresses up on

								Sundays. It's a perfect day for a drive. But if he really wants to go,

								he must leave now; the others will awake soon.


								<P>

								"Good night, my love," Sheridan tells her as they embrace for the last

								time, "the brightest star in my sky." "Good night," answers Delenn, a

								tear running down her cheek. "You were my sky, and my sun, and my

								moon." Tears in his eyes, Sheridan lets go, and slowly leaves, not

								looking back.


								<P>

								Sheridan makes his way to Babylon 5 on a ship by himself. The place

								seems empty, a single bored guard at the entrance. The commander

								rushes in, apologizing for being elsewhere, unaware Sheridan was

								coming. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by," says

								Sheridan, and asks where everyone is.


								<P>

								Well, the commander explains, nobody really goes there anyomore. The

								station has been superseded by the Alliance, has become

								redundant. Only the shutdown crew and a few others are still on

								board. Babylon 5 was returned to Earth a few years ago, but budgetary

								concerns will force it to close; they are getting ready to shut it

								down, and they'll have to scuttle her then, to prevent the station from

								becoming a hazard to navigation.


								<P>

								"Looks like we are still tied together," Sheridan tells the station,

								"even now." He goes for a quick look around, showing signs of

								fatigue. In an empty Zocalo, he finds Zack Allan, back in EarthForce

								security uniform, and limping.


								<P>

								Zack went back to Earth for a while, but got bored and came back;

								which explains why Sheridan's message didn't find him on Earth. Zack

								wanted to be on the station till they turned the lights off. He asks if

								Sheridan is staying for the decommissioning ceremony, but Sheridan

								simply says he can't stay, not even to grab a quick bite with Zack; he

								doesn't have time.


								<P>

								"I just wanted to come and have one last look around," Sheridan

								explains. He is on his way to the Coriana system, where they won the

								Shadow War (<a href="../guide/072.html">"Into the Fire"</a>).


								<P>

								Sheridan arrives at Corianna six, his life running out. Delenn, alone

								in bed back on Minbar, starts crying, as his ship floats, hanging in

								space. Sheridan turns all the systems off, and looks at the stars as

								he starts to fade out.


								<P>

								A bright light brings him back to consciousness, as Lorien's voice

								rings our, asking the questions that defined the sides in the Shadow

								War:


								<P>

								"Who are you? What do you want? Why are you here?"


								<P>

								And suddenly, Lorien is besides him, and continues: "Where are you

								going?"


								<P>

								Did you think we had forgotten you?" he adds with a faint

								smile. "We have been waiting for you." "Beyond the rim," Sheridan

								finishes for him, and Lorien nods.


								<P>

								"Can I come back?" Sheridan asks. "No," replies Lorien. "This journey

								is ended. Another begins. Time to rest now." Sheridan smiles, and

								light engulfes the inside of the ship. "Well, look at that," Sheridan

								says, looking into the light. "The sun's coming up." The light fades

								out, leaving the ship dark.


								<P>

								<i> Ivanova: "An expedition to Coriana space found Sheridan's ship a

								few days later, but they never found him. All the airlocks were

								sealed, but there was no trace of him inside. Some of the Minbari

								believe he'll come back some day, but I never saw him again in my

								lifetime."</i>


								<P>

								Ivanova joins Vir, Zack, Garibaldi, Delenn, and Franklin at the

								decommissioning ceremony of Babylon 5. They leave the station in a

								shuttle, passing between two rows of ships from all the races. The

								lights in the station are turned off, and it stops spinning. As the

								ships depart, the station is blown up, level by level, section by

								section.


								<P>

								<i>"Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. There

								would never be another. It changed the future, and it changed us. It

								taught us that we had to create the future, or others will do it for

								us.</i>


								<P>

								Garibaldi returns to his wife and family on Mars.


								<P><i> "It showed us that we have to care for each other, because if

								we don't, who will?</i>


								<P>

								Franklin returns to his job on Earth, helping heal both aliens and

								humans.


								<P><i>"And that strength sometimes comes from the most unlikely of

								places.</i>


								<P>Zack goes to Centauri Prime and works for Emperor Vir Cotto.


								<P><i>"Mostly, though, I think it gave us hope that there can always

								be new beginnings, even for people like us.</i>


								<P>Ivanova accepts the position of leader of the Rangers.


								<P><i>"As for Delenn, every morning for as long as she lived, Delenn

								got up before dawn and watched the sun come up..."</i>