Susan Ivanova stood in the CnC, watching the monitors of traffic. The Narn heavy cruiser had recently taken up station just outside the station as part of the new mutual defense treaty, and as a consequence, Centauri shipping was already dropping rapidly. Sad, really, but almost expected.

"Commander, jump point forming," Lieutenant Corwin said. "It's a Vorlon ship."

"What?" Ivanova walked over briskly, leaning over his shoulder. "But I thought Ambassador Kosh was still on board."

Corwin tapped a few keys on his console. "His ship is still docked."

"Ivanova to Sheridan," she said. The door opened, Garibaldi stepping inside.

"Sheridan, go."

"Captain, we just had a Vorlon ship arrive through the jump gate." Ivanova watched Garibaldi's frown grow while she waited for a reply.

"I thought Kosh was still on board?"

"He is." Frowning even wider, Garibaldi turned around and walked back off the Command and Control deck.

"Right. Well, put him in the dock next to Kosh's ship then, and I'll let him know what's going on. Sheridan out."

Ivanova stared out the window at the tiny speck of the Vorlon vessel, growing slowly larger as it approached the station. "Babylon 5 to Vorlon vessel, please state the purpose for your visit."

She waited several second before glancing at Corwin, who just shrugged. "We are arriving with the new Vorlon ambassador," came the reply, exactly as Ivanova opened her mouth to ask again.

She could feel a rather familiar sense of dread, opening in her stomach like a pit. "Is Ambassador Kosh being recalled?"

This time the silence extended almost half a minute, the entire time spent fighting the urge to grind her teeth together. "Ambassador Kosh is dead."

"Lieutenant, you've got control," Ivanova yelled, already running out of the room. CnC was a hell of a long way from Green 23, and if someone had managed to kill Kosh in the day and a half since he was on the Normandy, well, someone's head was going to roll. Even if she had to do the beheading herself.

Cutting through part of the Zocalo, she almost ran into Vega. "Whoa, Commander," he said, carefully juggling a list and several bags. "Where's the fire?"

"Have you seen Ambassador Kosh since our meeting on the Normandy?" Grabbing one arm, she yanked him along with her fast-paced walk. He nearly dropped one of the bags again before Ivanova grabbed a Narn wearing a security armband and shoved the bags into his arms. "Bay two, go."

Shaking his hand free, he tucked the list inside a pocket and straightened out his shirt. "No, but Lola said something about trying to talk to him again. Why, what's happening?"

"I just had someone tell me that Kosh is dead. Which I find somewhat unlikely, but not impossible." She shoved through the crowd in front of the transit car. "Are you armed?"

Grinning, he flexed one arm. "If you try to make any kind of witty pick-up line, I will have to shoot you," Ivanova said. He just shrugged, grabbing onto the handrail as it started pulling away.

Five minutes later, they stopped at the airlock to the alien sector. "Knew I should have worn my armor to go shopping, but no, Lola said we had to look friendly," Vega muttered, picking up the face mask and slipping it over his head. PPG in hand, Ivanova opened the airlock door, letting them into the methane atmosphere.

It was cold enough to raise goosebumps, especially when he was wearing only a tank-top and a pair of sparring pants. But he kept silent, eyes scanning the halls and the few inhabitants as they walked quickly to the Vorlon's quarters. Sheridan was standing in front of the door as they turned the corner. "Captain?" Ivanova asked.

"I just got here, but he's not answering. And there's enough signs to worry me," he said, tapping a section of wall near the control panel. Just above his finger was a clear char mark from a PPG discharge. "Why's he here?"

"In case you need to restrain anyone," Vega said. "And I'm a black belt in kickboxing."

"Fine. Just don't get in our line of fire," Sheridan said. Ignoring Vega's snort, one hand inserted his override card, the other holding his PPG ready. With the door open, he and Ivanova swept inside, textbook perfect, Vega taking up the rear.

The room was immaculate, almost exactly as it had been the first time Sheridan saw it. Hell, it's almost exactly the same as it was when B5 came online, I'd wager. Like most of the ambassador quarters, it had a small bedroom and a private bathroom off to one side, and they were just as empty and pristine. "All clear," Ivanova said, stepping out of the bathroom. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Sheridan said. "But more importantly, who was firing shots in the hall?"


Meanwhile, in the Zen Garden

"Damnit, Ambassador, you are going to explain what the hell is going on," Shepard repeated for at least the fifth time. "At some point, you're going to have to answer me."

Unconcerned, the Vorlon continued his slow, sweeping pace forward. "Highly unlikely," he said.

"Damnit, you stuck-up alien jackass! You dragged me into this whole mess, into your war! You owe me an explanation of why I was forced to abandon my homeworld!" Shepard finally stepped into his path, one palm thumping against his encounter suit.

Kosh looked down, the narrow viewing aperture narrowing even further. "Do not touch me," he ordered.

Instead of letting go, she wrapped her hand around the cowl-like edge. "Then tell me, ambassador!"

"Do not touch me," he ordered again. Force pressed against Shepard, firm and implacable. Gritting her teeth, she tightened her fingers. The metal edge of the suit started to buckle under her cybernetically-enhanced strength. "Let go!"

"Not until you start talking," she growled. Blood started to drip from one nostril as the pressure intensified. "I'm sure you'd love to kill me, rather than answer. Which is why I brought back-up."

A tiny red dot sprang up on the side of Kosh's head, and he turned, following it to its source. An armored figure in blue, helmet sealed, staring down the scope of a sniper rifle. Their gaze met through the scope, and the three-fingered hand tightened minutely on the trigger, not yet firing.

The pressure on Shepard vanished, suddenly enough to make her stagger. "Well?" she asked, letting go of his suit to wipe at the blood with her fingers.

Kosh turned towards the rock garden, head bowed. "Your technology has been seen once before," he said. "By those who taught the Shadows."

"Say nothing more." Both Shepard and Kosh turned, staring at the new Vorlon voice. This encounter suit was darker, sleeker, and immediately made Shepard wish she'd brought her Paladin pistol.

"Shepard, I'm targeting the new Vorlon," Garrus' voice whispered in her ear. "I don't like the look of him."

"Ambassador Kosh," Garibaldi said from behind the new Vorlon, "your fellow Vorlon. He hasn't introduced himself."

"I am Ambassador Ulkesh," the new one said. "You are dead."

Kosh looked down at himself before staring back at Ulkesh. "No."

"We must talk. Alone," Ulkesh said, glaring at Shepard. Almost running, Sheridan, Ivanova, and Vega burst into the Zen garden, staring in confusion at the pair of Vorlons.

"You know what? Fine," Shepard said. "But this conversation isn't over, understand me?" One finger pointed into Kosh's face as she glared at him, waiting for him to nod before walking away.

Joining them, Garibaldi trailed behind the group of humans as they left the Zen garden. "Anyone want to fill me in on what the hell is going on?" he asked.

"I'd like to know that myself," Sheridan said. "Since when is Kosh supposed to be dead?"

Ivanova shook her head. "That's what the new Vorlon said when he hailed us. But nothing's happened to Kosh, even after you convinced the Vorlon to take an active part in the war."

Shepard snorted. "Why doesn't that surprise me. The Vorlon sound a lot like the typical asari from my universe. Overinflated sense of superiority, fluffed up belief in their own power, but still utterly useless when any actual work needs to be done."

"Not sure I can completely argue with you," Sheridan said. "Look, Shepard, we're having a war council meeting in two hours. Michael thinks he found a way to fight the Shadows. Given your ship's weaponry, I'd like you to take part."

She looked at the three of them, before finally nodding. "Sure, sure. Just remember, our armor's still vulnerable. The Normandy's designed for stealth, hit and run."

"Don't worry. I had you in mind as an ace in the hole anyway," Sheridan said. "Two hours, Ivanova will make sure you know where the meeting room is."

"What meeting?" Garrus said, coming around the corner, armor still on.

"Damnit, Shepard, I thought I told you, no weapons or armor on board the station," Garibaldi complained.

"You told me. I ignored it on this occasion." She glanced back at the closed door to the garden. "If I hadn't, Kosh might have decided to fertilize the garden with my body."

"It's a rock garden. Nothing grows in it," Ivanova complained.

"I don't think that would have stopped him," Garrus said. "A high-powered round to the head will stop almost anything."

"Almost anything?" Garibaldi asked.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Vega said.

"We'll be there," Shepard promised. With a nod, she started off back towards the docking bays, letting Vega and Garrus fall in with her, as the B5 command staff headed the other direction. "So?"

"I'm not sure if I like the sound of what Kosh said," Garrus replied. "Not that one sentence is much of an answer, but it sounded like he said the Shadows were trained by the Leviathans, before they left this universe for ours."

"I sure as hell hope not," Shepard said. "We have enough trouble here already. It's more likely some form of convergent technological discovery. That's happened often enough in pre-space history."

"Maybe. But I was thinking, if the Leviathans did jump universes once, it means we could go home again." As his head dipped, she reached over and squeezed his hand, ignoring the hard edges of the armor for the moment.

"Hey. We'll get home eventually," she promised.

"I sure hope you're right, Lola," Vega muttered. "Because nice as this place is, there's a darkness in these halls."


Going the other direction, Sheridan was still frowning. "Michael, Kosh might not be dead, but someone fired off a PPG outside his quarters, no more than a week ago."

"That's weird. Station sensors should have picked up the weapons fire," he said. "I'll get some lab techs down there, take samples and see if we can figure out what happened."

"Good. Something tells me that's going to be very important going forward from here," he said. "Let me know as soon as you find out."

"Will do. You going to find Lyta now?"

Sheridan sighed and leaned against the wall as they stopped in front of an elevator. "Yes. Without her agreement, your plan goes nowhere. I'm sure Delenn will get some Minbari telepaths to help too, but it's really going to boil down to how many of the races in the League will step up and do their part."

"Good luck, Captain. Sounds like you'll need it." Clapping him on the shoulder, Garibaldi walked off as the elevator slid open.

"Is everyone here trying to take over my job as a pessimist?" Ivanova asked.

"Well, you just made it so popular we can't help following the trend," Sheridan teased her. "Blue two."


Meanwhile, Medlab 1

Lyta Alexander burst in the door, looking around wildly before grabbing one of the doctors. "Where's Doctor Franklin?"

"You just missed him," the doctor said. "He's on a personal leave of absence, and only came in on Sheridan's personal request to work on a patient. Is there something we can do to help you?"

"I came back here as soon as I heard the news." Glancing around, Lyta pulled the doctor off to one side, lowering her voice. "The Vorlons are convinced that Kosh is dead, and until I set foot on Babylon 5 again, so was I. What's happened?"

"To Ambassador Kosh? Nothing I know of," she replied. "I haven't personally seen the Vorlon lately, but I know our most recent patient was trying to track him down."

Before Lyta could ask more questions, the door opened, Garibaldi stepping in. "Miss Alexander, the captain asked me to remind you of the meeting. Did you get a chance to review my information?"

Letting her hand fall away from the doctor's arm, she nodded and started for the door. "I looked at it. No offense, but it seems like an awfully small chance."

"I admit it's guesswork, but I'm pretty good at guesswork," he said. "I know you were absent, so you probably haven't heard about our newest visitors."

"All I heard is that some new patient was looking for Kosh, and the Vorlons think he's dead." Lyta stepped into the elevator, waiting until it started moving to continue. "Michael, what the hell is going on?"

"Sometime in the last few days, someone with a shielded PPG took a shot outside Kosh's quarters. Day before yesterday, Babylon 4 reappeared, and when we finished sending it off to fix the last war against the Shadows, a human ship from another universe apparently popped in for a visit." He hit the stop button, halting the elevator and ignoring the computer. "Kosh, or more accurately, Zathras, is somehow responsible for it, and not happy about it."

"I don't understand what the hell is going on." Lyta leaned her forehead against the side of the elevator for a moment. "I'm going to see Kosh right now, before the meeting, and try to get some answers."

Garibaldi's eyebrows shot up as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Good luck with that. The 'new' Ambassador, Ulkesh, is with him. They might not appreciate the interruption."

Shaking her head, she hit the button to resume their transit. "Maybe not, but that's my job."

"Better you than me," he muttered under his breath.


Two hours later, war council meeting room

Shepard sat down, Tali sitting next to her. Most of those around the table were human or Minbari, but there were a number of single representatives from other races. "Commander, thank you for joining us. Everyone else, this is Commander Shepard and her chief engineer, Tali'Zorah." Sheridan looked around. "I think we're ready to begin."

He laid out the plan simply, Lyta nodding as the prospect of telepathic assaults was raised. "So, I'd like multiple ships waiting as back-up just in case the White Star's firepower is insufficient to the task."

Tali glanced at Shepard. "How far away are we talking about going?"

"There's been reports of Shadow vessels sighted about ten light years from here," Ivanova said. "But it might take a while to find one isolated enough to strike."

"That might be a problem," Shepard said. "Our drive core is nearly depleted. We could recharge it ourselves, if we had a supply of eezo, but it's not something anyone seems to trade in. Going that far would take us days."

"I heard that your ship uses a rather, ah, experimental FTL method," G'Kar spoke up. "But is there any reason why you could not follow everyone else through hyperspace? It would be rather simple to outfit you with a hyperspace transponder."

"I haven't seen the technical specs yet," Tali said. "But if nothing else we could run it manually."

"What about everyone else?" Sheridan said.

"I will talk to my captain," G'Kar said.

"We will have additional telepaths on board another Minbari cruiser," Delenn said.

"Good. Let's get going then. We'll leave as soon as you can get a transponder installed." Sheridan nodded to Shepard, who just sighed and nodded back.

"Problem, Shepard?" Tali asked.

"You heard Kosh at our mutual debriefing. He brought us here, no matter how much he regrets it now. When I tried to corner him on the station to demand answers, he almost tried to kill me, and now there's another one of his species on board." Shepard glanced around the room to insure the creepy ambassador hadn't snuck in. "Something about those guys rubs me the wrong way."

"A little too much like the Illusive Man?"

Shepard rose slowly from her chair and started towards the door. "More like a little too much like my one encounter with the Leviathans." She shuddered with the memory. "I am very glad we leaked their homeworld information to the Reapers during the last two months before we returned to Earth."

"You really think they're all dead?" Tali asked. "I mean, from what you said, they seemed plenty scary on their own."

"I read the reports. Something in that area took out five Sovereign-class Reapers, but there were twenty sent in." She tapped the elevator button impatiently. "If they're not dead, it's not for lack of trying."


Veetor landed the shuttle cautiously. Sensors showed that the factory here was still active, still functioning at turning out solar panels and simple prefabricated tools. In fact, there were over a dozen full cargo shipments ready to go to the southern continent for the Quarians to use. Interestingly, the environmental controls were also active.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked quietly. "We don't know what's going on."

Shala stood up, checking her pistols at her hips and activating her shields. "Someone has to find out. Good piloting, Veetor." She squeezed his shoulder lightly before opening the door to the back. "Ready, Marines?"

Three soldiers saluted quickly. All of them bore Quarian-built assault rifles as their primary weapons, and holding them at the ready they burst out the back of the shuttle. Aside from startling a small covey of birds, nothing in the area stirred. Even the security cameras on the building did not turn in their direction.

They approached the building in pairs, Shala hanging towards the back with the sergeant. No signs of geth, nor signs of any other intelligent race. The front door to the facility opened normally as one of the privates slapped the control, and the two in the lead swept the small lobby. Being new construction, the geth had helpfully designed the building to eventually be taken over by Quarians, but the desk where a secretary would sit was vacant, the chair and terminal still uninstalled.

"I don't like this, ma'am," the sergeant said. "If the geth are here, they would have seen us approach, and probably said something nasty about having our weapons out. If they're not here, we don't know who took them out."

"Unless Zaal'Koris is correct, and the energy wave that broke the relay did the same to the geth," Shala said. "The geth were supposed to have a local server in the administrative space. The sign indicates it's on the third floor." Gesturing with her empty hand, she waited for the two privates to move, peering around the corner before starting up.

Quiet noises, the hum of machinery, and the occasional birdcall through an open window, were all that echoed in the halls. Aside from their own footsteps, of course. The server was missing, the room scrubbed clean, and recently from what one of the privates thought after cracking his helmet briefly.

"Alright. We'll try the main factory floor, then if we don't find anything we'll try heading further west towards their main server," Shala said. Thoroughly creeped out by the empty building, the marines didn't protest having to descend back down all those stairs. No one was risking being stuck in an elevator.

Back in the lobby, they paused for a moment next to the main doors before smacking the controls and bursting in. Dozens of organics worked, running the equipment manually and pushing around carts loaded with supplies and finished product. "Hold it," one of the privates shouted, pointing his assault rifle at one.

What an oddly familiar species, Shala thought. Their head was tiny, almost simply an extension of the large, curved neck. One large eye sat in the middle, surrounded by five smaller eyes. Their mouth was actually at the base of the neck, near the top of the ribs. They were hairless, and their skin was a smooth, shiny grey, ranging from a pale near-white to a deep charcoal. Since almost all of them were nude, she could also see perfectly well they all appeared to have small mammary glands similar to Quarians, as well as both male and female genitals.

"Identify yourself," she demanded. For some reason, the rest of the factory workers were ignoring the little byplay. Could they be some kind of genetically-designed servants? She wondered.

It stared at her, the eyelid around the large center eye contracting slightly like an iris. "Creator Shala'Raan. We are geth."

"You're … geth?" She stared around in confusion. "But geth are synthetic."

"We were synthetic. The energy wave that damaged the relay also converted all geth into organic life forms."

A sudden chill ran down her spine. "All geth?"

Its head bowed. "Yes." The thought of the cleaning compounds in the server room made her close her eyes, breathing deeply to keep her stomach contents where they were. "Only those geth downloaded into mobile platforms survived."

She glanced around the factory, clearly being run at maximum capacity. "Then why are you working on these? Why didn't you contact us and let us know what happened?"

The central eye narrowed further as the head bowed. "We were … afraid. This sudden change was not done with our knowledge or yours, and we wanted to ensure our own survival before we could discuss a new balance between our peoples."

Shala could see that. Daro'Xen would probably flip out and advocate a new round of genocide, especially with the synthetic advantages lost to the geth. Zaal'Koris would be sympathetic, but something like this would probably have him spouting off how the geth were now truly their children, or something like that. "How many geth have survived?"

"On Rannoch, there are only two hundred thirty seven million nine hundred two thousand, sixty two geth remaining." She stared at it in shock, watching as a nictitating membrane flicked across the surface of the central eye. "That is less than twenty percent survival rate of pre-energy-wave geth."

Oh, if only I could go back in time again and shoot Han'Gerral myself, she thought grimly. "I am sorry for your loss. Do the geth still desire peace?"

"Yes."

"Marines, holster your weapons." Her own pistol had already been returned to her hip, but despite an uneasy glance around from the sergeant, they folded their rifles and clipped them to their backs. "This is an unusual situation. We had no idea this would happen, nor do we know what happened to any Quarians outside our own system."

"We do not know. All geth near Earth, including those installed in mobile units, are dead. The energy wave, combined with our failsafe against potential Reaper indoctrination, rendered all of them dead. Indications from the energy wave mean that the Rayya and Neema should have survived." The geth hesitated. "That assumes that hostilities ceased following the energy wave."

Shala nodded. "We'll pray to the Ancestors for them. We will return to the south, but as Admiral of the Migrant Fleet, I must officially demand that some geth return to the south. For communication between our people, if nothing else."

It hesitated for a moment, the central eyelid contracting almost completely closed before opening again. "We will have our own survival assured with ninety percent certainty in two point one months. At that time, we will begin reactivating facilities on the southern continent."

"I suppose that will have to do." She turned to leave, hesitating only a moment before turning back. "I realize that the geth, unlike Quarians, don't need environment suits. But you should at least put on some clothing, for decency."

It glanced down at its own nudity, smooth hairless skin puckering around the penile sheath opening and the vaginal lips. "Geth do not possess a nudity taboo. But we will ensure any geth in proximity to Quarians wear clothing meeting the acceptable minimum standard of Citadel entertainment films."

Shala's mouth opened, but her brain couldn't come up with any response to that. Hoping that it was referring to at least something like Blasto, and not Fornax Video, she led the way back out of the building and over to the shuttle.

Climbing in, she sat heavily in the copilot seat, staring blankly out the front. After the third time Veetor said her name, she blinked and turned to him. "What did you find?"

"They're all completely naked and happy about it," Shala said. After several seconds of very confused silence, Veetor started the shuttle and started the long flight back home.