A few moments later, he stopped. "Tell me, Lady, what is your definition of a great man? One theory could be that a great man is someone who takes his own path rather than meekly following others. What do you think of that?"

She said nothing. There was nothing to say. He left.

There had been no time for explanations, little time for questions, or answers. The next few hours passed hurriedly aboard Babylon 4.

Captain Dexter Smith was brought on board the station under heavy armed guard. He was met at the docking bay by Taan Churok.

"I was right," he said in harsh English. "I should have killed you."

"Yes," came the muted reply. "You should have."

The rest of the crew of the Babylon remained on board, although the ship was now operated by a large number of Narn Rangers. Captain Sheridan did not go near the ship, nor ask about anyone on it.

The survivors of the chaos on Epsilon 3 were brought up to the station. G'Kar was immediately rushed to the medical bay for extensive emergency work. Later reports said that he was stable, albeit with extensive internal and external injuries. Healing would take months at least.

Attempts were made to keep Ta'Lon in the medical bay as well, but he politely refused. He did consent to having his eye bandaged and disinfected, but then he insisted on meeting G'Dok and the other Ranger lieutenants. His second act was to tell them about those who had died on the planet. His first act was to rebuff all allegations that he was too weak to lead.

"I trust that scratch hasn't made you unfit to fight?" asked G'Dok.

"Hardly," came the reply. "It's just an eye, after all. I have a spare."

Ko'Dath and G'Dan came over from the Parmenion to liaise with the Narns on the station. Neither made any remark about Ta'Lon's injuries.

Dr. Mary Kirkish was also taken to the medical bay, and was diagnosed as suffering from extreme stress and trauma. She was sedated and left to rest. Commander David Corwin went to see her while she was sleeping. He whispered three words to her, words she did not hear, and then resumed his duties on the Parmenion.

Zathras remained on the planet for a while, advising and coaching Michael Garibaldi as much as he could. He frequently clicked and muttered in his own language, but it was clear that something was definitely not good.

Susan Ivanova was brought to the station. She was now semi-conscious, and seemed aware of her surroundings. Lyta Alexander, remaining on the Parmenion to scan for the presence of Shadow ships, gave a slight shudder at this time, although she would not explain why. Ivanova was taken to a cell and left there to await the attentions of those in authority.

No one dared touch the bodies at the Heart of the Machine.

A few hours after the ending of what would later be called the first stage of the Battle of the Third Line, a council was called. It was not attended by quite the number of dignitaries who had been present at G'Kar's doomed summit, but there was still enough power wielded in the room to influence a considerable portion of the galaxy.

It was Ta'Lon who spoke first. "Our current situation here is one of great danger," he explained. "The threat to this place has not ended with the surrender of the human forces. This station has a greater purpose than as a mere command centre for the war in the present. It has…. another destiny."

"This station was built to go backwards in time a thousand years, and serve a vital role in the last war against the Darkness."

Some of those present knew that already, but a great many did not. Lethke and Taan Churok in particular looked astonished. "You will…. forgive us…." Lethke said, "But that sounds a little…. uh…. hard to believe."

"It is true," Delenn said. "This station…. this very station was used by Valen a thousand years ago. It was in the archives of the Grey Council, information known only to us. No one knew where the station had come from or how it had got there…. until now."

"Two years ago, we saw this station going back in time," spoke up Sheridan. "It's true."

"Then if that was this place's intended purpose, why not send it back immediately on construction?" asked Taan Churok. "Why build a command station if it's going to have to be…. hah, sent back in time?"

"It was hoped that we would be able to take advantage of the station for the duration of this war," Ta'Lon explained. "We did not have the resources to build two stations, and so we…. risked a great deal. But at the time we planned this there was no sign of Valen, who would take the station back. How were we to know that he would appear on Minbar?"

"So what is the problem?" asked Lethke. "The station is secure. I will admit we could use some extra defences, but a quick message to Kazomi Seven will solve that."

"Problem?" barked Zathras. Lethke looked at the strange creature with a hint of surprise and a lot of condescension. "Problem. Zathras tell you where problem is. Problem is that great Darkness will be coming here. Soon. Now. If Enemy destroys station now, it will never go back, if station never goes back, goodness loses the war then, and…. big temporal paradoxes. All reality be rearranged. Very bad."

"Weakness!" snapped Taan Churok. "If these Shadows come, then we will fight them."

"Drazi, yes," noted Zathras. "Skulls block out brains. Very sad. Poor design. Listen, Machine is damaged. Bad woman did bad things to it. Opening temporal rift needs…. much energy. Very difficult. Some alignments need correcting, much machinery needs to be repaired. Machine may not be powerful enough after bad things done. Very unstable. What will happen later…. Zathras cannot say, but Zathras not like to think. Could be very bad."

"What he means," said Ta'Lon, noting bafflement on the faces of the Drazi and the Brakiri, "is that the Machine is growing very unstable at the moment. The forced rejection of Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar…. the weapons raised against us here…. the death of its previous host…. We cannot be sure if the Machine will be able to maintain its integrity for much longer. If we are to send Babylon Four back into the past it will have to be done now, or we risk losing the chance for a long time to come."

"When can we…. manage this feat?" asked Lethke. He looked at Zathras.

"Ah, G'Kar being very clever, yes. Temporal rift already open. A little. Important machinery already attached to station. Very clever indeed. But…. temporal rift now a little…. out of synch. Need to be realigned. Mr. Garibaldi doing that, yes. Zathras will soon attend to finishing off work there. Zathras be good at doing that.

"Zathras think…. couple of days. Besides, be not forgetting one thing…. we need Valen as well. Is being no point sending station back without sending Minbari back with it. That be very foolish."

Lethke suddenly seemed to realise something. "This…. temporal rift is already open?"

"In part, yes. Very clever of G'Kar, as Zathras said."

"Then is that what has caused all the…. unexplained events here? Dreams, strange voices from nowhere, visions of things in the past, in the future?"

"Ah. Yes, is possibility." Zathras paused, deep in thought. "That is not so clever." None of them noticed the frantic look Sheridan gave Delenn, a brief remembrance of a dream long past.

"Perhaps we should discuss this with the rest of the Council," Lethke said. "This sounds…. um…."