"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"What do you want?"
"I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I'd look up at your lifeless eyes and wave like this. Can you and your associates arrange it for me, Mr. Morden?"

	-- Morden and Vir in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"That's him, all right. I never forget a face. Morden. Same ID as on the Icarus."
"He's supposed to be dead. Why didn't the security net catch him?"
"Captain, come on. We don't get every death certificate from every Earth Alliance ship and colony."

	-- Garibaldi and Sheridan in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"So, what can I do for you?"
"Well, actually it's more a question of what I can do for you, really, and what we can together do for Earth. I'm regional director of the newly-formed Ministry of Peace, or Minipax, as we like to call it around the office. We're trying to round up support for a series of new programs we're launching."
"What kind of programs?"
"Folks back home are awfully nervous about all the fighting going on out here. They need reassurance, you see? They need an environment dedicated to peace, not war. But we can never have peace with our neighbours until we're at peace with ourselves, so we at the Ministry of Peace are trying to find new ways to do just that, ways we can better help each other, work with each other."

	-- Winters and Pierce Macabee in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"Nice shoes. I'll admit my knowledge of the law is somewhat limited, but .. I believe it's tradition if you're going to hold someone, you should at least .. charge him .. with something."

	-- Morden to Sheridan in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"When a patient starts to slip away .. when he looks at you .. and his eyes grab hold of you the way a drowning man grabs hold of anything to keep him from sinking.. I mean, afraid .. so afraid .. and then, just at the last, it's as if they look past you to something else, and the look on their face, it's like nothing you can describe. And then .. just as they look past you, the moment that they look past you, you can't help but meet their gaze and, just for an instant, you see God reflected in their eyes. I've seen a lot of reflected Gods today, Susan .. and I'm wondering how we can keep believing in them when they've stopped believing in us."

	-- Franklin to Ivanova in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"As the name implies, you must also be watchful. Peace can be made or broken with a gun, a word, an idea, even a thought. Now, those who work against peace sow the seeds of discontent. They plant false stories, they undermine the public good. It's not because they are necessarily evil. It's because they don't know any better. They're rejected, they're unhappy, and they lash out in the only way they can. So, If we could be made aware of these problems as they occur, then we can find these people, we can talk to these people, we can embrace them again in the arms of society, while, at the same time, protecting society from misinformation and harmful ideas. We're less interested in actions than we are in attitudes. We must help protect society against its own worst instincts. And by taking these bold steps, we will help to ensure a better future for everyone. I'm proud to be a part of it, and I hope you'll all join me in becoming part of the Night Watch."

	-- Pierce Macabee in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"Psi-Corps rules prohibit unauthorized scans in civil or criminal investigations."
"How can it be unauthorized? According to Earth Central records, he is supposed to be dead. Can a dead man object?"
"Captain, you're trying to use the letter of the law to defeat the spirit of the law."

	-- Winters and Sheridan in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"It was terrible, like falling into a bottomless well. And cold, so cold. And just for a second I thought I saw this .."
"What? What did you see?"
".. A shape. I don't know. It was probably nothing."

	-- Winters and Franklin in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"This is the only way. And we will tell you those answers. But be warned. Once you know his secret, once you know what we have known the last three years, you'll never sleep well again. Come, Captain, the greatest nightmare of our time is waiting for you."

	-- Delenn to Sheridan in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"There are beings in the universe billions of years older than either of our races. Once, long ago, they walked among the stars like giants, vast, timeless. Taught the younger races, explored beyond the rim, created great empires, but to all things, there is an end. Slowly, over a million years, the First Ones went away. Some passed beyond the stars never to return. Some simply disappeared."

	-- Delenn in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"Not all of the First Ones have gone away. A few stayed behind, hidden, or asleep, waiting for the day when they may be needed. When the Shadows come again."

	-- Delenn in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"Shadows?"
"We have no other name for them. The Shadows were old when even the Ancients were young. They battled one another over and over, across a million years. The last great war against the Shadows was 10000 years ago. It was the last time the Ancients walked openly among us. But the Shadows were only defeated .. not destroyed. 1000 years ago, the Shadows returned to their places of power, rebuilt them, and began to stretch forth their hand. Before they could strike, they were defeated by an alliance of worlds, including the Minbari .. and the few remaining First Ones who have not yet passed beyond the veil. When they had finished, the First Ones went away .. all .. but one."
"There's still one of them left. Where?"

	-- Sheridan and Delenn in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"Recognized? By whom?"
"Everyone."

	-- Sheridan and Kosh in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"'Yes' was the answer. What was the question?"
"Have the Shadows returned to Z'ha'dum?"

	-- Sheridan and Delenn in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"Once awakened, the Shadows could not allow them to leave, in case they might warn others. Those who would not serve were killed."
"But were they all killed? Delenn, maybe .. maybe some of them were kept alive as prisoners. Anna might still be alive! Morden--"
"Must be released."

	-- Delenn and Sheridan in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"What? What did you see?"
"Nothing. Shadows."

	-- Zack and Sheridan in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

"You've been trying to help me so we can understand each other. It's not what I want anymore. I want you to teach me .. how to fight them, how to beat them. Because sooner or later I'm going to Z'ha'dum. And I'm going to stop them."
"If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die."
"Then I die. But I will not go down easily, and I will not go down alone. You'll teach me?"
"Yes."

	-- Sheridan and Kosh in Babylon 5:"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum"

Compiled by a1bert@iki.fi
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