"What was that?" Then, Preah noticed where Jovan had fallen. "Oh! I'm so sorry."
Jovan shook his head as he stood up. "It's okay. What say we just go to sleep now?"
Preah smiled and lay down. "Okay. I mean, we've already done it five times. You deserve a rest."
Jovan did a small double-take. "Five times?" he whispered. "Oh my God."
Preah tilted her head. "Was it not pleasing to you, my King?"
Jovan shook his head. "No. No. It's not that. It was... great! I mean... you're amazing. I just... I need to rest for a bit." He laid down beside Preah. Preah turned over, placing her hand over his chest. And so they slept.
Tara woke up first. "What happened?"
Katianna stood up. "I don't know. We got slammed by something."
Kassia picked herself up. "You think?"
Charlie looked up at Katianna, then at Jovani, who was just then rising to his feet. "Who are you people?"
Jovani searched his mind. "I'm... um... I don't know who I am. Anyone?"
Katianna shook her head. "I can't remember. Does anyone remember getting hit over the head or something?"
Tara paced. "All I remember is waking up here with all of you."
Charlie stood up and stumbled back. "It's you. All of you. You did this to me!"
Kassia made a face. "Did what? We're all stuck here without our memories, smart one."
Charlie pointed at Tara. "Look at her. She speaks differently. She's British. That must have something to do with it."
Tara was aghast. "I'm not British!"
Jovani nodded. "You definitely are British."
Katianna raised her arms. "What's a 'British'?"
"Listen up!" Kassia exclaimed. "We need to find out what we're doing here, who they are," Kassia pointed at the unconscious men-in-black on the floor, "and we can't do that if we're quibbling about our ethnic differences. This goes especially for you, Mr. Black."
Charlie looked for a nametag on his chest. "How do you know my name is Mr. Black."
"Bollocks," Tara listed. "Barmy. Knackered. Berk. Bloody hell, I am British."
Katianna flicked at Charlie's chest. "She was referring to your skin color, not your name."
"Look in your pockets or on your clothes for some identification. Let's see if we can figure out our names."
Jovani looked in his pockets and found a black crystal. "Hmm," he said as he put it back in. Then he pulled out a wallet. "I found something! Dirk Fleishmann. I must be Dirk."
Katianna found a picture of herself, Kara, and her children in her back pocket. "Well, I think I'm a mother of two children." She turned the picture around. "And I have name: 'Mommy Kat.' I'm Kat."
Charlie raised his hands in the air. "I can't find anything."
Kat turned to Charlie. "Well, maybe you can give yourself a name?"
Kassia smiled as she discovered her ring. "I guess I'm married: 'Tarik and Kassia.' I must be Kassia."
Charlie became excited. "I'll be John."
Kassia laughed. "Could you be more generic?"
"What about Damien?" asked Kat. "You look like a Damien."
Tara pulled out a wallet. In it, she found her ID. "Tara Carmichael. I'm Tara."
Charlie nodded. "I like Damien. I can be Damien."
Kassia looked around. "Okay, so we're Kassia, Kat, Tara, Dirk, and Damien. Good. Now where are we?"
"This looks like a theater of some sort," said Dirk. He found a phaser rifle. "What's this?" Dirk accidentally pressed the trigger and a shot fired at the proscenium stage, causing the backdrop to fall to the ground. "Well, it's a weapon."
Tara smirked. "Indeed."
Katianna picked up another rifle. "So what are we doing in a theater with weapons and armed people all around us."
Charlie shook one of the unconscious men. "Well, they are dressed like I am. Maybe I'm one of them."
"So you are dressed like them, and you called me out because I was British?"
"Well if I'm one of them then, obviously, they meant you no harm. I mean, how do I know you weren't trying to ambush us?"
Kassia shook her head. "This isn't working. We need to go outside and try to make sense of this."
Dirk made a face. "Good luck." He tossed his weapon at Kassia. "I'm not going out there."
"She's right," conceded Kat. "If we're going to find out what happened to us, we're going to need to find out where we are, and that means going outside."
Damien sighed. "I'll go first." He took a rifle.
Kassia walked up to Damien. "I don't need your heroism." She walked ahead of Damien.
"Someone's slightly troubled, huh?" Kat asked Tara.
Tara chuckled.
Stephen grabbed his chin. "Ow!"
Nicole shook her head. "What happened?"
"There was a flash, then you kicked me."
"I'm sorry!" Nicole helped Stephen up. "Wait a minute. Who are you?"
"Who am I? Who are you?! You're the attacker here!"
"How do you know I wasn't trying to defend myself?"
Stephen scowled and stood up with Nicole's help. "Why would you need to defend yourself from me? Why would I try to do something to you? I don't even know who you are." Stephen thought for a moment. "I... can't even remember who I am."
"Maybe I hit you really hard."
"Can you remember who you are?"
Nicole thought for a moment. "I... no. I can't remember who I am either. Maybe you hit me too!"
"I don't feel like I have a concussion. You?"
"Not really."
"Then how don't we know who we are?"
Nicole shook her head.
"Well, it looks like we're in a gym of some sort. Maybe there's someone outside that can help!" Stephen ran to the door and opened it wide open, revealing absolutely nothing. An empty world.
Nicole shook her head. "Where are we?"
Stephen was aghast. "Maybe we were in this gym, and we were abducted by aliens! And right now, they're pulling us through hyperspace with their little attraction rays."
"You mean tractor beam?"
"Yes!"
"You're insane!"
Stephen grabbed Nicole by the shoulders. "I know it sounds crazy, but how else do you explain that?!" Stephen pointed at the void beyond the doors of the gym.
"Hallucination?"
Stephen raised his arms in frustration. Nicole just shook her head angrily and walked in the opposite direction.
Kassia kicked the doors of the theater open, to be met by fifteen Cardassians carrying weapons. One very dark-skinned and large Cardassian was sitting atop a huge elephant-like creature. "Put your weapons down, or we gonna be havin' us a messy shootout. Wass it gonna be?"
Kassia angrily dropped her weapon, and the rest of the group followed suit.
"Now, what you be doin' in me city?"
Katianna raised her hand. "Excuse me? Your city? Are you the mayor here?"
The Cardassians began to laugh. Then, the leader spoke again. "Yes! Of course! I be the mayor and I be all tings in this town!" He laughed again.
Dirk whispered to Tara, "I really don't see what's so funny."
"Me name is Gwando, and I really don't like people who come into me city causin' a ruckus. Take them to the compound. We gonna show them what we do to trespassers."
The Cardassians surrounded the group and began to tie their hands, pushing them forward, toward the east.
Meanwhile, the Giall Codex lay firm and unbothered, under the seats of the theater.
It was still early when Jovan woke up and ran to the temple of Am. He ran inside and pushed open the double doors. Then, he ran to the altar. "Okay, 'Am.' Show yourself!"
There was no response.
"Am, dammit! Show yourself!"
Behind Jovan, there was a quick flash, and a man in a white tunic showed up. "Son!" He held out his arms.
Jovan looked behind him and composed himself. "Dad. It's been a while."
"All too long!" Q smiled, lowering his arms. "I must admit, you've become quite the resourceful individual. Quite the young man, I must say."
"What is this?"
"This?" Q raised his arms. "This is the world I have created for you!"
Jovan sighed.
"What? You don't think I was going to let my only son die, now did you? The Continuum agreed to allow me to create this world outside of the one you know."
"And Am?"
Q smiled. "A little thing I picked up from the humans. I am," he bowed, "that I Am."
"Funny."
"I thought so too. In fact, there's a whole story behind--"
Jovan grabbed Q by the shoulders. "I need to get back. How do I do that?"
Q laughed. "You can't get back. You died. Your body and your spirit became separate. So I managed to grab it and keep it inside this new body I created for you."
"There has to be a way."
"This is your kingdom. Why would you want to go back? Your girlfriend was the one who put you here in the first place!"
"She had to. I... Kalimar put her in danger. She had to react."
Q shook his head. "How can you be so naive. I thought I taught you better than that."
"I picked up a few things on my own."
"Fine. You want to leave, be my guest." Q opened a path to the double doors. The doors opened on their own, revealing a bright white light.
Jovan stood still with his arms crossed.
"Oh? No? Well then," the doors closed again, "I guess it's settled."
"I need to go back. There are things I must do. Katianna is in trouble."
"You can't help her. No one can help that world. Kalimar and Amojen will rule that universe for countless generations. They will unleash their armies and sweep across the universe amidst the magnificent pandemonium of flame and devastation. They will turn cities to cinder and planets to dust. The stars will sing with the cacophony of a billion billion lives, gone in a flicker, and personally, I think it's about time."
"You're sick."
"No, Jovan. I'm Q. We are not the protectors of the universe. We are the scribes. We only watch and record. We are not meant to interfere. We, son. You are a Q, too. Whether you like it or not."
"I can't just stand by while--"
"Oh, but you will. I will see to it!" Q's voice suddenly became that of Preah's. "Guards! Help!" He shrilled. With a snap of his fingers, he was gone, and in his placed laid Preah's lifeless body.
Jovan ran to her and knelt by her side. "Oh no. Why?" He touched her robes and noticed a stab wound in her gut.
Immediately, the Vessel, followed by ten armed guards, ran into the temple. Jovan raised his hand from Preah's wound, and a flash caused a dagger to appear in his hand. He dropped it immediately, but it was too late.
The Vessel looked at his king in shock. "Sire, what have you done?!" He faced down in sadness. "Cease him."
The guards surrounded a speechless Jovan.
Nicole and Stephen sat on opposite sides of the bleachers. After a few moments, Stephen stood up and headed for the basketball hoops. He looked around for a way up, then he saw a ladder behind the bleachers. He went to retrieve it.
Nicole stayed seated. "What are you doing now?"
"I'm trying to get a look out the ceiling windows. There's lights coming from up there. If we can figure out what's towing us through space, we can figure out how to escape."
Nicole stood up. "Okay. Let's say that we are getting pulled through space by aliens. Why would they take the gym?"
Stephen put down the ladder. "Well, they could have wanted us to be unaware of what was going on. To see us in our native environments."
Nicole shook her head. "Hello?! We don't know who the hell we are! What good is that?!"
"They would want to disorient us. In fact, they probably want us because we're... secret agents!"
Nicole slapped her palm against her forehead. "Oh! Secret agents! Of course! Why didn't I figure this out?!"
"Obviously, I'm the brains of this team."
"Team? When we came to, I had just kicked you in the face. Some team we are."
Stephen picked up the ladder. "If you'd just help me get this thing up, we'd resolve all of this sooner."
Nicole helped Stephen put the ladder up.
"There. Now," Stephen began to climb the ladder, "to take a look." He looked out the window and saw a beautiful garden scene with birds fluttering about, and the sun setting in the west. "Huh?"
Nicole became interested. "What? What do you see?" She climbed the ladder quickly to take a look, and she saw the same thing. "That doesn't make any sense."
"It proves that there are aliens at work here. They tried to convince us that we're in some sort of landscape."
"Oh shut up!" Nicole smacked Stephen in the chest.
Stephen fell back, grabbing onto the ladder for support. The ladder pulled back and fell, throwing Nicole and Stephen side by side on the blue mat.
Nicole growled. "This is all your fault!" She turned her left leg around to kick Stephen, but Stephen blocked the leg and turned around, landing on top of Nicole.
"Look. We need to figure out where we are and fighting isn't going to solve--" Stephen was cut off by Nicole kissing him on the lips.
"This is all your fault," Dirk told Kassia. "You were all, like, 'Gung-ho! Let's go! Out! Into the city!'"
"Shut up!" exclaimed Kat. "Someone's coming."
The group was locked up in a jailhouse on the outskirts of the desert town that was Gwando's property.
Kat saw the guard approach. "Mr. Guard, sir. I'm so bored. If you're just gonna kill us anyway, why not let a girl like me have some fun with a handsome brute like yourself? Hmm?"
The guard smiled, his ridges gleaming with sweat. He pointed his weapon at the others. "Don't move." He opened the gate to the cell and yanked Kat out by the lapels, closing the gate quickly. "You look like you enjoy the rough men."
Kat bit her lip. "Oh you have no idea." She moved forward, grabbing the man by the lapels and moving her leg past his groin. "I'm a bad girl. I need to be spanked."
The guard growled. He started to lick her neck as Kat began to play with his ears. Then, Kat raised her leg up quickly, kneeing the guard in the testicles. The guard fell on his knees. Kat grabbed the guard's head and smashed it against her knee. The man fell over, unconscious.
Kat grabbed the keys and seductively walked over to the cell. "Am I the best? Or am I the best?" She began opening the gate when four guards entered the room, carrying disruptors.
"Get in there, throw the key on the floor."
Katianna was forced to do as she was told. "Shit." She moved into the cell, and the guards shut the gate behind her.
Gwando stepped into the room next. "Heya, trespassers. How you doin'?"
There was no response from his angry prisoners.
"Well, is all right. We decided dat we gonna kill you. Ill' be fast. Don' you be worryin'. " He paused to wait for a reaction. "There goin' be a hangin'." Gwando ran his index finger across his neck. "Fast an' painless. See you in a few!" Gwando sped away. Two of the guards carried the unconscious guard away, and another in the group stayed behind.
Dirk shook his head. "Well that sucks."
Tara smacked Dirk on the back of the head.
Jovan watched as a man in a red habit ran up to the dungeon. He pulled at his chains again, unable to get free. The man ran up to Jovan and pulled off his hood. It was High Advisor Siaan.
Siaan smiled and bowed unnoticeably. "My liege. I'm so glad I got to you in time. I will surely be executed for this myself, but I cannot live to see you beheaded." He pulled out a rusted key and proceeded to unlock the chains.
"Why are you doing this, Siaan?" asked Jovan.
"I know that you could not have killed the Queen. I saw you. The day you married. You were happier than you have ever been in all the time that I have known you." The last chain came free. "You were as the doves that shower us with their springtime lullabies, swaying merrily in the wi--"
"Can we do this later?" Jovan rubbed his bruised wrists. "We should probably get out before they notice us."
"Right. Good thinking, your Majesty."
"Please," Jovan put his hand on Siaan's shoulder. "Don't call me that." He began to walk off.
Siaan bowed again. "Yes, your Majesty." He followed Jovan hastily.
Kassia, Tara, Damien, Kat, and Dirk were tied together and being carried on two domits, the small, elephant-like creatures that these dark-skinned Cardassians used as transportation. They were heading toward a hastily constructed gallows in the center of town. A crowd had already gathered.
Kassia made a face. "Looks like we'll have an audience."
One guard faced Kassia. "Quiet, trespasser!"
Damien raised an eyebrow. "They say 'trespasser' like it's an insult."
Tara shrugged her shoulders.
The domits stopped, and the prisoners were pulled down and guided onto the gallows. Gwando's heavy body made it up to the gallows where he began to address the people. "These trespassers came to our town uninvited! What we do to trespassers here?"
The people chanted. "Hang dem!"
Tara faced Damien. "Sounds like a bad crucifixion movie."
"He's there! Get him!"
Jovan and Siaan has been blocked an escape and were forced up the main tower. Jovan quickly blocked a guard's axe and threw him out a window. At the top level, Jovan was attacked by several guards.
Jovan grabbed one man's axe as he swung it and used it to block another's sword. He smashed the axe over the swordsman's head and took his sword, running it through the axe wielder's gut. Another guard approached Jovan from behind and was ready to throw the axe down on Jovan's back.
"NO! My King!" Siaan yelled as he jumped into the way and took the axe in the chest. Jovan looked back, saw what had happened, and punched the guard in the face, knocking him down the stairs.
Jovan then knelt beside Siaan. "What have they done to you?"
Siaan smiled, his mouth full of blood. "I would die a million million times for you... my... King." Then he went limp.
Jovan left Siaan and ran up the steps to the highest room in the palace. An archer shot an arrow at Jovan, which only grazed his shoulder. Jovan then kicked the man in the gut and broke his neck with both hands.
A troupe of guards armed with axes and swords filled the room, and Jovan was trapped between the guards and the window. Jovan placed his foot on the window and looked out. It was about 400 feet to the ground from there. Jovan shook his head and took a step closer to the window.
"STOP!" There was a flash, and Q appeared. Suddenly all the guards froze in their place. "What are you doing?"
Jovan sighed. "You son of a bitch. How could you do this?! All these people! My friends. My wife!"
Q nearly laughed. "They're not real. None of this is."
"Then if I jump out this window, I won't feel it?" Jovan put a leg out the window.
Q had a look of fright on his face. "Don't... do that."
"Don't do what?" Jovan moved his body outside, still holding on to the wall. "This?"
Q stepped closer. "Son. Step away from there."
"AHA!" Jovan smiled. "I figured you out!"
Gwando turned to the guards. "Da people have spoken! Hang da trespassers!"
Dirk jumped around uncomfortably. Kat turned to face him. "What's wrong?"
Dirk tried to dig into his pocket. "I don't know. There's something in my pocket. It was digging into my butt when we were on the elephant thing."
The guards pulled each of the prisoners back and placed a noose around their necks.
Dirk finally grabbed the thing in his pocket. "Got it!" He began to fumble it. "Whoops!" The black crystal fell onto the floor and tumbled off the gallows. "Aw man!"
"You figured what out?" Q asked, matter-of-factly.
"I'm going back home, Dad. Sorry to ruin your little world here. Thanks, but no thanks."
Q grabbed Jovan's clothes. "Why? Why would you leave Paradise for a world doomed to extinction?"
Jovan shook Q off. "Because of the doves and the lullabies." Jovan looked out the window and gripped the wall. "Because of love." He hurled himself out the window.
"Now!" Gwando yelled.
The guard pulled a lever and five trap doors opened.
The crystal fell on a rock and shattered.
The spell was broken, and the waters flowed once more.
Jovan spent five seconds in the air, then he became a work of art on the palace courtyard.
There was pain. Numbness.
And Light.
Suddenly, a laser beam flew through the air and cut right through the gallows and all the ropes. The five prisoners landed on the ground with their necks in tact.
There were several screams as an all-terrain four-wheeler revved onto the scene and pulled up near the gallows. Katianna got up and saw her daughter manning the turret and Kara driving the four-wheeler with Daniel giggling happily in a baby seat next to her.
"Mommy!" Laurissa yelled happily.
Kara waved at the group. "Now's not the time to dilly-dally. Get on, everybody!"
Katianna jumped onto the back of the four-wheeler and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I love you, honey, and we're gonna have a talk about this later." She took the turret and shot at a few guards that had begun firing their disruptors at the four-wheeler.
Jovani, Kassia, Tara, and Charlie quickly got on the four-wheeler as Kara began to turn it around. Tara stood near Katianna and began firing energy blasts from Chiron at the guards.
Gwando had his hands over his head. "Wass goin' on?!"
Daniel giggled and waved his hands, and Gwando flew into the air, dropping face first into a puddle of mud.
Kassia patted Kara on the back. "Let's go!"
Kara revved the four-wheeler, and they drove off toward the Seth.
Stephen woke up, and looked around. He saw clothes scattered all over the place.
Then he looked beside him and saw Nicole, nude. "Uh oh."
"So when we thought you were gone to long, Kara and I replicated a car. And we went whoom! Pow! And I got to fire the gun thingy! And we rescued Mommy and beat all the bad guys!" Laurissa finished her story.
Kara smiled. "That's pretty much what happened."
Katianna knelt down beside her daughter. "Well, I'm going to need a full report, young lady."
Laurissa giggled and saluted. "Yes, ma'am!" Then, she ran off to the cargo bay.
Kara bowed and followed Laurissa.
"As for you," Katianna moved closer to Charlie, who was being held down by Tara in the navigator's chair. "There never was a Giall Codex, was there?"
Charlie looked up. "There was a Giall Codex, but it was destroyed during the Dominion occupation of Cardassia. It doesn't exist anymore."
Kassia sighed. "Then our only hope is..."
Katianna faced Kassia. "Our hope is still alive. The book is not going to tell us what is going to happen. Only we can decide that. We need to make our own destinies. Screw the books and what they say."
Charlie shook his head. "He's going to keep coming after you, you know."
"Who?" Katianna looked at Charlie again.
"Luther Sloan. He's my superior. He wants the child, and he's not going to stop trying to get him. With me, I know places, people, I can keep him safe. But with you... he's vulnerable."
Katianna bent over to put her mouth near Charlie's ear. "I think we'll manage." Katianna stood up. "Besides, you have other things to worry about."
"What's that?"
"Getting home. You see, an escape pod with its engines conveniently removed isn't going to get you far. It's a good eight years to the nearest system at warp one. Looks like you may be stuck out here for a while." Katianna looked at Tara. "Will you do the honors?"
"With pleasure," Tara said, happily escorting Charlie to the nearest escape pod.
Katianna walked forward and took a seat at navigation next to Jovani. "As for you. You and I are going to have a discussion when we get back."
Jovani just faced the controls and said nothing.
Outside, the USS Seth expelled an escape pod that simply drifted out into space. When the escape pod was several meters away, the Seth went to warp.
Kalimar was watching as three drugged women were carried into the room and put up in chains. "Now this is what I'm talking about. Virgins."
Suddenly, Kalimar's eyes began to glow bright white, and Kalimar keeled over, being forced to lean against a wall.
One acolyte walked over to Kalimar and tried to help him up. "My god. Is there a problem?"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" Kalimar's fist caught fire, and he backhanded the acolyte. The acolyte flew against a wall, burst into flames, and his charred corpse stuck to the wall.
Kalimar growled and looked forward, eyes still glowing white, and in great pain.