"There's a reason for that," said a voice behind Stephen and Dana. It was Kalmar. "That man is my father."
The two officers' mouths dropped. Stephen yelled, "What?!"
Kalmar looked down for a second, then regained himself. "Not exactly my father. Rather, the energy he holds is that of my father. I felt it as soon as he entered our reality."
"Our reality?" asked Dana.
Kalmar materialized a chair just below him as he sat. "My father was a very powerful Prophet. He was known as Kalimar. When the Kosst Amojen first threatened the Temple of the Prophets, a great war was waged in the heavens. A war very similar to the Q Civil War which occurred about 11 years ago and was solved by the birth of Jovan Kalimar himself. Since his birth, he had a destiny; this was it."
Stephen gasped. "Commander Kalimar is a Q?"
"A former Q. Today, one would more properly describe him as half-Prophet."
"Why don't we have a Jovan Kalimar in this reality?" asked Dana.
"In this reality, Jovan Kalimar is still known as Q and still lives in the Q Continuum. His destiny is a different one."
"Do we have a destiny too?"
"Along the way of life, you have free will. When you reach the goal, you will realize that all was destined. No one can pretend to be at the goal when they are still ambling along the way. Now, allow me to finish. "Kalmar took a breath. "When the Kosst Amojen first threatened the Temple of the Prophets, a great war was waged in the heavens. The Pagh'wraiths became very powerful and nearly invincible. That's when my father decided to take action. A ritual which would give Kalimar the power of the cosmos was begun. This ritual created the Orb of Creation. That is the same orb which that reality's Sloan used to try to destroy Earth. With the orb, Kalimar more than tripled his strength. He went up against the Pagh'wraiths. With his entire energy stream, Kalimar was able to destroy the Pagh'wraith forces and trap them deep within the Fire Caves on Bajor.
"After Kalimar's sacrifice, the Prophets took his essence and made a new orb, the Orb of Kalimar, which was to be used if necessary. The Prophets also knew there would be a day when they would need an Emissary to rid the world of the Kosst Amojen permanently. For this purpose, the Orb of the Emissary was created.
"The Orb of the Emissary has been discovered and has been used to serve its purpose. The other two orbs are out there. The Orb of Kalimar belonging to the alternate reality is within Jovan Kalimar's body. It is where his power comes from. The orb is phased into his solar plexus. The Orb of Creation in the other reality has been destroyed. In this reality, it is also hidden."
"So, can we trust them, him and Commander Nadira?" asked Stephen.
Kalmar smiled. "They are what we call warriors of the light. In many ways, they are like you two. Give them a chance. You'll be pleasantly surprised." Kalmar disappeared without notice.
Dana smiled at Stephen. "Do you enjoy his visits as much as I do?"
"Wow." Jovo looked at Kat.
Kat forced a smile. "Well, we've heard weirder."
Stephen smiled. "All right. We have set up quarters on Deck Two for both of you. I hope you find yourselves well accomodated. Until a course of action can be taken, you two will be filling in as our Starfleet Intelligence Officers. You will also be granted the same rank you held in your original reality. Dismissed."
Johnny and Jenara passed by the two newcomers' sides on the way out. "We were wondering if you'd join us for dinner. Consider a kind of 'Welcome to the Family' dinner," offered Jon.
Kat faced Jovo, then Jon. "We'd love to... um... Colonel..."
Jenara smiled. "On this ship, we all refer to each other on a first name basis. Ever since we went through a small war on a planet called Xenon III it's been that way." She paused. "I'm Jenara. This is Johnny."
Kat smiled. "Nice to meet you two. And thank you."
The conference room soon emptied out.
Kat sat in front of her computer. "Let's see..."
Jovo stared at the screen anxiously as Kat typed in a few passwords.
Finally, the Section 31 logo appeared on the screen.
Jovo jumped up. "Yes!"
Suddenly, someone appeared on screen. It was Charlie. "Charlie!"
Charlie almost yelled out in glee. [Commander Nadira! You're alive!]
"Actually..." Kat and Jovo told him the whole story.
Charlie only put up an eyebrow as the story came to a close. [Well, you must understand my skepticism. However, only a Section 31 agent would have been able to gain access to this frequency. It is impenetrable. Allow me to confer with my team, then I will get back to you. Charlie out.]
Jovo nudged Kat. "I noticed you failed to mention the USS Seth."
Kat reclined in her chair. "Remember how Section 31 used to be back home? I don't want trouble I don't need. Plus, that ship is our only way back home, and my daughter is there."
Jovo sat down on the bed. "We have to get that ship working if we expect to get back." He laid back. "Should we let Captain Maruu in on our plans?"
Kat shook her head. "Not yet. He seems like someone we can trust, but let's keep quiet for..."
"You may want to rethink that." Kalmar had suddenly appeared in the entrance to the shower.
Jovo and Kat pointed their phasers at him.
Kalmar only smiled. "Allow me to introduce myself."
Location: Somewhere in Arizona, Earth
"That's what they said," ended Charlie. "I believed them."
Admiral McCaffee looked around him at Sloan and Charlie. "They sound genuine, Mr. Doyle," said McCaffee, referring to Charlie.
Sloan nodded. "Plus, we need an operative on the Virgo. Now we would have two. Though we do need an operative who is more objective. Sinclair proved to be too much even for herself. We have cleaned our hands of her. These two may prove useful."
Charlie looked around. "So, we give them a chance then?"
"Yes," Sloan and McCaffee said at the same time.
"Very well. I'll let them know. I guess I'll be in contact with the Virgo from now on instead of you, Luther."
Sloan smiled. "I don't mind one bit."
The meeting quickly adjourned, and the three men began to walk away in opposite directions.