"He's coming to."
Josh opened his eyes and looked around. His head was swimming with pain, and he couldn't see at all out of his right eye. The salty taste of blood was caked on his lips.
"Where…am I?" he gasped.
T'Katha's face appeared over him, and he realized he was lying down. "We are back on Pemra-3, Joshua. We were successful. General Kalor is dead, the fleet is in orbit above us and the paradox has been destroyed."
Josh sat up, too quickly. Everything swam in front of his eyes and his head throbbed with unbearable pain. "We've got to get back to the ship. Help me get up."
Both women assisted Josh in getting to his feet, and he limped over to face the Guardian. "Guardian," he coughed, "you said before your essence can move about in time."
"Yes," the Guardian replied.
"Can you do this voluntarily?" Josh asked.
"Yes."
"We have to leave here very soon," Josh explained. Every word caused pain, like little daggers stabbing him all over. "I can't guarantee that another incident like this won't happen again. And we will not be able to return to prevent such an incursion from happening."
"That is not acceptable," said the Guardian.
"I have an idea," Josh replied.
"What do you propose?" the Guardian inquired.
"I command a starship – a powerful starship. When I get back there, I'm going to use it to destroy these ruins. I don't want to kill you…terminate your existence. Can you remove yourself from this place?"
"I am anchored to this point in space. But my essence can move about the stream. As I slept before, so I will sleep a little longer."
"When will you re-awaken?" T'Katha asked.
"The time that passed between the awakening of the other you mentioned and myself is but a moment to me. I shall sleep for that much longer, than I must return."
In spite of his pain and the urgency of his situation, Josh could not constrain his curiosity. "Why? Why do you have to return?" he asked.
"If you must ask, then you would not understand," the Guardian replied. "I am my own beginning, and my own end."
"Captain," Julie prompted, "We haven't got time for this. We've got to get back to the ship. According to the tricorder, there's a Klingon fleet in the system bearing down on us. We've got to contact the ship and get beamed aboard – now!"
Josh looked at the Guardian. "Forget the transporters. We have something much better."