by
Brent Skidmore

Beta-read by Melody Ortloff
Edited by Jayelle Carey

"I can't believe this is happening to us," said Wade.

"Oh, come on, Wade.  You should be used to this sort of thing by now. You *are* one of the sliding experts, after all," came Maggie's voice from up ahead.

"Sure, our lives have been in danger plenty of times before. But being hunted for sport is definitely a new experience for me," replied Wade.

"By the way, Mr. Mallory, you never did tell us what happened back in the city to get us in this predicament.  Mr. Brown and yourself have been so close-lipped about this incident that I am beginning to think this is a plot to keep us all away from a good meal and a restful night’s sleep," said Arturo as he huffed and puffed, trying to catch up with the rest of the group... unsuccessfully.

"Fine, since you guys are so curious, the story starts when we first slid onto this world," said Quinn, obviously irritated with having to tell the story.
 

***Flashback***

Our intrepid sliders fell from the wormhole projected on a wall. They all safely landed with the exception of Quinn who was landed on by Arturo.

"Oof!" exclaimed Quinn. "No matter how often that happens, I can never get used to it."

Just then, Wade and Maggie both flew out of the vortex at the
same time and tackled him. "Now this I could get used to," he said jokingly, smirking at the two women on top of him.

"Shut up, Quinn!" they said in unison.

"Well, it’s nice to see you two ladies can finally agree on something," said Arturo nonchalantly as he looked at his surroundings.

This world appeared much like the home they had left behind, but the intrepid band knew better than to get their hopes up just because of a cosmetic similarity. They left the little alley in which they had appeared and saw that this world looked like a modern day Earth with apartments, stores, and people of all kinds littering the streets with no difference between this Earth and Earth Prime. They were all greeted with a friendly face and a warm, "Hello, how are you on this fine day?" by many of the pedestrians.

"So, Q-ball, how long are we here for?" inquired Rembrandt.  "I mean, the natives seem friendly and all, but you never know."

Quinn looked at the timer. "Four days and change. We'd better find a place to stay. Let's split up. Maggie and Wade, why don't you go get a room for us while Remmy, Arturo, and I take a look around?"

"Oh, I see how it is," Maggie said sarcastically. "The women go be domestic while the MEN get to carouse the streets.”

"I shall go to the Dominion with you, Miss Beckett," said Arturo abruptly, placing a hand on Quinn's shoulder as if to say this is for him as much as Quinn. Quinn could hardly blame the professor. They had all been placed in great danger the last few slides.

He glanced at over at Wade.  His watch had taken up residence on her right wrist.  He’d said she could borrow it and left it at that, knowing her purpose for needing it was to hide a scar and not keep track of time.

Quinn subconsciously ran a finger along edge of his collar while he wondered if he should rearrange his former plan and stay with Wade.  He’d taken to wearing turtlenecks on the last few worlds.  The still-present rope-burn was something he didn’t feel like explaining to curious passers by.

Yes, some rest and relaxation time seemed like a great idea.
 

***Flash forward***

Quinn and the others sat around a small campfire in the woods, safe for the time being, with Quinn still explaining what had gone on the previous day.

"After that little exchange, you three left for the Dominion and Remmy and I went to look around," Quinn explained. "From there, we left the alley and wandered the streets looking for any info we could find - newspapers, TV news, anything - but we found nothing. It was as if these people weren't informed about what was going on around them and didn't really care either."

"Wait just a minute," Wade interrupted. "You mean to tell us there is no news or information of any kind given to the people... and they don't care?"

"You got it," Rembrandt answered. "It was as if these people were so involved in their own little world, they didn't have time to care about anyone else."

"Well, I bet it cuts down on snooping," Wade said under her breath.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we were looking around and we saw this guy trying to hit on a this girl," continued Quinn.

"So being the big macho stud heroes you two are, you went to this fine
lady's rescue, right?" asked Maggie.

"Why is it no matter what I do or say, you turn it into some chauvinistic display?" replied Quinn defensively.

"Oh, do I?" asked Maggie with a smirk. "I guess I'm just good at that."

"Please, continue with the story, Mr. Mallory," said Arturo, trying to move the conversation along.

"Well, as I was saying, we went to go find out what was going on, and it
seemed obvious to us that this guy's advances were not being well received."

"Yeah, but she looked more afraid of asking for help than of what he might do to her," interjected Rembrandt. "So, we went over to try to stop him."
 

***Flash back***

Quinn and Rembrandt walked on a somewhat abandoned street with a couple fighting on the corner.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Quinn asked the couple.

"Oh nothing... sir" said the girl, looking down at the street to avoid looking into their eyes.

"Yeah nothing's going on, so-ah why don't you punks just get outta here," said the greasy-looking man.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. You see, I don't think the lady wants you
around, pal," said Rembrandt

"Oh she wants me around, don't you, baby," leered the man, reaching for her. She slapped his hand and almost immediately looked as surprised as he did.

"Well, I guess you have your answer, don't you?" said Quinn, folding his arms across his chest.

"No, I don't think so," the man growled, pulling out a knife. "Come on," he said as he swung for Quinn. Quinn dodged out of the way and kicked the guy in the stomach, forcing him to drop the knife in the process. As Rembrandt picked up the knife, the man started to run away, yelling,  "THIS ISN'T OVER, YOU'LL SEE ME AGAIN, AND YOU'LL BE SORRY!"

"Are you okay?" Remmy asked the girl.

"Yes, but not for long and neither are you," she replied. "That was very foolish. He's a very important person around here and he can do virtually anything. Why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry if we intruded, but it looked like you were in trouble," said Quinn inquisitively. "I mean, he was bothering you, wasn't he?"

"It wasn't anything he wasn't allowed to do."

"Now now, little lady, no one is allowed to abuse someone else," said Rembrandt emphatically.

"That sort of thing happens all the time around here. The upper class
mistreats the lower class, and we can't do anything it. Come on, let's go. I'm not supposed to be outside. You guys look like you're new around here."

"Yeah, you could say we're new in town," said Rembrandt, looking over at Quinn.

"By the way," said Quinn. "I'm Quinn and this is Rembrandt. What's your name?"

"I'm Olivia, but everyone just calls me Livie. I'm sorry, but I have to go prepare my father's defense."

"Why, is there something wrong? Is there something we can help you with?" inquired Rembrandt.

"Well my father was arrested last night and has been charged with not
surrendering me for servitude," she said. "That's why Mr. Alcourt was
bothering me. He thought he could make a claim before the court gives me to general service."

"A claim. You mean slavery, but why you?" asked Rembrandt.

"Well I'm lower class," Livie said, showing Quinn and Rembrandt a medallion around her neck. "See?" she said, as if this amulet explained
everything.

"I can't believe that there are still places that practice slavery," said Rembrandt to Quinn.

"Wait, I have an idea," said Quinn as he turned to Livie. "You said
your father is being charged with not give you away for service. Could we fake that you were serving us? That would mean that he had surrendered you and would not be guilty."

"Would you really be willing to do that for me?" she asked hopefully, then paused and shook her head. "NO! It's far too dangerous. If we were found out... they could imprison you, or worse."

"Look, Livie, I know we just met and all but I have a feeling about this. Besides, if we're willing to take the risk then, hell, what do you have to lose? I mean, if we don't help, it sounds like you haven't got a
snowball's chance in hell," said Rembrandt. "Besides, it would be our honor, little lady, to be of service to as beautiful a young woman as yourself."

"Oh stop," said Livie uncomfortably. "I'm a servant, you're not supposed to flatter me."

"I take it as a personal duty to flatter every beautiful young woman I meet!" exclaimed Rembrandt.

"Well then, if that's all settled, should we be going?" Quinn said with a flourish towards their lady companion.

Livie led them to the courthouse to meet with her attorney, Andrew Jax. She was very pleased that she didn't have to do this by herself, as she also would be found guilty if she even tried to speak in open
court.

In the attorney's office, they discussed the implications of their drastic defense. He tried to dissuade them but they would have nothing of the sort. Jax told them that the hearing was to be held later that evening due to the shortage of upper class judges needed to try a case of this magnitude.

"So, are we all set?" asked Mr. Jax.

"Yeah, we both know the story, we took Livie as a house servant before we had left the city five years ago and she has been maintaining the house in private ever since," said Rembrandt, disgusted at having to endorse this society's barbaric practice.

"Well then, I will see you at the courthouse," said Mr. Jax as he packed his legal briefs and left.

"Umm... Rembrandt, can I talk to you before we leave?" asked Livie "In private," she added as an after thought.

"Yeah, sure. Q-Ball, I'll meet you there, okay?" said Rembrandt, looking at Quinn who nodded and left the room. "Livie, is there something else, something you haven't told us?"

"No, nothing like that. I just wanted to thank you for your help. No one has ever done something like this for me before. Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, as she moved to hug him. She looked surprised as he pulled away. "What's the matter, Rembrandt?"

"Please, call me Remmy," he said.

"Okay, Remmy. What's the matter?" she asked again.

"Nothing, Livie, it's just you're not my servant and I don't want you treating me as your master. If I get involved with someone, it will be as equals," replied Rembrandt as he walked over to the window.

"So it is our class system you disagree with... Why?" Livie asked, moving closer to him.

"You see, where I'm from, people used to treat us black folk like me the same way they treat you, but we fought back and eventually got some of the equality we wanted - no, deserved - but it took decades. We still aren't seen as fully equal by some, and I just can't stand to see it happen here too," said Rembrandt, dreamily looking out the window at the sky. When he turned around, Livie was right behind him.  Suddenly, she grabbed him and kissed him longer then either would have dared anywhere else.

"Thank you, Remmy, for everything," whispered Livie as she slowly turned around and walked out the door.

-----

Later that day, in the courtroom...

"Your honor, this is clearly a ploy set up by the defendant and his daughter to implicate these two fine young gentlemen in the crimes they so obviously committed!" said the prosecutor.

"Your honor, please, he's badgering the witness," said Mr. Jax.

"That's not true," retorted Quinn to the prosecutor from the witness box.

"Is that so?" he asked.

Just then, the main doors to the courtroom flew open to admit Mr. Alcourt, the man Livie was with on the street. "Wait, I have evidence pertaining to this case," he said with a smile.

"Order!" cried the judge. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

"As he said, your honor, this is Mr. Eric Alcourt. He witnessed these men coming off the street and viciously accosting his claim and
attacking his person. Is that not true?" asked the prosecutor, turning to Quinn.

Quinn, not knowing what to say, admitted to the truth with a slight nod of his head and a choked-out, "Yes."

"Not only that but you attacked this gentleman during an altercation over the girl in question when he had already had a claim to her."

"Well yes, but…"

The entire courtroom gasped at this as if he had murdered him in cold blood.

"Order, order in my courtroom!" yelled the judge, banging his gavel. "In light of this new evidence, I will call a one hour recess."

Quinn and Rembrandt got up to meet with Mr. Jax. "Not so fast! Bailiffs, please take these men into custody and see that they are held for judgment," ordered the judge.

"But we were just trying to defend her," argued Quinn.

"I don't care! You attacked a member of the upper tier of society; now you will have to pay the price."

"I'm so sorry, Rembrandt, and you too, Quinn," whispered Livie, leaning over to them.
 

***Flash forward***

"So that's it? You stood up for this girl and the judge punished you for it?" asked Maggie.

“You lied in a court of law?”  Wade glanced at Quinn with a stunned expression.

“As I recall,” noted Rembrandt, “you did that once yourself, sweetheart.”

Sighing, Wade relented.  She could understand their reasoning, and sometimes the line between black and white was just a great big gray area.  Sometimes you had to trust your heart when it came to doing the right thing.  “Sorry, Quinn.”  She placed a hand on his arm.

"It’s alright, Wade,” he told her.  “But there’s still more.”
 

***Flash back***

Quinn and Rembrandt were brought in front of the judge.

"Quinn Mallory, Rembrandt Brown, you have been accused of a very serious crime. How do you plead?" asked the judge

"If I may address the court, your honor?" requested Quinn.

"You may say anything you want in your own defense," the judge replied.

"Thank you, your honor. We came here hoping to get home. Apparently we are not welcome. Fine, we understand that we don't belong here. Our ideas are different, and our ways are opposite. Whatever it is that makes us different from you, I can accept. Now we throw ourselves on the mercy of the court and ask you to accept our difference. Thank you, your honor," said Quinn while facing the jury and looking each member in the eye.

Soon afterward, the jury left to consider the judgment.  Quinn and Rembrandt sat nervously in their seats.

When the jury returned after only a few minutes of deliberation, the two sliders gave each other a worried look. This was not a good sign.

"Very well, I will have the judgment now," said the judge.

The foreman of the jury stood and proclaimed, "Your honor, we, the jury, find the defendants guilty."
 

***Flash forward***

“Well, naturally,” commented Maggie.  “After a lame defense like ‘we’re different.’”

Wade glared at her.

“Can I continue now?” asked a slightly ticked off Quinn.
 

***Flash back***

"Very good, you are now dismissed," said the judge to the jury. At this, they all stood and left.

"I hereby sentence the guilty to the Hunt," proclaimed the judge. "As for the original defendants, they are to be executed for their treasonous ways."

At this, everyone rushed out of the room. Quinn and Rembrandt were taken into custody.

The next morning, they were hauled outside by two bailiffs and placed in a car which was waiting for them outside. After about ten minutes or so of driving, they arrived at the edge of a park. The guard removed their restraints, and a third officer they had not seen before began to explain the rules.

"Gentlemen, the hunt is to go as follows. You have 48 hours to stay alive. This park is the boundary. If you leave and are caught, your lives will be forfeited. If one of the hunters catches you, your life is theirs to do with as they see fit. If you are still alive and, by some twist of fate, have not been captured at the end of the time period, then you may live as innocent men."

"Wait just one minute!" exclaimed a voice from behind Quinn and Rembrandt.

"Maggie," they both said and half turned to see Maggie, Wade, and Arturo
walking up the trail to the park.

"How did you guys find us?" Quinn blurted out before Rembrandt or the guard could say anything.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" asked the guard

"Later, Quinn," said Maggie, turning to the officer. "Hell yes, there's a problem. You seem to have detained our friends."

"Oh, that's too bad, now isn't it? So what do you want me to do?" replied the guard.

"I'm sure, Officer..." said Arturo, goading for the officer's name.

"Bennet," said the Officer

"Ah, well, Officer Bennet, there must be some way we can all go home happy," said Arturo.

"No, I don't believe there is," retorted the officer. "Of course, you could join them, but I wouldn't suggest it. It would be such a waste of two lovely young women."

"If we go with them, we'll be hunted too, right?" asked Maggie. To this the guard replied by shaking his head affirmative.

"Well, it looks like this is the only way to stick together," sighed Maggie, turning to the others.

"I wholeheartedly agree," replied Arturo.

"Me too!" chimed in Wade emphatically.

"NO! Guys, don't worry about us. Just go and we'll see you in two days. There'll still be time to make our... appointment," said Quinn, almost forgetting not to mention the slide in front of the officer.

"You don't get it, Quinn, we all go home or none of us goes home," replied Maggie.

"Well, then you all should be going then, shouldn't you? Before I shoot you all here and now," said Officer Bennet. "Oh... by the way, I'll be confiscating this," he sneered, taking the timer from Quinn.

"Great! What else could happen to us here?" shouted Rembrandt.
 

***Flash forward***

"And that's the whole story," said Quinn after a moment of deep thought,
peering into the fire.

"There is something else, Q-ball," said Rembrandt, looking around at the other sliders.

"Oh right, I've been trying to forget that," sighed Quinn. "While we were in their prison cell, there were other convicted people... I guess they were lower class. They did noting but praise the upper class and their wisdom, even though they had been condemned. It was almost like they had been brainwashed." He looked back up. "So, Maggie, I've told you my story. Now what about yours?"

"What story?" asked Maggie, looking confused. "Oh, you mean how we found you? That was easy. As soon as the verdict was out, your name and pictures were plastered everywhere. For a culture with virtually no media, news goes around pretty fast. We asked the clerk at the Dominion what was going on and, after looking at us like we had five heads each, he finally told us about the hunt and who you were and where you'd be taken."

"We should try to get some sleep. We have a long few days ahead of us," yawned Quinn while stretching.

"Well, lord knows it has been one of the longest days of my life, being hunted by maniacs over nothing," Wade retorted.

"And tomorrow may be even longer," said Quinn quietly.

"Now now, Miss Wells, you should know better than that," said Arturo whom everyone had believed to be asleep by now. "These people come from a completely different society with different values that should not be belittled."

"Shouldn't be belittled,” Maggie said sharply. "We've been hunted for the past day, pretty much condemned to die here all because these two macho men had to stick their necks out for a cute girl."

"We didn't drag you here," snapped Quinn. "As I recall, you were the one that said, ‘We all go home or no one goes home.'"

"If someone else had tried to respect the rules of this world, we wouldn't have had to bail you out," yelled Maggie.

"If you have a problem with the way things are around here, why don't we just make you the boss of this little expedition," said Quinn, a little harsher then he intended.

"No, why don't we put it to a vote between you and me."  It wasn’t a question.

"Fine with me. Professor, how do you vote?"

"Yeah, Max, who'll it be, me or him?"

"Confounded boy, I refuse to participate in this little battle of wits,"
yelled Arturo. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going for a walk."

As Arturo got up and walked away from the fire, he could be heard mumbling about "How ever did their Arturo put up with them?"

"I can't stay here with you guys tearing into each other like this," cried Wade, getting up from beside the fire. "Grow up, Quinn.”  She glanced over at Maggie and decided she wasn’t even worth wasting words over.

“Wait up, Professor, I'm coming with you," she called, jogging after him.

"I'm sorry, guys, but I'm gonna have to go with them on this one," said
Rembrandt, walking off after the others.

Quinn and Maggie watched as Arturo, Wade, and Rembrandt walked into the forest.

After a few moments, they heard Wade's scream, stopping almost as suddenly as it started...

Without saying a word, Quinn and Maggie ran the way the others had gone. Soon, they found a large pit in a small clearing. Looking down, they saw Wade, Arturo, and Rembrandt at the bottom, all shot with darts.

“Yeah, let’s all do things their way,” remarked Maggie sarcastically.

Quinn gave her a nasty look.  “Give me a hand.”

As they looked around trying to find a way to safely get to the bottom, they heard another voice.

"Halt, stay where you are," the voice said.

"Quinn, is that who I think it is?" Maggie whispered.

"I don't know but it definitely sounds like him," replied Quinn as he tried to peer through the underbrush to get a look at this hunter.

"Who are you and why are you here?" said the hunter.

"We were brought here for the hunt," said Quinn, still trying to identify the voice.

"I see, spectators for the great civilized manhunt, eh?" came the man's voice from another direction.

"I sorry, sir, but you've got it all wrong. We're not spectators, we're the victims... well, our friends whom you seem to have trapped and ourselves," called Maggie.

“Think telling him that was a smart idea?” whispered Quinn.  Maggie nudged him in the side.

"Maggie?" the man said inquisitively, coming out of the bush, confirming
the worst fear of both Quinn and Maggie. This man was Colonel Rickman. "Maggie, is that you? I thought you were captured or dead," he continued, not waiting for her reply as he walked up to her and took her face lovingly into his hands as if he was afraid she would melt right in front of him. "My God, I've looked everywhere. Where have you been?"

"Excuse me, but do you two know each other?" asked Quinn, pretending that he didn't know what was going on.

"Yes, this is my wife Maggie Beckett-Rickman. I'm Colonel Angus
Rickman," he said, shaking Quinn's hand. "I'm sorry for the mix-up but you can't be too careful when you live in a hunting ground."

"Hi, I'm Quinn and they're Rembrandt, Wade, and Arturo."

"I'm sorry about your friends, it's a mild sedative, they should be fine in an hour or so. Let's get them out and get underground before some not-so-friendly visitors come by."

"So, what now, Quinn?" Maggie asked in a hushed tone.

"We're going to have to tell him, but be prepared for the worst," replied Quinn, also keeping his voice low.

Maggie sighed.  “Is that your solution to everything? Tell them you’re from another dimension and hope they’ll believe you?”

“It’s always worked in the past... well, sort of.”  Quinn paused.  “Can we just try to get along here, please?”

“Did you say something?” Rickman called.

"Umm... I don't know how to say this... Angus... but I'm not the person you think I am," said Maggie sheepishly. Quinn looked at Maggie, surprised at her demure tone of voice. He had not seen this side of her before.

"What do you mean, I don't understand, you look exactly like her in every way," Rickman replied, confused.

"No really, I'm not the person you married, I'm from a parallel Earth and so are the rest of us. We are lost among an infinite amount of Earths out there, hoping to somehow find a way home," said Maggie, desperately trying to convince this man she hardly knew.

"Wait, you mean you've slid here from another Earth?"

"You know about sliding?" Quinn and Maggie exclaimed simultaneously.

"Why yes, I think I've seen plans for a machine like that in the archive
back at the base. Let me show you, see if you recognize any of it," offered Rickman, finally understanding. "Here, let's go back to the base, you guys look like you need some rest."

"That's the best idea I've heard in a long time. Let's go," commented Maggie, relieved that further explanation wasn't needed.

-----

After waiting for the others to recover from the sedative, the Colonel brought everyone to an underground refugee camp where they rested somewhat comfortably for the night. In the morning, there was a knock at Maggie's door.

"Who is it?" called Maggie.

"It's me, Quinn."

"What?" she said in a huff, opening the door.

"I've come to call a truce once and for all. Look, I'm sorry for last night. I've tried to do everything for everyone else for so long, I get a little defensive when I'm being criticized for my actions," he said apologetically.

"We both said things we didn't mean. I don't want lead you guys anywhere. I just want to put order into this ‘little expedition' as you called it."

"So, friends?" asked Quinn, putting out his hand.

"Friends," said Maggie, accepting the outstretched hand.

"Come on, let's find Rickman. I have a few questions for him," said Quinn.

"Yeah, I have a few things that need to be clarified, too," she responded.

They struck out together in search for Rickman. They found many refugees, some injured or sick but all of them were receiving help from the others. They found a food room and stopped for breakfast, then continued on. They eventually found Rickman speaking with some of his troops.

"Carry on," he said to his men. "And how are you this morning?" he asked, greeting them.

"Good morning, sir," said Maggie.

"No, please call me Angus. I can't stand it when they call me that," Rickman said, pointing to his men. "Besides, I always thought ‘sir' was so impersonal."

"Angus, if I may," interjected Quinn. "I'd like to see those plans, if that's possible."

"Oh, certainly, it's this way," Rickman responded.

"How is it that you all got here?" asked Maggie.

"We've all committed some atrocity like disobeying orders from the upper class or refusing to wear the medallion or some other made up offense that the ruling class finds so horrible," Rickman explained. "But we've survived here for years, and soon we should be able to leave this place and find a real home."

"And maybe you'll find her again," commented Maggie under her breath.

"Yes, it's no secret that one day I hope to find my wife and take her and my children away from a world like this, but I refuse to endanger anyone else in my endeavor," responded Rickman.

"So, why such drastic measures?" asked Quinn.

"I have tried everything else but they don't listen to the lower class. Finally, I was imprisoned and hunted and my Margaret was sent away to general service and I haven't heard anything about her since. As for our children, they were adopted by an upper class family that sympathized with us," replied Rickman.

"But we were told the hunt only lasts two days, why are you still here?" Quinn inquired.

"Ha!! Only two days, is that what they told you?" laughed Rickman. "If that were true, why is it no one has ever talked to someone who survived the hunt. No my friend, the hunt lasts much longer than two days. In fact, it never ends until the prey is dead. That's why we're here biding our time, gaining a force large enough to liberate the city."

"If you're going to attack the city, you'll be slaughtered!" exclaimed Maggie. "You're outnumbered ten guns to one."

"Shhh... no one knows about guns on this world," snapped Rickman, turning to Maggie. "And I wouldn't go blabbing about being from another world around here either. Most people don't know about what technology can do."

"Wait, you don't have guns--" Quinn began. He was interrupted in mid-sentence by Arturo.

"Or elevators, space flight, or even personal computers. You see, Mr. Mallory, these people have shunned all of the great advances of the twentieth century because they thought it was an inferior idea by the lower class."

Quinn was shocked. You mean everything that advanced our society at home these people wrote off because they were invented by lower class people? Medicine, inventions, everything?"

"That is correct, Mr. Mallory, but that isn't all. These people weren't
discouraged by society's refusal to believe in them. They wrote their plans down and this underground camp and others have stored all of these marvels of science for posterity, hoping that they are wiser then the current population."

"So if you have all the plans for every great machine of this century then you can out-gun them, ‘cause they don't have guns," said Maggie with a wry smile on her face. "I like it, but senseless slaughter of thousands is not my cup of tea."

"I have no intentions of killing even one person if I don't have to," said Rickman. "Even though they deserve to die. I figured if I could build enough guns and other machines, they would have to surrender after a good show of power. My only problem is that I have no one here with the know-how to assemble these machines. I have built and forged enough parts and now my people are trying to put them together, but they have had little success."

"Well, Colonel, you seem to be in luck. You now have two of the greatest
physicists in the multi-universe working for you. Please do with us as you will," Arturo commented.

"That's great!" exclaimed Rickman. "Can you start working right away?"

"Max, are you sure that we want to give all that power to a double of Rickman? He killed the professor without batting an eyelash," whispered Quinn, pulling Arturo aside.

"My boy, I have not seen any correlation between this Rickman and the one from Captain Beckett's world. Granted, I never met the other Rickman, but this one seems honorable, well liked by his men, and has not shown any of the ruthlessness of his double.

"You said it yourself, you never met him. You never saw the devotion he
inspired in his men. Rickman manipulated everyone... He had no interest in anything but his own continuation and the rest of the world be damned."

"Mr. Mallory, this man has cared for these peoples' well-being for so long that I believe it has changed him. He cannot see a suffering man and not want to help. I refuse to believe that the Rickman of Maggie's world was capable of looking at a dead man and not seeing anything but an acceptable loss.”

"If you are positive, then okay, I'll help," agreed Quinn reluctantly.

"Besides, with the fine Commander here attacking the city, who will notice us sneaking in and reclaiming what is ours," said Arturo, pleased with his plan.

"Well, if that's the plan, we'd better get to work," replied Quinn. "Oh and, Max, I'm sorry about last night at the campsite. I was being childish and didn't mean to drag you into that. It was difficult on all of us when you... when the professor died. I didn't know how hard it hit until I saw you. I guess it's just stupid of me to wish he were still alive.”

"Say no more, Mr. Mallory. I know what it's like to lose someone close. If it's any consolation, I'm sure that he would be proud of what you've done here," said Arturo, patting Quinn on the back. "And if my double is anything like me, he sacrificed himself because he respected you too much to have it any other way."

"Thank you, you don't know how much that means to me," said Quinn,
looking over at Arturo with unshed tears in his eyes.

-----

While Quinn and Arturo were assembling weapons and other machines, Maggie was talking to Rickman and his other military advisors about a plan of attack. Wade and Rembrandt were talking to the camp refugees to find out about this world and any information on the current events.

"Wait just a minute! You mean Livie is going to be executed tomorrow?" exclaimed Rembrandt to one of the new arrivals to the camp. "What about an appeal or something?"

"Are you kidding? Lower classes aren't allowed an appeal in upper class court. None of us ever get a fair shot at anything. Man, I really wish there was a way to get a shot back at these guys," said the stranger.

"Well, don't you worry. With this latest stream of new arrivals and our secret weapon, we're going to make a strike against the upper class tomorrow. If you really want in on it, you're more than welcome. You just need to take a class before the attack begins," said Rickman, coming up behind Rembrandt.

"So, you're going to attack the city tonight?" asked Rembrandt.

"That's right. With your friends Quinn and Arturo helping develop our secret weapon, and Maggie helping with the plan of attack, all the pieces are falling into place," Rickman said triumphantly.

"What sort of class?" asked Wade. "Killing 101?"

"On the contrary, the class is to teach them to keep a clear head in combat, and to know when to shoot and when not to shoot," answered Rickman. "In fact, I implemented the class to keep them all alive. You see, I hate killing and those who kill for no reason."

"Wow, I never expect to hear that from a double of Rickman," exclaimed Wade, surprised.

"I want to go with you," said Rembrandt firmly.

"Wait, Remmy, what are you saying, and what is this about our friends helping you with the attack?" asked Wade.

"Yes, Quinn and Arturo are in the archive, and Maggie is in the command center with my other advisors, why?" asked Rickman

"No reason," said Wade. She turned to Rembrandt. "We'd better go have a
little meeting with them before they go getting this world into a war."

"No, Wade, this is what has to happen," Rembrandt said, taking her by the arm. "We have to sneak back into the city to get the timer, and besides, we have to stop them from killing Livie. This will be a perfect distraction."

Wade gave him a disgusted look.  “You’d wage war just for a distraction?”

He sighed.  “Sweetheart, these people need to stand up for themselves.”

She stared at the ground for a moment before looking back at him.  “I guess you’re right.”

-----

"Now you have the plan set, right?" Maggie asked Rickman.

"Yes, everything is under control. You've left this army in good hands, Captain," he responded. "Once again, thank you for the help."

"No thanks needed for a job well done," Maggie said. She planted a quick kiss on his cheek before walking away to join the others. This man reminded her of the CO she used to know, not the one who’d destroyed her life.  She admired him for that.

The whole group was in military fatigues as they left on their mission... Maggie had insisted. They exited the "park" into the city on the opposite side than the one from which the attack was being mounted. Under the cover of night and battle, they hoped to sneak into
the jailhouse where Livie was being held, and hopefully find the timer. Given that they only had six hours in which to do this, they hoped that luck was on their side.

"What was that about with you and Rickman?" Quinn asked Maggie as they crept toward the city.

"What, are you jealous, Mallory?" Maggie replied, grinning. "No really, I don't know. Just reminded me of the way things used to be.  That kiss was just kinda like saluting him.  He’s a good man.  I didn’t think that was possible."

"We've all been sliding long enough to know anything is possible," commented Quinn, looking around and smirking.

"Now, people, we have no time for idle chit-chat. We have now five hours and fifty-two minutes to rescue the young woman in question and find the timer, so we'd best be off," said Arturo.

-----

They sneaked into the jailhouse only to find that Livie was nowhere to be seen. A note was left on the sergeants desk, saying that she was moved to one of the officer’s houses because of fear of a prison break.

"Great, how do we find this house before our time is up?" complained Rembrandt.

"That' s very simple my friend, you don't," said Officer Bennet, coming up from behind everyone and pointing a gun. "Oh yes, quite an ingenious device isn't it. Thank you very much for building them for us, oh come now, don't look so surprised. You see we've had people in the rebel camp for years. One cannot let a rebel army build in one's own backyard, at least, not for too long. Isn't that correct, Olivia?"

Everyone looked to the doorway to see Livie walk through demurely. "You see, I've been planning to have dear, sweet Livie here captured and given to the hunt for months and try to flush out the rebels but now you've saved me the trouble and again I have to thank you. Unfortunately, now I must kill you."

All of a sudden, a gunshot came from the doorway and Livie stood with a smoking gun as Bennet dropped to the ground, dead.

"I'm sorry for betraying you to him. I had no choice. I had to play along with his scheme or he would have killed my father. Can you guys ever forgive me?"

"I think we can all see our way past that," Quinn said. "Come on guys, lets go. Livie, we need to find a funny looking box with numbers on it. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, he said he left it in the vault," Livie replied.

"The vault... you mean the big building not far from the park?" asked Maggie.

"That's the one."

"Why? What's going on Maggie?" Rembrandt was confused.

"Oh... nothing. Just, the attack is heading straight for the vault and probably should be there any time now." said Maggie, a little irritated with the question.

"So, what's the big deal? If the vault is already taken then we should be able to get in easy enough," interjected Wade.

"Yeah, if I hadn't suggested blowing it up because of it's symbolic meaning to these people," grumbled Maggie

"Well, in that case, it's off to the vault," commented Arturo.

"Come on, I know a shortcut there," called Livie, already on her way out the door.

-----

"Are we ready to blow this place?" Rickman asked one of the soldiers by his side.

"Yes, sir!!!!" he replied.

"WAIT! RICKMAN, WAIT!!" yelled the sliders, running down the street,
trying to get there before the rebels blew up the building.

"Wait, who is that?" asked Rickman.

"It looks like our recon team, sir," the soldier said.

"Wait, Rickman, don't blow the building yet. There's something we need in there," Maggie called out.

"Well then, if it's what I think you need, I can wait, but there are bands of troops in there with guns, somehow they got hold of them," said Rickman.

"That's okay, we can deal with a few rag-tag groups if we have to."

"If you insist on going in there, I'm sending some of my people with
you."

"Fine, but we've got to hurry; we only have two hours before…" hurried Maggie.

"Say no more," Rickman interrupted. "You, you, and you go with them and see that none of them are harmed," he said, pointing to his three best
shooters.

They entered the building with no resistance, but after the first hallway they hit a room full of troops ready for them. Gunfire could be heard echoing throughout the hall. Two of Rickman's men were hit right away.

"Get down!" yelled Maggie.

They all jumped to the ground. Rembrandt crawled over to the two injured men.

"Are they okay, Remmy?" asked Wade.

"Well, they'll live, but they need medical attention," Rembrandt replied.

"I'll go back and get help," said Wade.

"Okay, but hurry... and be careful," said Quinn, more than a little concerned.

"Quinn, I'm going to have to make a break for it!" yelled Maggie over the sound of guns firing, trying to get his attention away from watching Wade leave.

"Don't you remember, there is no you involved!" Quinn yelled back.  "We are a team, you got that, Captain?"

"All right, Remmy, you cover me... us," she corrected, glancing at Quinn.

"I gotcha."

"Well here goes nothing," said Maggie. "On the count of three... One... two... three!!"

Quinn and Maggie charged off down the hall. Just as the made it down there, Rembrandt heard Livie's voice.

"I thought I left her back on the street," he commented.  "I'm going to see that she gets out of this all right. Here, professor, take my gun."

"My word, Mr. Brown, I'm a thinker not a fighter!" Arturo exclaimed.

"Really, it's easy - just aim it at a wall and shoot. They duck to get out of the way," yelled Rembrandt as he hurried down the hall.

-----

"REMMY!" yelled Livie while wandering down a maze of hallways.

Just as she turned a corner, she saw the person she'd been looking for and started to run to him. Suddenly, a gunshot ricocheted from a doorway and hit her in the back.

"Livie! Oh God, what are you doing here," cried Rembrandt, running to her aid. "I told you to stay put! It's dangerous in here right now."

"I know all that, but after you said you were going away, I knew I couldn't bear another day without you," she said weakly. "Remmy, I know I'm a slave and I'm not supposed to have feelings, but I think I love you." Her voice faded away.

"It's okay, Livie, you're going to be all right." Rembrandt knelt to pick her up. "Everything will be just fine," he said, trying choke back
tears. He had felt the same way ever since the night in Mr. Jax's office when she’d kissed him. "Come on, let's get you to a doctor."

"Remmy, don't you love me? Please tell me. I know we just met but this may be our last chance," said Livie even weaker then before.

"Yes, babe, I do, but we'll have plenty of time to talk about that later. You're coming with me," said Rembrandt matter-of-factly.

"Oh, Remmy, do you really mean it?" she said, pulling herself up to kiss him.

-----

Further inside the vault, Maggie and Quinn were searching for the timer.

"Do you see it?" Maggie yelled to Quinn over the stray gunfire.

"No... Wait! There it is," replied Quinn, pointing to a side room held by three troopers.

"How long do we have?"

"Twenty minutes, this'll be close."

"Well here goes," said Maggie

"WAIT! I have an idea." Quinn turned to one of Rickman's troops. "You
were going to blow the building, right?" The soldier nods his head. "Well, do you have any explosives here?"

"Yeah, but won't you ruin that timer thing?"

"Not with a small controlled blast. Can you rig something like that while we go back for our friends?"

"I think so," the soldier responded.

"Then do it, we'll be right back," ordered Quinn. "Let's get a move-on! We don't have much time."

Quinn and Maggie moved back down the hall to regroup with their friends.

-----

Wade had returned with the med team and was busy helping them patch up the two injured men.

"Everyone come on, we think we can get to the timer but there isn't enough time to come back, so let's go!" Quinn tried to explain on the run. Arturo and Wade got up to go as Rembrandt leaned over to where one of the doctors was cleaning Livie's wound.

"Come on, sweetheart, time to go, babe," he said, shaking her to wake her up. She didn't respond. "Oh, God, No! Not now, please. Dear Lord, wake her up, please. Come
on, Livie, you'll pull through this. Come on, wake up!"

"Remmy, come on," said Wade, trying to be as comforting as she could. "I sorry, but she's dead."

Rembrandt looked over at the doctor, who solemnly shook his head in agreement with Wade. "I'm sorry, sir, but she had lost too much blood by the time we got here. We couldn't do anything," the doctor said sympathetically.

"Why me? Why now?" yelled Rembrandt, clutching Livie's body close to his and beginning to cry. "I'll see you in a better place, Olivia, I hope you're finally happy there." He gently set her down and stood up to join the others.

They got back to the soldier just as he was finishing the explosive rig.

"Everyone down," yelled the soldier as he threw the makeshift grenade. It exploded, knocking out the three troops and getting everyone's attention.

Quinn ran to the timer and saw that they had only five minutes left. "Come on, let's try to get out of here. No telling where we'll end up if we slide in the building."

As they all ran down the stairs, they noticed that the gunshots had stopped, and everyone seemed to be gathering in the street. When they got outside, Rickman was there to congratulate them on a job well done. "You did well here, sliders," he said. "I only hope that the people of this world can care enough to see what you've done."

"We only helped. All of this would have happened with or without us," said Arturo as Quinn opened the wormhole.

"We only hope that your people can remember that we are all equals in the universe, and if we don't all work together then nothing ever gets done," commented Quinn before jumping into the vortex.

"Besides, no matter what you think of someone else's race, class, creed, or color, they may just end up surprising you," called out Maggie before jumping in after him.

"Come on everyone, it's time to go," said Arturo, putting his arms around Wade and Rembrandt's shoulders. "My friends, I think we finally have a team."

With that, they all jumped through the wormhole and onto their next great adventure.
 

THE END