Kartakkan Cannonball was the stage name for a 24th century humanoid entertainer who performed the human cannonball stunt at the circus at Bitinga's Traveling Wonderment Exposition.
Biography[]
Kartakkan worked alongside ringmaster Bitinga, acrobats on the flying trapeze, Zenas Zorrh's snake-pit, and several clowns. Bitinga gave him a rousing introduction at the beginning of one show in 2369 on Beta Maradi VII, saving him for last. (TNG comic: "The Rich and the Dead!")
When he was about to perform his act, he was unaware that Q had shrunk Worf and Deanna Troi to insect size and deposited them inside his clothing. Troi spotted something unusual while peeking out of a pocket that suggested the circus might be doing something illegal. (TNG comic: "Reductions & Deductions")
Seconds before Kartakken took to the air, Jean-Luc Picard had won a challenge with Q to win Worf and Troi's freedom. They expanded back to normal size as Kartakkan flew through the air, shocking the audience, including Alexander Rozhenko. Worf was able to grab hold of the trapeze and Troi in mid-flight.
Troi then exposed the exposition's rare animal smuggling operation. Armed with hand phasers, Kartakken, Bitinga, and Zorrh surrounded Troi and her fellow crewmates aboard the USS Enterprise-D, but Captain Picard and several security officers stunned the smugglers. (TNG comic: "Hidden Agendas!")