"BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEP!"
My alarm screamed from across the room. I reached out to switch it off, willing away the dawn for another night's sleep. When my hand contacted nothing but empty air I opened my eyes.
What? Where am I? I sat up instantly, not recognising my room from my current vantage point of head lying on textbooks on desk.
I regretted sitting up before I'd even moved. My neck hurt, my back hurt, my brain hurt. Catching a glance of myself sidelong in the large mirrors which served as rolling doors to my wardrobe, I noticed the black ink of the textbook page had managed to seep into my skin.
"Dammit," I breathed under my breath, standing with the intention of heading to the bathroom to scrub the offending marks from my face. My legs had other ideas however. Finding myself now sprawled on my floor surrounded by my own mess, I couldn't help but ponder my circumstance.
I'd never fallen asleep at my desk before. What was I doing at my desk late enough to fall asleep?
My memory provided no answers, leaving me as oblivious as where I'd started.
Groaning as I pushed myself to my feet once more, this time more slowly as I had no intention of ploughing into the wall, I blinked furiously as my head panged. I sat with a slump on my chair, examining my workspace. Textbooks and papers littered my local vicinity, spreading out to encompass part of the floor and most of the bed. The bed! How welcoming those covers looked! How soft the pillow! I could almost feel it, lifting my head like a cloud, as my brain threatened to return me to my sleeping state.
Beneath all the books, a brief buzzing interluded the fuzziness of my brain. Communicator. Left side of desk. Beneath "Warp Drive: A Complete History - 2063 to 2348". WHAT?! WARP DRIVE?!
I looked around my room with wide eyes. The beige and cream walls glared at me, bare of decoration. A panel on one wall was the only identifiable feature. No windows.
The floor beneath my feet vibrated steadily. I wouldn't have noticed it if they weren't bare.
"I'm on a spaceship," I deduced, staring at the floor and blinking. The door beeped, gaining my attention. "Hello?" I called uncertainly. It opened with a swoosh, revealing a busy corridor outside. A lone figure entered, a woman with bizarrely curly black hair, black eyes and a lilac jumpsuit.
"I tried calling you on your communicator but you didn't answer," she spoke quickly, entering the room as the door closed behind her. I looked around the room and blinked, my mouth opening and closing as I struggled to form words. What is going on? "Are you feeling okay?" the woman eyes me cautiously, stepping slowly closer. "Nat? Are you feeling alright?" Nat... that's my name... who was this woman?
Swallowing down, I attempted to speak. "No," I managed to control the muscles of my diaphragm, throat and tongue long enough to speak. My breathing through my nose quickened, growing in volume.
"Calm down, it's alright," the woman went to my side. She reached out, holding my hand reassuringly. Her grip felt familiar, but that was it.
"What happened, I don't remember," I spoke quietly.
"I'm Counselor Troi, you're on the Enterprise," Counselor Troi explained. The Enterprise... why does that name ring a bell? "I think you should come to sickbay..." Counselor Troi's voice faded off. I clenched my fists and leaned forwards, holding my head in my hands. The Enterprise. Now I remember.
