Janeway and her companion hesitated after stepping off the turbolift, looking one direction then the other.
"Right?" she asked finally.
"I think so," he said.
Once they started walking, though, they found that their feet knew the way to Sickbay.
"It's so peculiar," Janeway was saying as the Sickbay doors opened in front of them to reveal a man who must be the ship's doctor leaning over an unknown ensign. "Everything I see is so familiar. I know how to get to places I can't remember ever going to. How can it be that we know this ship so well when we don't remember how we got here?"
"You've got me," the tattooed man said. "I'd say this is the strangest thing that's ever happened to me, but then, how would I know?"
The doctor straightened up and frowned as they entered. He slapped his medical tricorder on the nearest shelf and advanced toward them with an officious march.
"More of you. I don't suppose you know what's going on, or who you are? Someone has tampered with my memory. I am missing all identifying records for the crew. I need to speak to the Chief Engineer – if I knew who that was." He folded his arms and glared.
The tattooed man stepped forward. "You say you're missing records? Do you mean that you're an artificial life form?"
The doctor released an exaggerated sigh. "I am a hologram. That was obvious the moment I tried to leave Sickbay. But the biological crew are missing the same memories – anything personally identifying. I assume you suffer from the same … disability?"
The newcomers to Sickbay glanced at each other in dismay.
"Yes," Janeway said. "We were hoping you'd be able to restore our memories. Or that the computer would have records that would explain who we are. We woke up in the mess hall with a large group of people in civilian clothes. Is it possible that we are all passengers?"
The doctor paused, then looked toward the computer.
"Yes, that could be it. I only looked up the crew manifest, and it seemed extremely small for a ship this size. But if the mission is ferrying passengers, it might be done with a small crew to make more room for the passengers. Then the question is, where are we taking you?" He hurried to the nearest monitor and began to enter queries. "There it is! We are on course to a nearby M class planet to pick up more passengers and take all of you to … yes, to a similar planet in the next star system, where you will all settle."
He turned back to his visitors with a triumphant smile.
"And our memories?" the tattooed man asked. "Can you come up with any explanation for what happened? Or tell us our names?"
The doctor stuck a finger in the air. "Ah yes, names." He turned back to the monitor and began to pull up records. Images flashed as Janeway and her companion leaned over the doctor's shoulders.
"That one!" Janeway exclaimed. "That's the man we saw in the turbolift. He's one of the crew."
"Yes," the doctor agreed. "That's Captain Kim. Did you meet Commander Addams, the first officer?"
A picture of an attractive dark-haired woman filled the screen. All three exchanged looks, but no sign of recognition.
"No," Janeway said. "She doesn't look familiar."
The doctor began to flick through more images. A moment later, the tattooed man's face snapped up in front of them beside a record of his personal information.
"Amal Kotay?" he read. "That's my name?"
"Look." Janeway pointed. "It says you go by Chakotay. You're a carpenter."
"A carpenter. That sounds okay." Chakotay scanned the record as it unscrolled down the page. He stopped with a sharp intake of breath. "I'm traveling with my wife. Doctor, can you show her to me?"
The doctor tapped at the screen. "Of course. Just a moment." A few more passenger records flashed in front of them before another familiar face occupied the screen.
"Oh my," Janeway whispered. Her fingers flew involuntarily to her mouth.
"Aha!" the doctor announced triumphantly. "It looks as if there's a reason you two gravitated toward one another. Mr. Kotay, meet your wife, Kathryn Janeway."
Behind the doctor's head, Chakotay and Janeway's eyes met in shock.
TBC