She came to with a groan. Her head spun and threatened to drag her back down into unconsciousness.
Slow. She thought to herself. It was almost as if the thought was against every fiber of her being. She didn't do anything slowly. Calculated, yes, sometimes rashly, yes, but not slow. On her ship...her ship, her crew!
Janeway's eyes snapped open and even though her world spun she bit her lip and kept the bile at bay. The room she was in was barren save the chair she was tied to. The stone room was not naturally made and she bet Voyager couldn't get a lock on her because of the interference. She pulled at her bonds but her hands were tied tight to the back of the chair causing her shoulders to strain in their sockets. How had she gotten here? Were they looking for her?
Of course they're looking for you, she thought. She had the most determined crew in the universe and if anyone could find her it would be them.
In the darkness beyond she heard the screech of a door. Hard boots echoed across the floor and a figure in a helmet stepped into the small shaft of light.
"What is the meaning of this?"
She was rewarded with a sharp crack across the face. Her already spinning head lost what was left of her equilibrium and she vomited. The helmeted figure waited until she dry heaved and then spoke.
"I ask the questions around here, Captain."
That voice, she knew it, but how?
=/\=
"She can't have just fallen out of the airlock!" Chakotay growled and Ensign Harry Kim cowered a bit behind his console. They had found the shuttle adrift and empty. Why had he let her go on this mission alone? "Keep searching. I'm going down to the shuttle bay to see if B'Elanna has found anything. Tuvok, you have the bridge."
"Aye, sir."
Chakotay let the turbolift doors shut behind him and only then did he let his anger and worry slip. He hit the lift with his fist.
"Damn it Kathryn," he said with his voice going soft. "Where did you go?"
=/\=
The memory crept into her brain. It was a defence mechanism and one she was not fond of. Another crack across the face caused her to swim back into it.
It was a simple science mission, of course the Cardassians hadn't made anything simple. She had been eager to prove herself, eager to prove she was worth her surname, and when she had awoken in the sickbay she knew she had been too eager. She had heard the scream of her friend and got caught in the crossfire trying to get to her. She heard the young woman scream out her name,
"Kathryn!"
It was agony.
She opened her eyes but the scenery had not changed.
"Welcome back Captain," the figure hissed. "Did you have a nice little trip down memory lane?"
"How did you-?"
The visor at the eyes of the helmet snapped back and a pair of blue eyes pierced her own. The scars around the right one confirmed her muddled thoughts.
"Krella?" She breathed. "That's not possible."
"And why might that be?" the figure answered with no hint of softness.
"Because you're dead," Kathryn said. She tried to push the memories down but her quiet voice had given her away.
"Well then," Krella said, stepping closer. "That makes two of us."
=/\=