Alex found herself floating in a dark place. It was like being EVA she decided, except for the absence of both a spacesuit and any stars. It was peaceful, so still and silent. Peaceful as the grave.
With that thought, Alex stopped liking this place very much.
"Hello," she called. Her voice disappeared into the darkness. There was no echo, it was just swallowed up. She shivered.
What had happened to her? She remembered…she remembered being aboard the Daedalus. Making her way to the engine room. The door. The explosion. The…explosion
Was that it? Silent as the grave, that's what she had thought about this place. Was she actually right? Was she dead? How could she be thinking if she was dead? Unless the old religions had got it right about the whole soul thing. She couldn't pretend that this void was very heavenly, or particularly hellish for that matter. It was just a sort of limbo. Was that in the Bible anywhere? Along with the Starfleet reg manual, it was one of those books that she should really get around to looking at one day.
A figure appeared in the darkness, standing before her on empty air. Alex realised that she was standing as well, and also that, although there was no light anywhere, she could see her own body and that of the other figure perfectly clearly.
She wasn't sure what she was expecting – God, a god, Kana perhaps – but she didn't get it. Instead, there was a man. A perfectly ordinary man. He was about her height, pale skinned, and dressed in a boring little black suit. His hair was black and cut short and styleless. The only thing interesting about him were his eyes.
Red eyes.
In all her years, Alex had never encountered another human being who had red eyes. Hers were some sort of by-product of being Kana's host. Maybe the alien hadn't liked the blue eyes that she had been born with and had decided to recolour them; maybe there was a better reason.
How did that little man come to have red eyes? Was he a host as well? Of another entity like Kana? That was impossible, wasn't it? She had said that they were all dead, wiped out in an ancient war. Maybe he was one of Kana's previous hosts. She had never mentioned having any, but that didn't rule out the possibility.
Deciding that questioning herself about this was pointless, she asked, "Who are you?"
The little man didn't answer. He looked her over, very slowly, and when his inspection was finished he tutted. "Unimpressive."
"Who are you?" Alex didn't care what he thought of her; she just wanted an identity for this red-eyed freak, and perhaps an explanation for how he came to have those eyes.
"I wonder why she chose you."
Chose me? Thought Alex. It didn't take her very long to see what the stranger meant by that comment. How many females had ever chosen her for anything? Kana, to be her host. Simple.
How did this guy know about Kana?
"For the third and final time: who the hell are you?"
The man stuck his hands into his trouser pockets. He seemed to be enjoying not answering her, teasing her. Alex felt like slugging him. How smug would he look when she broke his jaw?
She noticed that she and the man weren't alone anymore. Standing at her side, right where she belonged, openly aggressive, was Kana.
"My friend asked you a question."
The man turned his back on the two Nains and started to walk away. He was fading more and more with each step; disappearing back into whatever realm he had sprung from. Before he vanished completely, he called back, "You should know."
Alex looked to her protector for an explanation. "Kana?"
"I have no idea. But the next time we meet that fool, I will find out!"
"Great. Where are we?"
"I'm not really sure. Somewhere in your subconscious."
"Oh. I'm not dead then?"
Kana smiled gently at her other side. "No. That makes twice I've pulled your ass out of the fire this little adventure. Literally, this time."
"The explosion? What happened?"
"Everyone with us was killed. I managed to save us. One of Matsura's people got the warp core online, and we ran away. The Klingons stayed to duke it out with the Vyar. I expect they're dead now."
"Who? Which side?"
"Who cares?"
Alex shrugged, and then she yawned. She felt a weight creeping onto her shoulders, fatigue burning behind her eyes. "I'm really tired, Kana."
"Rest then," advised her friend. "I can take care of us."
"Good." She yawned again. Her eyes were drifting closed, her vision blurring. The darkness was so still and peaceful. Kana was watching her, looking out for her, like always. It was okay for her to let her guard down, to truly rest for a while. It had been so very, very long since she had done that. She had earned her sleep.
"No binging on…chocolate," she instructed sleepily.
Kana grinned. "No promises."