"B'Elanna!"
They were pulling at her, fingers ripping her arms as she dug in her heels. Their laughter was chilling, malicious, blood thirsty. Her resistance only amused them, causing them to use more force.
"B'Elanna"
She was struggling to fight them, clawing at them. There wasn't much she could do. They were too strong.
"B'Elanna!"
There was a sound of a ship powering up, sending the dust swirling by their feet. A loud clang as a hatch opened, and she was dragged towards it. The thought of her being taken…
Her mouth opened in a silent scream, wanting to reach out with her voice, call for help. Instead she desperately cried out his name--it came out with his name—
"B'Elanna!"
B'Elanna's eyes snapped open, and she bolted up, her hand reaching up to caress her stinging cheek. Her breath was coming in short ragged gasps, cold sweat trickled down her forehead as she struggled to control the pounding in her ears.
"B'Elanna, are you alright?"
She looked at the old man worriedly standing next to her. For a moment, she couldn't remember him nor this place, but he pulled out a diagnostic wand and immediately started to scan her.
The actions was familiar, and she immediately heaved a long sigh of relief. "I'm fine, just a little shaken."
However, the old doctor disregarded her proclamation and continued to scan her, punching a few buttons and swearing softly under his breath. He immediately calmed himselfshut up when he saw that she could indeed hear him.
"I am sorry, but you scared us when you wouldn't wake up. I sent Sillo out to get a more powerful stimulant, but I started slapping you just to see if that would work."
Her hand rubbed at a sore point in her jaw. "I guess it did"
Her mind was reeling, filling her with images that she couldn't comprehend, of ships and planets and aliens. And in the middle of it all was a man…
She closed her eyes as she struggled to recall his face, already blurring into nothingness along with the memory of his name.
"B'Elanna!"
She shook her head and hopped off the biobed, probably to placate the old man with a show of her health.
"I'm fine, it's just these things…"
"Is it another dream?"
"No" she told him, her mind grasping at the dying echoes of his name "No Koran, I think it was a memory"
"Do you remember what happened?"
The room was slow in focusing and for a moment she thought she might throw up. The added thinking just made her head hurt.
"I was at the circuit…and that's it. That's all I can remember…"
"What about your memories…what do you remember from then…"
"There was a man…"
"And…"
Eyes so blue you could drown in their depths and hair the color of sunlight…
"I don't remember any more…"
She breathed a sigh of frustration, her hand gripping the sheets. She wanted to lash out, yell at someone, throw something…
Instead she closed her eyes and focused on getting her equilibrium back, pushing the memory away. There were more important things at hand, she couldn't let this accident—this episode—distract her.
The old man was fussing with her, waving the offensive diagnostical wand near her face again.
"Koran, stop it!" she barked, swatting at his hand. "It's nothing, I'm fine."
"Don't you think I should be the judge of that? Do you even know what happened? Do you even want to know?"
B'Elanna didn't answer. He looked like he was going to tell her anyway.
"I just finished healing your concussion. You had a collision with one of the riders and slammed into a wall. He claims that it's his fault, that he came at you at a particularly sharp turn and that his breaks were malfunctioning, but that isn't the point," he lectured. "This is your third injury this month B'Elanna. I know that hoverbike racing is a dangerous sport, but you should also know that it takes great skill and agility to be able to avoid them. None of which you possess right now!"
"I said I was fine" she answered gruffly, moving off the bed. "I switched bikes during my last two races, I just haven't gotten the hang of this one."
"Need I remind you that you had to switch hoverbikes because you destroyed the previous ones. And before I forget, the other rider is fine. He suffered a broken arm, but we were able to heal it and he is back on the race."
"Good, because that's where I'm going too," she announced, heading for the door. "Where's my gear?"
For someone old, the doctor had a good grip. He stopped the determined Klingon even before she got halfway through the room.
"Sillo has them, but I don't think that's wise," he said, staring her down. "You've been distracted these past few days, anxious. Your brother has already called me. They're worried. They say that you haven't been yourself."
"And which self would that be?" she thought.
Was it the B'Elanna in front of them, or the one that was rescued from that trans-world freighter, bleeding and half-dead, with no memories on who she is and how she got here.
Her family had been very supportive, but worried. In all the months that she'd been in Malta, she'd made no particular efforts to find out who she was or where she was from. Not that she'd have much to go on anyway. When they'd found her, all she could remember was her name—B'Elanna Torres—and the firm belief that she was not from around here. That she was from a planet millions of light years away, and that she never particularly wanted to go home.
As far as she was concerned, there was nothing there. When her adoptive brother—Aron—started a search on who she was, she didn't try to stop him, but neither did she encourage him.
Once in a while, he would ask her for details—where did she think she was from? Did something remind her of her home planet? Gestures and mannerisms, where she thought she got them from. Playing music to jog her memory. He had enormous patience, and since she was fond of him., she extended the same courtesy even if some days she wanted to shove him off a cliff.
He never gave up, and even though she didn't show it, neither did she.
The dreams were nothing recent.
When it started, it was just small pieces of memory. Glimpses of her previous life, too vague for her to even understand or remember. But lately they were clearer, stronger. There were timesdays when she woke up nights sweating and feeling abandoned. Sometimes she missed home, some days she didn't care. But most of the time, she dreamt of him…
"I think we should tell your father."
Her reaction was almost violent.
"No!" she yelled, holding back the growl wanting to come out from her throat "The Minister is a very busy man, he shouldn't be bothered by something as inconsequential as this."
"I don't think he would deem his daughter's welfare as inconsequential. He deserves to know. Your brother already suspects something…"
"Aron always suspects something., it's in his nature to doubt things."
"Aron is by nature inquisitive, a trait that he shares with the Minister." he reminded her. "And he's doing it just to make sure, just as he is making sure that his daughter is not hiding anything from him."
"I am not hiding anything!" she countered. "I'm merely making sure that this isn't just a random dream."
"Ah, and just out of curiosity, how often have you had these dreams?"
He continued when she didn't answer.
"If you can't tell your father, then at least tell your brother." he explained. "He knows you remember something, and yet still maintain this apathetic behavior…don't you want to go home?"
Her heart lurched at the prospect. For a terrible moment, her vision flashed, and she felt wholly incomplete.
"I…I don't know," she admitted. "I just…I don't know."
Koran sensed her confusion. Even though the old physician was reluctant to let her out of his care, he knew that it was best to leave her alone.
"Why don't you go home B'Elanna, try to get some rest. I'm sure Aron will be glad to see you and your hard head."
She stuck her tongue out at him, a mannerism not found in Maltans, but he later understood was of jest and had come to find it amusing.. It wasn't disturbing and amusing at the same time.
"I'll ask Sillo to drop your gear at your house after his shift, just to make sure you won't go back to the circuit. I don't want you on a hoverbike for at least two days."
"Alright," she answered distractedly.
The fact that she'd agreed readily made him more nervous. She usually put up more of a fight. This was something…unusual.
"Are you sure you're fine B'Elanna? I can call one of the sentries to take you home-"
"No, that's not necessary," she interrupted, pulling on her jacket. "I think I'll walk home. Clear my head a little. Besides, if I pass out in the middle of the street, the compound is full of people who can pick me up and bring me back here."
Koran couldn't do anything. The door was already hissing shut even before she had finished her sentence.
Outside, B'Elanna zipped up her double layer jacket. Malta was a beautiful planet, but sometimes it could be just darn cold! The residents were used to the cooler temperature and hardly wore any insulation, but even after living her for months she still felt cold!
Yet another clue for her brother to exploit.
It was mid afternoon, so it was technically "warmer". She rubbed hands and looked up at the Malta's lavender skies. An image of a planet's dawn sky surfaced in her head…
Dawn in the best time to go parking.
"That makes no sense" she thought, shaking her head to clear her thoughts before heading off to the one place that brought her comfort:
The shuttlebay.