Chapter 2
Kathryn found herself sitting in a field full of iridescent flowers. The midnight blue sky above her was just turning the color of vibrant, tiger-lily orange with the first rays from two double suns. She breathed deeply and ran her hand through the soft, sweet-smelling, purple-tinged grass. Then she stood, surveying the landscape all the way into the distance where the field ended at the horizon. The peace of the scene permeated her being. Somehow, this felt natural, like a home she had never known.
She turned around to see a small log cabin sitting a short distance behind her. Lights glowed from the windows, inviting her to go back inside. The image of a woman with burnished gold skin and flowing white hair flashed through her mind. The woman was smiling happily down at her while stirring something on the stove, and her kind hazel eyes gave Kathryn a strangely warm feeling deep inside.
She started walking back, curious about this alien place that felt like home.
All of a sudden, she felt rather than heard the vibration of ship engines reverberate through the air and ground. The wind picked up, and the grass bent until it was almost flattened. Flowers broke off their stems and flew through the air, caught by powerful wind currents. She dropped to the ground in an attempt to keep from being blown off her feet.
She shielded her eyes against the blinding spotlight that had just appeared overhead, brighter than the two rising suns. She couldn't hear anything over the roaring of the ship's engines. The light disappeared as some sort of cloth was thrown over her head. She tried to struggle free, but then she felt a transporter beam take hold of her and her captors.
Kathryn awoke, her heart pounding, and immediately shielded her eyes again from bright lights, still slightly panicked and disoriented from her dream. She tried to swing around and off the bed she had been on, ready to take out whoever might be close.
"Hey, easy!" a deep voice commanded. A gentle but firm grip restrained her wrist as she prepared to swing at the figure. "You're in Sickbay."
She fought the primal urge to continue struggling as she recognized her first officer. She finally sighed and relaxed her tense shoulders, leaning against the biobed as exhaustion took on a life of its own and she realized her heart was pounding just a little too fast. Still wary, he released his hold, supporting her weight with his arm around her instead.
"You good?" he asked.
Still breathing hard, she said, "Yes. Yes, I think so. What happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me. That must have been some intense dream," he said, concern etched in the lines of worry that momentarily creased his brow, even despite the light attempt at humor. "Seven and I found you unconscious in Astrometrics."
Flashes of the dream flitted in the back of her mind, and she was at a loss of words. She tried, "It wasn't like with that war memorial beacon if that's what you're thinking. I wasn't looking at any planet or star system. I was waiting for Seven."
"Yes, she told me the two of you had a meeting," he said, encouraging her to go on.
"I don't remember what happened after that," she said, light blue eyes glancing up at him and tinting with dark hints of fear. "And I did just had the most vivid dream."
"I may be able to shed light on some of that if we do a neural scan," the Doctor said, emerging from his office with his scanner. He began his work, asking, "Captain, have you experienced any other particularly vivid dreams? Ones that seem like memories, perhaps?"
"I…" she began, hesitating.
"Well?" the Doctor prompted, slightly impatient. "If you're not honest with me, I can't do my job."
"Kathryn?" Chakotay pressed.
Finally, she nodded, expression defeated. "Last night, it was a terrifying nightmare. I couldn't wake up from it, even with my alarm, and was late for my shift. And then this morning, I saw things in the viewscreen…when it was blank."
"So that's why you dropped your coffee mug," Chakotay realized.
"I'm sorry, then, Captain," the Doctor announced. "I'm going to have to take you off active duty until this is resolved. It could just be stress. But I want to you rest and relax for a while."
"Doctor…" Kathryn began to protest.
He cut her off, saying, "You can't risk this happening at a crucial moment, Captain. The crew's safety depends on you being at your best, and that is not when you are hallucinating and fainting randomly."
Kathryn felt anger flare inside her momentarily (and noticed Chakotay preparing to say something calming just in case) before letting the truth of the Doctor's harsh words sink in. She sighed at last, "Alright. You win." She saw Chakotay relax just a bit.
The Doctor had finished and, satisfied that his patient would comply, he withdrew to analyze the results in his office. Chakotay obviously didn't know what to say. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she leaned over and whispered to him, "I don't suppose you could help me get out of here without our good Doctor noticing?"
It had the intended effect, a faint smile playing on his lips as she pulled back to look at him with her own wry grin.
"He never said you had to stay," he said, glancing toward the office where the Doctor was still working. "Lunch sound good?"
"Perfect," she agreed, and together, they made their quick escape.
In the mess hall, they chatted amicably about ship gossip and the latest sports tournament results. They made jokes about the food and how good it was now that their chef had finally run out of leola root. She felt herself relaxing in his presence, simply enjoying these rare moments where they could just be. Finally, the conversation came to a lull, and they held each other's gaze, both knowing what they were sidestepping.
Chakotay was the first to break the budding tension. "If you don't mind me asking, what kinds of things have you seen?" he questioned hesitantly.
She took a deep breath, half considering telling him she did mind. Eventually, she gave in, seeing as no one else was paying attention to their corner and likely no one would hear her speak over the loud chatter that filled the mess hall. "I see burning cities, dead people blaming me for something, a tall building with a crystal spire, a worn-down shack in the city, two alien races I've never seen, and often, a pair of very striking blue eyes. And earlier, it was a planet with two suns. I was captured," she listed, trying to keep her voice low and tone even. "There's usually so much fear, and once there was a call for help."
While she spoke, his expression had gone from worried to shocked to curious.
"Kathryn," he said slowly. "Were you able to get to Seven's last long-range scan results?"
"Not yet," she said, perplexed at the sudden change in topic. "I was going to wait until she told me about it in person today."
"There's a star system just at the edge of our scanning range. It has binary stars at its center," he said.
Her eyes widened as she caught on. "Let's go," she said, already pushing back her chair and standing, grabbing her tray to recycle it. He followed suit, and they headed back to Astrometrics.