Katianna was immersed in her Joan of Arc holo program. She had two swords in her hands and she totally lost herself to the savagery and brutality of the moment. Her skills were perfect as she immediately ran one blade through the gut of one English soldier and the other blade went through the chest of another. She then spun around and cut through an arm of another soldier trying to strike at her from behind. Another turn and she was confronted by two more soldiers charging her with spears. She easily jumped over them and cut across their necks, severing their spinal cords. She thought she heard the arch, but didn't bother stopping. After all, the safeties were on . . . and she had figured it was Paul or even Kassia checking in on her. But at the moment, she didn't have time to ponder. She just had time to fight.
Alicia sucked in a breath in surprise, this wasn't the program she remembered of the English country side...she'd expected to find Katianna; but not a period of medieval history being re enacted. It was violent, noisy and chaotic, all very Katianna like. "Kat!" She yelled.
No response but then she wasn't sure her voice had carried over the noise. She backed out of the way and leaned against the wall and watched.
As Katianna lopped off the head of one of the English soldiers, she thought she had heard her name being called, and it wasn't Paul's voice, that was for sure! It had been a woman's. And she was pretty sure it hadn't been Kassia's either. As she ran on of her blades into another English soldier, she paused long enough to look around, but things were too chaotic. Suddenly, arrows whizzed past her head. She moved automatically. Suddenly, she felt eyes watching her.
"Computer, freeze program!" she called, taking a moment to catch her breath. She began walking through the frozen fighters and was surprised when she saw Alicia standing up against a wall starring at her.
Alicia didn't know what to say, had a hundred questions, and no few suspicions about the death wish she now knew her friend had... Would anything Katianna said make sense or make up for what she'd just witnessed?
Alicia turned to walkout of the holosuite.
"Wait!" Katianna called after Alicia as she shifted out of the armor and into her uniform to go after her friend. "Alicia, you don't know what's going on and you don't know what you were seeing in there."
Alicia turned, and faced Katianna with her arms crossed over her chest. "Excuse me, I just saw you take on one dozen armed warriors... you hacked and slashed those men to pieces... What could possibly make this make any sense?"
Katianna let out a breath and shook her head and she looked down to the ground for a moment. "I was trying to avoid telling you the problems in my life because some are a bit difficult for some people to wrap their heads around . . . Especially when you want science to explain everything . . . and it can't," she said. "Not this . . ."
"Protecting poor fragile Alicia..." Alicia stepped away from the wall and over the first body on the ground toward her friend, and added, "The thing that hurts is that you didn't even try to tell me, you just assumed I couldn't wrap my mind around this... I love you like a sister and have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what you're doing to kill yourself and now I know..." Alicia took another step closer..."So explain. but not here. Lets find some place for breakfast and coffee."
"Harry's is open . . . There's a corner booth where we won't be disturbed," Katianna said. Katianna quickly shut the program down. "Look," she said as they walked. "I didn't tell you anything because I thought you had enough to handle with adjusting to this time and training for a new position . . . I knew you were having enough to deal with you. You didn't need my problems on top of it . . . and my problems aren't small," Katianna said. "And there's not a whole lot anyone can do for me either . . ." she added softly. "I didn't see a point in burdening you . . . making you feel worse than you did . ."
Alicia and Kat walked into Harry's found the booth that Kat had mentioned and noticed for the hour they were almost the only ones in the restaurant. Alicia ordered coffee and something called pancakes. And waited for Kat to order and begin her story.
Katianna ordered a veggie omelet with cheese. Not that she was hungry, but she wanted the protein. She also ordered a large cranberry juice. It wasn't long before their food arrived. Katianna waited for the waitress to walk away before she started talking. "Alicia, my life has been a very complicated one since last you knew me . . . and recently . . . I don't even know exactly where to begin . . ." she said, trying to think of where to start. There was so much she had to say.
Alicia took a bite of the cakes and nodded, "I understand that Kat... but this not sleeping." She took a sip of coffee and added, "And you're just skin and bones. I'm sure what ever is driving you is important...but if you kill yourself its not going to mean anything in the end."
Katianna was silent. "I'm not trying to kill myself . . ." she said. Though part of her had to wonder. "The safeties were on in the holosuite. There was no way I could get hurt. Not for real. I use that program to sharpen my skills - my reaction time, my eye-hand coordination . . . It's good for a lot of things . . . But even these skills might not help me going up against what I have to face . . ." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Basically, I have to destroy two . . . demons. The are basically gods and if I don't, they'll destroy the universe . . . I know your first question is if I'm crazy. I'm not . . . There's actually reports on the demons. They're just not made public, of course. And I know your second question is why it has to be me . . . Well, it was prophesied and I am the one. Apparently, if I don't stop Kalimar and the Kosst Amojen they will destroy this universe and everyone in it, starting with my family," she explained, pain in her green eyes.
"I understand about things you have to do... But I can't just stand by and watch you kill yourself." Alicia watched her friend pick at her food, and finally take a bite. "You can tell me the whole story later. But I want you to eat and then get some sleep...whatever that takes."
"It's hard to sleep when you shut your eyes and have nightmares," Katianna replied softly as she took a sip of her cranberry juice.
Alicia put her fork down. "You've always have had nightmares and have a standing medication order...use it...or are the doctors here unaware of this issue?"
"That order doesn't stand for me . . ." she replied. "However, I have been given sleep aids before on several occasions."
"What?" Alicia glared at her friend, "you've managed over time to slip that order from the physicians on the Eagle..." Alicia looked away from her friend, not hungry anymore herself. "So. How have you managed to avoid that mind reading mental health friend of yours?"
"There's something else you don't know," Katianna replied. "I'm not the Katianna Nadira from this universe. Yet, I know that I know YOU and I know Lee. I know it doesn't make sense. But we have all the same memories, but somewhere along the way, my reality was different than this one. Not much, mine you. In fact, my alternate from here seems to have had the exact same experiences me up until . . . we were about 130 perhaps . . . When we fell in love with Julian Bashir . . . In my dimension, things had changed. I had ended up getting pregnant and marrying a man - Laurissa's father. In this reality, Katianna continued the relationship on long enough to get pregnant. Though they never became serious . . . Julian ended up with someone else eventually. But, the point is, they couldn't enforce a slip that wasn't really for me . . ." She shook her head. "I told you my life was complicated since the last time I saw you . . ."
Alicia remained silent for some time thinking about what Kat had just said. "Doesn't matter. Sounds like 'either' of you should have been forced to accept the slip."
"She probably would have been," Katianna replied, then shook her head. "No one has tried to force it on me yet. I suspect Kassia will be talking to Cherrin about it soon enough. It just scares me the idea of being out cold sleeping and not being able to respond quickly enough should Kalimar make it into my quarters and try to take Daniel," she said.
"Maybe it doesn't have to be stuff that knocks you all the way out...but helps you sleep. Do you ever meditate like Lee taught us on the Eagle?"
"Not often," Katianna admitted. "It's something Kassia has suggested as well. I might take it back up again. Anything to try to find a center for stability . . ." She sighed as she looked at the forkful of omelet and wasn't sure she could eat it. "I just feel like I have the weight of the universe on my shoulders, and I'm worried about my kids . . . Even if I manage to defeat the demons by some miracle, what if I die in the process? I mean, they have Kara and they have Uncle Paul . . . But . . . I don't know . . It all seems so much sometimes."
"Is Kara the best guardian for Daniel then...maybe you need to speak to Lee or someone with defensive skills.
"Kara was sent with me from Temoun when I was pregnant with Laurissa. She's always been the children's nanny," Katianna said, "I just don't know . . . But, I have heard of a title from Earth actually called Godparents and have read some about them. Are you familiar with the concept of Godparents?"
"Yes." Alicia smiled as she was a child from Earth and had both parents involved in Starfleet..."I had godparents growing up. I haven't thought about them since before I left for the academy. Why?"
Katianna paused. "Well . . . Though I asked Paul to help Kara look after the kids should the worst happen to me, maybe it would also be wise for me to have Godparents for them . . . and I would like you and Lee to be their Godparents."
Alicia sat stunned...she'd only met these kids once. "I'd have to talk to Lee, but I think he'd be agreeable..."