Kassia had finally had the time to plan a day just with Tiyanna and she took fulladvantage of it. She had arranged time in the holosuits and brought a picnic lunch. Tiyanna had giggled all the way there as she and
Kassia held hands. It was sure to be a wonderful day, Kassia thought. Once at Holo Pursuits they quickly engaged their program and entered. It was a favorite - The beach. This one was one Kassia had created herself.
It use to bring unsettling feelings to her, after the time she had nearly taken her own life. But that had since passed. She had finally come to terms with the fact that she had had a head injury at the time, and that darkness lay within everyone. There was something very calming about this beach. The water was so blue. The sand almost white. There were two pale moons hanging effortlessly in the sky. The Sun was high in the sky giving off a warmth that made her smile. The palm-like trees that littered the beach gave off small shadows. The palm fonds rustled in the gentle breeze.
Tiyanna saw the beach and smiled. This was also her favorite program as well. They quickly set up a blanket under one of the trees and set down their picnic basket. They put down their towels and headed to the water where they slashed and had a wonderful time.
After they were finally exhausted, they returned to the blanket and sat down. Wet, but extraordinarily happy. The little girl reached into the basket and got a drink. As she sipped it, she seemed to grow serious. Kassia picked up on it immediately.
"What is it, honey?" she asked.
Suddenly Tiyanna's green eyes met hers and just held them. "I think you're ready to know," she simply said.
Kassia was mystified for a moment. "Know what?"
"Who you really are..." she said as she took a sip of the drink. "This beach even shows that you have memories somewhere. This beach exists on our homeworld. I don't really remember it, but I remember pictures of it."
"This place really is from our world?" Kassia asked with amazement.
Tiyanna nodded and smiled, her green eyes shining.
Kassia smiled back and and gently took Tiyanna's hand, instantly the girl with hit by a vision. It was the station and there was the image of a man throwing people around. There were explosions and dead everywhere!
The station was a wreck and she could hear an evil laugh. She pulled out of the vision and pulled her hand away as if it burned her, as she quickly collected herself. For a little girl she did so very quickly. Kassia picked up on the vision, though had not seen it. She had felt the emotional response her daughter had.
"What did you see?" she asked.
"The station... There was a bad man. I couldn't tell who he was, but he killed lots of people... blew up lots of the station. I think that
I NEED to tell you who you are now, because you can help stop this man if you know what you can do."
"So who am I, Tiyanna?" she asked a bit unsettled after the revelation.
"Your real name is Kassia Arielle Atterra. Your parents were Toryus and Mahriah Atterra. When they knew the bad men were coming they took you away. That's all I know... But here..." she said as she took Kassia's hand. "This is what I was suppose to give you if I found you."
As their eyes closed she was inundated by images and history. History about her people and yet it was too fast. There was also history about her and her parents there and images of the bad men. As the connection ended Kassia sat there dazed. She knew who she was. She knew what she could do... She didn't understand everything and she didn't have all her memories back yet, but now she knew why she hadn't been on her homeworld. Her parents had been running. She was one of the special children that were taken away to try to keep them safe... Only something must have gone wrong...
"Momma, are you all right?" the little girl asked with concern.
Kassia smiled and caressed the girl's face. "I'm fine... Thank you for sharing that. You just gave me a very big piece of myself."
"But you seem... I don't know... Like something's wrong."
Kassia reassured her, "Maybe something's different, but not wrong... Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be fine..." In the back of her mind, the vision Tiyanna had stayed close to her thoughts. "Why don't we have some lunch and go back out into the water?"
The happy, childhood sparkle entered Tiyanna's eyes again. "Okay!" she said as she quickly dug into the basket for the sandwiches.
Kassia smiled. She wasn't going to ruin the day with her sudden concerns and worries. As she looked at Tiyanna's smiling face, she took a sandwich from the girl and caressed her face.
She clutched her stuffed ama close to her as the shuttlecraft rocked with with each blast. She wore only her nightgown and slippers. The bad people had found them while she had been asleep. Her mother clutched Kassia to her as Kassia cried.
"Shhhhhhh, Kassia, shhhhhh,everything will be all right," she said as she held her tightly, kissing the top of her head. But she was frightened.
She saw her father sitting at the front of the ship. There was a planet coming into view. "I don't think we're going to make it," he said, the fear apparent in his eyes. "We can't let them take her!"
Suddenly, another blast hit the ship causing pannels to explode. Kassia screamed with fright as she cried. Her father slumped over and fell onto the floor, a piece of the console was lodged in his face. His eyes stared blankly. Her mother cried out as she saw, but got herself up and went to the controls. Kassia could see they were heading straight for the planet's surface, but they were going so fast.
"Secure yourself!" her mother cried, but Kassia already knew it was too late. Just like her mother knew it was too late.
Kassia saw the ground come up fast. She laid down and screamed as the shuttled shaked. Suddenly, she knew they were going to crash!
Kassia immediately sat up in bed. She was drenched with perspiration. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She took a deep breath trying to steady her breathing. Tears began forming in her eyes as her whole body shook. She wanted Troy, she thought as she rocked back and forth for a moment, not thinking of where she was, almost feeling like she was a child again.
Tarik was up almost as soon as Kassia was. In the other bedroom Tiyanna could be heard stirring as well. "Are you okay?" he asked, turning to her with a look of concern on his face.
"I had a nightmare..." she said as she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "I'm... just... shook up."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tarik said. Just then, Tiyanna came to the door. "It's okay, child," Tarik said. "Try to get back to sleep; I'll check on you in a few minutes."
"Momma remembers now..." Tiyanna said. Her green eyes looked a bit sad as she headed to bed.
"Remembers what?" Tarik asked, although he had a sickening feeling he knew exactly what. None of Kassia's psychic episodes occurred without some of the residual bleeding over to Tarik. It had been more intense the longer he lived with her.
"I know what happened," she said. "I know how I ended up on Trayva..." Tears began misting her green eyes and she suddenly felt cold. She took another breath to steady herself, but she was still shaking a bit. She hadn't expected her memory would come back with such intensity.
Tarik suddenly gave her his full attention. "What happened?" he asked.
"My parents took me from our world before the bad men could come take me... We were running from them. But not fast enough apparently," she replied, still clutching her knees to her. "They found our shuttle and started firing at us. My dad was killed when the console exploded. And by that time, we couldn't stop the shuttle from crashing..."
"Do you remember what might have happened after the crash?" Tarik asked.
He took her hand as she spoke, squeezing it in an effort to give her comfort.
"The bad men never came... I think I was unconscious in the wreckage for awhile... They must have thought everyone died, and left. When I got up my gown was torn, burnt, dirty, bloody... I grabbed my stuffed animal and... walked way from the wreckage until I was found. That's when my life on Trayva began. Where my memories has once started... But now I remember my mother and father. I know how I got to Trayva and I know who I am..."
Tarik took her in his arms. "Are you all right?" he asked. "I know you've been looking for this for some time."
"I don't know," she cried, letting the tears fall. "I have all the answers not... I have my full name. I knew where I'm from. I know what I can do. Who my parents are and why I have had the life I have had... But I don't know... That memory was so traumatic. I guess I now know why I blocked it out," she said.
"It's okay," Tarik said as he cradled her in his arms. "You're here now, and you're safe. It's not uncommon for very young children to blot out traumatic events, only to have them come back many years later. Is there anything I can do for you?"
She shook her head as she felt his warmth envelope her. "No... Just hold me..."
Tarik did exactly that. "It's going to be all right," he kept saying softly as he rocked her back and forth.
Slowly, her breathing returned to normal along with her heartrate. Her tears stopped and she began to relax in his arms. "After all this time I rememeber... I have all the pieces to the puzzle."
"The puzzle isn't finished," Tarik said.
"I know who I am though..." Kassia replied. "Kassia Arielle Atterra."
Tarik smiled. "It's a beautiful name," he said as he stroked her chin. He made a mental note to start researching that name, to find out more information to help her complete the puzzle.
"Thank you," she smiled.
Within his arms she felt secure again. The images of the nightmare began to fade and she closed her eyes, curling into Tarik's chest. She allowed the darkness to began to lull her back to sleep. It became an almost irresistable pull.
Tarik remembered his promise to Tiyanna and gently laid Kassia back down on the bed. He moved to the other room and saw that Tiyanna was fast asleep, clutching the stuffed sehlat she'd gotten on their trip to Vulcan close to her. Tarik knelt down and kissed her on the forehead, then returned to his and Kassia's room.
He lacked the psychic abilities of Kassia and Tiyanna, but he knew one thing was certain: the people who had tried to kill Kassia would try to do so again once they found her. And when that day came, it would be a day of reckoning for them. He would take great pleasure in ending their mortal existence.
He smiled as he eased back to sleep, Kassia in his arms.