i'm in a hurry (and i don't know why).

[directives]

When; September 8th, mid-afternoon
Rating; PG?
Characters; Kathryn Janeway (deuterium) & OPEN
Summary; Still cursed, hiding out in Xandu.
Log;

Katie doesn't roll out of bed until mid-afternoon, having not succumbed to the pull of sleep until dawn's light started to creep over the horizon. She'd been determined to stay up as late as possible, afraid that if she went to sleep, she'd wake up as a completely different person. Her dreams were plagued with such thoughts and scenarios, waking up in a body that had a good decade or so to age, being called Captain and asked for directions she didn't have — like her body had returned to what Commander Chakotay had insisted was normal only to have her mind still stuck in the state it was in now.

To the nearest mirror she went, inspecting her image to make sure her features were as they should be, that she was still the woman she thought she was. Curse paranoia was going to drive her mad. (Good thing she wouldn't be Katie for very long, that when she did wake up tomorrow morning, she'd find herself Captain Janeway and not the Ensign that served on the Al-Batani under Tom's father.)

Wanting to avoid another run-in with someone who knew that Katie was short for Kathryn and fought the urge to address her as someone with a much higher authority than she possessed, she ducked out of the apartment and made her way to Xanadu.

She thought about taking her older counterpart's tricorder with her, and while the scientist in her screamed yes, the young woman who wanted nothing to do with a future she hadn't carved out for herself said no. And against her better judgement, she left her phone and combadge behind as well — no pockets to hide the latter, no desire to carry around the former.

Comments

[valedictory]

Unfortunately, another run-in seems to be what fate has on its mind. This young Ensign certainly knows her foremost as Captain - he's been successful in doing so, but there's still a conscious effort that goes into his calling her Kathryn. Luckily, he's been apprised of the situation, so he's certainly going to be mindful of what he says.

Xanadu is a locale of interest - its climate seems to be isolated from the rest of the City's, and he hasn't been able to find out what's controlling it just yet. It's also a nice reprieve from the curse-riddled City for a late morning walk, where he's taking things in via visual observation. His tricorder is, of course, tucked safely away rather than out where anyone could just see him using it.

He hadn't been expecting or intending to come across her, but there's a familiarity to her that strikes him as soon as he spots the younger-than-usual woman on the path up ahead. In context, he's pretty sure why that is. With an internal reminder to himself to be careful about what he says and how he says it, he offers her a friendly, small smile.

"Morning."

[deuterium]

She won't take kindly to being addressed as either. Captain's a rank she's yet to achieve, a position high on the Starfleet ladder than she wants to climb at this point. She's content with being a scientist, with having a life outside of what she does for a living. She doesn't think she'd be able to maintain that were she a captain, especially in the situation Commander Chakotay claims they're in. (Spoilers: She's right. She doesn't. She can't. She won't.) As for Kathryn, that's something only her father and superiors call her.

That would make him the second person to see that in her, albeit with a heads up. Spock had recognized her immediately, whereas Chakotay had argued with her for a good few minutes before getting her name out of her. It wasn't until Janeway was on the table did he even know who she was. Later, that was going to sting a little.

This one mastered the art of Poker Facing early on. Maybe it's genetic.

"Hey," she says, matching that smile. "More afternoon than morning, but if you're of the late-sleeping variety, the I suppose you're right from your own perspective. Good morning, if that's the case."

[valedictory]

"Afternoon, then." He gives a little shrug. "Xanadu keeps a more leisurely pace than the rest of the City - actually, it's discordant from the rest of the environment in a lot of ways. It seemed to fit, somehow."

Despite having a pretty good idea of what's going on, he doubts that confronting the matter headfirst is the way to go. Not that he's exactly looking to withhold anything, but this Kathryn Janeway is certainly not the same person under whose command he serves. Somehow, he doubts that making assumptions about who she is at this early point in her career - in her adult life - is fair. She's not yet the person that he knows, which means that she's a separate person he has to deal with as an unknown.

[deuterium]

After a moment, recognition sets in. Commander Chakotay had made sure she knew what Harry looked like so she didn't freak out if she bumped into him at the apartment, and that smile quickly becomes an unhappy frown. In a way that mirrors her elder self in a way she's blissfully unaware of, she stands straight, lifts her chin up, and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Did he send you to keep an eye on me?" He being the commander, of course. She did walk out without her combadge and cell phone.

[valedictory]

Well, there that is.

"No."

It's a quick and straight response, and he puts his hands up along with it. The gesture is there to convey that he's completely out of whatever went on between the young Captain and the Commander.

"I haven't been sent by anyone, I promise. I'm honestly just curious about the variance in the climate in this area, and... it was also nice to step out of the epicenter of al the curses for a while."