For the first hour or so after her arrival on this strange planet, Deanna's thoughts were almost entirely consumed by the cold. Betazeds are not meant for the cold and the snow, they are meant for warmth and sun. Her wool Starfleet uniform provided some protection - certainly more than some of her fellow captives had - but not enough. Her mind worked slowly as she tried to take stock of her surroundings. The soldiers appeared to be more or less human and they spoke English, but their uniforms and weapons weren't like any she'd seen before. Of course there are explanations for this: a rogue colony, a parallel universe, a shift in time... none of them particularly encouraging options.

Worst of all, though, is that she couldn't read them, any of them. Not the soldiers, and not the other people marching alongside her. A tight knot of fear formed in her stomach and didn't go away when they reached the base. Still, she submits to the tests, her instinct telling her that to try to run now would at best put her back out in the unforgiving weather and at worst... well, she's not sure what the worst would be. The doctors with their strange face paint and the beautiful woman carrying herself with the air of an ancient Betazoid queen, they all seem like nothing more than holograms, real in every sense but the one that matters most.

Don't panic, she reminds herself, over and over.

Finally, the woman asks her a question. For a moment, Deanna considers answering in Rixian and pretending she has no idea what any of them are saying, but she's not sure how long she can manage that charade. So instead she asks, in her rich Betazoid accent, for the woman to repeat the question, giving herself a little extra time to think.