Chapter Text
“Captain, the Portland’s impulse engines are powering on. They’ve raised their shields.”
“We can’t let them get away, Captain!” Kirk spoke with the same sense of urgency.
“I know, Admiral, and we won’t. Go to red alert” LeFevre knew what he had to do, but it still felt like a kick in the gut. To fire on a Starfleet ship full of Starfleet crew, it felt like a betrayal even though he knew it was necessary. “Fire phasers, target the pylons below the starboard warp nacelle, let’s cut them off at the knees. And raise our shields, I don’t think Khan will react calmly to being fired upon.”
His crew acted quickly. LeFevre and Kirk kept their eyes fixed on the viewscreen, watching closely as the ray of energy rushed through space toward the Portland.
“Their shields have been reduced to ninety percent, and they’ve targeted us.”
“Of course they targeted us. Evasive maneuvers, and keep wearing down those shields. I only want to disable the Portland, for the sake of the crew who got caught up in all of this.”
“Captain,” Admiral Kirk spoke up, firm yet calm. “As much as I’d hate to put the crew in the way of undue harm, Khan won’t show that kind of restraint.”
“Understood.” LeFevre still had his eyes fixed in the screen, it gave him a sense of control, even thought he knew by the time he saw anything on screen it would be too late to react. The Portland launched a photon torpedo, and just as soon as LeFevre saw it on screen the ship felt a massive rumble.
“Torpedo deflected, our shields are at eighty seven percent.”
Damn. This was going to take a while.
After the last strike, the Portland re-engaged her impulse engines and began to move away.
“Follow as closely as possible, and keep firing, we need to break through the shields and disable them before they can engage warp engines.”
“Captain, there’s a faster way.” Kirk again, just as firm but with more urgency.
“Enlighten me, Admiral.” LeFevre had not looked at Kirk during this exchange, eyes still locked on screen.
“Access codes, Captain.” Kirk explained. “One Starfleet ship against another, we have the codes in our database to access the Portland’s computers and gain some control.”
“Perfect, get on it, but my order to keep wearing down those shields in the mean time still stands.” LeFevre wanted to ensure he had contingencies for his contingencies.
Kirk moved toward the communications officer and stood nearby to guide her through the process. They had nearly broken through when the communications officer ran into an obstacle.
“Admiral, we can’t simply take control. This needs to be sent as a data transmission, which they have to accept.”
“Hail them,” Kirk commanded. “I can handle this.”
The bridge of the Portland appeared on screen. “A strange time to choose to talk, Admiral, after you have fired on my ship.”
“Please forgive our initial aggression. This is Captain LeFevre’s ship, and that was his call. We’ve spoken and come to an agreement, there will be less loss of life if you simply take your ship and leave.”
“Such a sudden and extreme change of heart,” Khan replied, lingering over each word like a cat toying with its prey. “You’ll understand if I am reluctant to trust you.”
“Of course, and that’s why, as a show of good faith I’ve complied a list of nearby pre-warp planets. With your enhanced abilities and advanced technology, they might think of you as a god.” Kirk gave a knowing look to the communication officer. “Go ahead and send it.”
As the communications officer worked, Kirk turned to watch the viewscreen, prepared to witness a violent outburst and grateful to be far away and safely on his own ship.
“Sir” a frantic voice could be heard from the Portland’s bridge, but the speaker was just off screen. “Our shields and weapons have been disabled.”
Khan look confused, frantic, and frustrated. He turned his head to shout an order. “Then bring them back online.”
“I can’t, we’ve been locked out!”
“I don’t have time for this,” Khan shouted back. “Get us out of here!”
“Engines are offline.”
“Get Albrecht back here to regain control of her ship.”
Kirk had to admit that he found a sense of satisfaction in watching Khan scrambling and desperate. “Good luck cleaning up that mess, Khan. End transmission.”
Maya’s accommodations aboard the Enterprise were considerably less comfortable, but that was the difference between being a guest and being a prisoner. No computer console, no PADD, not even a paperback novel. Nothing to pass the time except her own thoughts, and Maya hated getting lost inside her own head in the best of times, let alone when she was drowning in fear and grief. She laid on her back on the floor of her cell, desperate to find some sense of grounding when it felt as though the world crumbled around her.
The sound of approaching footsteps yanked her back to reality. She buried those uncomfortable thoughts and got back to her feet, not wanting to appear weak. Outside her cell she saw one of the men who had been held with Kirk.
“What do want?” She tried to sound bold and forceful, but could hide the fact that she was frightened and exhausted.
“I’m a doctor, you’re injured. I want to do my job.” His voice was gruff, but there was a soft kindness in his eyes.
“Your ship is under attack, I imagine there are people who need medical attention more than I do.”
“Not just yet, our shields are still holding strong, and we’ve got an entire medical team in sickbay. If I’m needed, they’ll call for me.” He entered a code in the panel on the wall to disable the force field. “Besides, I’d like to talk to you. You’ve made an enemy of your father, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I think you might be able to help us.”
“I’ve already helped, and I don’t believe in giving something for nothing.” Still, she tried to hide her fear, and still she did a poor job of it.
“And I’m here to give you medical attention, so you are getting something in return.” Any of the harshness he had when he first spoke was gone, replaced with gentle patience. “Sit.”
Maya complied, perching on the edge of the cot, her back straight and tense. “I never got your name, and I haven’t been able to guess it. The same goes for the Vulcan who was with you,”
“That was Spock,” McCoy answered as he used his tricorder to examine Maya’s shoulder. “And I’m Doctor McCoy. How old is this injury?”
“Initially?” Maya had to pause to think. She and Katya had been nineteen, Arjun only seventeen. Just a bunch of teenagers fighting over something trivial. “Five years ago. The doctor on the Portland did most of the work to fix the nerve damage and scar tissue, but warned that the new tissue would be susceptible to re-injury, and that happened…recently. Hours ago.”
“Delicate new tissues and five years of muscular atrophy, a weak joint is an unstable one,” McCoy thought out loud as he worked. “You’ve also got some anatomical quirks that make injury more likely.”
“Wonderful.” Maya’s voice was heavy with sarcasm. “Add it to my list of imperfections.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it, no one’s perfect.”
“Everyone I’ve ever known has been pretty damn close.” Maya spoke softly and looked away.
“Everyone?” McCoy sat beside her, his own voice growing just as soft and gentle. “What about your mother? Your brother?”
“My mother died when I was very young, and Arjun had a different mother.” She couldn’t look at McCoy as she spoke. These were those twisty feelings that she tried so hard to bury, and over the past day they kept getting pulled up to the surface.
“Sorry I brought it up,” McCoy answered as he shook his head. “Anyway, I was hoping to talk to you about your motives and where you stand in all this.”
Maya inched away, feeling threatened and backed into a corner. “I already gave all that information in excruciating detail to the Vulcan who performed the mind meld, I suggest you consult with him.”
“Unfortunately,” the harshness was back in his voice, stringer and with an acidic bite. “Torot hasn’t been responding to any communication and is presumed to be dead. The whole landing party is presumed dead, except for Dougherty who got out early.”
Maya’s head was spinning. Why did she feel pity for people who had tried to kill her? “If you were planning on bringing Spock down here, I won’t consent to another mind meld.”
“And I wouldn’t dare suggest it.” His voice was soft and gentle again. “I’d rather do this the human way, just talking.”
Maya leaned back, silent as she tried to sort through her thoughts, but they all raced by too fast for her to keep up. “I don’t know where to begin. I don’t even know what my own motives are. Nothing makes sense.”
She looked back toward McCoy. His expression was sympathetic and encouraging.
“Only a few days ago, my goals were to earn my father’s approval and to get off of Ceti Alpha V, not to conquer worlds but only to live somewhere where I might feel normal.” She struggled to get out each word, but to finally put her thoughts out into the world felt like an immense release. “I was willing to achieve those goals by any means necessary.”
“Not unreasonable, it’s just that the way you set about it was more than a little extreme.”
“It had to be extreme, Doctor. I’ve never been good at anything no matter how hard I try.” She leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling, not matter how vulnerable she felt, May was determined to put in a brave face. “All Captain Albrecht did was take pity on me and trust me, and she’s going to die a horrible death, and I’m just as responsible for any deaths among the Portland’s crew.”
Silence fell as both parties took time to process. McCoy was the first to break the silence, speaking barely above a whisper. “Maya, look at me.” Another heavy moment of silence before Maya turned her head to face the doctor. “I can think of one way that you’re better than your father and the rest of the augments, at least the ones I’ve dealt with. You’ve got a sense of compassion.”
“Reminding me of my flaws, again, Doctor?” Maya sighed and looked away again. “I was taught that compassion is a weakness.”
“Maybe if you’re the kind of person who commits genocide and conquers planets, but you’re not that kind of person.”
“I am the kind of person to try to take a ship by force and to kill their brother.” Maya looked straight ahead now, shoulders slumped, trying to avoid McCoy’s gaze.
“Yet you have remorse, that alone shows you aren’t entirely morally bankrupt. It’s not too late to start making the right choices, and choices are what defines a person.”
“I have no remorse for killing my brother,” Maya snapped.
“I’m not even going to try to make sense of your family dynamics.” McCoy shook his head. “But I do know for certain that you’re better than them.”
“How are you so sure? You barely know me.” She looked back at McCoy, no longer trying to hide her fear and pain.
“Let me put it this way, when I revived your father the first thing he did was put a knife to my throat. Meanwhile, that forcefield has been down the entire time I’ve been here and you haven’t made a move to escape.” A sly smile. “Don’t get any ideas.” McCoy stood up. “I should go, but I’m sure we’ll talk again soon. We’re going to need any help you can offer.”
“Doctor, if you ask for anything more from me, remember that I don’t give anything without receiving something in return.” Maya tried to sound a little bolder, tried of feeling vulnerable.
“One piece of advice. Stop looking at everything as a transaction.”
Captain Albrecht had no words to describe her state of mind since she returned from Ceti Alpha V. She acted without thinking and felt as if she was in a daze. Her mind was empty, no thoughts or ideas of her own, and any instructions she was given filled her head. Yet, there was one small voice that felt as if everything was wrong, but it wasn’t strong enough to do anything other than feel.
She was unaware of what was happening aboard the Portland since Khan came onboard, her only instructions were to wait in her ready room until she was needed, if she was needed. Her best guess was that they were under attack, based to the turbulence she felt, but truly she was numb and unbothered by it.
The door opened, an augment stood on her other side. “You’re needed on the bridge.” Without though or question she followed.
“Direct hit to starboard pylons. Extensive hull damage…they’re trying to knock off the nacelle.”
Albrecht was equally as unbothered to hear about the damage done to her ship.
“Captain Albrecht,” Khan addressed her without looking at her. “Enterprise is trying to take control of my ship, I trust you have the authorizations to regain control. Shields, weapons, and engines in that order.”
Albrecht simply nodded. She had the codes to bypass the external control, but it was a process that had a few complex steps.”
“Quickly, Captain,” Khan continued as Albrecht worked . “And I trust you know how to perform the same maneuver on Enterprise.”
Albrecht nodded. Shields up…and then she froze, hands shaking violently, stomach tied into knots.
This isn’t his fucking ship.
She collapsed to the floor, shaking and dry heaving. The same augment who had come to her ready room rushed toward her and grabbed her by the upper arm. Albrecht’s reaction was like a threatened animal: kicking, screaming, and scratching. Still, it was not enough to overcome the strength of the man who tried to hold her still.
“Don’t kill her, we still might need her,” Khan ordered. “Take her to sickbay and have the Vulcan doctor sedate her.”
Doctor T’Ralia had been busy ever since the augments began taking control of the ship. Her priority had been to the injured, and even though life support systems had been restored before mass devastation, there were still people who needed treatment after surviving low oxygen conditions. Any spare moment she stole to work on that compound that would kill the Ceti eel but leave the host alive. Even the minimum effective dose would cause further brain damage to a human.
Her work was interrupted when an augment entered sickbay with Captain Albrecht. He had her restrained, but she put up a spirited fight. The augment had bloody scratches on his face and neck.
“She’s become unstable. Sedate her. Heavily.”
“Of course.” T’Ralia still had to act as if she was under the influence of the Ceti eel, but the hypospray she grabbed did not contain a sedative, but the neurotoxin. She still didn’t have the dosage worked out precisely, but this might be her only opportunity to act. It would be illogical to not take the chance while she had it. She injected the neurotoxin into the side of Albrecht’s neck, and the effect was immediate. Albrecht stopped struggling, and went limp for a moment before she began to shake again. The augment dropped her, and she collapsed to the ground in a trembling mess.
“What’s going on?” The augment demanded.
“A side effect,” T’Ralia answered, plain and flat. Technically she was telling the truth, she only choice not to state what caused the side effect.
“You’re lying…you shouldn’t be able to lie, I was told they put a Ceti eel in you too.” He came closer, stepped over Albrecht as if she was a pile of trash.
As soon as she saw him moving toward her, T’Ralia sprang to action. She grabbed his upper arm and pinched the nerve where his neck met his shoulder, but it had no more effect that restraining him. That at least gave her the chance to take the only weapon she had in reach, the hypo spray full of neurotoxin, and inject the remaining amount. That would have been enough to kill four humans, hopefully it would be enough to disable one augment.
The augment collapsed instantly to the ground, and T’Ralia gave her full attention to Captain Albrecht. She lifted the captain’s still shaking body from the ground and placed her in a bio bed. Timing was crucial. She needed to give the treatment enough time to work before administering antitoxin, but waiting too long would cause irreparable brain damage. Her eyes were fixed on her tricorder, waiting to the exact moment when the Ceti eel’s lifesign was too faint to register before injecting the antitoxin.
Albrecht groaned, a welcome sign, it mean she was alive and responsive. “What happened?” Her speech was slurred and slow. She tried to sit up but couldn’t control her body.
“Try not to move. You’ve suffered some brain and nerve damage. Some of it may be reversible.”
“No. No.” Albrecht tried to shake her head, but with her lack of control instead her head flopped from side to side. “Before that. I remember everything I did…why?”
“I can better explain when you are in a more stable condition and better able to understand.” T’Ralia explained as she worked. “For now, the best words of comfort I can give is that you have not been in control of yourself since we returned from the planet. All of your choices and actions were done at the behest of Khan Noonien Singh.”
“That doesn’t help, Doctor.” Tears began to well in Albrecht’s eyes. “That doesn’t help.”