A/N: I may or may not go places with this, but hey, I think Khanolly is my new OTP.
Also, I'm new to the Star Trek fandom, so please don't kill me if I get something wrong!
Calm, collected, professional.
Molly Hooper felt a flash of irritation as she felt the weakness in her knees, and the adrenaline racing through her veins. If only her thoughts could be easily reflected to her outer self.
"Ah, Miss Hooper! You're the new pathologist, yes?"
Molly snapped out of her thoughts as the Captain of the USS Enterprise shook her hand heartily.
"James T. Kirk. Pleasure to meet you." He beamed. Molly decided instantly that she liked this fellow. "Regulation states that you call me Captain, but I really don't mind if you call me Jim." He went on, leading Molly down the sleek metal corridors of the starship.
"Thank you, sir." Molly replied, smoothing her sky-blue skirt nervously. The two reached the bridge, and Molly took in the faces of the twelve or so people working there.
"Captain on ze bridge!" Called a young red-shirted boy with a thick Russian accent. An African woman with dark hair stood, and approached them.
"Uhura, this is Molly Hooper." Jim told her. "Molly, this is Nyota Uhura, our communications officer."
Molly shook the woman's hand as Kirk went to the captain's chair.
"Welcome to the Enterprise!" Uhura smiled. "You'll love it here! Some of the crew can come off as a bit crusty as first, like Bones for instance, but trust me, we're all one big family."
Molly managed a smile at last, her uneasiness fading away. She had been on starships before with dictator-like captains, and the crew no better than slaves, but these people seemed very close-knit and friendly.
"Thank you, Uhura." She said. "Where is the science lab? I think the Captain mentioned a…Bones, was it? That I needed to meet."
"I believe that I can show you the way." Said a voice behind her. Molly turned, and found herself staring up at a tall, blue-shirted man. Well, Vulcan, probably, judging by the pointed ears and slanted eyebrows. His dark eyes contrasted sharply with his pale skin, and seemed to bore right through the human.
"Ah, yes," Uhura said. "Spock, this is Molly Hooper, the new pathologist. Molly, this is Spock, the first officer."
Spock didn't offer to shake hands, only kept them clasped behind his back and bowed to Molly slightly.
"It is…a pleasure to meet you." He said at last. Molly remembered that Vulcans didn't greet the same way as humans did.
"I will show the science lab, if you so desire." Said the Vulcan. Molly nodded hesitantly.
"Um, yes, that would be nice, thank you."
Spock spun on his heel and made for the door without another word.
"Don't mind him," Uhura murmured. "He'll take some getting used to, but he's alright."
Molly nodded, noting that information, and hurrying after the Vulcan.
The human trailed after Spock as he navigated the corridors of the Enterprise. Molly had never liked Vulcans—their lack of emotions and peculiar habits had always repelled her. As Spock passed a doorway, a shout came from it.
"Hey Spock, gimmie a hand in here!"
The Vulcan paused, looking in the doorway.
"I am afraid that is not possible, Mr. McCoy, as I am not capable of detaching my hands on such short notice."
Molly almost laughed, until she realized he was being serious. Inside the room, which looked to be a cell block of sorts, were several computers. At one of them sat a brown-haired human in a blue shirt like Molly's and Spock's.
"Just help me!" The man said in exasperation. Spock obliged, stepping into the room with Molly in tow.
"Who's this?" The man scowled at Molly.
"This is Molly Hooper, assigned as pathologist." Spock informed him. The man raised an eyebrow.
"So you're with me, then? Good, I could use the help."
He shook her hand, smiling slightly. "Leo McCoy, at your service. You can call me Bones."
Molly nodded, as Bones turned back to Spock.
"This blood sample regenerates like crazy. We recovered from a hospital in London. Apparently its transfusion saved some kid's life."
"Yes," Spock said. "Of what importance is that?"
"So, that kid's dad happened to be the guy who we think blew up the memorial archives." Bones said. "And we've got a match, but it doesn't make any sense! It's to a fellow who didn't exist until a year ago."
Spock studied the readings. Molly did likewise, thanking her university studying.
"Perhaps it is a fake identification?" Spock inquired. "Have you showed the Captain yet?"
"I just managed to dig this up now," Bones admitted, "So no. I'll show him now."
He stood, nodded at Molly.
"You wait here, Miss Hooper. We'll just fetch Kirk, and be back in a tick."
"Alright," Molly agreed. She watched the two men vanish out the door. Once they were gone, she turned back to the glass-walled cell, and just about had a heart attack.
Upon first entering, she hadn't paid much attention to the cell's occupant. A black-clad figure asleep on the bench was all she had bothered to register. Now, the person was standing, and staring right at her, unblinking.
Molly approached cautiously, even though the glass was bulletproof and nothing could get in or out. The man was at least a foot taller than her, and his marble-like features were unnaturally pale in the harsh light. His crystalline eyes watched her every move, like some great bird of prey.
"Who are you?" Molly asked once she was within ten feet of the glass. The man didn't answer, simply lifted his chin slightly and blinked slowly. Molly found herself studying his every move, trying to read him. She had gotten rather good at that in the university. The only problem was, this fellow displayed absolutely no emotion. His face was a mask, the only sign of anything being the burning intensity of his glass-like eyes.
"What's your name?" Molly asked again. The man remained silent. Molly caught the slight flare of his nostrils, and the tiniest tilt of his head, as though he had smelled something interesting. Molly narrowed her eyes, wondering how he could smell anything through half an inch of glass.
Molly jumped as Kirk burst into the room, followed by Spock.
"Why is there a man in that torpedo?" The Captain shouted, eyes like flint. The man turned his gaze from Molly to regard Kirk with something like contempt. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous, like a panther's purr, but held the tone of one explaining the obvious to a very small child.
"There are men and women in all those torpedoes, Captain, I put them there."
Kirk and Spock exchanged a glance as Molly stepped back nervously.
"Who in blazes are you?" Kirk growled. The man was silent, his only movement being to shoot Molly a glance of…was that exasperation?
"A remnant of a time long-past." He said at last. "Genetically engineered to be superior so as to lead others to peace in a world at war. But we were condemned as criminals, forced into exile. For centuries we slept, hoping when we awoke, things would be…different."
The man turned his gaze to Spock. "But as a result of the destruction of Vulcan, your Starfleet began to aggressively search distant quadrants of space; my ship was found adrift, I alone was revived."
"I looked up John Harrison." Kirk said coldly. "Until a year ago, he didn't exist."
"John Harrison was a fiction created the moment I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help advance his cause." The man snarled, his crystalline eyes flashing with savagery. "A smokescreen to conceal my true identity."
He turned to look straight at Molly, sending a chill down her spine as his gaze bored into her.
"My name," He stated, "Is Khan."