As Earth's sun beat down on Kate's back, it reminded her of the day she awoke from cryosleep. It warmed her shoulders as she lay bound and gagged in Alexander Marcus's office, and despite her situation, she smiled.
Kate had never felt a sunlight so warm as she did the day Marcus freed her from her three-century long cryosleep. As far as painful experiences go, cryosleep had to be among the worst. The dreadful pitfalls of eternity, the acknowledgeable beyond the unknown, the helplessness, the cold, the sickening involutions and interpenetrations of space and time - it was all so very awful. Her people's bodies were built - no, perfectly machined – to withstand and recover from nearly anything; but revival was slow and painful.
After 300 years in a cold tube, the warmth of the planet's star brought tears to her blue eyes as it caressed her skin the day she awoke. Although short-lived, it meant freedom. She thought not of being forcefully torn from her prince as they made desperate grabs for one another with what little strength they had. She thought not of the frozen faces of her people staring lifelessly at her as she was dragged away, kicking and screaming. She thought not of being locked in a cell and being exploited by the very organization that dare resurrect her. She always thought of the sun.
It gave her hope. And now, as she stared down the barrel of Marcus's phaser that's all she had left.
"Where are they?" Marcus growled, ripping the gag from Kate's mouth. He meant the seventy-odd other members of her crew, suspended in cryosleep. He meant the crew she had worked tirelessly to hide right under his nose.
"I will not tell you."
"Tell me or I will destroy ever single one of them as soon as I find their cryotubes," he said, taking a menacing step towards her.
"You will not find them," she said, her icy eyes locking onto his - as if daring him to try.
"Then I will kill your precious Khan," he growled, with a knowing grin. Kate audibly sucked in a breath. She involuntarily bowed her head, her curly brown locks falling over her eyes.
"Ah, there we go," Marcus chuckled, "I know you snuck them to that bastard. Now, where did he put them?"
"Please, don't hurt him," Kate said, her augmented heart racing. "Promise you won't hurt him." She silently cursed herself for allowing Marcus to exploit her emotions.
How human of me, she thought. How weak.
"Where are they?" Marcus repeated, placing the gun to her temple. He was losing his patience.
"They are hidden within the torpedoes," Kate blurted out. As soon as the words left her mouth, she bit her lip. She was well aware that her confession just put the lives of her people at risk. She was well aware Khan would never forgive her.
Marcus lowered his weapon and waved for two Starfleet officers to approach the girl. They grabbed her roughly, and she struggled as well as she could with her hands tied behind her back. They were expecting resistance, however, and beat her down with batons. Kate fell back to the floor, whimpering softly.
"Please, don't hurt him," she repeated, meeting Marcus's eyes one last time.
"I never promised anything," he laughed. Marcus landed one last blow to her head, rendering her unconscious, and the two officers dragged her from the room, away from the sunlight.
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my Khan/OC romance/adventure fic. Please leave a review if you feel so inclined - they make my day!