Khan Noonien Singh smiled with satisfaction as he watched the USS Enterprise disintegrate into fiery chunks of debris on the viewscreen of the USS Reliant. For a moment he imagined the screams of the Enterprise crew as their bodies were shattered, or sucked into space's airless abyss, and sighed with pleasure.
Around him on the bridge, Khan's loyal acolytes cheered; some even embraced one another. They deserve to show their joy, he thought. After all they have been forced to endure for so long. He stood up from the command chair and held out his arms. "My friends," he said warmly. "This day will be long remembered. Today we begin our reclamation of the greatness stolen from us long ago. One day soon, our children will have undreamed of power, and will rule as deities over the very stars!"
He knelt down then and looked into the bruised face and glazed eyes of the man sat at the foot of the command chair. "Thank you for providing me with the information needed to destroy your precious ship, Kirk," he said mockingly. "It was wise of me to beam you on board, instead of leaving you within that dead planet, as I almost did."
Admiral James T. Kirk's battered face and voice were dull and flat as he murmured "Yes...Lord Khan. Wise..."
Khan laughed. There was no humour in the sound. "Of course, we also have my...pets to thank as well. Without them, I would have no control over you...or Dr. Marcus and your son." His grin swiftly faded and his hand shot out quick as lightning to snare Kirk's swollen jaw in a steel-like grip. "You will die, Kirk, you may count on it. But you have more to suffer before then, and I shall relish every sweet moment of your anguish."
"Sir?" asked Joachim, seated at the helm. "What are your orders, sir?"
Khan was silent for a moment, before he let go of Kirk and stood upright. "For now, let us return to Regula 1," he replied. "I have a mind to explore those caves Dr. Marcus and her people thought to hide from me in. Execute a course." He began to stride towards the turbolift doors, then stopped and turned to glare at Kirk still slumped against the chair. "Follow, Kirk!" he barked.