Author's Note: Joachim is a real character in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, perhaps better known as Khan's Helmsman aboard the U.S.S. Reliant. He is in no way fabricated by me. And, if anyone has a problem with this fic, such as you are in the belief that Joachim is Khan's son, post a review saying so and I will post my notes on that debate as the preface to this story. Review anyway?
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek in any way shape or form, including the characters afilliated with it.
Joachim didn't know why he did it, stood up against Khan so many times. It always ended the same, with Kahn reminding once more of his "superior intellect."
Did he want to look brave in front of the others? Why? They were already respectful of him. Did he want to overtake Khan? He couldn't think why he would want to kill Khan; he liked his leadership.
Perhaps it was for the thrill; the thrill of seeing anger in Khan's eyes. The exasperating knowledge that he would later be "punished" buzzing in the back of his mind. Or was it deeper than that? There had to be more to it.
He derived pleasure from beneath Khan's fists; shuddered, but not out of pain, when Khan's whip connected with his bare skin. Even more so when he knelt before Khan, pleasuring the warlord.
Still, was this not enough? Surely nothing had gone unthought-of on his incentives. What was the old Terran saying?
"A boy teases a girl because he secretly likes her."
"Like." What is it's context in that sentence? What did it mean? Love?
No, he liked Khan as a leader, but he would never "like-like" him. That would be selfish. If he could love Khan because he liked his leadership, couldn't the rest of the crew be that way?
For now, he decided, it was just a passion, a flare for debating with, being punished by, Khan. A fetish, if you will.
Nothing more.