Author's Note: Like a lot of other people, I went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness and absolutely fell in love with it. Furthermore, I am quite the original series Star Trek fan, so I couldn't not write a fanfiction for this. Khan, as you may have guessed, was one of my favorite characters in the movie. Although I'm a huge Star Trek fan, this isn't going to be tightly based on The Wrath of Khan movie or the episode where Khan appears in TOS. I wanted to write something that everyone could read, whether they have seen TOS or just Into Darkness. If you haven't figured it out by now, there will be spoilers for Into Darkness. Don't be surprised if a little Spirk slash also pops up in this story; but for those who don't like it, you can skip it because this story is mostly about Khan and my OC. So I will shut up now, so you can read. As always, favorites, follows, reviews, criticism, comments, etc. are loved, and enjoy!

Chapter 1

Trials and Tribulations

Knowing what is to come does nothing to alleviate one's fear of it; likewise, for Lania, knowing the inevitability of the final outcome of her dream did not stop her from trying to alter it. Every time she shut her eyes, she dreamed of a place that was no longer there. Every time she opened them, she wished for parents who, like the building of her dreams, were no longer there, dead and gone and burned so badly that not even their ashes survived.

But the building existed now, in her dreams, and so did her parents, for the moment. She stood in the London archive—only later would she find out that it was a top secret part of Starfleet—watching from afar as her parents worked dutifully at their stations, side by side. As always, she was just close enough to her parents to see them, but just far enough to be unable to save them—not that she could move to save them anyway. In every dream, Lania would go on watching them for some time, in vain hopes to preserve some shred of their essence. She stared at them until something else caught her eye, always the same thing, at the same time—before she was ready to say goodbye.

Lania saw the man on the right of her father move. He twisted a ring from his finger and held it over a glass of water as he gazed down into it. Please don't, Lania would plead every time, and every time her plea would go unheeded. Though she could not see his face, she knew there were tears staining it—as they now stained hers. Unlike in her other dreams, she did not struggle this time, did not try to break her paralysis and stop the man. She was resigned to her fate, just as her parents were condemned to theirs.

As if to corroborate her theory, the man dropped the ring into the glass, and Lania's world exploded. She could do nothing but look on as scathing flames from Hell erupted and consumed everything in their path—the building, the workers, her parents. The only thing untouched was their screams. The cacophonous cries of the dying pierced and burned Lania deeper than even the flames could. Above all the noise, Lania heard two voices that plucked at her heartstrings and ripped them from her chest. She saw their agonized faces in the flames as they screamed, "Lania!" Then their faces disappeared, and flames and chaos swallowed all.

Lania jolted out of her dream, her hand unconsciously reaching out for people that weren't there. Her breathing was fast and shallow; her body was both burning and freezing, the fire of Hell and the cold ice of space at war with one another.

She blamed him for this, hated him for it. He was the one who had murdered her parents—John Harrison, Khan Noonien Singh. Because of her father's—and therefore hers—close relationship with Admiral Wesley, Marcus's successor, Lania knew more about the incident than did most of the public. She was aware that Khan was a genetically engineered superhuman, woken after three hundred years by Marcus; she knew of the torpedoes and his crew hidden in them, of the war Marcus had wanted, of how the U.S.S. Enterprise had apprehended Khan and stopped him, at great cost. Lania hated him for killing her family, but she quickly found that she also admired him for the lengths he would go for his own.

Lania heard the telltale footfalls of her grandmother and her cane climbing the stairs, and she quickly scrubbed away her tears and composed herself just as the woman entered. If only pain could be wiped away as easily.

"Oh, good, you're already awake." The woman's lips crinkled into a smile, and Lania hated it. The pity on her face and in her eyes may as well have been a glowing neon sign for all the subtlety it possessed.

"Stop pretending everything is all right and happy," she said, "because it's not. Nothing's okay anymore and it never will be." Lania willed her tears away. She hated the characteristic that could be found in abundance in herself: weakness.

Her grandmother looked like she wanted to reach out and comfort her, but Lania imagined she realized the futility of the action and changed her mind. "I only came to remind you about the trial today." she said in a conciliatory tone.

Lania looked up, eyes wide. The trial! She must have been more disturbed by her dream than she thought, to have forgotten about Khan's trial. It was agreed after he was captured (again) that a trial for his crimes would be held one year later to allow time for Starfleet to get back on their feet after he had forced them to their knees. Until that time, Khan would once again sleep. Lania was not participating in the trial, but by Admirals Wesley's permission, as a tribute to her parents, she was permitted to attend despite her being under age. She—and everyone else—already knew Khan would die, but she sought closure from seeing him sentenced to death for his crimes, from watching him being marched away to a holding prison, helpless to save himself, as Lania was helpless—in her dreams and in reality—to watch her parents burn.

"Thank you, grandmother." A weary sigh was as close Lania got to a smile.

Her grandmother nodded and left, leaving her as she was, in dream and reality, in mind and soul—utterly, totally, and irrevocably alone.

Lania checked and double-checked herself in the mirror before they left for the trial. The Admiral and a multitude of other venerable Starfleet personae would be in attendance, and she did not want to embarrass herself or disgrace her parents' memory by looking unkempt.

After her parents' deaths, she never wore her hair down, always keeping it braided or in a conservative bun, but as a last goodbye to those happier days she left it down, allowing the soft, wheat-colored curls to spill around her shoulders and down her back. Though it was not a funeral—there nothing left to bury—she wore a black lace dress, black heels, and a black rose headband. Lania used to think her dark, royal blue eyes were here only redeeming feature, but now they only served to remind her of the starry night skies her father loved and bring her despair.

Well, I'm as ready as I will be. To be honest, Lania was apprehensive about seeing Khan in such close proximity. Up to this point, he was only a name to be cursed and hated. He was nothing more than a shadowy figure that had brought darkness down on her own life, and it was odd for Lania to imagine him as a living, breathing person with aspirations and dreams just as she had.

"Lania, you don't want to be late," called her grandfather from downstairs. She took deep breaths to calm her nerves and then jogged outside to join her grandparents climbing in the car.

The London sky overhead was, unsurprisingly, gray and gloomy, and the chrome-colored buildings looked more melancholy than usual as the sky opened up and it began to rain. They passed the plot where the London Archive once stood; Lania noted it remained unchanged since the explosion, nothing but shattered glass, scrap metal, and a sparse layer of ash that had not yet been blown away by the wind. No one yet had the heart to clear away the debris and rebuild it, as though tampering with the site would erase the ghosts of the dead and all their memories of them. Lania whispered a farewell as the car passed on toward its destination, leaving the phantom building behind in the rainy shadows.

When they reached the court hall, masses of people were already congregating both outside on the lawn and indoors, and there were media crews swarming the event with annoying questions and flash photos. Lania wandered away from her grandparents in the crowded halls and eventually stumbled upon Admiral Wesley, dressed in his formal Starfleet uniform decorated with medals and badges.

"If it isn't little Lania Vierin!" he laughed, patting her on the shoulder.

She frowned at the use of the word "little" in reference to her height, no matter how accurate the word may have been. "Hello, Admiral. I trust Starfleet is back on its feet, thanks to your knowledgeable guidance?"

Wesley sheepishly rubbed his head, ruffling his sand brown hair. Lania almost smiled at how human and approachable he seemed in comparison to the late Admiral Marcus. "We're getting there. The Enterprise's repairs have just been completed, and her crew will be leaving on a five year exploration mission."

"They are rather exceptional people, to take down Khan the way they did." Being in Starfleet Academy herself, she regarded the Enterprise crew as something of a role model.

"They're here as witnesses for the trial, if you'd like to meet them." A voice, presumably the judge, came over the intercom to signal the convening of the trial. "Later," he amended, giving her a smile before going through a door with the other high-ranking officers.

Lania swallowed the lump in her throat and followed the rest of the crowd into the door meant for the audience. Fortuitously, Lania and her grandparents snagged seats in the front row. She was surprised by how many people showed up, to honor the dead, to give support, or simply to observe out of objective interest.

The Admiral stepped down from the row of officers behind the judge to open the trial with a speech. "It has been one year since John Harrison, a rogue Starfleet agent, destroyed the London Archive and took the lives of 42 innocent workers. One year since Harrison murdered Admiral Marcus, stole his ship, and attacked Starfleet Headquarters." Wesley paused for rhetorical effect, allowing his words to sink in. When he spoke again, his voice began steadily increasing in power and volume. "It has been a trying year, but we are still standing, and we will continue to protect our world—our universe—from criminals and their horrendous acts such as those Harrison committed. Before we begin the trial, I want to honor those killed in the explosion and the attack on Starfleet, the late Admiral, and those who risked and gave their lives to capture and stop Harrison."

After a moment of reverent silence, the judge enumerated the crimes Khan was suspected of (murder, treason, theft, war crimes, crimes against humanity, terrorism), and the bailiff brought out Khan, attended by eight guards. Superhuman indeed, she mused.

Lania intently observed him as he entered the room and was seated. Even her worst nightmares could not conjure such a frightful, sinister beast of a man. He sat so perfectly still, back straight enough to be used as a ruler, hands in his lap, that, close as she was, Lania could not tell if he breathed or not. His narrowed eyes reminded her of mint ice cream, just as green and just as cold. This was a man, Lania thought, with a disposition that belonged among Admiral Wesley and the other influential officers, not in front of her on trial. He seemed too . . . refined, too classy for the brutal acts he had perpetrated, but there he was. The man who killed her parents.

Lania looked away from him only when the judge spoke. "John Harrison, how do you plead?"

There was no answer. Khan did not move, did not even show any sign of having heard the man at all.

"John Harrison—" the judge began again, in a tone that was approaching annoyance.

"I heard you." Khan's sonorous bass voice filled the air, and the size of the open room only amplified the euphoric sound.

"Then answer the question."

"I cannot."

Lania glanced over at her grandparents; both looked just as confused as her. Did this man not understand how a trial worked?

"And why not?" the judge demanded.

Khan seemed to be unaware of the thousands of eyes looking at him with rapt attention. "Because I have committed no crimes."

As shocked gasps rippled throughout the crowd, Lania saw him quirk his lips in the smallest of smiles; it was inconspicuous enough that Lania wondered if her imagination had run away from her again.

The judge lost some of his formality as he allowed his anger to seep through. "You deny murdering those people?"

"No."

"Then you believe murder is not a crime?"

"No." As the judge grew more annoyed by the minute, Khan grew more amused. His eyes relaxed from their hard stare, and Lania saw undisguised mirth in them. Was this man serious? All of the reports she had read on him described him to be a cold, highly intelligent, and determined man, driven unwaveringly by the task at hand, and yet here he was smirking at his own murder trial. Were the reports wrong, or was there more to this man than computer files could tell? She had heard from people who dealt with him firsthand that he was always one step ahead; was this true even now, as his faced his almost assured death?

"Mr. Harrison—"

Khan smoothly interrupted the judge again. "I did what was necessary to protect my family. My people, myself included, are agents of peace, your honor. Is that a crime?" For the first time, Khan looked directly at the judge. His eyes, and the temperature in the room, seemed to drop twenty degrees. "Will you convict me—kill me—for loyalty?"

Lania was finding it increasingly difficult to hate this man. He had barely spoken, yet already had the audience and their attention in the palm of his hand, herself included. He was magnetic. And he was right—could you kill a man for trying to save his family? Lania understood his perspective; in her dreams, she tried everything she could to save her parents, no matter how irrational. That fact did not change in reality.

"That does not change that you are a cold-blooded murderer! No matter what your motivation may have been, you are a terrorist and a killer." The judge was turning an unappealing shade of red. Lania surmised that he had never had his authority challenged before, especially not in front of such a populous crowd, and it was well obvious by now that Khan had very little regard for the law.

"If I held your family with a phaser to their heads, how far would you go to save them?" Khan's voice was softer now, but that didn't make it any less potent. "Would you kill me?" he said, "Or would you uphold your petty laws and allow them to perish?"

Khan and the judge stared each other down, neither willing to be defeated. After a tense silence, the judge said with cold anger, "Do you plead guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty."

After the initial disturbance, the trial proceeded relatively normally. The Enterprise crew served as the main witnesses for questioning, with the addition of those who survived the attack on the senior meeting and any passersby who had seen the archive explosion. The evidence, as expected, was damning. Khan refused a lawyer, and spoke little until he was questioned. He provided no explanation for his actions, but did not deny them. The examiner was clearly put out by his lack of cooperation, but he continued to question the man.

"Mr. Harrison, you repeatedly said your deeds were in protection of your family. What or who were they in danger from?"

The public did not know that Khan's family were super-people sleeping in cryogenic tubes, did not know he was superhuman himself; they did not even know his true identity. And yet despite the advantage of added information that Lania possessed, she was as unable to comprehend the man as the less informed public.

"Admiral Marcus."

"Why was he a danger to them?" the examiner fired back quickly.

"Your Admiral Marcus held my family hostage as leverage to control me. He desired a war with the Klingons; I was the means to help him prepare for and achieve that war. The London Archive was not a records facility, but a research lab to collect data on Earth's enemies and manufacture weapons to destroy them. That is why I blew up the building. All I wanted was my family, and Marcus dead. Everyone else was simply in my way; that is why they died."

Lania was surprised that Khan had begun to cooperate, after being a sassy condescending ass for the majority of the trial. She could only assume that the severity of his present situation had finally sunk in.

The examiner released Khan from the questioning stand. No more witnesses were called, so the judge spoke up again. "If there are no more questions or comments, then the audience will wait in the halls while a verdict is decided." He waited a moment to allow time for people to voice their last minute comments. It seemed that everyone had already made up their minds about Khan's fate, all except for one person.

Now or never. Lania knew that if no one defended Khan, he would surely die. And what kind of person would defend a murderer, a monster? He had killed her parents and 40 other archive workers, had tried, and failed—thank God—, to destroy Starfleet, killing many more in the process. At least one hundred people were dead because of him, maybe more. There was no doubt in anyone's mind, even Lania's, that he was guilty, but did he deserve to die?

Lania glanced at Khan. His eyes were no longer dancing in amusement. He no longer looked like a man who could do anything, who could take on the world and win. His head was tilted down; his eyes stared emptily at his hands. He did not look like the despotic, power-hungry, cruel man she had seen walk into court that morning. He looked defeated.

"Very well, then, if—"

"Wait." Lania stood, addressing the judge directly. "I have something to say."

The judge raised an eyebrow, but motioned for her to take the floor.

She turned her back to the judge and accosted audience and jury. "We all know this man is guilty. We know he is a killer, and that he has proved himself extremely dangerous. I am not refuting the evidence, but I cannot sentence to death a man who has done what I would have to save my own family. I cannot sentence a man to die for unconditionally loving his family, for being loyal to them despite the cost to himself. I cannot condemn a man to die for being human. This man has killed my family, and here is an opportunity for me to have revenge and let him die. But if I take it, then does that not make me just as guilty—just as much of a monster—as him? This man is guilty, but he does not deserve to die. Dead men cannot correct and learn from their mistakes; dead men have no chance for redemption. Dead men cannot be forgiven. Life is about change. Would you take that chance to do so away from him?"

Lania nodded her thanks to everyone present and seated herself again, somewhat dazed and in awe at what she had just done. She had defended a criminal. When she looked up, Khan was staring intently at her with his undivided attention. The previous spark of amusement was back in his eyes, and the corners of his lips curled upward in a definite smirk. She felt electrical shocks jolt her skin all over her body now that those magnetic eyes had been turned upon her, full force. She felt like she was alone in the room with him, and it was not a sensation she at all liked. Despite her best efforts, Lania could not shake the feeling that defending Khan was a very grave mistake.

Author's Note: I didn't really want to cut the chapter here, but if I didn't it would have been way too long. Let me know what you think! Until next update! :3