After seeing Star Trek: Into Darkness with the lovely Benedict Cumberbatch for the second time in as many days, I decided I would try to attempt a Star Trek fanfic. I've never been a huge fan, and after sitting through all the episodes of every season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in one summer with my grandma, I didn't like it much. A thank you to Benedict for changing my mind with his incredible voice and villainy sexiness.
Year 2003.21.05
Deep, deep in the pits of the earth it cried. Dark, dark down in the center it screamed. The flashing lights burned its eyes, set the fire in its veins ablaze as it writhed and yelled and kicked and shrieked. Sharp pin pricks turned to a thousand knives, stabbing and gouging all over its skin as it pleaded for the pain to stop.
"Shhh, it's all right my dear. It will be over soon. Then you will be complete," the shadows whispered, always whispered.
"I just want it to stop," it whimpered. "Please, just make it stop."
"Now, you know I can't do that Myra." It flinched at the sound of that name; it wasn't that name anymore, why did they keep calling it that?
With a final breath, its heart stopped beating and a searing pain, a blinding white light, enveloped its mind. Brightness turned to dull gray, pain turned to nothing and hell turned to heaven.
"The augmentation is complete."
Year 2261.06.11
"He did what?!" Kirk yelled. McCoy smirked at his friends' anger.
"It's Spock, Jim, of course he's going to do this. Don't you remember last time?" Kirk turned on his old friend, a different kind of anger, mixed with sadness, in his eyes. Leonard realized his mistake too late.
"Yeah, the last time, right before Pike died! Thank you Bones, thank you very much, that's just what I needed right now!" he fumed. "You know, why can't he just rein in his stupid Vulcan-ness and just do what he should for once? The Admiral doesn't need another report detailing how I broke the rules over some stupid, uncivilized species seeing our ship. It's not like we're going to see them again anyway."
"Jim, I'm sorry. But honestly, you keep expecting him to budge when he obviously isn't going to, at least not as soon as you think. He's a Vulcan, and moreover, he's Spock. It's only logical to assume he won't change," he teased, raising a mocking eyebrow. Jim's mouth twitched upward, and before long, they both burst into loud peals of laughter.
"Oh God, oh God," Jim cried as he clutched his stomach. They slapped their hands on the desk, tears threatening to spill over as the hysteria, the stress and the anger all came out in that one laugh.
"I'm glad you find the childish mockery of your peers soothing Captain, but right now we have more urgent matters to attend to." Both men turned to see a Vulcan with neatly trimmed hair, slanted eyebrows and a blue Star Fleet shirt staring at them in what could be derision. Or he was just constipated.
"Spock…uh…we were just, uh…"
"There is no time for excuses or apologies Captain. Admiral Josen is waiting for you on the bridge." Spock turned, back ramrod straight, and proceeded down the hallway, leaving a breathless Kirk and McCoy to catch up.
With everyone in formal position, Lieutenant Uhura connected with the hailing, and the rounded, aged face of Admiral Josen appeared on the screen.
"Hello sir, what can I do for you today?" Kirk asked, hoping to whatever power existed that this had nothing to do with his and Spock's most recent reports.
Later he would wish it had been just that.
"I wish I came with easier tidings son, but I'm afraid I have some…shocking news."
"Is this about the mission Planet J319? Because sir, while it was a violation of our orders for this voyage, I can assure you—"
"No, it's not about that. I doubt I could change your ways if Admiral Pike couldn't, and I understand why you did what you did. This times, it slides, in the face of the bigger issue."
"Bigger issue?" Kirk questioned, shooting a nervous glance to Bones and Spock, who returned it; well, Spock as best as a Vulcan could.
"Kirk, as you know, the trial for Khan Noonien Singh was held five months after the incident with Admiral Markus. It has been two year since then, and Khan's sentence has changed. Since you are directly involved, both now and then, it was necessary to inform you."
"Inform me of what?" Jim snapped, a rare edge to his voice. Every single person in the room was transfixed on the screen.
"After some experimentation, the depth of which I will not say, it has been determined that Khan will be more useful outside of his tube, rather than within it."
"You're not actually considering letting that maniac out are you?" McCoy bellowed. "He killed two Star Fleet Admirals, over two-hundred people and destroyed almost all of the Star Fleet head quarters! Not to mention he caused the devastation in San Francisco!"
"I am well aware of the damage son," Josen replied, fixing an icy stare that had no effect whatsoever on the good doctor. "Right now we need all the hands we can get. Since your crew, Kirk, is the only group of people with any experience in dealing with this man, he will be sent on a shuttle to you in two weeks time. He has been informed that if he does anything outside of the orders he receives from you, Captain, he will be detained and put back in his tube."
"Sir, all due respect, but how will this help? It is quite apparent that Khan can and will find a way around that rule, just as he did with Admiral Markus. I do not feel it would be logical or safe for this crew to be around this man," Spock interjected.
"That's where the experiments come in." the Admiral pulled out a folder of papers and flipped through several before speaking again. "Recent developments in technology have allowed us to create a behavior modification device, or a BMD. This is what our doctors implanted in his brain several weeks ago, and they have proven beyond a doubt that it works. I will have more info for you on this when he arrives, Captain, as it is classified." Not another word was spoken for several minutes, the emotions floating in the air too heavy and thick for verbal expression.
Josen looked around the room; angry McCoy, fearful Chekov, shocked Uhura and contemplative Spock.
The Captain, however, was a whole other story.
"All right," he agreed, earning him yells from all over the bridge.
"Thank you. That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I will send you the information you'll need for his arrival." And with that, the transmission cut out.
Silence filled the room.
As far as Jim was concerned, his brain had been utterly fried. First Spock, then making repairs to the ship, then filling out the Captain's Log, then filing paperwork and now this? This was turning out to be a very bad day. He might as well comply, if only to get it over with. He had been in enough deep shit, and knew a dive right back into it when he saw one. That hadn't been a request, it had been an order, and frankly, he just wanted sleep and alcohol at the moment.
"Jim, how could you allow that monster onto the Enterprise?" Bones hissed once he was close enough.
"I agree, Captain, this decision is a foolhardy one at best," Spock added. Jim held up his hands for a moment of silence.
"Did it ever occur to either of you that now he can get what he deserves?" Two shocked and confused faces stared at him. "Look, I've read about these 'BMDs' before; they send electrical impulses or something through the brain when a trigger is pressed. If Khan even so much as looks at someone the wrong way, or I feel that anyone on this ship is marginally threatened by him, I can take that bastard down with a click of a button! Sure, it's not very humane, but he did kill and hurt people I, we, cared about. This is the perfect chance to get back, and there's no way in hell I'm passing it up." At this point, Bones was grinning from ear to ear, a bit of evil mischief in his eyes.
"Captain…" Kirk and McCoy both groaned aloud; they knew that 'I-have-an-obscenely-logical-objection' tone of voice. "While I do agree that Khan should be punished, I am not sure this is the proper way to go about it. He deserves to live his life in a maximum security prison or frozen with the rest of his people, but I fear that this opportunity may cause you to lose sight of your role as Captain. This is petty revenge, and if it impacted the crew in any way, I know that none of us would feel justice was served as it was meant."
Two pairs of stoic eyes gazed at the Vulcan. Of course, he didn't twitch or avert his gaze like a normal human; he just raised an eyebrow in that annoying way of his. For once, it wasn't him who had locked off his emotions, but the Captain.
"Too bad," Kirk said quickly and dashed to his office, leaving his Commander and Chief Doctor in the dust.
There was no way he would let this opportunity slide by. Oh no, no, no, he would take full advantage.
After all, revenge is a dish best served burning hot.
I'll try to make next chapter longer. Hope you liked!