A/N: Khan's love interest in this story is Marla McGivers, who first appeared as the Enterprise's historian on the original Star Trek episode "Space Seed". Unfortunately, McGivers was portrayed as a weak woman who instantly fell in love with Khan, then was bullied by him into committing treason against Starfleet. Like many of the characters in the 2009 version of Star Trek's alternate reality I gave Marla a makeover for the purposes of this story. She's still a pretty redhead and an historian, but she is first a physician, with history and cryogenics as passionate hobbies. I made her British (If they can do that to Khan and Carol Marcus, why not?). And if they ever make a movie of this fic (ha!) Louise Brealey would have to play her.
Chapter One: An Ordinary Woman
"FREYA, NO!"
The sound of Khan's rage reverberated against the walls of The Paladin's infirmary. Tears ran down his cheeks as he looked down at the lifeless body of Dr. Freya Magnusdottir. This was all Admiral Marcus's doing. If he could have Khan would crush his skull a second time after tearing his daughter limb from limb.
"What are we going to do, Khan?" His second-in-command Otto Müller asked him, equally upset. "We must not dare try to open the other cryo tubes until we can figure out the code."
"Don't you think I know that? Be quiet and let me think!"
Khan had put a timer into his cryogenic tube soon after Marcus revived him, knowing full well that the admiral would try to place him back into cryogenic sleep as soon as he had what he wanted. It turned out the Enterprise's Dr. McCoy was the one to put him back him back into cryo sleep. He along with his 72 crew members were stored in a Starfleet storage facility.
He made certain he slept long enough so that Starfleet's attention would be diverted elsewhere and their defenses were down. He had to kill only five guards in order to transport himself and his crew to a derelict merchant vessel he had commandeered during his time on Earth making weapons for Marcus- a junk ship he re-christened The Paladin; a ship no one would miss or suspect had been outfitted with a new warp core and the most advanced weaponry.
But this subterfuge he hadn't counted on. Marcus had booby-trapped the pods holding his female crew members to prevent him from reviving them. A keypad and lock had been attached to the life-support mechanism of 30 pods. He spent days trying to figure out the code, but with no luck. Finally out of sheer frustration he used brute force to rip the lock off the pad with dire results. His ship's physician, Freya Magnusdottir had died before he could fully revive her.
Khan searched the computer at lightening speed looking for anything that would tell him how to remove the keypads without harming his women. Only one thing—a person, actually—filled him with hope.
"I have to return to Earth."
Dr. Marla McGivers was on the verge of having a spectacular day. She was expecting a visitor, someone actually interested in her cryo tubes. No one cared about cryogenics anymore; it was a dead technology. But like history it was one of her passions. To her it brought to mind the old days of space travel, when it was truly a dangerous adventure. Now everyone took it for granted, even the Starfleet types who should know better.
But first she had to get rid of Mrs. Hudson. "Nothing's changed since your last visit. You really don't need to come by my office every week."
"Sorry dear, I just keep forgetting," the demented old woman said. "Must be that brain thing you're always telling me about."
Marla nodded. "It must be. Now I have an appointment, so if you could just-"
"Dr. McGivers, Mr. Harrison is here." her receptionist announced over the intercom. Marla took Mr. Hudson's arm and gently pulled her to her feet, then led her towards to door. "I promise I'll check on you later this week," she said, feeling a bit guilty.
Mrs. Hudson patted her arm affectionately. "Come by the house and I'll make tea—if I can just remember where I put it."
The door opened and in walked a very tall, handsome man with short dark hair. "Oh, Mr. Harrison, I'm Marla McGivers. I was just finishing up with a patient."
"Oooh, you're a dish, aren't you!" Mrs. Hudson said appreciatively.
"Goodbye, Mrs. Hudson!" Marla said.
The old woman waved and then patted Mr. Harrison on the backside as she passed him. Harrison jumped and stared back at the old woman with loathing in his piercing blue eyes.
Marla was mortified. "Oh, god, I am so sorry! Her condition affects her impulse control. And I guess she figured you wouldn't beat up an old lady for having a bit of fun."
Harrison forced a smile. "Well, no harm done. Not to be rude, Dr. McGivers, but I am in a bit of a hurry. May I see the pods now?"
"Um, sure. They're in the back. I acquired them years ago, but only recently learned enough about them to take them apart and put them back together again." She beamed with pride. "They both work, but so far I haven't had any volunteers to test them out."
Khan followed the woman into her back room. Dr. Marla McGivers was a decided unimpressive human. She was a petite woman; her face and figure were not unattractive, but her red hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail. He would have dismissed her as small and ridiculous, but unfortunately she was Khan's best hope of reviving his crew.
He took a perfunctory look at the first pod, a model used in the 21st Century, and concentrated on the older, 1990's model, almost an exact replica of the ones used on his people.
Though the pod and McGivers herself were his sole reasons for being here, Kahn couldn't help but notice the drawings of ancient rulers that covered the walls—Alexander the Great, Julius Cesar, Richard the Lionheart, and more incongruently, the homely American President Abraham Lincoln. Khan started when his eyes landed on a portrait of himself. His hair was longer and he wore traditional garb, but the likeness was unmistakable. How long would it take McGivers to recognize him, he wondered.
"Mr. Harrison, have we met before? You look awfully familiar."
Apparently not long. He flashed her his most charming smile. "I don't think so, I would certainly have remembered meeting you." She blushed, adding color to her otherwise pasty complexion. He decided she would be quite pretty with a little effort on her part.
McGivers gazed at him shyly. "Well, I know I've seen you somewhere."
"These drawings, did you do them yourself?" He asked with a smirk. "They're quite good."
She was obviously pleased by his compliment. "Oh, thanks. Yes, they're mine. History's always been a bit of a passion; such wonderful stories about such colorful characters."
Though Khan would have enjoyed drawing this out, time was a factor. "This one in particularly resonates with me for some reason."
"Oh, that's Khan Noonien Singh, my favorite of the Augment despots," she said brightly. "They found him in one of these cryo tubes just recently. Slammed a starship into San Francisco. It's all supposed to be top secret, but people do talk…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened in dawning realization. She dragged her eyes away from the portrait and looked up at Khan in terror. "Oh shit."
Khan glared at her dangerously. "What's the matter, Doctor? Am I a little too colorful a character for you now?"
McGivers put up her hands in an effort to calm the situation. "Okay, just take whatever you want and please go. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Good, because I do not wish to attract unnecessary attention." He took her by the arm. "I need you to accompany me to my ship."
"To do what?"
"You are going to help me save my crew, though the length of time it took you to realize who I am does not fill me with confidence."
Marla gathered the tools Khan ordered her to and then they walked out into the reception area. "Liz, we're going…to, uh, lunch—a late lunch, early dinner, whatever. At the pub. Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day and then you can go home."
Thankfully, her receptionist interpreted the situation just as Marla hoped she would. Liz gave her a knowing smile, "All right you two, have fun."
Khan placed his arm around Marla and gave her a little squeeze. "Oh, we will." He then led her outside and transported them both to The Paladin.
To be continued…