2. Mirror, Mirror

Khan stared at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. But it wasn't for a lack of trying. There were simply things far too pressing on his mind. He resented sleep. Even he was vulnerable when he slept, and vulnerability was not something he coveted. Firstly, and most essentially, he could not stop thinking about his crew. They were still alive. He wondered, however, how long they would remain so. Unlike Kirk and his young, idealistic crew-Khan knew the truth about the Federation.

His people, himself included were seen ultimately as a hazard to their reign. Their very existence was a threat to the way the Federation operated. An Augment's intellect and physicality trumped the very best of what the Federation had to offer. They couldn't have that. In order to keep galactic peace, they needed to remain at the top- a paramount of strength. With the Augments alive, that could never be ultimately realized. His being awake and active only heightened their perception of that threat.

He allowed himself a small sigh. They needed to be found. Being that he woke up alone, he assumed that the Enterprise, naturally, must've turned them over to someone. He needed to find out who that was. It wasn't likely that Kirk and his crew knew where they were at this point. It had been two years, after all.

The other thing he had to consider was the woman. Suddenly, since he'd found out about his crew- her value was in question. Was she worth more dead or alive? He would have to research her past, dig deeper. He had wrongly assumed that as an archaeologist, she worked for the Federation. Certainly, they wouldn't be terribly apt to care that he had a civilian hostage. They'd easily be willing to sacrifice her life in efforts to save the cities he'd threatened. The only person who really cared for her was her brother, the young, impetuous Captain. But James Kirk didn't possess the information or resources he needed. And Khan severely doubted the Freshman Captain's ability to siphon information from the Federation leaders.

These thoughts and others swam about in his mind. He had to admit to himself that he was fatigued. The cryo-freeze had a similar effect when Admiral Marcus had resurrected him. He required rest- rest that the young Dr. Kirk was depriving him from. Despite his rampant thoughts, it was her incessant moving that really was keeping him awake.

"Lie still." He commanded.

Charlotte seethed, wishing she was somewhere, anywhere else. "Honestly, you can't expect me to sleep."

"I can," He challenged. "I know you are tired. Your body can only take so much physical and emotional exertion." He spoke, mainly to himself. But she didn't need to know that.

"Try me," She challenged.

He ignored her. "Besides, you must know that tugging at your captured wrist is a futile effort."

Charlotte jerked her wrist away from him, abruptly realizing his arm came along with hers. She threw it back.

Khan smirked. "Nothing to do with all your fury,"

Charlotte scoffed. "You know what, maybe I will do something about it, just as you doze off."

"I'd like to see you try."

She turned her head from him and bit her lip. She bit until she drew blood- needing some sort of release as she wasn't able to escape. He was right; she was infuriated; infuriated and terrified. But she vowed not to let him see the latter. She took a breath and began to speak.

"I need to shower."

"Shower?"

"Yes," anything to get her out of this bed. "I think it will help me sleep."

"If this is some kind of desperate plot, don't waste,"

"I just, want to shower."

Khan sat up, pulling her along with him. Maybe the change of scenery would give him a reprieve from her incessant complaining.

Charlotte numbly followed- a bit surprised he'd actually ceded to her request.

Starfleet's showers were not as awful as she had anticipated. They were even adjacent to the room, so it came with very easy access.

Khan flipped on the fluorescent light, which, because of the hours they'd laid in darkness stung even his eyes.

Charlotte turned towards him, holding out her wrist.

Khan grinned. "What makes you think,"

"The only thing dividing us is a curtain." She grabbed it, and waved it as a demonstration. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere." She held out her arm again. "I will behave and do as you say. Don't humiliate me by keeping me handcuffed."

Khan toyed with the idea in his mind. Although having her restrained was ideal, she had grown boring and lackluster since he'd done so- like some sort of subdued, caged animal. And she certainly was right, she had nowhere to go.

"You know if you try anything,"

"Enough with the threats."

Khan yanked her towards him- getting rather tired of her interrupting him mid-sentence. He keyed in the code to remove the cuff from her hand. He then removed it from his own.

Charlotte rubbed her wrist.

He reached for the shower nozzle to turn it on. "Don't feel the necessity to be modest, that's a tiresome custom that," He turned back, to find her undressing. She'd already pulled her shirt over her head and was pulling down her jeans.

Charlotte tried her best to ignore him. This situation was inevitable. He would see her change eventually. This might be the only opportunity to have the upper hand. At least in a sense, she could show that he didn't faze her.

She did turn, however when she removed her bra and underwear- letting him know that her casual disrobing was not for his benefit. But she could feel his eyes on her. It wasn't necessarily a leer, but a present sensation nonetheless. He was mostly human, after all. She briefly mused on how long it must have been for him to even spend time with a woman, suddenly realizing that her casual disrobing might've been a mistake. She looked over her shoulder.

Khan was looking straight at her, not to her body, but his eyes were fixed on hers. "Are you just going to stand there?"

Charlotte tried to ignore him and stepped into the shower, quickly pulling the curtain to. She let out a breath she'd seemed to have been holding since the whole ordeal had started. She tried her best to stand, but her legs felt weak. She slid down the wall and brought them to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees mindlessly, giving herself the small comfort. She stared blankly at the faucet, as the water spilled itself over her face.

Khan sat in the threshold, relaxing his arm on his knee. He glanced over to the shower. If she was playing some type of psychological combat, she would certainly lose. But something told him she was very much like her brother- a reactionary creature, not unlike himself. Thus far, she didn't seem one to play games.

"Are you finished?"

Charlotte registered his voice, but didn't want to respond. She closed her eyes.

"Dr. Kirk?" felt strange addressing her as such. "Doctor" was habitually a formal title. There seemed to be nothing formal or gracious about the way she addressed him.

"I need a minute." She called back, her voice sounding far more despondent than she desired. "It's only been a few, just give me a minute."

Khan sighed. He was too fatigued for this. He felt as if he were in an altered state from his lack of rest. It was something he didn't at all care for. The only way he would get some rest is if she would as well. Although he could endure it, he didn't want to exert the excess energy.

"Minute passed." He impatiently stood up and pulled back the curtain.

He looked down at her, feeling strange as he did so. He rapidly reached for the faucet.

The water was piping hot. It scalded even his skin to the touch.

"You're going to burn your skin." He quickly turned the water off.

Khan turned around and grabbed a towel from above the vanity. He threw it to her.

Charlotte took the towel and wrapped it over her shoulders, but remained sitting.

"I don't want to endure this with you."

"What?"

"It's too much. Why are you threatening all those people? Is it really your plan to kill them all? The people in those cities don't deserve to lose their lives."

It was a strange question for her to ask, especially in her predicament. "Shouldn't you be worried about your well-being? Or at least the well-being of your brother?"

"My brother already beat you once."

Khan scoffed. "Well, from my understanding he only survived because of my blood, so, that's… not entirely accurate."

Charlotte said nothing. She was tired of being combative. In fact, she was just tired.

"I'll try to sleep now." She announced, standing up. "Being it's the only way to get away from you."

"Oh dear," Khan mocked. He didn't care in the slightest what she thought of him. It was of no consequence.

They returned to the room. Charlotte didn't bother to change back into her clothes. She simply pulled the sheet and comforter from the bed and draped it over her and her toweled body.

Khan sighed and laid down the opposite side of the bed.

Charlotte shot up in response. "What are you doing?"

"Just because you and I are no longer physically bound, doesn't mean that I trust you."

Charlotte seethed. "How am I supposed to sleep?"

"By shutting your eyes and lying still." He snapped. "Understand that I'm allowing you to sleep. Take comfort in the fact that I haven't put you in a permanent state of rest."

Charlotte tensed in his response. He seemed sincere in all of his words. A small part of her wished he'd just get on with it. Being unsure of her fate was turning out to be a worse sentence than inevitable death. But she refused to give into the notion that she had no chance. Charlotte sighed.

"Why haven't you killed me?" She asked flat out. There was no point in building the tension any further. She wanted to know. And her captor seemed to value candor. "It makes me uncomfortable that you seem to just be, waiting for something."

Khan was quite taken aback by her question. Her insight to his devices was fairly disarming. Despite his inner protests, a small part of him revered her for asking.

"It seems that my crew is very much alive." Khan voiced, surprised at the amount of relief it gave him to voice out loud.

Charlotte furrowed her brow. She turned to him.

"What?"

"The Vulcan first officer of your brother's ship lied. He led me to believe that he killed all of my people. When, in truth; he never harmed them. He'd merely detonated the torpedoes I'd stored them in. They're out there, somewhere."

Charlotte was quiet for what seemed forever. The way in which he delivered his words affected her in a strange way. There was hope and clarity in his voice, in the way he shared his news. Nevertheless, Khan's people being alive meant something. It meant something for all humanity, possibly. But that information changed something for Charlotte. It gave her a bargaining chip, one she hadn't thought of before. She tucked it away in her mind, saving it as a last resort.

"That must," She paused, careful of what she spoke. "That must, be a great relief to you."

Khan furrowed his brow. Her words displayed empathy- an attribute she had no reason to express.

"Do not presume that my telling you this has altered your station as my hostage." He retorted resolutely. "You will remain as my captive as long as it aids my cause."

And all sympathy for him was gone in a second. She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't presuming anything, I was just being civil- something you're obviously deficient or not in your programming; they must've forgot to add humanity."

"I wasn't programmed, I am not some machine." He snapped.

"Just genetically enhanced to behave like one?" Charlotte challenged, scaring even herself. She couldn't find any logical motive for her confidence. It was not in her best interest to be combative. He was certainly dangerous- highly dangerous. He had just killed an entire crew of people. She reminded herself of this and quickly changed her tone.

"Look," She started in attempts to reconcile.

"How is it you yourself go from showing me civility and in the next moment belittling my very existence?"

She was taken aback, but not rendered speechless. "I could ask you the same question."

"Perhaps, Dr. Kirk- you might entertain that the answer lies in our humanity itself. Perhaps, it's because as human beings we are capable of abundant compassion. But simultaneously we are also capable of vast, infinite cruelty."

Charlotte had no illusions towards human nature. His words rang true. She pursed her lips in bitter acknowledgement.

There was nothing more that needed to be said. Khan lied on his back, pleased he had reduced her to silence. It must be terrible, to be in agreement with him. He smirked as he closed his eyes.

Charlotte continued to stare. It was his playful smile, the fact that he took time to even argue- it was worrying. Their conversation had suddenly evolved in its intimacy. She needed to distance herself from it.

But she could only scoot herself to the edge of her side so much, without falling off.

The problem with space is that there was no light to illuminate the window in the "morning". It remained a constant and dull, dying starlight. The sky never changed.

Khan had never cared for space in that regard. He much preferred inhabiting a planet- a planet with a sun, a star or two to illuminate the darkness. It was something he coveted about earth. Earth was special in that respect.

He looked over. His obstinate captive had finally given way to her physical needs and got some rest. She slept soundly, all things considered. Khan found it strange, how comfortable she looked. It slightly irritated him.

Nevertheless, he'd gotten sleep as well. Not enough to feel rested, but enough to rise and decide ultimately what his next step would be.

Upon arriving at the bridge, he noticed dozens of failed logs- unsuccessful attempts the Enterprise had put through to make contact. He checked the time. It was ten hours until his threat was to be delivered upon the cities of earth.

He decided to take the time to do some research on his captive. There wasn't much as far as news or articles or even a picture. Really, there was nothing at all. It was strange, being that everyone had some sort of trail in this time. But for her, there was nothing.

This peaked his interest, but not enough to pursue it any further. It didn't matter really, the most pressing problem was finding his people. Khan flipped on the transponder device and called the Enterprise. They were swift to answer.

The young Captain appeared, with his first officer at his side.

"Khan," Kirk started without hesitation. "Where's Charlotte?"

"As I told you before,"

"No games, I want to see her. There will be no talking, no negotiating until I know she's alive."

"Do you truly believe that you have any leverage to define terms?"

"Actually, I do. When last we left off, Spock informed you that your crew was alive. Now, if I know anything about you it's that your crew seems to be all you care about. You don't shut up about them, in fact. So yeah, I think you're going to let me see her."

"Here are my terms, Captain. You have one hour to find where your Federation is holding them. If you do not figure that out, without alerting the Federation,"

"We're going to have to alert them sooner or later regardless." Kirk interrupted. That seemed to be a family trait. "Unlike you, I don't toy with the lives of innocent people. I'll give whatever cities you've threatened a fighting chance to evacuate. Then, it will be you against the Federation, not to mention all the people of Earth. Is that really something you want to tackle?"

"I've undertook those odds before, Captain. I have no problem with that."

"Well I have a problem with it. And I don't want you using innocent civilians to get your way. So let's get down to it."

"I've stated my terms," Khan voiced calmly. "However, if you have no interest in ceding to my requests, I'll just have to take my frustrations out on my travelling companion."

Jim squared his jaw. "If you touch her,"

"You'll what?" He challenged. "You don't even know where I am. You also haven't the slightest idea as to what cities I targeted." Khan looked over to the screen to his left. "You've been trying in futility to track my location. You should know at this point that you're not going to succeed." This was getting tiresome. It was clear the Enterprise had nothing to offer him. If they had the capability to find his crew, they would've used such information to negotiate. They had nothing. That meant that the woman was utterly useless as a hostage.

"As I said earlier. You have one hour. After that hour, I can no longer guarantee your sister's safety."

"Khan, wait,"

But it was too late, Khan had already shut off communications. He took a beat then turned to the bridge's threshold. She had changed into a black Starfleet uniform, matching his. She must've found it in the room they were sleeping in.

"Why didn't you speak when your brother was on screen?"

Charlotte stood still in the middle of the entryway. She slowly stepped forward. "I didn't see that ending well on my part, as my casually walking up would threaten your control of the situation."

She was correct in assuming such. If she had just walked up he would've had to hurt her in an effort to show strength.

"Dr. Kirk, you requested at the start that I be honest with you, regarding my intent."

Charlotte tensed, knowing what was to come. Judging from the conversation with her brother, she was no longer important. She had to find a way out of this.

"Your brother and his crew are entirely useless in my aims. As you most likely heard, I gave them an hour. And I'm not confident that they'll be able to come through."

There was no use reasoning with him. His mind was set. Killing her was his only retribution. He felt wronged and the only way he could gain a semblance of control was to hurt the people that wronged him. It was terrifying, his conviction. He was very emotional in that respect. She would have to prove her value to him. Because the truth was that she could help. She knew a way. She'd just prayed that it wouldn't have to come to that.

"Maybe," She closed her eyes, not wanting to continue. "Maybe when it comes to finding your crew, you were counting on the wrong Kirk."

Khan raised his brow in amusement. "Was I? Why do I feel as if you're grasping."

"Of course I'm grasping, you're going to kill me. And I'd very much like to live… but that doesn't mean that I'm lying." She took a deep breath. "I can help you find them,"

Her efforts were admirable, but all in vain. She was embarrassing herself. "Now, Dr. Kirk,"

"Have you ever heard of Section-31?"

He gave her a determined glance. This was unanticipated. He measured her demeanor before responding. "Of course I've heard of it, but why have you?"

"They'll know where your people are."

Khan scoffed. "That wasn't my question. How do you even know of their existence? Until my run in with the Enterprise, even your brother hadn't heard of them."

"I can find them, and they'll have the location of your people."

"Section 31 is the branch of Starfleet I worked under. But that does me no good. Their bases are not in one location, but in constant motion. There is no way of finding them without actually being part of their organization. I highly doubt they'd welcome me with open arms. Last we'd encountered each other, they tried to have me killed by making use of your brother's naïve, freshman crew. So don't be coy, Dr. Kirk. If you have information on how to find them, be swift. I don't have the time nor the patience to play games with you."

"I need to have a guarantee,"

"No guarantees. Tell me what you know, and I'll consider not throwing you off this ship."

"Enough of that. Your threats are substantial, but you're desperate. You can't do this by yourself."

She was trying to build up her importance. He took notice that she'd even crossed her arms in defiance. It was endearing, but rash. "I most certainly can. And there you go again, overestimating you value. I understand you are proud, but now my tolerance is wearing thin."

"Look, promise me that you'll leave my brother alone, and call off those pods that are headed towards those cities. Both of those requests are in your best interest anyhow."

Khan smiled. If anything, this was amusing. "Why would either of those requests be in my best interest?"

"Because it is in your best interest to keep your being awake a secret."

"Why?"

"A loose Augment would be too threatening, especially being that the Eugenic Wars were something today's population has only read about in history books. People would be in all out panic." She started. "Section 31 is all about secrecy. It's also likely that your people have been quietly hidden somewhere as well. My brother's crew knows of their existence, but they don't know where they are, neither does the bulk of Starfleet. They don't want to know."

"Your insight is impressive, but that still doesn't explain how you intend,"

"I've dealt with Section 31 before, back when I was in college." She started, not really wanting to tell him everything, but she saw no choice. She decided to step forward and sit down in the chair next to him. She noticed to the look on his face. Her approach caused a physical reaction on his part. She suddenly realized it would be in her best interest to appeal to him on a personal level. The more he could see her as a person, the less he would see her as a hostage. But that would only take her so far for someone like him. He'd quickly see through the act.

"Is it alright if I sit down?"

"As long as you aren't wasting my time and trying to play nice."

He'd already caught on. She grinned a bit. "Fine,"

"Begin your story." He commanded tersely.

Charlotte shifted a bit, noticing that he took pleasure in her anxiety. "Pont du Gard …It's a very, Have you heard of the Ancient Romans?"

"I'm well versed. It's the site of a large Roman aqueduct in France."

Charlotte smiled slightly, impressed by his knowledge. She quickly corrected herself. "Anyway, a few years back, a preservation project began in that area. Something about the structural integrity of the site was being compromised. Well, I was studying at Lyon so I thought I'd take a day trip to see it all happening, the reconstruction that is- me and a few others. But when we get there, we can't even see the aqueduct at all. They'd built some kind of a… fortified wall, all kinds of state of the art fences and technology surrounded the perimeter." She looked up to him. So far, he seemed engrossed in her story.

"Continue,"

"So we decide to investigate further, after all, it's just an expensive renovation project, right? We didn't suspect anything. So we snuck past the fences one night,"

"What did you find?"

Charlotte actually was taking great pleasure in telling this story. After all, she hadn't been allotted to tell it before.

"Section 31."

Khan continued to stare at her, not understanding why she was taking so many dramatic breaks in her speech.

"We break in,"

"You broke in?"

"Yes, I mean, we just thought it was a construction site. But as soon as we get in through the fence there's practically this, miniature city; it's being built in the ground under the aqueduct. Federation property is everywhere, you know the logos, I'm sure…"

"How are you sure this was Section 31?"

"Well the next thing that happens is men in tactical uniforms surround us and sweep us up into this building. They lock us in a room with no windows. At this point, we're all horrified and confused. After a few hours or so, I suppose they realized that we weren't a threat, just a few grad students that were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Once more, this could have been any Federation project, how were you sure it was Section 31?"

"Because they used us. After finding out who we were, we became the poster children of the Pont du Gard Renovation Project. I guess they thought, if there were actual archaeologists working on the so called renovation, it might seem more legitimate."

"What is their actual purpose there?"

"It's, their headquarters."

"I would have known." He dismissed her claim.

"Why? Because they trusted you?" She mocked sardonically. "Think about it, the President of Earth's Federation and all the primary government lives in Paris. It makes sense that his counter intelligence/covert agency is somewhere nearby- at least in the same country. Kind of how D.C. had Langley in your time, someone to call on to do the things they don't want to get their hands dirty with."

Khan was impressed she understood something from his time period. But it only made sense, taking in account her educational background. There was, however something about her story that didn't add up.

"I researched you, your name would've come up if you were involved in something so prestigious, despite how counterfeit it was."

"That's because you searched Charlotte Kirk."

Khan furrowed his brow. "You're," He quickly corrected his wording. "You've married?"

She shook her head. "No, Charlotte Kirk is not my real name, at least, it wasn't then."

"What? What's your real name?"

"Charlotte Dussault."

"Why would your name be different?"

"Well, Jim is only my half-brother. We share the same mother but we have different fathers."

"Why did you not keep your own father's name?"

She gave him a bitter smile, Charlotte looked to the ground. "Jim never knew his Dad. He died saving Jim and my Mother- sacrificing himself against a threat on a Starship. Even though I didn't know him, he was still much more decent than my father." She felt strange, revealing a personal side to herself- to him, of all people. "Anyways, my name change was approved officially two years ago. Charlotte Dussault is who you'll find if you look all that up."

She seemed finished with her story, but he still had more questions she'd left unanswered. "That was all quite curious, but…"

"I know, I know," She interjected, "What I'm suggesting, is that I help you break in there, and you can find out where your crew is."

"You seem terribly confident."

"I am. It's there. Someone there knows."

"And I'm supposed to believe you'd do that? Betray former colleagues?"

"If it means you'll leave Jim be, and not hurt all of those people, of course I would. Besides, I've never much cared for covert operations myself. That was the worst 10 months of my life. I was living under constant scrutiny, surveillance."

She was not taking into account what would happen when he did find his people- and what he'd most certainly do to those people that kept them a secret. But that really wasn't her concern, nor something he needed to alert her of.

"Just, don't kill anyone…"

Khan scoffed. "I'm not apt, nor do I feel obligated to make you any new promises."

"Well," She swallowed. "What about the other promises? Do we have a deal? After all, isn't it much simpler to do things quietly? It's much cleaner, neater."

"That is not in my nature." He spoke aloud, not really knowing why.

"Then no one will see it coming," She locked eyes with him. This was dangerous, but it was all she had. She would have to keep her resolve.

Khan looked to her. She was brave. It was obvious that she was horrified, yet she'd resigned to the fact that offering her plan was her only viable option for survival. The truth was, he rather liked the idea of having someone alongside him, despite how inept they might be.

"You'd be wise to remember that if you cross me at any turn, I will snap your neck. But not before making you watch me kill your brother and everyone you've ever,"

"I think I get the point." She responded dryly. "I won't betray you. In fact, you have every reason to rely on me. No one wants to see you succeed more than I do, as I have the most invested in your success. Besides, I'm not some kind of double agent. I don't have the energy to double cross you."

Khan smirked, she underestimated herself. However, that was probably a good thing.

"We'll need to contact the Enterprise now,"

Charlotte nodded, "Okay, but first- will you call off the pods?"

"First, we'll contact the Enterprise."

She swallowed, her exchange with him was dizzying. Throughout she'd briefly forgot who he was, and what he was capable of- and what he'd done. She was so lost in her head that she had barely noticed he'd grabbed her hands.

"What are you doing?"

"I showed you a kindness earlier, by taking you out of your restraints. But I can't show such to your brother and his crew. They needn't know we're on civil terms." He spoke as he attached the cuffs to her wrists.

Were they on civil terms? Suddenly, she felt completely uneasy. His words were not reassuring. Khan had finished and flipped on the communications. And just like that, Charlotte felt a ray of hope- she looked up to the projection screen and could see her brother, alive, well- staring back at her as if he were there.

Jim had wanted to see her, but in the past hours he was terrified of what he would find when he did. He swallowed. She looked okay, her cheek was bruised, she looked exhausted, but she was alive. She even gave him that small, reassuring smile. He'd seen it all throughout their lives. There was still a chance.

"Lottie, how you holding up?"

"Captain, your sister and I have come to an agreement."

Jim furrowed his brow, looking over to his first officer- who seemed equally perplexed.

"Khan, your dealings are with me. Leave Charlotte out of this."

"Dr. Kirk has offered what you could not. Therefore I am inclined to work with her in your stead."

"Charlotte," Jim looked over to her.

Khan looked over to her as well. Despite her brother's confused glare, it was Khan she eyed most carefully. He seemed to be relying on the fact she could explain to her brother that she was okay, and capable of handling herself. Obviously he wanted her to do all this without revealing anything sensitive.

"Jim, I'm fine."

"Lottie, trust me. You don't know him. You are not fine,"

"I did trust you, and I still do. Don't alert the Federation that Khan is alive."

"What?"

"Now I'm asking for you to trust me. Khan has agreed to call off the pods that are aimed at all the cities."

Khan raised his brow, he hadn't explicitly promised that. In fact, he hadn't explicitly promised anything. She was taking advantage of the fact he was letting her speak. It was of no consequence, though. He could use the pods at a later date, if need be. Or the threat of hurting her brother.

"You can't believe him, his word means nothing."

"It means that you're going to have to put your faith in me."

"Lottie," Jim pleaded. "This doesn't make sense, why…"

"Jim, please. He'll call off the pods, you'll be safe."

"And you? What about you? I'm supposed to believe that he'll just let you go after all of this."

"Dr. Kirk's safety is no longer in question." Khan interjected. "That is, as long as you don't alert the Federation. She's counting on you to make the correct choice."

"Damn it," Jim murmured. "What is this agreement you've come to?"

"None of your concern, Captain. Unless you foolishly decide to intervene. Now, your only job is to continue on and explore whatever primitive planet you're scheduled to explore."

Jim was silent for a long time, not knowing how to handle this request. He didn't trust Khan at all, but Charlotte was smart. She seemed confident in her words. He had to believe that his sister knew what she was doing. It was all he could do.

"I want check-ins." Jim spoke decidedly. "You're asking me to take a great leap of faith. I need to know that Charlotte is safe. I need to hear from you every day, until whatever this is- is finished."

Spock furrowed his brow. "Captain, a word?"

"No," Jim ignored him. "I need to know, Khan."

"I don't have the time nor the tolerance to placate such a request. Thus far, Charlotte is far more capable than you have ever proved to be. Surely you can trust she'll take care of herself, without your redundant supervision."

It was strange, hearing him say her first name, not to mention his arguing her independence, all while giving her a sort of compliment. It made her exceedingly uneasy.

Jim was taken aback by Khan's statement as well. But despite his contempt, it didn't make what he said any less true. Still, it would be over two months before he could get anywhere near to where she might be- if she was even close to earth. This is all he had. He had to hope.

"It's not Charlotte that I don't trust."

"Now Captain, I don't care in the slightest what your opinion is of me, as long as you can cast aside your doubt, and we can settle this arrangement."

"You're not really giving me a choice."

Khan gave him a determined glare. "So that settles it?"

"Fine, but hurt her, and I'll never stop until,"

"Again with the empty threats, I think this conversation has concluded." Khan decided as he turned off the communication.

Charlotte turned to look at him, wondering what would happen. A sudden swell of apprehension swept over her body. What if she couldn't do it? What if she couldn't succeed?

Khan reached over and removed her restraints. She jumped a little at the sensation. He moved so quickly, it was almost unhuman.

"I apologize for calling you by your first name. It was informal." He spoke, not really wanting to develop any kind of familiarity with her. After all, she was still his captive- despite how at ease he generally felt around her.

"That's okay," She voiced, "I kind of feel all civility was dropped when you saw me naked and we slept in the same bed." She froze, completely shocked at her words. She cleared her throat. "What I mean is, Charlotte is fine. You can call me Charlotte."

Khan resolved not to smile. As he'd stated to her before- she was completely out of her depths. Yet, she was determined to remain wholly calm in front of him. It was admittedly charming, and admirable- but his admiration was pointless. Any liking or affinity that he developed for her was ultimately futile. So he suppressed it in spite of his yearning not to. He knew the truth, their alliance was only temporary- there was no foreseeable future where they could remain courteous to each other after they'd finished this venture.

"Dr. Kirk will suffice." He got up quickly and began to route the navigation.

Charlotte admonished herself for being so casual. It was in her nature though- she often would do that- shrug off all self-importance in efforts to cope with stressful situations. Humor was a comfortable default.

The silence had quickly become quite palpable, and there wasn't much that could be done about it. At least, nothing either party desired to do. Khan suspected that like himself, Dr. Kirk was not interested in small talk.

"You need to call off the pods now." Charlotte decided to voice. It was too pressing to not mention it, she decided.

He was right, she got right down to it. "In due time." He responded.

She glared at him, feeling a panic rise in her chest. "What do you mean, in due time?"

"I mean we'll have to see if your brother keeps his word. If he doesn't attempt to make contact with Starfleet in the next hour, I'll stop the pod's detonation sequence."

Charlotte seethed, she wanted to hit him, hurt him. But she knew such an act was futile. She'd only be hurting herself.

"How do I even know you were telling the truth about any of it? I don't know about you, but a person's word to me means something." She pleaded, to the best of her ability.

Khan sighed and looked over to her. "I understand you feel cheated, but you mustn't doubt my sincerity. I'll do as promised, as long as you and your brother follow through."

Charlotte swallowed, not knowing what to believe. "I suppose I don't really have a choice but to trust you." She murmured as she crossed her arms.

He eyed her. She was angry, he understood that. But it wasn't his job to worry about her feelings. He could, however, provide her with a distraction. "It will take us two days to reach earth." He started "I used warp speed to move us away, but the ship's fuel capacities will no longer allow it. We'll need to travel at a steadier pace to arrive safely, and without detection. In the meantime, we should take an inventory of supplies- fuel, food, water, weapons." He glanced to her. "Do you know how to fire a weapon?"

Charlotte nodded, taking notice of what he was doing. "I'd say the ones I used growing up were more primitive that Starfleet's, but I'm sure I can manage."

"I'll make time later to make sure of it." He announced.

Charlotte pursed her lips, not specifically looking forward to it. "I'll start in the kitchen," She waited for a moment, to see if he'd respond. He didn't. That was more than enough to get her out of there.

It was nice, having a moment to herself. Every moment with Khan was charged with energy- something he seemed to have in abundance, but she lacked. Most likely, that was because he was a superhuman who thrived in fight or flight moments and she was, well, a human he'd deprived of sleep and emotional rest- not to mention the fact he'd her thrown around a room a few times.

She tried her best to push all that aside. There'd be plenty of time in the aftermath for therapy and healing when everything was done and everyone was safe. In the meantime, what she needed to focus on now was surviving. Particularly, she needed to focus on not screwing anything up- namely the safety of her brother and all those innocent people.

Charlotte made her way into the kitchen. As she approached the lights flickered on. It was white and antiseptic. The gleam of it caused her to squint her eyes. Starfleet certainly wasn't one for palliative decoration.

She began opening cabinets, frowning each time as all of them were empty. Given the circumstances of which Khan had taken the Icarus, it made perfect sense. It was in dock when he awoke. They didn't exactly have time to stock up on necessary supplies. Charlotte sighed, at least taking an inventory would be easy.

After scouring the kitchen, she found nothing. Charlotte sunk down to the floor in defeat and sat down. When she did so, she noticed cabinets under the kitchen island. She leaned forward and pulled them open.

There were two identical bottles. She pulled one out and looked for a label. There was none, but she recognized what it was immediately.

It was bloodwine. The Klingon drink she'd only seen bottles of in museums- for it was an artifact. Klingons didn't exactly have positive trade practices with the Federation. She began to wonder why a Starship was in possession of it.

The craftsmanship of the bottle was impressive. She twisted the cap and carefully opened it. Charlotte had read and heard stories of its potency. The aroma merely aided those assumptions. She felt a great curiosity, but was apprehensive. Now was not the time to drink. She quickly examined that statement. Perhaps it was and may be the only time, given her current situation.

She was taking too long.

Khan scanned the monitors of the kitchen. She wasn't there. He sighed in annoyance as he checked all the other areas of the ship. There was no sign of her.

He had trusted she wouldn't be so foolish as to cross him. Given the circumstances, he'd thought he'd made himself perfectly clear.

He marched down the hallways of the ship, ready to remind her what she was jeopardizing.

He made his way into the kitchen, looking for clues as to where she might have went. It was then he heard her clear her throat.

Khan walked around the corner to find her sitting on the floor. The camera must've not captured her image from where it was set up.

He eyed her carefully, kneeling down and picking up a metallic bottle sitting next to her.

"What are you doing?"

She looked to him, not really feeling the need to explain herself. But his adamant eyes commanded that she did.

"I've always wondered what it would taste like. And it's, really not as bad as I'd anticipated." She brought the bottle to her lips, but Khan snatched it from her.

"You're going to dehydrate yourself."

"I don't care,"

"I do," He immediately spat back. "I need you coherent."

Charlotte grinned, feeling the effect of the beverage a lot swifter than she'd imagined. "I thought you said you could do this all by yourself?" She teased. "Now all of the sudden, I'm important?"

He knew what she was doing. Despite his unwavering and practiced callousness, he understood desperation when he saw it. The young Doctor was not used to being under someone's control. She despised it. He understood the sentiment all too well, but that didn't mean he sympathized or was going to engage with her in her condition.

He took both the untouched and open bottle from her. He looked back to her and snatched the lid.

Charlotte eyed him, deciding not to test her boundaries. She stood up, but not without difficulty. She couldn't have had more than a few ounces, but her head spun, feeling the full effect of alcohol flowing through her veins. It was as if she'd consumed an entire bottle. She placed her hands on the counter in order to maintain control of her balance.

Khan sat the alcohol down and seized her chin in his hand. He examined her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She spoke in a panic. His touch was not rough, but it was certainly uninvited. She stared back at him.

"Your pupils are dilated. You've had too much."

"I only,"

"You need water." He decided and released his hold. He began to search the cabinets as she had.

"There's nothing here. The kitchen's empty."

"No matter, these ships all have replicators. It will supply our nutritional needs." He looked over to her. "You should eat something as well."

"I'll be fine. I'm not that…"

"Are you not accustomed to space travel? The body functions quite differently…especially when one decides to consume foreign spirits without the foresight to realize it might be slightly stronger than the spirits to which you're accustomed."

Charlotte didn't appreciate being lectured. But she had to admit, everything was slightly humorous under the influence of the "spirits" as he called it. She grinned.

"You know in your time, the Russians allowed cosmonauts to drink alcohol, in efforts to neutralize the tensions or stresses of their occupation."

Once again, he found himself fighting the urge to grin. Having a normal or casual conversation with someone was something Khan had been deprived of for years. Admiral Marcus made sure of that- to keep him in an isolated state of existence. He quickly shook off the sentiment, however.

"People from 'my time' as you call it knew nothing of the Klingons and their far more concentrated fermentation practices." He looked over to her. "You do know they mix the fermented sugar with actual blood? Hence the name."

Charlotte suddenly became acutely aware of a metallic aftertaste on her tongue. "I think I'm going to be sick." She announced. "Oh God, why would you tell me that?"

He examined her question in his mind. He'd done just what he'd said he wouldn't. He engaged with her, without even realizing it.

"The replicator on this model of ship is close by. We'll get you food and water." He began walking.

"I'm fine," Charlotte dismissed, but almost lost her footing when she began to walk. She was far dizzier than she realized.

Khan turned back, letting out an irritated sigh as he walked back towards her.

"I can manage." She held out a hand.

"You can barely stand, Dr. Kirk."

"I'm fine." She protested. "Just let me follow."

She was exhausting. Her pride was abundant, even when there was no merit for its existence. Perhaps that was a parallel to himself- a determined spark he easily could relate to. Because of this, Khan decided to accept her request with a nod- then continued to walk down the hall.

Charlotte furrowed her brow- having wholly expected him to pick her up or at least drag her along quicker. She smiled in the small triumph, feeling as if his acknowledgment was almost a small, perhaps minor gesture of respect.