Chapter Two: Simplicity's Sake

Khan held Marla tightly as they transported from West Dorset to the transporter room of the Augment's ship. She had never used a transporter before and found the whole experience very disorienting.

Part of her wanted to enjoy this experience, but she was so frightened it was all she could do to not piss herself. She was in the presence of one of her favorite historical figures, who also happened to be the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He was so vital and commanding, his whole body burning with power and intelligence. She would have easily lost herself in his steely blue eyes if she didn't know he could literally rip her head off with his bare hands.

Khan kept a tight grip on her arm as he led her to the turbolift, then down to the ship's cargo bay. When they entered the bay Marla saw 29 cryo tubes lying side by side, each containing a beautiful woman. Just as many beautiful men stood over each tube, pressing the buttons on the keypads attached to the tubes. One pod was opened and empty.

"Someone has placed a lock requiring a keycode on the life support system of each of these cryo tubes," Khan told her. "I need you to remove the locks without killing my crew."

Marla looked up at him in surprise. "Why do you need me? You're brilliant, surely you can do it?"

A pained expression crossed Khan's handsome face as his eyes traveled to the empty pod. "I tried—my attempt was unsuccessful."

"I'm sorry," Marla said gently. "I'll do my best to help you." Unfortunately, when she examined the lock she immediately knew she hadn't the foggiest idea how to remove it. Visions of Khan ripping off her head floated across her mind. "I think it would be safer to figure out the code."

"Brilliant deduction, Doctor McGivers!" Khan said with a flash of annoyance. "Why didn't I think of that? Do you know how many 14-digit permutations there are? I brought you here because you are the preeminent expert on these cryo tubes."

She shrugged. "Yeah, well, that's because no one cares about them. I've never heard of such a lock being standard on these. Who put them there in the first place?"

"The late Admiral Alexander Marcus of Starfleet," he spat angrily. "He was the one who woke me. He used me to make weapons and warships for him while he held my family hostage. I very much enjoyed crushing his skull."

Marla winced. "Sounds personal."

Khan nodded. "Yes, very personal."

"But why would he target just the women?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" said a large man with shoulder-length blond hair and a beard. "He wanted to prevent us from breeding. Khan, why are you listening to this inferior creature? We will figure out the code in time without her-" the blond man sneered at Marla derisively. "—help."

Khan took a few steps towards the man until they were just inches apart, then stared down at the slightly shorter man until he took a step back. "When I want your opinion, Ericsson, I will ask for it."

Marla realized she had been holding her breath during the exchange and was very happy that it ended without violence. She turned her attention back to the tube in front of her. "Just the women…" she said softly. "I wonder—" she shook her head to dismiss the thought. "No."

Khan turned his stern gaze back on her. "Doctor, I suggest you don't hold back. Your continued existence depends on it."

Marla paled. "I-I was just thinking, maybe on some level he was trying to protect them. The admiral, was he married? Did he have kids?"

"Widowed with one daughter, Carol," Khan said.

"Thought so," she said smiling. "My dad was always very protective of me-hated every boyfriend I ever had, no matter how successful. But he was also protective of my female friends. He was never like that with my brothers or their friends."

"All right, for the sake of argument Marcus thought he was protecting them," Khan conceded, then fell silent, lost in thought. "What he did here, it was personal, meant to hurt me, so it's logical to assume that the key code was of personal significance to him."

Khan inputted Carol Marcus' birth date, his wife's, the admiral's Starfleet ID number, the coordinates to his hometown, the birthplace of his daughter. Every bit of information he knew about Marcus that could be translated into a number he tried with no luck. "Dammit!"

"Captain," said another man. He was almost as handsome as Khan, slender with perfectly coiffed short brown hair. "Ericsson is right. Why are you still listening to this woman's babbling?"

"Because I think she's on to something, Otto."

Marla couldn't help but notice that Khan wasn't nearly as brusque with Otto as he had been with Ericsson. "I don't think it would be anything you would know," Marla offered. "Maybe you're overthinking it. In fact Marcus would have counted on you overthinking it. It something simple, something you'd never guess in a million years."

"As a simpleton, Dr. McGivers," Khan said through clenched teeth, "what do you suppose this simple solution is? And have a care, my patience is wearing very thin."

Oh crap, she thought. Come on, Marla think! "Okay, so what does a father do when he's trying to protect his little girl? He holds her, he talks to her, he sings to her…" Marla's face lit up with excitement. "How many songs can you play on a keypad? You know, like lullabies."

Khan snorted. "I don't know any lullabies. I was raised in a laboratory."

"Fortunately I wasn't!" Marla started pecking away at the keypad and played Mary Had a Little Lamb, then Brahms Lullaby, and then My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. Nothing.

Khan shook his head and approached her. "Dr. McGivers, I'm afraid your time is up."

"Wait! What song would a Starfleet admiral sing to his daughter? I know!" She started singing as she pressed in the numbers:

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are."

The keypad started beeping and flashing green, then the bolt holding it in place was released. Marla looked at it in disbelief, then threw her hands in the air with a relieved cry. "That's it! 11556654433221!"

So Khan Noonien Singh, once dictator of one-fourth of the planet Earth, and his crew played Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on the remaining 28 keypads. The cryo tubes were then brought to the infirmary two at a time. Dr. McGivers assisted in releasing all the female crew members from their frozen prisons. Khan watched as the doctor greeted each and every one with a blanket, a cup of nourishing broth, and a warm welcome to the 23rd Century.

Kindness and compassion were not qualities he valued in his crew, but they were desired in a doctor. Khan was impressed with McGivers' bedside manner. He also found her appearance somewhat pleasing and he rather enjoyed the way she looked at him with shy reverence.

Otto and Ericsson were correct; she was from an inferior race of humans and would have likely been exterminated during the Eugenics Wars. But Khan and the other Augment warlords did engage servants from the lower races who turned out to be useful and even trusted. McGivers had already proven herself useful, perhaps Khan would come to trust her as well.

"Otto, what do you think of her?" Khan asked his second-in-command.

"She would make a fine ship's pet," he said wryly, "but do we really need a little mouse underfoot?"

"We need a doctor," Khan replied.

When all the women were safely recovered from their cryogenic sleep, Doctor McGivers approached Khan gingerly. "So you've got your crew back and everybody's happy. May I go home now?"

Khan ignored her request. "I have a proposition for you. I am in need of a ship's doctor and I believe you would fill the position adequately."

McGivers' shook her head. "I'm just a GP, I'm sure I wouldn't—"

"Do not lie to me," Khan rumbled dangerously. "You obtained your medical degree at Cambridge, then you trained at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London in trauma medicine and general surgery. You only went into family medicine when your father died and you took over his practice, which gave you ample time to indulge in your historical fantasies. On the contrary, Dr. McGivers, you are just what I'm looking for."

"What are you planning?" she asked with trepidation. "Where are you and your crew going?"

"We are going to find a new planet to inhabit."

"But what if it's already inhabited?"

Khan grinned unpleasantly. "That depends on our reception. If they agree to be ruled by us, so be it. If not, we will exterminate them."

McGivers shivered. Her look of profound disappointment was puzzling given the fact she knew his history. It also puzzled him that he was bothered by her reaction.

"Oh my," she murmured. "I don't think I'm up to it, but thanks for asking."

"That is unfortunate because you know far too much about us and our plans for me to release you." Khan took a step towards her and glared down at her. "If you won't agree to be my ship's doctor, I'm afraid I'll be forced to throw you out an airlock. Weigh your options carefully; my offer is good for the next ten seconds."

Marla sighed heavily, then gave Khan a halfhearted salute. "Doctor Marla McGivers reporting for duty."

To be continued…