A/N: I am immensely grateful for all the feedback received for the last few chapters. I hope you enjoy this little taste of what is to come...
Carol Marcus had never been so overwhelmed by emotions in her entire life.
Her hands were shaking. This said a great deal in itself because as a weapons specialist, she was trained especially to never let herself tremble while in the line of duty. If she had been carrying live ammunition, Carol knew for certain that she would have never quavered or flinched. But it was not simply a ticking bomb that she carried with her this time – oh heavens no – it was a veritable weapon of mass destruction that she had just beamed aboard her ship.
The hastily put together plan she had in place was to travel to a Class M planet in a nearby system that was currently inhabited by a Neolithic race of humanoids. There, she could deposit her superhuman cargo near a place where if the Federation were to discover Khan's location, they would be unable to interfere without violating the Prime Directive.
She knew of quite a few empty, yet hospitable planets that seemed to fit soundly into her scheme, but she was playing a game that only John Harrison had previously attempted.
She was using Starfleet's regulations against itself.
"Dr. Marcus, what have you done?"
Khan's low, soft voice made her, in this less than composed state, screech and leap from the command chair before she realized that there communication line had never been terminated. This came at a great cost to her broken leg, which buckled immediately beneath her weight and caused her to topple onto the floor.
Embarrassed – for there was no doubt in her mind that Khan had heard this entire spectacle – and on the verge of palpitations from her impromptu betrayal of everything she held dear, Carol threw her hand over the kill switch on the communications console.
The coordinates had already been accepted by the computer. She wasn't entirely sure why she had saved a terrorist from his fate, but she was content on assuming it was mercy… although there was a part of her that knew it was something far darker within herself that had reached out to Khan. Regardless of her motivations, there was no turning back now.
"Warp 5 to target destination." She ordered, attempting to calm herself as a glacial blue glow illuminated the typically dark and menacing bridge. Gritting her teeth, she crawled towards a nearby set of steps and seated herself on them, deciding that she could verbally control just about every aspect of this ship now that Khan had overridden the need for clearance…
Her eyes widened as an apocalyptic fact dawned on her.
She had made a terrible mistake.
"Show me Khan's cell!" she shouted, the hairs on the back of her neck rising in panic.
But the man had not broken out. He was standing, quite nonchalantly, in the center of his cell as if waiting…
She opened a line with his chamber and, as evenly as she could, stated, "I'm not certain if what I did was ethically right or even in the best interests of humanity, but you were condemned to death because my father found you. I only want to give you a chance a chance at the life you were robbed of."
His gaze fell directly on her, and he pursed his lips thoughtfully before replying, "Quite an elegant and selfless reason, my dear. But not the most truthful one."
His image on the screen grew larger as he stepped closer to the camera. Despite the fact that Carol was acting captain while he was confined in a transparent cell, Khan made her feel as if she was the one being interrogated. The balance of power in a room rarely worked against a man with an aura that could bring a cosmic body into orbit around him, and her position on the floor –once again – was not helping her establish authority.
"My crew is one matter," he continued, tone developing an uncomfortably sultry edge. "Except for their connection to me, they have never committed a crime in their entire lives. But why did you spare me?"
Why, indeed, she thought acerbically.
"Because I have seen what losing everything does to men." Was her iron-like reply. "It makes them dangerous. It makes them blind. That's what losing my mother did to my father…" she informed, biting her lip before finishing, "It made him a monster."
"Oh, my dear doctor." He said ostensibly, glazing over an undercurrent of condescension. "Your faith in my humanity is undeniably uplifting. But now that I have seen the future and all the wonders it holds, I am reluctant to take up the life of a savage on a desolate planet. Surely, you understand."
She felt her blood begin to boil. Gratitude was a luxury she never expected, but outright mocking?
"I am done with your mind games and desire for others to understand your underlying psychosis. You are a fool if you don't accept the terms I am offering you, as the only other option is a swift death." She revealed dangerously.
"Ah, yes... I think I would prefer to discuss these terms in person, if you do not mind."
"I'd mind that very – " Before her very eyes, Khan's image on the screen vanished. A hollowing sensation began to spread through her body as she turned, ever so slowly, to face the entrance to the bridge.
"My cunning, Dr. Marcus." Khan said pleasurably, tossing the device he had likely used to project his hologram while regarding her dying sense of hope with a satisfied expression.
Carol didn't attempt to crawl away. Even if she could escape, facing her comrades and a court martial with this blight on her name would be a more painful death than anything Khan could do to her. Back straight, she watched him approach for as long as she could before hanging her head in shame.
"You did not appreciate my simple ruse?" he said with light spirits, kneeling so close to her that she could feel the heat emanating from his body.
She wrinkled her nose angrily before grumbling, "It wasn't just a trick. You wanted to give me a false sense of security so you could extract my true intentions."
"You can thank your father for that particular insight." He told her cruelly. "He used it many times against his prisoners… against me…"
"So is that it then?" Carol finally snapped, her wintry eyes locking onto his with contempt. "You still see me as a mirror of my father and you're going to continue exactly where you left off?"
Khan didn't answer her immediately. Instead, his fingertips began to stroke her injured leg, a soft look in his eyes as he replied, "You should be in great pain. The internal hemorrhaging is causing swelling and an over-release of histamine that should render you quite incapable of speaking."
"I'm a Starfleet officer," she fumed. "And I've faced much greater pains than those of the flesh."
"So you have…" remarked Khan, drawing closer to her just as Carol reached up and tightly grasped the console's railing.
"But that doesn't make the physical injuries of hated foes any less enjoyable." She added, causing his eyebrows to rise conspicuously even before a grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Shut down warp drive."
The effects of her command were instantaneous. Even with her tight hold on the railing, her body still flew into the air before touching back down on the steps. Khan, however, was unprepared for the inertia of their sudden stop, and went soaring across the bridge.
She seized this chance to crawl desperately towards the console, barking commands all along the way.
"Send distress call to – "
"Belay orders." Roared Khan.
"Deploy rescue bea – "
"Belay orders." He cut in again, now simmering with rage.
"God damn you." She muttered numbly, beating her fist against the ground as a shadow consumed her form.
She heard the clicks and taps of him working quickly at the console before a hand placed itself on the small of her back, eliciting a gasp of apprehension on her part.
But a few seconds later, her spine remained intact. The hand, however, snaked around her abdomen, pulling her to her feet and supporting her weight.
"I am… conflicted." He said with false calm. She could feel his elevated pulse even through the hands that were pressed against her uniform.
After a grueling silence, Carol's curiosity finally got the best of her.
"Between what?
"Between two very distinct courses of action. Both of which you would find distasteful."
He didn't give her a moment to think before sweeping her off her feet and into his arms.
"I have already replaced your coordinates with my own. You will be needing the use of both legs once we arrive." He explained rigidly, carrying her into the elevator. He shifted all her weight to one of his arms briefly as he pressed the number for Medical Bay.
"Is this the course of action you chose? I'm not particularly against it."
Khan had a penchant for making her regret her words, pressing her bodily against the wall of the lift as it began to descend. His eyes, his smothering blue eyes, were fixed on her with an intensity she had never seen before. Even in the heat of battle.
"Are you certain of that?" he asked her in a low, rich voice.
Carol didn't respond – couldn't respond. Not when her own sentiments were undoubtedly more conflicted than her captor's. But as the doors parted and she was scooped up once again by his arms that could break her in two, she knew it wouldn't matter.
A/N: Khan is an expert at turning the tables. That's one thing that his original version and his reboot have in common. I do not have the next chapter written just yet, so any reviews that can give me some guidance are exceptionally appreciated.
I will likely start posting the dates for when I plan to update this and my other stories on my tumblr (lookoutapolarbear), and also post any unexpected delays there as well. Lastly, to all the anons that I cannot reply to directly, thank you very much for your reviews! I greatly appreciate the time and effort you've placed in this story's progression.