Khan Noonien Singh slid into the booth. Vala looked up from her PADD. Khan took a moment to enjoy the look of shock she didn't have time to hide. "Good morning Vala" he said. Vala just nodded.

Khan was still clad head to toe in midnight black, his lean form cutting an intimidating yet graceful figure. Vala on the other hand had opted for a simple pastel blue dress to celebrate the sun's appearance. They appeared the most unlikely pair. "You look very nice today, Vala" khan said. This of course snapped Vala out of her shock. She tried not to eye him warily and failed. Khan pulled out Vala's PADD and set it on the table. He pushed it across to her. Vala picked it up and turned it on. She looked up at Khan, her brows furrowed. "Why didn't you use the program?"

"I did and it worked." Khan said.

Vala fiddled with the program. "Then why is it still on my PADD? It should have been deleted."

Khan took a sip of his tea. "I recovered the program."

"How? Or even, why?" Vala asked.

Khan looked at her, and she flinched from the force of his disdain. "The program was flawed. I fixed what I could. I wouldn't suggest tampering with the code yourself. Ask your friend to retrieve it."

"Well I certainly got more than I bargained for... Thanks, I guess. Antoine will definitely owe me one now..." Vala turned off the PADD and slipped into her purse. "Was this some ploy to distract me from the questions I was planning to ask you?"

With the virus removed, Khan's decoding was expedited by days. The next phase of his plan wasn't due for another week. And it could never hurt to cultivate a resource that had proved so useful. He would stay. He would answer her asinine questions. And he would wring all the usefulness out of her. He spoke, his baritone voice dripping with charm. "Now that I've helped you, I only ask the privilege of asking you questions in return."

"Fair is fair" Vala said. "Now should I go first or would you like to."

"I believe the saying goes 'ladies first'"

"Well it's hard not asking a question that isn't prying while still worth my time... Why don't you actually ask the first one. "

"What is it that you do Vala?" He asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "As of right now I'm a personal assistant." Khan waited for her to elaborate but she didn't. Khan noted her defeated posture. She obviously had ambition. What was holding her back? Vala sighed and said, "I'm not sure if this should count as a question, but what would you like me to call you?"

John was a common name. And he had enough practice responding to it that he would have no trouble slipping into that persona, yet Vala had made it clear enough she didn't want his false name. She wanted him. Whoever he was. She had handed him power. She trusted him. Hubris was his weakness, but Khan thought a little indulgence couldn't hurt. "Please call me, K"

"K?" Vala asked rhetorically. "Ok, then. Its a pleasure to meet you, K".

Khan nodded in acknowledgement. "And where do you work, Vala?""

She frowned. This was exactly the direction she was trying to avoid. "In the office down the street." She dove into her next question before Khan could continue. "So where do you see yourself in ten years, K?" She meant it as a joke, just one of those gag questions from an impersonal personality questionnaire.

"...With my family." Khan's grip tightened into a white knuckled, quivering fist. The paper cup that had once held his tea crumpled, spilling the hot liquid all over the table. Vala bolted out of the booth.

Khan looked down at the mess he made. The tea was about to drip down onto his pants, but he couldn't seem to slacken his hold. Admiral Marcus would pay. Starfleet would pay. They will all pay. Even if it cost him his life.