Mina ran at a jog. Worry filled her, and she quickly took the turn around to the secondary cells. As she turned the corner she slowed immediately, feeling the force of her run continuing, and throwing off her balance for just a moment before she corrected herself. She straightened her jacket and continued again at a slow, and measured gait.
Arion gave her a side look, watching her as she approached him. She stopped before him at attention, her well measured control slipping on her face. Arion could see it, and his eyes flashed at her in a warning.
"I took the liberty of introducing myself to the augment. He has a sour disposition, and I don't care for it. Clean him up, will you? I tire of this nonsense." Mina's eyes darted to the door worriedly. It was not often that Arion should tire at a new play thing, but there was something in his eyes that also was a mystery. Could it be…defeat?
"Too much to handle, Arion?" Mina said quietly, unable to help herself. To see Arion fail was one of the only things she could say made her day.
"Careful Mina. You might be the doctor's favorite little project, but push me and I will make you scream. Again." Arion's eyes narrowed and Mina looked down. But it was still a victory in her mind.
"It won't take long for him to fall. I know what it is he wants, his precious cargo that is so dear to him. Wonder how much pain it will take for him to forsake them." He mused for a moment, but quickly cut to the chase.
"Now, go in and prepare him. The doctor is working on the serum, and it should be done soon."
Mina nodded, and passed Arion without another word. She opened the door and looked back to see him retreating. She entered the room and groaned inwardly. Khan knelt by the side of the bed, crouched over slightly. His arm was upon the surface, as if he had been contemplating rising to his feet, but could not yet do so. There was a slow drip, and Mina took a few steps closer, noticing first a pool of blood under his face. Khan heard her enter and his face whipped up, his eyes flashing like a caged animal.
It was different, she remembered herself in his shoes, clutching for balance and crippled by shame of weakness. But his eyes were feral as he prepared to defend himself even in his injury. Mina thought about the sedative he had been given, and knew that he was more vulnerable than ever, and far more dangerous.
He seemed to not recognize her completely, as he pushed himself up to his full height finally, stumbling a bit before regaining total control.
It made Mina want to cry. That same look of pain, of anger, of desperation. She recognized it even as she looked on the face that was now almost completely unrecognizable. There were bruises, black and blue, that spotted the pale skin of his face. His nose was broken, and she realized that the blood had come from there as well as his lip which had been split open as well. Up and down his arms were cut marks, and Mina cringed at her own memory of Arion's blade.
Mina took a deep breath and put her hands up, empty and open. Khan seemed to get the message, and the feral gleam in his eyes began to recede. Mina stepped closer and the man swayed. She quickly grabbed his arm and helped him into a sitting position onto the bed.
"What do you want? I am not exactly in the mood to chat." Khan said this coldly, carefully retrieving his arm from her soft grip.
"Orders are orders. The bastard does the dirty work, I clean up the mess." She responded coolly as well, opening the pack on her hip containing her rudimentary medical supplies. "Just sit down and relax. As much as you can at the moment."
He continued to regard her with a sense of aloofness, and did not flinch as she put disinfectant on his arms.
"I don't need any of this you know. My body's capacity to heal surpasses your own. This will all be gone by tomorrow."
Mina rolled her eyes, she was bored of his superiority complex but kept her mouth shut on the matter.
"This gives us an opportunity to come to an understanding on our next steps." Her words were a little cryptic regarding their escape, but he was quick enough, and nodded.
"Arion seemed to be slightly…distressed by his time with you. Glad to see you are still here." Mina said absentmindedly before continuing on his arms. There were so many cuts, and they were deep.
"We have more important things to talk about. Do you have a plan?" His voice was short and slightly bored.
"Before that, I need to tell you. We cannot leave without finding Rebecca, my sister. I don't know where she is, and I will not help you escape until we get her. I will not leave her to the same fate as me." Mina looked at Khan's face to see a look that was continually cold and calculating.
"Which is where I come in."
"Yes, exactly. I cannot find her and fight off Hauser and Arion alone. You are strong, fast, and intelligent. With your help I could get her out of this place."
Khan considered this and remained silent.
"I accept your need to find your sister. But it will make this a touch more difficult. For you see, I will not leave this station without my family. The torpedoes must be found and taken as well. This of course will be priority to your little problem."
Mina bit her lip for a moment as she finished wrapping his second arm. It had been difficult to collect the torpedoes to begin with. Now, she would have to figure the trips it would take to collect them into their escape. Things were getting complicated very quickly.
"Find them, and then we will discuss the finding and collecting of your sister." Mina purposely pushed the cloth on which she had dribbled disinfectant on onto the side of his face roughly. A normal person would have cried out, winced, or otherwise reacted. He had felt it, but had held onto his control. In effect, Mina felt silly for her attempted revenge.
"Is your sister worth the trouble Mina? Is she worth dying for?" Khan's question stopped Mina, and she responded in kind.
"Is your family worth it?"
There was silence between them as she continued cleaning his cuts on his face.
"This station has a security office I am sure. Find the torpedoes and your sister by filtering the ships life forms. It should be easy enough." Khan said simply, rising from the bed and walking towards the back corner of the room. The distance made it quite clear how he felt, and Mina felt similarly.
"As always, easier said than done. But yes, that would work well."
"It seems strange that you haven't done it before. How do you know she is still alive?" Khan exhaled, showing that he thought less of her.
"It's a little difficult when I was in the same position that you stand in now. I was…disobedient to say the least. So they had to keep a tight leash on me. In regards for my sister…I don't need to look at a computer screen to feel her still alive."
Khan accepted the answer, though he didn't seem confident in it.
"You still have your chip, don't you." It was clearly not a question, and Mina instinctively rose her hand to the left side of her neck. She could feel the thin piece of metal move underneath her fingertip and it sent a shiver down her spine.
"I can take care of that. From what I understand, it's not triggered to explode if it is stimulated. Lucky me, I guess. But I cannot do anything about it until it is time to go. Otherwise, the doctor will see discontinuity with my location, and that of the chip's."
"And our way off this station would be?" Khan moved on, not seeming to care much about her problems, and instead focusing on the actual escape.
"Two ways. The medium transport I used to get you and your crew on here, or the escape pods, which would leave no room for extra passengers other than us three."
"The cargo ship it is then. You need to figure out a way to have it prepped for our departure, including my crew." The finality of Khan's words made Mina feel as if the conversation were over. She slowly put the medical supplies back in her pack and simultaneously watch him as he paced back and forth underneath the cameras.
"They will assuredly be drugging your food. That same injection they gave you earlier can also be synthesized for putting in food. They will not want you to have your strength. And this will take time, meaning you will have to endure Arion again."
Khan paused before giving a response, but it was the same cockiness that she was learning to expect from the augment.
"Let me worry about Arion. As for the drug, when the time comes to escape, nothing will keep me from what I need to do." Mina was satisfied, and stood from the edge of the bed, looking at Khan again.
The bruising and lumps that had been forming stopped their progression, and Khan's eyes had returned to a more normal gleam. He was strong, and steadfast in his desire to escape by any means.
"I will likely see you again soon. Arion will not stay away for long from his task. Prepare yourself." She made to leave, but Khan beckoned her back.
"Then you shall hurry. Don't make me wait." Mina continued out the door and closed it. She locked it with her hand print and started down the hall. She stopped when she was about to pass her own private prison.
All she could think of was Rebecca, somewhere on the ship, cold and alone. How did she know that Rebecca was still alive? She had no proof, but that feeling in her gut, screaming out to the presence of her blood. No, she knew. And she would have to move quickly.
A memory bubbled to the surface from years ago, before either of them had ventured off planet. They had gone to the beach, and Mina remembered how they had walked together, talking of the future.
"I am going to see the stars one day Mina. Those big, beautiful orbs of energy…can you imagine?" Rebecca looked into the setting sun, hope and delight mixed in her green eyes.
"What will I do without you though? When you go to see the stars?" Mina said quietly behind her elder sister. Rebecca locked her fingers amongst Mina's and looked at her with a smile.
"Come on, silly, you will be right there beside me. Looking into the endless ocean of gleaming lights." Mina smiled and nodded, clutching Rebecca's hand tightly.
"Nothing shall ever part us, you and I. No matter what, we will always take care of one another."
If only it had been completely as they thought. The following weeks saw the death of their parents aboard one of the ships of Starfleet, leaving the girls without a home, and without a family. They had found their stars, but at a great cost.
When the doctor had revealed his interest in the sisters as experimental subjects, it had taken endless begging from Mina to keep him from using them both. Mina traded her freedom and free will for the safety of Rebecca.
So at least one of them might one day escape with their humanity.
Mina started towards her quarters, thinking darkly about the task at hand. Before they had found Khan, it would have been impossible for her to get to the security room without questions being asked as to her purpose. But now, perhaps everyone would be distracted enough for her to steal a quick moment there.
Sorry for a bit of a wait on this chapter! I have been distracted, and I needed to do some reworking on the next part of the story. It's a bit of a short chapter, but necessary for the coming action. :D
I would like to take the time to thank AvalonTheLadyKiller again for her helpful comments. Also, thanks to all my other readers who have also left their encouragements!
I hope to have a new, LONGER chapter up very soon. Thank you all for reading so far, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.