Late update, yes, I know. Apologizes. I'm sorry to admit that I lost interest in this for a while there, but I'm back now. Thank you for the continued support and love. You guys keep me writing so please keep reviewing.

Much love and many thanks

Chapter 6: Shelter

"Where are we going?" Aria asked from the kitchenette as she finished packing some food they may need for their journey, "Surely we can't stay on Earth; Starfleet has bases everywhere."

"Which is why we are going where they wouldn't even dare to reach us, Aria," Khan replied, setting his bag down on the counter. He then pulled out a device from his bag and showed her the coordinates he had just administered. Aria's eyes went wide for she knew exactly where those four numbers lead too. It was indeed a place where Starfleet wouldn't go; no one would go there, in fact.

"Kronos?" she asked, looking at Khan with concern, "You can't be serious."

"I am," he declared, "The Klingons are a threat to Starfleet and Marcus wouldn't risk a war with them over two fugitives."

"Of course he would, that's been his goal all along." Aria protested, "That's the very reason he woke us up."

"He's not ready to go to war just yet," Khan pointed out, setting the device down and packing more items into his bag, "He has the weapons the both of us designed and at least one active battleship, hardly the armory for war with a warrior race such as the Klingons. Marcus has a plan, my lark; one that he is not quite ready to take into full effect."

Aria gave off a heavy sigh and tossed her bag over her shoulder. Of course she trusted Khan and his decisions, but something about this didn't settle well with her. The Klingons are a violent race, ruthlessly violent. They were warriors much like she and Khan were but without any agendas. Klingons kill because they can, not because they need too.

Swallowing her fear, she took a few steps closer to him, closing in the small gap between them. "Khan, you know that I trust you with my life," she said, gently rubbing her hands up and down his thick biceps, "but this is not just some remote planet to hide out on. This is Kronos, the Klingon home world. If they even get a tiny hint to our presence, they will hunt us down, torture us then kill us. The Klingons are ruthless; they can't be trusted."

"I'm not looking for their trust," Khan replied, "Besides, I have chosen a sector of the planet that is uninhabited; we'll be safe, I assure you."

Aria nodded and looked back down at the ground. Very gently, Khan cupped her face in his hands and lifted it up so that he could gaze into her eyes. A warm, comforting feeling overrode any doubt or fear she had as Khan's lips gently pressed against hers. They were going to be fine, she knew it. Nothing could stop them from finally receiving the revenge that they deserved, not even the Klingons.

All she had to do was place her trust in Khan.

"I love you," she whispered when they broke for air.

"And I love you, Aria," he replied, stroking her cheek, "Always." They exchanged another quick kiss then continued to prepare to leave Aria's apartment. "Do you have transport of any kind?" Khan asked, zipping up his bag and tossing it over his shoulder

"Hmm? Oh, yes I do. A jump ship that I've been working on for some time." Aria replied, stationing her phaser into its holder around her waist.

A proud smile grew across her captain's lips: "Still earning to fly are we, my lark?"

"Can't help it," Aria replied, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink in happy embarrassment, "We all have our hobbies, you know."

Khan chuckled slightly then returned to his normal contained self: "Is it airworthy?"
"Yes, a tad shaky, but airworthy." She proudly replied, "But I wouldn't trust using the ship for long distance space travel. I assumed we were using that beaming device to get to Kronos."

"We are, but I need to know if you have a ship on stand by." He explained, "When I return to Earth to carry out the destruction of the weapons base, I'll need an method of escape."

"You say that as if you were planning on coming back without me," Aria pointed out with a smirk. However, her smile soon faded when she noticed the seriousness and stoic manner of Khan's expression.

He did mean to come back without her.

Why? What good would being separated (yet again) be for their plan? How long did Khan expect to leave her alone on the planet? Aria could fend for herself on Kronos, but only for so long. What if something went wrong and Khan wouldn't be able to get back to her? So many of these questions zipped through her mind that it was hard for her to see a logical answer to any of them. Why was he going to leave her?
"Khan, what aren't you telling me?" she asked, but he just shook his head and turned away from her again. "Khan," she tried again, but it was of no use.

"Are you ready?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in close to his body, "Hold on to me."

"Wait, Khan, you have to talk to…"

"There is nothing to discuss right now." He snapped at her, "I will explain once we are off of Earth. Now just hold on to me."

Before she could even utter a counter point, there came a loud, powerful knock at the door. They both froze and stared at the door, fearing the worse. A booming voice shouted from the other side:
"Commander Morrow, open the door!"

"They've found us," Aria whispered, picking up the beaming device, "Quick! Punch it and let's go." But Khan was as still as a statue, simply glaring at the door as if he could burn it down with his eyes. By his gaze, Aria could tell that his mind was elsewhere at the moment, not focusing on their escape but rather on the on-coming intruders. Aria immediately caught on to what he was planning to do; he wanted to attack, attack and kill. Anger and revenge was blinding his vision, which, if he acted on it now, would ruin their plan. Aria didn't want to risk it, not when they were so close to leaving

There came another loud knock: "Commander, by order of Admiral Marcus, I demand you open this door!"
Tensing up his muscles, Khan made a step toward the door. Just as he was about to draw his weapon, Aria tightly gripped his shoulders and pulled him back. He turned towards her, his piercing blue eyes glaring down at her but Aria wasn't phased.

"Not now," she whispered, "don't waste your strength."

"COMMANDER! OPEN THIS DOOR!"

Khan grabbed Aria by the hand and ran back over to the small kitchen area. He then pushed her down to crouch under the counter to which Aria attempted to fight.

"What are you doing?" she said as he pushed her as low to the ground as possible, "This is unnecessary."

"Quiet!" Khan hissed, pushing the warp device into her arms, "Stay low and hold onto this! That's an order."

"I thought you weren't my captain anymore," Aria replied to which Khan just ignored. He knelt in front of her, using his body to shield her, then pointed his phaser toward the door. The front door was violently kicked open and instantly Khan began to fire at the intruders with Aria looking on in awe.

He hit the first man in the chest, who went down with a thud. The second had a moment to aim, but he too then fell. Within seconds, at least a dozen of these intruders charged into the apartment but that didn't faze Khan. His and Aria's location under the counter was a safe enough barricade that the opposing fire wouldn't hit them. While they were stationing a proper formation to shoot, Khan was focused and determined with each kill, knocking him or her down one by one. He was a natural killer and he wasn't afraid to show it.

Aria's heart raced and urge to fight as well overcame her. Pulling out her own weapon, Aria began to fire. She wasn't afraid to open fire on those whom she used to call fellow commanders (the intruders were after all Starfleet officers). This was what she was made to do: to fight, to win and to kill. Her eyes caught Khan staring at her but it wasn't a condescending look; Her captain looked upon her with pride, a pride she hadn't seen since their last battle together.

"Impressed?" she said over the sound of laser fire but that became her mistake. One Starfleet officer took this minor movement of distraction and managed to sneak around to aim at Aria. Khan immediately saw the attacker and fired but not before Aria was hit in the shoulder.

She screamed out in pain then crumbled down under the counter. Aria gripped her wounded arm and curled into a tight ball; blood seeped through her fingers and her whole body was full of sharp, excruciating pain. It seemed that her immunity to such feelings, gained by her augmented status, was failing her. Her focus began to blur and the world seemed to fog up. Sounds began to fade and her vision started to get dark.

"Khan," she managed to breathe out as she reached a shaking hand up to grab her lover's coat. Khan had already turned his attention to her and scoped her up into his arms, holding her close with one arm and continuing to fire with the other.

"Aria! Aria, look at me!" He commanded to her, but she had already started to fade. She tried to speak but no words would come. All she could do was just stare up at her lover and try her best to ignore the pain. "Aria, just relax. You'll heal! Do you understand me?" He said, "Just close your eyes and give in to the pain; I'll protect you."

"Khan," was all she managed to reply. She clung to Khan's coat with what little strength she had as he held her head in place on his chest. Trying to block out everything, Aria closed her eyes and let the oncoming darkness take her.

Instantly setting his panic aside, Khan grabbed his and Aria's bags then snatched up the warp device from the counter. He then slammed the enter button down and huddled over his now fainted lover to protect her from any oncoming fire. Yellow swirls of light began to spin around their bodies and they were instantly immobilized.

Then they were gone.

The small group of baffled and irritated officers stood in the apartment, helping the wounded and cursing the escape of their targets.

"What now sir?" one said, addressing the man at the front of the group, "They've escaped."

"Don't give up so quickly. They'll be back," said the man, "John Harrison isn't one to just up and leave without a trace. This fight isn't over, cadet, and now that he has kidnapped one of our top weapons experts, there's no telling what he'll do. Search the place for any clues as to what their location might be."

"Yes, Admiral Marcus, sir." They all replied and then scattered about the apartment. Marcus took a few steps toward the spot where Khan and Aria had knelt and examined it. A small pool of blood now marked the spot and a smirk grew across Marcus' face.

0000000000000000000

After what felt like mere moments after shutting her eyes, Aria felt a warm desert-like breeze brush against the back of her neck. The sounds of a howling wind and distant thunderstorms echoed all around her, yet she didn't dare lift her head from her lover's warm chest. She knew where she was; they had made it to Kronos and out of harms way…for now. Keeping her eyes closed, Aria clung a bit tighter to her lover and groan slightly. She felt Khan's warm arms scoop her up into a tight hold then his soft lip brush against her left temple.

"Can you hear me?" he asked and Aria nodded. "Stay with me my lark." He coaxed, "I will keep you safe." He then took off in a fast run to find any form of shelter. Aria clung to him tightly and rested her head in the space between his shoulder and neck.

Her shoulder throbbed in pain and all she could do was moan. She knew she would heal, that was one of the unique traits of her kind, but that didn't eliminate the pain. Healing takes time, even for an augment. Except for her captain, that is. He was the first of their kind and therefore the strongest. He was almost completely immune to every form of attack and could heal faster than any other augment. It take the strongest being in the universe to hurt him and, frankly, there was no such thing.

Khan dashed through the old ruins of Kronos, looking all around to see if there were any enemies lurking about. He had planed on this section of the planet being uninhabited, but one never knows with the Klingon race. They are conniving and ruthless. If they don't know who you are, then you are automatically an enemy, a threat that must be destroyed. Khan didn't have time for a petty scuffle with the Klingons. He needed to find shelter and a place for Aria to heal, that was all he cared about at the moment.

He wasn't going to lose her. He wasn't.

A small structure-it resembled the entrance of a cave of some sort-came into view. It was well hidden by large pillars and rumble, making the door almost impossible to see. Khan adjusted his hold on Aria, who was nearing unconsciousness again, then sprinted for the door. He nudged it open with his shoulders then quickly disappeared inside. A greenish-yellow light flickered on as he stepped inside and the door slid shut with ease.

Despite its cave like outer appearance, this hideout turned out to be just what he was looking for. To Khan, it seemed to be an abandoned bunker. There was an old cot set up against the far back wall as well as a few shelves containing empty food packages and emergency equipment. A large locker was up against the right wall with a faded label on it. Even though it was covered in grime and clearly written in Klingon, Khan could read that it was a small arms locker.

"It seems that the fates are on our side, my lark," he said, kissing Aria's cheek. She just moaned in reply and clutched onto him even tighter. 'She's weakening,' he thought, rushing over to the cot.

Khan laid Aria down atop the old, grey sheets and examined her wounds properly. The bleeding had stopped but her skin had become ghostly white. The wound on her shoulder looked a lot worse then what it was, as did the one on her leg. 'A long rest and then she'll be alright.' Khan told himself, 'She'll heal; She was meant to heal.' A sharp pang hit Khan's chest as he leaned over his beloved Aria, stroking her hair back to clear her forehead. He was…worried. Yes, worried; another emotion he wasn't designed to feel. Yet again, he had felt something that could only be released by her.

"Aria," he whispered, kissing her forehead, "forgive me. I did not protect you as I promised I would." Very careful not to increase her pain, Khan lifted her back up into his arms and removed her coat. Aria groaned a bit and blinked her eyes open just as he was laying her back down.

"Don't speak." Khan instructed, sitting on the edge of the cot, "I'm only going to take a look at your shoulder."

"How…how bad?" she groaned, attempting to sit up.

"Nothing rest can't fix," he assured her. Khan then took a hold of her hand and lifted her arm up to test the mobility of her shoulder. A surge of pain ran up her body as he started to move it and Aria immediately winced, squeezing Khan's hand as tight as she could.

"Sorry." She said through gritted teeth.

"You needn't apologize for pain," he told her, laying her arm back down across her abdomen. Khan finally dropped their luggage he had strapped over his shoulder then unzipped his bag. He pulled out a small needle and started to clean the

"Your not going to knock me out, are you?" Aria asked, feeling fatigue start to over take her again.

"My cells regenerate faster than yours," he replied, rolling up left sleeve, "I'm going to give you some of my blood to quicken the healing process. You'll fall asleep almost instantly."

"I was unaware your blood was a substitute for morphine," she teased, setting a hand on his thigh.

"You'll fall asleep because of the pain, love." he corrected, "The transfusion won't be a comfortable process."

Aria nodded and gulped down her fear; she trusted him. He wouldn't hurt her. She watched as Khan then stuck the needle into the crock of his arm and filled it about halfway with his thick, dark blood. He then slowly removed it and leaned over Aria again, cradling her head in his lap.

"You needn't fret, my lark." He whispered, "I've brought us to safety, at least for now. There seems to be some supplies we can use to our advantage here and I can fix these weapons up. I won't let anything harm you while you sleep."

A weak smile grew across Aria's lips as she brought a hand up to Khan's face: "You've said that to me, before." She replied, stroking his soft cheek, "All those years ago, do you remember?" Khan smiled back at her and nodded. He then leaned forward so that their lips could meet in a soft kiss.

"I'm…I'm sorry that I was foolish." She whispered when they parted.

"Foolish?" he asked

"I let my guard down for one moment," she went on, "If I hadn't looked away, if I had stayed focused on the targets, I…"

"Listen to me: this isn't your fault." He assured her, taking her hand into his, "Aria, seeing you fight again, seeing you for the warrior that you really are, I was in such awe of you. You were focused on the threat in front, as was I. We didn't expect the attacker from the side."

"But we should have."

"Mistakes are made in battle."

"But we don't make mistakes."

Khan took in a deep breath and looked away for a moment. She was right; they were superior beings, not just two rouge soldiers. They were built to be the perfect warriors…they were the perfect soldiers. She shouldn't have been wounded and he should have protected her. Anger began to fill Khan's thoughts: Anger at himself for not protecting Aria, anger at those officers for attacking, but ultimately anger for Marcus who was really to blame for this whole predicament.

But they would have their revenge soon enough.

He would pay for all of this.

"We could afford to make this one," he finally said with an icy tone to his voice, "It won't happen again."

Before Aria could reply, Khan jabbed the needle into her wounded shoulder and pressed down to release the fluid. Aria's eyes grew wide as a white-hot feeling of pain overcame her; it truly was unbearable. Khan pulled her in close, muffling her cries into his chest and gently rocked her back and forth. After a few moments, Aria went limp in his hold and slipped into a peaceful unconsciousness. Her lover laid her back down and placed her coat over her like a blanket.

"Sleep well, my lark," he whispered, kissing her forehead, "Sleep before the real battle begins."