As soon as they were away from the centre of the bazaar and in a quieter spot, Alhana turned to Khan. She tried so hard to keep a smile from erupting onto her face but as soon as she caught the gleam in his eye she failed, "That was awesome!" she said.
"I do not like the way he referred to us as 'Flatheads'," Khan said as they walked along, a little closer together in order to hear each other over the noise, "It made me feel inferior."
"A feeling I've had most my life," Alhana said.
"Yet that can't be a true sentiment," Khan said, "You're the captain of a star ship and your crew follow you loyally."
"We're just a bunch of run-aways and misfits trying to find a place in the universe," Alhana said with a wave of her hand, "None of us are really wanted by our own people so we carve our way where we can." Khan was silent for a long moment. She hoped he was contemplating those words as they weaved through the crowd. "It doesn't make us inferior or less worthy, it just makes us different."
"I'm beginning to understand how that feels," he said. His voice was low and she only just heard him over the shouting in the bazaar. "I should have killed him."
"What?" Alhana said freezing in her tracks.
"I should have killed him."
"Why?"
"He recognised you and knew you'd been captured. I'd wager that he knows we are being hunted as well. He could alert Star Fleet," Khan said stopping just a little bit too close to her. Alhana took an involuntary step back before she could stop herself.
"He could do but what would be in it for him?"
"Vengeance."
"If Kahless wants vengeance he'll be up there waiting for us when we return to the ship, he has more firepower that we do and he knows it." Alhana said, "Forget him for now, we'll head to the upper levels and see if there is anything there. Thanks for pounding him though; I've wanted to do that for as long as I can remember. He's a real jerk sometimes." Khan nodded at her before they began the climb to the top floors.
The upper levels of the bazaar were rammed with people. Some selling, most buying, every one of them clamouring for a bargain and hoping to make money one way or another. There were Orions, Cardassians, Romulans and a whole host of other faces, some of which were new to Alhana. The scent of roasting meat reached her and she had to stop herself from drooling. Delightful titbits were being offered for minimal prices and she was sorely tempted to purchase some. She left the morsels where they were however; everything spent here was money not being spent on fixing the Warbird and that had to be her priority, without the ship, there would be no further work. Alhana drifted along through the stalls, her mind wandering away from the task at hand and focusing on other matters – mostly getting the ship fixed, where they would get the parts from and how long it would take to get the job done. Maybe they could get the parts from that Ferengi merchant who could source Klingon parts. She'd not contacted him for a while but she knew he would be able to help if she only asked. She shuddered at the idea, he was a bit of a creep but then again, he was cheap…
Hands seized her waist and pulled her backwards. "We need to turn the other way," Khan whispered in her ear before she could make a noise. She shivered, not altogether fearfully, as his large hands held her securely. All of a sudden, she was aware of the expanse of his chest pressing against her back and his proximity seemed to be doing odd things to the pit of her stomach, "Look." Ahead, at the next junction, was a large poster displaying his face and a group of people were looking straight in their direction. Alhana nodded. She was more aware of his lean form and the strong hands clasping her than any immediate danger and try as she might, she could not dismiss that knowledge. She swallowed hard and he let her go. There was no more time to think about it, they spun on their heels and scarpered off in the direction they'd come, back into the busy market
They reached the edge of the upper platform soon enough, Alhana touched her watch and the familiar warm sensation of the transporter engulfed her. A moment later she stepped off the pad and back into the familiar surroundings of her ship. Khan was beside her but she couldn't think about him at the moment. The place where he'd touched her still tingled with the ghost of memory and she couldn't dismiss it from her mind, no matter how hard she tried. The sensation didn't leave when she flapped her shirt, "Everything OK?" Khan asked. Blood flushed to her face and she gave him an awkward smile.
"Yes. I'm going to take a shower; I can smell the bazaar on me and it stinks!" She said. She left before he had chance to say anything else yet she was sure he had been smirking at her.
By the time she'd showered and changed, the rest of the crew had returned to the ship and she felt a lot calmer. She gathered the leaders of the respective teams and called them together for a meeting on the bridge. "We got nothing," Tig said.
"Nothing here either," Maglin said.
"No," Mindor said
"We heard about that Vulcan," Ranka said, "He jumped on a ship heading to the Toraz system."
"Only thing we turned up was the regular job from Kahless and I don't think he'll be in a hurry to hear from us again." Alhana said unable to keep from smiling.
"Oh?" Tavana said lifting her eyebrow.
"Khan broke his arm in response to an insult made to us both. Apparently he found 'Flathead' as insulting as I did."
"Good." Kang nodded.
"Just don't start throwing chairs at him." Tig laughed. She shot the dark haired Klingon what she hoped was a scathing look. He merely laughed at her and she shook her head.
"What details of we have on the Toraz system?" she said, quickly changing the subject.
"Not much. A single habitable planet, the fourth distant from the star, the locals are friendly but don't go in for exploration much. There is a large city in the northern hemisphere." Tig answered as the information appeared on his screen.
"I think it's worth checking out, we may as well lay in a course, it's the best we've got." Alhana said. The rest of the crew nodded, "Oh, before you all vanish. There were images of Khan posted in that bazaar, he spotted them before me and we managed to make it back here before anything happened. If you happen to see them in your explorations, destroy them."
There was a general murmur of approval before she dismissed them. She remained on the bridge with Kang and Akhil. Both were deep in conversation about the latest weapon developments and how they could modify the ship to accommodate them. Alhana eavesdropped while they spoke, they might have some viable suggestions and their conversation was far better than staring into the screen. There was nothing to read either and it passed the time. If only they could get the plasma coil fixed up, then she could think about upgrading the weapons systems. Still, their conversation was intriguing. "What have you found?" she asked, unable to keep silent anymore.
"There's a new guidance system for photon torpedoes." Kang said.
"We were wondering if we could apply the systems on this ship." Akhil said. There was a wicked smile that crept onto her face as she spoke about her true passion.
"There's no reason why not." Alhana said.
"Really?"
"Coil first but the weapons system on this ship are so old, I know how you speak about it when you think I'm not listening," she said. The two weapons specialists exchanged glances and smirked to one another. "If you're serious about it, get me a report stating all the benefits of the upgrade, what it will cost and I'll look into it a bit more."
"Sounds good captain." Kang said. Akhil nodded along with him before they turned their conversation onto more mundane topics.
"How long will it take to get to Toraz?" she said.
"Two and a half days." Akhil replied after punching some buttons on her console. Alhana nodded and settled back into her seat, might as well get comfortable.
The journey to Toraz was uneventful; whoever thought space travel was an exciting dash between galaxies had never travelled in space. The majority of the time was spent reading dull communications they intercepted and staring at the stars. Some time she devoted to sparring with the crew but that usually left her more battered than she liked. She wasn't as strong as the Klingons but she always tried, usually took a beating for it but hey, if she didn't try she'd never win.
Facing her now was Tig, the large Klingon was bearing down on her fast; she raised a hand to block one blow only for him to feint and pound her midriff with his other. A whosh of air escaped her lung and she coughed, fighting back the tears that flooded to her eyes, she blinked. Growling, she pulled herself together and launched her own fist at Tig's head. She caught his cheek and followed the blow with a kick to the crotch. There was a burst of jeers from the audience as Tig's face coloured. Roaring, he caught her leg on the recoil and pulled. Alhana struck the floor with her shoulder. She winced but rolled away before he could pin her down and thus win the bout. On her feet once more, she dodged several quick blows. Countering with her left fist, she connected with his cranial ridges. Quicker than she was, Tig struck her right temple before she could raise her guard again. White light flickered across her vision and she staggered back. Wet sticky liquid pattered down her cheek as she sank to the floor. Blackness threatened to consume her as she sat stunned on her backside. She shook her head, refusing to give in to the darkness. Her vision cleared and she put her hand to her temple. He'd drawn blood!
"Captain?" Tig's voice drifted down to her and she looked up.
"I'm fine," she said climbing to her feet. She was determined that he wouldn't see her wooziness from the blow, that would only invite further mockery.
"Yeah!" he roared clapping her on the back, "That was an honourable fight." The rest of the watching crew cheered, even Khan gave them both a nod. "You managed to not faint, I need to hit harder next time!" Tig said, there was a huge smile on his face. Alhana touched her freely bleeding wound and laughed.
"I didn't hurt your hand did I?"
Tig looked at his fist and shrugged, "Who's next?" he demanded. Alhana walked to the side of the ring, grabbed a towel and pressed it against her temple. No one was forthcoming in his challenge; most of them had already fought that day, "Fine. If you're all too cowardly to fight, I suggest we drink." More cheers followed as Tig dragged one of the cargo crates with his name on over and prised it open. Inside were several bottles of thick red liquid. Bloodwine.
"How long have you had this Tig?" Alhana asked.
"Too long," he said laughing. He handed her a bottle and she popped the lid with her teeth. She took a long pull of the potent beverage and revelled in the sensation of the thick liquid easing down her throat. It settled with a warm sensation in the hollow of her stomach and she smiled. She spotted Khan with a bottle in his hand and decided he should be warned. He was sitting on one of the crates looking on with bemusement.
"Have you had Bloodwine before?" she asked. He looked at the bottle and shrugged.
"No."
"Its strong stuff, twice as good as Earth Whiskey." She said.
"I'll bear that in mind," he said. There wasn't a trace of emotion in his passive voice. He removed the cap with far more grace than she ever thought possible from a human, albeit an enhanced one, and took a swig. His face was a picture. He swallowed the concoction with visible effort before sticking his tongue out, "Eugh, how do you stomach that?"
"It is an acquired taste," she said unable to quell a laugh, "You get used to it."
"The aftertaste isn't so bad," Khan said after a moment.
"I can get you something else if you'd prefer."
"Thank you Captain, no. I'll stick with this." Khan said forcing himself to take another swig from the bottle. Alhana nodded and patted his knee, finding it strange that he called her by her title, rather than by name.
"Very well," she said before moving to find Akhil. She was standing with Kang and they appeared to be deep in a conversation that ceased as soon as she approached, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Of course not Captain," Akhil said.
"I came to discuss the weapons report, I'm glad to have caught you both at once."
They both looked at her expectantly. "Can we do it?"
"Yes, I'm impressed with the increase damage it will give us and you're both right in saying that the weapons are woefully inadequate for the types of job we run."
"Great!" Kang roared. He took a long drink from his bottle in celebration. Akhil clapped him on the back and gave a cheer of her own.
"The coil is our first priority though." Alhana said. "Never forget that."
"Is the coil defective?" This time it was Khan who spoke, at some point, he'd wandered over to where they stood.
"Yes. They're well known for a manufacturing flaw, it's why the Defence Force retired these vessels. The cloaking device can interfere with the engine function which renders it useless. Fortunately replacements are available but they are expensive – hence why we're doing anything for money." Alhana explained.
"Can they be repaired?"
"No."
Khan nodded as he digested this. "How close are you to having the money?"
"We still need half of it." She said. She took a drink from the bottle in her hand but she no longer felt like drinking. The reminder that the ship was in a bad shape of repair left a bitter taste in her mouth and she lowered the bottle.
"We'll get there Captain," Akhil said clapping her on the arm. Alhana nodded.
"I just hope it's before we experience critical failure," she said. The hot booze sank into her stomach and she did her best to smile.
"How did she end up in such a condition?" Khan asked. Kang and Akhil exchanged glances before moving away in a hurry.
"What do you mean?" Alhana narrowed her eyes.
"This ship is falling apart." Khan said. "Why would you even buy a ship this old?"
"I didn't buy her."
"If you stole it you made a bad choice in get away vehicle."
"I didn't steal her either."
"Then how di-"
"She was given to me. About six years ago. She was grounded then and that was part of the deal, I could have her so long as I paid for the repairs myself which I did. I got her running; I fell out with my father over it and fled in her." Alhana snapped, "I haven't seen my family since." She said letting the volume of her voice fall once more. "This flying crap pile is my only home now."
Khan stood silently beside her for a moment, "I understand now," he said, "You should reconcile with your father." Alhana gave him a stunned look.
"What?"
"I've just lost all my family. I'll never see those people, whom I held so close, alive anymore. I would give anything to see them again yet there is no possibility of that. Make the most of the people you cherish because you never know when that option won't be there anymore," Khan said. His tone had taken on a softer note and the fact that he was still hurting over it was obvious.
"That's a pretty thing to say Khan and I'm genuinely sorry for those you've lost, people cannot be replaced and yet, during my exile, I have met some brilliant souls. The people here, on this ship, are my family now. I hope, should you decide to stay with us, you'll come to see them in the same way." Alhana placed her bottle of Bloodwine on a nearby crate, she didn't want it anymore. She yawned before she was able to catch herself.
Khan looked as though he was going to say something then. His pale blue grey eyes softened just a fraction. As he opened his mouth, her watch buzzed, "Captain to the bridge."
"On my way," she said. "I'm sorry Khan," she said reaching out and patting his bicep, "I have to go."
"I understand," he said. She gave Khan an apologetic look before dashing off wondering what it could be. The chat with her newest friend had confused her; maybe it was the Bloodwine making them both go soft in the head. It had happened before yet today it left her with a strange unsettling sensation that she couldn't place.