Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Violence and bad language.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Apologies for the longer delays with chapters, but the pace I was writing them at before just wasn't sustainable, not unless I want to turn into a brain-dead zombie by the end of this story, which is now only three chapters away from completion. Enjoy!


They were moved to sickbay while surrounded by guards, Cassia barely aware of all that was happening, her mind consumed by the memories unlocked by Commander Spock's mind meld.

The ones of her life as an Augment were familiar, known if disjointed and chaotic; thanks to Marcus and his pet scientists screwing around with her head, but the other…the other was not.

Was it possible Spock had somehow broken through whatever barrier Doctor Singh had erected in her head, when she became an Augment? She had always believed she had chosen her life, been a knowing participant, but remembering the fear and the anger as Singh's words echoed in her head…

She wanted to be sick.

She closed her eyes, shoving away the urge, barely aware of Khan's strong hands around her wrists as she was pushed back into a sitting position atop a medical bed in the sickbay. Her eyes were unfocussed and unseeing as she was vaguely aware of voices conversing lowly, near her, then the feel of Khan's weight on the bed beside her.

That little girl…the one with her eyes. So frightened, so helpless. Kayla…

"Cassia?" a familiar voice asked, as she felt two warm hands cup her face, as she forced her eyes to focus, on a pair of familiar icy blue eyes, overflowing with fury, possessiveness and concern for her. "My love?"

She exhaled shakily, as he pulled her close, one hand around her waist, the other still resting on her cheek. "What happened?" he asked, gently, belying the darkness she could see in his eyes. Khan… "Tell me," he breathed insistently.

"I saw…" she trailed off, wincing as her head pounded. "When the Vulcan joined with me, I think…I think he managed to break through whatever barrier Singh used to block my memories. The memories of my human life…"

"Cassia…" he breathed, almost warningly, as her eyes snapped up to his, defiantly.

"My name was Marla. I was being dragged…with my mother and my sister. I'd done something, something bad. Singh was there, he spoke to me, gave me a new name," she continued determinedly, but the details were already fading slightly. But one detail remained clear. "I was forced into this, Khan. I did not choose this."

"I am sorry you had to remember such things, Cassia," he told her, still in that same soft, eerily calm voice she knew meant he was furious with her. "But they mean nothing now. That life is long dead, and you know who you are."

"Then who am I?" she challenged him firmly, as he stiffened beside her.

"You're my Cassia," he replied, just as firmly, just as certain, and it helped ground her, gave her an anchor to latch onto in her once more crazy world. She felt like Alice in Wonderland, falling down the rabbit hole.

"You're angry with me," she stated coolly, as his eyes flicked up to hers, intent and dark as she took a breath. "And not just because I endangered myself. What is it? What have I done to anger you?"

Khan took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Cassia glanced around at their audience, but their security detail was not looking at them, and the medical staff were busy, Doctor McCoy sitting at a desk, bent intently over something, only glancing up at a holoscreen every now and again. When Khan spoke again, his voice was low and dark, shaking slightly as he fought for control.

"I have loved you for over three hundred years, Cassia," he told her, earnestly. "We have known everything about each other, exclusively, for centuries, until today…"

"It was a means to an end, Khan," she breathed, as his hand tightened into a fist on his lap. "It was by no means a pleasant experience. My head feels like it's ready to implode. It means nothing, he means nothing to me."

Slightly astounded at his jealousy, she shuffled closer on the bed, reaching for his fist and easing it open, as she raised it to her lips, drawing his gaze to hers. "He means nothing, he is nothing. You, out of all the people in this universe, know me better than anyone, even Spock. He saw only what he needed to, he looked no further and I allowed him no more. He will never see me the way you and you alone have, my love."

His gaze, deep and predatory, thrilled her as he nodded shortly, somewhat mollified. He pulled her closer, leaning in until their breath mingled, and she looked up at him, her head tilted back, her eyes half-closed with anticipation and damn anyone watching. His familiar wicked smirk reappeared, as he growled against her mouth. "You are mine."

His kiss was possessive and fierce, prizing her lips open and dominantly surging into her mouth, as she moaned quietly, one hand in his hair pulling him closer. He tilted his head over hers, deepening the angle of the kiss, as she clung ever closer, her body crushed to his.

"Will you two knock it off?" the Doctor's voice called sarcastically. "For God's sake find some self-control or I'll damn well sedate the both of you!"

Cassia smirked to herself as they broke apart slowly, mirroring the wicked grin of her lover, as they resettled on the bed, side by side. For one moment, she'd believed Khan would simply ignore McCoy's threat and make love to her then and there, but now was hardly the time or the place. No, later…


Suddenly a hated, all-too familiar voice came over the comms, as everyone stopped what they were doing to listen, as Khan and Cassia sat by, nonchalant and at ease, even as she felt the hatred and the rage boiling inside of her.

"Captain Kirk."

"Admiral Marcus," Kirk's voice came over the comm, deceptively calm and unruffled despite being faced with a ship five times its size. Khan had briefly explained the presence of the Vengeance as they walked down to sickbay, although she had been a little distracted at the time. She idly wondered how dangerous this new assailant was. If Khan had anything to do with her design, then it was likely to be lethal. "I wasn't expecting you. A hell of a ship you got there."

"Kirk's stalling," Khan muttered. "It'll be his only chance against the Vengeance."

Cassia just nodded, listening as intently as the others in the sickbay.

"And I wasn't expecting word that you'd taken Harrison into custody in violation of your orders."

"Well, we…uh…we had to improvise when our warp core unexpectedly malfunctioned," came Kirk's pointed reply, making Cassia smirk. "But you knew that, didn't you, sir?"

"I don't take your meaning?"

"Well, that's why you're here, isn't it? To assist with our repairs? Why else would the head of Starfleet personally come to the edge of the Neutral Zone?"

She had to hand it to the human, he was good. Kirk's voice was utterly cool and collected, playing a verbal chess game with the corrupt Starfleet Admiral. She wondered why Marcus hadn't mentioned her yet, since he had to believe she had been captured along with Khan.

"Is there something I can help you find, Sir?" Kirk asked coldly, and Khan chuckled.

"They're looking for us," he breathed. "And the torpedoes."

"Undoubtedly," she replied quietly. "Depends whether Kirk will give us up to protect his crew, or make a run for it first."

"Not at first," Khan shook his head. "He'll try to return us to Starfleet for trial first, and only surrender us if Marcus disables the ship. Either way, when he does will be our chance."

She nodded, inwardly shoving aside any reservations or lingering moral niggling. Marcus deserved to die. In that at least, she was not conflicted.

"Where is your prisoner, Kirk?"

"Don't you mean prisoners?" Kirk replied, and Cassia smirked. "We have recovered Commander Mason, who is not who she seems. As per Starfleet regulation, I'm planning on returning her and Khan to Earth to stand trial."

"Well, shit!" Marcus sighed. "You talked to him. And he's got his hooks into Mason."

"I believe she is actually called Cassia. Kind of insistent on the name change," Kirk replied, this time with a hint of sarcasm.

"That was exactly what I was hoping to spare you from," Marcus murmured, actually sounding contrite, as her hands curled into fists as the need to kill, to tear something apart at his voice, hated and evocative, as Khan's hand covered hers. He was unaffected, or at least, in better control than she was. "I took a tactical risk and I woke that bastard up, and her with him, believing that his superior intelligence could help us protect ourselves from whatever came at us next. But I made a mistake, and now the blood of everybody he's killed is on my hands. I have no doubt Cassia was aiding him from an early stage too."

"Wouldn't it be kind of difficult? For Cassia I mean? You did suppress her memories and make her think she was someone else. From her account, she only began to remember who she really was when she and Khan clapped eyes on one another when he attacked the briefing," Kirk retorted with a tinge of disgust in his tone. The sound of Marcus's sigh was almost torturous for her, as she ached to fight. The instinct was rising inside of her, more and more, as flashbacks rose at the sound of his voice. Khan's hand tightened around hers.

"Son, I'm going to ask you nicely just this once. Give them both to me, so I can handle what I started."

"And what exactly would you like me to do with the rest of his crew? Fire them at the Klingons, end 72 lives, start a war in the process?"

"He put those people in those torpedoes. I just didn't want to burden you with what was inside them. You saw what this man can do, and what I'm guessing the female can do too, could you imagine what would happen if we woke up the rest of their crew!? What else did he tell you, that they were peacekeepers? They're playing you, son, don't you see that? Khan, Cassia, and their crew were condemned to death as war criminals, and now it is our duty to carry out that sentence before anyone else dies because of them. Now I'm going to ask you again! One last time, son, lower your shields, tell me where they are."

Cassia held her breath, but Khan seemed unconcerned as she glanced at him. Cursing the human restlessness evoked by the mind meld, she sought deep for the inner strength she'd possessed from the day she awoke from the augmentation, finding it again with difficulty. She needn't have worried, Khan's reading of Kirk rang true.

"They're in Engineering. But I'll have them moved to the transporter room right away."

"I'll take it from here."

Silence fell, as the transmission ended, and the two Augments exchanged glances. A minute later, they felt the slight shudder as the ship limped into warp. Now all they could do was wait.


The pretty little blonde scientist that had since been revealed as Marcus's daughter walked in, joining McCoy at his workstation, as Cassia found herself re-examining the daughter of the man who tried to use her as a bargaining tool, who violated her memories and tried to bury everything she was, just to threaten the one she loved. She was clever, to disarm torpedoes designed by Khan, and to make it onboard the Enterprise in much the same way as Cassia herself had done. She searched her eyes for any sign of her father's coldness and calculation, when the doctor and the scientist came to stand in front of them, clearly about to examine them again. The blonde squirmed under Cassia's gaze, before her jaw firmed and she met her stare defiantly.

She had spirit, she gave her that, and instinct told her that Carol Marcus was not her father's daughter. She was an altogether more principled individual.

"Well, at least we're moving again," McCoy sighed in relief, holding up a tricorder and scanning Khan's vitals.

"If you think you're safe at warp," Khan deigned to reply coolly. "You're wrong."

Marcus stared at them, horrified realisation dawning as she turned tail and ran from the room. "What the hell was that?" McCoy snapped, putting away the tricorder. "We're at warp; nothing can catch up with us now."

"I designed that ship, I know its speed," Khan retorted. "He's already on your tail."

McCoy opened his mouth to reply, still disbelieving, when the ship juddered and lurched, equipment and personnel crashing to the floor and into walls. The sound of distant explosions rent the air, and casualty reports came flooding in. The red alert alarms blared, the lights dimming to emergency levels as chaos reigned.


Khan and Cassia had been thrown off their bed at first, but they managed to hold on now, as the explosions abruptly stopped, and uneasy peace descended for a moment.

"The Vengeance caught up with us," Khan breathed, as Cassia shoved aside her dishevelled hair, as the medical staff rushed to reorder the sickbay and prepare for incoming casualties. Their security detail recovered, eying them uneasily as the two Augments ignored them. "Something's stopping him."

"His daughter. She must be appealing to his fatherly nature," Cassia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It could be that Marcus will destroy the Enterprise now rather than allow Kirk to have his say at a tribunal. Believed or not, he doesn't want Kirk talking."

"No," Khan smiled suddenly. "This is not the end, not yet."

"I wish I had your confidence," she sighed, as he ran his thumb over her knuckles soothingly, ignored for the most part by the crew of the Enterprise. "At least our family are with us, again."

Khan didn't reply to that, and she felt her nerves stretched taut as time dragged on and the Vengeance did not fire. How, why?

She turned to him questioningly, as he smiled. "I knew Kirk had to have an intermediary on Earth to investigate when I gave him the coordinates for the Space dock near Jupiter where the Vengeance was being built. I also calculated there would be a high chance this intermediary would infiltrate the Vengeance to better aid Kirk," he explained, as she stared at him and shook her head.

"And they always used to say I was the reckless one," she muttered. Khan was spared the trouble of replying when Kirk strode into the sickbay, his cornflower blue eyes filled with grim determination. Khan tensed slightly but did not show any other sign or acknowledgement as Kirk marched over to stand before them both. Cassia watched him intently.

"Tell me everything you know about that ship," he said brusquely.

"Dreadnought class, two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry, modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat," Khan stated robotically, watching Kirk closely.

"What are you planning, Kirk?" she asked quietly, as he glanced at her quickly, before stiffening and drawing himself up.

"I will do everything I can to make you answer for what you did. But right now, I need your help," Kirk admitted reluctantly.

"In exchange for what?" her lover asked.

"You said you'd do anything for your crew. I can guarantee their safety," he promised, as Cassia tensed slightly, watching the two men closely, frowning.

"Captain," Khan sighed. "You can't even guarantee the safety of your own crew."

"Bones, what are you doing with that tribble?" Kirk called over to the doctor abruptly.

"The tribble's dead. I'm injecting Khan's platelets into the deceased tissue of a necrotic host. Khan's cells regenerate like nothing I've ever seen and I want to know why," the doctor replied shortly, as Kirk turned back to Khan, seemingly decided on something. He stepped closer to Khan, meeting his gaze steadily.

"Are you coming with me or not?" he asked.

"If you can guarantee that my crew will be safe, from Marcus and from others, I will help you," Khan replied firmly, after a moment's thought.

"As will I," Cassia added, as Kirk glanced at her.

"Oh no, no way am I having the two of you together," he shook his head, but Cassia was already off the bed and striding for the doors.

"This is not up for negotiation, Kirk. Where Khan goes, I go," she said without looking back, sure that Kirk was too desperate to risk Khan's anger by shooting her.

"I wouldn't bother arguing, Captain," she heard Khan's lazy, amused drawl. "It's usually a waste of breath and energy. When they created her, they gave her an additional dose of stubbornness to add to her own. I have still to win an argument."

"I heard that!" she called back pointedly, as Kirk sighed and shook his head, torn between amusement and confusion.

"You two really are an old married couple," he breathed, as he led the two Augments out of the sickbay.


As they walked, surrounded by security, Kirk quickly contacted his man aboard the Vengeance once he explained his plans to them. Cassia was surprised to realise it was the former Chief Engineer, Montgomery Scott, his brusque Scottish accent growing thicker as he exhibited shock and dismay at Kirk's plan.

It was audacious and risky. Using thruster suits to traverse the distance between the two stranded ships would be difficult, particularly with the debris caused by the bombardment, and then they had to time their arrival with opening an access port to the cargo bay. Once inside, she and Khan wouldn't have a problem subduing the crew and then…Marcus.

This was their chance.

She remained as stony-faced as possible, giving nothing away. Their plan relied on Scott to deliver.

They quickly changed into the thruster suits outside the airlock access port, Cassia changing her tank top for a long-sleeved jersey before she slipped into the airtight, vacuum-proof suit. One of the security detail strapped the main thruster unit to her back, while she fitted the helmet, Kirk and Khan quickly and expertly fitting their own. She had minimal experience with thruster suits during her training at the Academy, but she thought it would be similar to the gliding suits they had sometimes used on tactical missions during the war, when they needed a silent, undetectable approach. Just with thrusters and a HUD to guide their way.

They dropped down into the airlock chute in silence, Khan's hand brushing hers briefly before they settled into position, and the airlock hatch shut with a pneumatic hiss above them.

Excitement and anticipation filled Cassia's veins, and she grinned. This was going to be fun.

"Scotty, how we doing over there?" Kirk asked into his comm, the helmets broadcasting to all three of them.

"I wish I had better news, Sir. They've blocked my access to the ship's computer. They'll have full weapons in…three minutes. That means next time; I won't be able to stop them destroying the Enterprise. Stand by."

"Time's against us then," Cassia breathed, prompting a look from Kirk. She smiled predatorily, as Khan chuckled to himself. "Sounds like fun."

Kirk shook his head as Spock's voice came over the comm next.

"Captain, the ships are aligned."

"Copy that," Kirk nodded. "Scotty!"

"I'm in the hangar. Gimme a minute!" came the slightly out-of-breath reply. "I'm running! Stand by! Whoa, whoa! Hang on there, Captain, this door is very wee…I mean, you know small. It's four square metres, tops! It's gonna be like jumping out of a moving car, off a bridge and into your shot glass!"

"It's ok, I've done it before," Kirk replied soothingly, prompting both Augments to glance at him derisively. His reply was a little defensive. "Yeah, it was vertical. We jumped onto a…doesn't matter, Scotty!"

"Have you found the manual override?" Khan took over the conversation as Kirk squirmed uncomfortably, finally remembering his professionalism to pose the same question to the engineer.

"Not yet, not yet!"

"Captain, before you launch, you should be aware there is a considerable debris field between the two ships-"

"Spock, not now. Scotty, you good?" Kirk asked, cutting off his first officer.

"It's not easy, just give me two seconds, you mad bastard!"

Cassia couldn't resist a laugh at that one, and she could see Khan was a little amused. Scotty reminded her a little of Cal, they had the same brusque sense of sarcasm, complete disregard for rank when it came to insults and a love of said insults. "Interesting crewmen, you have there Kirk," she murmured, as she copied her lover when he sank into a crouch, ready for the final jump. Kirk followed.

"Interesting is one way of putting it," he breathed, and she winked at him. He glared at her, making her chuckle, before she forced herself to focus at Khan's disapproving glare.

"Ok, I'm set to open the door!"

"You ready?" Kirk asked, as the anticipation began to build.

"Are you?" Khan retorted confidently. She rolled her eyes.

"Boys, play nice," she murmured warningly, eying the metal doors intently, flexing her fists as her HUD lit up with flight data.

"Spock, pull the trigger," the human finally ordered into his comm, and there was moments' hesitation before Spock replied in the affirmative.

"Launching activation sequence on 3...2...1!"

The doors opened and the vacuum flung them out into vastness of open space.


Cassia knew more than a few cadets suffered vertigo and space sickness while using a thruster suit in open space, and she could understand why. There was little to lock onto visually, no landmarks or points to aim for, just dizzying, eternal darkness interspersed with distant stars.

Her HUD guided her true, as she glided under a floating bulkhead, vaguely aware of Kirk curving wildly off-course to avoid more debris. She plied her thrusters, gradually adding speed when needed to evade the debris.

"Khan, Cassia use evasive action!" Spock's voice echoed in their ears. "There is debris directly ahead!"

"I see it!" She heard Khan's voice over the comm, as she muttered her own reply.

"Copy that." She fired the thrusters, dipping under and over, spinning in a complicated manoeuvre as she evaded. She saw Khan hit it, spinning out of control. "Khan!"

She missed the chance to duck an dangling bulkhead door, and her comms were momentarily knocked out as she spun to compensate. She saw Khan as he continued to spin out of control, and flexed her fists, operating the thrusters to reach him, ignoring Kirk and Spock in her ear.

She grabbed hold of him, righting him and pulling him out of his uncontrolled spin, as he nodded to her, and retook control. Together, they flew on, keeping tight formation, just in time to see Kirk and hear him over the comm. The Vengeance loomed ever closer, a behemoth floating in space.

"Spock, my display is down, I'm flying blind!"

"Captain, without your display compass, hitting your target destination will be mathematically impossible!" The Vulcan almost sounded panicked.

"Spock when I get back, we really need to talk about your bedside manner!"

"Our displays are still functioning!" Khan said over the comm, as they flew to intercept the human, readjusting their course. "I see you Kirk. You're two hundred metres ahead of me at my one' o' clock!"

"Adjust your course 52 degrees to your left, and follow us!" Cassia added the course adjustment as the Vengeance loomed closer. "Get on the comm and tell that useless Engineer to hurry up. ETA 20 seconds!"

"Scotty, we're getting close. We need a warm welcome! Do you copy! Do you copy, Scotty!"

There came no answer. They were close enough to see the scratches on the hull from the debris field crashing into the unshielded vessel. Cassia's heart was pounding.

"If you can hear us, Mr Scott, open the door in 10..."

"Scotty!" Kirk shouted desperately as the airlock came closer. Cassia's fists clenched and she grit her teeth.

"9...8...7..."

"Mr Scott, where are you!?"

"..6...5...4..."

"Scotty, where are you!?"

"…3..."

"Copy, Scotty! Please!" Kirk's voice was beyond desperate now, as he shouted down the comm. She restrained an urge to yell at Spock to stop bloody counting down to their deaths.

"…2...Mr Scott, open the door!"

"Scotty, open the door!"

"Mr Scott, NOW!"

The airlock door suddenly slammed open, and they flew inside, passing a figure in black and blue flying the opposite direction. For Kirk's sake, she hoped it wasn't Scotty.

As soon as the vacuum was stopped, they crashed onto the floor, their thrusters down, as they rolled, over and over on the hard, cold floor of the cargo bay, towards a figure crumpled on the ground next to the console ahead.

Cassia managed to regain control, and stop her tumbling, sliding to a halt just in front of the man, dressed in the Starfleet shuttle uniform, watching them open-mouthed and incredulous, panting and red-faced.

Her lover and their reluctant ally rolled to a halt beside her, as she cracked out a few kinks in her limbs from the crash, meeting the eyes of the man watching them like they were ghosts.

"Welcome aboard."


"It's good to see you, Scotty," Kirk groaned, forcing himself upright. Cassia pulled her helmet off, Khan on one knee as he surveyed their surroundings.

"Who are they?" Scotty asked, confusedly, as she shook her hair out and stood, already tearing her suit off.

Kirk was still recovering from their flight and he groaned as he straightened his spine. "Khan, Cassia, Scotty. Scotty, Khan and Cassia."

"Hello!" the Scotsman called, still panting, as Cassia inclined her head. His eyes widened. "Wait, wasn't she-?"

"Yeah, not now Scotty," Kirk groaned, while Cassia grinned wickedly.

"They'll know we're here. I know the best way to the bridge," Khan stated, rising from his crouch, ignoring Scotty's greeting.

They took the suits off as quickly as possible, stowing them behind a storage unit while Kirk broke out the phasers. "They're set to stun," he warned the two Augments as he handed them one.

"Theirs won't be," Khan pointed out as he hefted it and the primed the firing mechanism.

"Try not to get shot," Kirk quipped, as Scotty gulped, looking both exhilarated and terrified out of his wits.

"Really brilliant advice," Cassia rolled her eyes as Khan led the way, her own phaser out and ready. "Starfleet worried you'll get a bit trigger happy, Kirk?"

"You know I liked you better when you were a stuck-up, obnoxious human, instead of a stuck-up, obnoxious genetically altered human," Kirk retorted in a whisper as she grinned as Scotty stared at them both.

"Likewise," she breathed, before turning and following Khan into the dark bowels of the ship, Scotty and Kirk at their back.


To be continued...