Molly paced restlessly in the quarters she and Khan shared, feeling ridiculously confined even though the rooms were enormous. Maria sat quietly on the sofa, curled up with her phaser on her lap and a dagger in her other hand. The dagger, like the other bladed weapons several members of the crew now carried about their persons, was part of the booty taken from an Orion slaver that had rather foolishly thought the Botany Bay to still be a Starfleet, strayed far from home.

That had been a particularly enlightening encounter – mostly for Molly, since there had been precious few survivors amongst the Orions. Khan and his crew were vicious fighters, but had acted as a well-disciplined unit, showing themselves to be the warriors they'd been engineered to be and not just an unruly mob, as the Orion pirates had been. Molly had been appalled at the violence she'd witnessed, but as a member of Starfleet – former member – she also knew that some of the Federation's enemies weren't to be reasoned with. She hadn't needed to have Khan point out to her that, if the tables had been turned, the Orions wouldn't have hesitated to slaughter the men and sell the women into slavery.

The sight of the knife worn on Maria's belt served as both a reminder of that disturbing encounter, but also that the other woman was well prepared to defend the two of them if necessary. Molly shuddered and looked away, hoping against hope that it wouldn't come down to that. Surely no one in Khan's crew was going to actually try and kill her!

"I can't believe anyone could hate me enough to try and kill me!" she burst out as she came to an agitated stop behind the sofa, digging her fingernails into the sturdy fabric as she leaned her head down and closed her eyes.

She was at the opposite end of Maria's perch, and looked up as the other woman responded to Molly's words. "Of course they don't. This has nothing to do with you, Molly."

Molly blinked and stared at her as Maria continued speaking, her voice calm and measured. "It has everything to do with Khan. This is a challenge to his authority, pure and simple. You're just…collateral damage."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Molly said in a small voice, hugging her arms to her torso and turning away from the other woman. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment; how could she have believed herself to be so important to anyone other than Khan? Of course she was just being used as a way to get to him! Khan was the target, not her. They weren't trying to keep her away from him, to keep him from mating with her, they were trying to…

She was half-way to fleeing to the bedroom but stopped as she felt a quick burst of emotion that wasn't her own – something sharp and painful but too fleeting to identify. Khan!

"Maria!" she cried, spinning on her heel and staring at the other woman in alarm. Maria was on her feet, knife and phaser at the ready as Molly dashed toward the doors leading out of her quarters. "It's Khan, I think he's in danger!"

Maria didn't question Molly, simply sped to the door. She tried to order Molly to remain in her quarters, to lock herself in, but Molly shook her head stubbornly and refused.

"Whoever is after Khan can get into these quarters no matter how tightly they're locked down. Besides, even if I'm not an Augment I still know how to use that!" She nodded at the phaser, and Maria tossed it to her without another word.

"Computer!" she snapped out, arresting Molly's movement with a raised hand. "Locate Khan."

"Khan is in corridor 12B on Deck Seven," the cool feminine tones responded.

"Is he alone?" Molly demanded before Maria could ask.

"Negative. There are two Augmented lifeforms with him."

That was all the information the computer could give them. Whoever was with him had no communicator for instant identification, and the ship's internal sensors hadn't been calibrated to track individual identities, only general life signs and species of anyone on board.

As they sped down the corridor to the indicated location, it was clear that Maria was holding herself back. Molly urged her on. "Go! I'll catch up!" She watched in awe as Maria nodded and sped away at top Augment speed, which she'd rarely seen displayed. Under other circumstances the scientist in her would be taking mental notes and wishing for a tricorder, but right now all Molly did was increase her own speed as best she could and hurry in the other woman's wake.

oOo

I guarantee Dr. Hooper's safety while she is on board the Botany Bay.

Khan couldn't help the snarl that escaped his lips as he recalled his words to Molly's former superior, Dr. McCoy. He'd already been forced to break that promise by the actions of saboteurs within his own crew, and now he found himself fighting for his life against two opponents who wouldn't hesitate to kill her if they managed to take him down. He'd been a fool and deserved to lose his life for his arrogance, but Molly did not, and he'd be damned if he allowed anything further to happen to her.

He had to admit, as he ducked a blow from his first assailant and swept the feet out from under the second, that he was disappointed to discover that the attack staged against Molly hadn't actually been what it appeared to be – a way to keep him from permanently Bonding with an unAugmented human partner. If that had been the case, if things had been what they appeared to be, then it meant that his people were still loyal to him, even if they chose to show that loyalty in so twisted a manner.

But not. Everything that had been done to Molly had been merely been a feint, a distraction, for a simple power play against him. He thought he'd weeded out the potential rivals for leadership before choosing which members of his crew – his family – to place into cryosleep alongside him. He'd believed them all to be loyal unto death, and it was a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that he'd been wrong.

And to discover who it had been? Even more bitter a pill.

"You seem distracted, Khan," Séamus taunted him as Khan narrowly avoided being sliced by the titanium-steel blade the other man was wielding. "Too busy playin' the loverboy for your little Omega the past few days? Feelin' a bit worn out, are you?"

Khan ignored his words, choosing instead to hurl a few insults of his own as he dodged the blade once again descending towards him. He saw the moment of vulnerability as Bastián took a second too long to recover from missing his mark, wrapping his hands around the other man's wrist and wrenching his arm up and back. Bastian let out a roar of pain as his arm was pulled beyond its limits, bending backwards as the sword clattered to the ground.

Releasing him with one hand, Khan brought his arm down across the man's chest and once again knocked Bastián to the deck, this time adding a well-aimed kick at the other man's head as he spoke. "I should have expected something like this from you two," he said coldly. "No wonder I scented shame on Janice, if not guilt. Your sister knew what you were up to, Séamus, but was too cowed by you to throw herself on my mercy." He snarled and kicked Bastián in the head a second time, hard enough to stun the other man into immobility before dodging another attack from the Irishman who had been one of his oldest comrades. They'd fought by one another's sides in many battles, saved one another's lives countless times, but now the craving for power had proven too much for Séamus, and he'd chosen a coward's way to try and take out the lead Alpha of their too-small group.

Khan didn't need to hear the words from his once-friend's lips to know it for the truth; his actions, his expressions, his very scent gave it all away. Bastián was nothing but a lackey, his loyalty to Séamus as unshakable as Khan had foolishly believed the other man's was to him. And now he was about to lose two more of his precious few Augmented family, because such a challenge could only be met in one way.

Death.

oOo

Molly felt her heart stutter in her chest as she heard the sounds of a fight someone down the corridor and just ahead of her. She'd taken a different route than Maria; part of her time had been spent in studying the ship's schematics, and she knew there was a juncture through the Jeffries' tubes here that would cut off at least five minutes of her journey if she took it. Her knees and the palms of her hands were a bit worse for wear when she crawled back out, but the sound of the altercation told her she'd arrived exactly where she'd hoped – and feared – to be.

She raced ahead, heedless of any danger to herself, clutching the phaser, which had been set to maximum stun. It would take a prolonged blast to bring down an Augment for any length of time, but even a temporary interruption of the fight would have to be to Khan's advantage. She could feel his rage through their new Bond, and just prayed that his ability to block surface thoughts – an ability he'd promised to teach her – would keep him from being distracted by her fear for him.

Heart pounding, sweat trickling down the back of her neck, hands shaking, she continued on, stopping only when she finally saw the battle raging ahead of her.

Molly's terror rose to new heights as she saw Khan, unarmed, facing two opponents with swords. Unfortunately he was between her phaser and the other two men – Séamus and his sidekick, Bastián, she realized as she hastily wiped the sweat from her brow. She couldn't get a clear shot, not without hitting Khan, and forced herself to take a couple of slow, deep breaths and focus on what needed doing, not on her fears for her Bondmate.

As she watched and waited for her chance, two things happened nearly simultaneously: Khan managed to disarm and knock Bastián to the floor, where he rendered the other man unconscious with a brutal kick to the head, and Maria appeared behind Séamus, kicking the sword out of his hand with a brutal grace that Molly could only admire. When he spun around to deal with the new attacker, Molly was finally able to get a shot off, and dropped him where he stood. He collapsed gracelessly to the deck, and Molly dropped her knees in relief.

oOo

Khan barely spared a glance for Maria as he saw Molly collapse to her knees, the hand holding the phaser dropping limply by her side. "Have them beamed directly to the brig," he ordered, grabbing Bastián's sword and hurrying to his Bondmate's side. "And Maria, thank you!"

He heard her barking orders to the computer and warning Gregor that new prisoners were being beamed to the brig, then tuned out everything except Molly. It was dangerous; Bastián and Séamus might not be working alone, but it was unlikely. He might have misjudged the amount of ambition Séamus harbored, but he refused to believe he was that wrong about the rest of the people he called his family.

He dropped to one knee and cradled her head in his hand. She handed him the phaser and managed a small, wobbly smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "You're safe," she whispered. Her scent was acrid with fear, but he could smell the relief as well as hear it in her voice.

"Thanks to you and Maria," he agreed gravely, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her lips.

"I felt it, when you were attacked, or at least I felt something," Molly said when the kiss ended. "Through our Bond, I felt something was wrong, but then it was like a door slamming; you shut me out, didn't you." It wasn't quite an accusation, but the hurt in her voice was unmistakable.

He smoothed her hair back from her face, tenderly tucking the errant tresses behind one ear. "I didn't want to worry you, and I needed to focus on my attackers," he said, keeping his voice as gentle as his movements. He knew Molly was still learning to read the scent clues around her, but hoped that his sincerity was clear. "I promise I will only block you when I have to, Molly."

The sound of the transporter being activated caught their attention; Molly turned her head to watch as Séamus and Bastián's unconscious forms vanished from view, along with Maria. The other woman was holding both her knife and Séamus' sword, and gave a small nod before disappearing.

Khan rose to his feet, helping Molly up. He would have taken her in his arms, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest and small shake of the head. "I can walk. We need to get to the brig."

She made as if to start walking toward the turbolift, but Khan frowned and tugged at her hand, stopping her. "I need to go there," he corrected her. "You need to lock yourself in our quarters until this matter has been dealt with."

"No." He gazed down at her, surprised and impressed by the steely resolve in her voice. Her scent sharpened, and he sniffed appreciatively as she continued, "Khan, we're Bondmates now. That doesn't mean you can keep trying to protect me by shuffling me off to the side. I know you're the captain, but this isn't Starfleet, as you keep reminding me, and if I'm to be any kind of a leader with you, to have some kind of position of power with this group, then I have to be involved in things like this. Those two men tried to kill you." Her voice turned cold, and the tears that had been threatening to fall vanished. "They caused the death of one of your crew and put me in a position where I could have been raped. I need to be part of this as much as you do."

A thousand arguments against her words sprang to mind; he gave voice to none of them, simply nodding acceptance and moving his hand from her wrist to intertwine his fingers with hers. "Together, then," he agreed, and they headed for the turbolift.

A/N: I realized as I was working on this chapter that there was a big fat booboo I'd made: I'd never mentioned Séamus and Bastián before this chapter. If this was a mystery novel, that would be tantamount to cheating the readers of the opportunity to play along with the detective and try to solve the case by following the clues the author had written into the story. I didn't do it intentionally, and I've gone back and mentioned the two of them in the chapter called "Meet The Family" so future readers will be treated a bit more fairly. And I hope it's obvious who they're meant to be as well. So apologies if it feels like I'm just springing them on you at the last minute, and I promise to try harder not to do something so dopey in future.