A/N: YAY! We've reached chapter ten! You're all so lovely, and I want to thank you. Some of you must realize where this is going, right...? Oh well, you'll all find out.
It didn't take long for Marcus to find them. The entire ship could hear as Marcus threatened the crew's lives, even revealing that John Harrison was actually Khan and that Genevieve had helped him escape. She made her way to her quarters quickly, knowing that only senior officers knew where she stayed, and that they could safely discuss the accusation. All listened as Kirk accused the Admiral of treason for the point of war with the Klingons and holding innocent people hostage. When the discussion was ended, Kirk apologized, and the crew waited for the end.
Khan could hear when the offending ship powered down, heard the excitement of the ship as they were given a second chance. Kirk and Spock came to fetch him, offering him a chance to redeem himself and bring Marcus to justice. Khan explained everything to them, including how he had "tricked" Genevieve into freeing him, and how he had taken her as a prisoner there after.
"Is there anything you would not do for your family?" The words rocked the captain as he thought of his crew, his people on Earth. He'd gone so far as to break protocol and disobey orders in order to save them; he could see where Khan was coming from. Khan thought of the torpedoes in the bays, wondering how he would get them out of the reach of Star Fleet altogether. Kirk released him and moved him to the medical bay, before heading back to the bridge.
Genevieve realized that without shields, Marcus would take what he wanted. She rushed down to the weapons bay, ordering all torpedoes brought to her in the main section of the room, where she began to extricate the cryo-pods. She barked orders to the security officers and engineers, quickly releasing them and having them sent to a shielded cargo bay. She had the torpedoes returned to their storage area, and returned to the bridge to find Spock in command and Kirk and Khan on board the warship Vengeance.
"Commander Spock, permission to beam to the enemy ship." He looked at her, his face unreadable. She continued. "You cannot spare your Chief Medical Officer, but it may become likely that the officers onboard the enemy ship may need serious medical attention. I volunteer to go over and be sure our captain and any other innocent parties can be brought back to Earth alive." He seemed to think it over, and she bounced a bit impatiently.
"Very well, Doctor Harrison. I assume you will not be pulled back into the sway of the terrorist now known as Khan?" She nodded, and he waved her away. She returned to the medbay to grab an away kit before sprinting to the teleporter. She gave them the coordinates and ordered the beam out. She appeared just behind Scotty and the others, immediately falling into step with them. "Captain, Doctor Genevieve Harrison reporting for duty." Scotty jumped at the sound of her voice behind him, and all three spun around in surprise. She pushed past them, headed towards where she assumed was the bridge. "We don't have time to stand around, boys." Scotty was surprisingly the first to recover, following behind her quickly with the other two catching up soon after.
They reached the bridge with only one incident, and they spread across the bridge. Kirk gave a signal to Scotty, who aimed a phaser at Khan. Without thinking, she dove in the way, taking the brunt of a full stun shot and dropping to the ground. Khan growled, slapping the phaser out of Khan's hand and kneeling to check on Genevieve. Her heartbeat was faint, but existent. Kirk was already demanding things of Admiral Marcus, who simply laughed in the young captain's face. Khan pushed him aside, quickly grabbing Marcus' throat and squeezing. No words were spoken, yet Marcus knew exactly why his life was ending. He died slowly, with Kirk being helped up by Scotty. Khan tossed the body aside, turning to the command chair and typing in commands. Kirk lunged at him, but was swiftly brought down by Khan's fist. He hailed the Enterprise, watching as Spock took in the sight of his beaten friend.
"I'm going to make this very simple for you." Khan began, ignoring the gasp of shock from the first officer. "Your crew for mine."
"You betrayed us." It wasn't a question, just a simple statement of fact.
"Oh, you are smart, Mr. Spock." Khan was teasing him. Kirk struggled to get up to warn him, and Khan hit him again. "Mr. Spock, give me my crew." Khan's voice resonated through the ship, and Genevieve was struggling to understand as she gained consciousness.
"What will you do when you get them?" Spock's curiosity got the better of him as he thought over what to do. Genevieve was slowly sitting up, glancing at Khan before crawling slowly to help Kirk. Spock was keeping Khan plenty busy with their discussion, and she quietly assured Kirk everything would be okay. Despite his pain, he chuckled a bit.
"Shouldn't I be comforting you?" He joked, groaning as she felt for broken bones. She shook her head, finding only bruises. Khan must have only been hitting him for show. She looked up, interested in what he and Spock were discussing.
"Well, let's play this out logically then, . Firstly, I will kill your captain to show my resolve, then if yours holds I will have no choice but to kill you and your entire crew." Her blood ran cold; she wouldn't allow him to kill them.
"If you destroy our ship, you will also destroy your own people." Spock countered logically, raising a brow. She was watching them like one would watch a tennis match, her head snapping back and forth.
"Your crew requires oxygen to survive, mine does not. I will target your life support systems located behind the aft nacelle. And after every single person aboard your ship suffocates, I will walk over your cold corpses to recover my people. Now, shall we begin?" Khan's voice had dropped deadly low, and even Spock faltered. Genevieve began half leading, half dragging Kirk towards the door and away from Khan. She missed a part of what came next, but was aware that Spock had spotted her and ordered shields lowered. "A wise choice, Mr. Spock. I see all 72 torpedoes are still in their tubes. If they're not mine, Commander, I will know it."
"Vulcans do not lie. The torpedoes are yours." Her ears perked up; of course he would give Khan the weapons, as they were just empty shells now. She gave a smile smile behind Khan's back. "I have fulfilled your terms. Now fulfill mine." The connection was cut, showing the Enterprise floating dead in space. Khan walked over and ripped Kirk from Genevieve, who stumbled a bit from the force.
"Well Kirk, it seems apt to return you to your crew." He set the transporter and beamed Kirk back to the other ship. "After all, no ship should go down without her captain." Her temper flared as he sat in the captain's chair, preparing to fire. She smacked his hand away from the controls, buying the Enterprise precious time to escape with her audacity. Khan glared up at her, hatred clear in his eyes. She didn't falter, glaring down at him with nearly the same intensity.
"If you destroy that ship, I will make sure none of your crew survive being woken up from cryo-stasis." Her voice stayed strong, despite how close to death she was putting herself. "I don't want to do that, as they are innocent people." Khan was surprised, both with her bravery and his own hesitation to kill her. He was through with his confusion when it came to her.
"I thought you wanted to help me." He was testing her now, she could tell.
"I offered to help you bring Marcus to justice, and we failed. I don't want to become your enemy, Khan, but I warned you that if more innocent Star Fleet officers died, I would make sure I was the one to bring you down." He stood, attempting to intimidate her with his superior height. Unknown to them both, across the expanse of space, Kirk was risking his life in the engines to bring the ship back online. "I have considered you a friend, Khan. Please don't make me regret it." Her words pained him, and he grew more angry.
"Why should your petty feelings stop me in my quest?" He growled, giving Genevieve all she needed to know. He cared for her, didn't want to kill her as he had originally said he would all that time ago. She gave a small smile, and it made him hesitate.
"Because you care, Khan. No matter how you were created, what you were made for, you learned to care." She sighed. The Enterprise was running again, and she kept his attention away from their escape. "Maybe, with time, you could be forgiven by humanity and even accepted. You don't have to be anyone's tool any more." She took his hand, and he marveled at how she could be so forgiving. "Go back into cryo-sleep with your people. I promise to keep you safe until it's safe to wake you again." He considered the option; he would get to see her again, and him and his people would be free. He nodded, and her smile grew. "Now, will you let me call Kirk, and set it up?" He nodded again and she proceeded to do just that. Spock's face was distraught as he answered, and she frowned.
"Khan Noonien-Singh, due to your actions, Captain James T. Kirk was killed in the line of duty." She gasped; his injuries hadn't been that severe. Khan stepped forward.
"Let me save him." Was all he said. Both were beamed to the ship and McCoy started a blood transfusion with an armed guard surrounding Khan. They returned to Earth, and Khan and Genevieve were brought before the admirals to answer for what they had done. It took quite a bit of explaining and apologizing, but in the end the plan was agreed to and carried out. A facility was created to house and monitor the Augments.
Genevieve was in charge of the program, and was personally in charge of putting Khan back to sleep. He sat in the pod as Star Fleet medical officers prepped him, watching for her. She arrived at last, sitting on the edge.
"Dr. Harrison. Thank you." He sounded so genuine and sincere that it broke her heart. She nodded with a bittersweet smile.
"It was my pleasure, Mr. Noonien-Singh." She leaned down and kissed his cheek before laying him back and closing the lid. He was surprised, but relished in the contact, knowing it would tide him over until he could see her again. That was his last conscious thought.
A/N: AWWWWWWW! Is this the end? Will they ever see each other again? Are you not entertained?! Review!