Chapter 11
"A word, Captain."
Spock stood to the side as Kirk finished talking to a group of young nurses, all giggling and blinking widely at him, vying for his attention. When he finally turned and swaggered over to Spock, they watched him, whispering to each other behind their hands.
"What do you think, Spock?" Kirk asked, "Which one would you go for?"
Spock surveyed the women. "Captain, the Enterprise is due to leave on a five year mission in ten hours. Do you really think it's appropriate…"
Kirk nodded, grinning. "You're right, why limit myself to just one?"
"Captain, I have a serious matter to discuss with you," Spock said, turning down the corridor, hoping to lead the Captain away from the people milling around between presentations from the outpost's research team.
"Is this about Lieutenant Walker again? McCoy told me you almost resigned."
"That was impulsive – a temporary lapse in resolve – but I am still concerned that no one from Starfleet is overseeing the work that Dr. Neel is conducting here."
"What do you think he's doing?"
"I do not know, but according to the admission records, this outpost averaged 120 new patients a week up until six months ago. Since then they've only had fourteen."
Kirk frowned. "Fourteen in six months? You think Neel is refusing to admit new patients?"
"That was my first assumption, Captain, but it may be more sinister than that. Beth… I mean Lieutenant Walker, was admitted yesterday but when I looked for her record this morning there was no sign she'd ever registered."
"Why were you looking for her record?"
"I'm responsible for her being here."
"So they haven't registered her yet…"
"There are also the replicators."
"The replicators? Spock, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Everything produced by the food replicators is recorded in the central life support systems, and I looked at those records this morning. The amount of food consumed in this facility has steadily increased every month, up to this day. The number of patients has sharply declined, but overall food consumption has increased."
"So you think there are people here that we don't know about?"
"It is the only logical explanation."
"Well what kind of people? Where are they?"
Spock showed Kirk a plan of the space station on his PADD. "I took the liberty of finding out where all of the Enterprise's crew members have taken tours in this facility, as well as areas for general use and assembly." He tapped the screen and most of the diagram was highlighted green. He pointed to a dark section spanning two levels at the far end of the space station. "This area appears to be off-limits."
Kirk took the PADD and studied the image. "Ward seventeen," he read aloud.
"Yes, Captain. I believe this is where Lieutenant Walker is being held."
"Held, Spock? She's in quarantine. Maybe they don't want to advertise her location, but it doesn't mean she's being held."
"Dr. Neel won't discuss it with me, for obvious reasons."
Kirk nodded. "What does Dr. McCoy think of this?"
"He assumes I am still suffering the effects of Lieutenant Walker's… influence."
"Well, aren't you?"
Spock paused. "Yes, sir, I believe I am."
"It's okay." Kirk put his hand on Spock's shoulder. "You're not the first man to lose his head over a woman, although you might just be the first Vulcan."
"I was hoping you could make enquiries about ward seventeen, Captain."
"What makes you think Neel will talk to me? This is his facility, I don't outrank him."
"Perhaps if Dr. Neel is not forthcoming, you could take advantage of… other contacts?" Spock tilted his head towards the group of nurses, still watching Kirk from the other end of the corridor.
The Captain smiled. "Now, them I can get to talk. What will you be doing?"
"I will go to ward seventeen."
"You think you're going to just walk in?"
"No, Captain, but observing the level of security will give us an indication of what Dr. Neel is concealing."
Kirk nodded, but looked concerned. "Don't do anything stupid, Spock. The Enterprise needs its Chief Science Officer."
Khan listened to the guards talk outside his door. They were full of information, discussing the visitors from the Enterprise and the schedule of briefings and conferences that afternoon. Khan learned that there were sixty-two security officers on board the starship and more than half of them would be attending a conference at 16:00 in the space station. It was just over an hour away - if ever Khan had a chance to destroy the Enterprise for good, this would be it. He had been hoping Lieutenant Walker would be able to help him get back onboard, but it had been more than eight hours since she'd been dragged out of the room and he presumed she was not returning.
Dr. Neel must be interrogating her, possibly torturing her, but to what end Khan could not fathom. She would talk about him, about anything, to make it stop. He should have killed her when he'd had the chance. There were plenty of breakable objects in the room he could have used to make it look like suicide. Despite his best efforts to bond with her emotionally, she would tell them Khan was awake and had been this whole time. She probably already had and they were busy trying to figure out the best way to neutralize him.
"Here we go," one of the guards said suddenly, and Khan heard the noise of boots approaching. They were irregular, not the usual plodding march of Starfleet security officers. "Open the door," the same guard said.
There were four guards in the room. Khan struggled not to tense up prematurely. This was it, they had come to apprehend him. They were wrong if they thought four would be enough.
But then Khan heard the sound of a fifth person trying not to breathe. "Shit, what did they do to her?" a guard asked. Roger again.
Schultz answered, his voice growling and defensive. "She's fine, keep away from her."
"I wasn't going to touch her."
"You'd better not."
They left the room and after a moment Khan looked at the door. From the bulky shadow on the frosted glass he could tell Schultz was one of the two guards on duty.
"Lieutenant," Khan whispered, quietly approaching the bed in the middle of the room where the woman was curled up into herself, her face tucked behind her knees, her arms folded over her head. He tried again, remembering what Dr. Neel had said about her preferred name. "Beth. Look at me, Beth."
When she didn't move, Khan put his hand on one of her arms. It was like he'd set it on fire.
"Don't touch me!" she screamed, kicking away from him and falling off the far side of the mattress. Khan looked at the door again, expecting the guards to come rushing in, but they remained at their stations, not reacting at all.
Khan walked around and looked down to where the Lieutenant had crawled between the metal frames to hide under the bed. "Beth, come out from there. We need to leave soon." He would have to get her a change of clothes if she was going to walk through the corridors of the space station and onto the Enterprise – she was still wearing some kind of medical robe. Khan noticed it was ripped in a couple of places.
She didn't move. Khan put one hand on either side of the bed frame and lifted the whole bed in the air. He carried it to the far side of the room and put it down silently, then pulled the sheet off the mattress. He returned to the Lieutenant and dropped the sheet over her body before kneeling down beside her.
"Beth, what did they want?" he asked gently. She was a wreck; barely cognizant. He only had an hour to get her walking and talking again, or he would have to proceed without her at 16:00. She was an ideal distraction for the guards, and possibly a weapon to use against Commander Spock when the time came. He didn't want to lose that advantage if he could help it.
"What did they do to you?" he asked, stroking her hair. She convulsed again, swiping his hand away and opening her mouth to cry out. Khan quickly covered it with his hand. "Please, Beth, don't bring them in here yet."
She struggled to pull his hand away but he waited patiently until she gave up. When he removed it she glared up at him, one of her eyes surrounded by dark bruises. "I've been screaming for hours," she hissed. "They don't hear me anymore."
"Come here, you're safe now." Khan gathered her up in the sheet and pulled her into his lap, sitting back on the floor and leaning against the wall. She pushed against him, scratching at his face and chest, but she barely left a mark.
Khan held her firmly, trying not to hurt her. It was important for her to trust him, to feel a real connection. He wait several minutes for her to wear herself out, and several minutes more before she relaxed into him. "Good girl," he said, rocking her slowly. "You're stronger than you think."
She'd better be, anyway, he thought. Otherwise, after everything she'd just been through, what he was going to ask her to do next would be impossible.