Hello everyone! Thank you for your patience. Great big thanks for reading, reviewing and following.
This chapter has been causing me a fair few problems and I think I've finally got it.
Usual disclaimer and here is...
The Lure Chapter 21 (seriously who knew I'd get this far?)
The hiss of the turbo lift door and the pounding of several sets of feet made Khan smile.
"Such big guns little ones. Just what do you think you're going to do with them?" He asked facing them, the nick name had not fallen on deaf ears. Mercy and her group of five happened to be the shortest members of his crew. In an odd sort of way the grim faced commandos were cute if you squint at them with their over-sized rifles, even the armour looked a little big on them.
"Khan," Mercy sighed with an air of fake condolence, "you are no longer fit for command of this vessel."
"On what grounds am I unfit to lead Mercy?" He asked well aware that the conversation is being broadcast shipwide. If they were back in their own time such a comms line would have been pay-per-listen.
"Many." She snapped leveling her beam rifle.
"How conveniently vague." Khan stepped away from the console giving himself room to maneuver. "Still I expect the crew would like an explanation."
"I'll give them one when you are back in stasis. How much of you ends up in the damnable tube is up to you."
Khan sensed Jim's indignant rage bubble inside himself. The Captain had very clear views on what a super-soldier is and what they aspire to be, Mercy in his eyes was not such a being.
"Since parts of your brain still seem to be frozen I'll ask again on what grounds am I being relieved of command?"
"The year you spent awake without us has made you soft. You're enthralled with a mere normal human. That is reason enough."
Khan laughed. "You speak as if you have never indulged in such distractions. If memory serves you had quite the collection that you jealously guarded until you killed them all. What information were they supposed to give to our enemy? Your prefered position?"
Mercy's eyes hardened. "You have no right to tell any of us what to do. We have been sitting beneath the federation flagship for three days and not a single shot has been fired. We have our prime target I will take the measures you clearly lack the resolve to take. The filth above us should have been dusted long ago."
Jim rose from his hiding place a phaser in each hand hitting every member of Mercy's entourage right between the eyes before stepping round the console and by default Khan to face Mercy. The woman looked as though she had seen a ghost as he shot her right in the mouth.
"Jim there was no need for that." Khan stated carefully. A fully charged stun blast to between the eyes hurt enough but one to the tongue was just nasty.
"No one disrespects my family in my presence Khan without answering for it. Not even you and don't you dare forget it." Jim's voice must have permeated the entire ship by now.
"I could never forget it. That's why we're parked beneath your ship. Now the phasers."
To his surprise Jim did not hand them over to himself but to Tavare who was just as shocked by the gesture as his captain.
"You better put those away before I'm tempted to use them again." Jim commented before moving to the far wall leaning against it like a delinquent, knowing Jim he probably was such a child. He did not admire his handiwork and was utterly unrepentant about it. When the weight of the security detail's stare landed upon him Jim shot them a fierce glare that should have melted the bulk-head.
Khan liked that wild fire in the captain, part of him wanted to be burned by it whilst a greater part wished to tame it. Now was not the time he had appearances to keep up, members of his crew to be confined and a crew desperate to find their indomitable Captain to out wit.
All in all his life had become infinitely more interesting thanks to Jim and now he had dealt with the dissident members of his crew Khan's position was far more secure as long as he kept his torpedoes aimed at the Enterprise. He knew better than to fully trust a wild fire not to cremate him if given the opportunity.
to be continued...
sorry for shortness as I said this one took a while to write. I killed people off and found I couldn't make the rest of the plot work properly without them and Jim, I think desperately needed a kick-ass moment.
Next chapter: Vida's reaction to Jim's anger and the Enterprise's reaction to a tribble turned tyrant.