The mess hall was deserted, and had been for the entirety of the time I'd been sitting sipping at my tea. After cleaning up in my quarters I'd retreated here instead of drinking myself into a stupor in my quarters. I'd half hoped there would've been others here but found myself strangely relieved when there was instead no one in sight. All was strangely silent. It was the graveyard shift and most of the folks I typically interacted with were already in bed or on their way, with their significant other or thinking of him/her, or were confined to a biobed recovering from their latest death defying act-or in the case of Mac stubbornly avoiding me.
I didn't find the lack of company a problem though, well not exactly. It afforded me the peace to further sort through my mess of thoughts: stay or go, Mac or no, here or there, Caiden and James...and etc. After three cups of tea I wasn't any closer to solid answers than I'd been to begin with. I did feel a little hyped up from the caffeine-I'd stupidly gotten black tea instead of chamomile-but at least my thoughts no longer raced. In a strange way it almost felt as if I'd been able to compartmentalize them, separating them from where they'd once piled on top of each other. Now I could concentrate on one train of thought at a time, instead of having my head near spin.
The door to the mess hall swished open and I looked up to see Spock enter. I hadn't bothered turning the lights on fully, there were only on at around a 10% level, but I would've recognized that straight spine and highly held head anywhere. He spotted me sitting on the far side of the hall almost immediately and weaved his way through the tables and chairs until he stood on the other side of the table. I gestured for him to sit but he remained standing, his hands clasped behind his back. There seemed a strange edge about him, and that was saying something considered he rarely if ever loosened up.
"What horrible emergency has happened now that's got you so tense that you can't sit down and enjoy a cup of tea with me, Spock?" I took another sip and winced, I'd left the tea bag in too long again.
Spock raised an eyebrow, "I do not seek you out only where the ship is in danger."
"I know Spock; I was just kidding. A common occurrence with me right?" Spock eyed my cup suspiciously and I giggled. "It really is only tea this time dearie. I've got too much on my mind to drink it away anyhow." When he still stood there quietly I reached out and tapped his hip, drawing his surprisingly wandering attention back. "What's going on Spock?"
"We will be arriving at Starbase 62G in exactly two hours time. We will be docked there for as long as it takes for Star Fleet to send a judgment panel, which according to our most recent transmission will be approximately two days. The majority of the crew will be allowed leave for recuperation and the ship will be refitted and repaired after our latest mission."
I frowned, "That doesn't sound too bad." Then I recalled precisely what he'd said and my frown deepened. "A judgment panel? What is that?"
The door swished open again and we both looked over to see Khan stroll in and immediately come our direction, as if he'd known all along where we were located. He sat down beside me and instead of moving off to get his own cup he drank the last of my own tea. I was surprised at his familiarity and I could tell from the slight twitch at the corner of Spock's eye that he was less than impressed with Khan's arrival and behavior.
He looked between us and feigned innocence. "I wasn't interrupting anything was I?"
I knew between the two of them Khan was the looser cannon and Spock could be questioned carefully later. I chose the larger of the two "evils" and turned to Spock, "Could we finish our discussion later, before we arrive at the Star Base? I've a feeling Khan here is going to be a nuisance unless I placate him."
Spock narrowed his eyes at Khan and looked a little unsure, surprising behavior again, but then he nodded and unclasped his hands, "I will be in my quarters. We will arrive at the star base in a little under two hours. It is imperative that we finish this discussion before our arrival." He gave Khan a pointed glare, or at least a glare like stare, before he stiffly turned and left.
"Since becoming acquainted with the Vulcans, I've found them to be equally admirable and ridiculous." Khan stood, taking my cup with him, and refilled it with hot water and then got himself a new cup and two tea bags from the replicator. "I personally believe the Romulans are closer to the via media than the Vulcans. The hubris for the Vulcans is their logic, call it their achilles heel if you will. The Romulans trust no one, including themselves, are equally logical as their are instinctual, are not blood thirsty to a fault like the Klingons, but are not aversive to violence like the Denobulians." He came back and handed me a tea bag with my cup, again surprising me with his relatively kind-can I say kind when talking about Khan?-gestures. "Of course these theories and observations have been made through small encounters and my own research. I'm sure you have a much more extensive understanding of all of these races than I."
I raised an eyebrow, stared down at the brewing tea as if it were poison, then looked back up at Khan, "Who are you and what did you do with Khan?"
"What many of you primitives fail to realize is that Khan Noonian Singh was a philosopher warrior. He would resort to violent means only when necessary but much preferred amicable reconciliations." He blew over his cup. "I am not a monster."
"Amicable for you maybe; and I've never considered you a monster. A man suffering from megalomania yes, but not a monster." I beg to move my tea bag in and out of the hot water. "Seriously though, why are you making, what I can only assume to be, polite conversation with me, even going so far as to nearly compliment me, though I sensed the sarcasm so you weren't that coy about it."
"When are you going to make good on your promise?" He wasn't looking at me as he spoke but I could sense the firm undertone in his voice, the tone of voice he'd used against Kirk on the bridge.
"I don't know Khan. There's so much going on right now. I-"
"You're a pathetic excuse for a sentient being." Khan interrupted me, his eyes hard and previous cordiality vanished. "You say you willing to help others with your powers, you even appealed to Dehner's empathy in order to get her to sacrifice herself, and yet I've only seen you use these powers for personal gain. You're selfish, immature, and unworthy of the affection that is bestowed upon you by the crew of this ship." He leaned back in his chair and sneered at me. "You accuse me of being a megalomaniac and yet I wonder if you know the full definition of the word. It is someone who lusts after power, after grandeur, after recognition and affection from others, on a near obsessive level. It is someone with delusions of being great, with an inflated self-esteem, who barrels over the 'inferiors' in order to achieve his or her own desires. Entitled, special, unique, all felt to the extreme." Khan quirked his lips up in a half smile. "It seems to me that describes you just as much as portions of it theoretically describe me. How does it feel, Brenna, to be such a kindred spirit?"
I was unaware of my movements until after I was flat on my back. In my rage I'd lifted the tea cup with my powers and chucked it at Khan's head. He ducked out of the way and kicked my chair out from under me. The air momentarily knocked out of me, he pounced on top and attempted to wrestle me into submission. I used my hips and rolled us over until I was straddling his hips with his arms pinned under his back, my hands unfortunately still clasped on his wrists, thus bringing my face dangerously close to his own. With my powers enhancing my strength we were not only matched but it appeared that I could've even been slightly stronger.
Before either of us could switch positions the door swished open and the lights were ordered at full capacity. Within seconds of the order, Mac's face came into view. He took in Khan's position and my own atop him, and Mac's face twisted into a snarl. He turned on his heel and left before I even had time to gasp out his name. Beneath me I felt Khan's body shake and I looked down to see him chuckling.
"You know this would all be solved if you kept up your end of the bargain." He raised his eyebrows and I felt his body relax in my hold, signaling the possible end of the fight.
I maintained my position for a second longer before I growled and relented, rolling off and away before Khan could attack again. He didn't try though and instead got to his feet and quietly waited for whatever I might do next. What was the harm in fulfilling my end of the bargain? Khan rightfully deserved some sort of reward for his work, and the only reward he'd receive from Star Fleet would be at worst experiments and at best another cryogenic sleep with his crew. I still had some time before it was absolutely necessary to speak with Spock and so I sighed and nodded.
"Let's go." I led him from the room and we quickly made our way to the charting room. Now familiar with the technology of the ship I quickly pulled up a map of what Star Fleet understood of the Delta quadrant. I gestured towards the enlarged map and stepped back. "Choose a planet."
Khan's eyes momentarily widened in shock but then he inched closer and surveyed the map with a conquerors eye. No doubt he was looking at the proximity the planets had to stars and each other, the general orbit patterns, any passing comets or asteroid belts. I fully expected him to stand there for up to an hour but he threw me off kilter when he pointed to one planet in particular and said, "There."
Most of the information about the planet was theoretical but from what Star Fleet understood it could be inhabitable, though it was primarily a water planet with island groupings. Khan liked beaches it seemed and so I nodded.
"I'll transport your people first, then you so you can awaken them. It's gonna take time, and I don't know how long or even how exactly I'm going to do this, so please don't distract me, or allow others too. I don't want to mess up, especially with your crew."
Khan nodded. He even moved to stand by the door, giving me space and him control over the door controls. I returned my attention to the chart display, called to mind the planetary coordinates and even pinpointed the largest of the islands that were known to Star Fleet charts. Then I closed my eyes and I "sifted" through the voids of space, much like a swimmer would push aside algae or leaves whilst swimming in a pond, I pushed aside star bases and planets and comets and ships until I "arrived" back at Star Fleet headquarters.
I opened my eyes and found myself back within the vault and the same cryogenic chambers lying around me, the crew of Khan sleeping and unaware of the great journey they would soon take-and hopefully survive. I didn't want to risk more than one at a time, I'd never moved someone into another quadrant before, let alone myself. Jumping timelines was hopefully similar, as I'd had plenty of practice with that.
I went to the closest chamber, a young man asleep inside, and laid my hands upon its cool surface. I took in all the details of the chamber, and the man, before I again closed my eyes and imagined myself towing the chamber behind me as I "flew" through space towards where I felt the planet to be. It was only a thought later that we arrived and I was able to place the chamber beneath a grouping of trees. The air was pleasantly warm, thick with humidity but the sea breeze kept it from being intolerable. I looked around and was pleased to see a bubbling spring nearby. These were Augments so most likely they'd be able to scratch out a living with such simplicity.
I quickly returned and repeated the journey with the next chamber, and the next, and the next. With each successive trip I felt smaller, weaker, the chambers were harder to control and I ended up overturning a few upon arrival, though thankfully nothing was broken. The journey took longer and by the time I got to the last two I felt my concentration wavering to such an extent that I nearly brought the chamber back to the Enterprise with me. Khan had gasped in surprise when I'd re-materialized before him with one of the chambers in tow but once I realized what I'd done I "jumped" back out with the chamber and continued on to the planet.
I had just finished the last chamber when I collapsed on the sandy ground beside it. I had no energy whatsoever. I felt stretched thin. Every joint ached, my blood felt boiling, and when I looked at my skin it was transparent. For some time I fell transfixed in watching my own blood surge through my veins, rushing and flowing throughout my body in its attempt to keep me alive. Liquid poured from my nose, my mouth couldn't stay shut and warm liquid seeped from it as well. The same warmth trickled down from my ears and as I blinked away what I thought to be tears I reached up and drew away my hand to see that it was blood, it was all blood. Was I finally dying? Would I be stranded here with the cryogenic chambers of Khan's crew for the rest of my existence?
Distantly I heard my name being called. I knew it wasn't on this planet and so I closed my eyes. I felt someone run their hand across my brow and call my name again. Next I felt a weightlessness, as if I had been picked up and was being carried. My name was whispered in my ear then and my heart gave a stir at the sound. I was enveloped in the familiar scents of mint and bourbon.
Mac. He'd found me. But how? I tried to reach out to him, to call to him, but I could do nothing. Everything was black now, my sensations dull and numb. I hadn't the energy or the ability to panic as I lay paralyzed in limbo. I only knew that Mac had found me andhe'd whispered my name with such emotion that even my dying heart had stirred.
