Interlude

His insides were still shivering. Even now, back in his holding cell, he had not managed to fully regain control of his emotions. He was aware that it did not show (never would he give them *that*), but behind the impenetrable mask he had been taught to confront the world with ever since he could remember, he'd not been capable yet to keep that emotional turmoil from flaring up again and again.

He resented himself for not being able to. Not getting over this self-indulgent struggle with his own sensitivities was a luxury bordering upon decadence, an attitude he didn't have any tolerance for at the best of times. And right now, he cursed himself for each irrevocably lost minute he was wasting trying to reclaim emotional control.

Intolerable!

Almost desperately penetrating the chaotic swirl of feelings, he reached far back and deep down for something unshakable to grab and cling to, for something solid and constant to steady himself. He found it when he finally arrived at the fundaments of the working structures of his mind.

Priorities.

At the heart of every successful maneuver, of every well thought out strategy, lay the ability to triage the musts and the wants. To not lose sight of what needed to be done in favor of the quick and only temporary satisfaction of what he *could* do would bring. It was the very first lesson he had ever learned, the foundation stone that had been laid before the true physical and intellectual training had even begun. It was the one principle everything he thought, decided and did was usually based upon. He had deviated from it only twice in his life.

Both times, the results had been disastrous.

He would not fail a third time. Not here and not now. Planting the undisputably highest priority of the moment firmly in his consciousness, nursing it with every thought and every heartbeat, watching it grow until there was no room for anything else, he gradually managed to force back the anguish that furiously roared through his body. It took him a little longer to silence the rage that was equally strong and even more persistent. But in the end, he had almost completely regained his customary keen clarity of mind, dominated by one single notion.

Save him.

So when Khan was finally capable of concentrating all mental efforts on his vast clinical microbiological knowledge, there was only one emotion he had not managed to seize control of.

Bright, aculeated fear.

Spock still felt numb.

Immediately after the highly unexpected and equally disturbing end of the task force's meeting with Khan, he had accompanied McCoy and Kirk back to the Captain's quarters. He was aware that there wasn't much time; according to the schedule Admiral Santiago had issued, he was supposed to meet with Khan again in ninety minutes already to initiate their 'cooperation'. How something of that kind should be achieved after what they had just witnessed was beyond him.

All three men had not spoken a word yet when they were entering Kirk's apartment. Unsurprisingly, it was McCoy who first broke the silence as soon as the door had swished shut behind them.

"How could he. How *could* he! That was not what we had agreed upon. I was to de-freeze that guy and keep him in a coma to make that nauseating threat of infecting him seem authentic. But that's exactly what it was supposed to be - a threat! I can't believe it. I can't believe what he just did. I mean, Khan had agreed to cooperate, right?"

Kirk rubbed both hands over his face. "You've heard Santiago. He wants much more from him. And he used the only means at his disposal to make that happen."

"Jim, you are not telling me that you approve of this unjustifiable…"

"That's not what I said, Bones! I was simply trying to follow the Admiral's considerations and decisions objectively."

"You honestly think there is a way to regard this *objectively*? A man was deliberately infected with the most dangerous and effective pathogen we currently know, and he will die of it, Jim! No matter what kind of expertise we haven't thought of yet Khan might be able to dig up, he will be too late! There's an incubation time of twenty-four to seventy-two hours, and pneumonic plague is fatal after a few days if it remains untreated. Which it will, because, as you might have noticed, we haven't found an effective antidote yet."

McCoy's eyes were bulging slightly. Spock watched him bending forward, leaning into Kirk's personal space, his voice growing louder. "Santiago just killed a man, Jim. That guy will have maybe a week. But luckily that's not a problem at all! There are still seventy-one more frozen people we can turn into human Yersinia-ridden bargaining chips! An acceptable sacrifice, don't you think, considering the billions who will be saved *should* Khan manage to find a remedy? After how many of his people will have died on him? Five? Ten? All of them?"

Inhaling deeply, McCoy threw Kirk one more dark look before he spun on his heel and marched over to the service area. The captain had obviously decided not to answer the doctor but turned to one of the windows overlooking the Bay instead, touching his forehead lightly to the glass. In Spock's opinion, there actually wasn't anything to add to McCoy's rant. It did not happen often, and he would have certainly phrased it a little differently, but in essence he agreed with every single one of McCoy's words. And judging from Kirk's body language as well as his rare silence, the captain was rather shocked as well by Santiago's act. His short attempt at playing devil's advocate notwithstanding.

From his right, Spock heard ice hitting the bottom of some glass, followed by a sloshing sound as liquid was added to it. Drink in hand, McCoy turned back to them. His eyes met Spock's.

"Did you know?"

Though not exactly phrased elaborately, the question was easy enough to understand. From the corner of his perception, he noted the captain pushing away from the window. With the attention of both McCoy and Kirk on himself, Spock took a second before he answered. "No, Doctor. Neither did I know nor had I any reason to suspect or anticipate the Admiral's actions."

Taking a sip of his drink, McCoy nodded. "And what do you think of it?"

Spock was acutely aware of the challenge that was barely hidden behind those words. And not at all willing to rise to it. "Please do clarify, Doctor. Are you referring to the fact that the Admiral did not inform any of us of his true intentions? To the actual act? Or to my thoughts as to how this will affect the collaboration with Khan, which would have been difficult enough as it was?"

McCoy's gaze turned into a glower, his answer into a hiss. "All of the above!"

Ignoring the clearly audible groan from Kirk, Spock fully turned towards McCoy. "I would assume that Admiral Santiago was aware that the step he took today would have encountered not only objection but actual resistance had it been made known, which is why he let as few people in on his plan as possible. A plan I consider beneath any principle of the Federation or Starfleet, as I regard its execution as completely unethical and deeply disturbing."

Spock paused before addressing the third point. "Khan obviously complied very effectively with Admiral Marcus's wishes when he was first revived, even though or because his people were immediately threatened. Considering that, I would assume that he is, in principle, able to put aside instantaneous emotional reactions in favor of the safety of his crew – for a while, at least. How he will react with one of them in imminent mortal danger, however, I am unable to assess."

With a wry smile, McCoy raised his glass to him. "Well, Spock, you are in the interesting position to find out soon enough. Try to live to tell the tale, will you?"

Kirk let out another exasperated sigh. "You are not helping here, Bones."

"The doctor does have a point, Captain." Unfazed by the snort from McCoy's direction, Spock went on. "In light of the current situation, Khan will most probably experience the loss of one of his people very soon. An impending fact he must be aware of, if his knowledge about clinical microbiology is as extensive as Admiral Santiago indicated. We know how Khan reacted on the Vengeance when he was facing the man who had merely threatened him with harming his crew. Now that the harm is actually done, we should appreciate the possibility that he might respond accordingly."

For a few moments of rather uncomfortable silence, neither Kirk nor McCoy did say anything to that. The doctor gloomily inspected his drink, swirling whatever it was with slow, almost careful movements, sending the ice clicking against the glass in regular intervals. Kirk, who had not moved at all, was the first to speak, regarding Spock with a slight frown.

"And as the one assigned to work with him, you will be the first on the receiving end of that response."

He inclined his head in agreement. "That is correct, Captain. And I assume it is also the true reason why I was chosen to act as liaison. Whereas I seriously doubt I'd be able to actually overpower him alone, I might be one of the few who could possibly detain him long enough for reinforcement to interfere."

Spock knew the inevitable answer this would educe from the captain. He didn't have to wait for it at all, either. "I don't like my officers being used as living buffer zones, especially not with the admiralty pulling hidden agendas. Spock, I want you to step down from this, I will not allow…"

"Jim." As…touched as he was somewhere deep inside by the captain's concern, and he hoped the use of his first name would sufficiently express that, Spock was aware that he had to make him see this logically. "I don't think that the situation we are facing allows us the luxury of stepping back from anything. Khan is awake, one of his people has been infected and will very probably die very soon – from the hands of the same organization that held Khan's crew hostage almost six years ago. That is the status quo we cannot change. So, irrespective of the fact that we still hope for him to be of assistance in finding an antidote against Yersinia, there are now further aspects we have to factor in regarding the current status of affairs."

Folding his hands behind his back, Spock looked from the Captain to McCoy. Both were watching him wordlessly. The stubbornness verging on defiance on the face of the first was familiar by now and therefore easily identified and very much expected. The acquiescence he read from McCoy's features, on the other hand, came as a surprise, and Spock only recognized it as such when he had already continued speaking.

"It is true that an already highly difficult situation was exacerbated by Admiral Santiago's unexpected act. There is also no guarantee at all that anyone will be able to keep the damage done within manageable limits. It is sure, however, that we need to try and do so to the very best of our abilities, or else the result will be utter chaos. Starfleet wasn't able to regain control of Khan last time he escaped – and then, this planet was not in the grip of a devastating pandemic. Imagine him on a vendetta with the ultimate goal to avenge and free his people *now*, that we are barely able to keep public life from being paralyzed."

Kirk was still watching him intently, but he no longer exuded opposition. The doctor knocked back the rest of his drink almost violently . Surprising Spock again, it was he who voiced the last and probably most difficult of Spock's arguments while glumly resuming the inspection of the melting ice in his now empty glass.

"On top of it all, it was our consent with the Admiral's official plan that made all of this possible in the first place. Yeah, we objected. Sure, we voiced reservations. But in the end, we complied with it, knowing how damn wrong it all was."

Indignation back in his eyes, face, and voice in an instant, Kirk interrupted.

"Now wait a minute. You're not seriously suggesting that we are to blame for this bleeding mess, are you?"

"I'm simply observing the fact that none of us did anything to prevent it. On the contrary, those of us asked to play an active part did not refuse." Spock approved of the doctor's remarkably composed voice. "And you know what? It might even have been my own recap of Khan's behavior right after his awakening that finally triggered Santiago to set his perverted plan into motion – if he ever needed a trigger at all."

Due to his own astonishment, Spock perceived the slow blink and quick shake of the head from Kirk only from the corner of his eye.

"What? I don't…explain, Bones, would you?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the doctor sighed. Interestingly enough, he searched for Spock's eyes before he went on.

"It's not important. I was exhausted, Khan was his usual bugging self, and he irritated the hell out of me. I reported to Santiago accordingly in a very subjective way, indicating my firm conviction that Khan would not play along. It was highly unprofessional and not based on any reliable evidence but my being completely on edge. If Santiago needed any excuse at all for doing what he did, I served it to him with a deep bow and on a bloody silver plate!" McCoy lifted the glass to his mouth again, cursing under his breath when only ice and water hit his lips. "As I said, it's not important."

Spock let the perfect silence that followed McCoy's words linger for a few seconds before he picked up the thread.

"We are therefore in agreement, doctor, that – provided your approval, Captain, and exclusively on account of preventing a very serious situation from sliding into chaos – we will continue our intended roles in this…endeavor?"

He received an immediate silent nod from McCoy. And a not so instant, not so wordless one from Kirk.

"I still don't like this, and I *will* use my right to intervene as your superior officer as soon as I deem it necessary. I also need both of you to be careful – I'm not so sure anymore who of you will be facing the more dangerous aspect on a daily basis, but I *do* know that neither of them is predictable in any way. So just…don't take unnecessary risks, okay?"

"Pot, kettle." McCoy had obviously regained at least some of his composure.

Kirk bestowed a mild glare on the doctor, but left it at that. Spock doubted that he himself would have gotten away that easily, but then he would not have voiced any analogous remark anyway, so the comparison was quite irrelevant. Aside from that, it was not him who felt at least partly responsible for what had happened…was it truly already an hour ago?

He had lost track of time. Inexcusably. Inwardly shaking his head at himself, Spock straightened, mentally already sifting through the route to the medical section, the administrative steps necessary to get clearance, the different tactical approaches he had worked out for his first personal confrontation with Khan.

Which, regarding recent events, were now obsolete anyway.