Chapter 16: A Light in the Dark

When Layla Serena Pike woke up early the next morning, it was to find her parents already up and sitting at the breakfast table in the kitchen. Her step-father Christopher Pike was in his wheelchair at the head of the table, gingerly spooning small mouthfuls of porridge into his mouth. Beside him on his left, her mother, Helene sat cleanly eating her fried eggs while keeping a watchful eye on her husband, whose face brightened as he caught sight of Layla standing in the doorframe.

"Morning kiddo. You're up early."

"Have my orientation with Marcus at nine" she walked over to the kitchenette and began fixing herself some toast. After those days in space, it seemed odd having to share her apartment with her parents again. She felt as if she'd grown centuries older since yesterday's memorial.

"I have your new uniform ready. It's pressed and waiting in the living room" her mother quickly checked her PADD. "Oh good, my schedule's been cleared. Professor Travers will cover me."

"You don't have to do this Helene" Christopher grimaced awkwardly only to be quelled by his wife's stern brow.

"Oh yes, I do. I leave the two of you on your own in space for two minutes and look what happens."

"I hardly see how this is my fault" he grumbled, but Layla could see the humour in his eyes. Even he was looking far older, and she swore his hair was greyer than before.

"Well, fault or no fault. I'm just glad we're all back here in one piece" Layla grunted as she set herself, her toast and her glass of warm milk down on the table.

"Amen to that" another voice grumbled as they entered the room.

"Morning Jim" Layla smirked as Jim Kirk trudged into the room, hair a mess and his chin dark with a five-o clock shadow.

"Morning Lay." he yawned as he passed her by, ruffling her hair as he did so. "Morning Mam. Admiral" he added at Christopher who grinned.

"Good Morning Captain Kirk. I trust you slept well."

"Like a baby" Jim sipped at a glass of water. "and once again thank you for letting me stay here until I move into my new apartment."

"Not at all Jim, you're as good as family, and you're welcome here anytime." Helene smiled at him warmly as she sipped her tea "Oh, by the way, there's fried eggs on the stove if you'd like some. I would've offered my daughter, but as you probably know, she hates them" she slyly smirked at said daughter.

"I prefer them scrambled is all. And the yolk always tastes weird when its fried" Layla grimaced as she watched her best friend settle down beside her with a plate of fried eggs and dive straight into them.

She shook her head and tore into her toast.

"Layla small bites, please. You're a lady" Her mother scolded her.

From their spots, both Christopher and Jim snorted with laughter as Layla looked up at her mother innocently, a piece of toast crust dangling from her mouth, the rest of it stuffed into her cheeks.

"Chris help me out here." Helene sighed at her husband who was still chuckling into his bowl.

"Layla, listen to your mother" he coughed, trying and failing to hold down his amusement as Layla rolled her eyes.

"What's the matter? It's just toast. Oh crap." She looked down at her communicator, where an alarm was beeping for her.

"Uniform. Living room. Go" Helene nodded, only to quickly call after her as she dashed out of the room "And remember, wash the crumbs off your face!"

"I know! I know!" Layla waved her off as she disappeared out the door.

Once she was out of sight, Helene turned to Jim, her face worried.

"How is she really, Jim?"

"She's alright I guess." Jim shrugged "She's just nervous about today."

Even as he said this, Layla poked her head back into the door.

"Uh, mom…are you sure this isn't your uniform?" she held up a petite grey officer's uniform.

"I'm sure" Helene smirked as her husband sat up a little straighter.

"Command had new uniforms commissioned for the Enterprise crew. Yours came yesterday evening. Jim's will come in sometime around ten today just in time to report to Admiral Barnett." Christopher gave a pointed look at Jim who gulped a little.

It was one thing to be named Captain. But now having the dress uniform to go with the title made everything so much more real.

He could see that Layla was having similar anxious thoughts as she carefully sidled out of the doorway, holding her dress uniform at arm's length as though she were handling a volatile bomb.

"Don't worry; you'll get used to the material. A couple of washes and the itch goes…mostly." Christopher smirked dryly as he reached for his data pad and began looking up a news feed.

Despite himself, Jim couldn't help but smirk as he continued to eat his food. By the time he'd started serving himself a breakfast muffin Helene had made fresh from the oven, Layla had come back downstairs.

Her suit fitted her like a glove. Medium grey and tailored in at her waist, with a skirt that went just above the knee and her slender black boots. Over her jacket cuffs, she had two bands of silver, the top one thin and the bottom one thick, representations of her rank as Lieutenant Commander. Over her left breast, pinned on proudly and shining in the morning light was the silver badge of the Starfleet arrow. Her raven black hair was pulled back into a neat high ponytail, and she bore her grey cap under one arm.

"Oh honey, you look amazing!" Helene rushed forwards to hug her daughter who flushed pink with embarrassment as her mother hugged her. "I'm so proud of you."

"Mom. My uniform-" she grumbled but made no move to push her mother off as she planted a very wet kiss on her cheek. "MOM! I have to go."

"Oh hush! You know you love it. Now come on, say goodbye to your father."

"Okay, okay. Goodbye Dad" Layla leaned down to kiss her father on the cheek and give him a brief hug.

"Sorry" she muttered as she felt him wince in her grasp. She had forgotten not to use her strength on him. But her father just smiled as she leant away.

"Good luck Layla. You'll do fine."

"I hope" Layla shrugged as she turned to ruffle Jim's bed hair and give a small, amiable thud on his back. "Later Jimmy"

"Later? That's all I get? A later Jimmy? No kiss?" Jim exclaimed in mock hurt through a grinning face.

"Nope!" Layla smirked as she left the door. "I'll see you all when I get back!"

And with that, she was out of the door and out of sight.

Khan Noonien Singh stared at the blank dark wall.

This was it. He thought savagely.

This was the day he finally got out of this godforsaken cell. Granted he wasn't going to be free.

That Admiral Marcus had said he'd be working for Starfleet, developing weapons and training a young new rising star from the ranks. In return for his compliance, his crew was guaranteed safety, and by safety, Marcus meant them not being killed off one by one on his orders or experimented on like guinea pigs.

As he sat there, waiting for his armed escort, he wondered what kind of person Marcus was setting him up to work with. During their less than friendly meetings, the disgusting excuse for a man had told him that he would find his new little pupil to be of great interest to him.

In the privacy of the room, Khan allowed himself a small shiver. Whatever, or whoever this person was, Marcus thought he could use them to further manipulate him into doing his bidding, or at least have a spy to watch his every move.

He could, of course, kill or threaten the poor wretch that dared to keep him on a leash, but then his crew would face annihilation. Already one member of his people, the young and reckless, Andrew "Hawke" Hawkins, was barely walking the razor's edge when it came to keeping himself in line under Marcus's orders. Khan knew the younger augmented man wasn't keen on taking orders, especially from a lesser being, and only went along with Marcus's threats because Khan himself had given him the order.

No. Whoever this new lackey for Marcus was, had to be dealt with subtly, in a carefully planned seduction that would trap them like a helpless fly in his web. One that only Khan's silver tongue could weave if he had enough time and patience with this person, whoever they were.

There was the thudding of footsteps, and he stood up to greet the armed guards that had come to take him away. It took all he had not to break each of their limbs as they nudged him out of his cage roughly and into their midst.

They were quick to shove him out of the holding cells, barely allowing him one last glance back at Hawke, who was observing him from the glass wall of his chamber even as he passed out of sight.

Khan kept track of all the passageways they walked through as they made their way to the turbolift that led just outside the Admiral's office. He'd long since learned (from Marcus and the doctors that had awoken him) that the facility he was staying in was a secret underground base, directly under the Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco.

From his vague memories of three hundred years ago, San Francisco had been the main rebel base of those few humans that had fought against himself and his brethren's takeover of the world. What had once been an old overpopulated city was now a thriving metropolis that gleamed in the sunlight as he looked at it through the turbolift's glass walls.

He had to admit, the sight of flying cars and a city full of clean air and energy, was quite a sight to behold. The presence of Aliens as well, integrated with human society, fascinated him. Technology and science had advanced beyond what he and his brethren had ever thought humans to be capable of. If it had not been for his situation, he might have enjoyed exploring this new world.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by one of his guards who shoved him roughly out of the turbolift doors.

He glared at all of them and was pleased to see them all shrink back in fear as his icy eyes bore into their skulls. Even after all those years asleep, he could still make those lesser than him shrivel under his gaze.

He was led to a door, where one of the guards made to stand in front. Through it, Khan could hear Marcus talking to someone.

The guard knocked at the door.

"Admiral Marcus Sir. Commander John Harrison is here to see you as you requested"

Khan rolled his eyes. Oh yes, how could he have forgotten the ultimate insult? His new, name. John Harrison. Pathetic, uninteresting and dull. It didn't have any of the panache or power his correct name held. But that was how the Admiral wanted him. A dull, uninteresting drone programmed to do his bidding without question.

He pulled himself up straight as he heard the Admiral's voice call through the door.

"Let him in."

"Commander" the guard sneered as he held open the door for him.

Khan forced a polite smile on his face, though his eyes were still hard as ice as he stepped through the door.

He appeared to be in a large, impressive office. At the far end of the room stood a door, through which he could see through a glass panel, another corridor.

That must be the main entrance to the headquarters.

Khan noted as he surveyed the rest of the room.

Before him stood a desk, with an empty chair and a large console behind it.

In front of this desk just in front of the two guest chairs two people stood.

The first he recognised to be Admiral Marcus, who stood in his white and grey dress uniform, looking down at a much younger, and much shorter figure than him.

He has me babysitting a child?

Khan thought indignantly as he turned to face the younger officer, only to stop dead in his tracks as he got a proper look at them.

It was a young woman. She was short and petite and was dressed in a grey officer's uniform. Her raven black hair was tied back in a high ponytail, allowing her face to be seen. She had high cheekbones, rosy lips and icy blue eyes with tiny flecks of green around the pupils. A small beauty spot just next to her left eye was the only mark on her face. She couldn't have been more than eighteen, and yet something was compelling in the way she held herself in front of the admiral who had turned to face him.

"Ah, John. There you are. I was wondering when you'd get here." Admiral Marcus gave him a warm, welcoming smile that did not meet his cold, heartless eyes. "You're just in time."

Khan stiffened as he felt a jovial hand grab him by the shoulder and steer him over to the young woman who had finally noticed him.

Her eyes widened as they met his, and Khan knew at that moment, she was seeing exactly what he was seeing.

"John. Meet your new assistant slash protégé, Lieutenant Commander Layla Pike. Layla, this is Commander John Harrison. He will be your mentor during your training here at Section 31."

"C-Commander" the woman, Layla gulped as she quickly held out a hand.

Khan noticed that it was trembling slightly as he took it, though he could not talk, feeling as shocked as if he'd accidentally trodden on a mine.

The resemblance was too striking. Not to acknowledge it would be foolish. And yet…

But how? How is this possible? Who is this girl?

"A pleasure to meet you Miss Pike" he forced a smile on his face as he reached out to grip her hand. In his surprise, he forgot to hide his strength and was about to let go when he felt her quickly return the grip with interest.

"The pleasure is all mine sir" she tried to smile back at him, only to look like she had a toothache.

"Layla is Chief of Security on board the U.S.S Enterprise" Marcus smirked as he watched the exchange keenly "While she won't be becoming an official Intelligence Agent, she will undergo the training program to prepare herself for the new Five Year deep space exploration missions. In-between the Enterprises missions she will train under your tutelage in anti-espionage and help you in your weapons design."

"I see." Khan let go of her hand, still studying her face like a computer. "And how old are you Miss Pike?"

"Seventeen sir. But I assure you my age won't be a problem" Layla clipped, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Seventeen…and already chief of security aboard a starship? That's quite an achievement." Khan smirked and was amused to watch her as she straightened her back proudly, trying to give herself extra height. However, she failed miserably as both Marcus and Khan both towered over her at just above six feet.

Still, she tried her best to puff out her plumage as she smiled sweetly.

"No, sir. I'm just good at my job."

"We shall see" Khan turned to Marcus, still smiling, though his eyes were now burning hotly with wrath. "Admiral, may I have a word with you in private."

"Of course. Layla why don't you step outside for a moment. We won't be long." Marcus smiled at Layla who nodded, not taking her eyes off Khan's face as she carefully went out the front door and out into the corridor.

"Of course, goodday sir."

Once the door was shut securely behind her, Khan rounded on Marcus.

"You bastard!" he snarled as he backed the man into the desk. "You bastard what the hell did you do?"

"Me? I did nothing" Marcus sneered back, utterly calm despite his adversary's rage.

"Don't play dumb Admiral? Who is she? What is she?"

"I'd have thought that much was obvious" Marcus's lip curled. "She's your brat, that's who. Your filthy arrogant little spawn. As for what she is…well…let's say she's my collateral."

"Collateral?" Khan spat "You already have my crew-"

"Yes…but they aren't your flesh and blood. And unlike her, they aren't alive and kicking or here. You see Khan, I can give the order for your crew to be exterminated and it will take my men ten minutes to receive the order and carry it out. That's ten minutes of wasted time. Now, why would I waste ten minutes of my precious time killing your crew, when I can get my men to whip out their blasters and shoot your brat in two seconds?"

Khan's fists were shaking with rage.

He and his people had been accused of being cruel, ruthless barbarians, but this Admiral, this disgusting piece of filth in front of him…

He was almost grateful for the knocks on the door beside the desk as the guards opened the door to check in on them.

"Hold your fire Lieutenant" Marcus drawled as Khan took a step back from him, his lip curled with fury as he willed himself to remain in control as the guards closed the door.

"Now that you've got control over your savage temper perhaps you will listen to me" Marcus straightened up, nostrils flaring as he looked Khan up and down in repugnance.

"You will train Miss Pike, and you both will design weapons for Starfleet. That other brat of yours, Hawkins, will be put to work as a field agent. If you both prove yourself useful and compliant I will perhaps, provide you with a little more freedom outside of this facility, but consider yourself warned. Should you or that boy of yours put one toe out of line, jeopardize any of the missions or projects I set for you, or even tell anyone, including your precious little spawn, about your true identity, then both her and your crew are history. Do I make myself clear, Commander?"

"As Crystal" Khan hissed through his teeth, hating every syllable that escaped his lips. But what he hated more was that victorious shit eating grin the Admiral sent his way.

"Very good. However, in future, you will address me as Admiral, or sir is that understood?"

"Yes, sir" Khan's fists were so tight by his sides that his knuckles had gone deathly white.

"That's better." Marcus sat himself down behind his desk. "Now, I suggest you join your new protégé outside. Given that it's your first day San Francisco, I've ordered her to take you around and show you some of the sights. Of course, you will have a guard tailing your every move, so don't even think about trying to run. When you return, you will stay and watch her physical and medical trials. You will be shown your new lab and living arrangements tomorrow. Right now, however, I suggest you enjoy whatever fresh air you get, it might be a while till you get to go outside again. You are dismissed."

Khan didn't say a word, only nodding briskly as he turned on his heel and marched out the door through which Layla had walked out of.

He spotted her quickly, leaning against the wall a few feet away with her arms folded and looking very troubled. She jumped when he coughed to get her attention.

"Miss Pike."

"Commander" she scowled the tips of her ears red with embarrassment as she straightened up to face him. "I take it your talk with the Admiral went well."

"As well as can be expected" Khan nodded curtly, before forcing another smile onto his face "Now, the Admiral said you were to show me the sights of the city."

"He did. Follow me" Layla nodded and quietly led him to the turbo lift which she quickly ordered to take them down to the main parking lot. "We'll take my transport; it'll be faster than taking the shuttle."

"You drive?" Khan raised his eyebrows at the girl and was surprised to see her shrug.

"Got my full license last year."

Khan nodded silently. For the first time in his life, he honestly felt at a loss for words. When he had awoken that morning, he'd had all these scenarios cooked up in his brain. Sweet honeyed words that had formed into sentences to lure and distract were now shattering into a million pieces with every glance he gave to the girl beside him.

They were thrown out the window when she opened her mouth to say bluntly:

"He threatened you, didn't he?"

Khan blinked at her.

She was looking up at him, her icy eyes, so much like his own, seeming to pierce straight through him and into his very head.

So that's how it feels.

He couldn't help but wonder as she turned back to look at the doors to the Turbo lift.

"You don't have to answer. I already know my Uncle Alex well enough to know that what he's blackmailing you with must be big or else he wouldn't be looking so smug. And you wouldn't be looking so rattled."

"I'm not rattled." Khan clipped as he too turned to look at their reflection in the turbo lift doors.

"Yeah, sure you aren't" she sighed softly at his reflection as she led him out into the parking lot and towards a jet-black hover vehicle. It wasn't too fancy, at least not in comparison to the other sleeker models that had been parked beside it, but what it lacked in looks on the outside, were more than compensated inside.

"Nice isn't she?" Layla smirked as she set herself in the driver's seat. "I took her apart and fixed her myself last summer while on break. Re-designed her whole A.R. interface."

Khan was silent as he marvelled at the controls from his spot in the passenger's seat. The inside of the car was black like the outside, but sleek and shiny, with a very easy to use touch interface that could be activated from any part of the craft. On the dashboard, a holographic augmented reality interface was enabled as she pressed her handprint in to unlock her steering wheel.

"Manual controls engaged" a computerised voice spoke, and Layla rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes I know."

"Couldn't you set it on autopilot?" Khan quirked a brow and was surprised to see her smirk widely.

"And miss out on the fun? Seriously, what's the point of calling yourself a driver, if you don't even get to drive?"

"Point taken" Despite himself, the corners of Khan's mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly as he buckled himself in securely.

But she didn't move at once.

"Is something the matter?" Khan frowned at her and was surprised to see her smirking up at her rearview mirror.

Then suddenly she reversed fast.

Khan held on tightly as he felt something heavy hit somewhere behind him and turned around just in time to see the back end of their craft smoothly moving away from the front of what looked like a costly silver hover car.

"There," Layla grinned as she caught sight of the nice sizable dent in the once smooth front of the vehicle. "That should do nicely. Have fun fixing that one Alex."

"You bashed his car?" Khan stared at her in amazement. This girl, a mere lieutenant commander in a large organisation, had just purposefully rear-ended a top brass Admiral's transport vehicle without batting an eye.

"He's an admiral; he can afford to get it fixed" Layla shrugged as she smoothly drove them out of the parking lot "Besides, he probably deserves it. And more" she added, and Khan was surprised to hear the bitterness in her tones.

"You call him uncle, and yet you hate him so much? Why?" Khan asked quietly, as she sucked in a sharp breath.

"Let's say; I only call him uncle to keep my parents happy. Otherwise, I can't stand the creepy old bastard" she admitted.

"Your parents?"

"My mom and step-dad" she glanced at him uncomfortably, and he quickly avoided her eye.

And there it was, the blasted elephant in the room.

Khan could see she was bursting with the same questions that he too burned with.

She had inherited his sharp intellect, that much was clear. She was observant of her surroundings and of people she met. She had been able to scan him and his emotions, though he blamed that partially on his state of surprise at seeing her for the first time. From what he had felt from her handshake, her strength was average by the standards of his kind. However, he thought he'd have to see her in action to fully understand the extent of her prowess.

After all, to be Chief of Security at the age of seventeen was no mean feat, even by Augments standards.

He turned to look at her, watching her eyes harden on the road as she did her best to avoid his gaze. While her face bore the most striking resemblance to his, there were some smaller details, like the shape of her nose and the softness of her cheeks that were indeed not his.

"Who is your mother?" he wondered aloud and was not disappointed by the glare she shot sideways at him.

"Like I'd ever tell you."

"And why not?" he answered her levelly, impressed by her daring. Did she not know just how easy it would be for him to reach over and break her neck? Maybe she did because when she answered next, her voice was measured and careful but still blunt.

"Listen…I don't know what's going on between you and Marcus, but it doesn't take a genius to see that it's not good. I may be involved in this shit now because I'm your new protégé or whatever, but I'll be damned if I let my family get involved in it. They've got enough on their plates without being in further danger of you or him. So, until we're finished working or training, neither you nor Marcus are coming one step near my family. Especially my Mom, Kapeesh?"

"I understand" Khan nodded quietly, and truthfully, he did understand…more than she would ever know.

"That little bitch" Admiral Marcus snarled as he watched the security footage of his hover car being rammed by a black vehicle.

"It was probably an accident sir" one of his men coughed "Young drivers can be…well you know, careless."

"Of course. You're right I can get it easily repaired anyway." Marcus smiled coldly though inside he seethed. That little brat was far from careless. Even when she was a little girl every step she ever took was calculated and measured.

Much like those of her fathers.

He couldn't believe it when his doctors ran the DNA tests and found that the bastard Augment's genes had matched Layla's. He'd always known she was an Augment, but to be the daughter of Khan Noonien Singh, one of the biggest tyrants of the twentieth Century, that was beyond anything he could've imagined.

And now he'd set them up to work together.

He could only hope this decision wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.

Khan stared up at the sky above as he and Layla sat on one of the outside tables at a local café, while some section 31 agents kept watching close by. They were eating lunch, Layla paying as he didn't have any money on him.

She was telling him about her recent promotion to Chief of Security and the disturbing circumstances surrounding it.

Khan had to admit, he was amazed she even survived half the ordeal. From what she had told him about the Romulans, they seemed to be on par with his people in terms of brute strength, and with their weapons from the future, they'd surely have the upper hand in a fight.

She skipped over various details, like names of certain people or events that happened between them, turning her story into more like a documented report.

Khan knew it was to keep him and whoever was watching them, away from her friends. However, from what little she was willing to let slip, he knew she was very fond of a certain Jim Kirk and someone she called Leo.

It didn't take him long to use the datapad she'd accidentally left behind with her belongings while she excused herself to use the facilities.

So…this blonde upstart is her new captain…and this Leo must be this Leonard McCoy, the Chief Medical Officer.

Khan frowned as he looked over both men's profiles. This McCoy man was almost double her age, and Kirk had to be at least twenty-four years old. In fact, nearly all the main crew of the Enterprise, save for one young Russian navigator, were over the age of twenty-one.

It certainly is an odd crew to say the least.

He frowned as he read the profile on the Vulcan Science officer named Spock. Back when he and his people had run, Space travel was still only just in its fledgling stages. Now it seemed many alien species had allied themselves with the humans.

Khan wasn't sure how comfortable he was with this progress, then reminded himself that he of all people should not judge. He and his crew were probably just as much outsiders as these aliens, it might be worthwhile to get to know more about them and see which ones he could befriend to his advantage-

"Having a good read?" he heard her frown before he saw it.

"You have an interesting crew" he smirked as she snatched her datapad away from his grip. "So that is your dear Jim. I can see why you and half the women in your crew would follow him."

"I don't follow him because he's attractive" Layla snapped, cheeks flaring despite herself "He's a good decent guy, and a great friend. If it weren't for him, my dad and I wouldn't have made it home alive at all-" she stopped short quickly, eyes widening in horror as Khan paused mid sip of his coffee.

"Your dad…I see…so the captain you had to rescue from the Romulans, the one recently promoted to Admiral, is your step-father." Khan watched her carefully.

"…yes…though I don't see why that should matter to you" she muttered avoiding his eye again.

"You must admire him greatly, if you'd want to follow his footsteps in Starfleet" Khan murmured softly, measuredly.

"Yeah well, he was a damn good Captain. If anyone deserved that promotion to Admiral, it was him" Layla raised her chin up proudly as she took a sip of her coffee, not noticing the momentary spark of hurt flash over her companion's eyes as he watched her drain the rest of her drink.

Whoever this Captain Pike was, she obviously adored him to the ends of the Earth…even if he was of a lesser species. And yet…

Does she even know?

Khan felt his blood freeze in his veins even as the thought crossed his brain. Did she know what she was?

But that was ridiculous, he thought wildly. Marcus said himself, she was his, Khan's, own flesh and blood. She had his face, his mind and possibly his strength, and if she had those then she must have had…

He carefully moved his hand just enough to make his coffee mug slip from the table, where it proceeded to shatter on the pavement beneath the table and chairs.

"Crap what was that?!" Layla flinched as the piercing sound of breaking china hit her ears.

"Sorry, that was me. I wasn't looking where my hand was going" Khan said oh-so-apologetically as he made to lean down to pick it up, only for Layla to beat him to the punch.

"No it's okay, here I'll-ow!" she winced as she sliced a deep cut into her finger on a sharp edge.

She quickly sucked at it, apologizing all the while to the young waitress that had come outside the café to check on the commotion.

But Khan had eyes only for her injured hand, for even as she sucked the wound with her mouth, he could see the skin already begin to heal itself. By the time they'd paid for their drinks and the broken mug, there wasn't even a scar left on her finger, over which she had placed a plaster just in case.

Her regenerative abilities are faster than mine.

He noted keenly as they made their way back to her hover vehicle. Even though his tissue could regenerate ten times faster than a normal human's, it still would've taken him ten minutes for a cut like that to heal and an extra ten for the scar to disappear. Whereas Layla's cut had completely disappeared within the span of five minutes.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly as she started the vehicle.

"It was just a tiny prick" she rolled her eyes ", And I've had worse. Way worse"

Khan didn't say anything, but she could feel his gaze intently upon her as she began to drive.

So that's what it's like to be scrutinized by my eyes. No wonder Leo and Jim get so squeamish.

She thought to herself, doing her best to keep her eyes fixed on the road, not noticing the small bloodied piece of the mug that her passenger had just slipped into his pocket.

Jim Kirk sighed heavily as he took a sip of his whisky at the bar.

He had had a long tiring day. First getting his new uniform and then going to give a full massive report in to Admiral Barnett, then having to read pages upon pages of engineering reports on Enterprise's reconstruction and repairs, before settling down back at the Admiral's apartment to go over all the necessary paperwork for the job.

Shit…I know being a Captain wouldn't be easy, but all this paperwork…sheesh!

He put down the drink on the bar. Christopher and his wife were still at the physical rehabilitation clinic, for the former's recovery. Bones was going to be meeting him here in five minutes. He'd also called Layla out for a drink so they could celebrate her first day on the job in S.I. but wasn't too sure she'd come.

She hadn't answered her comm unit all day, and while he knew that she might be busy, he couldn't help but feel a little worried as he remembered her words from barely a week before.

"Something smells off to me. And I don't know what it is."

She had been so nervous when she'd said that.

She'll be fine.

He told himself as he took another sip of his drink.

Probably just jitters from a new position. Yeah, that's just it.

He looked up and smirked as he saw his favourite grouchy doctor stroll into the quiet bar, his face scowling darkly.

"Hey, Captain. Fancy meeting you here."

"Ha-ha! Very funny Bones" Jim smirked as his friend settled into a seat beside him and quickly ordered himself a beer.

"So, how was your first Official day as captain? Let me guess, you've already got some more acts of heroic bravery under your belt."

"What can I say, the chicks dig a man in uniform" Jim shrugged oh-so-modestly, only to chuckle as he said "Nah. I just delivered my report in to the top brass, then I had read the maintenance report on the ship. She's taken a lot more damage than we thought."

"I bet Scotty's got his hands full."

"He's over the moon. It will take a superman with super strength to tear him away from the ship now he's sunk his claws into her"

"Engineers" Bones snorted into his glass and Jim laughed, gesturing to the barkeep to pour him another drink.

"Speaking of enthusiastic tinkerers, has Layla messaged you yet? She should be done with work tonight right?" Bones asked, his face quickly turning back into his customary worried frown.

"I've left her a message to meet us here if she feels up for it. But no, she hasn't called me back."

"She's probably just tired. First days of any job can take a lot out of you, believe you me" Leonard grunted.

"Yeah, but you didn't see her this morning. She was super jittery. I've never seen her so nervous."

"Jim, she's seventeen" Bones shrugged matter of fact "She's a lieutenant commander at age seventeen about to be trained as a spy. That's a huge load on anyone's shoulders."

"I suppose…" Jim nodded, only to pause as he caught sight of something grey in the corner of his eye.

"Speak of the devil." Bones grinned warmly as Layla spotted them from the bar door.

"Hey guys" she sighed as she strode over to hug and greet both her friends. Unlike the two of them, she was still in her grey Starfleet uniform, though she had long since undone her high ponytail, letting her black tresses fall freely about her shoulders.

"Hey yourself. How are you kid?" Bones pulled back from the hug to inspect her at arm's length "You look tired." He noted with a scowl.

"I am tired" she admitted rubbing a hand on her temple. "I've just done my physical examination, and they then drew some blood during my medical tests."

"Come on sit down then." Bones ruffled her hair as he quickly ordered her a glass of water.

"Drink up, you'll need it," he ordered, and she nodded quietly, and it was then Jim noticed how deathly pale her skin was…and the small tick in her temple. She wasn't tired. She was rattled.

"Lay, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just feeling drained" Layla waved him off, but she did not meet either his or Bones' eyes when she said this.

"How much blood did they take?" Leonard's brow furrowed deeply. Layla was always one to bounce back quickly after her medical and physical exams. For her to look so pale wasn't something he was used to.

"Not much. Just the usual amount for a blood test" Layla grunted into her drink.

"Then what's wrong? Because seriously, you look like you've seen a ghost" Jim tried to smirk, only for it to fall as she spared him an irritable scowl.

But it fell as quickly as it came, and she sighed heavily.

"Yeah…I think I have."

"What do you mean?" Jim and Bones both frowned concernedly at one another as her head dropped down as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Listen" she murmured softly so that only they could hear her "You can't tell anyone else I told you guys about this alright? I technically shouldn't even be mentioning this to anyone outside HQ because it's classified, and you could get into a lot of trouble if people found out you knew."

"Don't worry Lay, we won't tell a soul." Jim assured her as he reached out to gently pull her hand away from her face "Now what's going on?"

She sucked in a deep breath.

"So, get this right? A part of my training for the S.I. requires me to work alongside a mentor who specializes in the field I have chosen."

"How is that classified? People, do that all the time in the Med School?" Bones quirked a brow only to put his hands up to pacify her angry glare. "Alright, alright. Sorry. Please, continue."

"As I was saying" Layla rolled her eyes turning back to her drink. "I've got this mentor, who's going to be showing me the ropes in weapons research and design. We're talking top level, hushed up kinda stuff that doesn't see the light of day. And the guy they've got me paired with he's…he's…"

She paused gulping on air as a lump seemed to rise in her throat.

"Oh god, it's not that Hawke guy is it?" Bones grunted, and Jim scowled as the memory of the young man wafted into his mind's eye.

Layla shook her head. "N-no. He's not the guy I'm with. The guy I'm with…he's…he's my-oh god I can't even believe I'm saying this" she sucked in an even deeper breath than before.

"He's my father."

There was a bone numbing silence as both Jim and Leonard stared at her in shock.

"He's…your…what?" Jim blinked, his brain barely able to process the words.

"He's…" Layla shut her eyes and shook her head out like a distressed horse trying to ward off flies.

"He's my father…"

"What like, your biological father, father?" Bones eye was twitching nervously as she nodded.

"Yep."

"How can you tell?" Jim whispered as the barkeep passed them by, eyeing their suspicious little group curiously as he did so.

"How can I not tell?" Layla snorted derisively "The man looks exactly like me. Except taller. It's creeping the shit out of me."

"Now, now let's not be hasty. I mean, have you even done the DNA test yet?" Bones asked swiftly and she shook her head.

"Not yet, though I really don't see the point. I mean for starters we've both got the exact same eyes and not many people carry the gene for hectochromia now do they?" she pointed to her pale eyes, icy blue flecked faintly with pale green.

"Maybe. But still, do the test." Bones put a firm hand on her shoulder "You never know, he might not be your dad but, maybe just a close relative."

"A close relative? Leo, the man, looks like my goddamn reflection!" she hissed.

"Maybe, but isn't this, I don't know, like a good thing?" Jim tried to reason "I mean, if he really is your dad, maybe you could get to know him-"

"Get to know him? Why? So he can get me to like him and then leave me in the lurch just like he left my mom the first time. Ha! No sir, not going through that again." She growled bitterly into her glass as she drained the last of the water.

"I get it you're mad at him kid and frankly you probably have every reason to be" Bones added as he took a swig of beer "But still, if the tests come back and he is your dad, just give him a chance to explain. Who knows, maybe there is a perfectly logical reason he left"

"Yeah, Bones is right. You said he's in S.I., maybe he was doing an undercover mission or something in another quadrant" Jim reached over to grip her hand comfortingly in his as she snorted.

"For nearly eighteen years?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's possible, isn't it? In the old days, the FBI and secret police used to spend years working under deep cover in large crime rings, working their way up the ladder to get close to the big guys at the top."

"You've been watching my Dad's twenty-first century crime drama collection, haven't you?" Layla narrowed her eyes, though the corners of her lips twitched upwards with faint amusement.

"Yeah, they're actually pretty interesting. Though I never figured Pike would like crime shows. I thought he'd go more for the comedies" Jim took a swig of his drink draining the last of it as the Barkeep strode over.

"Another drink then?"

"Yeah, another one of these" Jim nodded thankfully as the barkeep took his glass with a small smirk.

He really could use the alcohol right now.

Khan stared up at the data pad that they had given him to study in the privacy of his cell. Or more accurately he stared at the information that blared out over his face in the dark.

Starfleet Personnel Profile: Layla Serena Pike

Rank: Lieutenant Commander

Role/s: Chief Security Officer U.S.S Enterprise, trainee S.I. Intelligence Operative, Interim Weapons Design specialist.

Age: 17

DOB: Star-date 2241.218 (March 30, 2325, Terran Time: 01:04:10)

Species: Human

"Species: Human" what a great, magnificent lie.

Khan snarled as he pulled up her general medical profile and skimmed his way down to her DNA profile, where a new note had been added in addition to the general information

John Harrison is not excluded as the biological father of Layla Pike

Probability of Paternity: 99.99%

Probability of paternity…

Well, there it was, in writing, all the proof he needed to know that what had happened to him that day had not been a dream. He really had just met his own daughter, had talked with her, had ate a meal with her.

It was all too surreal.

The whole situation was bizarre.

He had been trained to be better than all the low life humans, to face situations no man could face. And yet today he was completely and utterly stumped for what to do.

He had a daughter, an heir to his legacy. Yet how? How had she been created? He had no recollection of being able to sire any children with normal human women even before he and his people went into hiding, not to mention that none of his people were capable of bearing children at all.

Perhaps his creators at Project Chrysalis had kept samples of his DNA and frozen a fertilized embryo as a backup plan to their schemes. Yes, that seemed like a logical solution. He had heard that his creators had hidden a fair few genetically modified embryos in a secret laboratory they had called the Cradle. He and his people had spent years searching for this elusive Cradle, in hopes it would help them put an end to their reproductive barrenness. They never did find it in the end.

Yet three hundred years had passed, perhaps this Starfleet had found the Cradle and this child, this Layla Pike, was their guinea pig to see if they could rear their new generation of soldiers.

He didn't like the idea, and yet nothing else seemed to fit…

He flicked his attention back to Layla's file, his face scanning her ID image keenly. Her eyes, so much like his own, stared back at him, seeming to pierce straight through him even from her blank professional expression in the picture.

She, like him, had known straight away who he was to her, and yet she had no idea of who he really was. She just thought he was John Harrison, an unknown stranger who had sired her and left her behind. She was obviously bitter about it if her tense behaviour around him was anything to go by.

If only she knew the full truth. That she was the daughter of one of the world's greatest conquerors. That had she been born during his rule she would technically have been royalty, ruling over the humans. Instead, she was a mere lieutenant-commander beneath lesser, more repugnant beings like Alexander Marcus.

Marcus…How the name made his blood boil.

That bastard had kept this child under his watchful gaze for all her life. She had called him uncle and was not afraid to show him the buck. He had assumed she was taking advantage of the fact that her step-father and the man were close friends. However, the more he watched the old man and young woman interact, he could plainly see that Marcus was granting her certain freedoms if only to keep her placated and under his thumb.

"Sometimes its easier to get a bitch to sit for you if you're nice to it than if you yell at it all the time"

The Admiral's words wafted over his brain. Words that Khan had overheard him telling one of his little lackeys as Layla had been performing her physical examination.

His fingers clenched tightly around the datapad as pure loathing filled every fibre of his being.

It was one thing to threaten him and the safety of his crew. But to threaten his own flesh and blood, to dangle their lives so carelessly in front of him, was beyond anything Khan could tolerate.

While the idea of simply killing the Admiral the next time he saw him was sorely tempting, he would keep his cool. Revenge was, after all, a dish best served cold, and the cold hearted admiral deserved no less than that.

Oh yes, Khan would play the part of the dutiful hostage. He would build weapons, he would train the little soldiers and do the missions the section demanded of him.

Then he would sweep the rug out from underneath and crush him into a million pieces.

There was just one thing he needed to do before enacting any of this.

He needed to change Layla Pike, into Layla Singh, and to do that he needed to get her to stop hating him.

Easier said than done.

And there you have it. Chapter 16 of Secrets of the Stars.

So Layla and her father officially meet in this chapter. I figured given Layla's inherited his intelligence she'd figure out right off the bat that Khan was her biological father, (not to mention I made them look hella similar.). She knows something is up but doesn't want to get involved because she wants to keep the people she loves safe, hence why she's reluctant to work with him. She only told Jim and Bones the bare basics of the situation because she's freaking out, which I figure would be a pretty understandable reaction to suddenly meeting your biological parent for the first time under strange circumstances.

Hope you guys enjoyed and review for more

Cheers

FuzzyBeta