Epilogue
Subject Folder—Khan Noonien Singh
Scotland Yard Incident Report
London, England
Stardate 1994.145
At 1100 hours on the 25th of May, Scotland Yard successfully located the 73 escaped criminals of Rowen laboratories at the condemned Whitling Factory East of London. While the public is unaware, we know them to be genetically enhanced human beings capable of unknown violence. For this purpose, we approached the area with extreme caution. Accompanying us was a small contingent of the British military, aiding our efforts due to the large number and militarized nature of the subjects, and two Chairs of Rowen laboratories. Their sole purpose was to recapture at least one of the subjects, and provide us with knowledge on how to approach them.
However, upon entering the premises, we found only a single subject—Dr. Mara McGivers, the American known to have aided in the escape of the Rowen criminals. As she was armed with an automatic weapon, we followed protocol, surrounding the area and attempting a negotiation. Also inside the factory was a strange contraption, which Rowen declines to explain to us [warrant pending]. The Chairs of Rowen Labs did explain that the technology had been stolen, and the two of them branched off from our escort, despite multiple warnings, to attempt recovery of their technology.
As our negotiations progressed, Dr. McGivers did not respond to our line of questioning directly. Her speech was sporadic and random, but she began to lay down her weapon. It is at that point that Detective Inspector Thomas approached to take her into custody.
The Rowen Chairs then noticed an incendiary attached to the technology they were attempting to recover, and vocally warned those present. Shortly thereafter, the incendiary detonated, almost entirely decimating the Whitling factory.
Reported on-site: 15 casualties, 8 injuries [3 critical]
7 casualties in Scotland Yard, including DI Thomas [see pg. 62 for full Identity details]
2 casualties from Rowen Industries [see pg. 62]
5 British military casualties [see pg. 62]
1 civilian casualty—the perpetrator, Mara McGivers
While Mara McGivers was killed by the blast, we cannot be certain that she alone perpetrated the attack, therefore the incident has been labeled as a homicide, pending the capture of Rowen's escaped criminals.
The Rowen technology and all of its data were lost in the blast. Recovered in the debris was a duffle bag of weapons [see pg. 70 for manifesto], and a semi-damaged, hand-written note from the perpetrator [see attached]—
[page break]
I'm not quite sure when I fell in love with him. Does one ever truly know when or how love happens? Was it the day I first laid eyes on him, as he slept? Perhaps it was the day of his first waking. Was it the day I passed his test, when he attacked me? Or perhaps it was the first time he touched me. But the fact remains that when I fell, I fell hard.
I never believed the stories, the myths, the children's tales. I didn't believe in a love so strong you would die to protect it. I had gone my entire life, my many relationships, thinking I felt something akin to love. But it wasn't real, none of it was real.
Some will say that he couldn't be loved, because he wasn't human. I would be the first person to argue otherwise. He was human—he was the most compassionate, empathetic person I have ever met, in his own way. He fell in love with his family, in the same way I fell for him. I suppose it was so destructive because he never experienced the joy and heartbreak of a true, blood-born family. He chose them, and it is for that reason I think he was so manic about protecting them. They were all he had… minus me.
Losing me will destroy him, I'm confident of it now. And the thought of it tears me apart. But I couldn't follow him down that path… couldn't become what I already saw in him. He was born into battle—a genetically engineered warrior, with a mind for nothing else. Well…war, and love. What else is war about, really, when you think about it?
Some will ask why I did what I did. And I hate myself already for the violence I am about to commit. I cannot follow him down this path of darkness… but I refuse to watch him fall. I love him too much. It is sick, and perverted, but… I will do anything to see that he escapes. Because the men who created him will stop at nothing. They are monsters, and if this bomb kills them, it will be the only deaths I do not regret. They played God, creating marvels in 73 brilliant human lives… and then they experimented on them like rats… used them for their own ends.
To the family and friends of the men and women who will die today, I can only say that I am sorry. My words mean nothing to you, I'm sure, but I have only this to say in my defense—I loved him. As desperately as you loved them. He is a modern genetic marvel, my soul mate, and they would have chased him to the ends of the Earth and beyond. I wanted only to get him to safety, and I saw no other solution.
To my love, if you ever see these words, I am sorry. I am sorry I left you, I am sorry I didn't let you say goodbye. I saw what you were becoming—raw power and will. And I knew that I would follow you to the ends of the Earth. I cherish human life, it's why I became a doctor in the first place. My passion lies with humanity, but now it also lies with you. I would do anything to protect my love for you, and that's what scares me. I saw myself becoming something dangerous, something that I simply couldn't face. I knew that I would kill for you, and I was afraid of what I would become, and I beg of you—please, please lay down this fight. I know you think you will be lost without me, but you are Khan. You don't need all of this violence. Not all humans are like those of Rowen. There is good in them, I know it. If you just show them the man I know—the beautiful, perfect, gentle man—they will not reject you or subdue you like Rowen did. There will always be those that wish to use you, but turn to your family, for they are all you have. Trust no one else. But please know that I loved you until my very last breath. I saw no way out for me, no way out for us. And I was scared, Khan. So scared…
In the end, I knew I couldn't kill for you, but a thousand times over, I would die for you; will die for you. Perhaps Charles Dickens said it best.
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
Goodbye, my love.
Mara.
[page break]
The Los Angeles Times
Stardate 2014
The Eugenics Wars are OVER!
At approximately 9 o'clock in the evening yesterday, the tyrant known as Khan was removed from power in the West. For exactly twenty years, the genetic experiments-gone-wrong, simply known to us as The '73,' have reigned over much of Britain, Spain, Germany, and France, systematically wiping out those they deemed as 'lesser,' or inferior. For a force of only 73 men and women, their power over us has been immense, the cost often great.
But yesterday, after a highly secretive and global effort went underway, twenty-six countries united as one, teaming with the now ten-year old interstellar force known as Starfleet to orchestrate an attack on The 73.
The cost was immense. Military forces from every country took severe losses. But in the end, through dedication and global unity, the reign of terror came to an end. The criminals will not stand trial, nor will they face the death penalty.
Some say he did what he did in the throes of a broken heart. Others say he has no heart. Regardless, we can only hope that that heart will not beat again in our lifetimes. While the solution has faced scrutiny and backlash, The 73 will be handed over to Starfleet. Their genetic superiority places them at too great a value to exterminate; therefore Starfleet has deigned to place them in suspended animation until such a time… [story continues in section A3).
[end]
Uncharted Space—
Orbit of Ceti Alpha V
U.S.S. Vengeance
Stardate 2258.341
"Admiral," Quora asked as she stood over one of the cryotubes. "Have you made a decision?"
Admiral Alexander Marcus paced a long, uneven line between the cryotubes, flipping through the 500-page folders on each individual. He had read all of them, and believed himself to be making the best decision possible.
"Yes," he said, disregarding 72 of them. He flipped through the notes of the doctor again… what was her name?
McGivers.
She painted the picture of a man tortured by compassion and yet driven by a warrior's mind.
"This one," he said, laying a hand across the nearest cryotube. In suspended animation, they all looked helpless… except this one. He had an expression that seemed to have frozen with him—one of perpetual anger and sadness.
"Khan," Quora said as she read the chart. "The… the tyrant?"
"Hm…" Marcus grunted. "Yes, you're right. Some will still know his name."
Marcus flipped back through the pages of the folder, finding a report from the Eugenics Corporation.
Khan had fought with a human man, tearing through the tendon in his shoulder like it was tissue.
Marcus grinned to himself, an old Swedish tradition coming to mind. "Give him the alias 'John Harrison'," he said, handing her the file. "And make sure he understands that he is mine. And the second he steps out of line…"
He pointed to the other cryotubes, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
"Yes sir," Quora said, beginning the regeneration process. "I'll see that it's done."
FIN
"Now, in their love, which was stronger, there were the seeds of hatred and fear and confusion growing at the same time: for love can exist with hatred, each preying on the other, and this is what gives it its greatest fury."
~T.H. White, The Once and Future King
Author's note: Thank you all SO much for following so close! Your feedback was always so loving, and I love each and every one of you :-] I made a youtube video to accompany this fanfic (it's kind of trailer/music video style, and I promise it's not lame!) I cast everyone, and I would love if you would check it out! Just put this after the youtube url: watch?v=Rf91eGp5A6U&feature=
*ALSO: If you are paying attention to the stardates, which I hope you are because they are integral, you'll notice it's been twenty years between Khan's "birth" and his suspended animation at the end of the Eugenics Wars. Given that I made him late twenties-ish at his "birth", that would make him late forties, IF he aged like a normal human, which (if you'll recall) in my fanfic, I decided that he does NOT. So, adjusting for slowed aging, it would perfectly place him early-mid thirties for Into Darkness.
Otherwise, thank you for taking this INCREDIBLE journey with me, and as always, live long and prosper my friends!