Lady A: I have returned and with my arrival comes a new chapter. Welcome back to Darkness and Light! Be forewarned, not all of these chapters will be pleasant. Take into account that Khan is still Khan and he is still a badass. Eventually this story will become a little lighter as it progresses.
Jim: Why are you doing a Khan story at all? You should be focusing on The Carmine Conundrum.
Lady A: *chuckles* Not just yet, Captain.
Khan: *smirks* It would seem that Kirk misses being the center of your attention, Lady A.
Jim: *shoots him a death glare*
Lady A: *giggles* Aww, so cute. He misses me. Sorry Jim, but Khan needs me for right now. Don't worry, I won't forget about you, I promise.
Jim: *stalks off*
Khan: Lady A, the chapter if you please.
Lady A: *nods* On with the show, my lovely readers!
Chapter Two: Shakirans
The pair walked into a larger chamber where there were several larger crystals protruding from the ground along the outer rim of the cavern, lighting the entire space within. However, this was not what drew Khan's immediate attention. There was a large heap of junk in the center of the cave; consoles, crates, random pieces of fabric and upholstery, wood, broken equipment, and all sorts of odds and ends mixed in.
He looked up towards the cave ceiling and took notice of a smooth, artificially created shaft, several meters in diameter. It was at least three maybe four miles high and it led to a covered access way, no doubt sealed shut. There was no means of scaling the walls of the shaft, even with proper equipment, which meant that he and his crew would not be able to escape that way.
"Where does that lead?" He asked drawing the young woman's attention to the shaft.
"Bad place…Shakirans." She answered her voice quivering slightly.
She had every right to be afraid of them. Shakirans were a race of beings that held a somewhat humanoid shape, but they had no eyes or noses; just mouths with razor sharp teeth. They absorbed energy from living beings whether animal or human, but the energy that they required to sustain their physical form was unique and sometimes difficult to find. Their quest to locate this energy led to the creation of places such as the one they were standing in now, a dumping ground.
Shakirans had a nasty habit of creating dump sites for the objects or beings that didn't possess the energy they were looking for. They had thousands, if not millions, of the sites all over the galaxy. If one of the dumping grounds were discovered, it would simply be abandoned and they would start a new one somewhere else.
They showed no mercy and could not be persuaded. They were an enemy even Khan, himself, knew better than to mess with. Better to kill them at a distance than run the risk of what other species refer to as the reaper's kiss by being in close range of their mouths. Shakirans could withdraw the energy from any living body, killing it almost instantly, or they could inject their own energy into the body and create a creature known as a shadow wraith, a being with no feelings and was nothing more than a killing machine.
Khan finally removed his attention from the shaft and the possible threat to him and his crew and looked around the cave. His eyes widened slightly as he caught sight of his family's cryo tubes. They had been dragged from the junk pile to line the edges of the cavern. His crew really was alive. He looked down at the red haired woman a moment. Why would she try to help them and how did they even end up in a Shakiran dumping ground? Better yet, how did she?
"How long have you been here?" He asked trying to understand the red head.
If he could attain a somewhat accurate timeline of events, he may understand her better and discovered roughly when they had been dropped into the cave.
"Since three." She answered as she urged him to move around the junk heap.
He complied and they began to walk slowly around it.
"Three years old? You've been here for over…twenty five years?" He asked brows furrowing in confusion.
She nodded and glanced up at him, her iridescent blue eyes shining with curiosity.
"Where is everyone else? Are they any other people here?" He asked his own curiosity driving his mouth.
She shook her head.
"No…just me…alone. Learn from books…talking hard…not much prac-tice. I learn…I build…try to create…try to save…Shakirans bad. Stay alive…stay hidden…always re-mem-ber." She answered struggling with her words but conveying her message quite clearly.
She was alone for over twenty five years, had taught herself, had taken care of herself, was trying to help his crew, and avoid detection from the Shakirans. But how did she survive the fall in the first place? She was human, that much he was certain about. Then there was the question of her sanity. Spending so much time alone in the darkness should have driven her insane, yet here she was very much in her right mind and proving that she was a survivor and an inventor. How was it possible for someone like her to exist?
"Come…need help…proper burial." She said guiding him into a secondary cave.
Burial? Did some of his crew not survive the fall or did the Shakirans do something to them? He was so confused. A human who didn't make sense, being awoken in a Shakiran dumping ground, his crew alive…well most of them, and no means of escape at present. His mind was simply reeling and all he had to guide him was the human woman named Artimes.
Lady A: Chapter 2: Shakirans is complete. I think I actually mixed the followers of the Great Intelligence from The Name of the Doctor and the dementors of Harry Potter when coming up with the Shakirans. That's one freaky combination and almost scares me as much as the Weeping Angels. Right, be on the lookout for Chapter 3: A Proper Burial.