I do not own nor profit from Star Trek or Gene Roddenberrys works.
A/N: Alright ye vagabonds, here is your chapter. :D No, I love ya vagabonds :) Thank you for the Reviews, for the support, it definitely motivates me to put out that next chapter, knowing that there is someone there waiting to read it :) Thank you so much.
The scuffle was definitely against that three augments. They did their best to combat their way through, or at least hold their ground. They struggled, dodging those deadly claws, and trying not to be snapped up by their strong jaws. The noise of the men trying to fight, and the snarls filled the cavern in a deafening way. Above, there were felines seeming to egg on the ones they fought with. Every blow the men landed had to be calculated. How do you kill these things? How do you try and stop them?
Essex managed to climb atop one, trying to choke it out, but got a face full of horns. The young one was left trying to shake off the sting of a broken nose, while Ren did his best to fight on a lame arm. Khan was fairing the best of them, as anger and pain drove him blindly. He was fueled by fury, as he brought he did what he could to break bones, and immobilize these creatures if not overtake them completely.
A sudden pain caused Khan to drop. The large tear across his arm and shoulder drew blood, as the cat seemed to sneer at him with glee. Getting up to go after him, another cat pounced atop him, pinning him down, threatening to tear into his neck should he try to move much further.
Ren had lost his knives in one of their backs back at that ship. and Essex learned too that the phasers did not work against this enemy. Essex had been thrown with so much force, he was lifted at least ten feet off of the ground, hitting the rock wall hard. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, not moving. Ren was throwing what punches he could, his hands bloody from too many hits to the teeth. He was the last one standing, still trying to fight. A large black cat took a broad paw across his back, causing him to stagger, his pale flesh visible through his torn shirt.
Khans heart fell. So this was it? Not only did he lead Essex to his death, but he would not be able to hear Safiyas voice again. He would die here, with Essex and Ren, but most importantly, he would die near Safiya. He let his head rest, accepting this would be his fate. Time slowed down, as the clamoring around him grew louder. The noise increased until it finally came to a sudden and abrupt halt.
The weight of the large cat was lifted off of him, as he finally chanced to look around. There on the ground not far from him, a cat lay dead, the others gathering around it, sniffing it. Three more loud blasts, and three more cats fell dead. There was a wave of confusion through the crowd of felines, not knowing what had happened to their comrades. He would have stayed there, watching how this played out, but Ren grabbed his shoulder suddenly.
"Now. We've got to go." He grimaced. He staggered to his feet, taking advantage of the sudden disinterest in them. Khan began to walk towards Essex but Ren stopped him. "I've got the kid." He gave a slight nod. Khan returned it, and did his best to scoop up Safiya. She was cold, but he would not leave her there. He struggled to carry her. It wasn't so much the searing pain that made it difficult, but that he was carrying a dead body. Her dead body. The emotional pain was worse than his physical pain. He would endure a thousand years in the physical pain he was in just to take away the emotional pain.
He met up with Essex and Ren who were leaning against one another for support. As they turned back, the cats were already tearing into their fallen friends. Entrails and tufts of fur were flying, the growls to get the best eating parts was deafening.
"This way, hurry up before they decide to taste you too!" They heard a gruff voice call from a dark tunnel. They didn't hang around, following the voice. They followed behind, staggering, stumbling and bleeding. When the dim evening light finally washed upon them, they got a better look at their rescuers.
"Gavin, Ebony, Trick, what are you doing out here?" Khan looked around at the three faces, shocked.
"Well, when I learned that Safiya left, followed by Ren, then by you and Essex, I decided that we should follow. There are more back at that ship that crashed. What, you think we would let you all just go?" Trick smiled. He was a great hunter, always in touch with nature and the world around him. Ebony was their tracker. She could follow someone through a blizzard if she had to.
"Well, I'm glad you are here." Khan gave a soft smile. "Here." He passed Safiyas body off to Gavin.
"What the hell happened?" Gavins jaw dropped.
"She's dead." Khan took a deep breath. Essex choked and let out a cry, and Ren looked up to the sky.
"Let's get her to the ship." Gavin looked at them all sternly. "Here, Trick, take her. You move the fastest with heavier loads." He passed her off to the large Augment, who ran off towards the surface. Trick ran quickly, leaving Khan and the rest in his dust. By the time they got to the surface, he was already a mile ahead of them or so.
By the time the rest of them caught up to the ship, they were weak and exhausted. Rens shoulder was beginning to heal up, but his back still killed him. Khan was trying to ignore his pain, and Essex was limping, but walking through his pain. There were indeed many Augments at the ship. They were doing what they could to make minor repairs, maybe make it operational even. They welcomed Khan, but he was too focused to acknowledge them proper.
"She's in the quarantine room." Trick spoke softly to Gavin. He nodded, and brought the other three males with him to the small crafts medical bay.
"You three go ahead and sit out here. I'll be out here to check on you. Trick can clean you guys up though." Gavin gave a grim look.
"Wait, Trick? He guts animals, not fixes them!" Essex spoke with disbelief.
"True, but he also has steady hands, and knows how to patch up your basic wounds. Anything further, he knows to come to me. As for now, I've got work to do in here. Ebony." He called for the woman.
Trick and Ebony had made a perfect pair. One a tracker, the other a hunter. Tricks violet eyes meshed well with her teal ones. They both had light brown hair, a stocky build, and strong facial features in their own rights.
Ebony gave Trick a small kiss before joining Gavin in the room. They closed the door behind them, and drew the curtain so that nobody could peer in. Ebony stepped out a few minutes later with an auto-syringe, and walked to Khan.
"Gavin needs some of your blood." Ebony spoke firmly. Her voice was hard and cold. It always had been.
"Why does he need it?" Khan looked up, not appreciating the orders.
"Because Safiya has already been exposed to your DNA through your semen. Giving her your blood will be easier for her to accept than to give her someone else's." She snarled back. She was not a woman who took attitude very well. Something Khan respected in her, which was the only reason he didn't kill her on the spot for talking to him like that. He sighed, as Trick cleaned his wounds, and held his arm out. She took a vial of blood, and returned to the room.
Khan, Essex and Ren could only sit there, getting cleaned and stitched. Ebony ran in and out of the room, seeming bloodier every time, but she ignored their attempted questions, and merely focused on her task. Bottles of sterile water, gauze, suture kits, bandages. Every time she went back to the room, her arms were full of supplies. Khan didn't know what to think honestly. He knew what Gavin was doing, but he was afraid that it wouldn't work.
It was hours before Gavin finally stepped out of the room. His lab tunic was bloody, and he was shining with sweat, Ebony was not much better off.
"Well?" Khan shrugged, looking for an answer. Gavin gave a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumped.
"Only time will tell now." He offered weakly. Even as a trained doctor, he was not so sure about whether Safiya would recover from this. The trauma was extensive, once he looked under the skin. He spent so much time trying to repair the damage, he was just happy that she was dead and unable to feel anything.
"Sir, it may be best for you to get some rest." Ebony spoke to him, well, to Gavin and Khan. "I can keep an eye on her tonight." She offered.
"That sounds good. I can use a rest." Gavin replied. Khan nodded in agreement. Ren and Essex had already gone off to sleep off their wounds after receiving a few hypo-sprays of painkillers. Khan took a few himself, needing to fall asleep because his mind wouldn't willingly let him slumber. His dreams however, were dark and unforgiving.
Her pale blue face was twisted in pain, her eyes a milky white, the rest of her body decaying as time forgot about her. Soon, he couldn't even remember her name. He sat at a meal with his brethren, and they laughed, and had good conversation, and he never crossed her mind.
Eventually, he was piloting his crew on a brilliant ship. A ship deserving of such a noble crew. He was beamed down to his palace, a lovely dwelling, with acres of gardens and at the end of his property, the Taj Mahal, with it's white marble beauty reaching high to the sky. His queen walked beside him. a narrow face, angry eyes, and a cold complexion. "Pity they bury anything here these days." She sneered, as they walked among the consecrated tombs within the magnificent structure. Her long bony fingers ran along the carved ivory face of a beautiful woman, but whose name was lost to his tongue. He could remember Safiyas face anywhere, but who she ever was to him meant nothing.
When his queen walked away to enjoy her life of posh and luxury, he crumbled over the tomb. He didn't know why such a beautiful face haunted him so. But the overwhelming heartbreak could not be contained in his chest. His tears fell, and his body ached.
"Khan. Please don't cry. Please." He heard a heavenly voice speak. He stood up slowly. She was there. The beautiful carving was there, truly there! She stood beside one of the intricately carved walls, her body gracefully draped in the clothing fit for his queen. She held her arms open, a kind smile playing on her lips. A smile his queen had never given, a softness his queen never had. This simple act made him falter. She was accepting him. She was asking him to give himself to her. As soon as he touched her hand, he was filled with warmth, and he felt melted. He fell into her arms, and she held him tightly.
She smelled of orchids and lillies, of a fresh falling waterfall. Her emerald eyes were gentle, and they spoke forgiveness, and a sudden shame came over him. He couldn't look into her warm eyes with his own so cold, so be began to pull away. She tightened her grip on him the moment she felt him move away from her. The harder he tried, the more concerned her face grew, then terror, than anguish. But he ignored it all. The moment her skin no longer touched his, she let out a blood curtling scream. He looked at her, tears streaking down her face, her lips drawn back as she cried aloud. Her hands were bloodied, holding the large gashes that appeared on her side. Khan was floored as she began to breathe heavily. The suffering beauty stumbled back, leaning against the pillar, looking towards the heavens, and a quiet begging voice came from somewhere within her soul. "Please." Was all she said before she became nothing more than a beautiful carving on the wall.
There, her perfect face, in undeserved pain, to forever be etched in this temple for Khan could not imagine destroying this. Her gentle voice reverberated over his ears. Please. Please what? He did not understand, as he thought of it, and turned back to the tomb of the unknown woman who broke him so. His heart broke into shards as he was faced with a solid smooth brick of ivory. Her face on the tomb was gone. He stumbled back in disbelief when his feet slipped from beneath him. His hand was wet as he brought it up to see what it was that took his balance. His hands were red, in shock he scrambled to her feet. Her carving on the wall was bleeding. It bled from the eyes, it bled from her wound, the creases in the wall even bled. He was horrified now, his eyes wide, his mouth dropped but no. Khan couldn't scream.
He scrambled out of the monument, his bloody hands before him. There, he stopped at the reflecting pool before the Taj Mahal and splashed in. Frantically, he tried to wash the blood off, but this was to no avail. The crystal clear water soon turned to blood around him, thick and heavy with that metallic scent. Khan was in shock, enraged and in fear as he did not understand. The moment his head popped up, there she was again. But she was not the flesh and blood he held inside. She was a mere apparition. He could see the distant trees sway through her, but he was able to see her bring a hand up to her shoulder, the way a defeated person would say goodbye. And she was forever gone.
Khan woke up dripping in a cold sweat. The sheets were soaked, the blankets tangled and halfway pushed off of him. A sudden nauseating sickness came over him, barely giving him a chance to make it to the bathroom before his stomach emptied what little contents it had. He was shivering from adrenaline and emotion, the emotions he felt in his dreams still plaguing his waking person. His heart beat rapidly as he tried to slow his breathing, checking his hands to realize that it was all a horrible, terrible dream. His reflection in the mirror showed an even more pale leader.
He was suddenly chilled to the bone as he crawled back into bed on the still dry side, of course. But sleep did not come to Khan again. He would not allow it. He did not believe he could handle another draining dream such as the one he just suffered through. He instead turned his mind to hope. Hope that Gavin was able to save her, that Ebony was keeping an eye on her, and that she would, somehow through all the hate she must have had for him at that point, return to him, if only for a moment, so he could tell her everything she needed to know.