I do not own nor profit from Star Trek or Gene Roddenberrys works
A/N: I greatly appreciate all of the follows this story has received, and I enjoy reading the reviews you send. It motivates me to get the next chapter to you. I hope to read more soon!
It was the best winter of her life. She never missed an opportunity to sit by the window and watch the snow fall against the tall snow laden trees. Every once in a while, a loud crack and crash would be heard as heavy branches gave way to the weight of snow and ice. She and Khan would speak softly together, sipping on hot tea, curled up before the fireplace. Sometimes, they would sit in the main hall of the temple with the others engaging in long conversations. It was like enjoying coffee with friends. But here, nobody judged that she was with Khan, as they would have on Earth.
Khan was sitting in a large chair, Safiya straddling his hips as he kissed and sucked her exposed collarbone. His hands massaged her buttocks, grabbing a handful, kneading and massaging. Her gentle moans urged him on, as she arched her back, offering her breasts to him. Khan didn't need to be told what to do as he wrapped his lips around one of her firm nipples, gently scraping his teeth against her skin as he gave a gentle pull. Safiyas hips rolled into his, feeling him growing ever harder beneath her apex.
"Safiya, I can't wait today." He pulled back, murmuring, running his fingers down her spine. The subtle motion caused her to groan, as she leaned forward, resting her forehead against his.
"But I'm so comfortable." She pouted, grinding into him slowly. He gave her a seductive smirk, showing his strength as he stood up with her still straddling him. She let out a small shriek then a giggle as he led her to the bed, laying her back on the edge. With ease, his fingers found their way under the band of her pants, pulling them down, and discarding them to the floor. There she was, her shirt lopsided and breasts exposed, bottomless before him. He undressed himself, casting his clothes alongside her pants. Safiya smiled gleefully as Khan pulled her off of the bed. His hands lifted her up from just under her butt cheeks, holding her up high. Balancing her on his thighs and one arm, he used his free hand to quickly enter her core.
It took a few thrusts to adjust her height on him, but as soon as Khan found his rhythm, he had Safiya bouncing against his hips, using the full force of her weight to bring her down onto his length. Her fingers gripped his hair, as she couldn't decide whether to look into his captivating eyes, or to let her head fall back as it wanted to do so she could just enjoy the pleasure. It mattered little to Khan, as he continued his motions. He loved her body against his. The way her soft skin seemed to glide across his, especially when slick with their lust.
Safiya cried out, as she began to bear down, her orgasm taking over her, her walls slick and tightening. The renewed lubrication only allowed him to go faster, which he took the opportunity to do, holding her tighter. The cries of pleasure echoed off of the stone walls, as Khan released himself into her. Khan stood there, holding her up by her seat, as her legs wrapped around his waist, kissing her neck and chest then lips.
"That was delightful." She panted, her arms draped over his sweaty shoulders. He nuzzled into her cheek.
"You have no idea how much I enjoy these moments." He purred. It wasn't the sex, but afterwards, holding her into him, feeling her skin against his, knowing that she was still there. He laid her back down on the bed, holding her to him, her head on his chest.
"Spring will come along soon, and I will expect your choice." Khan spoke quietly, running his thumb up and down her arm. She sighed, and nodded. "Have you thought of your decision?" He looked down to her.
"Every day I think of it." She admitted. "It is not a decision I would make lightly. And I have been weighing every option since the choice was presented."
"And, what are you thinking?"
"I am thinking I still wish to see Earth." She spoke. Khan sighed, and sat up, as she scooted away from him. He was silent for many moments, his heart broken, his eyes cast down.
"Then there is little more than I can do." He shook his head. "The shuttle is good enough to get us up to the Bradbury, and from there, I will return you to wherever it is on Earth you wish to go to." He pushed the blankets back, and pulled his clothes back on. Safiya sat up.
"Where are you going?" She asked, holding the blankets to her chest.
"To have the shuttle prepared for your departure." He glanced at her, before throwing on his long jacket and leaving. Safiya sighed, looking down to where her toes poked the sheets up.
Khan was miserable as he took his time getting to the shuttle. He had done everything he could think of to show her he truly loved her, and yet she still wanted to leave. There was nothing he could do now. And while he normally would just throw her into a cryotube and keep her there anyways, he couldn't. His heart shattered in his chest as he walked. Everything they had done to bring her back, the pain they all felt, waiting for her eyes to open once more, and she would ignore that, and leave it behind her? She would leave their family? He shook his head in anger now.
When he got to the shuttle, Edison was there, looking over some systems. "Good afternoon, my prince." He greeted Khan.
"Afternoon. I need this shuttle prepped by tomorrow morning to return to the Bradbury." He ordered.
"Yes my prince, but, might I ask why?" He asked, though perhaps it wasn't the smartest choice.
"Safiya Kesi is returning to Earth tomorrow. She will no longer be among us." Khan responded as he left back out into the cold.
Safiya gathered everything that she had arrived there with, which wasn't much. Her heart fell, as she gathered the red dress that Khan had bought for her. The daydream of Khan taking her to the symphony, dressed up, listening to the crescendos of the orchestra in her heart. News must have spread pretty quick. By the time she went out into the temple hall, any augment there spoke little to her, mostly giving her glances. Even Essex, who had been most kind to her aside from Khan, ignored her. He was too upset to face her, just like the others.
Even that night, Khan did not sleep beside her. In fact, he didn't even sleep in the room with her. She was left alone, sitting with her thoughts deep into the night. She hoped she was doing the right thing by leaving. While they wouldn't understand now, perhaps soon they would understand her choice.
There was no large fanfare, or sad farewells for her. In fact, she and Khan trudged silently through the snow to the shuttle, but they were alone. None had come to see her off. Eyes peered through windows to watch their steps. There was nothing they had to say to her. Not even goodbye.
As soon as they docked on the Bradbury II, Safiya sighed. This meant she was truly going home now. The ship was just as she had remembered it, except for being tragically empty. Khan spoke little to her, as he punched in the coordinates of Earths interplanetary docking station.
"I will drop you at the docking station. I'll take a shuttle back to Pollux." He informed her shortly. The Bradbury went to warp, next stop, Earth. She tried to talk to him, but he gave her curt answers, not reciprocating the conversation. They dropped out of warp as Safiya announced herself to the docking station personnel, waiting for approval to attach her vessel.
With precise ease, she aligned her ship with an extended arm that attached to a large port on the ships hull. Khan left the bridge, taking the turbo lift down to the shuttle bay. Safiya was in tow, following hot on his heels.
"Khan, you don't have to leave." Safiya broke. It earned her a glare from Khan.
"My family is back on Pollux. I must return to them. You have chosen to return here, and I have held up my end of the bargain to bring you here myself." He pierced her eyes with his own. "I have no reason now to stay."
"But... Khan, please." She whispered as he opened the door to a large shuttle. He gave her no answer as he started up the engines. "I don't mean to hurt you." She sighed.
"But you do hurt me, Safiya. I love you deeply, but there is no way of making you see this. If you can not believe me, then I can not prove this to you. And if you can not believe I love you, then there is no reason to keep you where you are unhappy." He spoke firmly. His voice was cold as he glanced over his shoulder at her.
"I know you love me Khan." She looked at his back. He turned his body fully to her, grabbing her by the arm and taking her down the ramp off of the shuttle.
"And yet you still chose to leave." He spoke softly before closing the door on her. He had nothing left to say and wanted to leave the Bradbury before he couldn't leave her.
Safiya herself launched another shuttle down to the surface, destination London. She didn't mind taking her time, as she let her emotions flow before the landing. Khan must have hated her in that moment. Not a true pure hate. A fleeting hate, where you are so angry and upset, but can't stay mad. The weather was beautiful and warm as she landed at the Star Fleet London base. A place where she had been based for a large part of her career. As her craft landed, she noticed a familiar face running towards her.
The door opened, and there, Akkare stood, his eyes wide. "Safiya, where have you been?" He took her into an firm hug as she stepped off.
"I've been off planet, Akkare." She sighed, happy to breathe the fresh air, and thankful to have Akkare there.
"But you've been gone so long without word. Safiya, we thought you were dead somewhere. Your mother, she held a funeral for you, thinking you lost to space. As soon as I heard you were docking at the station, I couldn't believe it. Then to hear communications you were landing here..." He shook his head, running his hands down her cheeks as if to make sure she was real.
"I am sorry Akkare, I just, I was taken off planet with no way of getting back."
"What planet? How were you able to get back?" He was astounded.
"I am not sure the planet... It was quite a long shuttle ride from the planet to my ship. It was difficult, as there must have been some sort of strong magnetic field on that planet. We could not send messages, nor could we teleport. We had to fly off planet in order to use that part of the instruments." She gave a soft smile.
"Well, I am very glad that you are indeed still alive. I shall send word to your mother that you are well. Your belongings are in storage, would you like me to take you there?" He arched a brow. She nodded as Akkare ordered up a shuttle to take them to the large storage building. Floor after floor of unit after unit of forgotten items.
"I should tell you, that I had both of your things put away into here." He spoke softly as he opened the door to her unit. Indeed it was full of neatly stacked boxes, with tags on them indicating either Khan or Safiya.
"Could we get a cart? I wish to withdraw my things back to my ship." She ran a finger along all of the boxes. Three hours later, her belongings were loaded onto her shuttle.
"Go see your mother, Safiya. When you get back, we can get you reestablished, and set you up with a new apartment." He smiled. There was so much he wanted to be filled in on. He knew that something more had to have happened, than just a simple case of magnetic field interference. She was an Agent of 8. She had been through worse, and would have been able to find a way around that sort of complication. He had sent her before some of the most dangerous smugglers and intergalactic gangsters with little more than a cover story and some street clothes and she would find a way through.
He wouldn't push the issue though, not right now. She would have wanted her belongings, and then to go show her mother that she was indeed still alive. Perhaps she would meet up with Carol, her sister, but Akkary wouldn't push the thought.
He cared for her to a fault. She, of all agents, could probably walk all over him, and he would do little about it. She ran her own show most of the time. She kept her work life more private than her love life, a trait Akkare wasn't so sure he always preferred. So for her to take her own charge, and go home instead of report, was no surprise to Akkare at all. When she was done at home, she would return, and they would begin again where they had once left off.
Long into the night, Safiya and her mother spoke. It had been a tearful reunion, as her mother held her tightly for nearly twenty minutes, sobbing. Safiya explained everything she could that night. Of what had become of Khan and the other Augments. Of how Khan has seen them as married, though they never were, and the offer to bring her back here. Her mother just listened, as she sipped her tea. It was hard for her to imagine what her daughter had planned, but she was happy to know that her daughter was at least alive.
Ain held her daughters hand, and smiled. "You have strong spirits in you, Safiya. I know you will do the right thing, and find the right way." She nodded with a soft smile. "Tomorrow we can take care of gathering things for your replicators." She looked up, happy to help her child.
"Mama, I would like that. I wish you could be there, I really do." She sighed sadly.
"You know this is my home, my dear Fi. I cannot leave it behind." She shook her head. "But I will always be with you." She smiled. The two women curled up together and continued talking as a mother and daughter could.
Safiya returned to the Bradbury II, slowly unloadnig everything she had brought with her. Most of the belongings she had were kept in their boxes on board the shuttle. She wouldn't need to unload those, but everything that needed to be uploaded to the replicator would need to be hauled in. It was newer technology that had proven to be quite useful. After years of argument over its safety, it was finally introduced widespread to the fleet perhaps five years ago.
Safiya sat there, item after item uploading the contents into the replicator. She watched as the items would dissolve before her very eyes. Blankets, tools, seeds, food. Everything she put in was sent into the datebase for later retrieval. It was tedious to catalogue everything, but patience was on her side. She had to learn patience long ago. Many of her missions in 8 were not always straightfoward. They would require the utmost amount of patience on her end, and she would have never gotten through without it.
She returned to Star Fleet a few days later, and walked to Akkare's office. She had been busy with systems checks and updates on the Bradbury II, letting them run in her absence. This time however, she took the time to fly around, taking in the sights of Earth before landing at the base.
She walked into one of the large headquarter buildings, riding the lift to the 23rd floor. "I am here to speak with Admiral Akkare." She spoke to the guard at the end of the hall, guarding the Admirals door. "Kesi, Safiya. 26N31510W-8." She spoke to the man. Upon hearing, he stood aside, letting her open the Admirals door.
"Ah, Safiya, I haven't seen you in a little bit. How is your mother?" He asked kindly as he welcomed her.
"She is well. She was quite relieved to see me alive and well. I am still short of breath from her hug." She laughed softly.
"Yes, well, Ain was quite distressed when she heard the news. I had to be the one to break it to her that Star Fleet was giving up the search for you. A tough decision, but I couldn't postpone it any longer." He sighed, nodding at his memory of that day in council when the decision was made.
"As an honorary Elder, they allowed me to perform your funeral." He sighed again.
"They made you an honorary Elder? That is wonderful news." Safiya smiled brightly. It was an honor to become an Elder, and she knew that Akkare was working on becoming one since before Star Fleet. She was happy he finally realized his dream.
"While that is good news, I wish to hear news of you. I know more happened than what you allude to." He gave her the stern fatherly staredown.
"Yes, more happened." She spoke softly, her hands resting on her lap. "But I almost don't know how to begin." She chuckled. SO much had happened over the last nearly two years, where did she start?
"Khan scoped out a planet to move his people to." She started. "They are obviously not welcome on Earth, for understandable reasons. So, he chose to basically find them a new home. Well, as his lover, he took me with him. I have lived for most of the time I've been there, of course with the exception of dying after a cat attack." She laughed as Akkares eyes widened.
"What do you mean, cat attack? How did you die? How did you come back?" He asked startled and puzzled at once.
"I was trying to come back, angry at Khan. I succeeded in finding a hidden shuttle from a previous crash, but it needed some work, and it was so old, I would have had trouble flying it anyways. Long story short, my companion and I were attacked, I was killed by the poison they coated their nails with. I was given something, I'm not sure, I'm a bit fuzzy on details. All I know is it was a flower that brought me back. But they cared for my body while I was incapacitated, and for that I am grateful." She gave a small smile.
"It isn't like Augments to care for their dead like that." Akkare furrowed his brow. "It doesn't make sense that they would do that for any human."
"Akkare, you have to remember one thing. Their leader, their prince, loves me, and though they may not show everyone that, they surely wouldn't desecrate the remains of who they perceive as their princes wife." She gave a startled smile to herself as she replayed her words in her head.
"His wife? Safiya, are you serious?" Akkare dropped his hands to his desk.
"We are not a legal or recognized bond, no. But, do you remember, long ago the older couple that lived three homes down from me?" Akkare nodded in thought as he tried to form the picture. A couple that looked as though they had been together since World War II, but everyday they seemed to love each other more and more. "We always referred to them as husband and wife." Safiya gave a reminiscent smile as well. "You know they were never married?" She finally spoke.
Akkare shook his head. "That can't be true. They had to have been married!" He laughed.
"No. Everytime they tried to plan their wedding, something would come up and make them postpone it. After nearly ten tries, they finally gave up and said they didn't need the paper, it was just a formality. But over time, we forgot they never put down paper that they were wed, because we saw them as a union. That is how the Augments see me and Khan. That is how Khan sees me." She sighed, thinking of that happy elderly couple.
"Is that how you see Khan?" Akkare asked, stepping closer. She answered with a simple head gesture, and that put Akkares heart at ease.
"Akkare, my dear friend. I am in need of a favor from you." Safiya finally asked after moments of silence.
"I will do what I can." He smiled, sitting back down, listening to her request.
A/N: Whew! I made this chapter quite a bit longer! Well, I hope you enjoyed this installment!