I do not own nor profit from Star Trek or Gene Roddenberrys works.
A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews and follows. I thank purple cricket (you know who you are) for her diligent reviews.
The sun shone bright into the bridge of the Bradbury II as Safiya leaned back in the captains chair. She stroked her bottom lip with her thumb mindlessly as her thoughts took her elsewhere. It was quite breathtaking, actually, to see Venus in the far distance like a golden marble shining. Even the earth was outlined as the sun rose brilliantly over the horizon. Everyday for over a month, she had watched the sun wake up the Earth, with Venus and sometimes even Mercury in the distance. She wondered what it looked like back on Pollux right now. No doubt, it was probably still iced over in their encampment.
"Docking Station to Bradbury II." A voice came over the comm.
"This is Bradbury II." She replied.
"Admiral Akkare Khu is requesting permission to board."
"Permission granted. Please beam him to the bridge." She requested as the comm clicked off.
It was only moments before the admiral was unfurling in rings of light before her. He looked around momentarily before resting his eyes on Safiya.
"Good morning, Admiral. A pleasure it is to see you here." She smiled, playing with a small pendant handing on a long chain around her neck.
"And a good morning to be here. I thought I would come and finally see your ship for myself." He smiled under his graying beard. "After all, it isn't everyday that one is able to command their own ship. I wish to see yours is all."
"Well, I can give you the grand tour if you wish." She smiled and led him from the bridge. One hand held Safiyas, in the other, he held a slim metal attache case. She spent the better part of an hour walking him around the ship, showing him everything that she and the Augments had done to upgrade the vessel.
"I may have to bring some of these upgrades up to the council." He winked, as she showed him some of their systems upgrades.
"While I would not be opposed, I am afraid there would be some extensive reprogramming necessary before it actually complies with regulated Federation ships." She smiled.
"While I would enjoy to continue these talks, I think it is time we get down to business." He finally turned to her, holding up his case. She nodded, and led him to her meeting room. A large table with plush chairs all around sat in the middle, with long tables along the walls to hold food and drinks for long meeting sessions. She sat at the head of the table, as he sat to her left, opening up the case and pulling out some papers and his padd.
"I have your request for a SUN assignment, and I have approved it. Understand, what an SUN assignment entails, Safiya." He pushed the padd towards her.
"Stationed Until Notified sir, I understand." She sighed. "Most people are never recalled from these assignments. But I think this would be the best thing for me. I need to get away, Akkare. I need to just, find my peace." She looked past him in a dreamlike state.
"I have papers you asked me for as well, I will leave those with you." He passed her the small stack, as he shook his head. "I don't know why you want to do this, but I certainly won't object to it either." He sighed.
"So, as a part of my SUN assignment, I will require an annual shipment of goods. As we discussed, I will see to it on my end that in exchange for the shipments, I will be providing reports of the galaxy in which I am stationed." She signed the padd with her finger, passing it back to him.
"Terms of which I can agree to. This padd is your own for your research. Use it wisely. Is there anything else that I can assist you with, Kesi?" He asked, tapping his thumb on the high polished wooden tabletop.
"No admiral. I will send you information in three months as to what it is I am in need of. When the shipment comes, I will give you my first report." She smiled. Akkare nodded, and sighed.
"I don't know what to say about you anymore, Safiya." He gave a soft, almost sad smile.
"What are you saying, Admiral?" She leaned in, setting the documents aside.
"I'm saying, I never thought I'd see the day you became so... Grown." He reached out for her hand. "When you were born, your father asked me to be there for you, to look after you. To take care of you when I could. And everyday, I have thought of you. Every time I saw you, you had become a little older, a little taller, and a lot bolder. It was only right for me to take you into 8, where I could keep a closer eye on you." He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
"You are like your ancestors, more than you would ever know. You think with your heart Safiya. Never lose that. And stop challenging your heart with your head. That is where you make your worst decisions." He laughed gently. "Your mother was the same way in her youth, and I expected nothing less from you. I want you to be happy, always. I'm so proud to see you've grown into the woman that you are." His eyes shone with pride as he looked at the young woman.
Indeed, she was her fathers child. She was a schemer, and she wanted her way. But she was tempered with her mothers subdued nature in going about what she wanted. A strong grace, a sweet wrath. Those were ways he could describe her. If ever she was a victim, it was of her own emotions.
"I must go now, Akkare, for I've stayed longer than I intended. Always, you have been a father figure to me, and I thank you always for this. I will see you again soon, I promise you this." She began to cry, as she reached in and hugged him tightly, her arms around his neck. Where Admiral Marcus had fallen through, Akkare had picked up the pieces. He was the one who helped her when her father should have. He had been the one, when he was in Abydos, to teach her the ways of the world, and even taught her to fight, to stand up for herself. He it not been for him, she would have never wanted to go into Star Fleet. Seeing him in his uniform as a young girl, she was enamored, and to hear that her father too was in Star Fleet, she wanted even more to join. She smiled to herself as she remembered thinking that perhaps Akkare himself had been her father.
Safiya was getting ready to drop out of warp, as she tapped at the pilots panel. The worlds that orbited around her were vivid and beautiful. Planets closer to the systems star shone, the sun reflecting a halo around the planets atmosphere. Off in the distance away from the star, was her quarry.
"Khan, what is the plan?" Ren had been pacing in the temple as Khan sat lazily in a chair, one leg thrown over the arm, propping himself up on his elbow, rubbing his chin.
"What plan do you want, Ren?" He growled out in low tones. He was tired and had been in the most foul of moods since Safiya said she was returning to her home. He had little patience for anything these days, as he felt his heart hardening over again.
"Khan, have you looked around lately?" Ren stood beside him. "Food is dwindling, the weather is not letting up. Trick and Ebony are having a harder time hunting anything in this. Every time they return, they bring back less and less. They have resorted to trapping birds for heavens sake. Don't you realize that soon the people will starve?" Ren gritted.
"Then perhaps more should go out and search harder." He rolled his eyes, and looked back to Ren. "What do you want me to do? We can't just up and leave. That would be the death of us all without question."
"What about the caves? We could perhaps fall back there until the winter has passed." He paced again. "We know that those creatures are able to be killed with blast cannons,"
"Of which we only have two."
"But we could go in with a team, clear out the nest, and take refuge there until the weather warms again." Ren said, ignoring Khans interjection.
"We don't know how deep that hive goes, Ren. There was tunnel after tunnel in that cave, and we have no idea how many are in there. It could be a suicide mission to try and take over the caves." He stared into the fire, thinking heavily. Indeed, he knew that rations were getting slim. They still had water, and they were still able to dig up roots, at least when they could find them. But this broth creation was not going to be enough to sustain them much longer if they couldn't get real sustenance.
"Khan, you have to be our leader again. You must take charge, and you must make decisions. What will it be? We can't roll over and die to these elements!" Ren shouted. Khan jumped up, bringing his fist across Rens jaw.
"I am a leader Ren! I have taken charge! You want me to make a choice?! I'll make a choice. Get your shit together Ren. You want to go clear out some caves? We'll go clear out some caves. And if we die in the process, then I hope you die knowing it's the right choice." He shouted before lowering his voice to a growl. Their foreheads touched as they were embattled in a stare down.
Khan couldn't fool Ren. Ren knew Khan was lost without his queen, his own personal goddess. He spent more time pondering, than acting. But this was not the time to think. It was the time to move. They thought that this year, they had prepared better, but it was proving to be a rough year, and they just hadn't prepared enough.
Ren whipped his head away, stalking outside into the whipping winds. Essex met him outside, his heavy jacket pulled up tight around him, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"What did he say?" Essex hollered over the wind. Ren just shook his head as they walked back to Essex' home. Essex pushed the door closed with a heavy thud. It was a basic setup, with a mix of stone and wood furnishings. A small fireplace was set into the wall one one end, with a table and chairs off to the side of it. The host set down two cups, with a large pot and ladle.
"What is this?" Ren asked as he scooped up the water. Out of it green leaves flooded over the sides.
"This is mint tea. Well, pretty much." Essex smirked as he filled Rens cup. "I cultivated some mint in Safi- in the garden. Jsut steep it in the hot water for a while, and it comes out as tea." He explained.
"I never thought you'd have a botanical side." Ren smirked as he sipped the hot liquid. He hissed inward as the hot liquid made its way down his throat. "Hot, but very good." He sighed.
"So, what did Khan say?" Essex repeated his question from earlier.
"He is too caught up in her still. I think if we are going to change anything, we will have to do it ourselves." Ren shook his head, disappointed.
"She left us. Plain and simple. We shouldn't have to worry about dying just because she is gone, and he can't accept that." Essex spat. He was angry, and rightfully so. He felt close to Safiya, like a brother to her. For her to willingly leave was like her throwing him away.
"Essex, it may be plain that she is gone... But I can guarantee you, it isn't simple." Ren looked at the young Augment. "It never is simple." He spoke softly.
The camp was silent when Khan awoke. Usually he was able to hear some sort of shuffling around in the temple, or the chopping of firewood outside. But today, it was just wind. It didn't bother him at first. He didn't even think on it. His mind was too busy looking at Safiya's side of the bed. How stupid he had been, to think she would ever stay. But alas, he did what he did everyday since she had been gone. He got up, dressed in something warm, and went out into the temples main room.
He had been sitting there for nearly two hours before he went outside. Not a single person had entered the temple to speak with him, and for Ren Gavin especially, that was odd. Outside, there was nothing. No Augments walking around, no wood being chopped... There wasn't even smoke rising from chimneys. All there was, was a shuttle being prepped to depart.
With haste, Khan ran to the craft, pounding on the dented doors. After a few moments, it opened as he faced Ren.
"What the hell is the meaning of this?" Khan demanded, yelling above the winds.
"We are going for a hunt Khan. We have to go, or else we will all die here." Ren shouted. Khan stormed past him. As he passed, the Augments there shied away from him, not wanting to incur his anger.
"Look at the people, Khan. They are getting weaker and weaker. We can't starve in hopes that the herds will come back and that the weather will break dammit!" Ren grabbed Khan by the shoulder so he would look at him. Khan looked around at the others nearby. Indeed, they looked smaller in their clothes, their faces slimmer than before. It was eye opening for Khan, seeing his people wither.
"Will you join us, Khan? Will you hunt with us?" Ren asked in a begging tone.
"I'll hunt with you, Ren." He rested his hand on Rens shoulder, giving a curt nod.
They landed near the cats den, as the Augments got ready for a fight. If they were successful, it would guarantee meat for the next few months. If they were not, then food and shelter would not matter anyways.
The snow was thick, but the wind was nowhere near as swift here as it was at base. Halfway to the canyon, the Augments stopped. Along the edge, one by one, they began to see more and more of the creatures appear.
"Get the blast cannons out front!" Khan ordered, as Ren and another Augment came to his side, armed.
"We are going to have a hell of a fight. Did they empty the nest?" Ren narrowed his eyes, looking at the creatures who just kept appearing.
"No, I'm guessing there are going to be more..." Khan sighed. He closed his eyes, sighing, and held a good thought in his mind before beginning the charge. By the end of the day, the snow would be red, but who was left standing was anybodies guess.