I do not own nor profit from Star Trek or Gene Roddenberrys works.
A long chilling howl was let out as the cats revved up for a fight. The Augments let out their own terrifying battle cry. If one would have been watching it from a distance, it would have been bone-chilling. The snow fell as the charge began. Both sides were yelling, snarling, gnashing, baring their teeth ready to fight to the death. The blast cannons would be their best shot, but the cannons were not going to get to all of their adversaries in time. The best they could do is shoot and hope to kill as many as possible.
In this moment, Ren thought of Vivienne. Khan thought of Safiya. To them, the thoughts gave them a certain strength of will, a strength to fight. Trick and Ebony ran side by side. They would die the way they lived. Together. Essex and his sister, Erin were running alongside one another, like twins almost. The same yellow eyes that pierced the souls of their enemies.
Life was still in that moment as Khan looked to either side. 72 Augments who would fight and die with him. The opposing numbers were well over 500 as they seemed to just keep coming over the edge of the cliff. To his right, was Essex, his left, Ren, both with war faces. His mind raced with memories that he had suppressed for decades, and the more recent memories that he loved, and hated all at once.
Metal clashed and phaser fire broke out. It was cries of pain from both sides. The blast cannons on rapid fire sweeping through the ranks of the felines. Khan fought harder than he ever had, dodging, blocking and throwing punches as rapidly as he could. Though his efforts were valiant, they were simply outnumbered. The injuries were stacking up, as blood from both parties stained the snow. Khan felt something hard under his foot as he took a glance downward. Half of a blast cannon stuck partially out of the snow, the metal crudely jagged at one end. 'So we are down to one..." Khan thought, as he continued to fight. There was no way they would win this way.
He wondered for a moment if this was a big mistake, but what did it matter now? He had no reason to leave the field alive. He fought, if anything at this point, to allow his people a chance to either fight or flee. He would not think less of them for either choice they made. But as his despondence grew, a cheer rose through the Augments, and he noticed the look of fear and retreat in the creatures faces. Their eyes were skywards, and he looked up as well.
A Federation ship was coming in hot, red blast fire throwing earth up as it hit the ground. Shrieking erupted, as the cats took cover, having never seen anything like this. They had never seen the devastation that this thing could create. Especially not since they were the top predators in their environment.
"FALL BACK!" Khan yelled out, as he saw the line being drawn between them and the creatures. If his people didn't fall back soon enough, they were likely to get hit by the incoming fire. He shook his head, stunned, happy, grateful, looking back at the shuttle where the Augments were convening. Scattered rings of golden light took the injured, and one by one the Augments at the ship were taken up as well. Khan was the last one taken up, bring dropped directly into the med bay.
Around him, the Augments who were unharmed were helping Gavin care for those who had been hurt. Ren and Edison were the first two he saw on the table. Ren held his leg, his thigh full of puncture marks. Edison was pale on the table. Gavin was holding a wet dressing over his abdomen, yelling for a surgical kit. When the dressing was lifted, Khan could see Edisons eviscerated organs. Trick, who was bleeding from a large gash on his tricep, was running back and forth from helping Gavin though he needed care himself.
On the far table, in the back corner, was a body with a sheet hastily thrown over it. Curiously, Khan walked towards it, being ignored through the frenzy. With a shaky hand, he pulled down the sheet just enough to see the golden eyes of Erin staring back at him. His heart dropped, as he hurt for Essex. Did he even know his sister was dead? The way he ran around, he didn't seem to notice that his sister was not a survivor. He looked back down at her, seeing the large gash across her neck and face, as if she was nearly skinned. He shook his head with a sigh, and covered her again so he could assist with the injured.
Edison was sleeping, as his body was recovering from the emergency surgery, still anesthetized. Ebony had stitched up Trick, and Trick in turn tended to Ebony's puncture wounds on her calf. The shuttle bay doors opened quietly, as Safiya slipped inside. All eyes turned to her, as some gasped. Most stayed silent, as they watched her walk towards the middle of the room.
"There is plenty of food in the dining hall. It is warm, and it is plentiful if you are hungry." She spoke quietly. Those were miracle words to most of them, as those who were cleared to leave med bay, and well enough otherwise, left to fill their slimmed stomachs with real food. Khan stayed behind, as did Essex and Gavin.
"Doctor, would you like me to bring you some food? Or would you like to go grab some for yourself and come back? I am sure I can handle your bay until you get back." She offered. Gavin nodded, worn out, as he gave one last look at Edison, and left. Khan had taken Essex to the back of the room now that the bay was relatively empty, showing him his loss. A cry erupted from deep within Essex, as he fell over his sisters body. He tried to hold her, but rigor mortis had already set in, and she was unbending. Tears fell, seeing his sisters body there. Khan could say little, knowing the pain of losing a woman close to him.
"YOU!" Essex turned sharply, startling Safiya. "You did this!" He cried, storming towards her, he grabbed her shoulders roughly, shaking her. "You killed her! She's DEAD!" He yelled angrily.
"That's enough, Essex! Stand down." Khan took the young man by the shoulder, pulling him back off of her.
"Essex, I am not the one who killed her." Safiya whispered.
"You shouldn't have left! You NEVER should have left! This wouldn't have happened if you would have just stayed!" He cried, his hands out in explanation. He balled his hands into fists, holding them to his forehead. Before anybody could react, he brought his fist across Safiya's cheek, spinning her as she fell to the ground.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Khan yelled as he restrained Essex from further damaging Safiya. She struggled to her feet, dazed, as she tasted blood in her mouth.
"If I would have stayed, then we all would be dead out there, Essex." She spoke sternly, spitting blood out onto the floor. "My presence would have not put food in your bellies. I am sorry Erin fell, but I am not the one to blame here." She defended.
"She is right, Essex. Take time, grieve. We will bury her properly when the ground has thawed." He patted the young mans shoulder, leaving him. Safiya said nothing as she walked up to Essex, resting a hand on his shoulder. Like a child, Essex turned himself into her, crying against her chest, letting his sorrow out. Like a mother, she held him, rocking him, grieving with him. Erin was a nice person, and her loss was devastating.
"Ess, we will take care of her." Safiya whispered.
"She wanted a pyre." Essex hiccuped through his sobs. Safiya nodded, petting his hair.
"Then a pyre she shall have." She replied. "Try to eat something if you can. At least some soup. You are weakened and you will need it." She murmured softly, just speaking between the two of them. Essex tried to pull himself together, leaving the bay to eat. When Gavin returned, she took her leave to pilot the Bradbury to the open plains closer to their homes.
She was alone on the bridge, leaving the Augments to fill their bellies. Once the ship landed, secure on its supports, she looked over the papers that Akkare had left for her. He had signed the papers already, accepting the contract put down on the paper.
"Permission to enter the bridge." Khans deep voice purred from the lift.
"Granted." She spoke softly from her chair, standing to face him. Khan walked slowly, looking around.
"It's been a while." He spoke.
"It has been. Yes." She nodded.
"So, why are you back? You were determined to get away, and you got it. So, why are you back?" He eyed her, anger flashing on his face. He took a moment to notice her red and bruised cheek, puffing up making her eye look smaller.
"Khan, I said I wanted to go back to Earth. I never told you I wanted to stay there." She sighed. Khan recalled their conversation, and she indeed had said she wanted to go back to Earth, with no mention of permanence. "I missed my mother, who says hello. I missed watching the sunrise, the smell of London, the amazing things that were there." She shook her head. "Things that aren't here."
"Then why didn't you just stay if you missed it so much?" Khan snapped angrily, his blood boiling.
"Because I missed you more." She defended angrily. This brought Khans blood down to a simmer.
"You know what your problem is? You think you can just make these decisions and expect everybody to be okay with them!" He snapped. "You can up and leave when you want, and we just have to deal with it!" He paced.
"And you know what your problem is, Khan? You have a bad habit of lacking foresight! There were things that we needed. So, I made a deal. If I stay here, and survey this planet, and give Akkare information about the flora, fauna, et cetera, then he would send me an annual shipment of the things that I need. Which means that we could live many long years here without this happening again, hopefully." She looked away from him. "If I wouldn't have left, life would be a lot harder for us all."
"So, I'm supposed to just welcome you back with open arms? Act like nothing happened? Act like you never left?" He growled.
"I would like to be able to move on, but, I don't think you can let go of your feelings like that. Either way, I will be stationed to this planet... Most likely indefinitely." She sighed.
"What?!" Khan shook his head.
"I asked Akkare to make this my SUN assignment. They won't removed me from here unless there is severe need of me to be reassigned. Most SUNs though, never get pulled from their stations. So, I will be here, exploring this planet." She sat back down in the captains chair, looking back over her paperwork, gingerly prodding her cheek. "I would just hope to have peace with the local peoples for the time I am here." She gave him a dismissive look.
"I don't know what you are pulling." Khan sighed. He stood before her, and pulled her out of her seat, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I hate you right now, but I'm glad you came back." He sighed.
"Khan, I do love you. Please, understand that." She pressed her good cheek against his chest. "I will not ask you to not be angry at me. You have the right to be angry. I just hope that you will realize that my absence was marked with the intent of the greater good of your people." She sighed.
"Our people." Khan responded. Safiya hugged him a little tighter.
"I suggest you all stay on board for a few days. You can eat, and regain your strength. They look a little thin." She pulled away gently, though Khan did not entirely let her go.
"The herds all moved on too far for us to follow."
"Well, then I guess migratory herds will be something we shall be investigating." She smiled, but her smile faded as she thought of Essex.
"What is wrong?" He lifted her chin.
"I just, I am sorry for Erin. Essex didn't deserve to lose her." She sighed.
"It was a risk we all took, to try and overtake that den. We knew some would die, though I'm amazed we didn't take more casualties. Besides, he was already angry that you had left." He kissed her forehead.
"Why would you do something so foolish as to try and overtake them though?" She tilted her head. "Khan, you knew how bad it was already. Why would you risk the people to do something so foolish?" She frowned at the terrible decision.
"It was Ren who came up with the idea in my complacency. But really, have you ever had Starling Root soup? Now eat that over and over and see if you wouldn't risk suicide for new meat." He gave her an amused look before turning away from her.
Khan went to the room they had shared on board the Bradbury to lay down. He wasn't sure at that moment how to really feel about Safiya being back. He was definitely happy she was there. She had returned to him on her own accord, and that was a very good sign to him. But how would the others look at it? It was like deserting your brethren in a time of need. But she had come back which was more than they had hoped for, to be honest.
Her words however, did cause him to think. That he lacked foresight, in this instance, was perhaps an understatement. It was true, that he didn't spend a dreadfully long time exploring this planet before deciding to settle here. He blindly assumed that last winter was how the weather was here, and that they would always be able to tough out the winters they faced. He didn't stop to think of severe weather conditions. Had he been smart about it, he would have stockpiled supplies to last 6 months or more in the event of a lacking food source. He gave little thought to food supplies, and had he been smart, he would have just shuttled them all down to the planet, instead of beaming them down. Beaming down to the planet was the easy part. It was getting back off that he didn't plan for.
Though he did gather more supplies this year than he had the previous year, it still wasn't enough. While he hated to admit it, he would have killed them all had she not returned. Even if it was Rens plan to attempt a takeover against those creatures, he would have never had to devise the operation had Khan not driven him to that level of desperation. For that, he owed his people an apology. For that, he especially owed Essex an apology.
The bridge had been silent since Khan left, save for the occasional beeping of the consoles. Safiya watched the snow fall and the never ending white landscape that extended before her. Her left cheek had swollen to a point she could barely see out of her left eye, but the pain was slowly going away.
"Permission to come aboard." She heard a voice speak from behind her.
"Granted." She spoke, not bothering to look up to see who was approaching.
Essex took a seat at the pilots chair, and swiveled around to face her. He winced as he saw the bruising he had caused.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I should not have laid hands on you." He mumbled. His eyes were red, and his face looked weary.
"I won't hold ill feelings toward you Essex. Your emotions were compromised, and you reacted out of anger." She spoke, soft but indifferent.
"But I should not have done that. You just saved us out there. More of us would be in my sisters position had you not come back." He explained with irritation.
"No, but as I said. I hold no ill feelings over this Essex. As far as I am concerned, this matter is closed." She spoke again firmly. This tone closed Essex's mouth before he could protest. He looked down towards the floor, nodded before pressing another issue.
"Safiya, why did you leave?" He asked quietly. It was a question that had been burning him since he watched the shuttle take off.
"To bring peace to my mind, and to bring help to the people." She explained simply.
"But, couldn't you have just said that? I mean, it hurt many of us that you left with no explanation." He narrowed his eyes, not wanting to show too much emotion.
"Essex. Let me explain something to you. While I have found happiness and family here, I still have family on Earth. That was taken from me... I was taken from them, with no choice in the matter. That is a resentment I have harbored always." She leaned back in her chair, authoritative but lazily. "You also know as well as I do that Khan is prideful. He would never accept help from the Federation or from Star Fleet. But I am not willing to see you all suffer and die in the name of someone else's pride." Essex nodded, listening to her words.
"Had it been known what my intentions were, Khan would never had let me go. Luckily for you all, my friend and commander was willing to strike the deal I made with him. It is beneficial to us all. My mother gets an allotment of my pay, we are given the supplies we require, he is fed information about this system, and in the end, we are left alone from the eyes of the Federation." She sighed heavily. "This comes at the cost that it is unlikely I shall ever return to Earth. So I took my time, I had one last hurrah, said my farewells and have returned."
"So, you will not leave again?" Essex looked up curiously.
"While I may leave the planet, so we may explore other planets here in this system, I am not to return to Earth lest I be recalled from my station." She leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees.
"What if you are recalled next month?" Essex looked worried.
"Ess... Nobody on my sort of assignment has been recalled within the month. The last seven people to take on an assignment like this spent the rest of their lives at their station. And before that, very few were recalled before twenty years. I doubt I will be needed, and I am sure Akkare will ensure I am not recalled at all." She sniffed standing up.
"Now, go eat or go to bed and put those fears to rest, for I will hear no more of it." She stated, dismissing Essex from her sight.
She herself returned to her quarters, curling up on the other end of the bed from Khan to sleep off the events of the day.