Hey guys! I hope I didn't make you all wait too long for this chapter. It's been an incredibly crazy stressful couple of weeks with work ramping up to high speed levels, coupled with housesitting and family visits, piled high with a heaping helping of misogyny on top and I'm not sure how I came out of the month of July alive. But here I am. I am ok now and I hope you enjoy this chapter uwu
Chapter 26 – An Ephemeral Calm
When the shuttle touched down on the hangar floor, Madelyn didn't move at first. There were people outside, probably waiting for Owen to bring her out. Owen was dead on the floor behind her. She wondered if they would kill her for having killed him, but if they worked for Joaquin probably didn't care. She was the package, and she had arrived.
She turned from the control panel, her eyes lingering over Owen's body. She felt as though someone else had done it. Her palms ached from the bandage scraping across them as she'd strangled him. Her chest ached more when she took a deep breath. She swallowed away the bile that curled up her throat at the memory of his last gurgling breaths as she'd choked his life away. She couldn't get the sound out of her ears.
She turned away and reached for the lever that would open the shuttle's hatch. She couldn't stay on the shuttle with his body. She didn't have a choice anymore.
There were three people waiting outside and she got a better look at them as the hatch opened. Two men and a woman. All three of them appeared to be about mid to early thirties, extremely well-built and healthy, but that was where the similarities stopped. The woman was tall, her booted feet planted firmly apart, her biceps made more noticeable with her arms crossed over her chest. Her Latina features were framed by black hair slicked back into a ponytail and her dark eyes retained a silent, observant gaze.
The men were both white, but one of them was tan with close-cropped brown hair and lines in his forehead. The other's complexion was ghostly pale and dotted with freckles, his dull face and dead gray eyes framed with bright red hair. He had a phaser strapped to his hip, and he reached for it as soon as Madelyn took one step down the shuttle's ramp. The woman stopped him just as quickly, her reflexes attuned to acting abruptly with clear intent. The other man acknowledged his companions with a raised eyebrow before looking up at Madelyn.
"Where's Gallagher?"
His voice was clear and cold, and it reminded her of Khan's save for the American accent. She hesitated to answer him, and then she didn't have to as the woman jumped up onto the shuttle ramp and brushed past her for a look inside. "Joaquin, he's dead," she replied, her accent laced with a Spanish influence. She came back around to stand in front of Madelyn, giving her a once over before wrinkling her brow. "I think she killed him." Her voice sounded familiar, possibly the woman named Cecelia who had spoken over the intercom before her arrival on the station.
Madelyn watched her as she stepped to the side to allow the tanned man she'd referred to as Joaquin to advance up the ramp. Something in the woman's gaze made her feel slightly less alone for a moment, until Joaquin invaded her bubble of personal space with a piercing stare. His brown hair was closely cropped, his green eyes scanning every part of her as though he could learn every intimate detail about her from merely a glance. He towered over her. He was taller than Khan and just as well-built. She shouldn't have expected anything less from an Augment.
He circled her silently, then paused behind her. A knot grew in her throat when his breathing deepened, but he circled back around with his hands clasped behind his back and turned to the other two nearby.
"Cecelia, take her to Kati. Make sure she's properly cared for. I don't want Khan thinking I did this to her. And she'll need to rest. There's no point in trying to interrogate someone who's already broken." He strode away and left the hangar without another word.
"Aidan." Cecelia motioned to Madelyn then raised her eyebrows at the silent man with ginger hair. Madelyn didn't bother to respond when he immediately came up and slid a firm hand around her upper arm. She saw no point in reacting. There wasn't a way to get out of there, so she might as well cooperate for now.
They took her down a long corridor, dimly lit and reminiscent of the USS Vengeance. The floor didn't vibrate with the subtle hum of a starship, but echoed far under their feet, as though they were walking through the bowels of a fortress. When they came to the end of the corridor, Cecelia tapped in a code on a touchpad and a panel in the wall slid away, revealing another length of corridor. They walked its length, following its subtle curve until Madelyn was certain they were on the far end of the station from the hangar. Then a second code on another touchpad and another hidden panel revealed further passages. These split off to the left and right and continued on ahead of them, but Aidan pulled her down the left one at Cecelia's subtle command.
Finally they left the maze of endless dark corridors and stepped into a room of glaring white light that made Madelyn's head throb. She blinked several times until her eyes could adjust. High tech med beds and various pieces of medical equipment filled the length of the room. Near the back, a tall, willowy young woman dressed in a blue, unmarked doctor's uniform and a white lab coat was hunched over a lab table, studying something on her PADD. At the sound of their approach, her short black hair swished around her jaw when she snapped her dark face up. She straightened quickly, almost quivering as though she was alarmed.
"Is this the one Joaquin said Khan would come for?" Her accent put her place of birth somewhere between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
"It's really none of your business, Kati," Cecelia replied, looking more bored than usual. "Just make sure she's relatively healthy so she's not a burden."
Kati immediately skirted around the table, sliding her hand under Aidan's to take Madelyn out of his grip. She gave the ginger Augment a faintly disgusted look before guiding her away. "Get that mute beast out of my infirmary," she called over her shoulder, sliding a chair over and motioning for Madelyn to sit. "If I'm to do my work properly, I don't want his pasty hands mucking up everything."
"He won't touch anything," said Cecelia.
Kati glanced at the woman with a tight expression. "I know what Joaquin did to him and I don't want anything to do with it. Get him out."
Cecelia heaved a sigh and motioned to Aidan with her eyes again. Madelyn watched as they left the room through the black rectangle that appeared in the wall and then slid shut, leaving her in the room of white again.
"I don't know what's gotten into her, but if Joaquin is right about you then Khan will not be long. He'd better hurry up, if you ask me. Gallagher may have been the first, and he won't be the last." As Kati spoke, her hands moved quickly, first feeling the lymph nodes in Madelyn's neck, then running them along the back of her neck and up into her hairline until she winced. Kati pulled a small penlight from her pocket and flashed it in front of her eyes. Madelyn swallowed and blinked. Kati frowned.
"What did he do to you?"
The question hung in the air. She didn't want to answer. She couldn't because she was trying not to think about it. He was gone now and he didn't matter. Kati flashed the light across her face again, her frown deepening. "Delayed reaction. You've undergone serious trauma." She replaced the light to her pocket and reached behind Madelyn for a syringe. "I want to take a blood sample to make sure you really are who everyone thinks. Joaquin seemed to think Madsen's test results were inconclusive, but I think he just didn't want to believe the truth."
Madelyn barely registered the prick on the inside of her wrist as Kati drew the amount she needed.
"Madsen's been missing a while now," Kati continued, depositing the vial of blood into a device connected to her PADD. "I want to believe that was Khan's doing. He would never let someone he loved remain out of his reach for long." There was a note of despondency in her voice for a moment before she went on. "When he arrives, he will do one of two things: he will join Joaquin, or he will kill him. I'd prefer the latter. Of course, Joaquin will probably kill him either way, but at least you know where I stand." She gave Madelyn a faint smile, but kept her face turned down towards her work. "Please do not say anything. There are no microphones in here so they can't hear what I'm saying, but you're facing a security camera so they will read your lips if you speak. "
Madelyn glanced up towards the ceiling and spied a faint inset that probably contained a lens of some kind. She dropped her eyes back to the floor. She felt smaller than ever.
"It's just as I thought," Kati murmured. "This is a huge deal. Not only does your blood contain nineteen percent Augmented genetic material, but it is familiar genetic material."
Madelyn glanced up at her, feeling there was something familiar about her profile but unsure what it was. "What do you mean?" Her own voice shocked her. It sounded weak, shaky… broken.
"You are Joaquin's great, great, great, great granddaughter. Whether this is a good thing or not is up to you to decide. This may prove to be detrimental, or it just might save your skin."
Madelyn felt separated from her body. Her head spun at the revelation, and then she was suddenly grounded and even more angry, but the anger was smothered with fear when she considered the consequences of this. Not only was Joaquin Weiss her blood relative, but he'd potentially set Owen on her because of this. Because he wanted her back.
Her breathing escalated as her nails dug into the seat of her chair, until her fingers ached and she wanted to tear the seat apart out of sheer panic. Everything that had happened up until now was because of Joaquin. She ground her teeth at the wave of nausea and terror and indignation that crashed over her, but she didn't even have the strength to stand anymore.
"I need to get out of here," she murmured, trying to stand up. Her legs shook and she collapsed back into the chair. "I can't be here."
"Madelyn, stop."
A pair of warm hands cupped her face, stealing her back to the present moment.
"Look at me. You're having a panic attack. Look at me, Madelyn."
The rolling lilt of Kati's Indian accent flooded her ears and she forced herself to look up at her. Her eyes were brown, like warm chocolate, and her face... there was something specific about her face…
The warmth from Kati's hands spread through her body and she slumped in the chair with a sigh. A moment later, a glass of water appeared in a dark hand in front of her and she took it. It was strong and cold as it slid down her throat. She quickly realized it was more than water. She felt the effects in her body immediately and managed to sit up straighter, her vision clearing a little and the pain in her ribcage lessening.
"That should last you a few hours," said Kati. Something in her pocket chimed and she reached in to take a look. "Oh…" She was silent for a moment, reading what was onscreen the com device, then she looked back at Madelyn. "You're in no shape to be seeing anyone else on this god-forsaken station. I'll take you to my quarters. Come on, you can stand up."
She did, and with surprising ease. Kati's quarters were connected to the medbay, and she showed Madelyn the bathroom and even offered her bed should she need to lay down.
"I don't want you to talk about Gallagher or what he did to you right now, but at some point you will need to tell me later. Joaquin wants you, but I believe you're in need of some privacy. I won't let anyone in here." She turned on her heel, her coat flying out behind her as she headed for the door.
"Wait," Madelyn called. Her voice sounded so small. "What's going on?"
Kati barely broke stride in her rush to leave. She looked both excited and filled with trepidation. Her fingers drummed against her thigh. "Khan is here." Then she was out the door.
The Io Facility had never been fully decommissioned apparently, unless Joaquin had someone working on the inside, pulling strings and leaching funds. Khan wouldn't have been surprised. He steered the K'normian ship swiftly towards the station, eyeing the very wide, very open hangar that currently beckoned him with flashing blue lights. He could see the old shuttle from the bunker currently parked inside. Madelyn would be there, and Owen too. He channeled his anger into a well in the back of his mind to conserve it for later. He couldn't afford to let Joaquin see him this way until he was sure he could control him.
It was a strange feeling to see his face, but maybe that was because Khan no longer trusted him. As he stepped out of the ship, he kept his arms by his side and his gaze steeled, despite the wide grin that marred Joaquin's tan, rugged visage.
"Khan, it's about damn time."
He felt no joy within him as he was clapped on the back, and he saw no kinship in those green eyes he'd once waited so long to see again. He wanted to take a fistful of Joaquin's hair and crash his knuckles into those angular bones and demand an explanation for everything. Instead, he held back and he waited and he studied his former friend closely.
"We've waited a long time for this moment," Joaquin was saying, his grin lessened.
Let him keep smiling, Khan thought. He won't be able to soon. "We?" The plural word struck a painful chord on his tongue. "Where is Madelyn?"
"She's here. She's fine, relatively speaking. Kati's bringing her now. Cecelia is here as well, along with McPherson, my wife, and Otto."
Khan fought hard to breathe normally. "Six. Marcus said he killed twelve."
"Marcus lied," Joaquin replied, offering an apologetic look that seemed too light for the current situation. "He killed six and sent the rest of us away for study. He should have known better."
Khan had heard about enough. "Where is Madelyn, and what's happened to Owen Gallagher?"
"All in good time, Khan. I thought you'd be happier to see me than you are. We have a lot of things to talk about."
"Yes, we do," he growled. "But they will wait until after I see her."
"No, I think we should talk first. Like I said, Kati's bringing her."
"No, I am not."
Khan looked up at the dark skinned woman that had entered the hangar, her white lab coat billowing out behind her. His breath was almost stolen away again. She slowed her steps, her angry expression growing confused as she saw him. "Who are you?"
"Kati, I told you to bring her! Where is she?" Joaquin stormed towards her and it was all Khan could do not to grab him from behind and snap his neck.
"She was in no shape to be seeing anybody. I thought the last thing I needed to do was give her back to you."
Khan dug his nails into his palms as Joaquin slapped her across the face. The fire in her eyes still burned and she lifted her chiseled jawline defiantly. "How dare you!" she spat. "I will bring her to you when she's ready to talk."
Khan strode up to Joaquin and placed a hand on his shoulder, being careful not to squeeze too tightly lest he alert him to the anger he was barely keeping a check on. "Let me see her. Kati, will you let me see her?"
He realized she didn't recognize him. Of course, he should have known she wouldn't recognize him. How could she when Marcus had completely altered his physical appearance? Even his voice would have been unrecognizable, masked behind a smooth English accent.
"You said Khan would be here," she continued, pulling her gaze from him to Joaquin. "Who is this?"
Khan stepped in front of Joaquin, briefly encroaching on Kati's space. "I am Khan."
Her brow wrinkled as her eyes darted all over him. "That's impossible."
"When you were seven and I was twelve, we would run down the banks of the Ganges in Patna until our feet were covered so deeply in mud that we couldn't move another step, and then we would collapse on the ground from sheer exhaustion and you would tell me about the dreams you had the night before. One time you told me you dreamt of a small yellow bird that swept down from the sky and took you away to a paradise where no one could ever run tests on you again or keep you locked away when you misbehaved. Now do you believe me?"
He caught the immediate glimmer of recognition in her eye, but she shoved it away and turned back to Joaquin. "You will see her when she is ready," she repeated, then glancing back at Khan, she nodded. He barely had time to respond when Joaquin's hand wrapped around his arm.
"You don't know the full situation, Khan. I need to talk to you first."
Khan's eyes lingered on the strong fingers holding his forearm, then traveled up to the face of the their owner. He was growing consistently uneasy with Joaquin's behavior. "As I have said, whatever you have to tell me will wait. I am not saying a word to you until I see her," he replied slowly, easing his arm out of Joaquin's grip. "You would be wise to allow it."
"You'd be wiser to listen to me," said Joaquin, finally letting Khan go with a faint glimmer of irritation in his eyes. "Fine. Go to her. I'll be seeing you both shortly anyway."
Khan turned on his heel without another word and motioned for Kati to start across the hangar.
"If you were curious as to Owen Gallagher's whereabouts, you should know that Madelyn killed him," Joaquin called.
Khan hid the alarm that suddenly took hold and pressed a hand gently into Kati's shoulder to urge her on faster. They left the hangar within seconds and walked quickly down the corridor.
"I knew it was you. I did," she said. "But you're so pasty. What the hell happened? Did you fall into a vat of bleach?"
"Much worse, I'm afraid," he replied.
"And you are English." She crinkled her nose. "Well, at least they didn't change your hair. Much."
He laid a hand on her shoulder when they paused so she could open a door. "It's good to see you again," he said quietly. "I never imagined I would."
She smiled at him out of the corner of her eye. "Nor did I." She reached up and took his hand, squeezing it before nodding to the infirmary. "She's in my quarters, at the end of the room."
"Thank you." He slipped away, striding quickly across the white length of the empty med bay. If Madelyn had really killed Owen, he wanted to know how. He wanted to know what had driven her to that point. The miscarriage had been bad, but she'd hardly spoken about it. Something must have been truly wrong if she had gone that far. There had been no weapons on the shuttle he could recall. He walked faster.
Kati's quarters were unlocked, but he locked the door behind him when he entered. Madelyn wasn't there. The shower was running in the bathroom. Khan hesitated. That had become her safe place. That was where she went when she didn't want to be bothered. He could encroach on her space, but he had no way of knowing where she was mentally. He could wait for her to finish, but his desire to see that she was ok was stronger than his ability to wait.
Despite his reservations, he quietly slipped into the bathroom. The room was hot and filled with steam that fogged up the shower's glass walls. Her clothes were in a pile in the corner. He scanned the white space where she should have been standing and instead saw a small skin-colored figure, curled up on the floor. He slid the shower door away a little so he could see her. She was sitting back against the wall, her legs pulled to her chest, her eyes closed against the water in her face. He slid the door open a little more so it creaked to alert her to his presence. When she opened her eyes, he waited.
She just looked at him. Surprise barely registered on her face and she didn't say anything. She pulled her knees closer to her chest. There were distinct purple bruises on her neck and face. The scarlet edge of a larger mark on her side peeked out from behind her leg. Owen must have done this to her.
Without thinking, Khan stepped fully clothed into the shower's spray, sliding the door closed behind him. Then he settled beside her against the hard wall and gently slid an arm around her shoulders, being careful not to touch any injured part of her. There were so many bruises; they couldn't have been more than six hours old. He tried to imagine what Owen had done to pepper her body with these marks, but only succeeded in adding to the swelling rage he carried within. Owen was dead and he didn't even care how she had done it anymore. Just that she had done it.
His flicker of pride was only quenched by an overwhelming desire to hold her, but he didn't dare try to touch her further. His arm around her shoulders hadn't caused her to tense up, but the bruises on her side kept his hand from drifting. She could have been bleeding internally, but it was more likely a broken rib.
He was surprised when she reached around and took hold of his soaked sweatshirt, now a darker shade of gray. She bunched it up in her fingers like she was holding on for her life, then she shifted enough to rest her head against his shoulder. She shut her eyes again, water streaming over her face and down her exposed body. She looked so peaceful, curled up tightly against him, wet and fragile. If only their current circumstance could prove as peaceful. She may have been nineteen percent superior Augment, but right now she was eighty-one percent broken Human.
He pushed away a lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes, his hand lingering above her face, shielding it from the continuing spray of hot shower water. His eyes lingered on her from behind his own dripping hair. A large purple and red bruise on her back indicated the possibility of more than one broken rib. He listened to her breathing for a minute. Shortness of breath was indicative of a potential puncture. There was no way to know for certain until a scan could be taken, and Kati obviously hadn't had time to perform one. There was another large bruise on her hip, but the marks on her neck and face were what bothered him most.
He didn't know how long they stayed in the shower like that. Eventually the water lost its heat and Madelyn shivered under his arm. She was barely lucid, but he'd be surprised if she'd fallen asleep. Her erratic breathing sounded uncomfortable. She lifted her head from his shoulder, loosening her grip on his sweatshirt.
"You need to get out of this cold water," he murmured. She glanced up at him and gave a small nod. He slid his arm downwards and wrapped it underneath her shoulders, pulling her to her feet. She still held onto him, but she didn't look at him and her clenched jaw said she'd rather not be exposed to him the way she was now. He reached around her to turn off the shower and slid the door open, snagging the lone towel from above the sink. She took it from him and pulled it tightly around herself, taking her wet hair in her other hand, all the while visibly wincing with each movement.
"I want to know what's going on," she murmured.
It wasn't at all what he'd expected to hear at first. She sounded defeated, but not destroyed. He carefully trailed his fingers down her neck, wishing he could merely touch the discolorations to make them disappear. She exhaled a shaky breath.
"Joaquin told me you killed Owen. Is that true?"
Her gaze snapped to his, seeking him out like a refuge as she visibly tensed. Her lower lip shivered. He wanted to take the question back from her ears.
"I had to," she whispered.
He understood. There was no need to press her for an explanation, no need to dwell on the subject that had caused her so much grief. He pulled his hand away from her. "You should get dressed. I'll be here when you're ready."
She frowned, her tension shifting to confusion.
"Joaquin wants to talk to us both," said Khan. "I imagine he will try to manipulate us into joining him in whatever plan he's formed. If Owen was part of his plan, then I don't approve of whatever else he has in mind."
She nodded, dropping her gaze again, the same aura of defeat leaking from her pores. He couldn't stand it. He closed on her and slid his hands around her face, forcing her to look up at him. "If I had known it would come to this, I would never have pursued you in the first place. I would never wish what you've gone through on any member of my family. Not in a million years."
Her brow loosened as she gave up trying to hide herself from him. "You had no way of knowing."
"No." He pressed his fingers into her scalp, dipping his head just close enough to graze his lips over hers. "But I still regret what I did to you." I could have saved her so much pain.
It was Madelyn that kissed him first, barely pursing her lips to weakly snag his mouth. It was enough to make him inhale sharply and return the favor. She smelled faintly metallic with a hint of something floral coming off her towel. Kati's towel, rather. It reminded him of home…
Suddenly, he wanted to rip the towel from her and pin her to the floor and take everything he wanted slowly and carefully until she begged him to stop. He wanted to have her back completely, staking his claim to her the way he once had, the way she had once accepted him. He wanted to be inside her and make her forget everything she had gone through before.
She broke their intensifying kiss, as though she sensed his arousal, and he smothered his thoughts before they could physically manifest. She slid her arms around his torso, clutching at his soaked clothing, putting herself flush to him so she could lay her head against his shoulder. He dipped his face into her wet hair, resting his hands gently on her towel-clad waist. Her breathing still sounded like a struggle.
For now, he would have to want what he couldn't have, what she wouldn't yet let him have again. Her safety would have to be enough.
"I should get dressed," she said, her warm breath permeating his shoulder. She didn't move and he didn't want to let her go. He wanted to stand there and hold her forever.
A knock on the bathroom door made her jump. He slid his arms around her body.
"He's getting restless, Khan." It was Kati on the other side. "Best to get it over with maybe?"
He ground his teeth together, considering what she could be inferring. There were many possibilities and most of them were undesirable. He wouldn't be able to keep Joaquin away much longer.
It was hard to remove himself from her. His hands lingered on her bare shoulders, skin wet from the shower and tightened into bumps as a reaction to the cold air—of the lack of contact with him.
"I can go with you," she said, her voice a little clearer. The marks on her neck caught his eye again.
"No. He's put me into a position that I cannot compromise. If you're there, he'll consider it a weakness."
"It'd be detrimental for you not to have me there," she countered. She was doing everything she could to make herself feel safe, but this was not the way. Not when her voice was shaking like this.
"Have you seen yourself in a mirror? You don't even realize the full extent to which Joaquin will go to get what he wants. I cannot expose you to him in this state." He didn't mean to offend her, but she pressed her lips together into an incensed line, her nostrils flaring. After everything Owen had done to her, she still carried a remnant of a flame. He hadn't extinguished it completely. "Can you imagine what he will try to do if we share the room with him?" he pressed. "Not like this. You're much safer here with Kati." He realized his excuse carried little weight, but he would not let her get her way this time.
"You can't influence him? Change his mind? You told me he used to be your confidant. Maybe he still believes that."
"No." He turned his gaze regretfully downwards, trailing his fingers down her arm to her hand. "Not anymore. I believe he had your grandfather murdered because he refused to cooperate with him. If he's willing to murder his own kin, then he's willing to do anything."
"Khan, he's in my medbay," Kati called from behind the door. "You need to get out here now."
Madelyn pulled her towel more tightly around herself and lifted her chin as though she could pretend to be ok, but the bruises scattered across her fragile human skin had already proven that she was not. "Do what you have to do," she said. "But don't leave me here."
He pulled his hand from hers and backed away to the door. "I'll come back for you." When he turned away, her features were seared into his memory, pale, bruised, hard as steel.
He locked the door to Kati's quarters behind him as Joaquin greeted him in the corridor. "Is she in there?" he asked, his gaze darting over Khan's shoulder.
Khan stared at him. "You will talk to me. You don't need to see her right now."
Joaquin raised his eyebrows but Khan stood his ground in front of the door. "Fine, we can go into my office," said Joaquin.
Now Khan raised his eyebrows. "Your office?" The idea struck him as faintly amusing.
"It's a better place for us to talk," Joaquin replied, turning to head down the corridor. Khan felt the weight of expectation settle upon his shoulders. He was waiting for Joaquin to turn on him but instead he was being treated as the equal he had once been. Though Joaquin had once served him faithfully, Khan now felt that their playing fields had leveled, but rather than being side by side and on agreeable terms, there was a tension between them that clung to the air. He could only hope that Cecelia and the others sensed this tension and were ready to rejoin his side. He couldn't do anything that would risk putting Madelyn in danger again. She was far from ready.
No, he was in this alone.
Joaquin's "office" was little more than the control room for the facility, an unfortunately familiar sight given the amount of time Khan had spent working here under Admiral Marcus. He recounted those days with distaste, especially where Owen Gallagher was involved. He was only faintly conciliated when he considered that Madelyn had killed Gallagher herself, but then his remorse grew again. Everything had circled back to this room, and with the way Joaquin had turned to face him once they were standing across from each other with the main control console between them, Khan realized everything was balancing on what he did and said over the next few minutes.
"What is it you need to tell me?" he said, sounding more exasperated than he felt. He was still unsure what Joaquin was even trying to accomplish, other than grasping for power that was no longer relevant in a world run by the Federation of Planets. If Joaquin truly understood the nature of the 23rd century, he would have already colonized an empty planet and named its capital after himself.
"You've been duped, Khan. You've let your emotions get in the way of making smart decisions. As usual."
"Do not blame me for something that happened almost three hundred years ago," Khan replied, eyeing him carefully. There was too much space between them for him to take action without Cecelia getting to him first. He couldn't be sure whose back she'd have. "It's been only a few hours and I've already been reunited with several people whom I was led to believe long ago were dead. Do not toy with me further."
"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it." Joaquin leaned back against the console behind him, crossing his arms and looking a little too smug for Khan's taste. "What if I told you that everyone was still alive?"
Khan knew he was squinting as he stared at Joaquin. The faint possibility that skirted across the periphery of what he knew to be the truth was something he could not grasp onto. It was impossible.
"She's been lying to you," he added.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
The silence that permeated the room was deafening. Khan shook his head slowly, first unwilling to believe that this was happening. The genuine surprise on Joaquin's face pushed him over his mental cliff. "I was on that ship, Joaquin! I saw the detonation! There is no possible way anyone, Human or Augment, could have survived it!"
"How do you know?"
Khan raked his fingers through his hair. "What are you saying?"
Joaquin's smirk grew. "Our family was never in those torpedoes. You've been duped, Khan, and frankly it'd be hilarious if it wasn't still a problem."
Khan stared at the man, running his finger along his jaw, feeling a rush of anger and hope rise up inside him all at once. He paced across the room then turned on his heel and confronted Joaquin again. "How do you even know this?"
"I have a source in Starfleet. Well, two sources, but you killed one of them."
"Madsen," Khan breathed. "Who is the other?" he said more clearly.
"Doctor Thomas Foster. You've probably never heard of him, but that was kind of the point. He's away right now, attempting to secure our people's location. But I'm thinking of recalling him, since we've got someone else who can help us out with this much more easily. That is assuming you allow me to talk to her."
For a moment, Khan forgot how to breathe. His heart was pounding, but more poignant than his heartbeat was the sudden pang of betrayal. He shoved it away. "You have no proof of her involvement. Do not bring her into this."
Joaquin raised his hands defensively. "I thought you would've recognized the signs earlier. She's known about their survival from the start, and she's kept it from you because she wanted to control you. Well, Starfleet wanted her to control you. It was their best option once they got their hooks in her, and they used Captain Kirk to do it."
Surprise mingled with a sudden rush of fury. At Joaquin, at Madelyn, at Starfleet, at this wretched universe that had decided to give Khan a second chance to live. He stormed across the room and took Joaquin by his shirt, slamming him against the wall. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cecelia place a hand on her phaser, but he didn't care. Joaquin was grinning. "I thought you'd gone soft, but this is more you."
"Do not make accusations about someone you don't even know!" Khan roared. "She's your kin for god's sake!"
"Yeah," Joaquin said with casual shrug, despite the way Khan was holding him off the ground and against the wall. "But as much as I'd like to have a loving bond of kinship with the woman you decided to fuck, I can't accept a selfish lying whore into my family. She's practically a mutt anyway. Nineteen percent Augment? Really, Khan? You coulda done better."
Khan hardly heard the last of Joaquin's words as he shoved him away and backed off, flexing his fingers impatiently. He had a sudden urge to kill something, but the only people in the room were Joaquin and Cecelia and he'd just learned of the latter's continued existence that day.
He took a breath and looked up at his friend, who was adjusting his shirt indignantly. "If what you're saying is true, then she has lied from the very beginning. From the moment I thought my family was taken from me."
"You know how close she was with Kirk. He saved her ass during your trial. You can't doubt they made a deal."
Khan ground his teeth, his inner fire of rage being stoked with each word. He pictured Kirk sweet talking to her, making her promise not to say a word, telling her what Starfleet wanted her to do, promising her they'd help put her life back together. But that had all been before Owen had taken her. Still, he couldn't shake the bitterness that swept over him at the thought that she had deliberately kept this information from him about something she knew he treasured above everything else. He'd been so wrapped up in her that he'd barely given a thought to seeking revenge on Commander Spock for what he had done. He could have destroyed them all days ago had he not cared so much for this woman who had suddenly become nothing to him but a disgusting liar.
"And you believe she knows where they're being kept?" Khan said slowly after a moment.
Joaquin shrugged again, crossing his arms across his broad chest. "There's only one way to find out. Cecelia?"
"Wait." Khan glanced at them both. "Despite what she has done, she is still mine. You will not touch her. You will not harm her in any way. Once we have uncovered the truth, I will do with her as I see fit. Do we understand each other?"
Joaquin smirked again. "Perfectly."