Disclaimer: I own nothing Star Trek-related…though I might consider the idea of beaming Kirk, Spock, Khan, and the actors who play them to my house, once I manage to construct my own transporter. Until then, nothing is mine except original characters.
AN: Here's another chapter! I was going to post earlier, but bad weather made getting online spotty, at best; nothing like working hard on a chapter, only to lose it while trying to post it! Anyway, here it is. Many thanks so much to those who like this story already! Enjoy, and please don't forget to review.
Chapter 2: A Human Lab Experiment:
"Now, hold still," Doctor Richards told me as he put the hypo-spray to my arm.
He shouldn't have bothered -after a week of having his serum pumped into me, I knew the drill: lie still, let him put his experimental liquid in me, and wait to see the results. It happened several times a day, every day, whether I liked it or not.
Four days after Khan had given me the lovely news about my being 'integrated' into the crew, he himself came to tell me that I was to report to sickbay the next morning.
Sure enough, the very next day, my security detail practically marched me down to sickbay, where I was greeted by the ship's physician. He was a tall man, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes set in an expressionless face; in the black uniform preferred by Khan and his crew, seemed more like an Angel of Death than a doctor.
When I entered, it was like a scene from a horror movie: there the doctor was, standing beside a table with restraints on them. And just like one of those films, I heard the door close behind me, right before two sets of hands latched onto me.
Before I could even scream, I'd found myself strapped to the table, with a hypo-spray aimed right at the vein in my left arm. "Wait, what is that?" I demanded as the doctor injected the contents into me.
"None of your concern," he replied, handing the empty injector to an assistant.
"It is if what you're using ends up killing me," I snapped. "Now let me go and tell me what the hell you put into my body!"
For a minute, I thought one of the guards (or the doctor himself) was going to shoot me for being impertinent. Then, the doctor smiled. "So, the little kitten has claws. Well, that's good –it'll only make things a bit easier."
I had no idea what he meant then, or what it did now. All I knew was that he let me up, and sent me back to my room, guards in tow. Locked back inside my quarters, I saw that there was, surprisingly, a data pad waiting, with a bunch of reading material and puzzle games downloaded onto it.
I had no idea why Khan had done this, and should have realized that there might be something going on with him turning "nice." But since I was dying to find something to do, I snatched the thing up and began going through it, reading through the texts that had been included, and playing the games.
Unfortunately, the injections didn't stop following that one little treatment.
Several hours after my first shot, the guards retrieved me again, hauling me to sickbay where the doctor pumped another dose into me. I'd fought, of course, but the strength of Khan's people was several times that of a normal human, which made it easy for them to hold me down while the doctor did his work. I was then taken back to my rooms, my mind filled with questions about why all of this was happening.
The next morning, I was taken for a third injection. This time, I promised that I wouldn't fight, if they told me what the hell was going on. The doctor looked as though he might laugh and wave my request aside, but something changed his mind. He probably thought it'd be better having a more cooperative patient, than a fighting and pissed-off one.
"These injections were ordered specifically for you, Miss Drake," he said, loading a hypo-spray with the mystery serum. "I doubt I need to tell you who commanded me to create and give them to you."
No, he didn't, but that still didn't answer my questions. "So, what is it? A virus, maybe, or something equally bad for me?"
The doctor and his nurse, a female with black hair and sparking gray eyes, actually laughed. "No," the nurse replied. "No, as far as we're concerned, this is most certainly not bad for you."
"It's actually quite good, if I do say so myself," the doctor declared, "Considering I made it."
"But what is it, and what is it supposed to do?" I loudly asked, my anger and frustration getting the better of me.
The doctor looked at me in surprise. "Why, it's supposed to make you one of us, of course."
I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. Khan wanted me for some reason, and from the vibes I'd been getting, his people didn't want me onboard. I guess his crew had a huge superiority complex and viewed me as a lower form of human that wasn't worthy of breathing the same air as them, much less share a space ship.
The serum was supposed to change all that.
I had no idea what it was specifically was supposed to do, but from what I could persuade Dr. Richards to tell me, one of its little perks was that it was going to enhance my immune system. According to him, not only would it be hard for me to get sick, but I'd recover from injuries faster than any normal human would.
"Not quite up to par with the rest of us, but close enough," the nurse had said, as the doctor administered an injection.
The doctor also informed me that serum was going to increase my physical strength as well. I wasn't sure by how much, but hopefully it'd be enough to give one of Khan's people a run for their money. If that was the case, at least I'd stand a chance if I was caught up in a fight –or when I tried to make my escape from this nightmare.
So far, I hadn't felt any different. I'd have thought that the results they were expecting would more immediate, but so far, nothing was happening. I didn't feel any more 'superior' than before –I hadn't developed anything remotely close to Superman-type strength, or an ego to match theirs. I had no way to tell if my immune system had improved, since no one onboard was sick, and there weren't any illnesses for them to use on me, thank goodness.
However, there were a few things that I considered to be "side-effects." The mixture he was using made me edgy and rather moody, both of which I could attribute to either my "monthly visitor," or my imprisonment and intense boredom. But there was something about that anxiousness that was different from mere boredom, though I had no idea what that was.
As my current dose pumped through my body, Dr. Richards looked at me closely. "How's your appetite? Have you been eating normally?" I nodded. "Good. If your food intake changes in anyway, let me know immediately."
Again, I nodded. Seeing that he'd have to really press for answers, Dr. Richards focused his eyes on mine. "Have you been playing the games included on the data pad in your quarters?" he demanded, sounding very like a general interrogating a new recruit.
That was a question I hadn't been expecting. I had known that there was a motive to being provided with the data pad, but until now, I hadn't thought it was linked to my being turned into a human guinea pig.
For a moment, I considered not answering the question, but seeing how serious the doctor looked, I knew I'd better. "Yes, I have," I admitted. It was, after all, the only way for me to pass the time, short of banging my head against the wall.
"Good," he commented, looking as though he were taking notes inside his head. "And has your score on those games been steadily improving?"
I had to admit, they had. I was usually not very good in general at puzzle games, but in the past week, my scores and abilities to beat the challenges had gotten much better. I'd thought it was just my playing them nonstop, but from the way he was questioning me, it was obvious why this was.
"The serum is making me smarter, too?" I asked, amazed. Could the serum really do that? If so, I could only imagine what Starfleet (and its enemies) could do with this kind of stuff.
The men who were my guards exchanged doubtful looks while Dr. Richards smirked arrogantly. "Again, not quite on par with ours, but it will be significantly higher than the average human. We'll have to wait and see how far that goes, and in a few days, we'll test your physical strength and endurance." He grinned nastily. "The Commander is especially looking forward to being the one to test you in that aspect."
Just thinking about going up against Khan himself was enough to make me feel ill. My thoughts must have shown on my face, because the others laughed cruelly as the straps holding me down were released. My guards pulled me to my feet, and as their grip on me loosened, I noticed that the marks that had appeared after their first rough handling of me had faded dramatically –in fact, I could barely make them out.
'Looks like that special healing factor has kicked in,' I bitterly thought as I was led to my room, my head spinning from the new information I had learned.
Three days later, I looked at my hand and stared. The pain barely registered, though the blood coating it certainly had my attention. The guard on the sickbay bed was cursing loudly as Dr. Richards saw to his broken nose, his eyes filled with a mix of anger, hate, and, most surprisingly of all, a grudging respect as he glared at me.
"Impressive," Khan said, looking at me before focusing on his wounded man. "But sloppy on your part, Chan. Also careless –and you know how I feel about carelessness."
The man, Chan, looked at his commander, a glint of fear and unease forming in his black eyes. "Yes, sir," he replied, getting to his feet at the doctor's prompting, all while wiping the drying blood from his nose. "It won't happen again, sir."
Khan's icy gaze froze the man where he stood. "No, it won't, will it? And to make sure it doesn't, I'm moving you to repair duty. You'll be at Isaacs and Miranda's beck-and-call for the next week, as well as performing your usual scheduled duties. Is that understood?"
Chan immediately stood at attention and nodded. "Yes, sir. Permission to report to engineering?"
Khan nodded. Chan saluted, turned and left, though not before casting one last glare in my direction. Once he was gone, Khan turned his attention towards me. "Well, now; that was most interesting. Richards, I believe your work is going as expected."
I didn't hear what he was saying –my mind was elsewhere.
It wasn't right, what had happened. I hadn't even known my guard's name until now –the man had treated me like crap since the beginning, and except for Dr. Richards, no one had given me their name. My guard, Chan, had come for me every day, gripping me hard by the arm and dragging me to the doctor whenever I hesitated more than a few seconds. Normally, I went without question, since I knew his grip produced bruises.
Today had been different. The uneasiness inside had been building up, and today, I'd actually been happy to get out of my cage, so I'd obediently followed Chan to sickbay without incident.
Unfortunately, Khan was there, arms crossed and seemingly expectant of something important. This unexpected turn of events had caused me, in my surprise, to hesitate in the doorway. Those few seconds of hesitation had caused Chan to reach out and grab both my arms, probably in anticipation of a struggle on my part.
The instant his hands grabbed me, something inside snapped; the feelings of isolation, anger, fear, and impatience had decided to all come out at once. Faster than I thought possible, I'd slipped out of Chan's grip and whirled around to land a fist in his face, my knuckles crushing his nose. That was how we came to where we were now.
"Come here, Miss Drake," Dr. Richards ordered, gesturing towards the bed. "Now that my other patient's been seen to, let's see if that hand of yours is broken or not."
I took a seat as he performed a brief scan of my fist. "Hmm; nothing's broken," he muttered over the scan image. "You'll be sore for the rest of the day, but with your new healing abilities, you'll be fine by tomorrow."
"What about her daily doses?" Khan inquired, studying me closely as the nurse came to wash my hand. "Where does that stand?"
"Those can be lessened starting today," Dr. Richards replied. "I believe we can go to twice a day, and once her changes become more obvious, it can go down to once every few days. We'll see how many aspects of our people's skills her body and mind can take on, and once I analyze the data, I'll stop the dosage completely."
I hated it when people talked about me while I was sitting there, but I didn't want to interrupt. So, rather than piss them off, I sat and listened, hoping to catch something useful.
"With the increase in her reflexes and emotional intensity, you'll have to find someone to train her in fighting techniques," Dr. Richards advised, looking from Khan to me and back again. "I know you said she was trained at that Academy, but she can't have learned much in so short a time. I suggest Miranda Isaacs; she's got a delicate touch when it comes to fighting. I know you want her in engineering, but this is important."
Khan clearly didn't like being told what to do, but his eyes were focused solely on me. I could see that he was thinking intensely about this. "No, I need Miranda in engineering. I will take on Miss Drake's training myself."
Fighting with Khan himself? And I'd thought my imprisonment couldn't get any worse.
It took everything I had not to vomit in fear, right then and there.
Block, punch, spin, kick, duck, lunge.
"Good," Khan complimented me, right before a fist came at my face. I jerked backwards, my torso bending back in a motion that would have made an Olympic gymnast green with envy. "Also good."
I knew better than to accept his compliments. Every time he made one, that only made the next attack more aggressive and intense, which meant I had to pay closer attention and keep my new, heightened senses on full alert. I'd learned this lesson the hard way, with bruises, sprains and even a few cracked ribs as punishment.
I never wanted the fight classes in the first place, but they got me out of my quarters for the afternoon, and that was somewhat of a necessity now. Throwing punches at Khan's arrogant face helped me get hold of the constant restlessness that was a side effect of the serum, a trait that seemed to be part of Khan's people. I guess it was sort of a controlled Berserker rage that had been bred into them, to keep them alert, and therefore alive, in extreme circumstances. Now it was part of me, and I had to find a way to let it out, at least until I learned to get used to it and get a firm grip on it.
So here I was, in an empty cargo bay, fighting with my captor. Even though I was getting the pulp kicked out of me, I knew that Khan was actually 'going easy' on me. Just the thought of him being even slightly gentle with me was weird enough –but what was really confusing was, if he thought I was in serious pain or had a bad injury, he'd pull back or even stop altogether, so that he could check if I was alright. If he thought I could work through the pain, he let me know, giving me only a few seconds to prepare before coming at me again -but if he thought I was genuinely hurt, it was off to sickbay, with Khan himself escorting me there, then back to my room after my treatment, so that I could rest for the night.
I had no idea why he was doing this, both to and for me. I very much doubted that he was interested in me in that way, but he didn't pay this kind of attention to the rest of the women onboard, and that certainly got me a lot of nasty looks in the corridors. I had the feeling that, if Khan weren't the one walking beside me, I'd have had some very bad encounters in the ship's corridors.
"You've done well," Khan commented, lowering his arms and motioning me to do the same. His retrieving our workout towels was his signal that we were done for the day. As soon as the cloth was in his hands, I slowly let my guard down and took one of the offered cloths. "Instead of going back to your quarters for the evening, you will clean yourself up and join me for dinner. I expect you to be there."
My jaw dropped. "What?" I blurted out as I looked at him in surprise.
His hand reached out and forced my mouth closed. "You will join me in my quarters for dinner after you have cleaned up," Khan repeated, eyes turning to blue ice. "Do not think that you can claim exhaustion, or any other excuse to not come."
Swallowing down my anger and unease, I nodded. My speed, agility, strength and fighting ability may have improved, but I was still no match for a one-on-one match with either Khan or his people.
Walking beside him, I entered my room, showered up, and looked through the limited clothing selection I had at my disposal. I'd been robbed of my blue Starfleet uniform after Dr. Richards had started giving me my injections –someone had swiped it while I slept, so I was forced to wear the basic black outfit favored by Khan and his crew.
When I was done, I was unsurprised to find Chan waiting outside my door, a deep scowl on his face. He still hadn't forgiven me for the broken nose, or his time as the engineering team's errand boy, but at least he'd stopped manhandling me. Seeing that I was ready, he wordlessly led me to Khan's quarters, then left me alone with the man himself.
Of course, Khan had overtaken the Captain's Quarters aboard the ship. They were larger than the standard living quarters, and had more rooms, probably the better to hold private meetings with senior crewmembers. The furniture was standard issue, and sparse –there was no warmth anywhere in this room, or in any other area of the ship, that I could see.
Again, I could see and sense the difference between the Enterprise and Khan's ship. The Enterprise had carried an atmosphere of warmth and camaraderie that mingled with the coldness of technology. On the Enterprise, people laughed, talked, joked, and enjoyed spending time with friends in their off-hours. Sometimes, I heard people humming as they worked, which only made things more fun and interesting. I missed that.
Here, everything was very utilitarian. While everyone worked well together, detecting some kind of affection between two people was nearly impossible –at least for me. There were no bouts of lighthearted teasing between crewmembers, or open flirtations being shared. I heard no music anywhere, and any laughter I heard was controlled and brief. The entire ship was depressing and eerie, to say the least.
In the darkness of Khan's dining area, there stood a table set with a simple meal and two flickering tea lights. Khan himself sat in the chair furthest from the door, eyes fixed on me as he offered the chair with a simple turn of his hand. "Please, sit."
It was more of a command than a request, but I didn't dare disobey. I took the offered chair, my body tense as I looked at the food on the table rather than the man across from me. Meat, potatoes, peas, and a basket of bread rolls –hearty stuff; good for people who worked hard and needed to refuel constantly. I was also surprised to see a bottle of wine, with two filled glasses on the table.
"Please eat," my host said, again in a tone that commanded rather than asked.
We ate and finished our meal in silence. Once the plates were cleaned, I sat back and waited, sipping my wine and wondering why I was here and what Khan had to say to me now.
Picking up his glass, Khan swirled the red liquid for a moment before taking a sip. "Ria, as you know, I intend for you to become a useful addition to my crew. I know that most, if not all of them, consider you inferior and unworthy of being one of us, which is why I ordered Dr. Richards to create the serum that currently flows in your veins."
'Yes, thanks so much for that bit of consideration.' I barely swallowed my mouthful of wine, the bitter thought twisting my insides.
"However, should they decide that things would be better without you, I do not think it will be enough to protect you," he continued, the threat he presented very thinly veiled. He gently set down his glass and reached out to clasp one of my hands in his. "Therefore, I think it might be wise for you to consider a permanent place very close to my side."
My mouth instantly went dry, the food in my stomach churning bitterly as I tried to sort through the suggestion he had just made. There were a few ways to interpret his words, but with the way he was holding my hand, I could only guess…
"As the woman who stands by my side, you would be protected, and in a significant position of power," he offered, his voice smooth, deep and tantalizing. "You would have the best of everything –after me, of course. Anything you suggest would come directly to my ears, and once you have been trained to your full potential, you could have the others at your feet, either by willing allegiance or by triumphing over them in hand-to-hand combat."
He paused. "It is an offer I have made to no other woman, not even in my own century." The hand on mine squeezed tightly for a moment before letting go. "I do hope you will consider it."
For some, this would have been a no-brainer: take the offer, and run with it. The offer of power and position would have been too much for them to resist, especially given the current situation. Others would have needed a little time to think about it, before taking what Khan had offered to them on a silver platter. A few would have given in out of fear and the need for self-preservation.
As for me, I refused to give in so quickly. I was not as fearful as I had been before receiving the serum –I now had a weapon in my arsenal that would prove useful in escaping this ship and getting back to the Enterprise. True, I now had a bit of an emotional problem, but I think Spock could help me out with that one –the Vulcan people were known for suppressing emotions, and since I felt that I could count on Spock as a friend, I believed that he would be willing to assist me with my issues.
Swallowing down the bile that was slowly creeping up my esophagus, I pushed down the feelings of panic and fear that had been building up. "I would like some time to carefully consider your offer," I diplomatically told him.
Khan's blue eyes studied me intensely for a moment, but in the end, he nodded. "Very well," he conceded. "But our lessons in combat continue as scheduled. I have also been provided with the scores you've received in your puzzle games, and I am impressed with the increase in your observational and strategic abilities. I will have Isaacs provide a few hundred more puzzles and bits of reading material for you to browse through."
Nodding, I took a quiet, deep breath to calm down. "Thank you. May I return to my quarters? I am rather tired."
He nodded his permission and pressed a button that appeared to be hidden beneath the table. "But do think about what I have said, Ria. I expect an answer in a relatively short amount of time."
"I will," I replied as Chan came through the door. "Good night."
Rather than flee blindingly through the corridors, I somehow managed to keep a steady pace on the way to my quarters. It was only once I was alone that I let myself break down and cry.
Looking at his wine glass, Khan felt himself smile in satisfaction.
His offer to Ria had been a good strategic one, but it was also a personal matter. He wanted her, not only as a means to save his people, but also to provide him with a constant presence that could satisfy him the way a woman compliments a man.
And he meant to have her, by any means necessary.
AN: Longer chapter this time. I hope everyone enjoyed, and will review? Thanks!