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 the next chapter. Enjoy, and please don't forget to review. Thank you!

Chapter 6: Escape:

As Khan began taking away my daily activities, I began to have more and more time on my hands.

And with more time on my hands, I was able to further my efforts in planning my escape.

My hand-drawn maps of the interior of the ship were finished, and I spent hours every day pouring over them, trying to plot a way out. Thanks to the mysterious Miranda, I had consulted my map, and found that the crawl space behind my wall led to a series of main tubes that ran throughout the ship. This included the shuttle bay, the transporters, and the escape pods.

That solved one of my problems. However, another one remained: how to escape while avoiding encounters with the crew.

The fact that Miranda had found me out had been terrifying. After she'd gone, I had spent days wondering if she was going to go to Khan and tell him that I was planning to escape. When no armed escort came to arrest me, I let myself relax just enough to let my brain go back to functioning properly.

I then realized that the only way Miranda could have discovered my efforts was because of my own stupidity –I had accessed the ship's database, and she had found out about it.

I honestly had not expected this. In my mind, I had thought Khan's people to be even further behind in learning modern technology than I was. I had been out in the world longer, after all, and even though I was no computer genius, I had been taught by Starfleet educators on how to use the ship's computers.

My arrogance was, in the end, my undoing –I should have known that, with their superior brains, Khan's people would have been able to absorb things a lot faster than I ever could. No wonder Miranda had been able to follow my computer trail and find out what I'd been up to.

Before that encounter with Miranda, I had thought about getting access to the crew's work schedules –that obviously wasn't possible now. I might try and conceal my trail again, but Miranda was probably keeping a close eye on the computer systems.

No, I had to think of another way to get free. It would take time, and with a baby growing inside me, that was one thing I didn't have.

Weeks passed, and still, nothing came to me. As my pregnancy began to become more noticeable, I decided to act and made a choice: I needed to get away, before I was too far along. I had to escape while it was still safe for me to fight and not risk hurting the baby.

Retrieving the communication device Miranda had given me, I flipped it open –then hesitated.

What would happen after I contacted her? Would I be put into cuffs mere minutes after calling? The thought of what Khan might do to traitors made me shudder in horror.

But what choice did I have? I couldn't stay here; it would slowly kill me inside to be part of this group of killers and soldiers.

Taking a deep breath, I pressed the call button.

"You've done the right thing, Ria," Miranda softly told me. "I know you think that I'll turn you over to Khan, but I won't. I just want you off this ship. If you leave, you show Khan that you don't want to be here, and he'll learn to hate you, which is what we want."

I stared at her. "Why would we want him to hate me?" I asked doubtfully. "It seems like getting on his bad side would be a very stupid idea."

Miranda shook her head. "Ever since the day Khan told us about you, many of the crewmembers believe that you're making him weak. We can't afford that. The general consensus is that you, and your child, have to be eliminated, so that Khan will turn back to the strong, focused man he was. Without you, he'd choose another woman, one of his own to help lead us to our future.

"However, some of us feel that if you're killed, Khan's anger will be focused on us. So, rather than have him turn on his own people, we think you should escape. Once you're gone, he'll come to his senses, and things will turn out for the best."

I looked at my hands, which were folded in my lap. "So, what happens? I can't go out my door, that's for sure. I'd thought about the tubes that run through the ship, but the problem is that I never know if I'm going to run into someone in there. What does that leave me?"

Miranda looked at me as though I were the biggest idiot in the galaxy. "With me on your side, and my team acting on my orders, you've got the entire ship at your disposal. We've already considered the various means to get you out, and decided on a little of everything."

"Everything?" I asked, confused.

She nodded. "Transporters, escape pods, anything else we want. I'm head of engineering, and I not only have access to the ship's computer, I've also got a select group of those I can trust with anything and everything."

Well, that was helpful. "So, what's the plan? I assume you've got one, because I don't."

Sure enough, a grin spread across Miranda's face. "First, you'll need to make a recording for Khan, telling him that you're leaving and that if he comes after you, he'll regret it. He needs to know that you'll never let him have your baby, and that you'd rather risk dying in space than turn the child over to his care. He has to know that you hate him more than anything and would rather die than be with him."

"Will he buy that?" I asked, doubtfully. "I mean, would that really stop him from coming after me, once he knows I'm gone?"

"It probably won't stop him, no," Miranda confirmed, "but it'll at least make him pause and think, which will only buy you time. Once the seed of doubt is planted, it only needs a bit of encouragement to grow. The rest of the crew will simply nurse his anger towards you, even though it'll take time to get him to put all thoughts of you aside."

Khan didn't seem like the type to give up easily, but with his entire crew working towards the same end, I was pretty sure he would do just as Miranda said. It would only take time for Khan to hate me and decide to make another woman his "right hand."

"After I record the message, then what?"

"We'll beam you to an area near the escape pods, put you in a death-like coma, then set you on a course for Federation space. That way, you won't use much oxygen, and the basic life scans won't detect you."

Her blunt and quick description of the plan took me aback. I knew there would have to be a hell of a lot more to it than what she'd just said, but once I thought about it a little bit, it did look promising. Alone, I'd have never been able to get any of this planned, much less carry it out.

Of course, I didn't fully trust her. That's why I had one request –and it was probably something she expected. "I would like a weapon, in case I end up somewhere that I need to defend myself."

Miranda gave me a look that was half annoyance, half good humor. "I thought you might ask that –and it is a very reasonable request. Actually, it's one that we would be willing to grant."

I stared at her in surprise as she continued. "I will put together a pack of basic supplies, in case your escape pod accidentally crash-lands on a planet, and you need to survive. I'm going to switch off the distress signal, but you can turn it back on once you're safely away and the coma wears off."

She gave me a steady look, grey eyes focused on my face as she studied me. "Any questions?" she asked.

Actually, I did have one. "How are we going to pull this off behind Khan's back? There must be people who will be watching the computer systems –they'll see that the transporters will be activated, and others will notice you programming the escape pod. Not to mention how you're going to get a sedative for me from sickbay, or the fact that the people at the helm will detect the pod leaving and traveling through space."

Respect glinted in grey orbs. "I know people," she said. "I'll make sure to have one of them at the transporters, and have one of them make a drug for you –he used to do that in the old days, before we woke up here. My own engineers will work on the escape pod –they will make it look as though a computer malfunction released it, and they'll make sure that the people at the sensors won't see or detect you inside it.

"We'll also make sure to leave a subtle trail back to your data pad, to make it look like you managed to pull the whole think off on your own. That way, you get all the credit for the escape and Khan won't go looking for traitors amongst the crew."

That sounded good to me. "Do you know where I'll end up?"

She shrugged. "We'll set a course in the pod for Federation space, maybe even for Earth. Once you're awake, you can figure it out from there."

A knowing look crept onto her face. "If you're thinking of heading for the Enterprise, they're a good distance away. But I can have the distress signal directed at them when it's back online, so that they're the ones who pick you up. I think you'll like that."

Yes, I very much would, and told her so. "I just wish I knew how to thank you for all this," I said, hinting slightly. "You must want something in return for all your help."

Miranda only shook her head. "As long as you get away from here, that's all the thanks I need. No offense; you seem like a nice person, but niceties aren't what we need. We need you gone, and if we can succeed in doing that, we'll be even all around."

"Fair enough," I said with a nod. "Okay, let's get to work, then."

As it turned out, getting everything ready took quite a bit longer than I expected.

It didn't have to do with the technological part -Miranda's people were wizards at absorbing new technology, and they had most of that aspect of my escape done within a couple days. A false trail back to my data pad had been created and hidden within the ship's computer system, where only Miranda's people could find and activate it.

Meanwhile, the roster for the transporters was going to be adjusted by Miranda herself, to make sure one of her people was manning it on the day that I made my break for it. Another one of Miranda's friends had already concocted the sedative that would be used on me, one that was effective, but still safe for the baby, and would wear off in a few days. As for the bridge: by actual chance, some of Miranda's people were going to be on duty at the sensors over the next week or two, so there was a bit of extra relief for us.

Those, however, had been the easier parts of the plan. The main element, the escape pod itself, was another story altogether.

Hotwiring the thing was going to be a touch more complicated than Miranda had predicted. It was a rather complicated piece of machinery, so they had to carefully look over the blueprints of the original machine, then discuss how the necessary adjustments could be made, before actually doing them. They also had to make sure that the pod's engine signature was hidden, so that it couldn't be tracked.

In the end, they didn't get to work on the pod itself until four days after my chat with Miranda, and after that came the tricky part: working on the damned thing in secret.

To keep from getting caught, Miranda and her people had to wait until "lights out," when most of the crew was asleep, and only the most basic skeleton crew was kept on watch. Even though they could work twice as efficiently as the normal human being, getting around not only the pod's systems, but also the starship's, was difficult and time-consuming.

Thanks to nightly visits from Miranda, I was kept up-to-date. As things progressed, she began calculating when I would leave, and about a week after I'd first heard her idea, she told me that within the next seven to ten days, things would be ready.

Needless to say, I found it very frustrating to pace around my rooms and wait as they worked, but what could I do? It was quite literally rocket and computer science that they were doing, as well as a bit of modern hot-wiring, none of which were that easy to do in the first place.

While Miranda and her people worked on their end of the bargain, I had to pretend nothing was wrong, and go about my days as usual. I went to sickbay for my checkups, which were becoming more frequent the further along in my pregnancy I got, and spent the rest of my day in my quarters, with only a brief hour or so in the training area for a bit of exercise as my taste of freedom for the day.

That exercise session was a new idea of Doctor Richards's, and I welcomed the distraction it provided. I was allowed to take a nice long walk around the room, perform a few yoga-like stretches, and some breathing exercises, to try and maintain an air of calm, even though I was nervous wreck on the inside.

A new and rather disturbing addition to my day was that I was now forced to spend another hour or two every evening with Khan. This extra time only annoyed me further, particularly because it was during this time that Khan spent time telling me how the baby was going to be raised, as well as what part he had in store for me after he was born.

The more I heard about my son's possible future under Khan, the more I began to silently pray for Miranda to hurry. I did not want my son learning to fight and kill people before he was ten-years-old, nor did I want him to sit and listen to battle tactics, war history, and how it was best that he keep a firm, unyielding grip on those he ruled over.

In a small twist, Khan also wanted me to make sure that, "The boy grows up with an education in diplomacy, as well as a grasp on how to interact well with other races, so that he can get what he wants and needs, without alarming those he encounters."

So, he wanted a sociopath who knew not only how to talk others into giving him what he wanted, but also how to strangle it out of those who opposed him. Lovely.

It was thanks to Khan's descriptions that I was able to let feelings of anger, hatred, fear, and determination boil up inside me. I was able to pour all of those negative emotions into the video recording that Miranda told me to make, and if Khan didn't believe for one second that I would rather face the dangers of space than be with him, he was an idiot.

Then, finally, just as I was about to punch a hole in the wall in frustration, Miranda came to give me the news I'd been hoping for: it was time for me to go.

Miranda was quite proud of what she and her people had accomplished. After weeks of hard work, things were firmly in place, and it was finally time to carry it all out.

At the designated time, Morris, who had been set up in the transporter room, beamed the girl strait to the area where the specialized escape pod was situated. Green was up on the bridge, keeping one eye on Khan and another eye on the sensors, ready to lead everyone off their trail if something unexpected popped up.

Focused on the most challenging parts of all this was Carlson, who sat at a computer console in Engineering, waiting to activate the false computer trail they had concocted, which would lead everyone to Miss Drake's data pad. He would also work to hide the fact that the transporters had been activated, and make sure that it looked as though the pod had malfunctioned and activated on its own.

Ferguson, meanwhile, stood guard in the hallway, keeping an eye out for anyone who might accidentally stumble upon them. Miranda had specifically chosen this area, as it was one of the least active parts of the ship –other than the escape pods, this particular location was void of any systems that Khan and the crew deemed important. Since it was viewed as insignificant, few wandered here, except to get from one area to another –and given that it was near midnight, few would be awake.

Although Miranda would have liked Ferguson in Engineering, his muscled form would serve them better here –and if necessary, his brain would be able to help with any technical emergencies that might pop up.

Once the teleportation was complete, Miranda indicated the need for quiet, and gently grabbed Miss Drake by the arm, leading her to the escape pod. The pod was large enough for at least four or five people to sit comfortably, with a bit of floor space to move about. Inside lay a bed that had been folded out from the wall, which Miranda had made up for Ria to lie comfortably on.

Secured to the wall beside the bed was a small container. This was filled with emergency rations, a phaser, a knife, some clothing, and an emergency communication device. It wasn't much, but if she landed on a planet, it would hopefully be enough to allow her to survive for a week or so, until help arrived.

Looking at Ria, Miranda saw that she had a paper book of some kind under her arm, which she quickly put in her container of supplies. She had no idea where it had come from or why the book seemed to mean so much, but at least the paper would come in handy, if she had to light a fire.

Nodding towards the bed, Miranda gently urged Ria to lie down, and showed her the hypo-spray with the sedative. Ria looked at her with a bit of doubt, but allowed the drug to be administered. In seconds, she was out, and after Miranda secured her to the bed, she sealed the pod.

"Good luck," she whispered before starting the launch sequence.

"Sir, an escape pod has just launched from the ship," Green said suddenly, effectively getting Khan's attention. "It looks like a malfunction of some kind."

That was nothing new. With the ship still in a constant state of repair after it was decommissioned, and with all sorts of parts missing, things were breaking or malfunctioning constantly. However, it had been a while since this big had happened.

"Should we try and retrieve it, sir?" Green asked, eyes focused on the console in front of him, though his ears were ready to receive Khan's orders.

"Life signs?" Khan demanded, sitting up in his command chair. "Check and see if all crew members are accounted for."

Green's fingers flew over the console. "No life signs; all crew members accounted for."

Khan thought for a moment. "It is only one pod, and we have more than enough to hold all of us in an emergency. If this one malfunctioned, it might be defective, and if we should have to evacuate, I won't put any of our people at risk by forcing them to use it. Let it go."

Green nodded. "Yes, sir."

The rest of his watch passed quietly. Khan managed to force himself through several reports he'd been given through the day, and considered it a triumph that he hadn't broken the data pad with his boredom and frustration at the tediousness of it all.

When the computer chimed the end of his shift to him, it came as an immense relief. "I'm releasing the bridge to Isaacs," he declared, pressing a button on his console.

A moment later, his chief engineer arrived, still yawning from his interrupted sleep. "Have a good rest, sir," he said respectfully as Khan departed the bridge.

Back in his own quarters, Khan prepared himself for a long rest. He was just settling into his bed when his console blinked on.

The message that played there caused him to let out such a furious roar that it was heard several floors away.

AN: So, what will happen to Ria now? Guess everyone will have to wait until next time! Please be kind and review. Thanks!