Down The Rabbit Hole
Warnings: Some bad language.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Cassia stirred, sunk deep in warmth, as she frowned against the headache forming behind her temples. Delicious memories washed across her mind, and she shivered, reaching across for Khan, but her hand met empty, cold bed linen. What?
She opened her eyes, the red bedcovers of her bed in San Francisco sliding down her naked shoulder. She sat upright, eyes blinking against the sunlight as the blinds automatically retracted.
How…? Her thought trailed off as she closed her eyes, a silent snarl turning her features almost bestial for a moment. Khan. The bloody bastard had beamed her back while she was sleeping. Why?
She was going to kill him when she caught up with him again. But how to do so? Qo'noS was the one place in the galaxy Starfleet could not go, and somehow with the no doubt raised security, she doubted she would make it out of the solar system, and there was Marcus to consider.
Rage boiled deep within Cassia, cold and harsh, and the need for vengeance welled up inside of her. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm. Blind emotion wouldn't help her in this instance.
I'm starting to sound like a bloody Vulcan!
With a determined nod to herself, she flung the covers of her bed back and slipped her legs out of bed, noting her complete nudity. What, couldn't find the time to at least put some clothes on me, lover? She thought sardonically. How he had managed to get the jump on her without her waking up, she didn't know. She paused for a moment, testing herself, and was pleased to feel the increased strength in her muscles, the sensitivity of her eyes, ears and skin. Her full strength was returning.
Her memory, however, was still flawed. Dark gaps lingered, and she cursed Marcus under her breath again for doing this to her. She cursed Khan for sending her back to the one place she didn't want to be as well. With a snarl, she grabbed a PADD on her bedside table and flung it against the opposite wall, embedding it deep into the plaster. She stopped, breathing hard with rage and betrayal, as snatches of memory washed through her.
Hands around her arms…hauling her away…Khan's voice calling her name, his tone steeped in agony and rage…self-satisfied blue eyes in an aged face watching her dispassionately… "Sedate her…"
"Cassia…"
Her eyes flew open, and she whirled around, forgetting her nakedness, to see the familiar features of her lover filling the view screen of her personal workstation. "Khan," she growled. "You are in some deep trouble right now. Why did you send me back?"
"Cassia," he began soothingly, but it just annoyed her even more, as she folded her arms and glared at him. "It was necessary. Marcus will no doubt be sending one of his pets after me to exact revenge, and while my blood is working to reawaken your superior DNA, you are still volatile and your abilities not yet fully returned. I need you safe."
"Safe being sending me back to a planet inhabited by a man who knows of my connection to you and is probably sending agents after me already?" she replied sarcastically. "I think 300 years on ice has fried your brain."
"Oh, I've forgotten what a fire spirit you are when you're angered," he chuckled, sinfully dark as she glared at him, refusing to react despite the shivers running down her spine. "Believe me, love, it was not an easy decision to make."
"Nice try, 'love', but the smooth talk isn't working. Enjoying the view, are we?" she asked, as his eyes swept down her body and back up to her eyes, with a dark, unrepentant smirk. "Pity I'm not there for you to do anything about it."
"Yes, pity," he replied, huskily and she rolled her eyes even as his tone sent shudders rippling down her spine. She reached for a robe and belted it tightly, glaring at the screen pointedly. He sighed. "You are perfectly safe, Cassia. Your return has not been detected and Marcus believes you are with me, a fact he will not be sharing with anyone he sends after me. If you lay low, you will be able to escape detection until I can come for you. Rest assured, my love, I will come for you," he finished earnestly.
She watched him, her mind racing, before she sighed in a show of despondency. "Alright then. You're right, my abilities are still intermittent and I am not returned to full strength. But I am not happy about this, Khan. There is still so much that's unclear in my head, and I need you with me," she breathed, reluctantly. The hard planes of his face softened and he smiled at her tenderly.
"Soon, my love," he told her softly. "As soon as we are rid of Admiral Marcus, we will be together again. Be patient."
"Aren't I always?" she joked weakly, and he chuckled.
"Never. Stay safe, Cassia," he replied, and she arched an eyebrow as he sighed exasperatedly.
"I think you've forgotten who you're talking to, love. And the same goes for you," she retorted, as he nodded, and the screen went blank, Khan's face substituted to the Starfleet insignia. A poor exchange, in Cassia's opinion. A slow, sly smile spread across her lips, as she stood. "See you soon, lover," she whispered, turning away to shower and dress as quickly as possible.
She had no intention of staying on Earth.
With the technical knowledge from her Starfleet training and the memories coming back to her, it had been child's play, both to forge transfer orders and to dupe the Security sensors into believing she was someone else, to evade Marcus's clutches. After dressing, she had managed to hack into Starfleet data banks, and found the casualty list of those killed at the briefing. If she knew Marcus, he wouldn't hesitate to use another to get to Khan and start a war with the Klingons he already thought inevitable. She guessed it would most likely be the U.S.S Enterprise, considering she was the fastest, largest and newest of the ships in the region, and her newly reinstated Captain now had a score to settle with her lover. James T. Kirk.
The gold command dress she wore beneath her shuttle uniform felt too familiar, as she forced back a shudder of revulsion as the humans scurried past her. All that time, she had been duped into thinking she was one of them, and all the time, the signs had been there. The memory loss, the psyche evaluations, the feeling that she simply didn't belong. Subconsciously, she had always known.
As she entered the main hangar bay, she spotted Kirk, Spock and another man, dark-haired and ruffled-looking, with the constantly pinched look of the overworked and over harried. He was darting around Kirk with a medical case, and she nodded to herself. Doctor Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, chief medical officer aboard the Enterprise.
"Captain Kirk!" she called, hurrying across, clutching her bag and fake transfer orders. The tall blonde turned, and gone was the flirtatious, boyish grin. Now he looked haunted and wan. She almost felt pity for him, were it not for what she had suffered at Starfleet's hands.
"Commander Mason!" he inclined. "What can I do for you?"
"Transfer orders from Admiral Marcus," she said, presenting the data screen to him, as he glanced over it. "As an observer, of course. I have some knowledge of Qo'noS and information on the fugitive which might prove useful."
"You know Harrison?" Kirk glanced up, suspicious and she shrugged.
"I have worked with him before, as colleagues," she explained. Lies that were half-truths were always the easiest to tell. Spock eyed her intently, his cool Vulcan gaze making her uneasy, but she ignored him, focussing on Kirk. "Please, Captain. You were not the only one to lose a commanding officer and a friend to that bastard."
Again, half a truth. Tregannan had been the closest thing she had to a friend onboard the Hotspur, and she mourned his death, even as she felt anger at Khan for his actions. Her mind was still adjusting to the extra data that was suddenly a part of it, and her emotions were flaring wildly. She only hoped she could retain control.
Kirk met her gaze, considering, and she reflected how open and easy his gaze was to read. He would never have survived in the wars Cassia had fought in, with his easygoing manner and guileless mind. She could practically see the moment he accepted the transfer order, and he nodded once. "Ok, Commander. Welcome aboard," he gestured for her to go ahead of him onto the shuttle craft, and she nodded her thanks.
She knew the Vulcan was suspicious of her, and of the pretty little blonde weapons expert who had transferred aboard the Enterprise too. She wasn't surprised when he cornered her in the turbolift on the way up to the bridge, just as they were twenty minutes out from Qo'noS.
They stood in silence for a few moments, until Cassia finally turned to face him. "Something is clearly on your mind, Commander Spock, so let's have it out, shall we?" she asked, as Spock turned to face her, his gaze cool and blank. For being half-human, he was damn good.
"Despite the authenticity of your transfer orders and I believe a sincere anger over your commanding officer's death, I sense that somehow your motives for accompanying us are not what they appear," he replied.
"Blunt, but effective," she inclined her head. "What are my motives, then?"
"There are, no doubt, several possibilities considering what we now know of John Harrison's identity and your own association with him," he continued, watching her carefully, waiting for her to react. She just smiled blandly as the turbolift opened.
"I assure you Commander Spock, there is nothing more I want in this galaxy than to find Harrison and give him what he deserves," she told him coolly, before turning away and walking onto the bridge, feeling his gaze on her back with every step but she refused to react.
Khan would get what he deserved all right, after she was finished strangling him for his presumption in sending her back to Earth. Besides, she still had questions and only Khan held the answers.
Like what had happened to the other 72 Augments who were aboard the Botany Bay. Jason, Aeryn, Cal, John, Lyra, Simon, Arya and the others, were they still alive? Or were Khan and Cassia the last two of their people left?
She was not surprised when Kirk changed his mind to capture, rather than execute, Khan. For all his bravado and thirst for vengeance, she could see he had a weakness for doing what was right, and murdering a man without trial, regardless of his crimes, was something he had been brought up to abhor. She could respect that, and she had every intention of using it to her advantage.
As Kirk left his chair, she stepped forward. "Captain, allow me to volunteer for the away team. I have knowledge of the region we are about to fly through and my combat skills are above average," she quickly stated, as he eyed her cautiously, in her golden command uniform. Spock stood behind him, and she could see the spark of suspicion in his dark, alien eyes.
"Permission granted. Change into civilian clothing and meet us in the shuttle bay," he told her shortly, as she nodded and turned about. She could only imagine the argument over her that was about to ensue between Kirk and his first officer. The thought made her smirk to herself, as she stepped inside the turbolift, followed by Lieutenant Uhura.
"I was sorry to hear about Captain Tregannan," the dark-skinned Communications officer murmured, and Cassia smiled wanly.
"Thank you," she breathed. Silence fell once more, and she felt ridiculously uncomfortable. "I heard you can speak Klingon?"
"Yes, three dialects of it," the Lieutenant said with just a hint of pride. Cassia was faintly impressed. Languages were not something she had learned much of, in either lives. "Hopefully, I won't need it."
"Hopefully. Harrison won't go down without a fight," Cassia felt somehow compelled to warn her, as she glanced at the other in surprise.
"I know that," she replied quietly. "But Kirk lost someone who was almost a father to him that night. Vengeance driven by love can be a powerful thing. Pike was a good man."
Cassia had heard tell of the respected Admiral enough times to realise that. "Yes, he was. They all were," she breathed, almost to herself. Except for Marcus. Anger rippled inside of her again, and she was relieved to leave the turbolift with a nod to Uhura. She watched her with a strange look in her eyes, one Cassia was not sure she liked, but it was too late to stop her now. For all her sympathy for the Enterprise crew, after her time among them, her loyalties lay with Khan and her people. She had to remember that, and not let the confusion of her false human life cloud her judgement.
She gladly swapped her impractical Starfleet uniform dress was leather trousers, calf-length boots, a fitted tank top and a leather flak jacket, untying her hair until it fell in a loose ponytail down her back. Making sure she had no trace of a Starfleet insignia on her person, she glanced outside her quarters' windows to the planet a few thousand kilometres away, dark and grim in the weak sunlight from its star. Qo'noS.
Her communicator chirped, as she flicked it open. "Mason."
Are you ready, Commander? Kirk's voice came over the line, and she rolled her eyes at the impatience there. Meet us in the shuttle bay, immediately.
"Affirmative, Captain," she muttered, shutting off the communication and tucking it into the waistband of her trousers. She took one last look at the planet, her eyes drifting to the very region they would soon be searching through, and took a deep breath. "I'm coming, my love," she whispered, with a smirk. "Ready or not."
To be continued...