Disclaimer: Star Trek is not mine. TOS belongs to Roddenberry, NuTrek belongs to Abrams.

A/N: According to the new movie, Cupcake's last name is Hendorff. But according to fandom before the movie, we called him Giotto after a TOS character from security. I'm going to keep calling him Giotto for continuity's sake. Just to make that clear. He's the beefy security guy that Kirk calls Cupcake in the first movie.

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Chapter 17: Trapped

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Kirk, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura awoke in the brig. Spock was tied up to a chair across the room. The Vulcan was struggling against his bonds but to no avail. Kirk regained consciousness first, and shook his other crewmembers awake.

"What happened?" Chekov asked.

"Ask him," said Sulu, pointing at Cochrane who was standing on the other side of the glass. He had eight of his Botany Bay crewmembers with him, all holding phasers.

"Let us out!" Uhura shouted, glaring at Khan.

"I'm afraid you will be having an extended stay," Khan said. "You might as well get comfortable."

"Cochrane, please, don't do this! Let me explain!" Kirk pleaded, but Khan ignored him.

"No, Kirk, you listen! You kept the knowledge of my true self from me and from my crew. I can no longer trust you or the decisions that you make. That is why I have made myself the new captain of the Enterprise."

"How did you get past the security overrides?" Kirk asked, if only to keep Khan talking.

"Me," said Giotto, coming into view. "I gave him my access code."

"Cupcake, you didn't!" Kirk groaned.

"I can assure you that I did." Giotto glared at Kirk, who just looked confused.

"Why?!" Kirk asked. "How could you betray Starfleet? How could you betray your crew? How could you betray me?"

"Mr. Khan and I have something in common. We were both scorned by the famous James Kirk. Well, Jim, it has come back to haunt you."

A memory surfaced in the corners of Kirk's mind. There was a bar fight in Riverside, the day that Pike had found him. He'd met Giotto and said something like "get some more guys and then it will be an even fight". Something to egg the man on. Then he had slapped his cheek and called him 'Cupcake', to annoy the guy. It had worked. Kirk had found himself in the middle of a bar brawl and he had loved every second of it, even though he'd lost the fight.

"I barely flirted with you when I was not even a cadet. Also, I was drunk out of my mind!" Kirk exclaimed. "I never led you on. Not really."

"You never would have had a chance, Giotto," said Khan. "Kirk only has eyes for Mr. Spock here."

"You're insane," said Kirk, shaking his head. Shit shit shit, Kirk thought desperately. How had Khan figured out that he wanted Spock more than anything he'd ever wanted in his life? "You're delusional, both of you."

"Are you telling me that if you had the chance, you would not fuck Mr. Spock tied up like this?" Khan asked, in a tone that one would use if talking about the weather.

"You take that back!" Kirk growled, his face flaming red. The worst part was that he'd thought about Spock tied up before, in a very different situation where he had Spock's consent. Of course, Khan was perverting everything about his feelings for Spock. "Say whatever the hell you want about me, but you will give my first officer the respect that he deserves."

"Captain, that is not necessary," Spock said quietly.

"Jim, calm down," Uhura urged him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Nyota wasn't stupid. She understood that based on his reaction to Khan's taunt, Kirk's interest in Spock wasn't purely professional. This confirmed her suspicions on why Kirk would stare at Spock when he thought the Vulcan wasn't looking. She wasn't thrilled about this fact, but she could certainly sympathize with Kirk. After all, she knew what it was like to love Spock.

Kirk nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Khan was too close to the truth, of Jim's true feelings for Spock that had burned practically since the day they'd met. What if Spock believed Khan? Then what would Kirk do? Would Spock ask for a transfer? Would he hate Kirk? What if he never spoke to Kirk again?

"Let's go, Mr. Spock," said Khan. You're coming with me." Using his phaser, he shot the binders off. Then he had one of his crewmembers fit Spock's wrists with metal handcuffs, the kind that wouldn't break even under Vulcan strength.

"Wait!" Kirk called. "Where are you taking him?"

"To the nearest Class M planet," Khan informed him. "I will leave him there, along with the rest of your pitiful crew."

"Dammit, Khan – don't do this! Take me instead!" Kirk pleaded. "I'll do anything you want if you just leave Mr. Spock out of it."

"Oh no, Kirk," said Khan, his silky voice dipping an octave. "I will own your Mr. Spock. Then you will know what it is to know heartbreak, as I did when I trusted you. I have Spock, and I have your ship – the two things which you cannot live without. Take him away!"

Two of Khan's minions grabbed Spock. "Jim! Do not give in to his demands!" Spock shouted as they dragged him out of the room.

"Let's go," Khan barked. He and his helpers vacated the room, leaving Kirk, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura behind glass. Sulu and Chekov sat near the back of the brig, holding hands and speaking in hushed tones. Kirk pounded his fist on the glass in frustration. Then he sank down into a sitting position and his shoulders began to shake.

"I'm sorry, Nyota," Kirk whispered. "About Spock."

"Don't worry about that now," Uhura soothed.

"I didn't mean to. It just happened," said Kirk. "Do you hate me?"

"Look at me, Jim. Do I look angry?" Uhura radiated a sense of calm. Her expression was one of empathy and compassion.

"No," said Kirk, surprised. "Wow, thanks."

"Right now, I want to get out of the brig just the same as you," said Uhura. "I'll deal with my feelings about you and Spock later. I know we can get out of here."

Kirk nodded, pulling his captain face back on. "Then let's get to work."

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Meanwhile

Khan had re-grouped with Alice in Conference Room A. Engineering was under their control, as was the bridge. Joachim had called in and asked for more time to secure Sickbay, which Khan of course granted. Even the best laid plans had little hiccups. He was not concerned with this one.

"Have you located a suitable Class M planet on which we could live?" Alice asked.

"I have," said Khan, unable to keep the smugness out of his deep voice. "At warp eight, we will reach the planet in a few hours."

"But we don't know hardly anything about this planet other than the air is breathable!" Alice cried. "There could be large carnivorous creatures just waiting to eat us. There could be sentient poisonous plants. There could be-"

"Calm yourself, Alice. We aren't going to live there," Khan cut in. "Instead, we will keep the starship and beam the members of the Enterprise crew down to the planet."

"And do what with the starship?" Alice asked.

"Why, whatever we want!" Khan said with a small grin. "All we have to do is disable the tracking device and Starfleet will never have a chance at finding us."

"That's some plan," Alice said weakly. She never should have gone along with him. Khan was clearly power-hungry and delusional. Who knows what he would do if he were given command of a Federation starship? He could practically destroy a planet with the torpedoes that the ship carried. He could destroy them all if he wasn't careful.

"It's a perfect plan," Khan said seriously. "But I'm going to need you to help me carry it out. Will you do that for me?"

"Of course," she fibbed.

"I knew I could count on you," he said with a slow, blinding smile.

She had to break the bridge crew out of the brig. If she could just get to Captain Kirk, she was certain he could come up with a plan that would stop Khan. She just hoped that she wasn't too late.

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Unbeknownst to Khan, a group consisting of five Enterprise security people, three engineers and Chief Engineer Scott was making their way towards the brig. They had narrowly escaped detection from Khan's forces, thanks to Scotty's quick thinking. After crawling through the Jeffries tubes, they finally reached the exit nearest the brig. Scotty jumped out, ran to the nearest terminal and typed in the code to open the brig. The door opened with a hiss.

Kirk, Uhura, Chekov, and Sulu all just stared at him with shock and amazement.

"What are you all standin' around for? Don't you know a jailbreak when you see one?" Scotty cried.

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End Chapter 17

A/N: Questions, comments, concerns? Let me know!