Chapter Two: Memories

Khan waited in the med-bay, carefully cuffed and surrounded by guards, and yet remained remarkably calm. Yes, Khan considered his crew his family…but when he'd told the Captain of the Enterprise this, he'd meant a different family…

Flashback – 300 years before…

It had been not long since the genetic experiments had finished that he'd met her. It had been a day like any other, though his mind gave the memory a particular 'rose-tint' look that could only be half true. He'd been reporting to a med-bay of all places for his check-up before setting off with his crew. He'd sat through all those tedious, unnecessary mental and physical exams to declare him uncompromised and ship-worthy, not thinking of anything in particular.

He'd been allocated a new crew member, though he wasn't exactly sure why. As he puzzled over this, Khan felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned to tell whoever it was to leave him be, but was stunned into silence by the vision before him.

"Forgive me, Sir…" she began hesitantly before straightening and saluting him as regulation mandated she should, though he'd wished she wouldn't. "Mira Chivonshi, your new communications and xenolinguistics officer, reporting for duty, Captain!"

Khan regarded her carefully for a moment before giving her one, sharp nod. "Very good. Report to shuttle-bay six and prepare for departure."

"Yes, Captain." She replied, saluted him again, turned on her heel and exited the med-bay.

Khan hadn't known it at the time, but he'd just passed a turning point in his life…a path he would come to both enjoy…and grieve.

...

Two years later…

Two years. Two years fighting for the good of the human race, for the good of his people, and for all the good he and his crew had done it had only served to make those still on Earth greedier, more blood-thirsty. He'd had enough, but he felt like those he conquered for needed a harsh lesson of their own.

He sat gently on the edge of the bed and gazed down lovingly at his wife…his Mira. She was everything good and pure, but was as strong and quick-witted as he, and he loved her with every fibre of his being. She was humming a lullaby and running a gentle hand over her abdomen, a loving smile of her own lighting her features.

She was with child…their child. Oh, how wonderful it had sounded. That, right then, had been his perfect moment, and he'd foolishly wished that it would never end.

There was a swooshing sound and Khan looked up towards the doors to see them open and his first officer standing there, looking fearful.

"Come in Commander," Khan regarded him carefully. "What's happened?"

"It's…its Star Fleet, Sir." The Commander regained his composure. "They've made us all outlaws, Sir…we're all criminals…all a danger to Earth and Her interests."

"What?" Mira sat up, uncertainty flashing through her bright, intelligent eyes.

"They're coming for us, Sir…" the Commander continued. "They're coming…to kill us."

Khan's mind was a blur. His crew…his wife…his unborn child. They all needed to get to safety. "When, Commander?"

"According to the ships scans, Captain…we have less than half an hour before they arrive." The Commander's hands shook as he replied. "What do we do, Sir?"

Khan looked at his Mira then down at her abdomen, placing a hand over her own before looking back towards the Commander. "Tell everyone we have to abandon ship…get everyone into the cryo-tubes…" His calm ebbed when the Commander remained frozen to the spot. "NOW!"

...

"Mira, you have to!" Khan argued with his wife.

"No, we cannot just run and hide!" Mira shrieked as he picked her up and carried her to her designated cryo-tube. "No!

"We have no other choice at present, dearest." Khan soothed as he set her on her feet again, holding her close and kissing her hair.

"We cannot give up…" Mira whispered into his chest before he pulled back and tilted her head up. It was not often that she cried, but now a tear had made its way down her cheek. "Our little one…"

"Will be safe." Khan reassured her as the Commander came up to him once more.

"Everyone is safely inside their cryo-tubes, Captain."

"Very good, Commander. Now, get in yours." Khan replied, his eye never leaving those of his wife…his beautiful wife.

"Yes, Captain." The Commander saluted Khan and left to place himself in his cryo-tube.

"Love, please, you must get in now," Khan typed in the code to open her cryo-tube without looking at her. "I… I couldn't bear it if I lost you, darling."

Mira nodded and turned to enter the tube, but he'd stopped her, turned her back to face him once more. "There was just…one last thing." He'd murmured as he'd pulled her forward into his embrace.

"Really?" Mira had smirked up at him.

"Oh, yes." Khan's voice was as rough as the manner in which he took Mira into his arms and held her firmly against his chest, one hand entwined its fingers in her hair, as he pulled her forward into a searing kiss that, with her responding in kind, he never wanted to end.

But he had to pull back, and he wished for the thousandth time it had only been for air. With a final kiss, Mira stepped back into her cryo-tube, holding his hand until the sequencing sealed the tube and froze her.

Khan walked to the opposite wall and entered his cryo-tube, eyes fixed on his beloved, fingertips pressed against the glass of the tube as he finally closed his eyes and allowed himself to be cryogenically frozen with the rest of his crew, not knowing when or where he would awaken…if at all…

End flashback

There should have been seventy-three cryo-tubes, but one had been missing since he'd been awoken and it was the one that mattered most to him. Oh, it had been found…it had just been hidden from him. But he would find it…he would find her.

Khan sat up even straighter as he heard the med-bay doors open and Kirk stood before him. "Tell me everything you know about that ship."