-Chapter Twelve-
Khan's absence unsettled Anthea. Funny how quickly she'd re-acclimated to his being there constantly. She was anxious with him gone, her palms sweaty, reminded too much of all those months when she'd woken alone, the bed beside her cold and empty, her life one big confusing mess of grief and anger.
To keep busy and her mind off of it, she spent the afternoon digging through the bolts and boxes of fabric she'd brought from Earth, choosing ones for her new curtains and other things around the cabin. She didn't have a sofa or any armchairs, which distressed her a little.
Kati, staying on the Reliance so Yves could monitor her, found Anthea sitting on the floor of the cargo hold, a bolt of bland floral fabric across her lap, staring into space. Her sister-in-law lowered herself to sit beside her.
"His leaving distresses you," Kati said.
"Yes, it does. I can't help but remember . . . before." Anthea smoothed a wrinkle with the palm of her hand. "This fabric is so ugly, why did I buy it?"
"It is not so bad," the other woman said. "Perhaps someone else will like it?"
Anthea pushed the bolt off her lap and grabbed another out of the pile on her other side. This one was bolder, the flowers more abstract, the colours brighter. "This is better, I think."
"He will return."
"I know. I tell myself that." She flattened her hands over the airy material. "I'm not any good at sewing."
She began to cry, and Kati rose on her knees, leaning over the discarded bolt to hug her. "I can teach you! Please, do not cry!"
Anthea huffed a teary laugh. "No, no, it's- I feel like my emotions are on a trampoline. You ever play with one of those?"
Kati shook her head, as she sat back on her heels.
"It's a big, black canvas made of . . . plastic of some sort, attached to this frame with big springs, and you jump around on it. They're stupidly dangerous, I don't have any idea why they still make them in this day and age. Mum and Dad wouldn't let me get one, but my best friend, Lindy . . ." Anthea trailed off, distracted for a moment by the thought of her friend. "Lindy had one. We'd play on it every time I went over. It was the closest I'd been to flying."
"So why do you cry?"
Anthea shook her head, wiping at the tears on her cheeks. "I don't know why, really. I mean . . . I do, but . . ."
She sighed. "I'm pregnant. Again. Khan and I wanted to wait 'til the first trimester was past to tell anyone, but . . . you're family, I can tell you. And Yves knows, so . . . I forgot what a wreck pregnancy makes me. I'm terrified he won't come back and I'll have to do it all alone again."
"No, you are not alone!" Kati assured her. "But he will be back!"
"I know I'm being silly," Anthea whispered. "It's only . . . I have this sick feeling in my gut that something bad will happen."
"It will not. Come. I will show you how to sew curtains."
Anthea let Kati draw her to her feet, forcing a smile. Khan would be back, and everything would be okay again.
It had to be.
The shuttles from the Enterprise had minimal armaments, so they had to pilot carefully to avoid attracting the attention of the Klingons. It wasn't difficult to locate the primary attack site; the invaders had set fire to the city.
As he set the shuttle down, Khan reviewed what he knew of the Brinthi. They were space-faring, barely, having successfully colonised one of their neighbouring planets, and the Vulcans had made first contact. He presumed the Enterprise was there to make an official contact for the Federation, which really didn't bode well for them staying out of his people's business. He didn't blame Anthea; how was she to know that the Federation would make a second pass by this area so quickly?
"This is exciting!" Joachim said, from where he was seated nearby. "I've never been to another planet!"
"Yes, you have," Inigo said, from further back in the shuttle. "Sitara is not Earth."
"I mean, I haven't consciously travelled to and landed on another planet," the youngest Augment replied.
Khan glanced over at Joachim. He'd been seventeen when they'd left Earth, in 1998. Barely eighteen now, not counting the two centuries they'd spent sleeping, he was eager and brash. He was going to have to do something about the boy, curb that impulsiveness somehow.
"Standard rules of combat," he said, as he stood from the pilot's seat. "Hopefully, the Brinthi won't see us as an additional threat. If one attacks, neutralise but do not kill unless absolutely necessary. And do not engage them more than required. Let's leave that to Starfleet."
"Khan, why are we here?" Joachim asked.
"Because otherwise, Captain Kirk will not leave us in peace."
"We could take the Enterprise!"
Khan cut him a steely-eyed look. "Absolutely not. Do not forget your place, Joachim."
Joachim turned his gaze down. "Yes, Khan."
Admittedly, the idea had occured to Khan, but that would have been a huge mistake. Even if he'd successfully taken the ship, it would have ensured Starfleet would come after them, just as Kirk's death would have. There were times when he was immensely grateful for Anthea's cool voice of reason opposing his own arrogance and hotheadedness.
They filed out of the shuttle and joined with the rest of his men and those from the Enterprise.
"Enterprise is supposed to be hailing the Brinthi," Kirk said once they'd all gathered, "to let them know we're on our way."
"That will destroy any chance we had at the element of surprise," Khan put in. "But then, if that Bird of Prey up there saw your ship, that was gone, anyway."
Kirk narrowed his eyes at Khan, but didn't respond to that. "Enterprise team, we're mostly gonna be support for Khan's people. Much as I hate to say it, shoot to kill the Klingons. They won't grant mercy."
"No," Khan confirmed, "they will not. They have little concept of it. This will likely work better if your people concentrate on assisting any surviving Brinthi. Defense, rather than offense."
"Good idea."
Khan gestured to his men, dividing them into four groups of five. They hadn't forgotten a bit of their previous training, and he drilled them regularly, so all it took for them to divide ranks was a hand motion.
Kirk had to admit, he was a little impressed.
"We are on the north-western edge of the city, and face south-east," Khan said. "Inigo, take your people in to the south. Wallace, you're east. Vladimir, west. I will take the north way."
Turning to Kirk, he said, "Do you wish to divide your force and send some along with each of my groups, or follow as a whole?"
"Divide and follow," Kirk replied. "We're gonna leave most of the fighting to you guys. We don't know how many Klingons there are down here, and we're not precisely a military force."
The two leaders stared at each other, silently acknowledging that if Khan hadn't stopped Marcus, that might have been very different.
Khan gave a sharp nod. "Let's move."
Kirk and his men weren't trained fighters. Sure, they received basic combat training at the Academy, just in case things ever went south, but most Starfleet officers eventually forgot it and got complacent. He hated admitting that. Part of him could see Admiral Marcus's point; Starfleet wasn't prepared for open war. That didn't mean he'd agree with the man's methods.
He'd sent half his men with the group entering from the south, and followed Khan himself, wanting to keep an eye on the other man. With phaser ready and set to kill, he and his own team crept along behind Khan's men, watching for any Klingons that might attack.
A few minutes after they entered the city proper, they found a small group of Brinthi that sought to escape. Kirk sent two of his men to escort the cluster of terrified people to safety.
"Targets ahead," Khan said. "At two o'clock, in the second structure to the right."
"How can you know that?" Kirk asked.
"My hearing, Captain, is better than yours, remember?"
Kirk grimaced, a flash of memory going through his head. Khan's fist flying at him, the crack of bone as his cheek shattered. "Yeah, I remember."
Ignoring Kirk's obvious discomfort, Khan turned to the small party with them. "Neutralise as quickly as possible. Do not waste time attempting to take prisoners for interrogation. I don't care why they're here. If there are survivors left over, then we'll deal with it."
Kirk stared at the dark-haired man, wondering what it was that had made the man so damned ruthless, and yet able to care so completely for his people.
They headed for the building. As they got closer, Kirk could pick up with sounds of Klingon speech and laughter. There wasn't much need for stealth, given how loud their targets were.
Khan gestured to one of the men and the pair silently stepped up to the back door. The Brinthi didn't have sliding doors like Starfleet; Khan counted silently with one hand, then kicked the door in and went in low, with his backup taking the high position.
There were four Klingons in the main room of the building, which seemed to be a two-story house. They were playing some sort of card game when the humans burst in, looking a little dumbfounded for several seconds at the interruption.
Those seconds cost them everything. Khan shot the first two, grabbed the blade of the first, threw it and impaled the third Klingon through the face. By that time, his partner had taken out the fourth and was headed for the stairs.
On the second floor, they found a dead Brinthi couple and a wailing baby, a Klingon sleeping in the bed he'd shoved the corpses of his victims out of. It disgusted Khan, but he gave no sign of it.
His partner, Gustav, calmly stepped over the bodies and without a word, slit the Klingon's throat.
Out of instinct brought to surface through nights spent up with his son, Khan scooped the baby up, and cradled it to his chest.
"Clear the house," he said.
"What are we doing with the child?"
"We'll find someone to take it. I'm not leaving it here to die."
They went back downstairs, where Kirk and his men had joined them.
Kirk blinked at the sight of Khan holding the child. "Uh."
"We need to find a caretaker for the child," Khan said. "For the present, the most qualified is myself. Unless anyone else here is a father?"
Everyone else present shook their heads.
"Good. Then be quiet, and let us continue."
Kirk was, admittedly, amused by the image of Khan with the baby, but he couldn't laugh, seeing the destruction around them.
He sighed. It was going to be a very long night.