-Chapter Sixteen-

It was decided somewhat hastily that the best chance they had of tracking down the Klingons was from the Enterprise. Khan didn't want to waste time coming back for his men-and he knew he'd need them if he were to go after the Klingons-he asked for volunteers to hunt the Klingons who had taken Anthea.

To his surprise, nearly every hand went up. Wallace was injured and elected to stay behind, having caught a bat'leth to the shoulder in the earlier skirmish. Kati, too, voted to stay and tend the Brinthi child. Yves, desperately in love with Kati, obviously chose to stay with her.

Khan assigned three others, including Joachim and Inigo, to remain on Sitara. The rest travelled to the Enterprise, some via transporter, some via shuttle.

"This was not how I expected things to go," Khan muttered to Otto as they made their way to the enormous ship.

"Ja, you expected to come home to your wife," Otto said.

"Yes, that, obviously. I meant with the child. I brought him for you and Chin."

Otto stared at him, hazel eyes wide, and laughed. "I am honoured, Kaiser, but I will not fight your sister for him! She is very taken with him already. I think he will be good for her."

"I agree, strange as it is." Khan looked out the transport window as they left the atmosphere and the Enterprise appeared.

"Khan," Otto said quietly. "Why did you not tell us of Kaiserin's condition?"

It took Khan a moment to turn from the window. He struggled to keep his voice level. It always amazed him just how deeply Anthea affected him, even now. "We've been waiting until she reached the second trimester. Tradition, you know."

"You do not strike me as traditional type, Khan," Otto said.

"Some things . . . I find myself very traditional about, Otto."

He regarded the man seated next to him, the man who had been his second-in-command for years. He'd first met Otto when he'd fled Russia with his German-born mother, and hidden in New Delhi where Khan had been working in an auto repair garage. Otto was one of the first Augments, and his mother, Hilde, had known Sarina Kaur. She hadn't known of Khan's mother's death. Unfortunately, Hilde had been a normal human, and a bombing by militants had killed her within weeks of their arrival in India. Khan, just eighteen at the time, had taken Otto in. It was Otto who had spurred him to take Russia, when he'd risen to power. Otto who had been there for him like an adopted brother.

When Otto had met Chin, and come out as gay, Khan hadn't been bothered by the revelation. It gratified him that when he'd woken Otto and told him of Anthea, his lieutenant had welcomed his wife with open arms.

Others hadn't been so gracious, but Khan knew that what Rodriguez had done had shaken them. He never asked more of his people than they could give, but in this case, he had been ready to force every one of them to come with him. That he hadn't had to pleased him immeasurably.

Their dynamic was different now. Before they'd fled Earth, his relation to the rest of them had been more distant. They'd had to go into hiding a year before they'd managed to escape on the Botany Bay, and while they'd lost a few during that time, and during the intervening centuries, the group was different, closer, than it had been before. He was more the chief of a small tribe than the leader of a great nation. They needed to adjust; he'd had his time while with Starfleet, and he wasn't the man they'd known before, not entirely.

That change was due in large part to Anthea, and their son.

He didn't want to think about what losing them for good would do to him.

Otto was awed by the USS Enterprise. He'd seen the Reliance, of course, and knew how many modern things worked, but there was something about Starfleet's flagship that really impressed the man. Khan would have found his gawking amusing if their situation hadn't been so dire.

He followed Kalim, the security lieutenant with the strange teeth, to a conference room, and he and Otto paused outside, waiting 'til the security officer had gone.

Khan stood with his hand posed over the touchpad to open the door, his enhanced hearing picking up the conversation occuring inside.

Spock was apparently in the middle of lecturing Kirk yet again. "Captain, on further consideration, I do not believe this is a wise idea. Given our previous experience with Khan, I am given to believe that even if we do retrieve Anthea Harrison, he is likely to seek vengeance upon the Klingons as a whole. We have seen what he alone is capable of. Do we wish to risk his eradicating the entire species?"

"Y'know, Spock, while I'd normally agree with you, they really should have considered that before they took his wife and his kid. What was it that guy said during World War Two? Something about waking a sleeping giant? Well, this time, it was a dragon. The Klingons are gonna get burned."

Khan smirked. Beside him, Otto chuckled.

They opened the door and stepped in.

"Actually, that quote was never definitively attributable to Isoroku Yamamoto," Khan said. "But it was a lovely end to the film Tora! Tora! Tora!, was it not?"

"Ja, Kaiser," Otto said. He took a seat at the table.

Khan remained standing, and crossed to the viewport.

"You seem to continue to operate under the delusion that I committed any sort of genocide," he said. He had his back to Kirk and Spock. "I realise records are spotty for that time period, but while I didn't tolerate criminals and the like in my kingdom, I was hardly the type to massacre people simply because they were . . . inferior. Others did that, Mister Spock, not I. Yes, there were massacres that occured in what became my territory, but they stopped when I took over. I am not Vlad the Impaler, happy to murder thousands to fulfil a momentary whim. If I really were the type, Spock, don't you think I would have done more than target Marcus and his pet project? Because my rage at Starfleet is far more vast than that, but I haven't touched more than a fraction of a percentage of the whole."

"You tried to kill me and my crew!" Kirk interjected.

"Because I knew that if I made my escape, with my people or not, you would hunt me. You would never rest, because that is who you are, Kirk. I would become your white whale."

Khan turned. He eyed Spock coldly. "You made me believe you had killed my people. Then you imprisoned me again, still letting me believe they were gone. When I attempted to escape you in San Francisco, Spock, do you know where I was going?"

"To assault Headquarters," the Vulcan replied without hesitation.

Khan shook his head. "No. I was attempting to get away so I could find my wife, to see if Marcus had killed her, as he threatened to do. I know you are aware of that, Kirk, Anthea told you as much."

Kirk held up his hands. "Okay, you think Spock's a heartless jerk. Let's get to why we're actually here."

He pushed a few buttons on the edge of the table, and a holographic map popped up over the surface. "This is the Beta Quadrant, or what we know if it, anyway."

Another few button pushes, and it zoomed in. "This is where we are now. CX-431 Alpha, or Sitara, as you're calling it. Over here's the Brinthini system. Waaaaay over here is Qo'noS. I'm not sure what the Klingons were even doing in this area."

Khan approached the table. Since the map was also directable with hand gestures, he reached into the hologram and changed the view. "Here are known Federation member planets within six sectors. They would not hide in these areas, as it is technically Federation space. My guess would be that they have taken refuge closer to the core, further from Federation space."

"We cannot be certain," Spock said.

"It is sound reasoning," Otto said, casting the Vulcan a dark glance. "Better to hide in the wilds than risk discovery by accident."

Khan stared at the holographic stars, vision going unfocused. So many places to look. Where the hell were they supposed to start? She'd already been gone nearly eighteen hours, at least. He had no idea how early she'd gotten up and gone to the cabin, but he suspected they'd missed her kidnappers by less than an hour. She had trouble sleeping if he wasn't there, he knew, and if she'd gone at first light, before dawn . . .

"Spock," Kirk said. "Look up what known planets are in this and the surrounding sectors that the Federation isn't friendly with. Ones we made contact with the last time through that were hostile. They might harbour some Klingons."

"Yes, Captain."

Kirk met Khan's gaze through the holographic star field. "It's a place to start," the captain said, and Khan had to turn away.

It was better than nothing, but it didn't feel anywhere close to enough.