-Chapter Twenty-
At long last, the USS Enterprise dropped out of warp near an unnamed system, where they found a veritable fleet of Klingon ships orbiting the primary planet.
"Captain, if we attack the Klingons, it could be considered an act of war," Spock cautioned.
"And their kidnapping a Federation citizen, not to mention a Starfleet officer?" Kirk asked.
"Technically speaking, Anthea Harrison is no longer either."
"Yeah, but they don't know that, do they?" Kirk sighed. "I wasn't expecting this many ships."
Khan stood silently, listening to the discussion between captain and first officer, though his gaze remained fixed on the six Birds of Prey on the magnified viewscreen. It seems to keep piling on, he thought. How long will this continue?
"Khan?"
He turned at the sound of Kirk's voice. "You want my advice, Captain?"
"How likely is it, if we fire on those ships, we'll start a war?"
Khan's smile was mirthless. "Captain, you know as well as I do that at this point, any action we take to retrieve my family will be taken as an act of aggression by the Klingons. Our options are to attempt to sneak onto the planet and extract Anthea and my son . . . or to leave no survivors this time."
Kirk was troubled. He glanced to Spock. "There's no guarantee that we'll be able to get them out unnoticed."
"The chances of that are approximately nine-point-three percent," the science officer said.
"But to start a war . . .?"
Khan cleared his throat. "If I may be so bold, Kirk, as to suggest an alternative plan?"
"And what's that?" the captain inquired.
"Beam me and four of my men to the closest Bird of Prey. We'll handle the ships from there."
Spock tipped his head. "You mean to take the ship from the inside, as you did with the Vengeance, and then use it against the others?"
"Precisely, Mr. Spock. My estimation of your intelligence stands." Mentally, Khan laughed, because he'd been sarcastic when he'd called the Vulcan smart, that time Spock had accused him of betraying them.
Kirk let out an explosive sigh. "Fine. Do it."
Neither Khan nor his people needed armour, which left plenty for those from the Enterprise who were going down to the surface. That excursion would wait until Khan and his strike team had taken out the orbiting ships; Khan himself would land the Bird of Prey on the surface to rescue Anthea.
Khan selected his fiercest warriors to accompany him. They made their way to the transporter room.
"I'm not sure I can beam through their shields," the transporter tech said.
Khan leaned past him and keyed in some commands on the console, and it beeped in acceptance.
"How did you- You can get by the Klingons' shielding?" Kirk demanded.
Khan gave him a level look. "I designed the transporter system of the Vengeance, Captain. You remember, the one that could beam individuals off this ship through its shields? The Klingons' shielding isn't anywhere near as advanced, Kirk."
He stepped up to the pad, where his men joined him. Armed with phasers, machetes, and the katana Sulu had loaned Khan, they looked almost as barbaric as the beings they were going after.
Khan nodded to the transporter tech, and he activated the teleportation sequence. White light surrounded the group, and then they were gone.
Kirk looked over at Spock. "I really hope this doesn't come back to bite us."
"I cannot say whether it will, Jim, but the chances are highly likely. If I were you, I would prepare a very good lie to tell Command if it does."
Eyeing the Vulcan, Kirk said, "You're really becoming devious, you know that?"
"I have had plenty of instruction," was his first officer's only reply.
Upon the closest Bird of Prey, Khan and his men stepped off the transporter pad they'd beamed to. Otto shook his head, then his whole body.
"I would rather not do that again, Kaiser," he confessed to Khan.
"Hopefully, you won't need to. Let's make this quick."
Khan led the way, katana in hand, his phaser rifle slung across his body, ready to be used at a moment's notice. "No prisoners," he tersely directed. "No survivors. None."
The Klingons had noticed a security breach and they poured into the room, disruptors and other weapons at the ready. At least, they thought they were ready. Khan jumped into the fray, sword swinging, and removed two heads with one powerful blow. Then he was past, as his men went after the remaining in the transporter room.
Khan mowed down any Klingon he saw. Most barely had time to register he was even there before they were dead. With his men behind him, branching out to clear the ship, they had every Klingon except those on the bridge dealt with in less than three minutes.
Striding onto the bridge, Khan lifted the rifle in one hand and shot all but the captain in a flurry of phaser fire.
"Your name," he demanded of the captain. "What is your name?"
"Koloth," the Klingon snarled. "And you are John Harrison."
"I'm really not," Khan said. "Are you the one who took my wife?"
"The human woman? She is not here any longer. She is on the surface. Good luck finding her!"
Khan let the rifle drop, falling to rest at his hip, and he lifted the katana. "I will find her," he promised.
Then he swung the blade, faster than Koloth could react, and beheaded the Klingon.
His men, who had stood watching, now turned to him.
"Ling," Khan snapped, "get that thing out of my sight. You two, Barton and Stark, man the weapons systems, at that station and that one. They're not that different from MIGs. I trust you remember?"
"Aye, Khan," the men said in unison, and hurried to do his bidding.
"What should I do, Kaiser?" Otto inquired.
Khan gestured to the captain's chair, as he took a seat in the pilot's. "Take a load off, Otto. It's likely the only time you'll be able to sit there."
Otto laughed. "Ja, Khan."
His leader was already seated, scanning for lifeforms on the planet's surface. There were a lot of Klingons down there, and- There! Two human lifeforms, if their slightly different readings were any indication.
He smiled darkly. The fools had no idea what was about to hit them.
Aboard the Enterprise, Kirk and his crew waited anxiously, as far out of range of the Klingons as they could manage, for Khan to make his move. Minutes ticked by, and each one made the captain more anxious.
"Captain, the Bird of Prey we beamed Khan to is moving," Sulu said suddenly.
"Scan it," Kirk barked.
"Yes, sir." Sulu tapped a few controls. "Five lifesigns aboard, all appear to be human."
"I'll be damned," Bones muttered. "How many Klingons do they have on those?"
"Reports say at least thirty Klingons per ship," Spock told him. "Given how quickly Khan himself eliminated the patrol on Qo'noS, I would say the majority of the delay has been his instructing his men on how to operate a starship."
The Bird of Prey wheeled about, its pilot apparently getting used to the controls, and then it rocketed off, weapons firing at the other Klingon ships in a flurry of laser fire.
"Whoever's flying that has a lot of skill," Sulu commented, as the enemy ship executed a tight spiral, ducked beneath one of the others, and then flew over it, upside down, strafing all of its life-support systems and nearly splitting the Bird of Prey in half.
"Khan," Kirk said. "It's Khan flying."
"How do you know?" McCoy asked him.
Kirk had a flashback to standing in a conference room at Headquarters, a jumpship dancing outside the window, raning death on those within. "Because I've seen him do it before."
In barely minutes, the other Klingon ships floated dead in space. The hulls of some had ruptured under the "friendly fire" and dead Klingons drifted by the Enterprise's viewport as Sulu eased the Federation starship closer to the planet.
"Incoming transmission," Uhura said. "From the Klingon ship."
"On-screen," Kirk directed.
Khan appeared on the viewscreen. "Captain Kirk. I believe we are now clear to commence Phase Two. I will meet you on the surface."
He ended the transmission.
Kirk turned to his first officer. "Spock, you have the con. Bones, we'll need you in medbay. I'm pretty sure Khan is going to make off with that Klingon ship, but he'll be bringing Anthea here, first."
Bones nodded and left for the medical bay. Kirk gave himself a shake, nodded to Spock, and headed to round up the crew he was taking to the surface.