"Counting down.
Three
Two
One...
Steady, Mr. Khan...hold it..."
"Oh for god's sake woman!"
The sound of the two's frequent chatter echoed throughout the whole room, earning gazes from the other participants who were out and about.
Then, the quiet click of the machine indicated its shut down.
Sherlock Holmes-or Khan, rather, stepped out of the great device, stripping it's connectors and snippets off of his limbs and chest with a disgruntled sigh. Finally out in the open, he stretched his fairly abused muscles, twisting and shaking off the feeling of pain racking his whole body.
His eyes turned to his assigned scientist, glaring at her almost, but yet she continued on marking down his records nonchalantly.
She was already warned forehand from many people about her test subject, and she had raised three stubborn teens in her motherhood. She didn't see the difference between the two.
The device in which Sherlock had stepped out of was large, resembling an enormous egg wedged in the corner of the laboratory. Inside were many different straps and gadgets that were to be attached on the body, encasing the subject in an almost mummy-like fashion. Once switched on, it had the ability to mimic every nerve signal the very brain could conjure.
For the detective, however, the focused nerve was pain.
Pain from a fatal wound,
then emotional pain,
suffocation,
and muscle durability.
He endured the best he could, but the curious scientist wanted more out of him, pushing him to his very limits without warning.
"Dammit all..." he muttered, as he strived his way towards a seat, massaging his chest as he still felt the awful torture of artificial suffocation.
But luckily, it was his last and final test.
The tired detective scanned his peripheral vision, quietly looking around without getting noticed to search for that one somebody. Within moments later, the soft tappings of bare feet caught Sherlock's attention, making him turn suddenly to greet his short doctor and-
"Oh it's you, Lestrade."
His wide eyes returned back to its blank and uncaring state, wincing once in awhile as his muscles began to scream in agony with every slight movement.
"And a hello to you too," the inspector scoffed back. "And it's Tobias, not Lestrade here."
"Hmm"
The two sat awkwardly together, barefooted and clad in a black material which clung to their bodies like a second skin, showing every curve of their features almost as if they were nude. All of Lestrade's division wore the fitting suit, highly embarrassing and unsightly at first, but as time rolled on and they've come to know the laboratory as their own workplace, the garb became almost embedded onto them; a uniform of normality.
"So, Khan," Lestrade started, trying to ease off the silence between them. "I'm guessing you're also completed with all these testings, yeah?"
"Yes."
"Ah, right. Well, there's a few more people to go, it shouldn't be too long before we start."
Sherlock stared, uninterested in the conversation but trying his best for the inspector's effort.
"I just got word a few minutes ago that the Admiral would be coming soon. I also checked up on the others as well, Christopher just finished his a moment ago-"
"Christopher?" he finally spoke up. Sherlock never got used to the name changes. He had explained to John once that all these aliases were simply useless occupants to his precious mind. Only valuable information was stored up there. He especially didn't bother to know who this 'Chrisopher' is and who he was before."
"That would be I."
More sounds of feet padded towards the two, and by the recognition of the man's voice, Sherlock was about to bolt out of his chair. But instead, he attempted a polite greeting.
"Anderson."
"It's Christopher."
"I don't care."
He stood and started walking around the room, dodging the busy crowd as they worked to get the tests done in time. He walked in labyrinths, hoping to shake off the annoyance that continued to follow him.
"It's clever isn't it? Straight out of the history books." The forensic analyst continued on, ignoring the stares and only aimed on pissing off the detective. "From Christopher Columbus, you see. Great explorer, navigator, colonizer, seems very fitting for my adventurous eye, yes?"
It wasn't long until the very last of Sherlock's tolerance had snapped.
"Yes, considering that he had landed on the New World being so very convinced that he had reached India and even took that information to his grave. Very idiotic of him. Just like you." he mumbled in a single breath, but loud enough for his tormentor to hear.
Angered and fooled, Anderson attempted a retort, opening his mouth but closing it immediately as he found nothing to say and left the detective alone.
Sherlock rolled his eyes. Think of a good riposte first before you ever want to insult me, 'Christopher'.
Slowly making his way towards the other end of the great room, he observed all the happenings around him. Sure he has experienced many different environments in his life, but never one so hectic yet incredibly quiet. The only sounds came from the buzzing of equipment and the chatter of the other test subjects.
It was eerily comforting.
"Alright Mr. Harrison, you're all set."
Sherlock's ears perked at the sound of the only name he hasn't deleted and turned to search for the source.
Out at the almost end of the room, was John Watson, carefully stepping out of a large contraption filled to the brim with water. Scientists and assistants helped the doctor remove the snake-like tubes and wires that slithered down his body and carefully draped him layers of warm towels, cocooning him in an almost comical way. Shivering slightly, John stood next to his scientist, looking over his test results.
The detective reached Watson quietly, causing him to turn in slight surprise as he heard Sherlock breathe his name behind him.
"Oh! Sher-I mean Khan! You're done with everything, I suppose?"
"Good observation." Sherlock answered, lacing with sarcasm.
"Not an observation, just a question." Watson rubbed his face dry, making the hairs on his head stand up on tiny spikes that jutted out in all directions.
As John peeled off the many towels that covered him, Sherlock felt no body heat radiating from him, despite standing close. His eyes glanced towards the large tub that John had emerged from, wondering what kind of test he partook in.
"Temperature endurability," Watson exclaimed as he noticed Sherlock's stare, handing the towels over to an assistant. "Literally froze my arse off."
After being fully dried and the last of the towels were stripped off revealing the matching uniform, the doctor was then dismissed by his scientist and began walking towards the center of the room where all the other completed participants waited.
"Why'd you come for me, anyways?" he commented as he found the great detective trailing behind him. "You were supposed to wait with everyone else once you were done."
Sherlock huffed. "You were the only one tolerable here, John."
John took that as a compliment. It was the closest Sherlock could ever get to showing any kind of affection anyways. He also accepted the fact that Sherlock will always call him by his name instead of his alias.
It was a long and frightful debate that they had over this small matter, but in the end, the stubborn child of a man won only because John didn't want Sherlock to back out of the experiment. It was a small agreement in which he was able to comply with.
They waited with the others in the center of the laboratory, all in black, barefooted, and each in a different state that revealed what they have gone through during their last evaluation test. Either freezing, sore, drowsy, and even one poor soul was feeling numb all over.
"All for the sake of science," John chuckled towards Lestrade.
Everyone chatted in silence until the tall doors slid open, the sound of hard shoes finally broke the patter of fleshy feet and a wave of the familiar scents of the outside world flowed in the air, the room no longer harboring the intensely sanitized odor of medical solutions and chlorine.
A toothy crinkled smile was then exposed to the group as a sort of warm greeting.
The Admiral Professor Eugene stood before them, no longer clothed in his military uniform, but instead, donned in a long, crisp, white laboratory coat more fitting for his second title as Professor. Hands in his pockets, and an enthusiastic fire in his eyes, the old man looked as if he were a child finally getting ready to go off on an adventure.
Sherlock narrowed his eyes as the professor walked past him, nodding a quick, "Khan," and grinning from ear to ear as he inspected his test subjects.
He never liked over enthusiastic people, their actions felt way too dramatic for his taste.
"Mr. Tobias!" the professor greeted, shaking Lestrade's hands in a friendly manner rather than professionally. "It's good to meet once again. How is your division, my dear inspector? The testings have gone well, I presume?"
"Ah well, as Harrison said, all for the sake of science."
The two laughed heartily like old mates, engulfed in their own excitement and pride.
"But this is just the beginning!" the old admiral whispered, then stepped out in front of the crowd, raising his hands towards the pods as a gesture of attention.
"My dear participants! I thank you for your wonderful patience and endurance with these evaluations-I can assure you, you will all benefit from it! But now, it is time! Time for years of research and work finally be proven successful. Time for you all to experience a life like no other! It is time for rebirth!"
The professor's voice boomed in determinance, sending shivers down everyone's body. To them, it was like a fighter's speech.
To Sherlock, it was like a madman's delirium, echoing delight throughout his creations.
His eyes flickered to John's, watching the doctor gulp down his nervousness.
John Watson, the person whose trust was as valuable and rare as Sherlock's sentiment, was about to lend his body on a silver platter to science.
"Adrenaline is a drug that causes a person to do silly things," thought Holmes, "for here you are, doctor."
With the flick of his wrist and a snap of his thumb, professor Eugene had the scientists open all the pods up in unison, the sound of hissing tubes and cold fog suddenly clouded the floors of the laboratory as a result. The group stepped back in awe.
"I welcome you to your chambers," Eugene continued. We will begin the experiment here, where you will undergo your transformation, but don't fret. Your body's nerve systems will be numbed, and sleep will overpower you as it takes place. After a few days, you will wake.
Shall we begin?"
Animated murmurs of enthusiasm traveled throughout the room, not only limiting itself to the participants, but also to the many scientists who have worked alongside the professor on this long and agitating research.
As the pods were opened up, all one hundred participants lined up in front of it, assistants scrubbed the bodies clean and clipped loose hairs out of the way, making last minute adjustments. With another wave of the professor's hand, the scientists led them inside, where the cold metal shocked their skin like an electric current.
More tubes and wires were stuck to their arms, legs, chest and head. Beeping devices were brought inside the pods with them and after a few moments of preparation, their arms were found bound into the sides, large needles snaking its way into their skin deeply.
Sherlock winced. After a few years of finally being clean, he found that the feeling of needles back in his arms sickened him. He pushed back the memory, eyes jerking instinctively towards Lestrade across him, as if the inspector could somehow read his clouded mind and immediately issuing a drugs bust on the detective.
He felt himself more paranoid as the tip of the needle surge farther up his arm, starting from the wrist and finally ending on the inner elbow, right on the ulnar nerve, making the arms tingle with a peculiar sensation.
"You alright?"
The voice he heard came from beside his chamber, a quiet hum of reassurance that he wasn't alone. John Watson whispered once more.
"Sherlock?"
The uneasy detective found himself shaking off his tensions and smiled at the sound of his own name, unknown that he was saved once again by his friend's words.
"I'm fine-"
"Well, Khan!" The sonance of a gruff voice cut through his sentence like a knife. Sherlock stared at the smiling professor who did not seem to notice his rude interruption.
"I'll be looking forward to your results. Your intellect is what Starfleet strives to achieve."
"Flattered."
The professor observed Sherlock carefully, watching his ever changing eyes intensely. To him, the detective was a brilliant find. Before he even met him, his very interpretation of a superhuman already closely resembled the great Holmes's intellect. He was certainly ecstatic about what lies ahead.
He smiled wider. His skin stretching so wide that one could question how it's elasticity was even humanly possible.
Professor Eugene tore his gaze away as soon as he got word that all the pods were filled and set, the doors all locked and sealed and the anesthesia fogged the minds of the test subjects.
He turned back to the glaring detective, and slowly shut his door close with a soft click.
The whole room went silent as the professor quickened his pace towards the center of the lab where the device all the pods were connected to sat beeping, waiting to be switched on. Quick checks were made on the tanks and vials that held the source of the Eugenics Project, ready to flow into the veins of its participants.
Eugene sighed, caressing the white lever that buzzed temptingly. Looking around, he received the nods of approval from his fellow experts, all eager to finish and await the final product.
This was Starfleet's big debut to the world. An indication of the future yet to come.
And it all rested in the hands of the select few hundred humans frozen in their state.
"Counting down,
Three
Two
One..."
A/N I'm alive and ready to revive this fic! This chapter was ehhhh so and so to write, trying to get back into the groove of things. It was originally going to be much longer but I cut it down for the purpose of a cliffhanger :3 I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and look forward to regular updates! Reviews are helpful and welcomed! :3
(Oh and by the way, I'm in need for this story's cover pic, yet there are very little art work for Sherlock/Star Trek crossovers. If anyone finds or creates one, PM me! I'll be happy to post it!)