Chapter Twenty: Sins of the Father
Marla held the boy in her arms. She wasn't sure how he got there or why he was crying. Her fingers pushed curls from his eyes to see the tears. His red lips were open exposing his toothless mouth. His pale skin reddened as tears and snot dribbled from his eyes and nostrils. Once his eyes were open Marla could see who he was. The child's eyes were as blue and clear as Khan's. His hair had auburn characteristics. His tiny fingers reached for her neck.
She felt the child shake and cry as he grabbed her throat. She tilted his head against her chest holding him to her whispering words and promises she didn't know existed in her vocabulary. She was caring before she realized she was crying. Soon she found emptiness in her arms. The child was gone. She felt her throat letting her finger trace across the rough cut. Her nail dug into the muscle and blood as she removed it from her skin. She saw her hand was coated in blood.
"The captain is speaking to your boyfriend." Marla forced her eyes open. The image of a blue uniformed Carol Marcus came into view. There was a bandage wrapped around her neck. The woman touched the spot where the blood seeped through. She cleared her throat gently.
"I guess I didn't kill you."
"Missed the artery."
Marla forced herself to wince a smile. She sat up feeling a numbness in the lower part of her body. Her legs felt unmovable. She hadn't been stunned before. It still felt like her body could collapse at any moment. She struggled to move her hands finding they were cuffed. The captain wasn't taking any chances. Her ankles seemed to be shackled together too. At least they still thought she was powerful even though she was still in need of medical attention.
"Why are there men in those torpedoes?" The science officer tried to look unafraid. Marla could remember a time when she too had puffed out her chest and attempted to make a good first impression.
"If the captain is speaking to his prisoner, then you should know shortly, Dr. Marcus." Marla chose not to make eye contact looking to the side where a tribble was laid out on the desk. She then noticed that there were several guards posted at corners of the room. Their guns seemed to be ready to fire if need be.
"What was your part in all this?" Carol wondered. She took a step back when Marla finally met her gaze. There was fear in those eyes despite Carol's best course of action. "You made weapons for him. Restored some very unique bits. I've read that, but with Harrison . . ."She shook her head slightly. "You engaged in physical contact with him."
"You mean I had sex with him, right?" Marla's thin auburn eyebrow arched.
"Yes." She could see the blonde get a bit uncomfortable. "My father put you in a room with him because of your skills as a historian and knowledge of weaponry. Your father was a great weapon's expert. I've read his books. He was truly remarkable."
"He still is."
"But he was hospitalized." Carol concluded. "Diagnosed with a fair share of mental disorders from what I recall."
"Doesn't make his work any less brilliant." Marla laid back looking to the ceiling. She wondered how much Khan was telling Kirk. She didn't want to let anything horrible slip from her mouth.
"No I suppose you're right." Marla could feel her interrogator inch closer. "But considering the history of your father -"
"And considering the history of your father I would say you must be a war hungry weapons' expert with the need to fire at any living thing to get what you want." Marla shot her eyes toward Carol with a grand sort of intensity. "We may be our father's daughter, but we are not their replicates." The blonde shook her head.
"Yes, but my father still considered you for his program, but not . . ." She appeared to trail off looking to the side. "Not me." It was the softest of whispers.
"I suspect it was because he loves you very dearly." Those sincere words seemed to catch Carol's attention. "He placed me with Harrison because I was dying. I was already dying. He wanted to see exactly how brutal John Harrison could be when the only means of stopping him was this fragile little body." She motioned down to herself clattering the cuffs from under the sheet. "He would never consider that fate for his daughter."
"Harrison," Carol breathed out after a moment of thought. "He is brutal then."
"You opened the torpedoes, correct?" Carol nodded in response. "You know how old those cyrotubes are." Her eyes shifted to the side. "Do you know your history, Dr. Marcus?" Marla watched the thought process. The science officer seemed to be bringing up solutions and scenarios in her mind. After the thought process took too long Marla sighed.
"My facts on Earth's history are shaky at best." She suspected that much.
"Have you heard of the Eugenics Wars?" Marla saw a bit of a blankness flood through Carol. "I'm sure you'll be an expert on them by the time all this is over."
The dark haired woman found herself trying to think of ways to escape, to get to Khan, but she knew those ideas were not smart or possible. She hoped the captain would bring Khan to her soon. He had to be sentimental to her loss, to the loss he had caused. If he had spoken to Carol during the time she was stunned he knew she was associated with Khan. Perhaps Kirk was asking his prisoner about her in the very same way Carol was probing her for information.
"Why did you engage him?" She looked up to see Carol take a step toward her. "You never answered the question."
"For separation." Marla concluded. "It was an engagement of mutual understanding." If Carol had any inkling of the bond their relationship held then she could use it. Kirk could use it against her. They could put her away if things ended badly. Marla kept holding onto her faith that things would end as planned.
"You," She watched Carol pick up a pad. "Had a miscarriage." The word still felt raw in Marla's ears. "Weeks along. That video," Her eyes were on Marla again, proud and strong. "Of you and Harrison was taken almost six months ago." The dark haired woman suddenly felt tense. Her teeth ground together. "Clearly this isn't just for the sake of a well thought out plan." She hadn't figured Carol would push something like that on her, though curiosity was something Marla had once held when she had interrogated Harrison.
"Was he not the father then?" Marla was careful not to engage Dr. Marcus. Her eyes fell suddenly to her fingers that twisted the sheet that covered her. She couldn't give her any more information.
"What is it you want to know?" She hated giving into Carol's tactics, but she wasn't going to let her weakness come out in its entirety.
"I want to know why." Marla let her eyes look at Carol. Her stance was serious. Her lips were pressed straight and firm. Her hands were at her sides in fists. Blood seeped a bit through the white cloth on her neck. Her blood pressure was rising. The fear and excitement within her were intermingling. "Why are you helping him?" She seemed determined to get to the bottom of Marla's need.
The woman wasn't about to tell her enemy's daughter the truth. The reason was simple. He provided her with the means to exact revenge. He provided her with survival. She was alive because of him. Marla was in that bed because he had given his blood to her so that she would provide him with what he needed, an ally in his scheme. Khan needed someone who was willing to do what was needed. Marcus had given him the perfect ally thinking she was weak, thinking she wouldn't fight for her right to be alive.
"I'm protecting them." Marla nudged her chin forward. "Those men and women in the torpedoes are the last of their kind. The last of the augments." Not the complete truth, but a small piece of it. As a historian preserving the past was relevant to her job.
"If they are all like Harrison," Carol shook her head letting a chill roll through her body. "Then they shouldn't be saved."
"All living things have their place in this world." The dark haired woman concluded. "We created them. Did you know that? Mankind sought to improve on our genetic formula. They created those beings. Superior beings like Harrison and his crew."
"His crew?" Carol pulled at her collar swallowing. "Then he is . . . their captain."
"Marcus awoken the first in sequence. The captain awakens first in hyper sleep." She knew she had said too much, but if she gave Carol just a bit perhaps she would not ask the important questions.
"Seventy two men and women aboard a single sleeper ship. The only survivors of an entire race." The blonde breathed out. "Quite remarkable."
"A specialty of mine." Marla told the woman. "I hold a doctorate in 20th century history. Mostly the wars. The good and the bad ones. The Eugenetic Wars were quite a spectacle. Almost post-apocalyptic."
"I can see why my father liked you." Carol mused. "He's quite a history enthusiast himself."
"I certainly didn't see that side of the admiral." Marla shifted feeling her cuffed hands ghost over her covered stomach. She felt a flash of fear cross her again. She closed her eyes and thought over the idea of Khan seeing her as unworthy to be his equal.
"We're stuck. Is that my father's doing as well? All this." Carol motioned around the med bay almost laughing. "Harrison. The torpedoes. The . . . augments. Is this all the work of the admiral?"
"Harrison is the creation of many." Marla said unwilling to open her eyes. "Genetic breeding. Torture. War. Slumber. Vengeance." Her eyes opened at the last word to stare at the woman. Her teeth ground together as her body shifted forward. The guards around her shifted readying their weapons. Carol held up her hand.
"Vengeance?"
"He used Harrison's crew to manipulate him. Manipulate him into creating weapons for Starfleet. I was merely an assistant to Harrison. Marcus dangled me in front of him like a snack waiting for him to rip me apart. It was no worry to him. My death would be better served at the hands of a savage warrior then a rapid disease." She felt her hatred for Marcus building. She hoped Khan would find himself in that similar need soon. Perhaps then Marcus could see Khan's savagery first hand.
"Why was his crew –"
"Harrison wanted to keep them safe. Smuggle them to safety, but we were caught."
"We?" Shit she had said too much. "So was this your plan then? Find his crew? Make sure they were safe? Find John Harrison? Make sure he survived?"
"Yes." All of it was true, but it wasn't the full truth.
"You care for him, don't you?" Carol looked down.
"Caring is weakness."
"It doesn't mean you can't truly care. Despite what he's done." The blonde got closer looking to the guards who remained on edge. She put her hand over Marla's. The hands that had yet to move from her stomach. Marla glanced feeling stupid that she had kept her hand in that spot. It showed her weakness, her sentiment. "You're upset for the loss of his child."
Marla knew that while the augments had bred, Khan had not been one of those that had an heir. There were never inklings in the research she had done on Khan Noonien Singh that told of a family. He was the only tyrant not to have any wives. Many of the augments had many wives though Khan was always seen to have no ties. He only had those he considered closest to him, his crew. His crew was his family. He could choose an heir among them, not from his genes. Passing on his genes through her would be a great honor however the potential had dissipated. She wondered if she'd ever get that chance again or if Khan would move on after all this ended.
Marla moved her hand from under Carol's. She looked the woman in the eye for a moment as Carol pushed her hand back to her side.
"He's killed many."
"I know." Marla stated letting her eyes narrow. "So have I." She thought about Verma, about her father's ring, about those higher ups in the conference room. She had known of Khan's plan and folded into them with glee. She should have felt guilt or remorse for the death of so many, but she didn't. "It's survival of the fittest Dr. Marcus. I have struggled for my position at the top. I've earned my place. Have you earned yours?" Her eyes glazed over in passion as Carol gave a slow meaningful smile.
"You've fallen in love with him, a savage ancient man."
"Love is poison." Marla replied. "What that man has given me is strength."
The blaring noise of alarms rattled the ship. Carol looked around flicking her eyes toward the guards. Marla found herself shifting a bit on the bed. War was coming. She moved her hands to her legs. She saw Carol turn abruptly around as the doctor entered in medical grab.
"They're bringing in the prisoner." He told Carol. The woman put her hand to her forehead then turned to look at Marla as if gauging her reaction. Marla found her eyes looking down trying to remain numb to the fact that Khan would be in her presence again. "Is this going to be a problem?" Marla could see Carol look to address the medical personal.
"I don't believe so Doctor McCoy." Her head then turned to the six guards. "They're both dangerous. Even more so together I suspect." She looked to Marla. "Especially after what they have loss." Though Marla did not make eye contact with Carol she knew the woman was staring at her deeply as if to analyze her. "Do not let her fool you." She stated to those around her. "She's just as dangerous as him." She started to walk toward the computers in the room as McCoy followed. "But she won't do anything. Because as I suspect this is exactly what they wanted."
Marla wondered if the sadness in the female doctor's voice brought sadness in her eyes. She'd be glad to see Khan again however she knew what was approaching.
Their ship was coming for them.
Author's Note: So this story has about maybe five chapters at the least left in it. Never fear though I have plans for a sequel. Though I am debating whether or not to write up a version of this story told from Khan's point of view. Let me know if a sequel or Khan's version would interest anyone. Or maybe both. If you have strong opinions for either feel free to leave them in a review or head to my profile page where there is a poll up :)
As for this chapter, I tried to make Carol and Marla's interaction mimic both Kirk and Khan's interaction from Into Darkness as well as parallel Marla and Khan's first meeting with the roles reverse. That idea clearly shows how far Marla has come in her journey for vengeance. Being that even though she is shackled she has control.
In other news, a Marla and Khan reunion is coming! Will she tell Khan of their loss? Will there even be time with Marcus breathing down their necks? Stay tuned.