Chapter 19
The morning comes and Khan shifts his weight as he sits up, pulling one of the thin, gray blankets off of Meira. She whines in her sleep and snuggles closer him for warmth. Khan smiles softly at the woman before covering her back up and rising gracefully to his feet.
The snow has slowed. Somewhat. Yet, he knows the other's chances of survival are slim at best. Slowly, careful not to disturb his sleeping companion, Khan eases himself away and walks noiselessly to the cave entrance to look for any sign of life.
Nothing.
Not even smoke.
He thinks for a minute. Nothing had tried to attack them while they lay weak and vulnerable on the ground. It was highly likely that there were no living organisms on this planet much less anything that could powerful enough to pose a significant threat—not with this extreme weather. Or, so he hoped.
"Meira," he says softly, walking back over to her. "Meira, I'm going to look for the others."
She hums in response.
"I'll be back soon. Just stay here."
She nods tiredly and Khan smiles softly before reclaiming his coat and venturing out into the frozen wasteland. The snow crunches loudly with every step that he takes as he makes painstaking progress towards some wreckage: two chairs, part of the floor, all four security officers dead. Khan frowns and nudges one of the bodies with the toe of his boot to get a better look at its neck.
There were claw marks.
Perhaps they weren't so alone after all.
Quickly, he straightens up and scans the nearby area. Mountains. Wiry, grey vegetation. Ice…and…what was that? A station of some kind? Khan frowns and scrutinizes the mountain more closely. Near the peak, the mountain met another. In the cleft where they joined, was a large black building. Shelter. If they could reach that structure, they could call for help and tell the Enterprise about the others who were missing.
He runs back to the cave and rips the blankets of Meira and beings to quickly fold them up and put them into their own respective packs. She bolts up to a sitting position and shivers.
"Get up. Quickly. We need to move." Khan orders firmly but she just blinks at him in confusion. "Now!" He growls.
"What? What is it? What's wrong?" She asks, standing slowly.
"I may have a found a way out of this place. Grab your back. We must lleave now and cover as much ground as we can before night comes again." He paces the room to make sure that they left none of their vital supplies behind before turning back to her. "Are you ready?" He asks briskly.
"Sure?" She yawns and he grabs her forearm, dragging her outside with him.
"Quickly." He orders. "We must move faster."
"What about the others?" She asks as he forces her into a run, his grip not loosening.
"Most likely dead. The temperatures were too cold for anyone to have survived without some sort of shelter." He leaves out the part about the mysterious creature that had killed the security officer. "If any of them still live, you would probably be going to the station as well." If they weren't eaten first, that is.
"Station? What station?"
"There," he points and she follows his finger.
"Who do you think made it?"
Who indeed? The planet was uncharted, unexplored. Who could have possibly come here to make it?
"Section 31, perhaps." He muses. "But it doesn't matter. There may be food there, and heat, and communications devices…perhaps even a small ship."
"And if there's not?" She asks, voicing his unsaid doubts.
"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it," he says simply. "There's no use worrying over something that may not occur—it would be a waste of energy."
She nods at his words. "You know, you can let do now. I'm perfectly capable of walking."
She tugs at the arm he holds hostage, and he relents reluctantly. They've reached the base of the mountain. There was no trial for them to follow and the large, ice coated boulders covering the surface would make it difficult to climb…but he'd endured worse.
"I'll climb up and pull you up after me. Understand?" He peers into her eyes and she nods.
"Knock yourself out."
She grins nervously and then glances at the mountain side. Khan looks as well. They had a long way to go before reaching their target destination. He crawls easily onto a boulder that stops at his shoulders and then holds his palm out the Meira. She grabs uncertainly and pulls herself up.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," she tries to joke and Khan raises an eyebrow at her.
"We've only just begun," And then he begins to climb, leaving her to follow after him.
…
They arrive long after night has fallen. As before the wind picks up, throwing snow and ice into their eyes, thus limiting visibility. Khan's hand holds tightly to Meira's arm as they trudge on wearily. Not once have they stopped and by now the exertion is beginning to take its toll, even on him.
"We're nearly there," he calls loudly in encouragement.
"What makes you think that?" She asks.
"I can see it. It's not far now. Just a few more meters." A few meters, he mind mocks. With the snow hugging tightly to your legs and fight with the wind that is trying desperately to throw you into the air? It was as well be a few more miles.
And then, they make it. Khan allows Meira and to lean tiredly against the wall while he forces the door open. Quickly, he scoops her lightly into his arms and takes the both of them inside before closing the door behind them firmly with his foot. A thin layer of dust covers all of the furniture but in short, it looked functional enough to suit their needs. Khan sets Meira down on what appears to be a couch and quickly turns the power on. The generators whine and squeal, but the lights flicker on after too long.
"How do you feel?" Khan asks. "Are you injured?"
"I'm fine, thanks." She yawns and rummages through her pack and tosses some food at him. "Hungry?" She pulls out a protein bar for herself.
They eat in silence.
"How long do you think someone like me could last in a place like this?" Meira asks and Khan thinks for a minute.
"Not long," he says after a while. "But it's possible at least some of the others have made it. It's a small possibility, mind you, but possible nevertheless."
"Alright." She yawns. "So, bedtime?" She asks, yawning again.
"Bedtime," he agrees. "Stay here. I'm going to make sure it's safe first."
"There is dust on everything. I'm pretty sure that's a good indication that we're alone." She points out.
"Even so." He turns and wanders down the corridors.
The station was a huge abandoned section 31 station that could easily house over two hundred people. The replicators were up to date though the communications room had been ransacked. No matter. He could fix that tomorrow. The heating unit was also broken, but they could use their combined body heat once more to stay warm. There were no monsters lurking in the shadows, no beast waiting to devour them, and bathroom with actual tubs.
Yes, this would do quite nicely.
"All safe," he announces, wandering back to Meira.
"Told you," She mutters as he helps her into the nearest bed and then curling in bedside her. "Goodnight," She yawns rolling so that she faces away from him.
"Sleep well," he replies closing his eyes.