That was how they stood for what seemed like an eternity to Aubrey. Though she had halted in her pointless attempts to escape his hold, her body still vibrated with the adrenaline pumping through her veins and her breath came in ragged puffs of air through her flared nostrils. His grip never loosened, but it didn't tighten either; he just held her as solidly as if she were caught in the snares of a living statue. However when her breathing had finally calmed to a slower pace he slowly turned her so that they were facing each other and automatically her green eyes locked onto his smoldering blue ones. They were cold and unfeeling like ice, matching his expressionless pale features to a T. His gaze bore down on her in such a way that her skin crawled with an inkling of fear, but she refused to allow anything more than shock mar her own face.

She didn't even realize he had moved to pin her back up against the cryotube they were standing beside until she felt the cold penetrate past her lab coat and uniform to sink into her lower back. Instantly she shivered and goosebumps erected the little hairs all over her body. When she noticed Khan's eyes flicker ever so slightly to do a quick perusal of her she hoped he wouldn't think he was the one that was effecting her in such a way –she didn't feel like having her head torn off because he was simply disgusted with her.

Slowly he removed his hand from her mouth and when he still didn't speak, Aubrey decided to give it a try and opened her mouth to say something when he cut her off. "How long?"

She blinked more out of surprise that he would cut her off like that, as she was used to being the one in charge, than his actual short and clipped question, but answered anyway. "Five years."

He cocked his head to one side and closed his eyes briefly and for a moment Aubrey was witness to his renowned anger as his lips formed a sneer and his hands that had moved to pin her biceps to the tube behind her tightened. It was a bit painful, but she didn't dare wince and incur his wrath farther. "My crew?" he asked, still not looking at her and tone deadly calm. Aubrey blinked and apparently took too long to answer because he lashed out, his right hand leaving her arm to wrap around her neck like a vice. He pushed her harder against the cryotube and she let out a strangled choke as her back followed the convexed surface of the device, her now free hand clawing at his wrist desperately.

"Did your precious Starfleet not have the decency to at least recover their bodies? Assuming there was anything left besides pieces," he snarled, his face contorting in such fury Aubrey thought she might burn up at its intensity. Although that would have been preferred over choking to death. And were she not currently without use of her vocal cords she would have snarkily asked if he had even bothered to look around the room for himself and tell her what he saw. If she wasn't already dying of lack of oxygen, she definitely would have been after that comment for sure.

So, unable to verbally reply, she never lost eye contact with him and instead released her free hand from his wrist to point behind him, the limb shaking only slightly. His glare deepened along with his pressure for a moment then the next thing she knew he had pulled her away from the cryotube and tossed her effortlessly to the floor to cough and wheeze as he whirled around to stare around the hangar. She couldn't help but look up and watch his reaction as she massaged her sore throat and gulped in as much air as she could, hoping her heart rate would decrease sooner rather than later.

His anger had melted into something closer to awe and another expression that had Aubrey wondering if maybe there had been some temporary brain damage after his assault. If she didn't know who he was she would have said he looked ready to cry in surprised joy, the shear relief almost bringing him to tears. However, this was Khan, you could never really trust what he did no matter how real it seemed. He was a master manipulator. Though somehow she had a strong feeling this was genuine.

As if forgetting that she was there he started making his way down the row of cryotubes walking slowly as if in a daze and checked each one just to make sure he wasn't being deceived and that his crew members were actually alive and well inside their confinements. Aubrey shakily rose to her feet while retrieving her PADD and adjusting her glasses to follow him, desperately hoping he wouldn't try to release any of them. That would be even more difficult to explain to the Admiral. As it was, she had no idea what to do with the one that was already up and walking.

"How?" he finally asked, his voice so soft and tender it reminded her of a child's; there was no trace of any regret he might have had for what he just did to her which wasn't surprising. Nevertheless, she still felt a tug of sympathy in her heart for the man though tried not to let it affect her. "The torpedoes –"

"–Blew up in the cargo hold of the Vengeance," Aubrey finished with an agreed nod, her voice a little rough and choppy due to the strangling. He bristled and tossed another sneer in her direction before moving on. Obviously he didn't like being interrupted as much as she did. With a self-satisfied smirk at the thought, she continued. "Commander Spock removed your people from the torpedoes and armed them just minutes before you beamed them over to your ship." She stopped there to watch his reaction to this –and to give her sore throat a break –but she was unrewarded as he just continued down the line with her a few feet behind. "He may pretend he's an unfeeling Vulcan, but his human half couldn't allow him to end 72 lives for one man no matter how powerful he is."

At this he stopped and turned to face her again, but he didn't look angry; in fact he looked intrigued. That, unfortunately, didn't lessen his imposing appearance one bit. "And Kirk?"

Aubrey bit her lip and wondered if she was maybe saying too much, but even if she didn't tell him he'd probably find out some other way –he was a genius after all and the secret archives' information was practically endless. "He… died," she started softly, her throat still sore and weak, but the memory of that time was also still fresh in her mind. She didn't know Jim Kirk very well, but they interacted once in a while at the Academy and he seemed like a good –although horny –man. If she had friends, Jim Kirk probably would have been one of them. "The warp core was misaligned and Kirk died of radiation poisoning to save the Enterprise from crashing to Earth. When you were recaptured by Commander Spock, they took some of your blood to revive him. He, and the rest of the Enterprise crew, are currently in year four of a five year exploration mission."

"Most interesting," Khan said slowly, his eyes roaming over her again as if evaluating her. Unlike before when he looked at her with disdain, he now watched her calculatingly. She felt a nervous knot form in her belly, but she stood her ground and held her head high. "What is your name?"

Her brows furrowed in some confusion. What was the point of knowing her name if he was just going to kill her? Regardless, she replied, "Commander Aubrey Shepherd."

"Ah," he drawled, a smirk playing at his lips. "I thought something of the sort. You are confident, stubborn… and at least moderately intelligent though you are foolish enough to try my patience."

Aubrey was pretty sure that was meant to be a compliment coming from someone like him, but the jab about being 'moderately intelligent' had her bristling and she crossed her arms over her chest while leveling him with her own glare. "Well, if you're so smart how did you allow yourself to get caught?"

His mood darkened again and creases formed upon his brow. "Take care with your words, human. You may be intelligent, but I can find another if I so wish. I could kill you in an instant." He turned his back to her again and continued on down the aisle. "And rest assured I will not allow such a circumstance to happen again."

She decided to ignore his last statement. "I don't doubt that for a second. The only question is why you haven't yet," she challenged though she found she was curious for the answer, if not a bit scared of it too. Like he said before, he could tear her head from her body so why was she still walking around?

"As previously mentioned, you are at least moderately intelligent and as a Commander of Starfleet you hold codes and sequences that will help me and my people to escape."

"So, what? You think I'll just hand them over to you? Highly unlikely," she scoffed.

"I would prefer to kill you, but cracking codes would go much quicker with you alive," he replied monotonously then suddenly stopped to face her again causing her to try and not run into him. "You will find I can be very persuasive."

"And you will find I can be very resilient," she countered stubbornly while placing her hands securely on her hips. His lips quirked again into another small smirk.

"That has yet to be seen. So far you have given me all the information I have asked of you, Ms. Shepherd."

Aubrey's teeth clenched in frustration at his purposeful misuse of her title. She knew he was trying to get a rise out of her and forced her jaw to relax enough to allow a condescending smile to appear. "I gave you information you could easily find in two minutes on a PADD. I'd hardly call that cooperation."

His eyes flickered like they had before and he looked her over again as if assessing her, the light blue hue of them deceptively calm yet just as devious. He took a step closer as they locked with hers, their chests nearly touching now, and she fought the urge to take the instinctive step back. Instead, she hardened her stare and lifted her chin to show him he couldn't intimidate and bully her like the rest of his victims, that she wasn't some powerless woman with nerves like jelly. She was strong and she was stubborn. She wasn't yet sure if that would be her salvation or her demise.

The right corner of his lip quirked again as amusement flashed across his face before disappearing again. Without a word he took a step back which allowed her to straighten out her neck and she was silently thankful to be relieved of the small ache that had begun to form from being in such a position. She was confused, and actually quite annoyed, when he suddenly turned away and started stalking towards the entrance that was now only a few yards away. Aubrey immediately panicked and dashed after him, her lab coat billowing out behind her and her hurried footsteps clacking uncoordinatedly on the hard ground. She managed to beat him to the still partially open door and spin around just in time to meet his cold eyes once more. He was glaring at her again, his lips set in a thin line and his shoulders stiff, but he didn't move to push her out of the way which she thought odd.

She knew it was pointless to use her body as a physical barrier to his escape as he was clearly much stronger than her and wouldn't hesitate to snap her neck to get her out of his way. At the same time she couldn't risk him going out there and being seen. The destruction he caused may have happened five years prior, but it wasn't something the people of Starfleet would easily forget. Since then his face had been plastered all over the WorldNet in political comics and conspiracy theory search engines. He was famous even outside of Starfleet, there's no way he wouldn't be recognized even though most only knew him as the rogue John Harrison and not the Augment Khan.

"Move," he ground out in what Aubrey was sure was one of his most menacing tones, his voice so low and cold it sent a chill down her spine. Shaking her head, she shifted her stance so her feet were more stable, essentially standing her ground.

"No. You go out there right now and you'll have an angry mob of Starfleet personnel on you in five minutes flat," she stubbornly shot back. Khan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And I don't care now strong you are; there are a lot of them and I can guarantee their phasers will not be set to stun."

His stony glare melted again and something closer to curiosity replaced it as a dark eyebrow rose a bit higher on his pale forehead. "And you are defending me from this fate? How interesting…"

"Careful; that ego of yours might weigh you down," she shot back with a sneer. "Call it weakness, but my conscious can't knowingly send a man out to his death."

Khan chuckled darkly. "Not weakness, doctor. Merely a test."

Aubrey couldn't stop herself from being confused and slightly curious. "A test?"

"Yes. One that you passed."

"I don't under-"

"Commander Shepherd?"

Once again Aubrey found herself with her back pressed against the wall with Khan's hand over her mouth, the expanse of his torso sandwiching her between him and the wall. She could hardly breathe with the pressure and Khan's hand blocking most of the airflow. Although the sudden anxiety probably wasn't helping either.

"Commander Shepherd?" the voice from the other side of the door called again. It was slightly far off and mingled with heavy footsteps which could only mean that Matthews was not quite ready to burst in the hangar just yet. Aubrey felt a trickle of worry because if the man did she had no doubt that Khan would kill him the moment his foot passed the invisible barrier between the hall and hangar. He already had one Commander, he didn't need two.

Her eyes searched out the Augment's in the still somewhat dim light of the hangar and she silently pleaded with him to spare his life, but Khan either didn't get the message or chose to ignore it entirely which seemed the more likely option. She only remembered that she still held the PADD in her hand when Khan violently ripped it from her grasp and threw it to the floor where it shattered noisily. It echoed painfully loudly around the hangar enough to make her flinch, but Khan, of course, was disturbingly calm. There was no way Matthews hadn't heard that.

She was proven right when she heard the Commander's footsteps quicken and his voice take on a worried tone. "Aubrey? Is everything alright?"

But Aubrey barely took notice of the worry from the other man as her vision was filled with nothing but Khan after he had crouched before her for a moment then rose to his full height once more. He leaned forward menacingly, his stare hard and icy like before and his frown cruel enough to send another shiver down her spine. A sharp object suddenly threatening her abdominal aorta probably added to that as well. He even had the audacity to touch it to her side gently and run the sharp point up and down so slowly that it could have been mistaken as a lover's caress had it not been endangering her life.

His voice was low once again as he spoke. "Get rid of him."

That was all the instruction she got before she was shoved into the crack created between the hangar door and wall, her body effectively blocking the entrance stiffly with a shard from the PADD threatening her artery and a fake smile plastered on her lips for the Commander she had nearly been shoved into. The man stumbled as he blinked several times, clearly surprised at her sudden appearance while she struggled internally to not let the immense stress she was feeling show on her face.

"Commander," he breathed in a sigh, a small smile gracing his lips. "I thought you might have left when you didn't answer, but then I heard the crash –"

"Sorry," she immediately apologized and cut him off in the process. "I was preoccupied; you know how I am when I'm working."

Matthews' smile dropped and he looked her over, one eyebrow slowly rising. "And the crash?"

"Dropped my PADD," she explained with a light shrug.

"Oh," he replied rather awkwardly. "So, about that tube you wanted me to check out…?"

"That won't be necessary anymore, Commander. As it turns out, the Lieutenant entered the wrong data and possibly pressed a few keys she shouldn't have. The cryotube is fine. Fully functional," she assured, her smile never wavering even with the ever present reminder of Khan's threat pressed into her back.

"Not much of a loss then, was she?" the man chuckled and Aubrey forced herself to smile indulgingly. Word traveled fast, didn't it?

"Indeed not," she agreed, a barely perceptible bite to her words.

"You sure you don't want me to take a quick peak? Won't take more than a moment."

She felt the shard press into her back harder and she bit back an almost startled gasp. "No, it's quite alright," she assured almost breathily. "I have everything under control."

Matthews regarded her for a moment and Aubrey continued to smile until he finally nodded in acceptance. "Alright," he said. She immediately felt the sharp edge recede slightly. "But if anything goes wrong, don't hesitate to com me."

"Absolutely," Aubrey nodded. "Sorry for dragging you out here for nothing, Commander."

"It's alright, Aubrey. No harm done," Matthews smiled and nodded goodbye before turning on his heal and going back the way he came while Aubrey pushed the heavy hangar door shut with a resounding 'clunk'.

Khan's makeshift weapon had since disappeared from threatening her back and now hung had his side as she turned to glare at him. "What the hell was that for?" she snapped at him, a glare narrowing her brow. Khan merely raised one of his.

"Incentive."

"I would have done it if you would have just asked. Like a normal person," she spat back at him angrily. At this he seemed genuinely confused and even blinked once or twice as he looked her over. "I don't want anyone getting hurt because of you. I would have gotten him to leave if you had asked me to."

At this he scoffed, the confusion disappearing from his face like it had never been there and was replaced by his usual blank emotionless expression. "Pointless. I will kill many before I get what I want. Your attempts in the future will not prove to have the same results."

"Be that as it may, I at least saved a good man's life. That will probably be a comfort when you finally get around to killing me."

"You still believe I'm going to kill you?" He almost seemed to chuckle as he said this, but really his tone seemed more condescending than anything. Aubrey got the distinct impression he was treating her like an airheaded child and she didn't like it.

"I'm an inferior being with no greater purpose than to serve your cause," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm a means to an end; of course you're going to kill me. As soon as I fulfill my purpose, I'm –" Here she didn't even bother to finish the sentence with words and instead substituted with a throat slitting action with her hand, complete with a squelching croak-like noise from her mouth. When the gesture was complete she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him as he eyed her in interest.

"For one who knows of their impending brutal death, you seem oddly at ease with it," he drawled calmly. "Accepting..." A thought seemed to occur to him and his gaze became more intent and he angled his body so he was completely facing her now. It made her slightly uneasy having him so focussed on her, those cold eyes calculating her as if she were a specimen to study. Funny, seeing as how he was the one that everyone wanted to experiment and test on. "Do you not fear death?"

Aubrey blinked at such a redundant question. Of course she feared it; it was human nature to fear the unknown and unanswered questions as old as time. But that didn't mean she had to fight it. Death happened to everyone and everything; for some it was sooner than later –but in the end everything dies. Yes, she feared death, if only a little, but why try to stop it when it was bound to happen anyway?

"I do," she finally answered after a few beats of silence between them. "I just don't fight it. If it happens; it happens. All things die eventually; my time just seems to be ending sooner than I thought and I'm okay with that. Even you, Khan, will die someday." His eyes narrowed a fraction at this, but Aubrey ignored it. She felt it was pointless to be scared of him now that the realization that she was going to die by his hand whether he was angry or not had dawned on her. Acceptance was sinking farther and farther into her mind and she didn't try to push it away. All that was left for her to do was to goad him. "It's likely you will live longer than us humans, but the fact still remains that you will die. And I take comfort in that."