Botany Bay

by Starsinger

After the incident with Khan, most of Starfleet has been searching for the ship that Marcus discovered. In the original episode, eighty men and women went to space, seventy-two survived. Don't own them.

"Captain, I have an odd message for you. It's from Ambassador Sarek, he says it's the last message left by Ambassador Spock before he died and wanted you to have it," Uhura said, turning toward Kirk with a PADD in her hand.

Kirk's brow wrinkled in confusion. It had been two years since the Ambassador and his wife died. Why did he was he getting the message now? He walked over to the PADD and looked at the message:

Jim,

On this date in my time we discovered the Botany Bay and Khan Noonien Singh. Here are the coordinates. It probably is no longer there, and even if it is, Khan is not.

Live Long and Prosper,

Spock

"Mr. Sulu, set a course for these coordinates," Jim said, handing Sulu the PADD. "Warp Factor 5."

"We'll arrive at those coordinates in two hours, Captain," Sulu responded.

"Thank you, Mr. Sulu," Jim responded returning to his chair.

Two hours later they arrived at the ship, and found the ship. Jim formed an away team: him, Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Lieutenant Marla McGivers, ship's historian. The beamed over to the ship wearing respirators, there was little atmosphere on the ship, not enough to breathe anyway. Once aboard Jim looked around. There were eighty cryotubes all built into the walls of the ancient craft. They all stared, "So, Marcus just left the ship here?" Bones asked.

"Apparently," Jim responded, "once he had what he wanted, he discarded what he didn't need."

"Captain, the machines are still running," Spock responded.

"Not surprised," Jim replied. He walked over and punched some buttons, "According to these readouts, there's someone left."

They spent the next ten minutes running through the ship. Seven tubes were still occupied, all dead. "It looks like they died in the intervening years between launch and being found, Jim," Bones told them. "They're in various states of advanced decomposition, delayed by the malfunctioning cryotubes."

"Computers say there is one left, Captain," Spock told him. "Someone else may still be alive."

"Over here!" they heard. They rounded a corner to discover McGivers kneeling in front of another tube. A woman lay inside.

"She's alive," Bones confirmed. "Do we wake her up?"

"No, she's as dangerous as Khan, and letting her out here will kill her. Have M'Benga meet us in the transporter room ready to put her into a coma. Put her in a stasis field in Sickbay, just in case," Jim told Bones.

In moments, all five were transported back to the ship where M'Benga hurriedly administered the drugs to the silent woman. Jim hit the comm button on the transporter console, "Uhura, call Starfleet. Tell them of our discovery and that we're on our way back to Earth."

Hours later, in spite of all the drugs, she awoke. She never gave her name, but breathed a single word, a name, "Khan."

"We're taking you to him," Bones told her. She nodded before slipping back into sleep.

Admiral Barnett met the shuttle bringing her back to Earth, "Will she join wherever it is your keeping Khan?" Jim asked.

"Yes," the Admiral responded. "No sense in waking her up with no family."

"Yeah, family is everything," Jim responded before he returned to his own family, made not born.