- 8 -

"Are the cameras ready?"

"Affirmative, my lord," said Captain Adamant. "A cloud of micro-drones will pass through with the fleet when we open portals to the Federation's universe. They will record the coming battle from every angle, combining their input to create a three dimensional live-feed. With the feed from the bridge of this flagship, your victory will be live-streamed through a dimensional portal to every corner of the Empire."

"Excellent! Excellent!"

Khan grinned wolfishly. Three decades of planning and preparation were about to come to fruition. What came next was almost a formality. Victory was assured.

The viewscreen was currently displaying the fleet, arrayed before him. There were thirty starships in all, every one of which was superior to any vessel the Federation could call upon. Then there was his own ship, the Leviathan, which was in turn larger and more powerful than any of them. More powerful still were his doomsday machines. He had six in all, five of them constructed over the past twenty years having been reverse-engineered from the original that Captain James T. Kirk had captured. Khan sometimes still missed Kirk. His natural bloodthirstiness and contempt for the very concept of mercy were exemplary, yet he had still ultimately proven unworthy. In the Empire, promotion was achieved by assassinating those above you and taking their position. Kirk had been killed during one such challenge to his authority. It was unfortunate, but fate had to be allowed to take its course.

"We've given the Federation long enough to get starships to Charon," Khan announced. "Let the invasion commence!"

One by one, each starship opened a portal directly in front of them and sailed through it into that other universe. When they had done so the Leviathan followed suit, as did the doomsday machines. What they found on the other side was a disappointment. Rather than the Federation fleet Khan had hoped to decimate, all that awaited them was a single starship. It made no attempt to flee, maintaining its position until the entire Empire force had assembled. Khan frowned. Something wasn't right.

"Scan the enemy ship. I want to know the status of their shields and weapons."

"Yes, my lord," said Captain Adamant. "Helmsman, full scan of that ship."

Ten seconds later the scan was complete, but the helmsman had something else to report first.

"A small shuttlecraft has just launched from the rear of the enemy ship. Should we intercept or destroy?"

"Is it headed for Earth?"

"Negative. Its course will take it out of the solar system and into deep space."

"Probably cowards fleeing rather than stand with their crew and face us," sneered Khan. "Let them go. Such people do not deserve a warrior's death. Now give me the result of your scans."

"Yes, my lord. Shields have not been raised and all weapons systems appear to be at standby status only. They have not gone to battle stations."

"Are they getting ready to surrender to us?" said Adamant, sounding uncertain.

"Let's find out," said Khan. "Open a hailing channel."

"Hailing channel open," said the communications officer.

An image of the Federation ship's bridge appeared on the viewscreen. Sitting in the captain's chair was a confident-looking young woman.

"Hello, Federation ship. This is the ISS Leviathan, flagship of the imperial fleet of the Terran Empire and I am Emperor Khan Noonien Singh."

"I am Captain Grace Coleman of the USS Endurance, and we know who you are. Starfleet had a couple of run ins with your counterpart over here, which he lost. The last resulted in his death."

"Careful, woman," said Khan, menacingly, "It isn't wise to try and provoke me. If you and your crew hope to survive you will now kneel before Khan, just as your entire United Federation of Planets soon will."

"That will not be happening," said Captain Coleman. "I'm afraid you appear to be labouring under a misapprehension. Starfleet didn't send me here to bend a knee. They sent me here to accept your surrender."

For a moment Khan said nothing, stunned by the woman's audacity.

"Are you mad, woman? You're facing a vastly superior force and you haven't even raised your shields or gone to battle stations."

"I don't need to," she replied, "and I'm still awaiting your surrender."

Khan's patience was at an end. This impudent female needed to be put in her place.

"Helmsman, open fire on that ship," snarled Khan, "phasers at full power!"

Khan leaned forward in his throne, anticipating the destruction of the Endurance.

Nothing happened.

"I gave you an order!" he shouted. "Destroy that ship!"

"I..I'm trying, my lord," came the reply, "but weapons systems aren't responding. None of our systems are except life support and communications. The Leviathan is dead in the water!"

Khan hit the comms button in his throne's armrest.

"All other ships," he yelled, "obey your Emperor and fire on that enemy vessel!"

Again, nothing happened.

"All ships are reporting complete failure of their systems," said Captain Adamant, sounding fearful, "and none of the doomsday machines are responding to commands."

Khan slumped back in his throne. This was impossible. Captain Coleman had deployed no weapons, yet somehow she had neutralised the finest ships in the Empire's fleet. But all was not yet lost. He still had one ace to play.

"Send the signal out to all our sleeper agents. It's time for them to rise up and destroy Starfleet from within. If the woman thinks she's won here she has another think coming. Monitor all news and Starfleet channels. I want to follow the uprising as it happens."

For the following hour they did just that, Khan refusing calls from his restive captains all the while, until he was forced to accept the truth.

"There's been no uprising, my lord," said Captain Adamant. "None of our agents have responded to the call, none at all."

The viewscreen sprang back to life. Once again it showed Captain Coleman on her bridge.

"You've had long enough to consider your position, 'your majesty'." she said. "Now I need to dispose of those nasty doomsday machines of your. First those to your starboard I think."

The viewscreen switched to a split image, one half showing Grace Coleman and the other the doomsday machines. The captain snapped her fingers and explosions could be seen taking place deep in the maw of each. Then, one-by-one, they started to crumple, crushed by the unleashed power of the miniature black hole at their heart, until all that remained were super-compressed balls of matter.

"Now for those to your port," said Grace, snapping the fingers of her other hand.

Once again the process repeated itself, until all six of the doomsday machines had been destroyed.

Sitting on his throne, Khan could barely accept what he had just witnessed. Entire worlds had been bankrupted to finance the construction of the doomsday machines. They were supposed to make the Empire invincible, an unstoppable force. Now they were all just so much scrap.

"I'm ready to accept your surrender now, Emperor," said Grace.

Khan had promised his captains one of the quickest wars in history, and it had been. He just hadn't expected it to end like this.

"Before that can happen we have to determine if I am to remain Emperor," said Khan, wiping nervous sweat from his brow. "After such a defeat I have to offer the challenge. It is our way."

At all levels of the Empire's military you progressed by killing your superiors and, rightly, the Emperor was not exempt from this. Only council members and starship captains had the standing to challenge for the throne. The council wasn't here, but his captains were, not that he actually expected any of them to challenge him. In the decades Khan had been Emperor he had never been successfully challenged. He doubted that any of his captains believed they could take him, even now. Their faces appeared on the Leviathan's viewscreen.

"Well?" he said. "Does anyone choose to challenge me?"

There was a sudden bright light, and somebody materialised on the bridge.

"I do," said the newcomer.

"You?!" said Khan. "How can it be you?"