Khan was unconscious, the Opulence's systems were blaring and the Admiral was looming over them in a thousand-tonne war ship. Scrambling to the controls, Nyota had to get them out of there. Khan saved her, she would save him…
xxxx
Nyota had gone back to her quarters to change and rest a little more. With this ships power, it would be a little while before they got to Titan. She thought on the Admiral's message and her own questions about it all. Why? Why would he do this to them? Herself and the other officers sent out on that mission had been nothing but assets to Starfleet, some of the best people they had in their areas of expertise. It made absolutely no sense to her. It was maddening and horrifying. She mourned the loss of her friends, and felt disturbed by how narrowly she avoided the same fate.
The door alert chimed, she called out for Khan to enter.
"I came to ask if you would like me to re-dress your leg wound?" He asked. "And if you needed any more medication of any kind."
"Sure," She replied, sitting down on the bed. "It feels a lot better, surprisingly better. You are a very good medic."
Khan smiled, kneeling down on the floor by her feet. She had no shoes or socks on, so simply began rolling up the leg of her sweatpants. Their fingers brushed as he carefully helped her, moving the fabric up over the bandaging.
Nyota watched him working silently. She had been too exhausted yesterday to really notice anything about him. He was undeniably handsome, not classically, but in a sculpted and defined way. His military hair was sleek and black, like her own, surprising for someone with such a translucent skin tone as his. As his hands touched her leg, she could feel how soft his skin was. Remarkably, he was delicate in his movements, gentle, not something that would be assumed immediately from looking at him, he was tall and muscular, built for fighting and commanding, not tending wounds or working in children's hospitals. He was a mystery.
An involuntary shiver ran through her at his touch. She held her breath a moment, trying to pretend she had not noticed it, to pretend he had not noticed it either.
Removing the bandage and cover strips he had applied, Nyota's burn wound was down to a small, purplish-red scar. It would be completely healed in a day. Khan smiled to himself, his transfusion had helped her.
"Oh my God." Nyota stretched her leg out, looking at the impeccably small wound. Yesterday she felt as if she might have to amputate her own leg, now it looked like merely a scratch. "You really are a good medic! What did you give me?"
"A transfusion of my blood." Khan said, sitting back on his heels, looking up at her.
She met his piercing blue gaze. "Your blood? I meant medicine."
"My blood has medicinal qualities. I am not all like you." He explained quietly.
"How do you mean? Are you part alien or something?" She asked. Different species were not uncommon, but if he was part alien she could not guess what kind of alien.
He exhaled slowly, his eyes looking about her features, sizing up whether he could trust her, whether she would believe him if he told her the truth. Her expression was soft, inquisitive, not judgemental.
"I am a genetically engineered human being." He began, "I was conceived in a test tube, the product of the genetics of some of the greatest minds the world has ever seen, combined with alterations to my biological and chemical systems; I am virtually indestructible, and my blood contains enough forms to heal any kind of wound or disease. Even cancer."
"Wow." Nyota was amazed. "I bet you saved many lives in that children's hospital then?
"One or two." He said modestly. Khan watched her a moment, processing what he had told her.
"So you're a test tube baby? Do you have any real parents? I didn't know they still did those experiments in our life time, because of all the dangers involved?"
"I have parents, but I did not know my biological parents." He told her. "They stopped doing test tube conceptions over two-hundred years ago."
Nyota eyed him, not sure if she believed what he was implying. Not sure how it could be possible…
"You're…" She paused, looking about his body before meeting his eyes again, "Are you telling me you're two-hundred years old?"
Khan took a breath, "Yes."
Silence sat between them for a moment as she stared at him.
"How is that even possible?" Her voice was almost a whisper.
"Cryostasis. My body was preserved, frozen in time-"
A sudden hit lurched the ship. Nyota fell off the edge of the bed and straight into Khan, who lost his balance backwards. His protective hands steadied her a moment, before both scrambled to their feet, making their way for the bridge as another hit rocked the Opulence.
They assumed positions of control at the helm, Nyota reading signals and area readouts while Khan piloted the ship to steady levels having been knocked out of warp.
"I'm picking up another ship in the vicinity." She told him.
"The Admiral." Khan knew.
With the Opulence now still, a gigantic black warship orbited around to the front of them. Nyota gasped at the enormity of the vessel before her, she had not seen a ship so large before. Khan studied it, a pang of recognition at his design. The Vengeance.
A channel opened up on their screen that Nyota had no control over. Marcus appeared on screen.
"Well Starfleet ships are robust, I guess there was a chance someone would survive." Marcus commented on Nyota's life from the captain's chair of the deep hull.
"What have you done?" Nyota was livid, "Why have you done this? Sent some of your best officers out to certain death?!"
"I didn't send you out to certain death, I sent you on a mission, a mission that went badly wrong, and that is…regrettable."
There was not an ounce of humility in his tone or expression. Nyota scowled.
"But you should have let it continue to go wrong, Khan," He moved his gaze. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess now, would we?"
"No, I would just be working in a Starfleet lead by growing corruption."
The Admiral smirked, leaning back in his chair.
"Tell me, Khan, why did you become so obsessed in saving this woman? You do not know her, you don't owe her anything, she has done nothing to aide you; you were strangers, and that's how it should have remained…"
"I am not like you, I cannot let an innocent woman die for no reason."
"But you could blow up an entire Starfleet archive, couldn't you?"
Khan inched back in his seat, eyes widening slightly.
"I found your plans, Khan." He said, plainly. "I know about the torpedoes, I know about your crew, and I know that you were planning an attack against Starfleet, against me."
Nyota looked to Khan. His expression was set, jaw locked shut and hands balled on his arm rests.
"You would have deserved it for how you've kept me." Khan growled. "Used me, locked away my people. If you have so much as moved them-"
"Oh they are long gone Khan. Long gone." Marcus dismissed his actions, "See this is what happens when you go against me. I told you the Enlightenment was none of your concern. If you had left well enough alone, and continued your work for me, we may have been able to come to some amicable agreement."
Khan twitched with rage. "There is nothing amicable about you, or the things you do. You will pay for this. You will pay for my crew, and Lieutenant Uhura's."
"No I won't." He replied, looking off screen at on of his crew members. "Lieutenants, take out their engines."
The communication terminated. Realising what had been said both Khan and Nyota jumped to action.
"Take the helm," He ordered her, "Set a course for Kronos."
"Kronos?" That was the Klingon home world. How would that possibly be a safer option than this?
"Just do it!"
Khan was already out of the bridge running for the engine control room when the ship was struck. Taking the hit, Nyota finished the coordinates and punched the warp lever to full capacity. Battered, the Opulence struggled forward, generating all the power she had to move them. In the safety of warp, Nyota followed after him.
Alerts rang out, red light flashed and engine parts steamed with damage. Khan was standing precariously on top of pipes and supports, reaching to the highest engine panels to try and configure their power consumption. He glanced down at Nyota as she approached him.
"Nyota get out of here!" He yelled.
"I can help you!"
He barked a reply but she did not hear it. An unfamiliar noise was getting louder, encompassing them, it sounded as if it was coming from outside the ship.
Suddenly they were struck again. Debris rained down from above. Nyota ducked for cover, yelling out for Khan. As she looked back he was knocked down from his post. Running to him, he was laying on the floor amongst the debris. She checked for a pulse and fortunately he was still alive, just unconscious.
There was nothing she could do for him right now, scrambling to her feet, she ran for the door and the bridge. The readouts told her there was a ship looming after them at warp, and she knew it could only be Marcus.
Taking yet another hit, the Opulence fell out of warp. Nyota was no pilot but with no choice but to take the helm, she grabbed the controls as the ship veered. Remembering her basic training, she prayed it would be enough to save them from this monster. Out of the view screen, she could see the cracked planet of Kronos. Pushing the ship for all she had left, she knew why Khan had chosen the location. The Admiral would not follow them any further, a Starfleet warship of that size would not be able to enter Klingon territory without immediately starting a war. The readout dimmed, the signal of the other ship fading as they neared the planet.
"Yes!" Nyota pitched forward in her seat, they had escaped him.
She worried about Khan as they entered the planets dark atmosphere. Piloting down, she headed for a patch of rubble and destroyed buildings that did not detect any life signs. It would do for cover for now.
Her landing was bumpy, but none the less she was impressed she had managed to keep a hold of the ship at all. Piloting was not her strongest skill by any means.
She exhaled, the comm was blaring damage reports at her, but she ignored them, getting up and heading straight for the engine room to find Khan.