6. To Serve In Heaven

Captain Shizuru Fujino was sitting at a long table. Standing behind her was her First Officer and lover, Natsuki Kuga. Standing at the far end of the table, flanked by half a dozen security guards, as well as the head of Security, Commander Haruka Armitage, was Khan Noonien Singh and Lt. Marla McGivers. Sitting mid-table was Lt. Uhura, recording the proceedings. Doctor McCoy had been able to treat the bruise that had marred the Communications officer's face after one of Khan's men had struck her for refusing to cooperate with him.

Shizuru tented her hands in front of her face, looking up at the two people across the room from her, keeping her voice even, her eyes impassive, her expression unreadable.

"Khan Noonien Singh, you stand accused of attempting to commandeer a starship of the United Federation of Planets, assault, incitement to mutiny," here she cast a sharp look at McGivers, "and attempted murder."

"Let me spare you the formalities, Captain. I plead guilty to all charges, and as the vanquished, await the necessary death penalty."

"Unfortunately for you, Khan, your penalty won't be so lenient. The Federation did away with the death penalty a long time ago. I have contacted Starfleet Command, and they have given me a handful of options. I can deliver you and your compatriots to a Starbase for a trial, with the inevitable fate for your crime being a life sentence on a penal colony. I can deliver you to an uninhabited Class-M planet, leaving you basic farming tools and provisions. But I have another idea in mind."

"Captain?" Lt. McGivers looked at her with sad, pleading eyes.

"Hey, you're in enough trouble as it is,"Haruka snapped at her, "Mutiny. Assault. Conduct unbecoming."

Shizuru waved a hand to silence Armitage.

"And what punishment would you consider apt, Captain?" Khan raised an eyebrow inquisitively, a gesture Shizuru found easier to associate with her lover and executive officer.

"Are you familiar with Milton, Mr. Singh?"

Khan nodded, his expression suddenly very curious, "I am."

"You will not be ruling, Mr. Singh," Shizuru said, "You haven't earned that privilege. Instead of ruling in Hell, I will give you the chance to serve in Heaven."

"And Lt. McGivers?" Khan asked.

"She has, as Commander Armitage has noted, committed an act of mutiny aboard a Federation vessel. She will be stripped of her commission and will likely face two years in a penal institution."

Khan looked thoughtful, "Captain, a counter-proposal. If…If you drop the charges against Lt. McGivers, I will agree to serve in whatever capacity you choose. Otherwise, I will accept the terms of a penal colony."

Shizuru looked thoughtful, then sat upright, unfolding her hands, smiling a serene smile, "I will agree to your terms. However, know that I will place restrictions on you. And the rest of your people will be divided around the Federation."

"I would expect nothing less, Captain. You are a shrewd woman. I am surprised that you have nothing to say, Captain Kuga."

"Captain Fujino and I discussed this at length before we brought this to you," Natsuki said evenly, "You are to be given the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, and you will work under me in the science division. We're on the frontier, Khan, exploring worlds and ideas that have never been seen by human, Vulcan, Klingon, or any other race we know of. Your fate is bound to ours. Fast an accurate analysis of the facts can save us. Failure can kill all of us, yourself included. Are you up to the task?"

"I am," Khan said with confidence, "Also, while I am undeniably superior in many ways, I cannot deny that you have bested me. And I consider myself a man of my word. You have agreed to spare Marla for her sins, and so I will agree to serve alongside you. It may well be that you will offer me the challenges that I seek."

"I hope you can, Khan,"Natsuki said, "Because I'll let you know right now, for every day we face life or death struggles, there are weeks on end with nothing but screens of data to observe and log. In short, we have our adventures, but we also face large bouts of tedium. If that's going to be an issue for you…"

Khan chuckled, shaking his head, "I am certain that the men and women who founded Botany Bay were also left with long bouts of tedium, even as they faced a savage wilderness. I give you my word, I will serve under you without ulterior motive. And my people? They WILL be well treated?"

"Of course," Shizuru said, not unkindly, "We will find worlds and tasks suitable for their abilities. Your Joaquin does owe Lt. Uhura a sincere apology, however. Striking a woman for honoring her oaths of duty is a most disreputable action."

"I will ask him to do so, Captain. And if I may address my people. I must prepare them to accept these terms. I give you my word there will be no tricks."

"I will take you at your word. However, please understand that Armitage and her team will accompany you, for your safety as much as for ours. They may well dislike the idea, after all."

Khan nodded, "Doubtless, most will dislike it. But all will obey it. They have sworn to live and die at my command two-hundred years before you were born, Captain. However, your precautions are reasonable, and I will comply."

"You remind me in so many ways of a good friend of mine,"Shizuru said, "He was a brave man who died to save the Federation from a cancer within. Jim Kirk. I think you would have liked him."

"Anyone whom you would call 'friend' would be a worthy and capable person," Khan smiled, "Also…once my people have been dispersed, I would like to ask you to wed Marla and I, as Ship's Captain."

Shizuru put a finger to her lip, "Serve me for six months without incident, and I'll be happy to do that."

"Fair enough, Captain."

"Thank you, Captain," Marla bowed.

"You're not entirely off the hook, Lt. McGivers. I won't charge you with mutiny, but you have broken my trust. Confined to quarters for a week. Dismissed."

"Thank you again, Captain," she and Khan were led out of the room by Armitage.

"Do you think we can trust him, Shizuru?" Natsuki asked, "He tried to kill us all, after all."

"True. However, he does strike me as a man who keeps his word. And he will be without his cohorts here. Even he can't operate the Enterprise without a crew. Together, you and I have presented him with a challenge I can only hope he finds worthy of his intellect. Plus, he's a man in love. I'm sure you know that I am hardly a saint in the department of romance. So your acceptance of me is altogether heartening. Can I offer him no less than a chance to redeem himself, as I have been offered?"

"But is this a tale of a grateful man who will honor his commitment to us? Or is this the tale of the scorpion and the frog, and whether he means to or not, he will sting us to our deaths, even if it means his own?"

"Time will tell, Natsuki. Time will tell. But I promise you this, whether he lives up to his word or not, we are the better for giving him the chance."

~~*~~

SIX MONTHS LATER:

"Captain," Khan called from his post at the science station, "Sensors indicate a shockwave in the Ceti Alpha system. Long range scanners confirm…Ceti Alpha VI has exploded. It appears to be a dilithium implosion."

"Someone must've been running an illegal mining operation without properly shielding the dilithium," Natsuki said, "The shockwave wouldn't propagate any other way. Still this shows Shizuru made the right decision in the end."

"Oh?"

"Remember, one of the choices was to leave you and your people at the nearest Class-M world. At the time, that would have been Ceti Alpha V. Right now, that planet is being subjected to the shockwave. The biosphere is being ravaged. If you were there, now, it would have meant the death of everyone."

Khan nodded, looking into the scope at the science station, "It would be a bit before the orbit settles, but you are correct."

Khan gave a short laugh.

"Something amusing?" Natsuki asked.

"It seems Captain Fujino chose correctly after all. 'Tis better to serve in Heaven than to rule in Hell."