"Enterprise to away team." Captain LeFevre's voice came in over Kirk's communicator "What's your status?"

"Answer it." Khan demanded.

Kirk took the communicator off of his belt and held it to respond. "Currently in negotiations." He kept a close watch on Khan, trying to get a read on the man, but he kept the same unchanging expression of arrogance and barely contained rage. "The Portland's landing party has been allowed to return to the ship."

"And the civilians?"

"I'm working on that. Kirk out." That was all he dared to say. "Khan…about those civilians…"

"Admiral, you are in no position to ask for anything more. You asked for the return of one hostage, I generously returned four,". Khan taunted

"Four Starfleet personnel, who knew they might find themselves in danger when they signed up for the job. As you already pointed out, my duty is to protect the civilians, and we've already lost one." Kirk didn't expect to get anything more simply from asking, but Wayne Gretzky's words of wisdom rang in his head. If you don't ask, you don't get.

"We reached an agreement, which you accepted, I cannot be at fault if you regret your choice." It was clear that Khan's patience was beginning to wear thin.

"Then tell me what it would take to release just one hostage." Kirk, too, was beginning to grow impatient.

"I won't give you another just for listening this time."

"Nor do I expect it."

A slight, sly smile appeared on Khan's face before he spoke again. "One of my men aboard the Enterprise."

Damn. The one thing he asked for was the one thing that would get everyone killed. "You know I can't allow that." Kirk tried to think fast, well aware that if he said the wrong thing another person would die. "There's nothing else? A compromise?"

"How tragic, Admiral, that you have such a poor estimation of the Enterprise's crew that you think an entire ship could be overpowered by a single man."

"That's still not a chance I'm willing to take." Kirk spoke with such unyielding firmness that made it clear nothing would change his mind.

"Then you leave me no choice." Khan turned to speak to an augment. "Bring me another hostage."

"Khan….no. We can work something out, just be reasonable." Kirk begged, but Khan sat back and ignored his pleas.

The augment returned with a hostage, a young woman whose eyes were red and swollen as if she had been crying.

"Tell Admiral Kirk your name," khan demanded.

"Yukari Sato." Her voice was shaken and very audible.

"Very good," Khan mused. "I think Admiral Kirk should know the name of each person whose death he is responsible for."

Kirk couldn't sit back and watch any longer. He put his hand on his phaser and lunged forward, but just as quickly as he sprung to action, Spock grabbed his arm and pulled him back. The Vulcan's strength was too much for him to overcome.

"Exercise some self-control, Jim." Spock spoke firmly to calm down his friend. "Escalation will only put the other hostages at greater risk."

Spock's words were not enough to dampen Kirk's drive to do something to try to save that woman's life. He struggled in vain to break free, and as he struggled he watched in horror as the augment broke Yukari's neck.

"Take them away." Khan gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "And take their phasers and communicators, I want the Enterprise to be kept in the dark about what has happened here."

Inside Captain Albrecht's ready room, Maya couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. She should have relieved to know that the Portland was as good as seized, but instead the thoughts that dominated her mind was how Albrecht had been the gentlest, most trusting person she had ever spoken to, and now she was on a fast track to a very nasty end.

"Maya, I need to talk with you to determine where you loyalties lie." Even with her mind taken over, Captain Albrecht still spoke so soft and easy, it would take a very careful observer to notice any change in demeanor, but Maya knew what to look for. She knew what Ceti eels could do to a person.

"Honestly I'm on my own side, but I can guess what happened to you down there, and many of our goals are going to be congruent."

Silence. She would have to spell it out.

"Of all the things I told you, the only truth is that I wanted to get off that rock and that I'm tired of never being good enough, but my loyalty lies with my family."

Albrecht nodded. "I appreciate your cooperation."

"The best way to trust someone is to trust them. You told me that."

"I did." There was a twinge of desperate sadness in Albrecht's voice that struck Maya to the marrow, that made her wonder if a part of the person Albrecht used to be was still in there and trying to fight it's way out.

She didn't want to give that feeling any chance to grow, so she abruptly moved on. "Your doctor has samples of my DNA. I had hoped that could be used to help differentiate between the augments and the hostages, to more easily beam some of my people aboard."

Albrecht nodded. "Understood."