You should have let him sleep (chapter 9 of ?)
Chapter 9 - The Flight
Sent over to rranne at 23:00, got it back at 5:55, so if I am writing quickly, it is solely because of her. She's a marvel.
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.
.
They will be running with their shields down.
John heard that in his hiding spot and an idea popped up inside his head. As much as he longed to confront Sherlock; he knew it would be pure madness to do it now. He remembered what Mycroft told him and more: what the elder Holmes didn’t tell him- at least, not with words. But the look in his eyes was clear that day. The man wasn’t only worried about Sherlock- he was afraid of him.
And John knew that if Mycroft Holmes was afraid of something, that something would scare an ordinary man shitless.
It wasn’t the first time John heard the name James T. Kirk. Clark Terrell seemed to have the utmost respect for the man; he obviously enjoyed a high reputation. John only hoped that he would live up to it.
John began to crawl back to the transporter room, now left unguarded. The crew of the Reliant - marooned on Ceti Alpha V; Khan’s people took their place, keeping only the Genesis team on board as prisoners. Nobody seemed to miss John; he wasn’t listed among the starship’s crew nor did he officially belong to Genesis. This virtual non-existence was now playing in his favour.
After his first disastrous experience with the transporter beam, he tried to approach the problem rationally - thinking that if he would fully understand the process, his body wouldn’t be reacting so violently. He spent several days behind the transporter console, learning how to operate it. Of course, it didn’t work for easing the nausea in the slightest; but it was going to pay off now.
John knew that the ship-to-ship transport is possible only when both ships had their shields down. That gave him a narrow window of time for his plan; he couldn’t rush in too soon as he knew that the transporter could be operated remotely from Reliant’s bridge - he had to wait until the bridge would be distracted enough by the approaching Enterprise to not notice the transport indicator light. But he couldn’t wait for long; Reliant will be the first to raise shields, moments before the attack.
As to the rest of his plan; he was glad that he skipped breakfast today. I should fetch a towel, he thought, if I’m going to hitchhike through half of the Galaxy.
*
When Khan entered the cabin where the prisoners were held, Zinaida didn’t even lift her head. She continued to stare, eyes reddened with fresh tears, on the face of Del March who rested in her lap as if sleeping, traces of shock written in his too young features. Her fingers carded through his fair hair mechanically, over and over.
“Was that necessary?” Khan frowned, addressing the guard by the door. An almost innocently looking- were it not for the blood stains- knife, no more than a letter opener, lay on the floor by the guard’s feet.
“I’m sorry, sir. He went psychotic after the man Madison came down here shortly before the spiders hatched. I dealt with it by phaser.”
Khan only nodded to that; it was indeed an act of mercy to kill the spider’s host as soon as the younglings began to hatch. Additionally, nobody wanted the ship overrun with such dangerous creatures.
“I don’t know where he got that knife,” the guard licked his lips nervously. “When Madison died, the boy lost it. I tried to put him in his place but he wouldn’t let go.”
“We might have needed him,” Khan said, a hint of menace in his voice. Then he raked a swift glance over March’s body. “But I can see that the stab wound was accidental. It’s unfortunate that he bled out so quickly.” The guard relaxed visibly, seeing that the prisoners weren’t such a priority for his leader as to get him punished for their death.
“Now we need you,” Khan turned to Zinaida, who faced him calmly.
“My people found something in the cargo bay of this ship that immediately intrigued me. A hibernation chamber.”
“What about it?” Zinaida’s voice was weary. She couldn’t make herself even sound interested. All her friends were dead; nothing mattered anymore. There were faint shadows lurking on the edges of her vision; waiting.
“Quite an unusual piece of equipment, even for your extraordinary field of study. Tell me, Doctor, how did it come into your keeping?”
“How is it of any matter to you?” Something about his tone had warned her. Hibernation chamber. John and his photograph... She looked at Khan sharply, really looked for the first time, and she recognised him.
This is the man John is supposed to find. They knew each other before; that fact that he’s asking me about the chamber means that they haven’t met yet- John is not dead; he’s hiding somewhere.
“You don’t know about my origin, Doctor; I don’t blame you for that. I have spent centuries in a very similar chamber, and I can tell my design when I see it. Now you understand that it is of utmost importance to me to know, whom did you find in that chamber.”
Khan mustn’t find him, mustn’t know about him- John doesn’t remember; he’s lost his memory; were he found now, he would be converted to the will of this man, without a chance to influence him.
Zinaida looked Khan in the eyes and knew instantly that this man could tell the truth from the lie as soon as it was spoken. I have to be careful. Everything I say must be the truth.
“There was a man. We didn’t know who he was. No ID, no files.”
Khan’s eyes narrowed at her. “Surely he introduced himself when you awakened him.”
“He suffered with retrograde amnesia. Hypoxic shock by the pull-out.” That’s truth enough.
“Not even to know his name?”
“We called him John. There’s a common use of the name John Doe for unknown persons.” Both facts perfectly truthful if disconnected.
“And this John Doe, where is he now? You’ve kept his chamber; is he on this ship as well?”
Zinaida wondered briefly why Khan was so bent on knowing. A man like him was bound to have enemies of his own kind, ones he very likely left behind in the past. Was he afraid that some of them survived to this day?
Oh John, what connected you to this man? What could possibly make someone think that you could have saved him?
Zinaida looked at Khan again, lost in her thoughts, barely registering his repeated question. She dived in the depths of those pale eyes, searching for something human; something that would remind her of John-
And then, suddenly, she knew. Perhaps it was the pain caused by the severance of her bond with Jedda that has made her extraordinarily perceptive; but she looked at Khan and she knew that this man, too, was only a half.
She remembered John’s warmth and she could see that it was exactly what Khan was missing.
The shadows around the edges of her vision drew nearer. She could see their faces. One of them smiled at her, she smiled back. In a while, Jedda.
A young voice from the intercom broke in: Bridge to Khan. Sir, the Enterprise is within visual contact, demanding communication.
“Let them eat static!” Khan shouted. He wasn’t finished here.
“You think you’re perfect,” she whispered.
“I am,” Khan blinked, surprised by the change in her. She shook her head, slowly.
“You’re not. You want something; so essential that you forbade yourself even to think about it, lest it hurt.”
Khan leaned very close, barring his teeth, voice positively thunderous: “Who was in the chamber?!”
Zinaida didn’t flinch. Her fine Deltan ears caught a distant sound, too faint even for the enhanced human’s hearing: the buzz of a transporter beam. Good luck, John.
“You’re a man in need of redemption,” she summoned all her strength. “I’m not going to spoil it for you.”
She closed her eyes and embraced the shadows.
.
.
.
.tbc Chapter 10
Sent over to rranne at 23:00, got it back at 5:55, so if I am writing quickly, it is solely because of her. She's a marvel.
.
.
.
They will be running with their shields down.
John heard that in his hiding spot and an idea popped up inside his head. As much as he longed to confront Sherlock; he knew it would be pure madness to do it now. He remembered what Mycroft told him and more: what the elder Holmes didn’t tell him- at least, not with words. But the look in his eyes was clear that day. The man wasn’t only worried about Sherlock- he was afraid of him.
And John knew that if Mycroft Holmes was afraid of something, that something would scare an ordinary man shitless.
It wasn’t the first time John heard the name James T. Kirk. Clark Terrell seemed to have the utmost respect for the man; he obviously enjoyed a high reputation. John only hoped that he would live up to it.
John began to crawl back to the transporter room, now left unguarded. The crew of the Reliant - marooned on Ceti Alpha V; Khan’s people took their place, keeping only the Genesis team on board as prisoners. Nobody seemed to miss John; he wasn’t listed among the starship’s crew nor did he officially belong to Genesis. This virtual non-existence was now playing in his favour.
After his first disastrous experience with the transporter beam, he tried to approach the problem rationally - thinking that if he would fully understand the process, his body wouldn’t be reacting so violently. He spent several days behind the transporter console, learning how to operate it. Of course, it didn’t work for easing the nausea in the slightest; but it was going to pay off now.
John knew that the ship-to-ship transport is possible only when both ships had their shields down. That gave him a narrow window of time for his plan; he couldn’t rush in too soon as he knew that the transporter could be operated remotely from Reliant’s bridge - he had to wait until the bridge would be distracted enough by the approaching Enterprise to not notice the transport indicator light. But he couldn’t wait for long; Reliant will be the first to raise shields, moments before the attack.
As to the rest of his plan; he was glad that he skipped breakfast today. I should fetch a towel, he thought, if I’m going to hitchhike through half of the Galaxy.
*
When Khan entered the cabin where the prisoners were held, Zinaida didn’t even lift her head. She continued to stare, eyes reddened with fresh tears, on the face of Del March who rested in her lap as if sleeping, traces of shock written in his too young features. Her fingers carded through his fair hair mechanically, over and over.
“Was that necessary?” Khan frowned, addressing the guard by the door. An almost innocently looking- were it not for the blood stains- knife, no more than a letter opener, lay on the floor by the guard’s feet.
“I’m sorry, sir. He went psychotic after the man Madison came down here shortly before the spiders hatched. I dealt with it by phaser.”
Khan only nodded to that; it was indeed an act of mercy to kill the spider’s host as soon as the younglings began to hatch. Additionally, nobody wanted the ship overrun with such dangerous creatures.
“I don’t know where he got that knife,” the guard licked his lips nervously. “When Madison died, the boy lost it. I tried to put him in his place but he wouldn’t let go.”
“We might have needed him,” Khan said, a hint of menace in his voice. Then he raked a swift glance over March’s body. “But I can see that the stab wound was accidental. It’s unfortunate that he bled out so quickly.” The guard relaxed visibly, seeing that the prisoners weren’t such a priority for his leader as to get him punished for their death.
“Now we need you,” Khan turned to Zinaida, who faced him calmly.
“My people found something in the cargo bay of this ship that immediately intrigued me. A hibernation chamber.”
“What about it?” Zinaida’s voice was weary. She couldn’t make herself even sound interested. All her friends were dead; nothing mattered anymore. There were faint shadows lurking on the edges of her vision; waiting.
“Quite an unusual piece of equipment, even for your extraordinary field of study. Tell me, Doctor, how did it come into your keeping?”
“How is it of any matter to you?” Something about his tone had warned her. Hibernation chamber. John and his photograph... She looked at Khan sharply, really looked for the first time, and she recognised him.
This is the man John is supposed to find. They knew each other before; that fact that he’s asking me about the chamber means that they haven’t met yet- John is not dead; he’s hiding somewhere.
“You don’t know about my origin, Doctor; I don’t blame you for that. I have spent centuries in a very similar chamber, and I can tell my design when I see it. Now you understand that it is of utmost importance to me to know, whom did you find in that chamber.”
Khan mustn’t find him, mustn’t know about him- John doesn’t remember; he’s lost his memory; were he found now, he would be converted to the will of this man, without a chance to influence him.
Zinaida looked Khan in the eyes and knew instantly that this man could tell the truth from the lie as soon as it was spoken. I have to be careful. Everything I say must be the truth.
“There was a man. We didn’t know who he was. No ID, no files.”
Khan’s eyes narrowed at her. “Surely he introduced himself when you awakened him.”
“He suffered with retrograde amnesia. Hypoxic shock by the pull-out.” That’s truth enough.
“Not even to know his name?”
“We called him John. There’s a common use of the name John Doe for unknown persons.” Both facts perfectly truthful if disconnected.
“And this John Doe, where is he now? You’ve kept his chamber; is he on this ship as well?”
Zinaida wondered briefly why Khan was so bent on knowing. A man like him was bound to have enemies of his own kind, ones he very likely left behind in the past. Was he afraid that some of them survived to this day?
Oh John, what connected you to this man? What could possibly make someone think that you could have saved him?
Zinaida looked at Khan again, lost in her thoughts, barely registering his repeated question. She dived in the depths of those pale eyes, searching for something human; something that would remind her of John-
And then, suddenly, she knew. Perhaps it was the pain caused by the severance of her bond with Jedda that has made her extraordinarily perceptive; but she looked at Khan and she knew that this man, too, was only a half.
She remembered John’s warmth and she could see that it was exactly what Khan was missing.
The shadows around the edges of her vision drew nearer. She could see their faces. One of them smiled at her, she smiled back. In a while, Jedda.
A young voice from the intercom broke in: Bridge to Khan. Sir, the Enterprise is within visual contact, demanding communication.
“Let them eat static!” Khan shouted. He wasn’t finished here.
“You think you’re perfect,” she whispered.
“I am,” Khan blinked, surprised by the change in her. She shook her head, slowly.
“You’re not. You want something; so essential that you forbade yourself even to think about it, lest it hurt.”
Khan leaned very close, barring his teeth, voice positively thunderous: “Who was in the chamber?!”
Zinaida didn’t flinch. Her fine Deltan ears caught a distant sound, too faint even for the enhanced human’s hearing: the buzz of a transporter beam. Good luck, John.
“You’re a man in need of redemption,” she summoned all her strength. “I’m not going to spoil it for you.”
She closed her eyes and embraced the shadows.
.
.
.
.tbc Chapter 10