khan's deliverance | [ khan x reader ]

Vengeance.

It had been a half an hour since Kirk had kicked the two of you out of the medical bay to inspect the frozen guy or whatever else was in the torpedo. You glared expectantly at the door to the brig, expecting Kirk to come thundering in at any moment. The silence had been killing you slowly, and you had been tallying off the minutes on a sheet of paper in front of you. At least you thought that was what you were tallying off, you had just been dozing off.

"Lieutenant." Oh, so now he decides to speak, when you were just about to fall asleep. You frowned slightly at Khan, running a hand over your hair.

"What is it?" You grumbled quietly, still groggy. You hadn't slept in ages it seemed. Damn space time always threw your sleep cycle off.

"What were you going to tell the Captain?"

That snapped you back into your senses as you say up straight, fumbling as you threw the notebook into a drawer, running up to the glass holding cell.

"The message, he was going to send a message to Admiral Marcus at eight in the morning... I forget what day it is, I-"

"__y/n__." Khan murmured, standing up and gazing at something behind you. You instinctively glanced back, frowning.

"What? What is it?" You asked, trying to find what he was staring so numbly at.

"It's a quarter past eight right now." He whispered, his eyes locked on the digital clock on the back wall.

"Shit-!" You yelped, running towards the brig doors.

"__Y/N__, WAIT!" He shouted, and you nearly fell over when you spun around, panting and shaking your head.

"No." You breathed out. "They're not taking you. I'm changing Kirk's mind, I'm going to-"

"Lieutenant, leave the room." Kirk spat, stalking up to the glass holding cell. You fumed, clenching your fists.

"No. I'm staying here-"

"Damn it, Lieutenant, LEAVE!"

You stayed silent, watching Kirk carefully as Spock trode up behind him, towards Khan. You frowned, sitting behind the control panel.

"Since you're not willing to ask our little friend here-" Kirk drawled, his voice dropping with sarcasm. "I'm going to have to ask him the questions I want answered. Why is there a man in that torpedo?" Kirk asked, clearly aggravated by this news, and at you. Spock merely gave you a look that you could've mistaken for sympathy, but you brushed it off. You didn't need anyone's sympathy, much less Spock's.

Khan sat down, staring at the ground and slowly bringing his gaze up to Jim's.
"There are men and women in all those torpedoes, Captain. I put them there."

Kirk and Spock exchanged a glance as James continued.
"Who the hell are you?"

There was a brief silence, before, without moving a muscle from his position, Khan spoke.
"A remnant of a time long past. Genetically engineered to be superior so as to lead others to peace in a world at war. But... We were condemned as criminals, forced into exile. For centuries, we slept, hoping when we awoke, things would be... Different."

Khan's voice suddenly became vicious as he glared at Spock.
"But as a result of the destruction of Vulcan, your StarFleet began to aggressively search distant quadrants of space. My ship was found adrift, I alone was revived-"

"I looked up "John Harrison"." Kirk interrupted.
"Until a year ago, he didn't exist-"

Khan shook his head angrily, standing.
"John Harrison was a fiction created the moment I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help him advance his cause." Khan spat, walking up to the glass cell separating Captain and Prisoner.
"A smokescreen to conceal my true identity. As you've probably heard from the lovely Lieutenant behind you, my name is Khan." He breathed out, glaring at the Captain. Kirk looked completely confused, his brows knotted.

"Why would a StarFleet Admiral," He tilted his head,"Ask a three hundred year old frozen man for help?"

"Because I am... Better." Khan retorted quickly.

"At what?-"

"Everything."

Khan gazed maliciously from Spock to Kirk and back again, his eyes distant and clouded. He wasn't... Himself. Or maybe he was, and you never truly met the real Khan. Either one scared you.

"Alexander Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilized threat in a civilized time and for that, he needed a warriors mind. My mind... To design weapons and warships." Khan began pacing around his cell, fists at his sides and glowering at the two men in front of himself. Of course Spock had a response.

"You are suggesting the Admiral violated every regulation he vowed to uphold simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect?" Spock asked, his voice raised and the tension raised in the room tenfold.

"He wanted to exploit my savagery." Khan spat, edging nearer to the Vulcan.
"Intellect alone is useless in a fight, Mr. Spock. You..." Khan smirked, a smirk that sent chills down your spine.
"You can't even break a rule. How would you be expected to break bone?" Khan retaliated, looking Spock up and down distastefully. Spock was reduced to silence, and a temporary look of offense.

"Marcus used me to design weapons; to help him realize his vision of a militarized StarFleet. He sent you to use those weapons." He aimed his venom at Kirk, as if accusing him of everything. "To fire my torpedoes on an unsuspecting planet. And then, he purposefully crippled your ship in enemy space, leading to one inevitable outcome." Khan smiled evilly, and you cowered slightly in your chair. You didn't like where this was headed.

"The Klingons would come searching for whomever was responsible, and you would have no chance of escape. Marcus would finally have the war he talked about; the war he always wanted." Khan said in barely a whisper, his eyes locked on Kirk's.

"No." Kirk breathed out, shaking his head. "No. I watched you open fire in a room full of unarmed StarFleet officers. You killed them in cold blood!" Kirk yelled, pumping his fist down as if to smash the ground beneath him.

"Marcus took my crew from me!" Khan bellowed, turning his back on Kirk.

"You are a murderer!" James roared, stepping closer to the glass.

"He used my friends to control me..." Khan let out a ragged breath and you couldn't help but stand up and walk dazedly up to the glass next to Kirk. Khan... What had happened to him? He was so upset, so... Broken.

"I tried to smuggle them to safety by concealing them in the very weapons I had designed," Khan choked out. "But I was discovered. I had no choice but to escape alone. And when I did..."

You raised your hand up to your mouth, biting back a plea for the Captain to let you comfort the criminal.

"I had every reason to suspect that Marcus had killed every single one of the people I hold most dear... So I responded in kind." Khan whispered, a quiver in his voice you doubted Kirk or Spock picked up on. Khan turned his face to the side, and you caught a glimpse of his red-rimmed lids that so contrasted the blue green irises they held. Khan spun around slowly, speaking very clearly.

"My crew is my family, Kirk. Is there anything you would not do for your family?" Khan's eyes grazed over your features quickly before shutting his eyes to Kirk's stunned expression. A high pitched beep filled the room, and Sulu spoke.

"Proximity Alert, sir. There's a ship at warp heading right for us."

Kirk drew his attention to the ground, biting his lip. "Klingons?"

"At warp?" Khan asked, his tone low and aimed towards the Captain. "No, Kirk. We both know who it is."

"I don't think so. It's not coming at us from Kronos."

And that's when Kirk panicked. The message. He rushed out, yelling back.
"Lieutenant, move Khan to med bay. Post six security officers on him!"

You nodded as James ran out,"Yes, Captain."

And then Kirk was gone. You left a fleeting glance in Khan's line of vision, and you typed quickly on the control panel sending for six officers, like James had asked. You stood up straight, staring at Khan and swallowing.

"What are we facing here, Khan?"

He sighed and glanced down.

"The U.S.S Vengeance."