Starfleet Commander Ananda Greydon is a graduate of The University of Betazed and, a member of the newly formed Starfleet Counseling Service.
Half human, half Betazoid - her silhouette could be described as imposing: A tall woman by any standard, sh...
Khan rifles through the makeshift portable lab in Ericsson's bedroom, and fetches up his stolen biologicals, then begins to process a quick field test. After setting the tests in motion, Khan gives the monitors another glance and syncs up a timer. He moves swiftly, in near silence, as he enacts his plan. Next, he pads over to the end of the bed to look down at the sleeping figures of Carol Marcus, and her lover - Jack Ericsson.
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He had not realised until just this moment the depth of his hatred for the duo.
Not only because they are both worthy of his contempt but, primarily because they are cowards. Losing to a fellow warrior in battle is a fair fight - whether the battle is physical or intellectual. Respect can and often does exist between even the fiercest adversaries. But there are codes of conduct, even in war. And Khan respects that code. Until shown that blind adherence will place him or those he is responsible for in peril. For a man like Khan, there are only a precious few things truly worthy of a fight to the death. One of those things is family; which means home is sacrosanct. A fact not lost on him when recalling how gleeful Marcus and Ericsson were as they callously violated Ananda's home.
And yet... here they lie before him, peacefully entwined. Safe, warm, and satisfied with their lot in life.
Frankly, Khan wouldn't have it any other way. He has already decided that both Ericsson and Marcus deserve to be dispatched swiftly and mercilessly. Khan can almost imagine their carnal victory dance as he continues to stare down on them. Images of them pleasuring each other while Ananda sat helpless, cradling him like a baby are suddenly flickering through his mind. He can almost feel the pain of being unable to move, or speak while being fully aware of Ananda's pleading for him to come back from the dark, and hold on until help arrived.
Khan dips his chin and narrows his eyes, causing his angular features to become menacing in the half light.
Khan takes in Ericsson's lithe, slumbering frame and remembers him taunting Ananda with offers of "Having ago" with the original instead of a cheap copy. Khan leans forward to peel back the bedclothes covering Ericsson, injecting an air bolus to a vein on the back his knee just as the lab equipment nears the end of its processing. The silence of the room becomes momentarily filled with the soft mechanical chirping. Khan starts over to the lab bench to look in on the progress of his tests, when Carol Marcus stirs.
"John?" Carole wonders aloud. "Wha... what're you doing here?" she mumbles groggily.
Khan freezes in his tracks, and turns to address her. Before Carol can fully rouse herself - before she can even blink - he's standing at her bedside, glaring down at her, eyes darkened by pure hatred.
"Lieutenant Marcus, I've come to reclaim what you've stolen from me."
"You're here to kill me, aren't you?" She gasps, her eyes widening in sheer terror.
"Oh, Carol..." he chuckles humorlessly. "I killed you ten minutes ago." Khan's voice is soft, but deep - and it slices through Carol like a knife.
"Why, John? I..." she blinks the remaining sleep from her eyes. "All I've wanted was to be with you. As father had ever intended we should be."
"Ah, yes." Khan chortles with the barest hint of loathing while shaking his head and grinning malevolently. "But, he did have a change of heart. Did he not? He thought better of your role in his master plan and sought out a more suitable candidate to fulfill his hegemonic scheme. Yes...?"
"But why Ananda Greydon? It makes no sense," Carol huffs.
"Because... She. Is. Better." Khan snorted.
"At what?" Carol whines.
"Everything." He rumbled, through clenched teeth.
"Your father decided to create progenitors for a new generation of augments." Khan began in a rapid-fire staccato. "He required a woman with an intellect not only equal to my own but, one whose disposition would stabilize my temperament." Khan stops his speech barely long enough to take a breath, before continuing. "With my DNA profile having been altered by your father's minions - his calculation was that Ananda's genetic profile would add diversity to the new genomic equation. Something he ultimately found you unsuitable to help him achieve."
Khan paces back and forth as he explains Admiral Marcus' plan to his daughter Carol - who seemed unwilling to grasp what she is being told. So, Khan decides to change the subject to something more urgent:
"In your limited time remaining, I might care to have you answer a few questions for me Carol."
"What else could you possibly want from me?!"
"Oh, that's simple - the truth." Khan growls. "Shall we begin?"
Carol's chin quivers, and tears begin streaming down her face, but her bid at emotional manipulation falls woefully short on this occasion.
"You boarded the Enterprise under false pretense. What was your true purpose?"
Carol looks up at Khan, blinking away the tears of feigned humility. Once again, underestimating the sheer gravity of her actions - and the consequences they have wrought.
"You were there to interfere with my crew, hmmm...? Perhaps corrupt the warp core of the Enterprise, as well?"
"Yes," she admits.
Khan presses his lips together, and furrows his brow. He closes his eyes and drops his bottom lip to speak, but thinks better of it. He's gotten the answers he needs. Now, he intends to wend his way back to Ananda's house. Home. To simply get back home. Having left Ananda in slumber, Khan wants desperately to return to her before she awakens but - sunrise nears, and time is running short for him to achieve that goal.
Just as Khan turns on his heel, Carol calls out to him.
"John, please... Wait!" Carol raises herself until she is sitting upright, then gathers the bedclothes to her bosom.
Khan stops for a beat to allow Carol to address him, but refuses to allow her the dignity of turning to face her as she speaks.
"John... Is it too late to apoligise?"
"No, Carol. It's never too late." He glances over his shoulder before adding: "But, I've not come here for an apology. And were I to be honest, none would be accepted. Neither of us can undo the past. What's done is done." He can hear Carol behind him whimpering in soft sobs, but remains steadfastly unmoved. Her deceitful, self serving show of faux emotion has once again failed to hit its mark.
As Khan readies himself to leave, a thought occurs to to him, and he moves with haste to enact his new idea. Since he'll no longer have need of it, Khan takes the opportunity to remove Jack Ericsson's Starfleet signet ring. Then, he visits Ericsson's closet to find a bag and fills it with a few choice garments. Once his new task is complete, Khan secures his biologicals, test results, and finally prepares to take his leave. He vanishes as swiftly as he appeared, chasing the dawn of a new day. Satisfied that the objects of his vengeance have finally been repaid in kind.
...
Carol reaches out to Jack Ericsson, finding him limp and slack jawed. Not an unusual occurrence, but on this occasion his skin is cyanotic and ice cold to her touch.
She pounds on Ericsson with her fists, and shakes him violently, wailing and sobbing uncontrollably, begging him to wake up all the while - to no avail.
During her histrionics, Carol begins to feel increasingly light headed just as her vision blurs and fades slowly to black.
Carol collapses atop Ericsson in a heap. Their final embrace a pile motionless of limbs.
