Book 2: The Navigator and The Captain- A Love From 2 Ships

Chapter 15 - Attack by the USS Vengence

"Why would a starfleet Admiral ask a 300 year old frozen man, for help? " Jim asked curiously.

"Because I am better, " Khan told him.

"At what?" Jim continued.

"Everything." Khan said. At the same time,  Serenity spoke.

"Just about everything," she sadly whispered aloud. The two men looked at her. Spock moved to stand beside her. "When they genetically changed him, they were using my blood." 'And my child, ' she thought. Her hot tears began to fall,  and she turned away.

"Why are you crying, mo-" Khan paused immediately. 'Why was I going to say that?' He thought to himself.

"Sis, what's wrong?" Jim asked Serenity worriedly.

"Jim... I" Serenity began. She paused once more,  and turned away.

"Alexander Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilized threat in a civilized time,  and for that, he needed a warrior's mind. My mind. To design weapons, and starships," Khan began.

"You are suggesting that Admiral  Marcus violated every regulation he vowed to uphold simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect." Spock interrupted.

"He wanted to exploit my savagery!" Khan shot back. "Intellect alone is useless in a fight. Mr. Spock, you can't even break a rule, how would you expected to break bone?" Khan continued to explain of Admiral Marcus's plan of militarized starfleet and an all out war. Suddenly he was interrupted by Jim's comm.

"Proximity alert Captain. We're picking up a ship at warp!" Sulu interrupted.

"Is it the Klingons?" Jim asked hurriedly,  as he turned to an ensign wearing a red shirt.

"At warp?  No, we both know who it is, Kirk." Khan told him.

"No I don't think so sir. It's not coming from Kronos. It's coming from the other direction."

"Lieutenant move Khan to med bay. Post six security officers on him, " Jim ordered as he and Spock raced up to the bridge. Serenity stayed a little longer, watching Khan, and for a moment, their eyes met. Serenity turned away and started on her own way to the bridge. Halfway to her destination, she heard Admiral Marcus speaking to her brother.

"Captain Kirk."

"Admiral Marcus. I wasn't expecting you." Jim lied. "That's a hell of a ship you got there. " Serenity began to hurry towards the bridge. Unknown to her,  her daughter Selene had managed to sneak past the officers guarding the room she was placed in, and was also heading towards the bridge.

"And I wasn't expecting to get word that you'd be taking Harrison into custody in violation of your orders." Marcus replied.

"Well we, uh, we had to improvise when our warp core unexpectedly malfunctioned. But you already knew that sir,  didn't you? " Jim challenged.

"I don't take your meaning," Marcus lied.

"Well,  that's why you're here,  isn't? To assist with our repairs, " Jim asked. "Why else would second head of Starfleet Command personally come out to the edge of the neutral zone?"

"Captain, their scanning our ship, " Sulu informed him.

"Is there something I can help you find sir?" Jim asked.

"Where is your prisoner,  Kirk? " Marcus asked.  Serenity had now almost reached the bridge, as she had been listening to the conversation, and becoming more worried as the time ticked by.

"Per starfleet regulations,  I'm planning on returning Khan to Earth, where he will stand trial." Jim stated.

"Well,  shit. You talked to him. This exactly what I was hoping to spare you from, " Marcus said. "I took a tactical risk and I warped that bastard up,  believing that a superior intelligence could help us protect ourselves from whatever came at us next. But I made a mistake, and now the blood of everybody he's killed is on my hands. So I'm asking you, give him to me. So that I can end what I started."

"And what exactly would you like me to do with the rest of his crew, sir?" Jim asked. "Fire them at the Klingons, end 72 lives and start a war in the process?"

"He put those people in those torpedoes. And I simply didn't want to burden you with knowing what was inside of them. You saw what this man can do all by himself,  can you imagine what would happen if he woke up the rest of his crew? What else did he tell you,  that he's a peace keeper? He's playing you son,  don't you see that? Khan and his crew were condemned to death as war criminals. And now it is our duty to carry out that sentence before anybody else dies because of him." Jim looked for his sister,  and then looked to Spock before returning his gaze to the screen.  "Now I'm going to ask you again, one last time, son.  Lower your shields. Tell me where he is. "

He's in engineering sir,"  Jim lied once more. "But I'll have him moved to the transporter room right away."

"I'll take it from here, " Marcus stated. The transmission ended promptly. Serenity felt that all too familiar feeling of dread and death, and she burst into the bridge, just as Admiral Marcus shot at the Enterprise,  and the BlackOut by extension. Selene bumped into her mother, and nearly fell. Serenity caught her before she could hit the floor.

"HEY! That's my damn ship, you mother f***ing asshole!" Serenity yelled out. The entire bridge looked at her. "BERYL DISENGAGE! Beam my daughter aboard and get out of here."

"But Mom!" Selene whined. Serenity turned to her daughter.

"I've lost one child once before,  and today is not the day to lose another. Go!" Serenity ordered. "Beryl, reroute  connection to the USS Vengeance!" The BlackOut hummed in response, and connection was restored for a few more minutes. "Admiral Marcus, you pig headed son of a heartless dastardly bastard!" Serenity growled in her demonic voice. Marcus paled hearing her voice.

"Oh,  ah,  Admiral  Valentino!  What brings you here?" Marcus, asked a bit nervously.
Immediately following his statement,  Serenity snorted as she walked to the center of the bridge. All eyes turned to her.

"You know, Jim actually never needed to talk to Khan to know who he initially was. You would never know, but I once raised Khan, before he was stolen from me. I lost him to the experiments he was put through, and I will never allow you to have him again! " she seethed. Her dark brown eyes began turning into a golden color,  and the air crackled with massive amounts of electricity.

"But...-" Marcus sputtered.

"You know damn well why I'm here,  Marcus. I know why you're here,  and I'm here to tell you, it ain't happening. NOT again!" Serenity growled. Marcus cursed as he frantically shut off communications. "Alexander Marcus, you just messed with the wrong woman!" Serenity shouted. She looked to Jim and Spock, and immediately transformed into her anomaly state. "Boys...It's show time!"