captivity

[full_of_wrath]

Kirk gets called in. Mostly because Khan has made two duty officers guarding his cell ask to be relieved, one of them in tears.

He creates a lot of wear and tear, in general.

Comments

[full_of_wrath]

He rises up gracefully, and holds his wrists out for Kirk to undo the cuffs.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

He undoes them quickly, and then turns sharply to lead Khan briskly through the halls to the space suits.

He tells him what they're going to do and braces for argument.

[full_of_wrath]

None comes. He merely suits up, quietly, and accompanies him to the airlock.

Besides, Scotty is doing all the yelling for him.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

Kirk stands at the airlock, waiting, a peculiar eagerness in him. He does best under pressure.

Even when his display is broken and his screen cracked, he doesn't panic. And when they tumble into Marcus's ship, he's ready for the next hurdle.

"You all right?"

He glances back at Khan.

[full_of_wrath]

He's already up and standing, not even winded, stripping quickly out of the suit. It's a little cumbersome to take a ship in, after all.

"On your feet, Captain. The hard part is about to begin."

[kobayashiwhatnow]

He finishes stripping down and then nods at Khan to follow him.

Jesus, but it's a big ship.

[full_of_wrath]

It's a beautiful moment, when he finally gets to fly into action. The phaser might be on stun, but he still causes more than a fatality or two, simply by virtue of his tendency to throw bodies.

He hadn't been kidding about his fighting back being fatal to Kirk.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

He has some idea of what Khan might do to Marcus when they get to the bridge. He still hasn't decided what he's going to do about that, either--and right now making sure the Enterprise is safe is more important than whatever ethical dilemma Marcus's death will cause.

The bridge closes in on them, though, and he has to admit that he has no leash on Khan at all.

"On three," he whispers, hoping Khan will at least obey that much.

[full_of_wrath]

"Wait."

He whispers back, now that Scotty is behind him, out of earshot. He grabs Kirk's arm.

"Spare my crew and I'll spare him. Promise me, Kirk."

[kobayashiwhatnow]

"I won't hurt your crew. I won't let anyone else hurt them, either."

Kirk whispers back, because he's never once planned on harming them, but this is a good compromise anyway.

"I swear."

[full_of_wrath]

Khan finds he doesn't quite believe him. But pulls him, all the same, into a frantic, bloody kiss. He's bitten his lip to bleeding.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

In the first split second it startles him. And then he tastes blood and understands, and he kisses him back desperately, sucking as hard as he can, biting to keep the wound flowing. He'll need this.

[full_of_wrath]

Khan whines, in the back of his throat, then breaks off fast, hands resting on Kirk's hips.

Scotty has come up behind him, and gives Kirk a strangled 'so not stunning him?' face and squeak, when Khan turns away.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

He licks the remaining streak of blood off his lower lip and shakes his head at Scotty.

"Ready?"

He lifts his phaser again, and takes a step toward the bridge.

[full_of_wrath]

They storm the bridge. Khan has half the command staff incapacitated in a heartbeat, stunned or unconscious, but much more judiciously alive, out of respect for their little truce.

For good measure, he goes straight to the weapons console, and his fingers fly over the keys.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

Kirk trusts that Khan isn't about to blow up the Enterprise, not with his own crew frozen on board. So he helps keep the bridge crew under control, and he orders Scotty to do what he can to seal off the remaining staffed areas so they won't be interrupted.

"We need to be able to beam back over."

[full_of_wrath]

"Weapons control is now locked to the bridge, and to your command codes, Kirk."

He says, quietly. They'll still have access to them, but only with their express permission. (He has Kirk's command codes, which is another issue, but.)

"I want to eject the warp core, but it'll take six minutes."

Marcus starts to talk, and Khan's hackles raise visibly. He steadfastly doesn't look up, but is suddenly ready to spit.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

"We have four." Kirk says, typical of him to give less time than he's asked for.

He rounds on Marcus, who has been secured to a post above the command chair.

"I think I've heard everything you have to say."

He gets Marcus's belt, and gags him with it.

[full_of_wrath]

"It's an override countdown, Kirk."

Khan gripes back at him, but drops a panel and dives into a console to see if he can override that override.

The whole ship lurches as the core goes.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

Kirk gets them back to the Enterprise, fast as he can, with no idea if he should lock Khan up or not. He doesn't get to decide--not after he finds out how bad off the Enterprise is, what he has to do to save it.

[full_of_wrath]

The funny thing is, he doesn't quite die. Not with his body as primed as it is. Not with someone there a few steps behind him to drag him out of the chamber, without fear of a little radiation dosage of his own.

He'll be sick as hell, and they'll need to do transfusions anyway, but at the end of the day Kirk and Khan are on opposite sickbay beds from one another.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

It doesn't take long for Kirk to figure out what happened. He remembers a few little blurs, being dragged and carried to safety. He remembers whose shoulder he was on.

And he's out of it, thanks to medication, dazed enough that he doesn't feel weird about lying there staring at Khan.

[full_of_wrath]

McCoy comes in now and again, drawing more blood from an increasingly drowsy looking Khan, arriving with serum to give to Jim. Khan stays restrained to the sickbed (Spock's orders) but seems pliant and content enough, lying there and watching Jim in return.

[kobayashiwhatnow]

"What happened to Marcus?"

Is his first question, when he can finally speak again. It comes out as a croak. Even with Khan's blood, with Khan's healing, his body is having a hell of a time sorting itself back out.

[full_of_wrath]

"He's on Earth."

Khan murmurs, his own voice ragged with disuse.

"He keeps asking for me. Spock has us on the ground of New Vulcan, until a decision comes down. They won't make one until they hear your testimony. But you'll have some damage to undo. He's had a long time to come up with a story."