Darkness Unleashed

Chapter 10

"Captain."

Unfurling his fingers from around Charlotte's wrist, Harrison took a singular step backwards; his eyes never leaving the young woman's face as he asked "To what do I owe this…pleasure?"

"Charlotte, get out of there" Jim ordered; completely ignoring the prisoner's snide remark as he punched in the code to permit the door to Harrison's cell to slide open. For her part, his friend remained rooted to the spot where the fugitive had left her; a fact that made the Captain's heart catch in his chest as he hissed.

"Charlotte!"

The low urgency in his exclamation seemed to be enough to finally jolt his friend into action; and Jim found himself breathing a momentary sigh of relief as Charlotte slowly backed out of the cell, his hand reaching up to gently tug her through the door before it slid shut. She seemed to be almost in a state of shock…something that he had no doubt was due at least in part to her continued interactions with the madman aboard his ship…and it was with extreme force of will that he merely ground his teeth together as that man spoke up; his tone haughty as he admonished his captor.

"I will not hurt her, Captain; surely you must know that."

"Why am I inclined not to believe you?"

"Because you, like every other Starfleet officer, refuses to trust what you cannot understand" Harrison replied; stepping back over to the small bench in his cell and taking a seat, watching Charlotte and her Captain all the while. The intensity in his gaze was unsettling to them both…but for her part, Charlotte remained silent; content to stand behind Jim as he brought up a new topic of conversation. One she was already familiar with.

"Why is there a man in that torpedo?"

"There are men, and women in all those torpedoes; Captain. I put them there."

Kirk and Spock exchanged a look then, the Vulcan's eyes showing nothing of the trepidation that was so evident for his Captain as he returned to questioning their fugitive.

"Who the hell are you?"

"A remnant of a time long past. Genetically engineered to be superior so as to lead others to peace in a world at war" The prisoner began; never once tearing his eyes from Charlotte…never doubting that she would guarantee the Captain's eventual acknowledgement of the truth of his words…as he elaborated "But we were condemned as criminals. Forced into exile. For centuries, we slept. Hoping that, when we awoke things would be…different. 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" Jim interrupted then; shifting so that he stood closer to the glass of his prisoner's cell as he went on "Until a year ago, he didn't exist."

"John Harrison was a fiction created the moment I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help him advance his cause." Getting up from his position seated on the bench, the prisoner advanced towards the glass until he would have been face to face with the Captain; but for the wall between them, a palpable sense of pure loathing emanating from his next words "A smoke screen to conceal my true identity."

A pause ensued then, Jim's eyes flicking to Charlotte's in question. Something in the way she was standing beside him, eyes locked on some far away sight that he couldn't pinpoint; told him that she knew more than she was letting on. That she was being tight-lipped for a reason. But before the Captain could inquire as to what his friend was keeping from him; the prisoner was addressing him again.

"My name…is Khan."

"Khan…" Jim murmured; trailing off as something about the name triggered the beginnings of a distant memory. He had heard the name before…but where?