No More Hiding - A Spock (Star Trek) Fanfiction

Chapter 16: Awkward Encounter

 As we stood there in the turbo lift, Kirk's voice could be heard ringing through the speakers. But there was another voice.

 "Captain Kirk," Admiral Marcus greeted.

 "Admiral Marcus. I wasn't expecting you," Kirk greeted as he let out a sigh of relief. "That's a hell of a ship you got there."

 "And I wasn't expecting to get word that you'd taken Harrison into custody in violation of your orders," Marcus said.

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

 Spock and I stepped off of the turbo lift. I glided over to my seat while he stood behind Kirk. I looked out of the glass and saw his ship. It was... so big. Like, ten Enterprises could fit in it. My eyes went wide. Holy sh-

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

 "Well, that's why you're here, isn't it? To assist with our repairs? We else would the head of Starfleet personally come to the edge of the Neutral Zone?"

 "Captain, they're scanning our ship," Sulu mumbled while looking down at his control panel.

 "Is there something I can help you find, sir?" Kirk said quickly.

 "Where is your prisoner, Kirk?" Marcus said with a not-wanting-to-mess-with-your-crap  expression on his face.

 "Per Starfleet regulation, I'm planning to return Khan to Earth to stand trial."

 Marcus scratched his head. "Well, shit. You talked to him. This is exactly what I was hoping to spare you from. I took a tactical risk and I woke that bastard up, believing that his superior intelligence could help us protect ourselves from whatever came at us next," Marcus said. He leaned closer to the screen. "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 I can end what I started."

 I tensed up as I saw the glint of evil in Marcus's eyes. Something wasn't right... On another note, this guy talks a lot, doesn't he? I mean, my gosh, shut up and breathe for a second.

 Kirk shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "And what exactly would you like me to do with the rest of his crew, sir? Fire them at the Klingons? End 72 lives? Start a war in the process?"

 "He put those people in those torpedoes," Marcus said, raising his voice. "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 we woke up the rest of his crew? What else did he tell you? That he's a peacekeeper? 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 anyone else dies because of him."

 Spock slowly walked closer to Kirk. They both shared a glance.

 "Now, I'm going to ask you again! One last time, son. Lower your shields. Tell me where he is," Marcus ordered.

 Kirk took a moment to think. He blinked and look up at Marcus. "He's in engineering, sir. But I will have him moved to the transporter room right away."

 "I'll take it from here," Marcus said with a nod.

 As soon as the screen went blank, Kirk shot out of his seat. He pointed at Sulu. "Do not drop those shields, Mr. Sulu."

 "Aye, Captain," Sulu acknowledged.

 "Captain, given your awareness of Khan's true location in the med bay, may I know the details of your plan?" Spock said all in a quick breath.

 "I told Marcus we were bringing a fugitive back to Earth. That's what we're gonna do. Mr. Chekov, can we warp?" Kirk said as he hit his comm.

 "Sir, if we go to warp, we run the risk of seriously damaging the core!" Chekov said.

 "Can we do it?" Kirk said more sternly.

 "Technically, yes, but I would not advise it, Captain," Chekov responded.

 "Noted," Kirk said while turning away. "Mr Sulu, set course for Earth."

 "Yes, sir," Sulu said with a nod.

 Kirk sat back down in his chair. "Punch it."

 And with that, we were warping through space to Earth.