The Experiment

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Scotty glares and Keenser, who is sitting on the staircase railing, "Get down!" The Scotsman orders and, sadly, Keenser climbs down and walks over to his friend, his head bowed in silent shame.

"Zo? Vhat is it like here?" Chekov asks.

"Well, everything here is basically designed to kill people, so… things are never boring." I reply and he swallows.

"Vhy is that?" He leans forward lightly, his elbows on his knees, his chin in his hands. "Vhy is everything zo dangerous here?"

Cassie chuckles at us and shakes her head. "I doubt she even knows." She mutters and Khan looks at her in surprise. "Here, Ze'eva, I've got this: remember the Eugenic Wars?" Chekov nods and Cassie continues.

"Well, during the Eugenic Wars, some humans were unsure of whether or not we'd become extinct as a species, so, we sent out some crafts to locate a planet suitable for humans. And, we found this place. Sector 31 got involved to create creatures that would kill Augments but protect the human populace."

"And then something went wrong." Kirk walks in and looks as Cassie expectantly. "Right?"

"Yep. The creatures turned on the humans and bred rapidly."

"Which in turn, created an incredibly hostile planet…but why did the human populace choose to stay here? It is not logical." Spock says.

Cassie and I share a look. They didn't return because Earth wouldn't take them back. Our ancestors weren't welcome on the planet that they had once called home and no amount of pleading or begging would change the minds of the politicians. It was figure out how to live here, or die.

It didn't matter to the Earth people that the government scientist who created the mess they were in had been allowed to leave with no consequences…for whatever reason, we were forced to stay.

And adapt.

"Not enough fuel." I supply. Technically, it was an excuse the Earth's politicians had supplied. "And the possibility of carrying dangerous foreign pathogens." I yawn. "Didn't you guys learn that in school? It's pretty common knowledge here."

"No. There is no record of this." Spock says, small rivelts of confusion passing across the usual still and calm surface of his face. "Fascinating. And you people have been here ever since the Eugenic Wars?"

I nod. "Yep."

"Hm." He gets a blank look in his eyes as he drifts into deep thought. Cassie and I share a look—Vulcans.

…

"How long will everyone be gone?" Khan asks as he bites into an orange.

Ze'eva yawns again. "About four hours. Scotty needs to repair the warp core and Truk is taking the kids to the park to get out them out of the house a bit."

"Why do you hate Savek?" Khan asks softly. "Is he dangerous?"

"He used to be." Ze'eva says with a shrug. "Or, at least…I had perceived that he was. He and my mom used to get into some very…" I search for the correct word. "Heated arguments. They could get pretty scary."

Khan nods, his blue eyes shining with an indecipherable emotion. "'Perceived'? He wasn't actually dangerous to be around?"

"According to what my mother wrote, it was a psychological test of some kind to see how well we would react to violence."

"And did you pass?"

"No, not even close." She gives a weak smile. "Passing would mean that I would have had to voluntarily attack him. Instead, I grabbed my family and got us out of house—away from the threat."

"Why did Cassie have to tell the story of your people?"

"I never went to school." Surprise leaps through Khan's chest. She never went to school? "And I never really learned about the Eugenic wars—I never saw the point. What little I read seemed to be a little…I don't know. The facts didn't really line up, so I chose to not even bother with it."

So, she may not even know what he did during those times or even his actual age? Why would Star Fleet pick her of all people to 'rehabilitate' him without even bothering to tell him how dangerous he was! He killed millions! Surely it was worth warning his caretaker about! How could you put someone on a suicide mission without ever telling them of the danger?

Unless…someone wanted her dead.

…

"Heads up!" Cassie chucks an apple at my head and I catch it neatly. "So, how's rehabilitation going? Anything new?"

"Still no one dead. That any good or nah?"

"I'd say it's good."

…

Khan rolls his eyes at the two of them and tenses when he sees Ze'eva freeze up, her muscles going rigid.

"What's wrong?" He growls. Ze'eva tackles Cassie to the ground as an explosion shakes the house, large flames leaping up the walls.

"Not again!" Cassie yelps but Ze'eva and Khan drag the woman to her feet and race for the front door. Masked soldiers begin to pour inside, firing their weapons at the trio.

"Run! Quickly!" Ze'eva says but it's no use.

Phaser blasts hit them all squarely in the chest, throwing them to the ground. Khan roars and struggles to his knees only to be shot three move times. Dazed, he blinks up at the ceiling, his vision unfocused and blurry and one of the soldiers kicks him hard in the head before shooting him point-blank in the chest. With a gasp, Khan is dragged into the darkness that is his mind.

…

It's cold and dark: every villagers' nightmare.

Someone to my right (…Cassie?) coughs and I sit up slowly, blinking away sleep. My chest aches and my body feels like it's made of lead…but nothing feels broken.

"Are you okay?" I slur. "Hello?"

"Fine." I look and in the cell in front of me Khan is rubbing his head angrily, his temples pounding furiously. "What about you?"

"Fine." My words come easier now. Smoother. "What about Cassie?" I force myself to sit up, my arms quivering with effort. "Can you see her? Is she alright?"

"She's beside me in the next cell over, and she's still breathing. So, I assume that she is fine. Do you know where we are?"

I look around carefully and my heart drops like a stone in water: "We are Meditech headquarters…and no one has ever escaped from it."

Not even me.