A/N: Very special thanks to OtherLifeofELMO, Naiami, Sassiebone, BlackHeartedCrow, Zelda Zonkk, CrazyinAbottle, Im-Just-A-Paper-Girl, GingerbreadUmbrella, Guest, Anonymous, Anonymous, YellowWomanontheBrink, EmilyEverlasting, Gilda, bedb, LilithiaRW and GloriousFandoms for your reviews. I'm so sorry about the wait, you guys. I hit a real block when I got to this chapter…but I really hope it makes up for the wait. Enjoy!

Warning: This chapter contains scenes of torture that some readers may find disturbing.

Savagery

Chapter Ten

/

I came to, knowing I'd only been unconscious long enough for them to move me; my flank ached where I'd been hit with phaser blasts; I stood on my knees with my wrists bound together and suspended above my head. Wherever I was, it was dark and deserted, but it only took me a few moments to realize, by the smell and frigidness of the air, that I was back on the observation deck in a holding cell.

A heavy sigh left me and I tested the restraints on my wrists, though my arms immediately protested. I pulled in a breath and closed my eyes, concentrating on the pain in my flank, trying to ease it away. My head ached and my blood pulsed in my temples, but I eased my breathing and concentrated on the quiet that surrounded me in an effort to calm my body.

I tried to gather my thoughts; the last thing I could remember was following Dr. Howard down into the sub-levels, down into Hangar Six. Hangar Six, the big double doors, the first ones on the left...

And the crew, the crew blissfully asleep in their cryotubes, heavily guarded and observed but more or less untouched, out of mind, safe where they were...and I squeezed my eyes closed knowing that we hadn't had the proper clearance to go into that area and that was why the guards had reacted so suddenly and in full force, shooting with no qualms whatsoever about whatever other damage they might do. The pain in my flank was suddenly nulled by an intense feeling of sickness and unease in the pit of my stomach. What would happen to the crew now, after this escapade?

I knew if I tried to explain, they wouldn't listen; even if I told them to speak to Dr. Howard, they wouldn't listen. And I realized my folly instantly; she was too low in command to grant that sort of clearance, and her empathy now made her liable. Even if she explained that we were distressed about the safety of our crew and simply needed to make sure they were alive and well, if only for a moment...they wouldn't believe her. Just like they surely wouldn't believe me.

Dr. Howard would likely be removed from her station observing Khan's progress over the plans of the starship, given this lapse of protocol. Not that it bothered me, but it was unlikely we would be granted another supervisor as dull-witted as she.

All the pain and the stirring of my thoughts in my head were silence when I distinctly heard footsteps coming towards the entrance to observation. From what I could hear, it sounded like four or five men, all of the same cut; Marcus's men, no doubt, and I pulled in a tight breath to prepare myself for the onslaught.

I was not disappointed. The doors opened and in marched Teals with his entourage. Even through the thickness of the glass of my cell, I could see his black eyes hard on me, and a little unimpressed sneer pulling at his nose, and he walked with his hands behind his back, almost as though he doubted his ability to resist firing his phaser at me. I stood to attention as best I could on my knees, once again testing the restraints on my wrists, but they held fast and kept me in place, held me to strict attention.

Teals and his men stopped just outside of the glass of my cell, looking in on me. From where I was, chained kneeling on the floor, I had to look up to meet his eye and knew, under any other circumstances, that the man would have absolutely delighted in the position we found ourselves in.

However, given the circumstances as they were, all he did was stare down at me, intensely unhappy, and after a moment he gave a very solemn, slow shake of his head. "Well, Lieutenant Commander. This has been a very disappointing turn of events. Manipulating your supervising officer into granting you access to a restricted area?"

I flexed my arms and held his gaze. "I needed visual confirmation."

"Hmm," he mused. "I certainly hope it was worth it."

I looked hard into his eyes for some of that malice glimmer he was so accustomed to showing off, but in finding none, I looked to the faces of his entourage and they were all very sullen. A dark feeling began to stir in the pit of my belly and rose up through my flank into my arms, so much so that I tested my restraints, feeling the unease poison the air we breathed in that room.

After a moment of silence, Teals looked away and sighed quite heavily, and then he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I had so hoped you would have heeded my advice and followed your captain's example of tolerable behaviour," he said, and then he looked down at me, glumly. "A shame it has to come to this."

I was about to open my mouth to retort when the doors of the observation opened once more, their hiss distracting us all. I looked, and my sudden mortification at Teals's words were suddenly put completely out of my mind with the elation of seeing Khan being escorted into the observation deck.

But there was fear on my captain's face, written in the pull of his perfect mouth and the wideness of his eyes. As they approached the glass, I saw he was cuffed, and two of the escorting officers held his arms while two more followed behind with their phasers on his head. Though he tried to maintain his steely composure, as per usual, I could almost smell his fear, I could feel his anxiety in the air, and though I know he hesitated breaking eye contact with me, he couldn't help but look to Commander Teals.

"Commander," he said, his voice on the verge of cracking. "There must be a mistake, a misunderstanding-"

Teals turned to him, sharply. "Perhaps you'd like to see the surveillance footage, Mr. Harrison?"

Khan made a move to step forward, but his guards held him fast. "Dr. Howard was frustrated with me, this is not Maya's fault!"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Mr. Harrison," Teals said, stepping to the side of the glass, and I watched him, the sound of my heart slamming against my chest was starting to choke me and I had to take long, concentrated breaths to keep from panicking, moving my gaze from Teals to Khan and back to Teals again, to see what he was about to do.

Teals stared down at me from where he stood, crossing his arms over his chest, and then he sighed heavily. "Gentlemen, you have the Admiral's orders."

My heart stopped and dropped into my stomach, and I looked to Khan frantically; I beheld a look on his face of absolute terror in that split second. "Maya-"

And then, suddenly, from out of nowhere but behind me, right behind me, came thundering footsteps. I looked up and over but the only thing I caught a glimpse of was a long, thin, metallic prod before it was shoved square into my side. Electroshock.

The pain was central to the contact point and then it spread and pulsed throughout the length of my torso, down into my legs and then up the lengths of my arms. I flexed my arms and arched my back and opened my throat as a scream rippled out from the bottom of my body up into the air. I pulled on my wrist restraints but they held strong, keeping me in place, keeping me prisoner to the pain.

A second prod was pressed against me, this time on my right side, and my body convulsed, madly pulling at the restraints as the screams tore from my throat, one right after the other. I squeezed my eyes shut as the pain shot white-hot into my head and into my temples, blinding me, and as I rocked my body from side to side, as much as I could, to keep away from the prods, the harder they stabbed into me, the harder the pain...and the louder I screamed.

I was immobilized; I could feel the tears running down my cheeks and I could feel my hair slick with sweat; my heart was pounding so fast I thought it would burst, and my throat was so raw that it burned, fiercely, just like the rest of my body. The more I pulled on my restraints, the more they stabbed me with the prods, and the more I tried to avoid them, the more intense the currents became.

And when they stopped I was stuck there, completely limp, held up only by my wrists, every inch of my body on fire and then dulling into searing pain. A miserable cry left my throat and I could taste blood when I moved my tongue, and suddenly it was filling my mouth, choking me with its rough, coppery taste, and I spat to force it out and when I opened my eyes, the red spatter of the blood on the pristine white floor was blinding.

If Khan had been screaming at all during the onslaught, I'd be lying if I told you I heard him, because I didn't. And as I closed my eyes and desperately tried to will away the pain and try to maintain as strong a composure as I could in front of these disgusting humans, I could hear their voices talking frantically, the soothing low hum of my captain's voice, and the dower sing-song of Teals speaking against him. I couldn't make out what they were saying at all, as a ringing pierced my ears, overpowering any other sounds made in the observation room at that point.

I waited for the men with the prods to resume their torture, but for whatever reason, they held back and allowed me to suffer in front of my captain, in front of Teals, and in front of the other observing officers. I swallowed down moans and cries of pain but it was so difficult, so difficult...

And it was a long time before anyone did anything, before another word was spoken or another sound was made. By then the pounding of my heart had slowed somewhat, though the pain was white hot from the tips of my fingers down into my aching legs into my toes. It occurred to me at one point to test the wrist restraints but I couldn't, I simply didn't have the energy, and I didn't have the energy to hold my head up and look for Khan, look for his beautiful face and his heavenly eyes to anchor me amidst the pain.

But then, as if answering my plea, I felt fingers curl themselves into my sweaty hair and pull, forcing my head up, none too gently, and I growled from the pain of my burning scalp. I opened my eyes just slightly and could barely make out Khan in the observation, staring at me helplessly, all four guards holding their phasers to his head, at the ready.

It was then I knew...I just knew...

The barrel of a phaser was pressed against my right temple; I could feel the cold smoothness of the thing and for a single, blessed moment, I welcomed it. I wanted it. Take away the pain in my body and take away the look of my captain's heartbroken face. I couldn't bear to see him like that.

At the same time I wanted to fight, but there was no fight in me. I was crippled with the pain, barely conscious, barely able to hear anything, not able to form words.

I could hear Khan pleading with Teals, his voice wrecked with emotion, though I still couldn't make out his words; I almost didn't want to hear them. My eyelids became heavy and as they drooped, the fingers in my hair curled tighter, held fast, and the phaser on my head clicked. Set phasers to kill. It was coming.

But then, I heard something else. More footsteps.

And then - shouting. Shouting, loud and clear and unbelieving.

"Commander Teals!" came the voice in question. "What on earth are you doing?!"

It was a voice I recognized, though it was far too difficult to place at that moment. Not Dr. Howard, not the Butcher...

And I heard the responding voices but I couldn't concentrate on what they were saying. I was hardly able to stay conscious, I knew, and with this sudden interruption, I felt like slipping away while nobody noticed, where I couldn't be executed if I simply...

I could hear Captain Khan calling my name before his voice began to drift away, and then in a moment it was gone, completely; but in all honesty, in my last moments, it was the only thing I wanted to hear.

/

The next sensation I had - in this world or the next, I wasn't sure which - was that I was falling.

I was falling through time and space, through the darkness and the brightness, watching the stars and the moons. It was difficult to know whether or not I was a celestial being or had my physical body...and even though I felt weightless, I was falling, nevertheless.

Falling towards what, however, wasn't clear.

And when the light and the brightness and the stars and the moons faded from my vision and everything became black, the darkness was all I could focus on. Thick and heavy and yet light and embracing, all at once. It was so welcome, so peaceful, and I felt so at ease, that I could have stayed there for a billion years, for the rest of eternity, for as long as the universe continued to be, there I'd be.

And then, I could feel sensation...a gentle, light sensation on my forehead.

The darkness gave way and I could sense the light behind my eyes. Slowly, carefully, I risked opening them, just a little, allowing some of the light in.

It was blinding, as was to be expecting. I closed them again to block it out, but then I felt the sensation on my forehead once more.

I knew it was him before I could even make a move or another coherent thought. All at once, my senses came rushing back to me. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, keeping me warm, pulsing through the fingers on his hand that he rested on my forehead. I could smell him, his deep, intoxicating smell; the air was suddenly encased with his scent, but it was glorious. What I would have given to raise my arm and press my fingertips against his cheekbones, graze the length of his chin, or open my eyes to look up into his.

But then my thoughts were clouded with something completely different...there was elation that he was there with me, but...where was this?

Was this the afterlife? Some form of...Heaven? Where I could be with him just like this, completely at ease, protected, looked after...

I struggled to open my eyes once more; though the light was harsh, I was able to take it in, and when I turned my head, a task suddenly almost too much to bear, I could smell him even stronger than before, feel the material of his clothes on my cheek, and feel warmed by his steady, pillaring presence.

He withdrew his hand from my forehead and I heard his voice whispering. "Maya?"

I pulled in a breath, slowly, and then winced as a sharp pain suddenly rang in my chest. The hand that was resting on my forehead suddenly came to rest on my shoulder, as if to hold me steady, but I simply let it play through, and when it was gone, I opened my eyes once more, a little more steadily than before, a little more confidently.

I looked up to see Khan looking down at me, and when our eyes met, a very soft smile settled on his lips, his eyes sparkling as though he meant to cry. As I gazed up at him, I smiled just a little and pulled in another short, careful breath. I wanted to ask him if I was dead, though I knew I wasn't, and I wanted to ask him what happened, though I knew what had happened, and then I resolved to not say a word, because words didn't seem very relevant at that moment.

Khan let me lie there with my head in his lap for what seemed like a very long time; at one point my eyes slipped closed and I must have slept for awhile, though it was unclear. My body felt heavy and groggy but when I next opened my eyes, I felt considerably lighter, almost...completely conscious, completely restored of energy, though I knew that had to be a fluke of some kind.

I was lying on a hospitable bed in a dark room with low sterile light over the bed, in the hallway through the window of the closed door, and alighting a cabinet by the wall. Looking over, I could see jars and phials in the cabinet and figured some work had gone into my recovery. The vitals screen to my right was alight with green streams of steady heart pulsations and blood pressure and beeped steadily every now and then. I sat up, very very slowly, so as not to jar my head, and I swung my legs over the side of the bed, trying to touch the floor, but I realized the bed was higher from the floor than I first realized. So I paused, knowing that if I attempted to set my feet down on the floor, I might have buckled at the knees and fallen right down. I took in slow, steady breaths and raised my eyes to look about the room.

I was alone...alone in a hospital room.

Where was Khan?

Suddenly, a noise was heard at the door, and when I looked over, I watched Dr. Morrow make his steady way into the room, holding a monitor pad lazily at his size, his hands shoved into the pockets of his lab coat. As I looked up at him, a great big smile erupted on his lips.

"Lieutenant Commander," he said. "It's so wonderful to see you awake, at last. How do you feel?"

That felt like too difficult a question to answer, at that time. "Where's Khan?"

Dr. Morrow didn't seem put off by my inquiry at all, he simply shook his head. "He's been notified that you're awake, he's on his way."

I felt the relief and happiness gush over me instantly, but it was cut short when Dr. Morrow gently took my right wrist between both his hands and I fought to urge to bury two of my fingers into the sockets of his eyes.

"Everything is healing nicely," he said, and I looked to see what he was talking about. Bandages were loosely wrapped around my right wrist, and when I looked down at my left, they were there too. It confused me until I realized it must have been because of the restraints on my wrists in the observation deck. Dr. Morrow slowly let go of my wrist and smiled. "You broke both wrists, of course, but I'd say another day and they'll be perfect once more."

I blinked at him, and felt my brow furrow, and I swallowed. "What happened? I mean..." I trailed out as I saw the smile fade from Dr. Morrow's face. "Why did they stop?"

For a single second, I watched fury flash in Dr. Morrow's eyes but then it gave way to simple concern, as per usual, but it confused me even more. He looked as though he were deliberating on how to tell what had happened, looking down at the monitor pad in his hand, hesitating. "Well..."

But then, I could hear the sounds of the doors opening. Dr. Morrow looked over his shoulder and then looked to me, smiling. "Why don't I fill you in on the details at another time, hmm?"

I understood why he said it, because in that moment the door opened and there was Khan. And nothing else in the world mattered.

His kaleidoscope eyes absolutely glimmered in the low light, and they were full of disbelief and happiness, all at once. He stood tall and strong, dressed from head to toe in black, as per usual, and he looked healthy and well rested and an image of the very best light in the world. My lips shook trying to say his name, and in an effort to go to him I pushed myself off the hospital bed, preparing my feet for the landing.

My knees buckled, as I thought they might have, but Khan swooped in before I could hit the floor, taking me in his arms and holding me up effortlessly, and I took the opportunity to curl my arms around his rock hard frame and hold to him as much as I could. I buried my nose in his chest and took in a deep breath of his smell, felt the warmth in his form against mine, heard his heart beat against my ear when I listened for it. Khan held me protectively, his arms encasing me almost completely, his chin resting atop my head, as though he'd die before letting anyone even think of touching me again.

I heard Dr. Morrow break the elated silence in the room. "I'll just...be outside, if you need me."

And then the door opened and closed and he was gone.

We stood like that for a long time, simply holding onto each other, and it wasn't until Khan picked me up bride-style and set me down carefully on the side of the bed that I realized I was barely dressed. Bandages were wrapped around my chest and my pelvis, but nowhere else, and even though I was mortified to be practically naked in the presence of my captain, I looked up into Khan's eyes and suddenly it just didn't even matter; he smiled down at me and I could see the true happiness in his face, lighting his features, and reaching forward I took hold of his sweater between my fingers and pulled him forward so that he could stand between my parted legs, and once more I wound my arms around him and held him, and basked in the feeling of his arms as they closed around me once more.

"It was so foolish..." I whispered.

Khan shook his head. "Don't think about it, Maya."

"I was just so anxious to see them..." I said, quieting to listen to his heartbeat, to take in his smell wafting all around me.

He buried his nose in my air, almost as though he wanted to agree with me but was afraid to say a word about it, and then he began to rub my back, as if to distract me from the thoughts in my head, and it worked. I sighed as I held to him and closed my eyes, figuring it didn't need to be dwelt upon. Not at that moment, anyway. "Where are we?"

Khan stopped rubbing my back and I felt his arms tense all around me, and though nothing could have ruined the happiness I was feeling at that moment, this...this was the one thing that couldn't help but plant itself in the back of my mind and fester, like some sort of disease, and in that moment I knew in a single second where we were.

Earth.

/