Previously, on A Mind Occasionally Voyaging…
Kirk indicated the maelstrom on the screen as he and Pike stepped from the turbolift. “Mutara nebula,” he explained. “Gave us a rough ride on the way here.”
“High energy static discharge,” Saavik explained. “Sensors won’t work, shields will be useless.”
“A fair fight,” Pike said.
“A fair fight with Khan,” La’an said. “Still long odds.”
“Mister Xon, Any sign of Reliant?” Pike asked.
“Sensor range remains limited,” Xon said. “I can not fix their location, but the lack of a warp signature suggests they have not yet restored engines.”
“Mister Sulu, set course into the nebula. Nyota, give me an open channel.”
“Aye sir. You’re on.”
Pike stepped to the center of the bridge, but didn’t take his seat. “Khan, this is Pike. I’m still willing to negotiate. I have warp, you don’t. If you try to run, Starfleet will hunt you to the end of the galaxy. I tried to give you a chance, twenty years ago. I’m willing to do it again. This doesn’t have to end in bloodshed. Hand over Genesis, and I’ll report that Reliant was destroyed. No one will come looking for you. You have my word.” Pike signaled for Uhura to close the channel.
Kirk gave Pike a concerned look. “If he agrees, do you really plan to let him go?”
Pike gestured Kirk closer so they could speak privately. “We have priority orders from Starfleet to recover Genesis,” he said. Slowly, pointedly, he said, “Regardless of Khan’s response, the ship’s log will reflect that we made every reasonable attempt to carry out those orders.”
They both looked to Saavik. “By the book,” Kirk said, wryly.
Una measured every syllable of Pike’s message. What game was he playing?
“Triangulate that signal,” Khan demanded. “Find them.”
“My lord,” Joachim protested. “We will have warp in an hour. We could be at Earth in two.”
Khan scoffed. “Princes, potentates, warriors, the flower of heaven once yours, now lost… Have you chosen this place after the toil of battle to repose, to slumber here as in the vales of heaven? I want him found.” He looked to Una. “A ruse, of course,” he said. “But what kind?”
“Pike will abide by his word,” Una said, cautiously. “But, of course, he knows you can’t accept his terms. He wants you to think help is on the way. He’s hoping you’ll run, give him time to escape.”
“We have him, lord,” Joachim said. The screen showed the Enterprise limping toward the nebula. “Their warp signature is intermittent.”
“There he is,” Khan sighed with satisfaction. “More wounded than we were led to believe. Accursed, and in a cursed hour he hies.”
“If he puts the nebula between us and them, we will not be able to jam their subspace transmissions,” Joachim explained.
“Close to firing range and explain our displeasure,” Khan ordered.
Moments later, a pair of bright phaser bursts narrowly missed the Enterprise’s port nacelle pylon. The larger ship continued unimpeded.
“Why are we slowing?” Khan demanded.
“We can’t follow them into the nebula, my lord. Shields will be useless there.”
Pike’s voice crackled on the open channel. “This is Admiral Pike. What’s the matter, Khan? We’ve come this far. Khan… I’m laughing at the superior intellect.”
“Full impulse power!” Khan demanded.
“No, sir,” Joachim said, desperately, “You have Genesis. You can have anything you-”
He stopped short as Khan grabbed and shook the younger man. “Full power! Damn you!” he shoved him aside and touched the engine controls himself.
“I’ll say this for him, he’s consistent,” Kirk observed as the Reilant surged forward. “Now entering the Mutara nebula.” A tremor struck the Enterprise bridge and the lights went out.
“Emergency lights,” Pike ordered. Red light bathed the bridge. “La’an, best guess; fire when ready.”
“Tactical?” Khan asked.
“Inoperative,” Joachim answered.
“Raise shields.”
“As I feared, sir, non-functional. I’m reducing speed.”
Khan started to say something, but held back. He turned to Una. “How long until we have warp power?”
“Still a while,” she said. “You just don’t have enough people for all the work.”
A pair of phaser bolts appeared through the flickering static on Reliant’s viewscreen. They has missed the ship from behind, but the ionization of nebular matter nearby still sent a tremble through the ship.
“Aft torpedoes, fire!” Khan shouted. The torpedo disappeared into the clouds.
Reliant again vanished into cloud and static. “Hold course,” Pike ordered. “He’s close.” The bridge fell into an uneasy silence as they squinted at the screen. Kirk moved to Xon’s side, studying the mostly-indecipherable noise on the sensor display. La’an checked the phaser banks. “Sir!” Sulu exclaimed, indicating the screen. Reliant appeared through a break in the static, heading straight toward them.
“Evasive to starboard!” Pike ordered. “Fire!” The Enterprise rolled counterclockwise fast enough that the bridge crew swayed from centripetal motion. A salvo of phaser-fire tore through the side of the port torpedo launcher. Enterprise fired back, a series of red bolts from the underside of the saucer. Two caught the starboard edge of Reliant’s bridge dome.
An explosion blew out the turbolift doors. Even Khan was knocked from his feet. His navigator was thrown over the console and Joachim tumbled over the railing toward the captain’s chair. Khan saw the structural support break free, but he was too far away. It hit the deck, then toppled to the side, on top of Joachim. Khan lifted the heavy metal fragment and tossed it aside. “Joachim?” he asked. The younger man’s shirt was quickly soaking through where the sharp edge had pierced him.
“Yours…” Joachim managed, “Is superior.” His eyes went wide.
Khan shook him gently, then cradled him in his arms. “I shall avenge you,” he promised, then rose to his feet. He pointed an angry finger at Una, who had just managed to get back to her fee. “You! To engineering. I want main power, now!”
Her voice remained calm. “As you wish, my lord.” She headed for the emergency hatch, calculating how many things Khan was likely to keep track of at once under the circumstances. On her way by, she pulled the first aid kit off the wall. He didn’t notice.
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