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As soon as they materialized on the planet surface, the four Enterprise officers divided quickly, putting a few feet between them - no sense providing a group target for their adversary when there was no telling what types of weapons Khan might have with him. Courtesy of their Chief Engineer, each of them had a tracking device programmed with the signature Scott had taken from the transwarp device in case they became seperated.
The sound of weapons discharging had them all ducking, but it was quickly apparent that they weren't the ones being fired on. Khan was engaged in a fight with the local Klingons and was doing surprisingly well against them despite both their superior numbers and home ground advantage.
Kirk signaled with his free hand. Sulu and Uhura got his meaning - Spock didn't, but guessed. The four of them stayed low and took in Khan's fighting style, also making note of the weapons he seemed to be using. A slow smile formed on Kirk's face as he looked very deliberately at Sulu as he made another motion with his free hand.
Sulu smiled as well as he drew out his sword hilt and allowed the katana blade to unfold. His weapon had the advantage of being as silent as the man wielding it. As he slipped off to get in position, Kirk looked to Uhura and pointed - it was too noisy to be heard without screaming. Uhura nodded her understanding of what he wanted. Kirk tried the same with Spock, but he obviously wasn't getting what Kirk was trying to convey. Uhura gave the Vulcan a slightly impatient look, then reached out to take his hand briefly enough for him to see from her what Kirk needed to be done.
Once he understood the plan, Spock had to admit it stood a decent chance of success. The three of would take positions to Khan's back and sides, then fire their rifles at him simultaneously. Following that, Sulu would move in to disarm him in case the stuns merely slowed Khan instead of stopping him.
The problem with the plan was the Klingons. With no way of predicting when or where they would fire, the Klingons were as much of a threat to Kirk and his team as they were to Khan. Growling in frustration at being so close and still not be able to move in, Kirk activated his communicator.
"Chekov - see if you can get back in touch with the Klingon hierarchy and try to get them to pull their forces from this area."
"Aye, Captain. At once, sir."
Once the connection shut down, Chekov took a deep breath. He could do this. Turning to Communications station, Chekov looked at Uhura's replacement. Lieutenant Chaplin outranked him, but Chekov considered the man to be incompetent and let that be known in his tone when he spoke to the man.
"Lieutenant Chaplin, is your Klingon better than your Romulan?"
The Communications Officer flushed slightly, but nodded. Much as he wanted to pull rank, Kirk had left the Bridge under Chekov's command. Anything said or done to subvert that was bound to be dealt with severely.
"Yes, sir, it is."
"Good. Then contact the Klingon Emperor at once.'
Since his official assignment was to make sure McCoy didn't go anywhere in the ship that he shouldn't be or do any sabotage work, Ka'ar had to stay closer to where McCoy and Thopok were working than he was strictly comfortable with. Oh yes, he knew the value of a good Qel as a torturer. No-one was better than a Qel at that art, but Ka'ar was far more comfortable with a straight kill-or-be-killed fight. The two Qel discussing the finer aspects of dissection over a living body while jesting as if they were having drinks together in a bar? That was another matter altogether.
By the time the order came from Emperor Karhammur to bring McCoy to him, there had to be a slight delay while the two men slipped out of the bloody labwear they had donned to protect their uniforms and washed up. Thopok had been ordered into the Emperor's presence as well and Ka'ar followed behind as the two men continued to discuss favored equipment and techniques.
The Emperor seemed bemused when his Qel and the Terran one entered side by side, but he addressed his remarks to Thopok.
"Your determination?"
"Imperial Majesty, had there been only one, I would have assumed he was merely a Terran who had some mutation at birth. However, the readings taken from the dead ones and the readings on the ones captured all have similar properties. There are enough significant differences from the Terran standard that I am confident in saying that they are a different race."
Pausing for a moment, Thopok shifted his stance slightly. If McCoy had to guess, he would have bet on his Klingon counterpart having an old injury to his left knee.
"What words came from the two while they were being examined also bears that out. The male claimed superiority over the Terrans. He did not speak as if he considered himself to be one of them."
The Emperor merely nodded, then another Klingon stepped up and saluted.
"We are being hailed again by the ISS Enterprise, Imperial Majesty."
Staying by Thopok's side, McCoy watched as the Klingon Emperor ordered for the hail from the Enterprise to be relayed to him. McCoy was a bit surprised when it was Chekov's face that appeared. He looked even younger on the screen than he did in person which made McCoy hope the Klingons wouldn't dismiss the kid based on his appearance alone.
If his expression was anything to judge by, the Emperor seemed more intrigued than dismissive of Chekov.
"Introduce yourself."
Chekov had followed the Captain's earlier example and was standing at attention to speak with the Klingon Emperor. He also recalled Kirk's words as he framed his own response.
"I am Pavel Andreievich Chekov - son of Andrei Chekov and Ensign aboard the ISS Enterprise, sire."
"Why have you contacted us?"
Chekov took a deep breath and tried to recall everything his father ever taught him about address potentially volatile superiors.
"We have our people in position to capture the plotter as your Imperial Majesty has graciously allowed. However, there is a conflict between the plotter and several Klingon defenders underway and the Captain does not wish to engage the enemy and risk injury to any of your men. We respectfully request that the defenders pull back to minimize the risk of crossfire."
There was a moment of tense silence as the Emperor continued to study the young Russian, then he gave a sharp nod before calling to one of his officers.
"Dukath - tell our forces to disengage from their battle with the intruder and not to interfere with the Terran forces that are seeking him."
"At once, Imperial Majesty."
"It is done, Ensign Chekov. Contact us again once your people and the prisoner are back aboard your vessel so we may arrange the return of your officer."
"Our thanks for your Imperial Majesty's assistance in the capture."
The Emperor acknowledged Chekov's thanks with another sharp nod, then signaled an end to the communication. He then looked back to Thopok and McCoy, making a gesture that meant nothing to McCoy, but he followed Thopok's example and bowed before exiting.
Once they were gone, the Emperor spoke to Dukath again.
"Shut down the grid that disables off-world sensors for a period of Hut-tup."
"As you command, Imperial Majesty."
In the corridor as the two of them made their way back to Thopok's version of Sickbay, McCoy decided to take a chance.
"Don't trust anyone else enough to let them work on that leg for you?"
The Klingon gave a short bark of laughter.
"Aren't one for mincing words, are you? What is it to you, McCoy?"
McCoy gave a small shrug.
"We have time before I'll be allowed to return to my own ship. I'm likely to be the best opportunity you have to regain full mobility."
From the speculative look in Thopok's eyes, McCoy knew the gamble had been worth it.
"And why would I trust you?"
"Why wouldn't you? I've nothing to gain by injuring you further and plenty to gain by having someone in the Klingon Empire that I could go to for trading tips. For as long as our two Empires remain allies, of course."
"Of course."
Thopok was quietly thoughtful the rest of the walk, then turned to his counterpart.
"Fine. Let us see then what caliber of surgeon you are, McCoy."
Ka'ar wasn't sure about this turn of events, but resigned himself to be an observer only. A Klingon who desired a long and healthy life did not interfere in the business of his ship's Qel.
The sudden silence when the Klingon forces stopped firing made Khan wary. Instinctively, he felt something was going on, but exactly what the Klingons felt they were gaining in pulling away from his position was uncertain.
He began to shift from the spot he had been entrenched in to attempt to get a better idea of whatever the Klingons might be planning next. He heard the noise to his side a fraction of a second too late to react as the three heavy stun beams hit him. Sulu didn't hesitate, moving in rapidly to take Khan's weapons.
Sulu was tossing a blade to the side when he realized that Khan was moving again - and moving far better than any individual hit with three heavy stuns had any right to be moving. He breathed a sigh of relief as Khan's hand went through his arm instead of grabbing it. Chekov must have finally been able to get a transporter lock on Khan.
Once even the after-image of Khan was gone, Sulu stood and allowed his blade to re-compact. Kirk, Uhura and Spock slowly stood up from their positions as well, wary in case any of the Klingons were around and still trigger happy. Once fully on his feet and without being fired on, Kirk reactivated his communicator.
"Scotty, did you get him?"
"Aye, sir. Mister Chekov got a lock on the wee bugger and requested me to teleport him directly into the Brig. He'll not be going anywhere from there without your leave, sir."
"Excellent. Beam us out of here, Scotty."
Once they materialized back on the Enterprise, Kirk just gave Scott a nod and slight smile as he headed back to the Bridge without a word, the other three following after him like ducklings, to Scott's amusement.
As the turbolift doors opened, Chekov stood up and addressed Kirk.
"Welcome back aboard, sir. The Klingon Emperor requested to be contacted once you were back aboard in order to arrange Doctor McCoy's return."
"Very good. And nice work, Chekov. Consider yourself field-promoted to lieutenant. We'll get the paperwork filed to make it permanent. Get your uniform rank adjusted before next shift."
Uhura hid her smile by turning to the console as she took back over from Chaplin. McCoy had once privately voiced to her that he tended to view Chekov as an overeager, blood-thirsty Russian wolf cub that had accepted Kirk as his Alpha. She could definitely see that in Chekov's reaction to Kirk's praise and reward.
"Aye, Captain. Thank you, sir."
"Uhura, once you've gotten everything back in order, contact Emperor Karhammur again."
The backhanded insult didn't escape Chaplin, but he was bright enough not to comment. He just finished his report to Uhura and left the Bridge.
Settling back into the Captain's chair, a smile that could have been compared to that of a cat dining on a canary formed. He couldn't have asked for the capture of Khan to have gone better planet-side than it had. Now, if he was right about the saboteurs being on Praxis as well? Perhaps he and the Emperor could have a friendly chat concerning the Romulans.