Universal Displacement

Between A Rock and A Space Place

Space was empty and cold. Or maybe she was just projecting. But from the glimpse of space she could see out the front window panel, Sutton only saw blackness with beady pinpricks of white light. Space with the Doctor had been different. There were bright moons, rainbow nebulas, and vibrant cultures that seemed to spill from the planets into the empty spaces in between. There wasn't such magic about space travel now.

Khan pushed up on a lever and the pinpricks of light seemed to grow and then bleed into each other while her stomach simultaneously dropped. When they eased out of warp shortly after, Sutton had butterflies and one particular planet filled the window. She recognized it because it was part of her solar system: Jupiter. Its size was mind boggling to look at. Deep oranges and dusty browns swirled around each other like lazily stirred tea and a blood red spot spun down on the southern hemisphere. Khan moved even more sharply once they were in orbit around the planet.

She did not have a good feeling.

Sutton shifted to see better, hit a tender spot, hissed, and glared up at the back of Khan's head through her lashes. A dark, looming bulk was starting to take form as they rounded one of Jupiter's much smaller moons.

"You are positive that this Starfleet engineer was able to covertly gain access merely by pretending to be part of the construction crew."

Sutton startled at his voice; her own reply was quiet but biting.

"Yes."

She paused and her answer was satisfactory enough for Khan because he didn't say any more. Sutton gently stroked the fingers on her right hand and worked up the nerve to speak again.

"There's no way you can take over the ship by yourself. And I –I won't... won't help you."

"Nor could you. But your assumptions on my purpose here are completely wrong. I don't want to steal the ship at all; I am going to simply make some modifications."

That did not ease her worries at all. She wanted to say that she hoped he got caught, but decided not to voice that aloud. Her stomach spoke instead, deciding to let out a resounding growl and she shoved her fist into it to try and quiet the sounds.

"There is a replicator to your left," Khan shot over his shoulder. "Use it."

To the left there was another vaguely microwave looking device, though it was much smaller than the one that had been in Khan's hideout. She eased to her feet and glanced worriedly out the window before turning to face the replicator. There was a small touchscreen panel on the right hand side of the opening and Sutton tapped it lightly with her left index finger to activate it. The device was simple to use from there, with pictured foods available, and before the minute was up Sutton was hunkered back down in the corner with a ham sandwich. Or, at least it was molecularly the same as a ham sandwich. Whether it was the technology or her own despair, the sandwich just tasted a bit off with every bite she took.

Khan maneuvered the craft upwards and Sutton watched silently as a huge floating shipyard passed in front of them.

Maybe, her frazzled mind reasoned, this could turn out in her favor. Maybe he was going to disable the ship's weapons systems and that was it.

That's all he's doing, that's all he's doing, that's all-

A blinding pain shot through her temples and stole her breath. She dropped what was left of her sandwich to clutch at the left side of her chest, and she panted quietly a few times to try and steady herself. The stabbing pains eased back down to a dull throbbing slowly, and Sutton decided not to try anymore manipulation for the time being.

The craft angled above the giant structure, and Khan idled there until another wave of workers arrived before he swooped down and joined their ranks. There wasn't even a whisper over the radio, and Sutton wondered how well security for this base was really thought out.