To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh by Greg Cox Read Free Book Online Page A

Although she would always regret betraying Captain Kirk and the others, she found herself thrilled by the prospect of building a new life with Khan. All her life she had felt out of place in her own time, dreaming of the great deeds—and great men—of the past. Now at last she would be
making
history, alongside one of the most dynamic and charismatic figures in human history: Khan Noonien Singh.
    She was not naive. As a historian, she knew just how difficult and dangerous their new life would be. The first generation of colonists at Botany Bay had lived on the knife edge of starvation for nearly five years, while they struggled to eke a living from the foreign soil, and many of the original settlers had not survived at all, succumbing to disease, hunger, and even cannibalism.
    But they did not have a Khan to lead them!
Marla reminded herself fiercely. She had faith in him. Together they would prevail over everything Ceti Alpha V had to offer.
It will all be worth it, as long as we have each other
.
    She peered at the lighted display panel of her tricorder as she strolled across the camp. She had promised Khan a complete inventory of their supplies and wanted to make sure that she had not forgotten anything.
    The night was hot and dry, and swarms of flying insects buzzed about her annoyingly. In theory, according to the
Enterprise
’s environmental projections, they had arrived at this location during the height of the hot season, a few months before the monsoon. Marla glanced upward at thestars.
Let’s hope we have a roof overhead before the rain starts,
she thought.
    Among the unfamiliar constellations, one particular heavenly body stood out from the rest, a large orangish orb that resembled a small moon.
That must be Ceti Alpha VI,
she guessed; the lifeless world was Ceti Alpha V’s nearest planetary neighbor. She recalled, from a briefing aboard the
Enterprise
, that the two planets were currently in synchronous orbits, which meant she could expect to see Ceti Alpha VI in the sky quite frequently over the next several months. Marla wondered if she and Khan’s descendants would someday set foot on the planet above, when their newborn nation gained the resources to venture out into space. Given the colony’s primitive beginnings, that could be many generations away….
    Scanning the campsite for Khan, she spotted him several meters away, conferring with Liam MacPherson. According to Khan, the lanky, redheaded Scotsman had been one of Khan’s chief scientific advisors back during the Eugenics Wars, and Khan obviously valued MacPherson’s opinion regarding the future of New Chandigarh. Marla paused in her tracks, reluctant to interrupt Khan while he was busy.
    She was disappointed to see Joaquin standing guard only a few paces away from Khan, his arms crossed atop his massive chest. The thuggish bodyguard had not left Khan’s side for a minute, and Marla was already finding his constant presence oppressive, especially when she remembered the brutal way Joaquin had struck Lieutenant Uhura back on the
Enterprise
. Thank goodness Khan had prevented Joaquin from hitting Uhura again. The man was obviously a brute.
    As if he had heard her thoughts, Joaquin turned his headtoward Marla. His perpetual scowl deepened as he spotted her standing by. He stared at her with undisguised animosity.
Guess the feeling is mutual,
she realized. Despite the stifling heat, a chill ran down her spine.
    The bodyguard’s baleful glare made her uncomfortable, so she turned away and headed toward the nearest campfire. She wasn’t actually cold, but perhaps the smoke would discourage the cloud of gnat- and mosquito-like creatures enveloping her. She swatted uselessly at the airborne pests, while double-checking her computerized inventory lists one more time.
Let’s see, the
Enterprise
left us about one dozen high-intensity plasma lights. Those should last at least twenty-five years or so. And we’ve got approximately 250 kilograms of