Chapter 1

It all happened very fast. That's what everyone would remember. Nobody saw it coming, but then again, they never saw anything coming. There was no longer any surprise; the entire of New York had been engulfed in metal crustaceans an acre high, the sky had turned dark with ships and time portals and aliens.

There was always one constant; death.

There was something very human about death, that no matter how unimaginable and unthinkable everything escalated to, there was always death, the sobering reality that everything relates to.

Nothing lives forever.

No matter how hard it tries.

Year - 2255.5

12:00

Security Sector, Starfleet Headquarters

'How long has that been flashing?'

One Starfleet officer, his coffee-stained recognition badge labelled 'Simmons' who, at that moment, was so reclined on his chair that he was almost vertical, woke up and wheeled himself to the desk.

'Um, I dunno. Alarm, for the vault under here? Top security, isn't it? Ah, someone will have stood on some wire. Jim Kirk went crazy with all the security, what do they keep down there?'

The second guard flicked one more worried glance in the alarm's direction, which was flashing silently on the console with the words 'Security Breach'.

'I dunno, but lets hope to God it doesn't get out, whatever it is.'

Simmons rolled his eyes but out from his colleague's view, he bit his lip in concern.

'Do you think we should-'

Simmons hesitated, fighting the rising panic in his throat.

'No, Parker. No I don't. I think I should go back to sleep.'

'You're supposed to be on duty.' Parker pointed out.

'Yes, yes I am. But I'm asleep. So, if you are concerned, as my second-in-command, it is your duty to sort it out.'

Parker sighed, got up and pressed in the code for the doors, the stale air shifting as the metal slid open. His eyes darted around, and adrenaline pulsed. His mind raced. He pushed a shaking hand into his pocket, pulling out his phaser and nervously turning it from stun to kill.

12:14

Commander Riker's office, London

'Woah, woah. Slow down. What happened?'

'I should've noticed, all the alarms were silent, someone must have got into the system so we wouldn't notice.'

'What did you see?'

Parker breathed in, desperate for some kind of sense to come out.

'There was one open, sir. All the frozen people, there was one pod open, and the guards were dead, their heads, oh god, their heads had been crushed. And I ran back to my office and Simmons... there was blood everywhere. He took Simmons' phaser.'

12:31

James T Kirk's bedroom, New-New York

'Jim?'

Jim didn't care. He was asleep. Bones' urgent voice on his answer-phone shattered his pleasant but slightly confusing dream about Spock having a twin sister.

'Yeah, Bones, what do you want?' he slurred, slamming a hand onto his answerphone, the image of Bones's concerned face projected up in a hologram next to Jim's bed.

'It's about Khan.'

Jim was suddenly very much awake. His mind, like everyone else's whom the news had touched, began to race.

'What about him?' he asked, his calm voice wavering.

'He... He escaped, Jim.'