Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Star Trek Franchise. I only own my own characters and plot.

A/N: I'm so sorry for the long delay. So much has been going in my life, so, I really haven't had the time to write fanfiction. That and I'm in college, so my times limited. Anyways, I will try not make you all for the next chapter.

Take Care

Sexyknickers

Chapter 2: He's a Rebel

Chloe's P.O.V

I sometimes wonder if I should've perished with my parents the day the augments found us. Surely death would've been a reprieve compared to the hell that I've been forced to endure on a daily basis. Despite my daily struggles, I've also found solace in the friendships that I've made since being here.

I've been here for almost two months and Khan has most certainly has lived up to his reputation. He is one hell of a dictator. He is a wise with his decisions and brutal to the point of savage when he wants to make a point. Everyone, including lower hierarchy augments, fears Khan. The local populace however sees him and his kind as saviors. It's sheer genius in my opinion, but their intentions are a frightening reality to those who see beyond their well-played illusion. They are here to annihilate us.

Today is just like any other day. It's the middle of the afternoon and I am cleaning Khan's study as I hum, Think of me, from The Phantom of the Opera. I smile as I remember when my aunt Estella had taken us to see the musical when it first premiered in New York. It was such a magical night and the music…oh the music, it was wonderful. I sigh as I continue to replay the night in my mind, remembering the music, the costumes, the sets and oh-so much more of that wonderfully magic night. Those times seem so far away now, like some wonderful dream.

I continue to hum as I dust one of the many bookshelves that lay against the wall. I gently finger some of the volumes of what looks like, rare editions of books such as Bleak House, by Charles Dickens to Mein Kamf, by Adolf Hitler. I gasp, but am not surprised that Khan would have a copy of Hitler's manifesto in his study.

" It's probably a guide book, " I murmured to myself as I continue to dust.

Leave it Khan to get pointers from Adolf Hitler. Heck, he's probably one of his idols. It takes me almost two- hours to clean both sides of the bookshelf, which is from floor to ceiling and has many books that I would kill to get my hands on. My fingertips lightly brush each book as I gently caress them and I can't help but sigh as I take in their musty smell. I love to read, which is why I wanted to become a writer.

I was all set to go to Brown in the fall. I remember going shopping with my mom before all the shit with the augments started. We made a killing at Walmart when we went shopping for school and dorm room supplies. I remember how excited my mom was and she even shed a few tears in the middle of the store, crying about how " My baby is all grown up" and what not. I remember rolling my eyes at the time and the embarrassment that I felt. Now that I look back I wish I hadn't been so callous. Why did I have to be the typical bitchy college student that was so eager to leave the nest? Why could I see how precious our time together was?

"It's because you no idea that a bunch of superhuman freaks were going to come and ruin your life!"My inner voice growled with utter contempt.

Ruin my life? HA! Completely decimated is more like it.

Another hour passes by the time I finish cleaning the study. My stomach grumbles in protest, not liking being kept so empty for an extended period of time.

" It's not my damn fault that my meal times are so far apart these days," I grumbled as I finished cleaning a rather perverted looking nude statue of a man and woman obviously having sex.

" Ugh, who the hell would have something like this in their office? It's so obscene," I muttered under my breath.

My spine immediately becomes rigid with fear when I hear a familiar baritone utter from behind me.

" I believe it belonged to the previous owner, may he rest in peace," He intoned rather gleefully.

I shutter to think what happened to the previous owner of this grand palace.

" I see, yes my lord. Good day," I said rather quickly before darting past him.

My attempt to flee is stopped by his rather firm grip on my arm.

" Did I say that you could leave, slave?"

I nearly snarl with utter contempt, but remain composed as I turn around to face him.

" No, master," I replied through gritted teeth.

His ice shard eyes assess me silently for a moment, making me feel uncomfortable. That familiar tickle up and down my spine reemerges with a vengeance and I find myself suddenly become all hot. He smiles at this, as if taking pleasure in my inner torment.

Oh how humiliating!

" You took an awfully long time in here, slave. I do hope you weren't reading one of my books," He intoned rather sternly, baiting me, trying to catch me out, the bastard!

" No master, but has reading suddenly become a crime amongst the servants?" I replied innocently.

His eyes narrow as his eyes become even colder, if that's even possible.

" No, but it is a crime to take something that isn't yours without asking. I believe that is a rudimentary fact in any given situation, wouldn't you agree?"

" I agree wholeheartedly sir, but I will reaffirm that I have never taken anything of yours without asking you first" I replied rather sharply.

" I see…" He drawled out before walking to his desk.

He takes a seat behind his desk and leans back in his chair as he continues to quietly observe me. He looks so elegant in his black jumpsuit with gold trimming. I almost blush when I see a bit of his chest beneath the folds of the satin fabric. Even here I can see how well built he is.

" Oh dear lord woman, get your hormones under control,"My inner voice scolded.

" Is there anything else that I can do for you, sir?"

" Yes, take a seat," He said and then gestures to the seat in front of him.

I gulp and then slowly make my way over to the seat. I sit down, fold my hands in my lap and then look him straight in the eyes. He raises an eyebrow at this, obviously not expecting the direct eye contact. I inwardly smile with glee, loving the brief feminine power that this one simple act gave me.

" You're hair," He said suddenly.

" My hair, my lord…?" I replied, bemused.

" Yes, it's up in that ridiculous braid. You should wear it down," He replied.

Okay, weird. Why the hell would he care about how I wear I my hair? Oh dear God, I hope he doesn't have some sort of sick hair fetish.

" But I like it this way, my lord. My hair is too long and it gets awful hot during the day as I'm going about my tas-" He quickly shushes me with a raised hand.

" You're in for it now Chloe..." My inner voice warned.

He sighs and is obvious displeased by my confidant outburst. He then gets up from his chair

" No, no. This won't do, this won't do at all," he sighed as he takes his place behind me.

My spine's rigid with fear and another more puzzling emotion that I'm unable to decipher at the moment. He then does something that shocks me to the core. He gently pulls out hairband and then starts to unravel my French braid with those long and dexterous fingers of his. I shiver with that same unknown emotion as he slowly unravels my long braid from its confines. When it's completely undone my thick blonde hair falls half way down my back.

He continues to gently thread his fingers through my hair as he detangles the knots created by the braid. I bite my lip as pleasurable tingles erupt all over my body. Dear Lord, this is so wrong. I shouldn't be enjoying his touches. I should be repelled! This man represents everything I hate, and yet here I am fighting back a pleasurable moan as he continues to brush my hair through his fingers.

" There now, much better," He stated before returning back to his chair behind he desk.

I continue to sit there still stunned by the impromptu hair play session that he had just subjected me to just now. Did that just happen? Did he seriously play with my hair just now?

" Mmmm… very good, you look lovely, more natural and feminine," He said with a gentle tone that startles me even further.

" I-I-" He interrupts my flow of speech, chuckling as he continues to eye me with a slight twinkle in his eyes that's disconcerting.

" Do not be so alarmed my pretty little kitten, I can be gentle you know. You needn't scurry around me like frightened little mouse all the time," He chuckled.

Scurry like a frightened little mouse? Is he serious? Better yet, is he high on something? He has to be. Maybe augments like to smoke a few reefers as the pastime. Hell, if that were the case I wouldn't mind smoking up a couple myself. I sure as hell need to relax after this last episode.

" Um, er-forgive me my lord, but is there, um, anything else that you require?"

" No my pet, you are dismissed," He intoned with a dismissive wave of his hands,

I dart out of the chair like the roadrunner and make my way to the door, but not before his familiar monotone stops me in my tracks.

" Should you require further intellectual stimulation, I would be more than happy to provide that for you," He drawled out with a husky tone.

I shiver with that same unknown emotion before darting out of the room like a scared rabbit. I can't help the tears that stream down my face when I finally reach the kitchens. Sophie, the cook, immediately notices distress and stops what she is doing to join me at the table.

" What is it dear girl? Did he hurt you?" She demanded gently.

I shake my head as and then immediately recount the entire incident with Khan to her. Eloise, the kitchen girl hands me a cup of tea and then takes a seat beside Sophie.

" The man is intolerable!" Sophie hissed as she nibbles on a water biscuit.

" They are all subhuman scum, he is the worst!" Eloise interjected rather angrily.

Her knuckles are white as she clutches her teacup. I see the unbridled rage in Eloise's eyes and understand why she hates the augments so much. She too, like so many others, has lost her loved ones because of the augments. She lived in a quaint little town in the South of France with her husband and new born, but she and her family were not able to escape the "purge" as the augments so eloquently put it. Long story short, her husband and newborn baby boy accidently died in a house fire while she survived, shorty captured after their deaths and then finally shipped here.

I've heard many other horror stories from the other slaves, all equally as horrifying as the next. The very idea of freedom has been obliterated from our minds, but one can hope, right? Sure the augments have taken everything from us, but the human spirit is strong and I still like to believe that there is a slither of hope buried beneath the rubble. Not everyone is like me though. I 've seen a lot of people who have given up hope all together.

I can't help but feel angry with them for submissiveness and yet I can't blame them for giving in either. The current human situation is a rather dismal one and that light at the end of the tunnel is so far away that there is nothing but an all- consuming darkness.

" What am I going to do?" I sighed.

Sophie and Eloise eye me sympathetically, but both choose to remain silent. What can they say anyways? No amount of sympathetic words will change the fact my life is now based on the whims of a complete tyrant.

" You do your job and stay out of his wandering eye," Sophie replied.

Eloise glares rather scathingly at Sophie before looking at me.

" And what does that solve?" She spat, her French accent heavy with anger.

" Well, what else is the poor girl supposed to do? If she goes against Khan she'll be dead faster than you can skin a cat," Sophie replied.

" But I can't just let him play around with me like a ruddy doll, " I interjected rather angrily.

" Or worse," Eloise muttered.

Then, like clockwork, Anita comes bustling in with a basket full of towels. I smile as she grabs a bottle of gin from under the sink. Alcohol is not allowed among the servants, but she always manages to smuggle in banned items.

" I bloody puffed out," She sighed as she pours some gin into a coffee mug.

" And you didn't think to pour us all a glass?" I chuckled.

" Oui! I smuggled in the damn stuff, so I get first dibs," She retorted.

" If you get caught with that you'll be put in the stocks for sure," Sophie reprimanded in her usual motherly way.

" Or worse," I interjected.

I eye Eloise once more whose face is scrunched in concentration. She's always been such an intense person, not able to make light of the dismal situation. I feel sad for her because sometimes it seems as if she carries the entire weight of the world on her tiny shoulders. I wish there was something I could do to assuage her pain, but alas, no amount of comfort will give her back what she's lost.

" What's up?" I said to Eloise.

" You know if you think too hard you'll be likely to have a brain aneurism," Anita chuckled as she takes a large swig from her mug.

Eloise scowls at Anita, clearly annoyed by her constant jesting.

" How can you be so damn chipper? Can't you see that Chloe's in trouble? Khan wants her and you know what happens to Khans human bed mates," Eloise snapped.

" I don't know where you're getting that idea from Eloise, Khan doesn't bed us humans, he despises us, remember? You're putting too much stock in the rumors that run rampant around here," Anita replied with an almost reassuring tone, but it falls short. Once Eloise has an idea in her head she won't let it go. She's like a Jack Russell terrier in that regard.

The thought of becoming Khan's concubine both frightens and strangely arouses me. I'm not going to lie; Khan's rather attractive for an augment. Well, most augments are good looking because of their superior genes, but Khan seems to take it to a whole new level. He has this magnetic personality that seems to draw you in whenever you happen to be in his presence.

" Anita's right Eloise. You know how Khan is about humans," I said, trying to reassure her even though deep down inside I'm not so sure myself.

Then, before Eloise can reply the kitchen door opens and in comes Raj, Khans personal manservant. He too despises the augments for reasons unknown to me. He is rather secretive and mostly keeps to himself. However Raj's usual calm demeanor is replaces by a fearful and almost frantic look.

" Bloody hell Raj, what's the matter with you?" Anita asked.

Raj doesn't respond as he checks all the windows and doors, as if he's afraid of some invisible intruder in the shadows.

" Raj—a-are you okay?" I asked.

" They're onto me, this is it, and I'm done for!" He replied frantically as he begins to pace up and down the kitchen floor.

Eloise and Anita's eyes both widen in shock while Sophie and I continue to be completely baffled by Raj's sudden change in behavior.

" How did it happen Raj? Who saw you?" Anita asked rather calmly as she drummed her fingers against the wood.

" It's obvious what happened," Eloise hissed, " He let his guard down because he'd gotten too cocky."

" Will someone please tell me what's going on?" I asked, still feeling confused.

" Yes, I think someone should, don't you three? " Sophie replied rather sternly.

Eloise, Anita and Raj look each other and then to us. I can't help but squirm uncomfortably in my seat. The air has suddenly become think with fear as it crackles like a lightening storm.

" Well?" Sophie insisted.

" We can't tell them, it's not safe," Anita intoned.

" But if we don't they too could be implicated regardless," Raj replied.

" Implicated in what Raj?" I asked in a nervous tone.

He then looks me straight in the eyes, full of determination and then says, " The plot to overthrow the Augments."

The room suddenly goes deathly quiet. My mouth opens and closes like a fish as I try to absorb this new set of information. Sure I had heard rumors of humans rebelling against the augments, but those small revolts usually ended pretty quickly. A few months ago a small group of humans were caught and hung in the town square where their bloated bodies were displayed for days before they were taken down due to the stench.

Sophie is the first to speak. Her face is riddled with shock and anger.

" You fools, have you already forgotten what happened to the last band of humans that tried to go against them!" she hissed.

" Well we can't just sit back and do nothing Sophie. Before the augments came we were free to be human and now were nothing but cattle t-to be slaugh-slaughtered," Eloise replied with a tone full of unbridled emotion.

" They've taken away so much from us already, but most importantly, they've taken away our dignity," Anita interjected with a passionate anger that stirs the anger within me. Determination.

" They're right Sophie, we can't just sit back and let them work us to death as they slaughter the rest of us like animals. A line must be drawn somewhere!" I interjected almost as passionately as Anita.

" Bu-but you'll all be killed or even worse. Especially you Chloe, Khan has taken a strange liking to you and if he was here right now then…."

" Then he'd do what Sophie, kill me? Surely death would be a reprieve compared to this hell we are forced to endure." I replied.

" There are worse things than death, Chloe. He will take you most brutally and probably torture you to the point where death would seem like some pipe dream, " Sophie replied.

" Something must be done Sophie!" Eloise interjected rather passionately.

" How did they even find out in the first place?" Sophie intoned rather seriously.

Raj finally sits down after getting tired of frantically pacing the floor. His usual immaculate appearance is rather disheveled. Tears stream down his face as he continues to run his fingers through his black hair.

" They probably have someone on the inside," Anita interjected thoughtfully.

" It's not surprising. I bet the augments would pay handsomely to any human for information if they want to stay in power. After all, the human population is vastly larger than the augments. If we could assemble enough people we could easily overtake them with the right strategy," I intoned.

" If we had someone close enough to Khan, someone he could trust…." Raj interjected and then looks at me.

Anita and Eloise both look at me. Sophie scoffs, obviously disgusted by the implication.

" Khan would never trust a human and asking Chloe to get close to him means that she'll have to sleep with him," Sophie said rather angrily as she makes her way to the stove.

" Like hell!" I exclaimed, " I ain't touching that man with a ten- foot pole!"

" But you're in an ideal position Chloe and besides, you might not even have to sleep with him. Just-erm, cuddle up with him, so to speak," Raj replied.

" Cuddle up with him?" I scoffed.

I throw down my empty cup in outrage.

" Oh yes, because Khan's just a big old teddy bear and when I tickle his belly he'll giggle like Winnie the freaking Poo!" I yelled.

" But-" I cut Anita off with a scathing glare, " But nothing Anita. I'm aware that Khan has taken a strange liking to me, but I'm sure as hell am NOT going to let it go any further than a mere infatuation. So, whatever plan you have whirling within your mind, you can count me out!" I yelled and then storm rather angrily out of the room.

Later on after having a light supper in the servant's mess hall, I finally make my way to bed. Sleep evades me as the recent conversation whirls within my brain like a thunderstorm. Apart of me would rather fight than live like this while the other part of me is scared shitless of even thinking of it. In my opinion, Raj is as good as dead and Anita and Eloise are probably right behind him. Heck, I could even be even closer to the noose for just knowing about the plot, but something tells me that if that should happen, Khan would spare me.

I continue to toss and turn for another two hours before finally relenting to my insomnia. I quietly make my way to my door when I suddenly hear a harsh cry coming from the other room. I press my ear to the wall where I heard the cry and try to listen intently, but the sounds of the voices coming from the other room is muffled. I immediately grab my empty glass beside my bed and use it to isolate the sound so I could hear the voices more clearly.

" It was only a matter of time Hastings. Raj is our man," A cold male voice intoned.

" Ple-ple-please, have mercy," I distinctly heard what sounds like Raj's voice pleading with the two augments.

Another harsh cry rings out after a not subtle thump rings through the air. I squeeze my eyes shut as I imagine Raj's pain. Oh if I could only help him.

" He's only a lackey," A cold female voice intoned rather icily, " We need the names of the other perpetrators."

" Indeed you're right Hastings. We will take him to his highness. I'm sure he'll be able to extract the needed information out of him," The male augment intoned.

Another loud thumb followed by scuffle follows before my brain registers the situation fully. My eyes widen when I think of Eloise and Anita. Oh dear lord, Raj could never hold out against Khan. Guilt washes over me. I'm such a fool for letting my fear get the better of me when good people like Raj are risking their lives to save our race.

" I must do something," I muttered to myself.

More determined than ever, I immediately grab my black cloak and exit my room as quietly as possible. I must warn Anita and Eloise before they get to them. Come hell or high water, I will swallow my fear and try to save Eloise and Anita from Raj's fate if it's the last thing that I do.

END CHAPTER

BTW: I want to thank everyone who's read, favorited, reviewed and what not. I so do appreciate you all taking the time to read and appreciate my stories.