"So you're not a monster after all. I'm shocked."

"Oh, don't be."

"Who are the people, John? That you want to save?"

He smirked.

"They are not people. They are my companions, my crew. They are gods among swine, and my family."

She snorted.

"Some gods, if they need saving."

His glare was piercing.

"Hold your tongue. You do not know everything, not even close."

"Enlighten me."

He took a breath.

"I do not owe you an explanation. But because you are simple, and innocent in this affair, I think you deserve to know why you're going to die.

Long ago, my crew was born of science. I do not speak incorrectly when I saw I am an elite; we were designed as such. We thrived. We were BETTER, and we decided to fight for a world that could share our dream. The tyrants of the government would not yield without some bitterness. We escaped to a new world, frozen in a sleep that would last us through the stars. But when I came to, I was alone. The…precious admiral, he informed me that he had only revived me, to build a ship, and would hold my crew as hostages. This bug, this slime, he took my family and held the trigger to their doom. And now, my family is on this ship, sealed away…but you don't need to know this."

Quiet tears were rolling down her face.

"I'm so sorry John, about your family. But why destroy the Enterprise?"

A vicious smile stretched across his face.

"Why, my dear? Because I can."

There was no good response to that.

Footsteps echoed through the hall. She would have to warn her uncle, even if John was necessary for whatever the crew needed. As soon as they were gone with him, she could run away. Quietly, she slipped from the tube and pressed against the wall.

She turned her head. John was there. Two fingers to the throat, one pulse, she fell. Large hands tucked her back into the tube, and, almost imperceptibly, tucked back her hair. She couldn't move, but she could see, and in a flash John was back in his cell, to be greeted by the man with the beautiful blue eyes.