-Prologue-

Starfleet Headquarters
San Francisco, CA
2260.10

The rechristening had gone well, Jim Kirk thought, as the crowd began to disperse. He waved at his crew and grinned, stepping off the podium to join them.

"Captain Kirk?"

Jim turned, eyeing the woman who had approached. She wore a dark grey suit with a Starfleet insignia pinned to it, indicating she was an employee, but not part of fleet operations. The accent said she was from somewhere in the British Isles. Her hair was medium brown and sleek, falling in layers to her shoulders. Her eyes were grey, set in a pretty but gaunt and tired face. She was too young to look that weary.

"Yes?"

"I . . ." She swallowed and tears welled in her eyes. "I wanted to say that I'm so, so sorry for . . . everything. I had no idea-"

He realised that she'd set a baby-carrier pod by her feet; the infant in it had black hair and blue, blue eyes. Even though the child couldn't have been more than two months old, the intelligence in those wide-set eyes couldn't be mistaken.

He looked back up to her in alarm. "That isn't-"

She smiled, a little tremulously. "I know your reputation, Captain Kirk, but no, I'm not here on a bid for child support or . . . anything like that."

"What are you here for, Miss . . .?"

"Missus, actually," she corrected softly. "My name is Anthea Harrison."

Kirk's blue eyes suddenly got big as dinner plates. "Harrison?" he repeated in disbelief. "You mean, you're-"

"Yes," she said, and made a shushing motion with her hand. "Yes, I'm- I suppose I'm still married to him. That is, if . . ."

He heaved a huge sigh. "I think we need to have a very long talk."

Kirk had an office in the big building behind them, and he summoned Spock, McCoy, and Uhura to join him and his, er, guest there. He watched her cautiously, as they all found seating, but Anthea was obviously unarmed, and most of her attention was on the baby she had with her.

He found himself fixated on that baby, even as he said, "Guys, this is a really weird situation, but . . ."

"Captain, have you been approached about paternity?" Spock asked.

A glance at his first officer told him that the Vulcan was, in a rare moment, making a joke. "Thanks, Spock," Kirk said wryly. "But no. This is . . . Well, why don't you introduce yourself?"

Anthea folded her hands in her lap. "Um. I'm a- or, I was, an archives specialist in London. I know that you're aware the London archives were largely a cover for the weapons research department there. Section 31. I was mostly there to provide employees for the archives, but I also acted as an assistant to some of the agents working in the weapons department. Technically speaking, I was an operative, though I've never done field work."

Spock narrowed his eyes at her. "And you managed to escape the destruction. How?"

"I was on holiday," she said with a shrug. "Visiting my mum in Edinburgh. That's probably why he chose then, now that I think about it. I didn't have any knowledge that-"

She let out a long, low sigh. "My name is Anthea Harrison. My husband- I thought his name was John, but I suppose it isn't. I didn't know 'til after everything he did that his name is really Khan."

She looked at every face in turn, then said, "I suppose I should start at the beginning, and the day I met John Harrison."