Selina was being escorted down a hall. No decorations to speak of, clearly this was a makeshift setup. Or perhaps, the commander simply didn't care for fashion statements.
Selina had her answer when she noticed out of the window, the bodies of Balcaam, Kaleb, Gunner, and Doskias strung up outside on poles. Or at least that what it looks like, the bodies are so mangled the only way to tell them apart is by their tattered outfits.
Selina was suffering from the potential sight of her love; despite disagreeing with his methods and abandoning his side, she was still in love with him. She did all this with the hope of saving him from himself. Now, what did she have to live for?
She was escorted to a room; a man was sitting at the far end. His clothes were unusual to say the least, she had really seen anything similar on any of the other shells.
Selina figured that this man must be the guy in charge, she wished she had her sword so she could at least go down swinging.
"You are Selina, one of Doskias's former generals and his former lover. The latter title was removed after he decided your bloodline wasn't noble enough to qualify you as his queen and when you began to question his methods, the former title was lost after you abandoned your post at Wind City."
The sudden description of her and how she ended where she was, both caught Selina off guard and caused her to wince at the fact he knew so much about her. He looked at her, Selina felt like he was looking into her very soul. He then continued.
"Your loyalty and affection came from the fact that Doskias pulled you out of a rather desperate and bleak life. It such a shame Doskias put so much stock into bloodlines and backgrounds. It caused him to abandon a treasure like yourself and caused him to foolishly believe he was the destined hero who would save the world."
The sudden compliment of herself and description of Doskias that he said without even the slightest hesitation had left Selina flustered. But then what he specifically said about Doskias's self-proclaimed destiny suddenly clicked.
She asked, "What did you mean when you were talking about Doskias?" He smiled and said, "Doskias assumed that he was the chosen one because he didn't have any other blood relatives that were also descendants of Marduke. However, that is only among the Chosen, there was one other individual that I'm aware of. I believe you know her, Maya of the Junkers."
Selina was left speechless; the revelation of Maya's lineage had left her spiraling. If true, Doskias was doomed from the start, and it would explain several other things she noticed while traveling with Maya. Her strength and determination. The way things just workout for her.
He placed his hands on hers, before the conversation she would've pulled away in protest, but know she barely notices. The door opened again. This time Led enters.
The man approached Led, smiling. Selina doesn't hear what was being said, not because he was whispering, but because she is still focusing on Maya's lineage. She doesn't even notice the voice in the back of her mind that's been steadily getting louder. Telling her that he will be her true lover.
...
Everything is distorted and groggy, yet still crystal clear. His eyes are closed, but he can still see. It's a familiar place and yet he doesn't know why. Three men approach, the oldest among then clearly was annoyed, while the youngest looking was just enjoying watching the other two argue.
The oldest said, "Seriously Marcus! Why did you take the lion's share of Sample E? Especially, when it was my protégé who sent it to us in the first place!"
Marcus looked unaffected by that and calmly said, "Because Spencer, you keep pestering me about my T-Virus. I know you believe it will be the key piece to extending your life span, and I keep telling you that it's nowhere near capable of that. So, I injected four subjects with the T-Virus and three of them also received the sample at different levels of potency."
The moved to his location and were standing in front of a group of test tubes. Marcus continued, "Subject Alpha was only given the T-Virus, as you can see his body is rotted, while physically stronger his mind has rotted to the point that he is basically dead. Subject Beta was given a minimal potency of the sample, as you can see there is nothing left but this red paste as the host imploded. Subject Gamma was given a high level of potency, as you can see there was a similar reaction only on the surface it looks like Gamma became created more of the sample. Except test revealed that its inherent, just gray mold at this point. Finally, we have Subject Delta."
Spencer gave a smug look and said, "It looks like this one was an absolute success." Marcus didn't react, after a minute he said, "Delta is more of an anomaly then a success. Instead of fighting over the body, both injections bonded with his genetic structure. And due to an oversight in the acquisitions protocol, we don't have a sample of his original DNA, nor do we have any background information. So, I'm not sure we can replicate this outcome."
The youngest said, "That was always a possibility. After all we never expected the test subjects to amount to anything, let alone be the perfect host for multiple viruses. Plus, the current protocol was created to keep any acquisition from being traced to us."
Spencer spoke up and said, "It doesn't really matter at this point, I've lost contact with my protégé and her team. So, until we can cultivate more of the sample, these little side experiments will have to be put on the back burner."
Marcus shrugged and said, "I have no problem with that, I've assigned any potential improvements to a sub-lab at another facility. If they find anything useful, then we'll transfer Delta to the island testing ground that Ashford has been building."
Ashford gave a sigh, and said, "Alright, send me a memo on which facility and I'll coordinate with them on the appropriate security measures."
Marcus and Ashford left continuing talking about what they would need to do, while Spencer stayed behind, pretending to look at Subject Alpha. After a minute or two, two young men in lab coats entered.
Without looking at them, Spencer said, "Dr. Wesker. Dr. Birkin. How goes your attempts to acquire the T-Virus research?"
Wesker answered, "Birkin and I have managed to collect at sizable portion of it, by this time next month we will have all of it."
Spencer gave a small chuckle, and then he said, "Good, when you're sure you have everything kill Dr. Marcus, he's been too much of a liability lately."
Then Spencer left, and Albert Wesker and William Birkin left in a different direction. Everything began to fade to black.
Khan's eyes opened as he came to terms with what he just saw. A dream of a memory. He found himself sitting up right, lying in bed. When did he fall asleep, he didn't know. Was it because the bed was comfortable or was it something else. Laying naked to his right was Selina, her usually slick back hair was a mess. To his left was Led, in a similar state.
Khan still vividly remembered how he got here. How slightly bored he got with how easy he corrupted them. He still had plenty of fun in solidifying corruption, but he really wants to stop wasting his time in using the same method repeatedly.
After he got dressed and left the room, he asked the cherub how long he been asleep. The floating skull reported that it had only been five minutes since he finished his activities with Selina and Led.
He then instructed the cherub to bring him Maya. It was his last task. Then he would bring everything to his Omni-world. From there he would have to make a decision.
If he truly wanted to complete this conquest and achieve the mysterious free mode, then his next target would have to be Marvel. However, he would be going in blind, not sure what to expect and there were several individuals who could potentially spot him immediately. After all those individuals didn't use technology but their own eyes. While there could be a lot of things he would want to take, he might have to accept that the next campaign could be little more than a smash and grab.
As he took his seat, Maya entered the room. Khan decided he shouldn't worry about things beyond his control. Maya spoke first asking about her friends.
Khan told her a version of the truth. Lobo and Araym joined his side, Selina and Led were currently resting comfortably in another room, and Grubb had unfortunately been killed when he attempted to flee after rejecting his offer.
Maya stood there speechless. Khan could tell that she was blaming herself for her dead friend. Khan decided to twist the knife a little and said, "I bet you're wondering why you were captured and brought here."
Maya looked at him and said, "The thought did cross my mind." Khan smiled and said, "Truth be told I've been looking for you for a while now. I almost had at Shell Four, but you left just before I made landfall."
A look of confusion crept across Maya's face. Khan continued to smile as he said, "You are very special Maya, the last direct descendent of Marduke."
Maya started to sputter and grow dizzy. Before she fell over, Khan rushed to her side and caught her. It was obvious the information was overwhelming her; she must have wanted to deny it. However, to do so would make light of the death of Corgan and Grubb. After all, Khan sought her out because of this information. If she denied it, then everyone died for nothing.
Holding her close, Khan began to whisper sweet promises to Maya, like how he'll make sure that her people in Oasis are looked after, and all she needs to do was to be his. Maya's eyes were full of conflict. She was being offered everything she could've wanted within reason, and she knows there is no benefit in rejecting his offer.
Khan leaned in close, and Maya knew it was time to make a decision. An understandable level of fear and uncertainty clouded her eyes.
Maya gave in and embraced Khan. As their lips connected, Maya felt warmth spread throughout her body. Her leather clothes and make-shift armor began to slowly fall off her body.
Khan paused to admire Maya's body and remove his own outfit. Their bodies intertwined as the sun outside began to set and the light faded.