#followstarters

  "Captain," The little Russian, glanced over at the man who entered the room, instantly wary and grateful for the comforting weight of the familiar dagger at his hip, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"I did not expect to see you again," Pavel said, one hand resting on the dagger on his hip, while the other gripped his phaser with a slightly clammy hand. He knew just how much good the weapon would be if Khan decided to attack, "Did you want something with the Captain?"

"Commander," Pavel's voice was low as he called the higher ranking officer over to his workstation, "There are weapons being used in engineering. The routine scans of the ISS Enterprise show abnormal activity, and I pinpointed it to phasers. Since the Captain is down on the planet...it could be a coup..."

"Admiral," Pavel saluted crisply, surprised to see the man who had once been the Captain of the ISS Enterprise, before he'd been promoted, back on the deck of the ship. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Rank bred dangerous people, and no way was he going to go out because of rudeness. Oh no...he had far too much to live for.

  "Captain," Pavel murmured, eyeing the man carefully. It never did to underestimate James Tiberius Kirk after all. There was a reason he was the Empires youngest ever Captain, and Pavel had no desire for those blue eyes to look at him and think that he needed to be eliminated, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Miss Uhura," he gave her a small cold smile, "You look lovely as ever." he leaned against the turbolift wall, "Killed anyone today?"

"Captain," Pavel said it cooly, no inflection touching the title as he glanced at the man, and then away, making sure his dagger was within a quick grab's distance, "To what do I owe this...honour to?"

"Khan..." he said carefully, for once unsure as to the proper protocol, the proper...well...he just didn't know if this man was an enemy today...or a friend, "How...surprising...to see you."