STAR TREK: KHAN
Episode 7

I Am Marla

Series: Khan - (2025)
Season: 1
Episode #: 7
Original Airdate: 10/20/2025

Teleplay: Kirsten Beyer and David Mack
Story: Nicholas Meyer
Director: Fred Greenhalgh

Podcast Length: 42:01

Starring
Naveen Andrews as Khan Noonien Singh
Wrenn Schmidt as Lieutenant Marla McGivers
Sonya Cassidy as Dr. Rosalind Lear
Tim Russ as Ensign Tuvok
George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu

Also Starring
Tina Ivlev as Erica
Maury Sterling as Ivan
Juliette Goglia as Sylvana
Unknown Performer as Richter
Mercy Malick as Ursula
Zuri Washington as Madot
Olli Haaskivi as Delmonda
Maxwell Whittington-Cooper Paolo and Additional Voices

Co-Starring
Hayden Bishop as Additional Voices
Paul Castro Jr. as Additional Voices
Ethan Dubin as Additional Voices
Cynthia Hood as Additional Voices
Alina Khan as Additional Voices
Jeremy Maxwell as Additional Voices
Hamish Sturgeon as Additional Voices
Juan Francisco Villa as Additional Voices
Maxwell Whittington-Cooper as Additional Voices

Synopsis

The fragile alliance between Khan’s Augment colony and the alien Elboreans begins to strain under the weight of survival and betrayal. Khan, attempting to guide his people through the ecological catastrophe ravaging Ceti Alpha V, must now reckon with internal treachery and external necessity. He realises that although he distrusts the Elboreans, their advanced medical technology and diplomatic leverage might be his only option to save his followers from extinction.

Yet with Marla pregnant with their daughter, Kali, she presents a symbol of Khan’s hope for a future beyond exile and revenge. This personal hope is abruptly shattered when Marla enters a subterranean hot spring, seeking solace amid the disaster. Unbeknownst to her, the pocket of Ceti eels that Khan believed extinguished still survives beneath the water. Marla is bitten and infected — the resulting injury ruins her neurological functions even while her body remains alive.

Faced with Marla’s impending death, Khan is forced into an excruciating choice: the Elboreans can save either Marla or the unborn child, but not both. Marla chooses to sacrifice herself for their daughter, ensuring the child may live. The moment crystallises Khan’s transformation: the warrior-leader who once sought dominion now stands in mourning, helpless in the face of loss. Meanwhile, Khan also uncovers the ultimate betrayal from within his ranks: his trusted lieutenant Ivan has plotted against him, culminating in a failed coup and Ivan’s subsequent exile from the colony. The twin blows of personal tragedy and political destabilisation leave Khan in darker territory than ever.

Khan, his public facade dissolved, cradles the comatose Marla and recites poetry, a stark confession of his profound grief and guilt. This raw heartbreak is the crucible for the ruthless leader he will become. With the Elborean alliance unstable and the colony teetering on the edge of collapse, Khan's grand ambition is abandoned. His sole focus is now survival, and his leadership morphs into a singular pursuit of vengeance. Burdened by the emotional weight of Marla’s sacrifice and the fracture of his inner circle, his future is irrevocably set: a destructive spiral that promises only further devastation.

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