The meeting ended with those questions, and Khan left the building with his mind full of various thoughts. He didn't really have doubts since his situation was unique, but he still took that chance to review his future.
There was something that only three people in the universe knew. Bret, Zalpa, and Liiza were aware that Khan's firm resolve and determination came from his recurring nightmares. The desperation that they forced him to experience every time he closed his eyes was the very drive that made him train and fight harder than his peers.
Nothing could affect the nightmares. It didn't matter if Khan was on a battlefield or in a peaceful environment. He would always return to the scenes of the Second Impact. He was a man constantly at war with something that he couldn't comprehend, and the only solution to his problem seemed to be outside his reach.
Still, a few things were clear, even obvious. The Nak were somewhere in the universe, and they were strong. Khan couldn't just give up on his training to explore space. Even if he found that species, he wouldn't have the power to fight it.
The pilot's path didn't suit Khan, but he had yet to decide what to do with his future. There was a high chance that the new subjects created after Istrone's rebellion wouldn't die in a mere semester or year. He could remain a professor for a long time if he wanted, but that was the core of the issue.
Khan was enjoying the camp's peace, but he also felt restrained. He didn't yearn for the sight of more corpses, but he missed losing himself in the chaos of the battlefield. His flesh brimmed with power that he could never unleash, and some traits of his personality couldn't come out among innocent and happy soldiers.
'Am I really considering going back to a battlefield for the chance to act all broody and cold?' Khan mocked himself as he walked through the camp's streets. 'I guess I can't forget who I am.'
Cora knew about the unexpected meeting with Headmaster Pitcus, and Khan didn't feel surprised to find her on a bench on his path back to his flat. She smiled warmly when she saw his figure approaching her, but she noticed that there was something wrong with him.
"What happened?" Cora asked while standing up.
"Sit for a bit," Khan voiced in an aloof tone, and Cora ignored her confusion to do as he said.
"Move a bit toward the edge," Khan whispered as he bent toward Cora and pushed her from her side.
Cora understood what Khan wanted only after she reached his intended position. Her smile returned when he lay on the bench and placed his head on her lap. She instinctively caressed his hair, and he didn't hold back from wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Everyone can see us," Cora giggled without showing any shyness.
It was still the middle of the afternoon of a break day. Soldiers and recruits roamed through the streets or used some of the camp's vast spots to meet up. Khan was a known figure there, so every group that noticed his presence glanced in his direction from time to time.
His situation didn't help. Khan was literally lying on Cora's lap in the middle of the camp. Everyone knew that they were in a relationship, but that scene basically confirmed it.
"What is it?" Cora asked as Khan fixed his eyes on the clear sky.
"They asked me to become a pilot," Khan revealed.
"Who?" Cora asked. "Did Headmaster Pitcus pull some strings?"
"No, the offer came from two recruiters," Khan explained. "It seems that our trips to the amusement park didn't go unnoticed."
Cora stopped caressing Khan's hair when she thought about the matter. She knew that pilots were kept in high regard by the Global Army. Receiving an offer for the proper flight training was already incredible, so she felt happy for Khan.
However, Cora also knew what the flight training would involve. Khan would have to move to separate structures, with little to no free time. It was an arduous path that rarely left room for relationships.
"Stop worrying about it," Khan laughed. "I'm not accepting the offer."
"Don't take this offer lightly!" Cora scolded before lowering her voice and showing tinges of her shyness. "I don't want you to reject this chance because of me."
"You aren't the main reason," Khan admitted while rubbing his face on Cora's waist. "Still, I would have missed you if I decided to leave."
"Khan!" Cora scolded again before exploding into a warm laugh and resuming caressing his hair.
That situation felt good. It wasn't perfect, but Khan liked it a lot. His behavior was whimsical and even childish for a man in his position, but he didn't care.
Still, Khan knew that different soldiers wouldn't be able to lose themselves in that behavior, especially in public. Everything would grow tighter as his position became more important, and he believed it would eventually feel suffocating.
"Do you plan on rubbing your face on me all day?" Cora eventually teased.
"I can do more if you come to my flat," Khan responded while leaving a kiss on her flat waist.
Cora's face instantly turned red, but her warm smile remained. She lowered her head, and Khan turned to meet her lips. The two exchanged a soft kiss that Khan followed by squeezing her side.
"People are watching us," Cora whispered as she straightened her back and took Khan's hand to stop him from squeezing her any further.
Khan heaved a soft sigh and wore a warm smile as he focused on the sky again. Many would kill to be in his situation. He had talent, a beautiful woman by his side, and a promising future. Yet, something told him that the camp would never be his home. He could express only part of him there.
"Why are you so pensive?" Cora asked when she saw that Khan had a lot in his mind.
"I'm thinking of ways to get you in my flat," Khan lied. "I think you'd like the bed."
"I would already be there if you didn't care about me," Cora softly replied as she let go of his hand and resumed messing with his hair. "I won't ask since you aren't ready to tell me."
Khan couldn't help but feel moved by that comment. Cora had learnt a lot about him, especially when it came to what he didn't say. She really looked at him, but she never insisted on what he didn't want to reveal.
A warm feeling spread through Khan's chest when his eyes fell on Cora's happy and caring face. He wanted to drag her to his flat to enjoy what that lack of privacy prevented him from seeing. He wasn't thinking about sex. He only desired to make her feel good.
Still, his phone suddenly buzzed and diverted his attention. Khan picked up his device, and his eyes instinctively grew cold when he read the notification.
"Is it Amber?" Cora asked. "Tell her that I'm free tomorrow morning. We can go to the shop she mentioned if she still wants to."
"It's not Amber," Khan said in an aloof tone.
The message didn't say much. Actually, it only had a single line. Captain Clayman had limited himself to write "It's done", but those words were more than enough to explain everything.
'It has been more than a month now that I think about it,' Khan thought as he put his phone back in his pocket. 'The guys on Ecoruta have been fast. I guess the anti-mana project is no more.'
Everything seemed to come back. The corpses, struggles, and unrestrained releases of attacks created a stark comparison to the peace that surrounded Khan. Those scenes belonged to two different worlds, and he knew where his instincts pushed him.
"Your hair is getting long," Cora commented when she saw that Khan didn't say anything about the message.
'Why did you have to say this now?' Khan cursed in his mind as he closed his eyes to hide eventual unwanted expressions.
Cora couldn't possibly know it, but that was the worst line she could say while Khan was in the middle of comparing the battlefield with the training camp. He didn't answer and waited until he regained control of his face to open his eyes and straighten his position.
"Khan?" Cora called. "Did I say something wrong?"
Khan didn't give any explanation. He stood up before bending toward Cora to leave an intense kiss. She was stunned, confused, and full of doubts, but he only left her with a short line. "I need to make a call. I'll contact you later."
Cora didn't know what to say, so she watched as Khan left in a hurry. He was almost running. Something was obviously wrong, but she didn't follow him. She knew that Khan needed time to open his heart, just like her for sex-related matters.
Khan barely noticed the world around him. He found himself inside his flat without even recalling about opening the door. Still, he instinctively connected his phone to the wall and browsed through the menus until he could press on a familiar name.
The wall lit up, and a screen even appeared on it. A series of ringing noises resounded in the room before a familiar voice shouted loud words that made Khan smile. "Son of a forgettable woman! It took you an entire month on Earth to call me!"
"I missed you too, George," Khan laughed as he fixed his eyes on the face that had appeared on the screen.
George didn't change. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and his hair had grown, but he was the same friend who had shared untold tragedies with Khan.
"So, how is life as a professor?" George scoffed. "Your profile doesn't say much about it. I bet you are swimming in women."
"I'm actually with someone right now," Khan revealed. "Do you remember Cora Ommo from Istrone?"
"Right, Reebfell, right!" George exclaimed. "You damned scoundrel. You always get the best ones, though you deserve them. Did you pop her cherry yet?"
"Hey, I'm a gentleman," Khan joked.
"Tell that to the marks you and Liiza left on each other," George sneered.
George was probably the only one who could mention Liiza without making Khan feel sad. Still, the two remained silent for a few seconds as memories resurfaced in their minds.
"Do you love her?" George eventually asked.
"Can I even love after Liiza?" Khan chuckled.
"Fair," George sighed. "Yet, I'm happy that you didn't go all broody on me. Ecoruta, Onia, and now Reebfell. You even found yourself a nice girl. I'm proud of you, man."
"What about you?" Khan questioned. "Did your family threaten to throw you in the Slums yet?"
"If you are talking about my drinking habit, know that I only have a few cups after dealing with all the political stuff that my family throws at me," George proudly explained. "The cups might be really big, but that's not the point."
"You are the best," Khan laughed.
"I totally am," George declared. "Life is great. Women melt whenever I say my name. I'd like to have fewer political sheets to handle, but whatever."
"It's good to see that you are doing good," Khan honestly commented. "Make sure to become important so I can use your name to get out of trouble."
George laughed, and Khan imitated him. It felt too good to talk with him. The two had simply gone through too much together, so they didn't need to pretend at all during the call.
"Khan, why did you call me?" George asked when the two stopped laughing.
"I missed you," Khan joked.
"Come on," George insisted. "Don't make me force it out of your mouth."
Khan sighed and lowered his gaze. He sorted out his thoughts before looking at the screen again to voice a simple question. "Do you have time for a drink with me?"
"I wouldn't refuse even if my parents' lives were at stake," George responded.
"You must really hate them," Khan teased.
"Get your damned drink already," George laughed.
Khan didn't only pick a bottle and a cup. He even moved the couch and the table in the room so that he could sit while talking with George.
"They offered me to become a pilot today," Khan revealed before taking a long sip from his drink.
"What would you even do stuck on a spaceship for years?" George complained. "Did you refuse them already?"
"I will soon," Khan declared. "I think I can get something out of it. Maybe they can teach me how to fly without forcing me to become a pilot."
"The Global Army must be crazy since it tried to limit your potential," George commented.
"It wasn't the Global Army," Khan explained. "Two recruiters saw that I did good in a game in the amusement park. I think they are more interested in my figure instead of my actual talent as a pilot."
"Yes, I can already see them using you to appeal to more soldiers," George agreed. "Tell them who you are, and use my name if needed. I'm sure they'll get all worried and give you what you want."
"I'll probably go for that," Khan admitted, "Without using your family name."
"What else?" George said, preventing Khan from falling silent.
"Life as a professor is great," Khan sighed. "Heck, life in the camp is great. I like preparing my students for the worst, and the food is incredible. I can have or buy everything I want, and things with Cora are going well."
"But?" George insisted.
"But it's not me," Khan admitted, "Not all of me, at least."
"Do you miss the battlefield?" George asked before taking a long sip from his drink. "Do you miss the blood, the corpses?"
"No," Khan stated. "I miss the freedom. What's the point of training so hard when I can't use my power?"
"I feel you, Khan," George declared. "Maybe things aren't as bad with me, but I experienced something similar."
"How so?" Khan asked.
"I'm a big-shot in my generation, right?" George exclaimed without showing any hint of shame. "Many families wanted their descendants to become my sparring partners, I guess for the same reasons behind your current job.
"Well, my father eventually forces me to accept one of those requests. I get my sword, my defensive gear, and I even drink less than usual the previous night, but the battle ends in a single exchange. I swear, I barely touched the guy, but he was bleeding on the floor after I attacked."
"Normal citizens don't know what fighting means," Khan commented.
"It's not even about that," George corrected. "They hold back, always. They don't know what it feels like to let their power run freely. They are a waste of synthetic mana."
"I'm teaching that in my classes," Khan revealed. "They are doing good."
"They don't know how lucky they are to have you," George scoffed.
Khan smiled and refilled his cup. The two drank for a few minutes in silence, but Khan eventually asked the question that had been in his mind before the call. "George, what should I do? I just can't fit here. Everyone talks about clothes, beauty lotions, or useless accessories. I need to search half of that stuff on the network to understand what it is."
"You have already made your decision, right?" George asked. "Why are you even calling me?"
"Because I need to know that I'm not crazy," Khan responded. "No one would give up on what I have now, literally no one, but here I am."
"Khan, you are definitely crazy," George laughed, "But so what? I think I can slowly get used to this lifestyle, but you are different, so be different."
"How did a drunkard even become so wise?" Khan wondered.
"I'm not wise at all," George corrected. "I just know you. Stay on Reebfell for a while and teleport somewhere once you get bored. Don't even feel bad about what you leave behind. If they can't follow you, they don't deserve to be in your presence."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere," Khan chuckled.
"I wasn't trying to praise you," George declared. "Khan, you are amazing. A peaceful life will always feel too tight for someone like you. Don't act like a sheep when you are a wolf."
"Even if being a wolf leads me back among blood and corpses?" Khan wondered.
"Going against your nature will only make you explode as I did with Paul," George sighed. "I initially thought you could grow to like peace, but it's clear that you won't. Don't feel bad about it. It might not be pretty, but it's still you."
Khan emptied his cup and remained silent. He closed his eyes as he reviewed those words. He had already reached similar conclusions, but listening to George helped him accept everything.
"How did you even come up with this wolf-sheep thing?" Khan eventually joked.
"Booze made me wise," George laughed, and Khan soon imitated him.
