More than a year had passed since Nitis' events, but Khan recalled everything. Most memories featured Liiza, Snow, Doku, Azni, and George, but he couldn't forget about the traitor from the human side.
Rodney had been in chains the last time Khan had seen him, but the departure from Nitis had clearly benefited him. Rodney had developed burlier muscles, and the mana inside his body put him close to the limits of the first-level warriors. He must have had a lot of time to train, stating that he didn't spend a single day in prison.
"Better than being a traitor," Khan stated.
"I've never betrayed anyone," Rodney sighed without dropping his smile. "I was doing my interests in the middle of a worldwide crisis. Can you really blame me?"
"I'm sure the Global Army didn't," Khan snorted.
"Oh, it did," Rodney contradicted. "I would be somewhere on Earth otherwise. Instead, I have to work in this place until the Global Army is sure that my return won't offend you."
Khan had seen something similar happening in his early days in Ylaco's camp when the Global Army expelled the four bullies. His talent had made him stand out, so his superiors had chosen to punish his enemies even if they belonged to wealthy families.
Rodney had apparently suffered from the same fate. In the report, Lieutenant Kintea had been vague about him, but the Global Army had still decided to punish him, and Khan's fame was probably to blame.
"The Global Army should have sent your ass to Ecoruta," Khan responded.
Truth be told, Khan didn't hate Rodney too deeply. The soldier had tried to kill him, but that had happened after a tragic occurrence. Forgiving him was impossible, but Khan could understand how and why he had snapped.
Still, Rodney's current behavior told Khan that he didn't see anything wrong in his past actions. Actually, Rodney seemed to take pride in them now, and his previous words even aimed to mock one of Khan's happiest moments.
"You have become all righteous," Rodney laughed. "What is it? Did being the Global Army's hero make you forget about what you did on Nitis?"
"What are you even trying to say?" Khan asked.
"I'm talking about the village," Rodney declared. "Man, that was some twisted stuff. How can you even sleep at night?"
Khan fell silent as the memories of that awful morning surged in his mind. He couldn't believe that Rodney had chosen to mention them, and the event made him accept that the soldier was far too gone.
"Fine," Khan exclaimed as he began to draw his knife out of the sheath. "I'll kill you."
"Hold on, young man," The stronger member in Rodney's group, a tall, burly man, called as he approached Khan. "What do you think you are doing?"
The man tried to place a hand on Khan's shoulder, but purple-red mana suddenly flowed out of that spot and interrupted his gesture. Khan slowly turned toward the guide, and a calm threat escaped his mouth. "What do you think you are doing?"
The atmosphere immediately became tense. Khan appeared out of control, and the guides didn't know how to approach him. The tall man was a second-level warrior, but the mana that had come out of Khan's shoulder had filled him with terror.
"Khan, what is happening?" Luke asked when he reached the guides with the rest of the group.
"Did you know that he was among the guides?" Khan asked while using his free hand to point at Rodney.
"I don't even know who he is," Luke promised before turning toward the tall man. "Send him away. We don't need his services, and I also expect a refund for this problem."
The tall man wanted to complain, but he eventually nodded, and a command quickly left his mouth. "Rodney, you heard him. Go back to the guild."
"Sure, boss," Rodney shrugged his shoulders. "See you around, alien-lover."
Khan felt the urge to make Rodney's body explode with one of his spells, but he held back. Even his previous action had been nothing more than a pretense. Rodney wouldn't have even seen the knife cutting his head if Khan really wanted to kill him.
However, no matter how Khan wanted to jump at Rodney, he couldn't ignore the threatening presence that had landed on him right after his sprint. Master Ivor had been ready to intervene during the whole interaction.
'Ivor is strong,' Khan concluded as he watched Rodney vanish in the crowded hangar.
"Was that Rodney Semmut?" Luke asked after Khan let go of the knife.
"I thought you didn't know him," Khan pointed out while memorizing Rodney's family name.
"I didn't connect the dots until I heard his name," Luke explained. "I swear. I had no idea he was a guide here. The hiring process happens through the network, and it only shows the captain of each team."
"Do you know what he has done on Nitis?" Khan asked.
"The reports are a bit sketchy," Luke revealed. "I know he did something bad, but his family is trying to silence the matter. Investigating any further could create hostility, so I didn't use my connections. That was a bad choice."
"Did you really not know?" Khan asked again.
"I have no reason to lie," Luke declared.
Khan inspected Luke's expression for a few seconds, but he eventually sighed. "Then you made the right choice. Creating hatred between two families for him isn't worth it."
"It is for you," Luke stated, but Khan ignored that comment.
The relationship with Luke was still a bit tense. Khan vaguely trusted him, but he couldn't forget that he had chosen to use Martha for his needs.
The happiness that came from having Martha awake helped the situation, but Khan wanted to take things slow. He would probably understand his position toward Luke only after the mission was over.
"Khan," Bruce's turn to talk arrived when the guides began to move. "I understand that you have a history with the guy, but you can't just threaten people. You can't lose control so easily."
"I have been perfectly calm for the entire time," Khan exclaimed as the group walked right behind the guides.
"I've seen your mana," Bruce uttered.
"That's nothing more than a trick," Khan half-lied as he showed his forefinger and made a sliver of purple-red mana come out of its tip.
The group didn't know what to say at that scene. Khan's actions had left a few of them unsatisfied, but his current performance appeared completely honest.
"Khan, I trust you, but Bruce is right," Luke added at that point. "I need to ask you to hold back in the future before mentioning the matter in private. I promise I'll do my best to help."
The group seemed to agree with Luke's words. Amanda and a few others even nodded to express their stance, but they grew confused when they noticed Khan's frown.
"Do you understand where we are?" Khan questioned. "This isn't Earth. People disappear every day here, and no one asks too many questions. Showing strength is better than diplomacy."
"Lieutenant Khan is right," Master Ivor voiced before anyone could contradict Khan. "Milia 222 is the home of many shady characters. Your status offers some form of protection, but this remains a lawless zone."
Khan launched a meaningful glance at Master Ivor, and the two reached a silent understanding. They were both experienced warriors, and Khan basically said that he was reliable through that gesture.
Master Ivor and Khan had spoken the truth. Milia 222 was closer to the Slum than to the cities. The various factions in place and the widespread corruption could even make it more dangerous than some of the places Khan had seen.
Behaving as thugs had its benefits, especially when the backing was more than exceptional. Khan didn't like that approach, but he knew that taking a firm stance right away was for the best. He was even sure that the guides would talk about the recent event and warn other activities.
Luke and Bruce felt a bit ashamed after that reprimand, and Amanda didn't like how Khan had put them in a bad light. Instead, the others renewed their trust in Khan, and Monica didn't hold back from approaching him during the walk.
"I'm afraid I overheard something," Monica announced.
"Don't worry," Khan reassured. "It's old stuff that's better to leave in the past."
"I see," Monica said. "Though you must have many exciting stories."
"Most of them are available on the network," Khan joked.
"The reports always get things wrong," Monica chuckled. "Besides, there is nothing better than hearing them from the main character."
"I won't sell myself short," Khan joked again, "But I was simply in the middle of powers far above me most of those times. My view of the events is probably flawed."
"Why don't you let me judge that?" Monica asked. "Maybe in front of a drink. I'll also tell some of my stories."
Khan wore a slightly surprised expression on purpose. The group believed that he was feeling awkward in front of that explicit invitation, but Monica doubled down on the flirt.
"I do have stories to tell," Monica insisted while covering her mouth. "Don't you trust me?"
"I guess I'll see in front of a drink," Khan smiled without adding any superfluous emotion to his tone.
Khan couldn't refuse Monica, but he didn't feel like flirting. He didn't want another relationship so soon after Cora, and Monica was no Liiza. Her beauty was on point, but she lacked what had made Khan move on quickly in the past.
The conversation still created an awkward atmosphere since everyone could hear it. Martha's partially hidden glare didn't help either, but Luke's mastery of social relationships saved the day once again.
An announcement resounded throughout the hangar while Luke was busy establishing a casual conversation. The mechanical voice repeated the contents of the message multiple times while switching languages and everyone disregarded it after understanding that it involved the imminent departure of a passengers' ship.
Only Khan tried to make that announcement echo inside his mind as he muttered some of the alien words in it. He had studied the most popular languages of the area, but he obviously lacked practice in the accents required to speak them.
"Do you know how to speak some of them?" Martha asked when Khan ended his muttering.
"I have memorized the grammar and vocabulary of all of them," Khan revealed, "But I don't know if I can speak them."
"All of them?" Monica didn't miss that chance to join the conversation. "Milia 222 can have visitors from more than ten alien species."
"But only five live here," Khan continued. "I focused on their languages. Some are quite easy, but others had me cough many times."
As if to challenge Khan's statement, a series of bubbling noises resounded next to the group and forced them to turn. Khan and the others found three strange creatures waving their tentacles at them.
Those aliens were relatively short. None of them went above one meter and fifty centimeters, but their bodies were beyond odd from a human perspective.
The upper part of their bodies was oval and featured many small cavities. Instead, their flesh transformed into multiple short tentacles in their lower part.
Those aliens resembled huge jellyfish with far thicker tentacles and dark-green skin. Their insides were hidden, but specific lights could reveal their organs.
"These are Cek," Luke commented. "They should be peaceful."
"Were they calling us?" Amanda asked.
"Hard to understand," Bruce stated. "Still, they are pointing their tentacles at us. It's better to ignore them."
"Does anyone know where the second deck is?" Khan asked.
"What do you mean?" Luke questioned before looking around to find signals. "We came from the third deck, and this is the fourth, so I guess the second is past our ship."
"So, after the big ship," Khan repeated before turning toward the three Cek and raising his forefinger.
Khan twisted and bent his finger slowly, and he often halted his movements to dive into his memory. A few group members understood what was happening, and the guides expressed evident surprise at that scene.
The Cek didn't move while Khan was busy drawing different shapes with his finger, but a series of bubbling noises came out of their cavities when he lowered his hand. The aliens then waved their tentacles a few times before leaving in the direction of the group's ship.
"Explain," Martha announced once the Cek left.
"They didn't understand the previous announcement since it wasn't in their language," Khan revealed. "They asked me to translate. Apparently, their ship is about to leave."
"But the Cek aren't one of the aliens living here," Martha stated. "I thought you only learnt those languages."
"Oh," Khan exclaimed before raising his finger. "This isn't exactly a language. It's something used to convey simple messages. Only a few species have accepted it."
"That's from the Ipina convention, right?" Monica asked.
"Exactly," Khan nodded.
"I didn't recognize it from the tentacles," Monica admitted. "My family made me practice a few signs, but I didn't understand anything of what you said."
"I'm not sure I did it correctly either," Khan laughed. "I might have even misunderstood their question. Fingers and tentacles aren't the same things in the end."
"Why did you learn it if it's not popular?" Martha wondered.
"It's not hard at all," Khan revealed. "Also, I liked the idea behind it. Each species has physical limitations. Humans can never speak the Cek's language. We can learn how to make bubbles, but we can't turn them into a language even if we rely on mana. The Ipina convention wanted to fix that."
