"P-please," The second-level warrior weakly said as his hands tried to keep the long wound on his abdomen closed.
The blood coming out of the injury made everything too slippery, and the intestine pushed to come out without muscles and tendons to keep them still. The man often lost his grip, and a gory spectacle followed every time.
Initially, Khan remained silent. His cold eyes ran over the injured man without meeting his gaze. His inspection went past the mere flesh and tried to evaluate his opponent's condition. The second-level warrior could survive as long as he received medical attention.
"Do you want to live?" Khan eventually asked while crouching toward the man.
The man tried to say something, but blood accumulated in his throat and turned his words into a cough. One of his hands reached for his mouth, but doing so made the gap on his abdomen open.
The second-level warrior felt forced to bring his hand on his abdomen and catch his escaping bowel. As for the answer, he limited himself to a nod since his throat wasn't cooperating.
"Let's start with the basics then," Khan exclaimed. "Why did you accept this mission? How did Rodney convince you to fight in this dangerous place?"
The man wanted to answer, but he ended up coughing. The gesture spat some blood on Khan's clothes and face, but he remained utterly still. He didn't even blink as those gory drops fell on his cheeks.
"I-," The second-level warrior panicked. "I'm sorry!"
"Answer me," Khan calmly reminded.
The man needed a few seconds to calm down, and he also turned his head to spit the remaining blood in his mouth. His condition had temporarily stabilized when he moved back on Khan, but his voice still revealed his poor state.
"I don't know about the others," The second-level warrior explained, "But Rodney said that I could return to my family if I dealt with you."
"Is he keeping your family hostage?" Khan wondered.
"I-," The man began to say, but hesitation made him stammer for a second. "I can't return to Earth. I'm a criminal."
'So, that's how it is,' Khan thought. 'The others must be in similar situations.'
"What do you know about this business?" Khan pressed on without giving the man time to relax.
"Nothing, I swear!" The second-level warrior did his best to shout, but his weak state got in the way. "I just carry goods."
"Don't you know anything?" Khan continued. "What about the actual goods?"
"I've never opened a box," The man responded.
"And your boss?" Khan asked.
"Rodney handles that," The man replied. "I don't know who stands above him."
"Who established the connection with the Bise then?" Khan said, suppressing his vague irritation as much as possible. "That's not an easy thing to do. You must have noticed something strange."
"I swear, I didn't!" The second-level warrior begged. "I'm just hired muscle. I don't know anything."
The man believed that his ignorance could save him. His desperate attempt to convey it to Khan came from that conviction, but he was completely wrong.
Khan didn't care about the man's involvement in the business. He wanted answers, and he couldn't get any. He only confirmed that Rodney's status was quite high, putting him directly under the figure in charge of the entire illegal activity.
Pieces of a puzzle fused to create a picture. Dots connected in Khan's mind as everything he had learnt since his arrival on Milia 222 flowed through his thoughts.
Theoretically, Luke's mission was simple. Someone had stolen precious goods, and a team had to retrieve them while finding the culprits.
Nevertheless, the peculiar location added countless problems to the mission. Milia 222 had so many deeply rooted illegal activities that spotting a single theft in that sea of crime sounded impossible.
The details of the theft were also problematic. The factory was overly secretive, and some of Earth's wealthiest families backed it. Such importance required an equally important criminal since the theft had been a success.
The presence of a traitor or spy appeared necessary with those facts, but the Fuveall revealed a terrible truth. No thief could overcome those security measures without leaving tracks, so the culprit had to be among the factory owners.
On the other side of the matter, buyers had to deal with Bise smugglers to obtain the reinforced fabric's main material. Those crews often changed due to Milia 222's nature, but it made sense for a few figures to remain stable in such a secretive project.
Less than two years had passed since Nitis' events. Rodney couldn't have possibly been that stable figure, but his arrival on Milia 222 could match the beginning of the thefts.
Rodney was the perfect inside man due to his wealthy background and poor reputation. Someone from the Cobsend family might have contacted him to learn more about the reinforced fabric business without attracting attention. He might have even been planted on Milia 222 for that exact reason.
Khan couldn't confirm any of that. He had only found odd coincidences. The material in the box, Rodney's strangely high status, and the Fuveall's testimony created a picture, but Khan lacked key info to complete it.
'There are at least two unknown variables,' Khan concluded, 'And I can't be sure about the motives either.'
Rodney's boss and the traitor from the Cobsend family were the two missing pieces of the puzzle. As for the latter's motives, Khan couldn't ask Luke, but he had someone in mind who could help him. The promise he had made to her was the only problem there.
The mental summary only lasted for a minute in which the wounded men continued to shoot pleading glances at Khan. The gesture tried to appeal to Khan's mercy, but he still wasn't done with his opponent.
Khan diverted his gaze to inspect his sides. He had only two paths now, and both of them featured problems.
Continuing the march through the corridor would probably bring Khan to Lower Level 2. The path ahead also had to have multiple branches, but they were bound to lead to human structures. In the worst case, Khan might even reach Rodney and be surrounded by the members of his factions.
Instead, the path back to Lower Level 3 had one major issue. Khan vaguely recalled where to go, but returning to the beginning of the passage would leave him far away from the streets. He would need to fly to cross that distance, and he still didn't know how.
Khan partially cursed himself for refusing the unreliable devices meant to communicate on the dock. He believed that the passage would prevent that, but having something similar would give him hope.
The same went for his ability with the Nele's arts. Khan sort of understood the theory behind sending messages through the mana, but the distance from his allies' districts was too great. Also, he wouldn't know how to convey his position. The dome's light hid the passage so much that even he would struggle to find it again.
"What was the plan?" Khan eventually asked while turning back on the wounded man. "Were all of you supposed to join Rodney on Lower Level 2?"
The question sounded like a long shot, but it made perfect sense in Khan's mind. A limited number of witnesses was key to keeping a business secret, and a ship did bring reinforcements into the passage. That vehicle might still be there, waiting for the crew.
"We had to kill you and bring proof of your death to Rodney," The man said before coughing again. His condition was worsening, but Khan pretended not to notice that.
"What about after that?" Khan wondered.
"We had to return to Lower Level 3," The man explained while his eyes regained some vitality. "The ship should come to pick us up in half an hour. I can talk to the pilot for you."
'The ship is coming back!' Khan exclaimed in his mind before showing his true colors. His cold face gained some threatening features that revealed his intentions, and the man didn't miss them.
"Wait!" The man begged, but a glowing knife stabbed his head and ended his life before he could add anything.
Khan retrieved his knife and waved it toward the floor. Some blood left its edge, and Khan handled the rest of those spots by wiping it on his jumper.
Thoughts ran wildly. Khan came up with a plan in no time before setting his priorities straight. The mission was important, but he had to find Rodney before he could make the letter public. That would prevent many headaches, and it would even give him the chance to interrogate him privately.
Clothes flew through the corridor. Khan undressed before seizing a grey tracksuit from one of the corpses. His baggy jumper and trousers could reveal his identity, and his disguise didn't end there.
Khan hid his sheath, knife, and alien chameleon's skin under his clothes before reaching for the fabric tainted by his opponent's escaping intestine. He tore away a long strand before putting it on his head like a hood.
The fabric couldn't cover Khan's entire head, but he didn't care. He only needed the dirty part to be in front of him. It would be easier to pretend to be injured like that.
Khan didn't waste any more time. He glanced at the corpses once more before hurrying through the corridor and doing his best to recall the trod path. A moment to think about the recent events would come, but that wasn't it.
The corridor had branches, but Khan had remained alert during the entirety of the march. He only needed a few breaks every time he was in front of multiple options to recall where to go, and the darker pale-blue light of the dome eventually appeared in his vision.
Khan couldn't see any ship hovering at the beginning of the passage, so he sat at some distance from it and waited. The bloodied hood covered most of his vision, but his sensitivity reached the entrance, and he relied on it while keeping his face hidden.
Tense minutes went by as Khan remained on the floor. He waited and waited until something finally approached the entrance. The symphony was the first to warn him about that change, but the familiar sound of an engine soon reached his ears too.
"Get moving already!" A shout resounded from the entrance and echoed through the corridor. "I'll leave you here otherwise."
Khan performed a weak gesture with his hand before slowly standing up. He pretended to be in terrible condition as he staggered left and right. He even crashed on the walls a few times to add value to his act.
Meanwhile, Khan used the narrow holes on his hood to study the situation. His sensitivity had already confirmed that the cargo area of the ship was empty, and his eyes helped him tread the path toward that place.
"Are you the only one left?" The pilot asked through his open window when Khan slowly stepped inside the cargo area. "That guy must have been a tough one."
Khan didn't answer. He let the cargo door close before removing his dirty hood and inspecting the pilot's cabin. He didn't know the specifics of the ship's model, but the engine and tank were on its back, so destroying a wall wouldn't make it crash.
The pilot sat on the ship's right side, so Khan drew his knife and dived deep into his memories while activating the Divine Reaper. He had seen similar vehicles during his simulations, so he could imagine the cabin's layout in his mind.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" The pilot shouted in confusion when he saw a glowing knife piercing the wall that divided him from the cargo area.
Khan acted as quickly as possible. He dug a rectangular hole into the wall before pushing himself through it. The severed metal layer fell on the controls, and the abrupt event allowed him to adjust his position inside the cabin before the pilot could react.
"What-?" The pilot tried to say, but a knife reached his throat and interrupted his line. Khan didn't stab him, but his mana created a shallow cut anyway.
"Easy now," The pilot said while moving his eyes between the knife and Khan's dirty face. "I will bring you on the dock. Just don't kill me."
The pilot was strangely calm. His aspect didn't give anything away. He was a plain-looking middle-aged man with short dark hair and an unkempt beard, but his gaze showed deep experience.
"You know what I can do, right?" Khan asked while sending as many chilling sensations as possible through the synthetic mana.
"I'm just a pilot," The man responded. "I fly people when needed without asking any question."
"I don't trust you," Khan warned.
"You don't need to trust me," The pilot replied. "You need me to fly you on the streets."
Khan would have usually pursued that interaction until he felt confident enough to accept the deal, but an idea slowly formed in his mind. The control desk had tens of keys, but he recognized many of them. A short inspection was enough to give him a vague idea of what they did.
"Stand up," Khan ordered.
"What?" The pilot asked, but Khan promptly pressed the knife to his throat. He had retracted his mana, so the weapon only slightly deepened the shallow injury.
"Okay, okay!" The man shouted. "I'm about to move."
The pilot slowly left his seat, and Khan guided him toward his left. A mere push convinced the man to crouch on the cabin's floor, and Khan swiftly changed the position of his knife to sit in front of the desk while keeping his opponent in check.
"What are you doing?!" The pilot panicked when he saw Khan using his free hand to tinker with the control desk, but another push from the knife made him shut up.
"This is the handbrake, right?" Khan asked while pointing at a red key near the top of the control desk.
The pilot wanted to voice another panicked remark, but Khan's cold gaze pushed back his words and turned them into a slight nod. Khan smiled and pressed the key, and a tremor ran through the ship.
"Please," The pilot begged when Khan grabbed the rectangular steering wheel with one hand. "I promise I'll get you where you want. Just let me drive."
Khan completely ignored the pilot. His knife remained on his throat while he gave a slight push to the steering wheel. The vehicle immediately accelerated forward, but its speed was barely noticeable.
'I can do this,' Khan thought before giving a sharp push to the steering wheel.
The acceleration was violent at that time. The ship shot forward before hitting the dome's curved surface and sliding through it. The screeching noises that resounded made the pilot close his eyes in fear, but Khan laughed as he steered away.
The upper part of Lower Level 3 was basically empty. The elevators connected to Lower Level 2 were too distant to be a problem, and no ship flew nearby. Khan was free to go where he wanted, and he used that chance to test himself out.
Khan accelerated and braked at will, turning, rising, and diving to see what the ship could do. The pilot opened and closed his eyes, but the knife on his throat put an end to any of his plans. He actually felt glad that Khan could keep his weapon still during that reckless flight.
'This thing is too stiff!' Khan cursed as he accelerated even more. 'How can they call this flying?!'
The pilot opened his eyes again only to see the ship diving at full speed toward the streets. Confused words came out of his mouth until they transformed into a scream. The vehicle was about to crash, but Khan abruptly pulled the steering wheel when a few meters separated him from the surface.
The ship released a deep noise that resembled a metallic complaint as it tried to fend off the momentum accumulated during the dive. The few meters left from the street weren't enough to disperse all of it, so the vehicle landed violently.
The dock's streets were sturdy enough to remain in one piece, and the vehicle also bounced a few times while leaving deep holes or marks on the dark-grey floor. The multiple crashes eventually halted the ship, but the pilot was far from happy about that landing.
"Were you trying to kill the both of us?!" The pilot complained.
"Shut up," Khan laughed. "I haven't had so much fun in months."
"Fun?!" The man shouted. "You must have many loose screws to fly like this!"
"Well," Khan smiled as he stood up and forced the man to imitate him. "My teacher was an eagle."
The man was at a loss for words. He had somehow managed to stay alive during that messy flight even if a knife had remained on his throat for the whole time. Moreover, Khan sounded genuinely crazy. He could complain more, but he felt that his luck would run out if he did.
Khan opened the door and dragged the pilot with him. A crowd had already formed around the ship, and many groups inspected the damage suffered by the street. However, no one dared to reach Khan to complain.
"[Care to explain]?" A familiar voice resounded behind Khan while he was busy glaring at the crowd.
A purple halo filled Khan's vision when he turned. He had landed near the Nele's district, and his sensitivity had already warned him. He didn't feel any surprise seeing Maban, Piran, and a few other known faces standing behind him.
"[I'll explain everything]," Khan promised before pushing the pilot toward the Nele. [In the meantime, can you keep an eye on him? Also, I need to announce my imminent departure. I must return to the second asteroid]."
