Lucian's words lingered in Khan's mind more than he wanted to admit, but other problems required his attention. With the leviathan class in the Harbor's system, the mission could officially start, and delaying it would only increase the overall expenses.
The team could benefit from more simulations, but everyone had already met Khan's requirements, so he finalized the preparations and got everything ready by the end of the following week. When the weekend started, the mission went online.
Khan, Lieutenant Clayman, Tyler, Leona, Manuel, and Seth teleported into Lucian's ship early in the morning and followed Viola toward the appointed vehicle. The leviathan class had reached Lauter by then, so the team only had to take their position to greenlight the mission.
Tension inevitably spread when the team reached the rectangular ship in the hangar. Tyler's mana was a mess, and the two gunners weren't any better. Seth was somewhat calmer than his companions, but even he showed signs of anxiety. Only Lieutenant Clayman appeared perfectly still, but his easy role could justify that.
As for Khan, he was far better than his companions, without a tinge of anxiety in his mind. He actually felt relaxed since he could finally carry his knife in the open. Also, the imminent arrival in an area full of natural mana put him in a good mood.
"Come on, people," Khan called when he saw the initial procedures falling behind schedule. "We only have to confirm that everything is how we left it."
"The cannons are loaded and ready, sir," Leona announced.
"And we won't empty them, boss," Manuel reassured, without hiding his joking tone.
"Security protocols ready for activation, sir," Lieutenant Clayman added.
"All of them?" Khan questioned.
"All of them," Lieutenant Clayman confirmed.
"The turrets are in position," Seth continued. "I've started a simulation. Once it ends, we are good to go."
"Tyler?" Khan called.
"The ship's tank is full," Tyler stammered. "The control desk is online. We are ready for set-off."
"Alright, stand by," Khan ordered. "We must wait for Seth's simulations."
The tension intensified in the following seconds. The team had completed many simulations and checked the actual ship in the previous days, but the real deal hit differently. Still, they found reassurance in the fact that most of them wouldn't face any danger.
Multiple glances fell on Khan during the wait. Most of the mission lay on his shoulders, but he was the calmest of the bunch. He remained perfectly in control while holograms flashed in his eyes and updated him about the preparations.
'Lapdog,' Khan sighed in his mind. 'Maybe it has always been impossible to get there on my own.'
"Simulation twenty percent complete!" Seth announced.
'Do I have to compromise myself?' Khan wondered. 'Is it necessary?'
"Simulation thirty percent complete!" Seth continued.
'That's better than killing,' Khan realized. 'It can't be worse than the village by the lake.'
"Simulation fifty percent complete!" Seth added.
'For love, it would be worth it,' Khan considered.
"Simulation seventy percent complete!" Seth shouted.
'But is Lucian the best I can get?' Khan wondered.
"Simulation ninety percent complete!" Seth exclaimed, and silence spread among Khan's thoughts.
"Simulation complete!" Seth eventually followed. "We are good to go, sir!"
"Calculate the ideal target," Khan ordered.
"Calculating, sir," Seth responded.
The tension reached a critical point in those seconds. There would be no turning back after the next order, but no one panicked, at least not openly. Khan's presence seemed able to suppress those reactions now that pure seriousness reeked out of his figure.
"Ideal target found, sir," Seth stated.
A few gasps resounded, and even Khan hesitated. Seconds went by as he reviewed the holograms in front of him, but the data confirmed Seth's words, ultimately forcing him to give the critical order.
"Fire," Khan muttered.
"Fire!" Lieutenant Clayman echoed, and Seth sent a message through the ship's menus to confirm the order.
"Initiate set-off," Khan continued. "Let's get out!"
The simulations had perfected the mission's execution. The ship wouldn't wait for the scanners to go online anymore. Instead, it would approach Lauter's atmosphere in the meantime to save some time.
Of course, Khan didn't leave that task to Tyler. A delay or a mistake would make the ship go off route, wasting time instead of saving it, so he left everything in the hands of the autopilot.
"Initiating set-off!" Lieutenant Clayman echoed, slamming his palm on a menu at his side to activate the previously planned protocol.
The autopilot voiced robotic words before making the ship leave the metal floor and approach the mana barrier at the end of the hangar. The vehicle crossed it as fast as possible before diving toward the blue planet under it.
The scanners gave Khan a complete view of the dive and even located the descending missile. He saw the weapon falling at high speed toward Lauter's atmosphere, and the vehicle followed it. Yet, it never got too close to avoid radiation-related problems.
Khan inspected everything closely. He was actually captivated by the scene. The universe always managed to stir his interest, but a different type of curiosity filled his mind now. He had only seen the missile in action during simulations, so he couldn't wait to witness the real deal.
The scanners couldn't pick up much, especially once the missile entered the atmosphere. Also, the ship had to stop outside the explosion's range, and the radiation was bound to mess up the equipment. Still, a few images remained, and they were enough to keep Khan captivated.
The spot chosen for the mission was quite cloudy, but all of that disappeared once the explosion unfolded. An azure flash overwhelmed the other shades and expanded to create a circular shockwave.
Khan didn't forget that he was watching a planet. The messy data on the holograms and the related images showed an insane range. The missile looked too strong even when he looked at its effect from outside Lauter's atmosphere.
"Scanners stabilizing," The ship reported as the shockwave began to disperse. "Initiating descent."
The ship dived toward the center of the shockwave in the now purely blue sky, and complete emptiness unfolded in the scanners. Nothing had survived in the area affected by the missile. There were only islands and a raging sea in the scene below.
'One of these could wipe out Reebfell,' Khan thought while moving his seat near the ship's side doors, 'And the Global Army must have stronger weapons.'
Suddenly, Khan felt small. He was strong, incredibly strong for his level, but the missile belonged to a superior realm. That wasn't something people could oppose. Even fifth-level warriors would die against that weapon.
'Could evolved beings survive this?' Khan wondered before rejecting that idea. He didn't know how strong evolved beings were, but nothing in his experience came close to the missile's power.
Khan had already reached similar conclusions, but seeing the missile in action forced his mind to accept them. Still, the situation didn't allow him to ponder on those matters. After all, he had a task to accomplish.
The ship dived at full speed through Lauter's sky while the scanners created a holographic picture of its surroundings. The area was clear, but things were bound to change soon.
The sea was the only source of prey, so the Radola never flew too high. That was an instinctive behavior, and their bodies had also evolved in that direction, so the ship could get close to the targeted island without entering danger zones.
"Adjusting calculated destination," The ship voiced at some point. "Reaching appointed destination."
The autopilot pulled the brakes as hard as possible, creating a violent stop that made the ship interrupt the dive and gain a horizontal position. That was also meant to save seconds, but the team felt the consequences of that bumpy ride.
"Seth!" Khan shouted while his companions had yet to recover.
"Targeting program initiated, sir!" Seth coughed while adjusting his safety belt. "Starting the clock."
"You know your orders," Khan announced while unfastening his belt and approaching the side doors. "Tyler, keep the ship steady at all costs. Leona, Manuel, fire only when necessary, and don't miss. Seth, update me at the agreed checkpoints."
"Yes, sir!" Tyler, Manuel, Leona, and Seth shouted simultaneously.
Khan opened the ship's doors, and a soft wind blew in his face. Due to the missile's effects, the air was cold and full of synthetic mana. However, he could catch whisps of natural mana among that mess, and his senses rejoiced.
"Keep the channel clear of useless talks," Khan stated. "Lieutenant, the deck is yours."
"Good luck, Captain," Lieutenant Clayman stated, and his loud voice resounded in the ship as soon as Khan jumped into the sky. "Silence!"
Lieutenant Clayman knew Khan's plan. Instead, the rest of the team had only gotten hints and vague clues, so the Lieutenant shouted before Khan's seemingly reckless gesture could make everyone lose their cool.
The shout worked, but only for Tyler. Manuel, Leona, and Seth showed no shock when Khan jumped. There was some surprise in their eyes, but that didn't come from the unexpected event. They simply couldn't contain that reaction when they saw Khan actually pursuing that path.
"The rumors are true," Leona ended up commenting without diverting her gaze from the cannon's scanner. "He can fly."
"He is only freefalling for now," Manuel pointed out while also studying his cannon's scanner.
"It shouldn't be a spell," Seth joined the conversation. "It probably is an alien technique or an evolution of his martial art."
"Wasn't he competent already?" Manuel asked.
"He must have reached advanced," Seth suggested. "Might, at least. I wish Nippe 2's factory revealed more."
"The nobles were involved," Leona sighed. "We were lucky to get rumors at all."
"But, isn't the Captain only nineteen?" Tyler stammered in disbelief. "How can he be advanced already?"
"Can you really be surprised anymore?" Manuel snorted. "Some say he even fucked Princess Edna."
"I won't allow such dangerous rumors in Captain Khan's absence," Lieutenant Clayman scolded.
"Come on, Lieutenant," Manuel complained. "You must also be curious."
"We have an official report for Nippe 2's events," Lieutenant Clayman remained stern.
"It's obviously fake," Seth declared before tapping on the communication device inside his right ear. "Landing area targeted, sir."
"Launch the turrets!" Lieutenant Clayman ordered.
"Launching turrets," Seth echoed, pressing on one of the menus and muting his communication device to resume the previous topic. "For Captain Khan to have a chance to save Princess Edna, her guards must have been incapacitated, and kidnappers would obviously opt for the gorge."
"Maybe he learnt to fly there," Leona guessed.
"And got a sweet reward out of it," Manuel snickered. "A commoner fucking a noble. That's a man I want to follow."
"That's just a groundless rumor," Seth explained. "The evidence about Miss Solodrey and him is more accurate."
"Hey, Miss Solodrey isn't hard on the eyes either," Manuel laughed.
"Gross," Leona scoffed.
"Enough!" Lieutenant Clayman shouted.
"Lieutenant, the sky is still clear," Leona stated, "And I know you are aware of the rumors."
"I bet he also knows what they call him," Manuel added.
Lieutenant Clayman had a stern disposition, but that part of the mission gave the team a chance to talk, which could help disperse their tension. The gunners had nothing to do as long as the scanners didn't reveal any Radola.
"The monster of Nippe 2," Lieutenant Clayman ended up whispering, and his words intensified the team's attention on the screens. Everyone wanted to see what Khan was capable of.
Khan let his body fall through the sky while his team gossiped about him. He was upside down, with his eyes fixed on the distant island below, but his senses were everywhere.
The ship could get quite low due to the Radola's innate behavior, but the distance to cross remained long. Khan would burn himself to death if he didn't affect his momentum, but a plan to delay that moment already existed in his mind.
Khan let his body experience the fall. He had never been at such heights without a ship or Snow, but no fear existed inside him. The synthetic mana released by the missile enveloped him and provided all the reassurance he needed.
The wind blew on Khan's face, slowly getting warmer due to his increasing falling speed. Ripples spread through the symphony as his figure and distant creatures affected it. He was one with the sky, and thinking about the incoming battle granted him peace.
Khan couldn't even try to hide it. He loved flying, especially without a ship. There was something priceless about experiencing the wind's friction and the symphony. He could lose himself in the environment and be free, freer than any space station or city could ever allow.
The warmth on Khan's face eventually turned into a scorching sensation that forced him to close his eyes. Yet, that didn't affect his senses. He could still see everything, especially the limits of his body.
'I can still go on,' Khan thought as a deafening whooshing noise started filling his ears.
Khan let the situation continue until Seth's report resounded through the device in his right ear. His eyes opened at that point, and tapping the air twice dispersed his momentum and put him in a horizontal position.
'Ten minutes,' Khan thought when he saw the ship releasing the four pillars. Small engines also activated on their top, generating an acceleration that pushed them toward their intended destinations.
Khan inspected the turrets for a few seconds before turning upside down again and slamming his feet in the air. The gesture made his figure accelerate, pushing him closer to the still-distant island, but he planned to get far closer before the first enemies arrived.
The plan was relatively simple. Khan was nowhere as big as the turrets, but being closer to the surface would attract the Radola's attention. He only had to make sure that they noticed him first.
Khan activated one of the pilot's techniques to create a warm barrier around him. That defensive spell couldn't protect him from actual attacks but did wonders for the friction, allowing him to accelerate even more.
"One minute!" Seth shouted in Khan's ear.
Khan had to slow down every few seconds, but a new acceleration unfolded whenever he dispersed his momentum. He also activated the barrier only when necessary, optimizing his overall speed.
"Two minutes!" Seth shouted through the device.
'They are coming,' Khan sensed before the ship's scanners could give any warning. The area was still clear, but ripples were running through the symphony, hinting at something Khan knew far too well.
Khan kicked to his left, pushing himself toward the source of the ripples. His senses couldn't actually reach those areas, but he could get a general direction out of them, and that was enough.
"Three minutes!" Seth shouted.
Khan kept accelerating until vague figures appeared in the distance. The number of ripples also increased. There was probably an entire pack ahead, but only a few specimens would enter the cleared area in the ten-minutes-window.
"Boss, two Radola entered the perimeter," Manuel warned through the device, and Khan didn't say anything since he was flying toward them.
Eventually, two big figures became completely clear in Khan's vision. He finally saw the Radola in all their might, and those creatures also noticed him. The Tainted animals fell prey to their aggression, changing their course to dive toward the foreign presence, which sealed their fates.
Khan basically ran in the air, adjusting his steps' strength to keep his high speed bearable without the barrier. Meanwhile, the Radola grew closer, and the mana inside them affected the light in the surroundings to hide their figures.
The ship had scanners capable of seeing through that cloaking technique, and Lucian had even provided special goggles to circumvent the issue. However, Khan didn't need any of that. His eyes were one with the symphony, granting him a vision that even some equipment would envy.
'Hunters,' Khan recognized from the cloaking technique while drawing his knife.
"Four minutes!" Seth warned, but Khan put those words in the back of his mind since the clash was only a few seconds away.
The Radola's invisible properties could be scary for many, and even Khan didn't see every detail. Still, his senses allowed him to distinguish their body parts, and the mana inside them created a picture that matched his preparations.
The missile had scared many Radola away, so the leaders of the nearby packs wouldn't face eventual invaders directly. They would send underlings and scouts, which had a limited amount of strength.
In Khan's case, he was against two specimens that barely touched the realm of first-level warriors. They were big, fast, and hard to see, but all of that looked like child play in Khan's eyes.
When the first figure got close enough, Khan kicked the air to dive under it. His movements were too fast for such a weak Radola, and a long red mark appeared in the seemingly clear sky when he slashed his knife upward.
The red mark didn't remain still. A cascade of blood fell out of it, and the cloaking technique broke, revealing a Radola doing its best to fly straight even if its belly was already open.
Khan didn't waste a single second on an opponent he had already defeated. He kicked the air again, surging through the sky to reach the second invisible creature. The Radola couldn't see him from its position and lost its neck before it could realize what had happened.
The second Radola's cloaking technique deactivated, revealing its headless corpse. Its wings were still unfolded, so it kept flying, but Khan couldn't consider it a threat anymore.
"Sir, you have one incoming North," Leona warned, but Khan was already on his way back to the turrets, and those ripples soon entered his senses.
"Boss, two more from East," Manuel didn't take long to give a second warning. "There's one more South too."
"Five minutes!" Seth shouted a few seconds later.
Khan compiled that information and applied it to the symphony. In theory, the Radola that would approach the cleared area during the turrets' descent wouldn't be dangerous. Yet, they could attack from any direction, and Khan alone wasn't enough as bait.
The first offensive had given Khan a chance to seize the initiative, but that window had closed now. He wouldn't have the time to return to the turrets if he tried to intercept every incoming enemy. He could only stick to them and deal with any threat.
