The couple's break only lasted for an additional week before duties arrived. Monica could remain in the Harbor since the Solodrey family had a lot to prepare, but Khan was alone, so he had to leave as soon as Mister Cirvags gave the okay.
Another public and sad goodbye unfolded before a teleport. That was the second time Khan and Monica had to split, but the experience wasn't any easier to face. Actually, the two spent a bit longer in each other's arms since Madam Solodrey had allowed those intimate interactions.
"Try to come back before your birthday," Monica almost begged, squeezing Khan's neck.
"You'll probably still be on Neuria by then," Khan chuckled, his hands sealed on Monica's back.
"I don't care," Monica cried, doing her best to keep her voice down. "Come back anyway."
The soldiers in the teleport area tried not to look in the couple's direction, but glances happened. Moreover, a few whispers reached their ears. Khan was sure gossip would spread, but it was hard to care about it when Monica was in his arms.
"I'll do my best," Khan promised. "You also do a good job out there, and we'll get back together in no time."
"I will," Monica nodded, holding back any possible tear for fear of ruining Khan's uniform. "Kiss me and leave. I won't let go otherwise."
Khan didn't dare to disobey. His face dived into the curls until he found familiar lips. The two kissed, and Monica slowly relaxed her grip on Khan's neck to move her hands on his cheeks.
Monica was showing far more initiative than she had ever done in public, and the scene shocked the curious soldiers. They almost couldn't believe Monica was a simple woman in love once she dropped her political persona.
Once the long kiss ended, Monica began to retract her hands, but Khan grabbed them to reach for her lips again. That was his way of saying goodbye, and Monica welcomed him.
Nevertheless, the two separated after the second kiss, and Khan limited himself to one last caress before jumping on the oval platform. Synthetic mana immediately accumulated around him, but he stared into Monica's worried eyes until the scenery changed.
Khan found himself in a new teleport area, but the differences quickly became noticeable. The soldiers and scientists in the room wore sterner faces. Their presence was also firmer and calmer. Those workers had seen actual battle, and it showed.
The room was also simpler and slightly smaller. Khan saw fewer consoles and dimmer lights, but the matter wasn't surprising. He knew what Cegnore's route involved, and some eagerness inevitably arrived.
"Captain Khan!" One of the soldiers called, stepping before the oval platform to perform a military salute. "Your ship and documents are ready."
"Lead the way," Khan ordered, jumping off the platform.
"Yes, sir!" The soldier stated, turning to head for the exit. Khan followed her, discovering more of the place and confirming the information in Mister Cirvags' report.
Cegnore was part of the systems ruled by Lord Exr but was deeper into the Empire's territory compared to Neuria. Humans couldn't bring space stations there, so the trip to the planet required a few mandatory stops.
The current space station was close to the Thilku territory, but its location had nothing to do with its purpose. That place simply had a specific clearance that created a direct connection with the Empire.
The soldier led Khan into a small hangar but didn't stop there. She quickly dived into another corridor featuring multiple consoles and doors that hindered her passage. Her phone opened those barriers, eventually bringing the two into another teleport area.
More differences became visible. The new teleport area had even sterner vibes that didn't hesitate to converge on Khan. A few consoles also featured small Thilku runes Khan couldn't read from his position, but the arrival of a new soldier cut his inspection short.
"Sir, Captain, sir," A soldier called, leaving his console to bring a rectangular device to Khan. "I need your phone, sir."
Khan was aware of those procedures, so he drew his phone and showed it to the soldier. The latter placed his device above the screen and activated a few menus to pass the documents needed for the rest of the trip.
"We are done here, ma'am," The soldier eventually announced, retracting his device and looking at his companion.
"Captain," The female soldier exclaimed, pointing at the phone, "You must show this to access the other locations. Even the human soldiers won't let you advance otherwise."
"I'm well aware," Khan replied, checking the new label on his phone. Opening it revealed a Thilku rune shining with blue shades. That symbol had no meaning but worked as a code that granted clearance.
"This way, sir," The female soldier interrupted the inspection, pointing at the new oval platform.
Khan stored his phone and jumped on the platform, but the accumulation of synthetic mana didn't begin right away. The soldiers got busy, shouting orders and codes before the okay arrived and cleared Khan for the teleport.
The scenery soon changed again. The same stern vibe welcomed Khan, but heavy tension joined it, creating a new environment in his eyes. A corridor also stretched from that teleport area, and Khan saw red shades near its bottom.
"I need to check your identification, sir," A soldier in the room announced, leaving his console to reach the platform and show a screen to Khan.
Khan drew his phone and pointed the new rune at the screen. The device checked his clearance, and the soldier reviewed the results before nodding at the corridor. "This way, sir."
Khan followed the soldier across the corridor before finding himself in a new environment. As soon as the red illumination arrived, the place's surfaces gained runes and grew bigger. Khan could see a spacious area stretching before him, but a transparent door guarded by a Thilku stood in the way.
"Sir, you must show your authorization there," The soldier with Khan exclaimed, pointing at a rune on the door's left side.
Khan approached the rune, and the soldier moved to the symbol on the opposite side of the door to perform a similar gesture. The entrance required two authorizations, and Khan followed suit to clear the passage.
The transparent door opened after a few seconds, and the soldier crossed it to lead Khan deeper into the area. Khan also stepped forward but didn't refrain from exchanging a look with the Thilku guarding that passage.
"[Blue hair]," The Thilku grunted, crossing his huge arms. "[Lord Exr welcomes you]."
"[I'm honored]," Khan promptly said, stopping to perform a traditional Thilku bow. The guard didn't reply with the same gesture but nodded in approval.
Khan left afterward, and his attention returned to the area. He had reached a big hangar filled with various Thilku vehicles. Most were circular ships of different sizes, with Thilku soldiers roaming among them, but Khan also spotted a few human rides in the distance.
"This way, sir," The soldier with Khan called. "We must go through a few more stops."
Khan continued to follow the soldier while his attention remained on the hangar. That was a Thilku space station that the Empire used for political reasons. Having a human team would have been impossible otherwise. Still, Khan couldn't see anything special or unique compared to his stay in Neuria.
'Our technology has a lot in common,' Khan thought before the arrival at another mandatory stop forced him to show his phone. The soldier with him did the same, and the two gained a Thilku escort.
The Thilku led the two toward one of the human ships before another round of authorizations happened with the team stationed there. A minute had to pass before Khan gained access to the vehicle, and explanations followed.
"I'm sure you already know, sir," The human soldier announced while the Thilku team got the ship ready, "But you won't have access to manual controls. The ship is programmed to follow the route set by the Thilku."
"I know," Khan smiled. "We must play by our allies' rules."
"Captain, sir," The soldier continued, lowering his head. "We didn't get the chance to paint the ship."
"Oh," Khan exclaimed before chuckling. "I'll survive one flight in grey."
The soldier didn't speak again, and the Thilku eventually left the ship, opening a path for Khan. He took his place behind the control desk, and his tasks ended.
The control desk activated as soon as Khan sat down. The auto-pilot ran various check-up programs before sending fuel to the engines. It didn't take long before the ship left the floor and slowly headed for the mana barrier separating it from open space.
Khan could only watch as the ship handled everything. He couldn't even activate holograms to keep track of the trip. The canopy showed open space, but Khan couldn't recognize much without the help of scanners.
The beauty of the universe captivated Khan's attention for a while, but the lack of planets in sight eventually distracted him and made him pull out his phone. He had no connection to the network, but his interest was in a specific folder, and opening it put him before a vast album about Monica.
'My birthday is in three weeks,' Khan thought. 'I'll never get back before that.'
A sigh escaped Khan's mouth while his eyes continued to browse the album. Part of him wanted to make Monica his priority. He loved her too much to risk hurting her. Yet, his other, darker side pushed him into places where they couldn't be together.
'When will this end?' Khan cursed. 'How will this end?'
Doubts Khan couldn't solve invaded his mind, but the pictures on his phone added peace. His life had never been better, but there he was, flying into a battlefield to find answers that might not exist.
Luckily for Khan, a brownish planet soon became visible from the canopy, distracting him from his internal conflict. The ship also accelerated, making him store his phone to prepare for the imminent landing.
Mister Cirvags' report contained information about Cegnore, and Khan confirmed part of it while diving through the planet's atmosphere.
Barren lands expanded in every direction. Mountains occasionally appeared in the distance but didn't disturb that mostly plain scenery. Rare green spots existed, but the place remained lifeless.
That only applied to the surface. Cegnore was similar to Onia, even if for different reasons. Plants thrived below due to the vast array of underground rivers. Caves also stretched in every direction, creating a hidden environment that the humans had barely started mapping.
Of course, exploring Cegnore wasn't the Global Army's prerogative. That planet belonged to the Empire, so learning about it was sort of forbidden. The restrictions were laxer due to the ongoing war, but that still didn't give the humans any authority.
Khan tried to memorize anything that fell into his view, but the quick descent eventually interrupted his inspection. The ship dived toward a big, square structure standing in the middle of a brown plain, and Khan only spotted a trench in the distance before focusing on the landing.
A circular door on the structure's roof opened to let the ship through. Khan ended up in a human hangar with several vehicles and soldiers. A team was already waiting for him, and he greeted it once the auto-pilot allowed him to leave.
"Captain Khan!" A relatively young male soldier, a third-level warrior, left the team standing in line to welcome Khan at the bottom of the ship's ramp. "It's an honor to have you here."
The soldier performed a military salute, but Khan knew his identity from Mister Cirvags' report. That sharp dark face, almost completely covered in long red dreadlocks, belonged to a fellow Captain.
"Captain Chaunac, right?" Khan asked, stretching his hand forward. "You don't need to be so formal when we share the same rank."
"You are too kind," Captain Chaunac exclaimed, shaking Khan's hand. "Welcome to Cegnore, and please, call me Caspar."
"Will do," Khan promised. "I'll be in your care."
"We'll all be in yours," Caspar smiled, nodding at the team behind him to make it take care of the ship. "We have prepared a simple refreshment for your arrival. Our resources on Cegnore are scarce, but we did our best."
"I'd like to take a stroll outside first," Khan revealed. "If it's not a problem."
"Oh," Caspar uttered, glancing at Khan's hair before nodding. "Of course. I'll lead the way."
Caspar accompanied Khan to a jeep with a sealed canopy before jumping into the driver's seat. Khan was with him and noticed how the vehicle confirmed the complete isolation from the outside world before turning on.
"It's protocol," Caspar explained, driving the jeep through the hangar. "All the vehicles here must be shielded from the outside atmosphere."
"Is the illness so contagious?" Khan questioned.
"It is," Caspar sighed, "And dangerous even. Mana usually makes us immune to these infections, but Cegnore is different."
Khan knew what Caspar meant. It was almost impossible to mutate after gaining control of mana, but Cegnore's illness overruled that truth. The first wave of Thilku wouldn't have switched sides otherwise.
"We have timers for our pills," Caspar continued, showing the watch on his right wrist. "They are mandatory even if our tasks don't involve stepping outside."
"You can't risk an outbreak here," Khan commented. "The Global Army would lose this structure."
"Indeed," Caspar agreed. The jeep had entered a large corridor meant for vehicles by then, but another spacious area appeared at its end. Soldiers filled it and protected the big gate standing on the opposite side.
"With me, Captain," Caspar ordered, leaving the jeep to approach the left side of the area. A transparent office stood there, and Caspar touched one of the windows to summon an attendant wearing the Global Army's colors.
"I need a boost," Caspar explained, keeping his fingers on the window. "I'm going outside."
Khan was at Caspar's side and studied the scene. The attendant stuffed a small box into a drawer before pushing it to the other side of the window. Caspar retrieved it and lifted its lid, revealing a tiny blue pill.
"Thank you," Caspar said, gulping down the pill and putting the box back into the drawer.
"Does the sir also need a boost?" The attendant asked, looking at Khan.
"Are you colorblind, soldier?!" Caspar suddenly shouted, turning every eye in the room on him.
The sudden shout shocked the attendant, but more surprise arrived when he took a proper look at Khan. His blue hair became impossible to miss, revealing his identity and answering the previous question.
"I'm sorry, Captain Khan, sir!" The attendant cried from the other side of the window while performing a military salute. "I didn't recognize you."
Khan didn't care about that matter. He actually ignored it to focus on Caspar's mana. The pill had altered its flow, making it calmer and denser. That change didn't affect its power or flexibility but increased its resilience toward external influences.
"I'm sorry, Captain," Caspar said since Khan had remained silent. "I didn't have the time to announce your arrival to the entire structure."
"It's fine," Khan shook his head, snapping back to reality. "So, can we go now?"
"Of course," Caspar declared, pointing at the huge gate. "We only have to go through there."
Caspar took out his phone and hurried ahead to show his clearance to the team defending the gate. A path opened when Khan got there, allowing the two Captains to use a relatively small door that brought them to the other side of the passage.
"If my memory serves me right," Caspar announced, waiting for Khan to cross the door to seal it, "You met my cousin many months ago."
"Miss Nadia Chaunac, am I right?" Khan recalled. "She honored my promotion to Captain with her presence."
Caspar nodded happily, but Khan only paid attention to his surroundings. The door had led him inside an isolated chamber illuminated by white lights. The place didn't have menus, but a passage on the other side eventually opened.
Khan's eyes lit up at the arrival of natural mana. He breathed the new air in, rejoicing at the stark difference from his previous location. His senses couldn't help but cheer, but something else joined that happiness.
"We are here," Caspar chuckled, leaving the chamber to step on the barren brown terrain. "No sign of life for at least ten kilometers in every direction. If I may, Captain, I don't think this is the right place for someone of your caliber."
Khan also stepped outside, and a hand instinctively went on his nape. His mana core had reacted to the new atmosphere. It had become the source of an odd sensation he had already experienced on Milia 222.
"Trust me, Captain," Khan declared. "I'm in the right place."
