?The Scalqa leader had seemed relatively cooperative until now. He didn't show stark and one-sided enmity even during the short battle. However, the glare pointed at Khan conveyed very different feelings.
The surprise waned in the following seconds, leaving only resolve. The Scalqa leader seemed ready to throw himself at Khan, uncaring of the possible consequences or outcome. A deep sense of duty shone in his big eyes, overcoming any trace of reason.
Of course, that reaction only intensified Khan's curiosity. The Scalqa leader seemed to have acknowledged Khan's power but was still willing to fight if the situation required it. The alien probably valued the rectangular tent's contents more than his life, which spoke for its importance.
The staring competition could easily end in a battle to the death, but Khan smiled and avoided looking at the rectangular tent again. He was merely a guest there, so accepting foreign rules felt mandatory. Besides, he didn't need eyes to study the curious detail.
Khan looked straight at the Scalqa leader while his senses focused on the rectangular tent. He paid close attention to the symphony's behavior to understand the effects of that strange influence. He had already witnessed something similar, but connecting the two events felt impossible.
The similarities came from Colonel Norrett's evolution. The rectangular tent's influence behaved like the mana used to mutate the Colonel's body, but Khan's reasonable side struggled to believe his senses. After all, the differences between the two events were massive and touched multiple fields.
First of all, Colonel Norrett's evolution was a completely artificial process. It didn't leave anything to chance. The entire procedure resulted from countless simulations, studies, and experiments.
Instead, the rectangular tent's influence felt organic, and the effects on its surroundings were quite soft. It didn't force a transformation. It gently prepared the infected matter for the change.
'Aided metamorphosis?' Khan thought. 'But it behaves like natural induction.'
The more Khan studied the rectangular tent, the more his interest grew. He didn't know what caused that effect, but it clearly was worth studying. The source could expand humankind's evolution field, and understanding its nature might teach Khan something about the Scalqa.
Every civilization built settlements and cities in functional environments, especially primitive ones. Still, the priorities could differ. Some species heavily relied on water, while others needed other elements for survival.
The Scalqa's needs seemed to match humans', but the hesitation in using wood hinted at something different. The rectangular tent's contents could be another clue, and Khan didn't hesitate to add it to his mental list.
'Did they make that thing?' Khan wondered. 'Was it there beforehand? If so, did they build the settlement around it because of its power?'
Those were mere hypotheses Khan created in the absence of certainties. He didn't even know what the rectangular tent contained. Yet, he planned on finding out, and receiving the Scalqa's approval was the only way of doing that without causing a mess.
The Scalqa leader didn't hide his suspicion toward Khan's smile but couldn't do much about it. He didn't trust Khan but had already led the two humans inside the settlement. He could only continue with his initial plan for now.
More complaints-like cries flew at the Scalqa leader, eventually forcing him to turn to address the crowd that had gathered around the team. The other aliens appeared more than angry about the human presence inside the settlement, but the leader always managed to shut them up.
The interest in the rectangular tent didn't distract Khan from the words uttered by the aliens. He and Amy noticed how the Scalqa leader often said "Rok-Go", and the crowd always went silent when hearing that. A sense of respect also appeared among them, implying a deep meaning.
'Is it another custom?' Khan considered. 'A name? Is he pulling ranks?'
The possibilities were almost endless, but Khan still had to consider all of them. Fusing vague patterns, small clues, and countless details was the only way to establish a basic understanding of the alien species. Creating a starting point was the priority, and that was the best way to achieve it.
The alien team had stopped now that a crowd had formed around it, forcing Amy and Khan to wait for the Scalqa to make a decision. Discussions about the fate of the two humans were clearly happening right in the middle of the settlement, and the conclusions couldn't appear more distant.
However, movements suddenly happened inside the rectangular tent. A big hand lifted one of the pelts, and crying noises invaded the settlement, quieting the crowd. Everyone turned toward its source, revealing another curious sight.
An old Scalqa came out of the rectangular tent, wielding a wooden staff in one hand and something else in the other. His long gray hair was dirty and wet, and his eyes had different colors. The left was light brown, while the other was almost entirely grey, probably indicating blindness.
The general attention soon fell on the old Scalqa's hand, where the crying came from. The alien was holding a baby close to his torso, triggering a gasp among the crowd.
One of the Scalqa in the crowd hurried forward, reaching the old Scalqa and kneeling before him. The alien on the ground lifted both arms, seemingly in veneration, and the old Scalqa mumbled something inaudible before putting the baby in his hands.
Soft murmurs spread among the crowd as everyone patted their chests and lowered their heads. It was unclear whether that gesture was toward the newborn or the old Scalqa, but Khan and Amy memorized it anyway.
A second figure soon came out of the rectangular tent, too. A female Scalqa slowly walked around the old Scalqa and joined the alien on the ground. The latter lowered his hands, and the two inspected the newborn with smiles and soft expressions.
The old Scalqa slammed his cane to the ground a few times before lifting his hands and voicing a cry. The other Scalqa imitated the gesture, seemingly cheering about the newborn. The alien appeared happy about the new addition to their tribe, but that feeling was short-lived.
Murmurs happened between the couple on the ground, and the female Scalqa suddenly turned. Her gentle expression began to exude pure anger when she noticed the two humans. She looked livid about that foreign presence, and Khan couldn't blame her.
The gesture attracted the old Scalqa's attention, who calmly inspected the two humans before focusing on Khan. The alien leader said something, but the old Scalqa ignored him. His partially blind gaze existed only for Khan.
The old Scalqa eventually walked around the couple on the ground and approached the crowd, which opened at his passage. Even the aliens in the patrol team abandoned their posts to let the old Scalqa advance and reach the humans.
The old alien threw another glance at Amy before focusing again on Khan. He clearly found the latter more interesting, and Khan shared that sentiment. The two studied each other, although in different ways.
The old Scalqa walked in circles around Khan, leaning forward and sideways while slamming his cane into the ground. It almost seemed a tribal dance, and the crowd retreated to give him enough space to perform it.
Meanwhile, Khan remained still, only following the alien with his eyes. His face didn't move even when the old Scalqa was behind him, and his senses provided interesting information.
The old Scalqa's muscles weren't as bulging as his younger companions. They were big, but some sagginess had invaded them. His skin was darker and more ruined than the other aliens, but that didn't affect his overall level.
Khan instantly confirmed that the alien was a fourth-level warrior. The Scalqa leader looked stronger, but the old one radiated a different vibe. He didn't feel like a warrior, and his mana reeked of a strange scent.
'Is he high?' Khan thought. 'Though it doesn't feel like a simple intoxication.'
The old Scalqa's mana's strange behavior forced Khan to scour his memory. He had read about primitive species relying on drugs and other substances during rituals and similar customs. The few surviving historical records about humankind claimed his species wasn't above those practices. Yet, those ancient tribes didn't have mana.
After a while, the old Scalqa stopped before Khan, stretching his cane toward him. The staff pointed at his face but stopped before touching his forehead. Khan didn't move, and the old Scalqa soon resumed moving the tool.
The staff descended, running over Khan's torso and reaching his feet before rising again. The old Scalqa eventually stopped it before Khan's chest, where he drew a circle in the air before finally lunging it forward.
The cane softly landed at the center of Khan's chest, and the old alien retracted it to tap his sternum once again. A murmur escaped his mouth, and the Scalqa leader cried something that resembled an order at Khan.
Usually, no Ambassador would have understood what the two aliens meant. Even Khan wouldn't normally get the meaning of those cries. However, the cane was pointing at something specific, so his hands rose to unbutton his uniform.
'They didn't react at it before,' Khan thought, spreading his open uniform and uncovering his scar.
The old Scalqa leaned forward to inspect the scar, but his grip on the cane remained steady. The staff never pushed too hard on Khan's chest, and the alien even used it to draw the azure edges.
The inspection lasted a while, and the crowd remained silent to let the old Scalqa concentrate. His partially blind gaze grew more piercing with each passing second, and Khan almost felt it digging through his skin.
Of course, the chaos element didn't like that intrusion, and a clicking growl Khan couldn't suppress resounded in the back of his mind. The cry never left Khan's body, but the old Scalqa seemed able to hear it.
The old Scalqa suddenly gasped, losing his balance and falling butt-first into the ground. The reaction triggered the crowd's anger, which began to shout at Khan. Still, before anyone could step forward, the old Scalqa released a loud cry and lifted his cane to the sky.
The cry silenced the crowd, and all the aliens watched the old Scalqa returning to his feet. More words escaped his mouth, and murmurs spread before two Scalqa hurried toward the rectangular tent.
A few seconds had to pass before the two Scalqa returned. Those tall aliens were carrying a huge, fuming cauldron with both hands. The item seemed carved out of a huge skull, but neither Khan nor Amy recognized the creature it belonged to.
The crowd opened up once more to let the two Scalqa in, and Khan felt forced to take a step back since the aliens were aiming for him. The two dropped the cauldron between Khan and the old Scalqa, and the latter promptly sat down.
The cauldron was quite tall. It surpassed Khan's waist, making him wonder about the size of the creature it was carved out from. Still, the smelly dark-green liquid inside it soon captivated his attention. His body instinctively disliked that substance.
Luck didn't seem to be on Khan's side since the old Scalqa tapped the cauldron's edge with his cane, and one of the aliens promptly retrieved a small bone cup from under his clothes. Khan could only silently curse as the Scalqa walked toward him, handing him the container.
