The four recruits remained speechless. Even George and Veronica didn't like that the Niqols would have the upper hand when it came to handling Rodney. They could ignore the matter since it involved Khan, but Doku's words had reminded them of a simple political tactic.
Selling someone to the enemy to gain personal benefits was a common practice. Khan had even done the same to gain access to the Niqols' old methods and build a promising future as an ambassador. However, he had accidentally done something similar by reporting Rodney.
Khan had improved his position by giving Rodney away. In theory, that result benefited the Global Army since it brought one of the recruits closer to the Niqols.
Even Kelly had to remain silent in front of those results. The Global Army now had an asset deeply connected to the Niqols' younger generations. The higher-ups of the alien society also relied on him when it came to important matters. Khan's actions and performance had led to a striking success in the political mission. Kelly could complain about his methods, but she had to remain silent in front of his undeniable achievements.
On the other hand, Khan felt conflicted about the matter. Rodney's issue had left a bad taste in his mouth, but he had been out of options after the boy had tried to push him inside the gorge. Still, gaining benefits from that event made him feel dirty.
That outcome had been a coincidence that Khan could connect to his performance in the plain, but it felt bad since it came right after Rodney's betrayal. He could find comfort in the fact that he was getting closer to the Niqols and to his final goal of being together with Liiza in the open, but he still found himself split between two worlds.
It seemed that Khan could grow closer to the Niqols only by distancing himself from the humans. He didn't mind that trade, but he wondered whether a better way existed. After all, he had found good people among the humans. Khan couldn't forsake Lieutenant Dyester, Martha, George, and Veronica.
Khan didn't let the conflict inside his mind appear on his face or actions. He didn't hesitate to nod at Doku before hurrying next to him. The four recruits could only remain in silence as they gazed at the two disappearing among the sea of tents.
"[Is Azni okay]?" Khan asked while the two moved among the tents.
Multiple injured Niqols filled his vision. Some nodded when they noticed his gaze, and others raised their cups while showing complicated smiles. It seemed that having Doku next to him confirmed his position as a true ally and made the aliens ignore how a member of his species had tried to kill one of their companions.
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The overall situation in the camp wasn't too poor. Many had suffered injuries, but Khan couldn't see anyone in a serious condition. Still, he didn't delude himself, especially after what he had witnessed in the underground canyon. His question about Azni came from that worry.
"[She is better than me]," Doku laughed while lifting his left sleeve to show the bandages that covered his forearm. "[I had to fight a damned thing that grew tentacles on its head. I swear, these monsters try to become ugly on purpose]."
Doku was one of the few Niqols who knew how good Khan had become in the alien language, so he didn't hold back from using it. He and Azni had been part of the reason behind Khan's quick improvements, but Doku knew that there was something else. He had even gained a few ideas, but he was pretty good at halting every thought that tried to probe deeper into the matter.
"[I bet all of this is classified since she isn't here]," Khan guessed.
"[That's right]," Doku explained. "[You'll learn how we plan to move after the first intense phase. That will involve areas that the humans have yet to see]."
"[Do I need to drink another potion]?" Khan asked.
"[That won't be necessary this time]," Doku smirked while patting his shoulder, and Khan couldn't help but show a similar smile.
Doku led Khan a bit outside of the encampment. Some Niqols in bad conditions eventually appeared when the two walked near the alien medical bay, and the sight confirmed what Khan had initially thought. Casualties had happened on the first day. They were only hard to see there.
The mountain chain had many secluded areas due to the dark snow covering most of its environment and the uneven layout. Doku and Khan walked until a large cave unfolded in their vision. Four adult Niqols stood at the side of the entrance, but they didn't say anything when the two entered the dark structure. They limited themselves to fix their glowing eyes on Khan before leaving him be.
Familiar faces appeared once the white glow of Niqols' eyes made Khan able to see everything in the area. He could recognize Professor Supyan, Professor Kunta, Chief Alu, Zaliha, Mikail, and other prominent students. The cave also had some soldiers that he couldn't identify, and they all stood around a large circular table with a fuming cauldron at its side.
A glowing cube placed on the wall next to the group created Ambassador Yeza's picture with its azure light. Another device on the table depicted a map that enveloped all the areas around [The Pure Trees].
Khan had always believed to know a lot about those regions, but he noticed many strange marks on the map that described settlements or proper cities that he had never been able to see from the sky. It seemed that the Niqols had kept everything hidden due to the human presence inside the academy.
"[Are you sure this is a good idea]?" A tall man who carried the iconic features of his species and that Khan didn't recognize asked while glancing at the wall with Ambassador Yeza's image. "[Can he even understand us]?"
"[I think he can answer by himself]," Yeza replied as her sweet voice came out of the cube.
Khan saw the Niqols in the cave turning toward him and waiting for his answer. He didn't know how much Yeza could see of the area, but he felt her eyes on him too.
"[I'll keep up]," Khan calmly announced while performing a polite bow.
Khan's accent was still off, but his words were in the right place. He had even compensated for his flaws by highlighting some sounds and making sure that the meaning was correct.
Most Niqols in the cave nodded in satisfaction and moved to make room for Doku and Khan. Only the man remained unconvinced and made sure to voice a clear warning when the two approached the table.
"[I know your kind]," The man threatened. "[You might appear righteous now, but I know that you traded your friend for this spot]."
Everyone could hear that remark. The Niqols didn't even try to hide his words. Khan couldn't help but think about the xenophobic factions mentioned by Yeza, and he felt that politeness wouldn't work in that situation.
Khan had slowly transferred part of his understanding about human interactions to the Niqols' society. He still ignored a lot, but he had learnt how the chain of command wasn't too strict there, at least in terms of manners. Also, he had long since realized that expressing his real thoughts could help ease some awkwardness, especially when he had the clear support of other important figures.
"[I got this spot because I'm the best student in The Pure Trees]," Khan responded. "[Niqols don't put lives at risk to give political rewards]."
Silence immediately fell inside the cave. Khan's words had been incredibly sharp. He had praised himself and the Niqols at the same time, leaving the man completely unable to come up with an answer.
Chief Alu couldn't hold himself back anymore after a few seconds passed. He covered his mouth as faint chuckles escaped it, and his reaction made the other Niqols break their silence too. Everyone started to laugh, and the man ended up imitating them.
"[You definitely are a special brat]!" The man announced while patting Khan's shoulder and leading him to the table. "[I'm Chief Nazyr. I've handled the other human camp]."
Chief Nazyr made a grabbing motion with his hand, and Mikail didn't hesitate to fill two wooden cups with the liquid in the cauldron next to him. The student quickly handed them to Chief Nazyr, and the latter gave one to Khan before performing the iconic toast of his species.
Khan followed along and took a short sip from his cup. The strong booze almost scorched his throat, but a pleasant warm sensation filled his chest afterward. It felt so good that he drank again to check if he could go through the same experience.
"[Only good stuff for us]," Chief Nazyr laughed. "[Always bring someone who can concoct good booze with you, especially when that someone is a woman]."
The sudden inversion in Chief Nazyr's personality left Khan's speechless, but it caused similar reactions in the Niqols around the table. Chief Alu showed a gentle smile while shaking his head, the students diverted their gazes, and the other aliens voiced harsh comments, especially the women in the cave. Yeza limited herself to stare at Chief Nazyr coldly, but her gesture felt so loud that everyone soon brought their focus back on the map.
The meeting was nothing more than a briefing. The situation on Nitis wasn't stable enough to create plans right away, but the Niqols felt that those involved with the future attacks had to receive constant updates.
The first day of the crisis had been messy and impossible to contain, but everything would change in the following period. The packs of Tainted animals and monsters would settle and fight among each other to control certain areas, so the Niqols would be able to understand which lands they could seize back from those creatures.
The priority wasn't the actual control of Nitis in that period. The sunlight would continue to illuminate the planets for months and trigger other mutations even in monsters, so the Niqols wanted to focus on lowering their populations to keep them within the range of their best assets' abilities.
The Niqols didn't believe that they could clear the entirety of the planet in a matter of weeks, especially after their whole society had been forced to abandon most of its domains. Moreover, Nitis had many areas that were hard to explore or had always been under the control of Tainted animals. The aliens could only contain and reduce the power that other mutations could give to the fauna.
Khan and the other prominent students would have to create hunting teams for that exact purpose. The areas that the stronger experts had to handle were simply too many, so the younger generations had to help where they could, and that involved lairs where the population of monsters wasn't too high.
The Niqols would give themselves a week to let the situation stabilize before picking the targets of the hunts. The students would have to continue their containment during that time, and the performance on each battlefield would help decide who could be part of the teams.
Each team leader had the chance to handpick some members of their teams, which made Khan immediately think about Liiza. Still, it would be too obvious if he decided to request her presence, so he opted for another approach.
"[Doku, I have a favor to ask]," Khan whispered when the two exited the cave after the meeting ended.
"[I know exactly what you are talking about]," Doku winked at Khan before leading him toward another spot in the mountain chain.
Doku had clearly misunderstood Khan's intentions, but he followed him anyway since his sudden reaction left him curious. The two had to cross a narrow path that the melting snow made hard to overcome before reaching a smaller cave.
The area had a series of glass-like cells at its sides, the same cubicles that Khan had seen in the palace's basement, and one of them revealed Rodney after Doku tinkered with the azure symbol on its surface.
Rodney was in a poor state. Chains bound his hands and feet to the dark surface of the cave, and his face was dark as he stared at the ground. He seemed to have given up on life.
"[He can't hear nor see us]," Doku explained as a disgusted expression appeared on his face.
"[Why did you bring me here]?" Khan asked as he felt the atmosphere around him darkening.
"[You know how emotional the Niqols are]," Doku stated. "[We would have already killed him if he weren't a human, but his political value is decent. Still, the higher-ups are willing to make an exception to get on your good side]."
Khan suddenly understood what Doku was offering him, and he promptly shook his head before expressing how he felt about the matter. "[I don't want to kill him]."
Khan had already accepted that his twisted mental state would probably make him able to kill humans, especially since he struggled to consider them special compared to other aliens. However, that was an execution, and he desired no part in it. He didn't want Rodney's betrayal to gain even darker shades in his mind.
"[Are you sure? Your army might forgive him]," Doku responded while the disgust on his face intensified.
Doku felt proper hate toward Rodney, but Khan knew that his feelings didn't come from the difference between their species. He loathed the boy because he had tried to kill two of his friends after Khan had saved his life. Doku had no words to express how seriously he took that matter.
"[I'd rather not have another trauma weighing on my mind]," Khan said in the best way he could.
Doku's expression eased after he noticed how confident Khan was on the matter. The latter wasn't sparing Rodney because he deserved mercy. Khan was prioritizing his mental sanity.
"[I understand]," Doku eventually announced as a complicated smile appeared on his face. "[Let's get something else to drink now. I bet Azni is worried too]."
Khan nodded and patted Doku's back to express how he appreciated that offer. The Niqols nodded, and the two quickly exited that simple prison while forgetting about the matter.
"[Right, what did you want to ask]?" Doku wondered when he recalled about Khan's request.
Khan wore a serious expression as his eyes darted between the encampment in the distance and his friend. He checked that no one was around before whispering something that mattered a lot for him. "[Please, take Liiza in your hunting group. Someone will definitely recruit her, and I prefer her to be with you]."
Doku's eyes widened at that honest request. Khan's expression and gestures even expressed how hard it had been for him to voice it. Yet, it also showed how deeply he trusted his friend.
"[I need a lot of booze not to connect this to anything]," Doku joked.
"[I'll get you drinks until morning]," Khan promised.
"[I'm the best friend that you could find on this planet]," Doku sighed.
"[You are]," Khan confirmed, and Doku exploded into a laugh that stated his decision to help him.
****
Author's notes: 3-4 hours for the next chapter.
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