Chapter 747 Infidelity
A few days after the second team's arrival, Khan began staying true to his word. His night trips across the forest finally awarded him a suitable item, and no one tried challenging him for it.
A group of tired Scalqa watched the small figure with bright eyes walking away from the dead monster and seizing a mangled arm that had been severed during the fight. The alien who had lost it had fainted and was losing a lot of blood, but his companions waited for Khan to leave before attending to him.
Khan rushed through the forest after retrieving the limb to return to the ships. His bottle still had some booze in it, and his sprint didn't prevent him from taking sips. By the time he reached his destination, the container was already empty.
The HQ's perimeter had expanded after the addition of a second ship. Randall had moved the turrets to protect both vehicles, but the area still lacked artificial illumination. The scanners made that superfluous, and preserving Baoway's environment remained a priority.
Khan headed directly for the second ship, which opened at his appearance. Its metal ramp descended on the ground, and Khan climbed it to reach the vehicle's insides.
It was late enough for everyone from the second team to be asleep. Khan didn't meet anyone as he crossed the ship to reach the messy lab. Even that place was empty, but a figure soon arrived behind him.
"Did you find something, Major?" Margaret asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes and crossing Khan to turn on a few machines.
Khan waved the huge mangled arm at the scientist, dropping blood and chunks of flesh to the floor. Margaret didn't mind the mess and pointed at an interactive desk, and Khan promptly placed the limb there.
"Couldn't you find anything in a better state?" Margaret questioned before clearing her throat and adjusting her white medical coat. For a second, she had forgotten she was speaking to her superior.
Khan crossed his arms but didn't reply. The monster had squashed the arm on a tree with enough strength to rip it off. Margaret had to consider herself lucky to have something resembling a limb.
"Will this be enough to create synthetic replicas?" Khan wondered.
"I need more samples from different specimens, sir," Margaret explained. "Ideally, their level should also be different. The genetic cradle must follow a pattern, so the more details, the better."
Khan sort of understood the scientific talk. Replicating the specific flesh Khan had delivered wouldn't bring any benefits. The true achievement consisted of isolating the nature behind the Scalqa's growth and turning it into a mana core.
"From what I've seen," Khan announced. "Their mana storage is bound to their stamina. Though I'm still not sure if their muscles actually generate energy through training."
"It might be hormonal, too," Margaret commented. "Maybe they have a Tainted version of our pituitary gland that acts as a tiny mana core and infects the rest of the body."
'Pituitary what?' Khan exclaimed in his mind, but nothing reached his expression. Clearly, he was out of his depths there. His best option was to mitigate bloody courses of action while ensuring the study would continue to advance.
"What can you do with this?" Khan changed the topic.
"Hard to say, sir," Margaret replied, her eyes glued to a console. "I'll run some tests, play with it a bit. Adding and removing mana to see how the flesh reacts. Hopefully, the bone marrow is intact enough to be studied."
"I'll let you scan Zu-Gru once you are done with this," Khan promised. "That should give you some perspective."
Margaret remained silent for a while, but Khan could see her brain was struggling to formulate a line. Her hesitation was also justified, but words eventually escaped her mouth.
"Major," Margaret called, her head still on the console. "Ideally, I'd run weekly scans on your Scalqa to check for changes."
Khan let his thoughts run for a few seconds. Testing different diets and training schedules would give Margaret the data she needed. Yet, that bordered on treating Zu-Gru as a guinea pig.
"I'll think about it," Khan opted for a vague reply.
"Also," Margaret continued. "I would need a full and intact corpse if multiple tests come back inconclusive."
Khan was waiting for a similar request. Everything would be fine and relatively easy if the Scalqa muscles were the key to their growth. However, negative results would force Margaret to consider organs and other vital tissues.
"We'll worry about that when the time comes," Khan gave another vague reply.
Margaret limited herself to nodding. She had understood where Khan stood concerning the experiments on the Scalqa and was too afraid to test his nerves. In the worst-case scenario, she would make a formal request to Fergus and let the Majors find an agreement.
"Do you need me for something else?" Khan asked.
"No, sir," Margaret revealed. "I just have to run the tests now."
"Send the results to me first," Khan ordered.
"It will be done, sir," Margaret promised, and Khan turned to leave the ship.
Khan soon stepped outside and lifted his eyes to the sky while the metal ramp closed behind him. The morning was still a few hours away, giving him enough time for another trip to the forest. He wasn't sleepy either. He only lacked booze.
The idea immediately became a plan. Khan headed for his ship to retrieve another bottle, but his senses picked something up before he could enter the cargo area. A familiar aura was in the main deck, and its intoxicated state tickled his curiosity.
"Long night?" Khan asked, stopping on the main deck's entrance and leaning onto the wall.
Amy was the only person in the area. She was sitting at the central interactive desk with holograms shining on her face. Still, the table and floor had a few empty bottles, and her appearance confirmed her drunken state.
Amy's usually straight and silky blond hair was slightly disheveled now. Its tips formed small curls, and a few strands fell over her face. Her eyes were half-closed, seemingly in a drowsy daze. Amy had also abandoned a proper sitting stance to stretch her legs under the desk and lean deeper on her seat.
Khan couldn't help but find the scene cute. Any man would feel the urge to protect Amy before her apparent helplessness. Still, he remained on the area's edge while smiling faintly.
"I was reviewing the latest additions to the Scalqa dictionary," Amy said, almost whining. "Somehow, I stayed up late."
Khan saw Amy's mana, so he understood the urge that had brought her to that state. Loneliness had hit her hard that night, and Khan couldn't blame her. After all, he had long since started experiencing a similar feeling.
"It's normal to feel lonely at times," Khan reassured. "We've been here almost three months."
Khan was being honest. Even the best pros slip up occasionally, and he was no stranger to that flaw. He actually had no right to scold Amy when he spent every night roaming through the forest.
"I have a long way to go," Amy sighed, straightening her back and running her fingers through her hair to clear her face.
Many would find the scene captivating, and Khan wasn't blind. Amy had beautiful hair, and seeing her fingers separating its various strands attracted his attention. He knew he would feel amazing to do that for her, but his thoughts stopped there. Truth be told, he didn't even desire to try that out.
"Hit the bed," Khan softly ordered. "You can continue tomorrow."
"No," Amy shook her head stubbornly. "I can finish up."
"You'll risk making mistakes," Khan insisted. "Just sleep and recover for tomorrow. I can't have you drunk while the tribe tests our rifles."
Amy fell silent for a while but eventually nodded. She turned off the holograms, bringing faint darkness into the main deck. Then, with her head lowered, she stood up and moved toward the exit.
Khan wasn't in the way, so he remained in his position, watching Amy drawing closer. Her footing seemed stable, so he leaned his head on the wall, ready to immerse himself in his thoughts.
However, when Amy was about to reach the exit, she burped, leaning forward and ruining her balance. She wouldn't have fallen, but an arm still appeared on her waist, keeping her still.
"I apologize," Amy giggled, holding the arm on her waist to straighten herself up. "I'm showing you such a shameful side of myself, Major."
"I'm the last person who can blame you for getting drunk," Khan chuckled. He had instinctively moved to catch Amy, but the worst seemed to have passed. Yet, when he tried to retract his arm, Amy's grip on it grew stronger.
"Major," Amy called with a pleading tone. "Are you always so kind?"
Khan's smile disappeared. Amy's face was still lowered, and hair had fallen before it again, hiding her expression. However, he could see her mana clearly. He knew what she was feeling.
"I'm not kind," Khan uttered. He had intended to use a firmer tone, but his throat betrayed him. It seemed his mana saw Amy as a friend he didn't want to hurt.
"And," Amy continued, lifting her head to show her puppy eyes. "With her?"
Khan smiled helplessly and shook his head before replying, "I try my best."
"It must have been so hard for you," Amy exclaimed. "The network doesn't know the half of it, does it?"
"It doesn't," Khan confirmed. "But we are engaged now."
"I know," Amy said. "I'm happy for you. I truly am. You deserve the best."
"Thank you," Khan responded before the two fell silent.
Amy lowered her eyes again, inspecting her grip on Khan's arm. She slightly relaxed it but only to slide it toward his elbow and bicep. Her fingers carried clear urges, but she did her best to restrain them.
Amy's hand then left Khan's arm and reached for his torso. Khan was ready to stop her, but Amy preceded him, interrupting the gesture and smiling sadly. Her expression soon gained fake cheerfulness, but Khan saw right through her.
"I apologize," Amy snickered, still faking cheerfulness to avoid worrying Khan. "I'll retreat to my quarters now."
Amy nimbly walked around Khan's arm and crossed the exit, disappearing into her quarters in the following seconds. As for Khan, he approached the interactive desk and turned on the holograms, planning to fix eventual mistakes Amy might have made in her drunkenness.
The review didn't take long, and Khan soon turned everything off again and leaned back on the seat. He put his feet on the interactive table while a hand reached his forehead. That short interaction with Amy could have led to problems, but he couldn't bring himself to be cold and harsh with her anymore.
'Her feelings aren't her fault,' Khan thought. 'I can only hope she doesn't expect anything from me.'
Khan wouldn't cheat and probably couldn't even if he tried. Yet, feelings could get in the way of the mission, and infidelity rumors were the last thing he needed after his engagement with Monica. Khan didn't think Amy would smear him, but she wasn't the only person on Baoway.
'I can't let this happen again,' Khan realized. 'Too many would misunderstand my actions due to my history.'
Khan didn't even notice it, but his hand had already reached for his phone. The device soon filled his vision, and his fingers quickly opened a familiar folder. He wouldn't dare play those videos inside the ship, but his mind still craved some Monica now.