Chapter 749 Tipsy
The stench of fresh blood filled Khan's nostrils. The dark puddles on the barren ground expanded, with one reaching his butt and tainting his trousers. A cold sensation spread under him, but he didn't break his cross-legged sitting position.
Khan kept his eyes closed, but nothing could blind him to his surroundings. Behind his lowered eyelids, a symphony of colors updated him on the area's state. Death had descended, leaving nothing alive behind.
'Not even two weeks,' Khan cursed, slowly opening his eyes to face the consequences of the human presence on that alien planet.
A gory scenery unfolded in Khan's view. Baoway's first morning light shone on a destroyed settlement filled with crumbled tents, large holes, smelly puddles, and corpses. A battle had happened during the night, but the event had been so one-sided that anyone would describe it as a slaughter.
Clues littered the destroyed settlement, explaining how unnatural the event had been. The tents, the corpses, and even the ground had perfectly circular holes adorned by charred edges. The Scalqa's weapons couldn't produce those effects. Only the human rifles wielded similar power.
'Two fucking weeks,' Khan cursed again.
The human team had expected a similar outcome. Khan and the others had actually watched it unfold through the scanners, but the order had been to stay behind. The mission forbade those kinds of interference, and even Khan held back since it wasn't his place to end an unavoidable conflict.
However, Khan couldn't bottle up his emotions and ignore his role in the event. He didn't stop it and couldn't take responsibility for it, so he paid the price with sadness. He wouldn't turn a blind eye to the destruction. Khan would face it and let it hurt him.
After trading rifles with the Bone Tribe, Kru-Zi finally gave the order. Those Scalqa could barely change a magazine, but aiming and firing had been easy enough to learn, and the settlement where Khan was proved that.
The current settlement belonged to the now-destroyed Blood Tribe. Ni-Kri and his companions had been powerless against the night incursion powered by human rifles. Almost everyone had died in the attack, and the Bone Tribe had taken the few survivors prisoner.
The Bone Tribe didn't stop there. The Blood Tribe's settlement had another blue plant, and Kru-Zi had seized it. Khan could clearly feel the empty spot where it was rooted, and his heart inevitably grew heavier.
Khan knew that was the Scalqa's nature. A similar battle would have eventually happened anyway. Actually, equipping one tribe with rifles lowered the overall number of casualties.
Still, Khan also knew that the Bone Tribe wouldn't have launched such a sudden attack without obtaining superior firepower first. The human team had played a significant role in that slaughter, and Khan couldn't help but experience it all.
Khan's brain mustered excuse after excuse, but the scenery in his eyes awakened far stronger memories. He recalled a particular village by the lake on a distant planet. That event had been far worse, but he kept finding similarities. Also, he felt like blaming himself for this.
The tragedy in Nitis' village had been sudden and unexpected. Back then, Khan had gone behind the Global Army to warn the Niqols, but no one could have predicted the random burst of radiation.
Instead, on Baoway, Khan knew what would have happened and even watched it unfold without lifting a finger. The event might have been less gruesome, but Khan felt greater guilt.
'Have I grown more jaded?' Khan wondered. 'Am I just worse than what I was on Nitis?'
Anyone in Khan's position would have experienced similar changes in their personality. Remaining pure, good, and naïve after facing tragedy after tragedy was simply impossible. In a way, Khan had only chosen to prioritize his goals.
Yet, Khan couldn't help but feel bad, and comparing the two events worsened that emotion. He was so different from that kid on that cold planet, and a question inevitably popped into his mind.
'Would she be able to love what I am now?' Khan wondered. He had made peace with his state. He didn't mind being a monster and creating rivers of blood. However, the bitter taste in his mouth never left.
A presence slowly approached Khan from behind, but he didn't turn. He knew who she was, but his eyes needed to remain on the scenery. They had to make sure he would never forget it.
"Major," Amy called in a hesitant tone. She kept her distance to give Khan space, but he didn't turn. He kept staring at the destroyed settlement, absorbing any sensation that hit his mind.
"Khan," Amy eventually said, switching to a concerned tone. "Rok-Go wants you for the meeting."
"I know," Khan uttered, his voice devoid of emotion. "We are getting what we came here for."
Amy wanted to confirm but lowered her head and remained silent. She had seen and read enough of Khan to understand his emotional state, so she avoided adding pressure to his mind.
"Don't touch anything here," Khan ordered, standing up and rising into the air before disappearing past the crowns.
Khan unleashed his full speed to fly toward the Bone Tribe's settlement. He wasn't in a hurry but wanted to feel the wind on his face. He hoped the morning breeze could bring some peace, but his emotional state didn't change by the time he landed inside the encampment.
The mood was completely different in the Bone Tribe's settlement. The Scalqa cheered, happily shouting and smiling due to their recent victory. Zu-Gru and Fergus were there, and the latter smiled with the aliens, and Khan's landing made the celebrations louder.
The settlement's Scalqa gathered around Khan, shouting words he hated he understood. They were thanking him, complimenting him, and even chanting his name. The situation would usually require a smile, but his expression remained stern.
The cries quieted down when Kru-Zi and Rok-Go made their way through the crowd. The former wore a broad smile, while the latter wielded a big skull container as he supported himself on his cane. Rok-Go didn't look any happier, but the human team's attention wasn't on him.
Khan didn't need his eyes to learn the container's contents. He knew exactly what the Scalqa was about to give to him. As the two aliens reached Khan, Kru-Zi performed the Niqols bow while Rok-Go handed him the skull, uttering another word he could understand.
"[Trade]," Rok-Go said, and Khan seized the big skull. His mind experienced some disgust, but his eyes still fell on the prize. The container had the blue bush taken from the Blood Tribe's settlement.
"[Ka-Han Tribe thanks]," Khan uttered, lowering his head in respect. He could have said [Sky Tribe] but didn't want to hide behind his mission. Even if confusion arose, he needed to blame himself for the slaughter.
"[Sky Tribe sling amazing]," Kru-Zi exclaimed. "[More]?"
"[Feh-Ru-Gus]," Khan nodded at Fergus, who stepped forward to handle the negotiations. He couldn't speak the alien language very well yet, but Amy was bound to be on her way to provide support.
Meanwhile, Khan stepped into the air again, flying away with the container. His senses hated being so close to the plant, but his long training sessions had almost made him used to that feeling, which was a pity. Ideally, Khan would want it to hurt more.
Khan flew back to the ships, landing before the second one. The scanners had long since picked him up, and Margaret promptly descended the already lowered metal ramp to greet him.
"Major!" Margaret called, and Khan directly placed the skull container into her hands.
"Keep it alive," Khan ordered as his eyes lit up. "I'll be back."
Khan flew away without giving Margaret the chance to reply or question him. Still, it didn't take long before the scanners picked up his presence again.
Margaret left the ship but couldn't muster greeting words when she saw what Khan was carrying. Two corpses rested on his back, and he held two more in his hands. All of them came from the Blood Tribe's settlement, and that wasn't the end of it.
Khan didn't retrieve random corpses. He had chosen bodies with different characteristics to allow a broader range of studies. Some belonged to women, others to men. Some were old, others young. Some had big muscles, others just withered flesh.
Khan dropped the corpses to the ground and set off again without saying anything, only to return minutes later with more bodies. He repeated the process two more times, and Margaret couldn't help but gulp when she noticed a dead infant in his hands during the last trip.
After dropping the last corpses, Khan silently departed for his ship, and Margaret couldn't find the strength to say anything. An instinctive fear rose inside her whenever she looked at Khan, making her unable to speak. She could only notice that Khan's eyes didn't go dark even once.
Delivering the corpses took the entirety of Khan's resolve, so he let himself go once the matter ended. He seized as much booze as possible before retreating to his quarters. He could clean his hands from the bodies' blood but didn't. He could change his dirty uniform but didn't. Khan simply sat on the narrow room's floor and began drinking while his mind wandered.
Khan's tolerance to booze had reached insane levels. Yet, he drank enough to feel slightly tipsy by the time the night arrived. He didn't feel that sensation in years, but his mind welcomed it. Baoway had nothing else that could improve his mood in the end.
However, a knock on the quarters' door eventually interrupted Khan's silent isolation. The event surprised him, forcing him to adjust his sitting position. His back rose on the metal wall, and he lifted his head before uttering a simple question. "Who is this?"
"Amy," A familiar voice resounded through the room's speakers. "May I come in?"
Khan knew about all the problems connected to that proposal, but Amy was the closest thing he had to a friend on that planet. Talking with her sounded like a good idea, and he glanced at the remaining booze before unlocking the door.
A whooshing noise spread through the room as the door opened, and Amy promptly crossed it before sealing it behind her. Her eyes then fell on the sitting figure surrounded by empty bottles. Some would find it pitiful, but no one would dare utter such comments before those strong, bright eyes.
"Is there some for me?" Amy smiled, trying her best to muster a happy tone.
Khan grabbed a sealed bottle and threw it at Amy. She easily caught it and took a long sip. Her mana told Khan that the event had weighed on her, too, and that she needed a break.
"I've never seen you drink so much," Amy commented, half-crouching to stand at the same level as Khan's eyes.
"Old habits die hard," Khan sighed. "The Niqols host parties to make up for tragedies, and I've been thinking about Nitis a lot today."
"Did something similar happen there?" Amy asked, even if she vaguely knew the answer. Part of Nitis' records had gone public, and she had read them before working with Khan.
"Something worse," Khan revealed. "But, well. Hopefully, their traditions still work on me."
"Did they ever?" Amy questioned.
"Yeah," Khan nodded, wearing a sad smile. "It was more than just drinking, and I wasn't alone. That was the whole point behind partying."
"The Niqols' princess?" Amy wondered.
"Indeed," Khan chuckled. "She saved me just like Monica did years later. Still, here I'll make do with only booze."
Khan didn't look at Amy. His eyes were on an empty spot of the narrow quarters, wandering through memories and desires. He would kill to have Monica in the room with him. He had bottled up too many urges and emotions in those months to be without her. Yet, the mission was still ongoing.
Amy stared at Khan for a few seconds before standing up. She faced the door, and Khan ignored her to remain in his memories. He had initially thought she was leaving him alone, but the arrival of rustling noises forced him to look at her.
The gesture had been so swift Khan didn't feel the power to blame his tipsiness. Amy had removed her military uniform and underwear in a flash, and her naked behind now filled Khan's vision.
Before Khan could say anything, Amy began to turn, stepping out of her lowered trousers to remove what remained of her clothes. She initially held her chest with her arms, but even they went down, completely exposing her.