Khan's coldness had scared Kelly, but she had never once believed herself to be wrong about her ideas. However, Doku's words dealt a blow to that belief and made her realize how deeply Khan had actually bonded with the Niqols.
When it came to actual time spent with the Niqols, Khan and the other recruits were almost on the same level. The aliens were more at ease around him, but he always ran away during the parties, so the number of hours was in the other humans' favor.
However, Khan didn't put any wall between him and the Niqols, and they could feel it. He treated the aliens as if they belonged to his species, without biases nor care for the political environments that stood behind them.
The Niqols couldn't help but appreciate his behavior, those willing to accept humans so openly at least. Their poor self-restraint made them like how Khan appeared so free around them. They didn't see a member of a different species when they talked to him.
