C233 - Ecoruta
The Global Army wasn't at war, at least politically. Humankind had many interests across the universe, but it didn't have a proper enemy since the Nak already occupied that spot.
Still, battlefields existed on different planets. Most of them were environments devoid of other intelligent species but with Tainted animals and monsters that the Global Army had to suppress to continue harnessing eventual resources. However, others involved complicated interests and aliens that the humans wanted to help to obtain benefits.
Ecoruta was one of those environments. The planet featured two intelligent species constantly at war, and the humans had decided to side with one of them to get a share of the natural resources. Apparently, that world was like Onia since it contained one of the core metals used in the creation of vehicles meant for space.
Khan had learnt something about Ecoruta after the solar wind when he discussed the event in the human camp. Still, Lieutenant Kintea granted him access to classified information that expanded his knowledge about the planet as soon as he decided to send him there.
Ecoruta was similar to Earth in terms of length of the days and temperature, but its fauna and flora were obviously different. Also, the two intelligent species that lived there were rather unique and opposite between them.
The Global Army had sided with the Guko, an extremely intelligent alien species that lacked the physical prowess to defend themselves against their opponents. They were short. Most of them didn't even cross one meter. Two antennae grew from their oval heads, and their skin was green. They all had three big eyes lined up in the upper part of their faces, large mouths, and two cavities where humans typically had noses.
The Guko's incredible intelligence made them pragmatic, a feature that the Global Army had used to establish a cooperation between their two species. Those aliens knew that they didn't have any chance against their opponents, so they didn't hesitate to ally with the humans in exchange for part of the precious metal of their planet.
The opponents called themselves Stal. They were a driven alien species with physical prowess that went beyond both Ef'I and Kred. The reason behind that incredible power came from their peculiar anatomy since they basically hosted two people in the same body.
Almost all the Stal were three meters tall. Their facial features were very human-like, but they had two heads and rough brown skin that resembled dry ground. Moreover, they had four thick arms that they could control freely. Their only issue came from their two brains since they carried two different personalities that affected their overall thinking capabilities.
The Guko and the Stal had shared Ecoruta in peace for a long time. The Stal actually used to protect the Guko from the dangers in the environment. The planet's fauna was between Earth and Nitis when it came to the number of Tainted animals and monsters. Those beasts weren't everywhere, but they existed and made certain areas dangerous.
However, the arrival of the Nak had changed that situation. Ecoruta had experienced something similar to the First Impact a few centuries ago, and the event had transformed its society deeply.
The Stal had always been in charge, and their poor intelligence had never allowed the society to experience industrial breakthroughs. Still, they had found themselves full of Nak's technology after surviving the invasion, which had allowed the Guko's intelligence to shine.
The two species had inevitably grown apart after that point. The Stal couldn't understand much about the Nak's technology, but the Guko had never stopped studying it. Their intelligence had also given them the chance to develop weapons capable of compensating for their weaker bodies.
The two species didn't remember exactly how their actual division happened. They had started living in different areas and developing new habits. The Guko couldn't accept to return to their state of a protected kind, so a clash eventually happened, and the wars spread throughout the planet.
Initially, the Guko suffered incredible losses. They had the wits and the right tools, but the Stal had accumulated battle experience since forever. They knew how to handle a war, and their lower intelligence didn't prevent them from learning how to use their opponents' weapons.
Still, the Guko learnt quickly, and they soon managed to stop the Stal's offensive. Then, when the humans found Ecoruta, the Guko didn't hesitate to seal a deal with them to gain the upper hand in the war and occupy half of the planet.
'The Global Army has experienced a few technological leaps in only fifty years of cooperation with the Guko,' Khan read on his phone from the report that Lieutenant Kintea had sent him. 'Many alien species wish to take our place, but we have kept them at bay by sharing part of our gains with them and showing the Guko that only we can provide the best support.'
Khan turned off the screen of his phone and put it in his pocket. He had memorized everything there was to learn from the report, and the situation was even quite clear in his mind.
Ecoruta didn't need the Nak to obtain mana, but the Stal had never been able to use it properly. They had developed simple martial arts and techniques that enhanced their physical prowess, but their poor intelligence had always been a limit that they couldn't overcome.
The Guko had the chance to develop wonders after the Nak's invasion, but their bodies were too weak to handle martial arts and spells correctly. Their pragmatic mindset had made them focus solely on the technological field, and the humans wanted to reap those fruits.
The Stal couldn't produce the Guko's weapons on their own, but they had stolen many of them during the initial stages of the war, and they kept doing that after every victory. Those tools were their only chance to fend off their technologically superior opponents, so the Global Army's role was to prevent those thefts and help in specific battlefields.
Khan tried to adjust his clothes, but nothing he did made them feel right. He had donned the military uniform, but it felt too tight after getting used to the comfortable Niqols' robes. Still, he gave up on the matter as he left the training hall and followed a simple map of the space station that Lieutenant Kintea had provided to give him more freedom on the vehicle.
The dirty robe and the empty glass were still on the floor, and Khan ended up staring at them for a few minutes. Those white clothes felt like his last connection to Nitis, but he couldn't carry them with him. He didn't even have a home where to leave them. Khan could only sigh and close his eyes as he turned to leave the training hall without bothering to remove those items.
The space station appeared almost empty when all the soldiers inside it were busy with different tasks. Khan didn't even need to reach specific locations, so he could roam freely and avoid the areas that could feature people.
Khan ended up in the hall with the long window. The area was empty now that the interrogation had ended, so he could spend some time losing himself in the blackness of space. He would depart in less than twenty-four hours, so he couldn't do much while everyone else prepared themselves for their next missions.
Sadness spread inside Khan when he realized that he couldn't find anything that hinted at Nitis' presence. The space station had already gone too far away from the planet. He wasn't even sure the vehicle was still in the same solar system.
The emptiness of space appeased Khan's mental state for a while, but he eventually grew bored of that spectacle. He didn't want to remain alone with his thoughts, and he had already decided to complete his training session later, so he didn't know how to occupy that time now.
An idea eventually appeared in his mind and made him pick up his phone. The network had tests on specific subjects, and their results would end up on his profile, so he quickly found something connected to the Niqols' language.
Khan sat on the floor as he read and answered the various questions that the device showed to him. The test turned out to involve more than the simple Niqols' language. It questioned Khan about their society and Nitis as a whole, using what the humans had learnt over seventy years of cooperation as the subject.
A wave of disappointment filled Khan's mind when he saw a "B" filling the screen. That wasn't a bad score, but he wanted to ace the test. However, after he inspected his wrong answers, he noticed how many aspects of the Niqols society still escaped his knowledge.
That wasn't his fault. The test had tried to question Khan about matters that only his superiors could know. He didn't know much about the information shared by the Global Army or the actual martial arts passed to the aliens. Still, his knowledge of the language and some traditions had allowed him to obtain a positive score anyway.
Khan knew that the list connected to his profile had changed now. He would probably find new roles as an apprentice ambassador if he checked, but he didn't bother to look. The "B" only proved that he needed more experience, and the Ecoruta was the perfect place where to gain it.
The seconds felt endless now that Khan had run out of things to do, so he gave up on his initial plan and went straight for his room. The map allowed him to find it in no time, and he didn't hesitate to dive into his training after sealing its entrance.
Khan performed every exercise he knew, giving more importance to the Niqols' teachings since they progressed better than his spells. He repeated the training until he felt tired enough to sleep.
The nightmare barely affected Khan's sleep. His mind was elsewhere, even during his sleep. He didn't feel anything when the Nak approached him to imprint the image of the solar system in his mind.
An alarm eventually rang in his room and forced him to wake up. Khan noticed on his phone that Lieutenant Kintea had summoned everyone on the hall that contained the teleport, and he didn't hesitate to walk there. Familiar faces unfolded in his vision when he entered the circular area with the priceless device, and he immediately felt that a series of eyes fell on his right shoulder.
"Stop staring!" Lieutenant Kintea shouted. "Let's end this quickly. The space station needs to save synthetic mana, so we will have to teleport twice to reach our destinations. Khan, you go first."
Khan snapped back to reality, but he eventually nodded and stepped forward to approach the teleport. Of course, his departure ended up taking more time than Lieutenant Kintea desired.
"I hope life grants you the happiness you deserve," Kelly announced while stretching her arm forward, and Khan smiled before shaking her hand.
"Don't claim the spotlight too soon," Paul scoffed when Khan shook his hand.
"I thought I didn't have to hold back," Khan joked as a faint smile appeared on his face.
"I'm not saying this for you," Paul announced. "I pity the poor soldiers that will have to compare themselves to you. Show some mercy, and let them believe to be strong for a few days."
"I'll do my best," Khan promised.
"That's exactly what I'm worried about," Paul snorted, but his expression grew warmer when their hands separated. "Don't die."
Khan nodded before falling in George's embrace. The boy squeezed him hard for so long that Lieutenant Kintea had to clear his throat to remind him about the situation.
"Remember that you have a brother on Earth," George stated.
"It would be impossible to forget," Khan smiled before patting George's shoulders. "I'll make sure to visit you once I get back. Don't drink yourself to death until then."
"It won't have the same taste on my own," George sighed. "I think I'll take some time to clear my mind before going back to girls. They are harmless, mostly."
"You really are incredible," Khan laughed, but Lieutenant Kintea cleared his throat, so the two boys hugged each other again before ending their salutations.
Khan stepped on the teleport, and synthetic mana soon filled the area above the oval platform. George smiled at him, and he couldn't help but show the same confident expression, but his vision soon went dark before regaining focus on a different circular hall filled with unknown soldiers.
"The new soldier has arrived," A voice resounded from under Khan.
Khan lowered his eyes and noticed that a short green alien was standing right outside the oval platform. Its antennae waved left and right as its three eyes inspected a screen placed next to the teleport.
"Khan," The Guko said while reading the writings on the screen, "Seventeen years old; Mana core quality: Organic A-tier; Element: Chaos; Attunement: fifty-one percent; Mana capacity: Impossible to estimate due to the mutations experienced during the Second Impact."
The different description of his mana capacity distracted him from his first meeting with that alien species, but a problem soon became evident. Khan noticed that all the soldiers in the circular hall had started to look at him with strange eyes. They couldn't ignore that someone with an Organic A-tier mana core was about to join a battlefield.
To be continued