C301 - Consequences
Khan's political life had seen a minor incident with the Blackdell girl and the four bullies during his time in Ylaco's training camp. However, everything had been excellent afterward. Every door had been spread open for him after Istrone's rebellion.
The complaints from his students' families had taken him by surprise. Khan didn't expect that reaction, and he immediately realized that he had no idea how to handle similar situations. He wasn't even sure he understood why someone would be so angry over a subject that wasn't mandatory.
'How do you dare put our boy in the same room with a violent Tainted animal without any safety measure!'
'I suggest you change your teaching methods, young man. You might be a hero for now, but my family has produced dozens of them throughout the years. I won't remain silent while my Carla risks her life to gain extra points!'
'Who even decided to give this job to such a barbaric and ignorant youngling! Prepare yourself, young man. The Headmaster will hear me about that torture that you call teaching!'
Those threats were only some of the messages that Khan had found on his phone. He didn't even manage to connect those profiles to the students they represented, but he quickly fixed that issue by going over his class list.
Finding those connections turned out to be far from enough. Khan didn't know how influential each family was, so he searched those names on the network, and the results made his expression freeze.
'Rich, rich, super-rich,' Khan read as he looked through the public records concerning the families that had contacted him. 'Wait, this one isn't considered wealthy. Estimate of the total assets: s-, two hundred million Credits! How should I even conceive that sum?! Fuck the food cans! I could buy the entire Slums with it!'
Khan thought about the matter for a few seconds before cracking a joke in his mind. 'Who would even want to buy the Slums?'
A faint laugh escaped his mouth, but he didn't forget his situation. Khan still had more than twenty complaints to address, and he didn't know where to begin with them.
Khan thought about the matter for a few minutes, but he felt lost. He wanted to ignore those complaints, but they involved influential families that could make his life difficult.
It didn't take Khan long to realize that his lack of knowledge was the issue's core. He could go over those complaints all night, but he would still be unable to find a real solution.
'I need help,' Khan concluded in his mind as he closed the messages and went over his contacts.
Cora knew more than Khan, but he didn't want to involve her in his problems. The same went for Amber. The two women were also so kind that they had probably never faced something like that.
Lieutenant Abaze seemed the right woman for the job. Yet, Khan didn't want to feel indebted to her. She had been nothing but gentle with him, but her interests in the political array were evident, and he didn't want to become one of her pawns.
'I can't find where the Captain lives,' Khan thought after picking his phone and browsing through the network.
His position as a professor granted him access to information that regular students wouldn't be able to find. Khan could easily find the location of Lieutenant Abaze's habitation, but the same didn't go for the Captain. The latter's rank made that knowledge classified.
Khan knew that the Captain lived inside the camp, and he was even sure that Lieutenant Abaze could point at his habitation. Khan sent her a short message, and she only took a few minutes to reply.
'I suggest you bring something good to drink if you want his help,' Lieutenant Abaze wrote in her message while adding a map of the camp with a location marked.
Khan didn't mention anything specific in his message, but Lieutenant Abaze had understood the nature of his request anyway. That event made him feel right about his decision to avoid her as a helper. She was too interested in her position, which made Khan unable to trust her fully.
It was still dinner time when Khan received Lieutenant Abaze's message. He had yet to eat, and he took that chance to reach the canteen to find something good to bring to the Captain.
The delay in his trip to the canteen forced him to meet many recruits. Khan kept a fake smile on his face and nodded whenever the soldiers performed military salutes, but his hurry was evident. He rushed through the camp's streets and ate quickly. He even told Cora that he was busy before approaching one of the many menus in the building and going over the list of bottles.
'How can someone charge nine hundred Credits for a single bottle?' Khan wondered when he looked at the price of the best booze that the canteen had to offer.
Khan hesitated for a few seconds before purchasing the bottle anyway. He was asking a favor that would probably teach him important lessons. In his mind, that was the whole point behind money.
Khan left the canteen in a hurry and marched through the camp's streets to reach the location described in Lieutenant Abaze's message. He didn't know how to approach the Captain, but he hoped that the bottle in his hands would do most of the job.
The outskirts of the camp had most of the structures that required large and open spaces. Those buildings had vehicles, prisons, flying platforms, and big machines capable of creating holograms with almost no limitations in their range. The same technology Lieutenant Unchai had used during the entrance test.
Instead, the camp's central parts had most of the structures required by the recruits. The dormitories, canteen, training halls, and similar buildings occupied those areas and were relatively easy to reach by anyone living there.
The professors and other buildings meant for the soldiers with some important positions stood in-between those two circles. Khan's flat was there, and the same went for Captain Goldmon's flat.
Khan knew that he had reached his destination when a short building unfolded in his view. Those structures were rare inside the camp. It was actually his first time seeing something similar. The Global Army always tried to make the best out of the available space, but the house went against that rule.
The two-story building had large dark windows on both floors and a flat roof. Its entrance featured the usual menus, but it had the red words "restricted area" written on its surface. Khan couldn't see anything that could connect the house to Captain Goldman, but that was the very clue that he was looking for.
"Captain Goldmon," Khan said after placing his hand on the entrance, "It's Lieutenant Khan. I need your help."
No answer came from the other side of the door, and the menus on its surface didn't budge either. Khan felt that explaining his situation wouldn't grant him a meeting, so he used a different approach.
"I have a bottle of "Imperial's nectar" with me," Khan revealed while keeping his hand on the entrance.
"How old is it?" Captain Goldmon's voice suddenly came out of the door.
Khan had to read the labels on the bottles to find the answer. "It says twelve years."
A series of mechanical noises came out of the door as soon as Khan finished saying the word "twelve", and the entrance slid open right after. Captain Goldmon's figure unfolded in Khan's eyes, and he remained surprised to see his superior wearing a simple plaid pajama.
"Did you buy only one bottle?" Captain Goldmon scoffed after inspecting Khan. "That won't grant you much time."
The Captain turned to walk inside the house, and Khan followed him since the entrance remained open. The door closed after he stepped into the vast living room, and he performed a quick inspection before placing the bottle on the first table he saw.
The room's size didn't surprise Khan. It was only expected for a captain to have a better habitation, but its emptiness felt a bit unnatural. Khan only saw a couch, a couple of armchairs, and a table, which left a lot of unoccupied space.
"Don't you have casual clothes?" Captain Goldmon shouted while returning to the living room with two glasses and his cane. "I thought you didn't have classes today."
"I don't have clothes except for these uniforms," Khan revealed.
"Why didn't you say something when we were in Reebfell?" Captain Goldmon asked as he approached the table, sat, and inspected the bottle.
"Do I need to buy clothes?" Khan asked as he reached the armchair on the opposite side of the table.
The question made the Captain inspect Khan in confusion. Khan appeared completely clueless, and the Captain understood that his background was to blame for that issue.
"Leave it," Captain Goldmon stated while opening the bottle. "You might have to wear formal clothes during some big events, but you can stay like this if you don't mind the uniforms."
"Why would anyone mind the uniforms?" Khan questioned while pulling the fabric on his neck. "They are a bit tight, but they don't have holes, and the Global Army always gives me new ones if I tear them."
"I told you to leave it," The Captain snorted. "I wouldn't know how to explain it to someone with your background anyway."
Captain Goldmon poured the booze in the two glasses and pushed one of them toward Khan before he could refuse. The soldier noticed his faint hesitation, so he explained his actions. "It's always better to drink with someone. So, tell me why you are here."
"The families of my students have complained about my teaching methods," Khan went directly to the point as he took out his phone and handed it to the Captain to show the various threats. "I honestly don't know how to handle them, sir."
Captain Goldmon only glanced at the messages on Khan's phone before wearing a frown and voicing a question. "I assume you asked Lieutenant Abaze for my address, am I right?"
"That's correct," Khan admitted.
"Let me get this straight," Captain Goldmon cleared his throat, took a sip from his glass, and continued. "You seem to go along with Professor Teldom, and you even contacted Lieutenant Abaze, but you still decided to come to see me, right?"
"Yes," Khan replied.
"So, you picked an old man over two beautiful women," Captain Goldmon scoffed. "There's definitely something wrong with you, young man."
"Sir, Lieutenant Abaze is too old for me," Khan tried to play along while savoring the booze, "And my relationship with Professor Teldom isn't like that."
"Only because you don't want it to be like that," Captain Goldmon grunted.
Khan pretended not to hear that comment and focused on the booze. The drink wasn't as good as what the Captain had bought in Reebfell, but it was still good stuff.
"What do you want from me then?" Captain Goldmon eventually asked.
"Your advice," Khan explained. "I have no idea how to handle these complaints. I don't even know if they can affect my career."
"Of course they can," Captain Goldmon laughed. "Some of these names are really influential, but I still can't understand my role in the matter."
"What do you mean?" Khan asked. "You are an experienced soldier, sir. I'm sure I can learn a lot from you."
"Probably," Captain Goldmon declared. "I might even put in a good word for you, but that would still require you to change your training method. Are you willing to do that?"
Khan went over the matter for a few seconds before shaking his head. He didn't know how to teach his subject without his harsh approach, and he really wanted his students to learn something.
"See?" Captain Goldmon continued. "Did you expect the families behind your students to just go along with a young man like you putting their descendants in danger? Complaining is their job."
"What should I do?" Khan asked since the Captain's words weren't helping him.
"Nothing," Captain Goldmon responded. "What can you even do? Our subjects aren't mandatory. We can't force them on the recruits. You can only do your best to make them understand how important they are."
Khan nodded. That made perfect sense, but an issue remained, and he questioned the Captain about it. "What should I do about these complaints then?"
"Ignore them," Captain Goldmon said. "Nothing good can come from arguing with angry parents or representatives."
"That's it?" Khan asked. "Won't this have consequences on my career?"
"What? Did you expect that having the recruits' future in your hands won't lead to consequences?" Captain Goldmon snorted.
Khan understood that part very well. It was the very reason behind his dedication to the job. He didn't want other innocent recruits to experience what he had gone through. He desired them to be ready for the worst so that they wouldn't have nightmares about corpses and blood.
"I'll tell you what will happen," Captain Goldmon sighed when he saw that Khan didn't speak anymore. "These complaints will probably reach the Headmaster, who will be forced to plan a meeting between you and these representatives.. You won't be able to skip it, but you can also use it to explain your reasons."
To be continued