C330 - Walls
"You even know how to use Credits now," Martha commented when she saw Khan unlocking the training hall with his phone."
"You taught me well," Khan joked as the metal door slid open and he stepped inside the hall. "I don't even use these areas too often. I mostly spend money on books, food, and booze."
"I thought you would have locked yourself inside a training hall as soon as you got your hands on Credits," Martha replied while following Khan inside the hall.
"I tried," Khan laughed, "But I decided to slow down a little when I broke one of them."
"How did you even break a training hall?" Martha asked.
"My hand slipped, and one of my spells ended up on the workshop inside the wall," Khan partially lied.
"You are unbelievable," Martha couldn't help but laugh.
"I didn't do it on purpose," Khan swore. "I just reacted to the synthetic mana. Luckily, I'm famous enough not to face the consequences."
"Khan, hero of Istrone and basically every planet he goes," Martha mocked.
"The Global Army sure likes to put a face in front of its victories," Khan added. "Still, most of them are victories only for those who didn't get involved in the mess."
"Heroes usually are a miserable bunch," Martha responded. "We have known that since our first meeting with Lieutenant Dyester."
"Everyone would be a hero otherwise," Khan sighed as he connected his phone to the wall and increased the illumination in the area.
Martha noticed the change in Khan's tone. The faint sadness seeping out of his voice announced the arrival of Man-Khan, which confirmed her initial sensation. That part of him was different from how she recalled it.
"So," Martha exclaimed as she crossed her arms behind her back and took long steps into the hall, "Istrone, Nitis, Ecoruta, and Onia. You have been busy."
"You sure took your time reading my profile," Khan joked while turning toward Martha.
"I was worried," Martha admitted while continuing to walk through the training hall. "I only recalled the crash before everything went dark. I didn't know what had happened nor who had survived. I obviously checked."
"You did well back then," Khan stated. "Lesser soldiers would have died with your injuries."
"The nurses kept saying that," Martha replied. "Still, I woke up in a different world and body. Most of the recruits I knew were dead, and you were away doing dangerous things or getting girlfriends."
"Martha," Khan called, but Martha raised a hand to interrupt him.
"Don't get me wrong," Martha said. "I would have never wanted you to wait for me, especially since we had yet to become something. It's just, in my mind, everything happened only a month ago. I'm still getting used to how much changed."
"I wanted to wait for you," Khan declared.
"I told you that it's fine," Martha slightly raised her voice as she stopped walking to turn toward Khan.
"Let me finish," Khan scolded.
Martha saw the seriousness in his expression and showed her palm to let him continue. Yet, she turned to resume walking around the hall since she didn't want to show her face while hearing about that topic.
"I know you would have wanted me to move on," Khan sighed as a sad smile appeared on his face. "I imagined the conversation while standing next to your bed in Istorne's medical bay."
Martha stopped walking and crossed her arms. She lowered her head as she stared at the floor to let various thoughts take control of her mind.
"Still, I really wanted to wait a bit to see how long you took to wake up," Khan continued. "Your injury hit me hard, and everything that happened on Istrone only made things worse."
"But you moved on anyway," Martha exclaimed. "That alien girl must have been something."
"Yes, she was," Khan admitted. "I don't think others would have managed to make me decide to let you go."
"Not even Cora?" Martha asked. "She looks nice."
"Cora makes me feel lucky every day," Khan revealed, "But Nitis was different. [Liiza] was different."
Martha tried to mutter that name, but her accent was far off. She felt curious about Liiza since she had clearly had a huge impact on Khan, but another emotion also appeared in her mind. Part of her liked that Khan didn't replace her for a random woman.
"How are you holding up?" Martha eventually asked. "You have gone through a lot."
"I've started to drink," Khan chuckled before becoming serious again. "Well, I guess I'm doing fine, but I'm considering changing job recently."
"Why?" Martha asked while lifting her head and turning toward Khan. "You probably are the youngest lieutenant in history, and you are doing a great job as a professor, according to Luke's sources. Why would you leave?"
"Did you ask Luke to check on me?" Khan teased.
"I don't need to ask," Martha scoffed before turning again. "He talks about you non-stop."
Khan enjoyed seeing how easily he could piss Martha off. Her reactions were also genuine, and he seemed unable to get enough of them. He had really missed Martha.
"Life in the camp is getting boring," Khan revealed. "I like everything I do here, but I miss the action."
"Did you get dumb on the battlefield?" Martha mocked.
"I guess I did," Khan sighed. "Still, we can't change what we are."
"He even says wise stuff now," Martha whispered before a tinge of hesitation filled her tone. "Does Cora know?"
"I have yet to say anything about this," Khan explained. "I have yet to search for other positions even, but I think Cora understood something."
"She must know you well," Martha commented.
"I think that's the issue," Khan stated. "Anyway, enough talking about me. What's the problem with your body?"
"It's not really a problem," Martha sighed as she resumed walking across the hall. "I became a first-level warrior while I was sleeping. I have no idea how strong my body is. Everything feels off, and I even need to spend time absorbing all the synthetic mana properly."
Khan understood what Martha meant. He still recalled his breakthrough and the uneasiness he had felt afterward. The event in Martha's situation was far more drastic since she didn't have the chance to experience the gradual progression that regular training usually gave.
"You only need to get used to it then, right?" Khan asked while leaving the wall and taking a few steps toward Martha. "I can help with that. I can be your sparring partner until you feel like yourself again."
"Khan, it's more than that," Martha replied while stopping walking again. "I have to start over with my martial art since my habits are all messed up. I'm way behind my peers, and now I also have the debt with Luke on top of everything else."
"I'm sure the Global Army can refund part of it," Khan stated as he continued to approach Martha.
"You don't understand," Martha exclaimed. "The medical procedure was crazy expensive. My family would have never made it to the selection, let alone afford it. The Global Army's help doesn't change that."
"Then you'll work and pay it off," Khan declared. "As for the martial art, being your sparring partner can only help."
"Do you even have time to help others?" Martha wondered. "You must be pretty busy between your job, training, and girlfriend."
"I don't have a single second for myself," Khan honestly revealed, "But we are talking about you. I'll make time to help."
"You don't owe me anything," Martha pointed out.
"That's a lie," Khan laughed, "And I don't care. You have also arrived on the perfect period since my students are busy with tests."
"Does-," Martha voiced before taking a short break to sort her thoughts. "Does Cora know about me? Won't she get angry if you start spending a lot of time with me?"
"She has probably understood that," Khan announced, "But she isn't like that. I'm not saying that she won't feel jealous, but she won't try to stop me."
"I don't want to become a burden or cause problems," Martha whispered.
Khan had reached Martha by then. She still showed him her back while keeping her arms crossed. Accepting help was clearly hard for her, and the debt with Luke probably played a big part in that issue. Yet, Khan was more stubborn than her.
"Martha," Khan called while placing a hand on her shoulder, "Shut up and accept my help. I won't take no for an answer."
A tremor ran through Martha. Khan's warmth, resolute words, and general concern for her situation created a crack in the walls she had erected to deal with her trauma.
Martha wasn't as fine as she claimed to be. She had lost one and a half years of her life. Everything around her had moved forward while she had remained behind.
Moreover, Martha had awakened in an unfamiliar body, recalling only the ugly scenes of the crash. Then, learning about everything that had happened while she was asleep only worsened her situation. After all, she was one of her family's hopes.
It didn't take a genius to understand that her traumas didn't stop on Istrone. Martha had continued to hear bad news after waking up. She was incredibly late on her training schedule, the debt with Luke had obscured the compensation from the Global Army, and she was alone in a world that had left her behind.
Nevertheless, Martha's character had never been frail. She had been more mature than her peers even before enlisting, so she knew exactly what role she had to play after waking up. She had to pretend that everything was fine to avoid worrying her family and remain a valuable asset in the eyes of the Global Army.
It was safe to say that Martha had never dealt with her trauma properly. She had a few therapy sessions, but she had managed to get cleared for duty quickly through lies and pretenses.
The debt and her current level were burdens that she wanted to remove as soon as possible. Martha had to get a job and start earning Credits, even if that meant suffering in silence for an untold number of years.
All of that crumbled now that Martha reunited with someone that she truly trusted. She didn't even notice that her body tilted backward and ended on Khan's chest. He didn't avoid her, and his expression grew sterner than ever when she turned her head.
"I'm afraid that my body will stop responding again," Martha whimpered as tears fell from her eyes. "I have been unable to move while I was awake for so long on Istrone. I'm afraid that I'll remain stuck again if I let myself go."
Khan couldn't stop himself from wrapping his arms around her. She never turned to face him, but she didn't refuse the hug either.
"I wanted to be ahead of my peers to improve my family's martial art," Martha continued to sob. "Look at me now. I can't even control the mana inside my body properly."
"I'll teach you the footwork of my martial art," Khan promised as he tightened the hug.
"But, I can't steal from others to make up for what I lack," Martha rejected the offer, "Especially not from you."
"What are you even saying?" Khan sighed. "Lieutenant Dyester gave me this martial art. My techniques are yours to take whenever you want."
"I don't want to become a burden in your life," Martha sniffed as she lowered her head to place it on Khan's arms. "You don't deserve it."
Khan snorted and broke the hug to force Martha to turn. She kept her head lowered as he held her from her shoulders, but his next statement forced her to raise her gaze. "I told you that I would be there for you when your trauma arrived, right?"
"Do you remember that?" Martha asked, and her words carried a mixture of hesitation, surprise, and shyness.
Martha seemed ready to fall apart, but Khan was there to pick her up. He recalled that promise on Onia, but his resolve had far deeper reasons. He wouldn't leave Martha on her own after everything she had given him.
"Of course, I remember," Khan warmly declared. "Come on. You have taught technology to an idiot like me. You are far from a hopeless case. I'll put you up to speed in no time."
"Oh Khan," Martha dashed forward and sealed her grasp on Khan's uniform as she hid her face on his chest. She muttered a "thank you" that her sobs soon covered.
Khan hugged her again and began to caress her hair as he waited for her to calm down. Martha's state was awful, and it would require a lot of work to bring her up to speed, but the prospect didn't scare him. She was awake.. Nothing else mattered.
To be continued