C349 - Thief
'Is he lying?' Khan wondered as his first instinct compelled him to refute that statement.
Still, Khan quickly realized that the Orlats' only reason to lie would involve their partaking in the theft. The two aliens would probably remain silent even in front of proper threats in that case, which forced Khan to consider other options.
Sher's revelation sounded far from misleading. Khan had a clear idea of the human's greed and cruelty, and everything he had learnt about the investigation hinted at the presence of spies.
However, Khan also felt pretty sure that Luke's family had sent its best investigators to gather information about the theft. There probably wasn't any spy among them, which put Khan in a pickle.
The Orlats could be lying, and the humans might have hindered the investigation. Both options had reasonable arguments, leaving Khan unable to find the truth.
However, it was clear that Sher wouldn't reveal anything else now that he had come up with a reasonable explanation. Khan could continue to insist, but that would only make him look desperate. More questions couldn't lead anywhere, which forced him to prioritize a different issue.
"[Thank you for your honesty]," Khan declared in the politest tone he could muster. "[I'll make sure to leave your name out of my report]."
Khan's sharp change in behavior left the Orlats surprised. The two aliens didn't expect that complete lack of surprise or shock, but the polite words that flew in their direction pleased them.
Sher snorted, and Afsar joined him on the bench. They both considered the conversation to be over, but Khan rekindled it with another question. "[I hope we can both put tonight's matters behind us once we get out]."
"[You sure like to talk]," Afsar complained.
"[As long as you don't cause more troubles for our activities]," Sher commented, and Khan showed a meaningful smile. The Orlats didn't say anything specific, but Khan knew that he didn't ruin his relationship with that species.
The cell tried to fall silent at that point, but the snoring Fuveall continued to disturb that peace. The metallic noises that accompanied the sleeping alien's voice also grew louder as time passed, and the Orlats didn't hold back from kicking him from time to time.
Khan pretended to chuckle whenever the Orlats kicked the Fuveall in their rude attempts to stop the snoring. He didn't like what they were doing, but the latter seemed to appreciate his complicity.
That phase ended when the Fuveall stopped snoring and raised his sleepy face to inspect the cell. At first, he glanced at Khan, but a smile widened on his face when he noticed the two Orlats.
"[Great party]!" The Fuveall announced in his language before falling asleep again.
Khan and the Orlats stared at the alien for a few seconds, but they exchanged meaningful smirks when they confirmed that the snores weren't coming back. Khan even gave them the thumbs-up, which they received as a pleasant compliment.
Khan's efforts in pretending to be part of the gang rewarded him with a peaceful time inside the cell. The Orlats didn't even show the same mistrust they had before the conversation. It seemed that they had accepted Khan, but he knew that their understanding was only superficial.
The two Orlats eventually decided to take a nap, and Khan used that chance to study what Luke had sent about the investigation. If the aliens had spoken the truth, there had to be something odd inside the various reports.
A few hours had to pass before a change happened in that peaceful area. Khan heard a familiar voice echoing past the corridor connected to the hall containing his cell, and his senses soon became able to identify the whole group.
The Fuveall soldier who had led the operation in [The Loophole] walked next to Luke and repeatedly nodded as the latter complained loudly. Meanwhile, Martha and Monica followed behind the duo and inspected the area with their curious eyes.
The four cells only had males, and most of them were still pretty drunk, so whistles and cheers resounded as soon as Martha and Monica became visible. The Fuveall soldier scolded the prisoners and slammed his reinforced arms on the black pillars in his range, but that did little to appease the crowd.
"Where was I?" The Fuveall cleared his throat when he rejoined Luke. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Mister Cobsend. The situation was pretty chaotic. We had to bring everyone in to avoid worse troubles. I promise that we'll do our best to avoid committing similar mistakes in the future."
"That's the least you can do!" Luke angrily shouted. "I'll think about what to report back to my father after seeing how you behave in the next period. I hope you'll show the respect that my family deserves."
"Most certainly," The Fuveall soldier promised as he approached Khan's cell and deactivated one of the barriers by pressing specific spots on the black pillar. "Lieutenant Khan, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I take full responsibility."
"And what would that even mean?" Luke voiced another angry remark.
"It's fine, Luke," Khan reassured while jumping off the bench and leaving the cell. "He was only doing his job."
The Fuveall soldier shot a grateful glance toward Khan, and that emotion only intensified when he noticed that Luke seemed to drop the matter. The latter remained pissed, but he stopped berating the poor alien.
Martha and Monica didn't hold back from inspecting Khan from head to toe. He was still in his underwear, which covered almost nothing. Both of them ended up blushing when their eyes fell on his crotch.
"Is that my stuff?" Khan asked when the Fuveall handed him a simple bag.
The question didn't need answers since Khan noticed his good clothes when he opened the bag. They were even clean, meaning that the police had washed them before giving them back. Yet, that sight didn't make Khan ignore that something was missing.
"Where is my knife?" Khan asked while raising his face to stare at the Fuveall.
"Knife?" The Fuveall wondered. "I'm afraid the bag contains all the items stored under your name."
"My knife was a custom-made second-grade weapon," Khan stated. "You can't have missed it."
Luke glared at the soldier, who understood that he had to say something about the situation. "It's not rare for items to go missing during captures. Our inventory is quite messy, but do not worry. We are willing to refund the value of the lost weapon and even add an extra for the trouble."
Luke seemed satisfied with that conclusion, but Khan felt unable to let it go. "I don't want money. I want my knife."
"I'm deeply sorry," The Fuveall announced. "I can send my soldiers to search for it, but this is Milia 222. Lost items rarely reappear."
"[Lost]!" Sher snickered from inside the cell. "[I wonder why it's always the good items that get lost]."
Khan inevitably thought about the human soldier who had praised the knife when he undressed. Anger started to fill his mind. Khan didn't want to overreact, but he felt unable to stop his emotions.
It would have been slightly better if Khan could suspect one of the alien species on Milia 222, but the human soldier's comment continued to resound in his mind. He felt sure that he was the culprit, and that made him livid.
Khan had fought wars for the Global Army. He had done unspeakable things for humankind's sake, and he had mostly received bitterness as a reward.
The Credits obtained through his service were one of the few positive aspects of those tragic events. Khan didn't care about them, but they had some spiritual value in his mind. They described what the Global Army thought his efforts and struggles were worth.
Khan had bought his second-grade knife with those Credits, which naturally passed that spiritual value to the weapon. Yet, he felt sure that a human had decided to steal it.
The soldier wasn't even a simple human. He was someone that had to enforce Milia 222's regulations. He wasn't a criminal or anything similar, which only worsened how Khan felt about the whole matter.
"Where is the soldier who escorted me to the cell?" Khan asked as his face grew cold.
"I don't know who escorted you," The Fuveall admitted.
"Find that out," Khan ordered.
"I-," The Fuveall tried to speak in an apologetic tone, but Khan interrupted him before hearing that justification. "Luke."
"You heard Lieutenant Khan," Luke promptly played along. "We want a name, and we want it now."
The Fuveall didn't know what to say, but it was clear that remaining silent would only put a target on his head. His eyes darted left and right as he thought about the matter, and they lit up when he found something worth saying. "The shift is about to change. You can probably find your soldier in the locker area."
"Lead us there," Luke ordered, and the Fuveall immediately turned to lead the way.
Martha and Monica remained silent as Khan forgot about the bag in his hands and began to follow the Fuveall. He stopped only once to turn toward the two Orlats and perform a faint nod.
No one addressed Khan during the walk. He was still in his underwear, but something told Luke and the others that it was better to leave him alone for now. The soldiers along the path glanced curiously at him, but they also felt that remaining silent was for the best.
The Fuveall led the group into the outer areas of the central structure until he reached a damp space connected by a series of showers and locker rooms. Soldiers roamed among those rooms and felt embarrassed at the sight of women in the corridor, but Khan didn't bother about those reactions.
"Ah!" The Fuveall tried to call when Khan darted forward, but Luke glared at him and interrupted any attempt to stop his companion.
Only five rooms stretched from the corridor, and Khan checked all of them. Peeking past the entrances was enough for him since he recalled his target's aura, and he found it when he reached the second-last hall.
A series of metal lockers filled the sides of the room, and soldiers of various species happily joked or made comments about the end of their shift. They were ready to go home, but Khan's arrival filled the area with a tense mood.
"What are you doing here?" One of the soldiers close to the entrance shouted as he raised an arm to stop Khan. However, his hand ended up grasping mere air when he tried to close it on Khan's shoulder.
Khan reached the end of the locker room instantly and found himself in front of his target. The soldier gasped when his eyes focused on Khan's figure, and a question tried to leave his mouth, but he didn't get the chance to speak.
"Where is my knife?" Khan asked in an aloof tone.
"W-, what?" The soldier exclaimed, but something in his expression told Khan that his guess had been on point.
"My knife," Khan repeated. "Give it back."
"I don't know what you are talking about!" The soldier announced in a more credible manner now that his surprise had dispersed. "You aren't even supposed to be here. This is a crime."
The anger boiling inside Khan's mind only intensified. He couldn't help but connect his struggles on different planets and battlefields to the man in front of him. Khan had fought for him, but the latter didn't even bother to respect his efforts.
The soldier snorted and tried to ignore Khan, but a kick suddenly landed at the center of his torso. The man was a mere first-level warrior, so the attack flung him on the only wall without lockers.
A series of angry voices resounded behind Khan. All the soldiers in the room cursed and tried to approach him, but a series of purple-red tendrils of energy suddenly came out of his figure and made the group stop.
Khan turned to glance at the angry soldiers. There were a few second-level warriors among them, but they weren't real fighters. The mana inside their bodies moved slowly, and the fear caused by the chaos element hindered its flow even further.
"Come on," Khan challenged as mana continued to come out of his figure and mess with the room's artificial illumination. "Take another step."
Khan brought his attention back on his target without even bothering to look at the soldiers behind him. The man was coughing on the floor, and some blood mixed with the saliva leaving his mouth. He had clearly felt the blow, but Khan felt no pity.
"My knife, now," Khan ordered.
"Why would I have it?" The soldier said among his coughs.
His performance was even better than before. It could trick most people, but Khan knew what he had seen during his first question, so he delivered another kick at the center of his chest.
The soldier lost his breath for a whole second as he slammed on the wall again before falling back to the floor. He felt the urge to say something, but Khan suddenly placed a foot on the side of his head and began to apply some pressure.
"My knife," Khan said slowly. "I won't ask again."
The pressure on the soldier's head intensified, and terror filled his mind when he saw that no one was coming to help him. Even the Fuveall remained behind.
"It., it's in my locker!" The soldier eventually admitted as he pointed his hand toward one of the walls. "The third locker from the right. The code is-."
"Keep your code," Khan snorted as he shot toward the designed locker and slammed a kick on its upper side.
The locker bent and created an opening where Khan could insert his hand. He quickly took out his knife before placing his palm on the broken entrance.. Then, purple-red energy shot out, and the whole item shattered.
To be continued