C574 Scared
Lord Exr and Khan would have happily feasted until night, but duties arrived before they had the time to enjoy the friendly phase of the meeting.
The four ships with the rescued soldiers and workers needed directives Amox couldn't give on his own. The vehicles had medical teams, but they weren't enough to tend to the injured. Proper medical bays were necessary, and only Lord Exr had the authority to prepare similar places.
As for Khan, his position in Lord Exr's ship prevented him from directly supporting his team. Still, he could fulfill his leadership's duties by deciding the details for the rest of the operation with Lord Exr. That was enough for his role.
Lord Exr had to handle matters that involved classified locations and information to prepare the medical bays, and keeping Khan locked in the ship wasn't proper. So, he dropped him in front of the political building before departing to complete the rest of his duties.
By then, the heavy rain had reached the city, and Khan didn't linger under it. He didn't have other tasks, so he hurried inside the political building. He had the chance to rest, but his legs instinctively brought him toward one of the training halls.
The temporary calm created by Jenna's words had long since waned, and the arrival into an isolated environment shattered what remained of it. A chilling but wild aura began to leak out of Khan's figure as he removed his coat, shirt, and shoes while walking toward the center of the hall.
Khan tapped his bare foot on the floor to activate the menus and closed his eyes while browsing the options. He didn't need to see to set the desired training program, and clanging noises soon resounded from the walls around him.
Three gaps appeared on the training hall's walls. Three passages opened to reveal the workshops hidden behind the metal. Drills, tubes, and more had created a total of twelve humanoid robots that stepped out of the separate areas to enter the room.
The walls closed as the robots advanced. Mechanical noises reached Khan's ears and got closer, warning him about the lack of escape paths. Those training dummies had encircled him, and it wouldn't be long before attacks would fly in his direction.
The robots closed on Khan quickly, running and preparing attacks. Some performed heavy and slow martial arts, while others chose opposite styles. They coordinated to collide with Khan simultaneously, and he sensed the impending danger even with his eyes closed.
The negative emotions inside Khan made him desire to get hit. He wanted those incoming attacks to land. He yearned to be punished, but his mana had different ideas.
When the attacks were about to land, Khan's mouth opened on its own, and a clicking growl escaped it. Flares of mana accompanied that cry, rushing from every inch of Khan's body to create a destructive defensive spell.
The robots fell prey to the chaos element. The spherical defensive spell wasn't enough to destroy them, but its might had increased due to the fuel provided by Khan's emotions. Its push was stronger, trapping the training dummies in its violent gales that slowly eroded their surfaces.
The joints were the first to give in to the chaos element's destructive properties. Some robots lost their legs, while others saw their arms detaching themselves from their shoulders. Their metal came next, and the spherical spell didn't hesitate to move to their insides afterward.
Khan continued screaming while the destruction unfolded. He didn't even look at the robots while he vented his emotions. He felt pissed and empty at the same time, and, most importantly, he hated himself for how things had gone.
The spherical spell eventually lost its violence, dispersing and freeing the prisoners of its violence. The mana vanished, but only scraps and broken robots remained. One training dummy was still on its feet but fell forward as soon as it tried to take a step.
Khan's right hand snapped upward, grabbing the robot's head before it could fall. The dummy tried to attack, rotating its arms toward Khan. Yet, one had lost its forearm, and the other no longer had a hand.
The casual attacks didn't carry mana either since the spherical spells had broken the channels where that energy flowed. The robot simply threw weak punches that only managed to scrape Khan's torso due to the arms' sharp broken edges.
Khan let the robot attack a few times and ignored the drops of blood flowing from his new cuts. He looked at the dummy, but his thoughts were elsewhere and eventually rekindled his fury.
A flare of mana escaped Khan's right palm, engulfing the robot's head. His grip also tightened, and the destruction applied by his element allowed his fingers to pierce the metal.
Khan closed his hand, shattering the robot's head and letting it fall to the floor. The dummy didn't move anymore, and he threw away the debris in his palm before sitting among the marks of his destruction.
"Fuck," Khan cursed, punching the floor as hard as possible. The emptiness was returning, and feeling pain was better.
"Fuck!" Khan shouted, breaking his sitting position to throw himself on the floor. Some debris poked at his back, but he didn't care. He let the ceiling's illumination blind him while his thoughts resumed wandering.
Ignoring the death of three hundred and twenty-two workers was impossible for Khan. He wasn't that kind of person. He had promised himself long ago not to lose sight of the value of life, and his feelings made that task very easy at times.
However, Khan's reasonable side also had something to say. He couldn't have predicted that Lord Exr would blow up the station. He believed even Ambassador Abores would have found that development unexpected.
'Innocence doesn't imply lack of responsibility,' Khan thought. 'What kind of man would I be if I disregarded what happened?'
Khan wasn't guilty in the strict sense but had still played a role in those deaths. He was partially responsible and had even exploited the event to his advantage. The bitter taste in his mouth was justified, but he couldn't let it stop him.
'To think I even insulted Madam Solodrey about compromising herself,' Khan cursed. 'I'm a hypocrite.'
That acceptance brought new strength to Khan's mind. Power was still power, even if it came from negative emotions, and he couldn't refuse them. They were part of him, and, at times, they were him.
'[Bloody rivers],' Khan thought in the Nele language, closing his eyes and straightening his back. He crossed his legs to sit on the floor again, and his hands went on his lap to prepare for a meditative session.
All that death had made one lesson clear, and Lord Exr's words resounded in Khan's mind when he thought about it. He was still too weak to influence those fields, and that had to change.
Hours went by as Khan remained immersed in the meditative state, and the night arrived without anyone disturbing him. Everyone seemed busy with something, but he barely noticed the passage of time as his whole being focused on training.
Nevertheless, that peace couldn't last. Training halls usually needed to be unlocked from the inside, but Khan's room suddenly opened without his authorization.
"Captain!" Ambassador Abores shouted, storming inside the training hall to reach Khan. "I demand an explanation."
Khan had expected something similar to happen and had even heard the opening of the doors. He slipped out of the meditative state and glanced at the Ambassador without standing up. The man was livid, but Khan couldn't bring himself to care about his anger.
"The team suffered injuries," Khan casually said. "Lord Exr prepared medical bays to receive them. I'm sure they'll be cleared to return tomorrow."
"That's not what I asked," Ambassador Abores scoffed, annoyed by Khan's lack of respect. "How did you get an entire station blown up? And how dare you conclude the mission without conferring with me first?"
"Criminals have no place in the Empire," Khan repeated Lord Exr's words. "As for the mission, Lord Exr completed his part of the deal. I couldn't delay that decision."
"You could have!" Ambassador Abores scolded. "That decision wasn't for you to make."
"You gave me your authority, sir," Khan stated. "I used it."
Ambassador Abores wanted to rebuke Khan, but he had spoken the truth. Still, that didn't change the outcome or what he learned from Lord Exr himself.
"It sure sounds convenient," Ambassador Abores announced. "You being the only witness to the criminals' admission. Don't tell me you played me, Captain."
"Played?" Khan asked, his chilling presence intensifying. He broke his sitting position to stand up, and his cold expression failed to hide the fury behind his eyes when he looked at Ambassador Abores.
"You pretend to care," Ambassador Abores scoffed, understanding the reason behind Khan's anger, "But you didn't hesitate to advertise your girlfriend's family when the chance appeared. Congratulations. Lord Exr will use your connections."
"I had to protect myself," Khan explained. "You never know when someone decides to turn you into a scapegoat."
"And your timing couldn't have been more perfect," Ambassador Abores commented. "Captain Khan was once again in the right place at the right time."
"Captain Khan also gave you a chance to meet Lord Exr's superior," Khan responded. "I expect your speech to convey that information."
"You expect something from me?" Ambassador Abores questioned. "Since when do you feel entitled to give me orders?"
"What's the point of pulling rank?" Khan asked. "I'm the witness. I completed the mission and established a new connection between humans and Thilku. Either you take your piece of the reward, or we see whose words echo louder."
Ambassador Abores' anger went quiet, and an unsettling emotion replaced it. Khan had spoken the truth, but the Ambassador couldn't leave that open challenge to his authority unchecked.
"Or I could-," Ambassador Abores voiced before a chill ran down his spine, interrupting his line. He had intended to make a threat, but his instincts opposed that.
"You could?" Khan asked, almost eager to push that situation toward a violent outcome. The Ambassador was a fourth-level warrior, but he didn't care. He couldn't just stay silent after today's events.
Ambassador Abores didn't have Khan's senses, but his body was far from human. Something told him how dangerous the situation was, and a frown appeared on his face when he considered Khan as a possible cause.
Khan briefly inspected Ambassador Abores before scoffing and losing interest in the situation. He crossed him, heading for the exit, but one last line still escaped his mouth. "I expect that recommendation letter."
Ambassador Abores followed Khan with his eyes and continued staring at the open door even after his departure. Part of Khan's clothes were still on the floor, but neither had cared about them. Khan had been too angry, and the Ambassador had a strange question floating in his brain.
"Was I scared?" Ambassador Abores wondered, struggling to believe that his body had reacted like that before a weaker soldier.
To be continued