Kelly had no words left in her throat, mouth, or mind, and the same went for the other recruits. They could only watch as Khan entered one of the bathrooms at the bottom of the underground habitation and sealed the sliding door behind him.
The recruits spent the minutes that Khan took to remove the dirt accumulated during his adventure with the Niqols in silence. Only George decided to move to put clean clothes right outside the bathroom before returning to his bed.
Khan's achievements had forced them to realize how a half-assed approach wouldn't lead anywhere. He was strong, stronger than most of the recruits on Nitis even, but that alone wasn't the reason behind his gains. Pure power couldn't make soldiers advance through the Global Army's ranks so quickly, and the same went for the Niqols' society. He was doing something that his companions had yet to accept. He was forsaking his human status to turn himself into an alien.
The human professors advised against that approach due to many reasons. An ambassador, or even a simple envoy, had to embody the human pride without letting that image scare away or worry the aliens. Building a relationship and blending in their society was the priority of those roles with every intelligent species. Still, the soldiers had to achieve that without forsaking their identity as humans.
Khan was doing the exact opposite. He wasn't throwing away his human traditions, but he wasn't prioritizing them either. His uncaring and unrestrained behavior was bringing him closer to the aliens while creating a barrier between the other recruits.
That approach was dangerous. The Global Army would struggle to put its trust into a soldier who could forsake the human heritage so easily. An ambassador couldn't be a formless chameleon capable of adapting to every environment.
Still, Khan was only a recruit. His approach could be enough for now as long as he kept seizing benefits. After all, he wasn't an ambassador yet, so his behavior wasn't exactly off-role. Khan was simply getting what the higher-up had told him to achieve in his own way.
The recruits found themselves reevaluating their approach to the task while they waited for Khan to come out of the bathroom and update them about the mission. Their beliefs had remained firm when Khan only gained friends and a bit of recognition, but the communicator set a vast difference between them.
It was one thing for the Global Army to appoint Khan as the main envoy due to his lucky chance with the Aduns and his brave feats during the hunts. The recruits knew how their organization worked, and they didn't have to face insurmountable barriers. They would eventually get similar benefits, tasks, and recognition as long as they did their job correctly.
However, the Niqols' seemingly official recognition added a far deeper value to Khan's figure. He would have the priority and trust of the aliens in every social and political matter from now on, and the other recruits could only chase after him in those fields without ever getting the chance to surpass him unless something major happened.
Khan would remain the spokesperson in charge of the bridge between the young generations of both species unless other recruits did something spectacular or he messed up. That single advantage over his companions had transformed into an immense gap that forced the other humans to reconsider how they had approached the political mission.
Their situation didn't give them many chances to do more. The recruits had been polite, had joined parties, and had done their best to be part of the Niqols society. There wasn't much that they could improve to catch up with Khan.
Professor Supyan's lessons and their knowledge of the alien language could do something, but that felt too little too late now that the Niqols had accepted Khan fully.
Some time had to pass before the Niqols would allow another human to become part of their society. The recruits could understand how they didn't have great options at hand. The best they could do was wait until a chance appeared. Yet, most of them still decided to work a bit harder, at least regarding the two fields that they could affect.
Khan eventually left the bathroom. Drops fell from his wet hair, and trails of the strange water used by the Niqols ran down his body. He had worn his dirty pants to cover himself since he had forgotten to take clean clothes, but a smile appeared on his face when he saw that someone had taken care of the matter.
Khan returned inside the bathroom and changed. He now appeared completely different from the brutish cavemen who had come back from the mission. His wet hair and untidy robe gave him a messy aura, but his clean state allowed the recruits to appreciate the confidence radiated by his gestures.
The recruits remained silent, and Khan didn't make them wait. He approached the beds and stood in a spot where all his companions could see him clearly before explaining everything that had happened in the mission.
Khan didn't hide much, especially when it came to how the Niqols avoided mentioning the arrival of the daylight, and he even warned the recruits about Doku's exaggerations. Still, he didn't play it humble, and the accurate version of his charge toward the last backpack remained quite heroic even when told without lies.
Justifying Doku's version of the story ended up being relatively easy when Khan described the whole situation. The Niqols were on their Aduns when he shot toward the backpack, so the recruits could understand the misunderstanding. Most humans even appreciated how Khan avoided claiming undeserved achievements for himself, but some of them only started to resent him with more intensity.
Khan could have decided to elevate his image to heroic levels, but that could create expectations that he didn't want to face, especially since the recruits would report everything back to the Global Army at some point. He wanted to appear important but not blended enough to become part of a loathsome ploy. He didn't want his superiors to turn him into a spy since his priorities were on Liiza right now.
"In short," Khan eventually concluded, "You have to come to tonight's party and do your best not to get wasted while the other Niqols face their grief in their own way. Actually, collapsing near a tree might get you closer to them, so the choice is yours."
George, Veronica, and Brandon laughed. Helen shook her head while hiding a chuckle with her hand. Rodney smirked, and Gabriela decided to smile after seeing how her companions reacted. Only Kelly's expression remained serious at that joke, but she eventually sighed when she realized that Khan's words weren't entirely wrong. They made enough sense to be annoying.
"How can they be so strong when they spend their time throwing parties?" Kelly commented when she reviewed the issue.
"I find them really similar to humans," Rodney contradicted her while putting a hand under his chin. "They are only unrestrained, but that's their approach to emotions and life in general. Maybe that's also the secret behind their deep understanding of mana."
Khan suppressed his reactions, but he felt surprised about Rodney's realization. Humans generally didn't think that mana and behavior had connections, but the boy came close to that conclusion.
"They believe that mana affects emotions as if they were muscles and flesh," Khan explained to make sure that the merit for that discovery went to him.
"That doesn't say much about their character if mana makes them throw parties all the time," Helen scoffed before laughing and causing similar reactions in her companions. "It sounds as if they are using mana to justify their attachment to primitive behaviors. I bet they'll abandon this belief in a few decades."
"My thoughts exactly," Brandon added. "Their current understanding of mana might be far deeper than humans, but our methods are a natural evolution connected to our superior society."
George and the others had initially laughed at Helen's joke, but her second comment generated conflicting reactions. Brandon's statements ultimately divided their group into two sides, even if they all felt those words to be a bit racist. Still, Kelly, Helen, and Gabriela ended up partially agreeing with them due to their firm attachment to their species.
The other recruits were able to acknowledge the benefits that the Niqols' methods provided, but part of them remained convinced that the humans were still one step above. They saw those different habits as a chance to learn and improve, but they remained somewhat inferiors in their minds.
Only Khan had a completely different view about the matter. His faint smile remained on his face, but a sad realization filled his mind. He suddenly understood that those recruits would never fully accept the Niqols. They would remain aliens in their vision forever.
"When is the party?" George eventually asked when the awkward silence created by Brandon's statement became deafening.
Khan didn't know the answer to that question, but his eyes lit up when he recalled about his cube. Conflicting expressions appeared on the recruits' faces when Khan pulled the item from inside his robe and silently contacted Doku.
"The party will start in an hour or so," Khan revealed after storing the cube. "It will happen earlier than usual since it's the end of the week and due to what happened this morning."
The recruits remained marveled at how Khan had contacted the Niqols without uttering a word. He had explained how the cube worked before, but seeing it in action was a completely different thing, especially when handled by a human.
A tinge of envy inevitably spread among the group, but everyone suppressed it to get to work. They had spent the whole day training, so they had to take turns for the bathrooms and prepare. Meanwhile, Khan used that chance to meditate a bit and enjoy that he had understood Doku's directions. The boy had used the strange words meant to describe the various quadrants of the forest, but Khan didn't need further explanations.
.
.
.
A peculiar but familiar scene unfolded in front of the recruits when Khan led them into an empty spot near one of the mountains. They found three fuming cauldrons at the center of the area and far more Niqols than usual around them. Moreover, those aliens were busy with different activities at that time. They didn't limit themselves to drink.
The Niqols had naturally divided themselves into multiple groups, and all of them featured many half-empty wooden cups. Still, some had brought strange instruments that played sad tones meant to set the party's mood. Khan saw violin-like devices and long flutes, and a few aliens even chanted simple lines in the Niqols' language to accompany their music.
Khan couldn't help but notice how some Niqols near the trees were smoking. Others even deeper in the forest were crying or punching the thick trunks to vent their feelings. The scenery was quite incredible due to its diversity, but Khan inevitably fell in a daze when a familiar dress appeared in his vision.
Liiza was standing alone, with her back lying on a tree. She wasn't even facing the empty area filled with Niqols. She was staring at the dark depths of the forest, but her eyes moved toward Khan for a brief second when she sensed his gaze on her figure.
'Damn you,' Khan cursed in his mind when he confirmed that Liiza was wearing the same dress used during the formal celebration from a few weeks ago. 'She has definitely done that on purpose.'
The reason behind Liiza's behavior quickly became clear in Khan's mind. Almost all the Niqols turned toward the recruits when they noticed their arrival, and Khan saw many girls showing attractive smiles when his gaze met theirs.
'Don't tell me that she has predicted this outcome,' Khan wondered as a series of Niqols met during the previous parties reached the recruits and started dragging them toward the cauldrons.
Azni reached Khan before anyone else could, and she directly hugged him instead of limiting herself to a formal bow. The scene surprised the recruits, especially when they saw Khan wrapping his arms around the girl's back, but the other Niqols soon forced them to move their gazes away from the two.
"I'm sure Ilman will be here at any moment," Azni whispered in Khan's ear before breaking the hug. "You might want to seize this chance now that she is alone."
"You know I can't," Khan sighed while showing a sad smile.
"Don't be so paranoid," Azni almost shouted before recalling to keep her voice down. "You just went through a deadly situation together. You'll appear as the trustworthy friend who won't let her be alone in this sad moment."
Khan felt that Azni's words made sense, but he didn't know whether his desire to approach Liiza was playing tricks with his mind. Yet, he eventually accepted that he couldn't think straight in front of her stunning dress.
Khan was almost about to ignore Azni's words, but she added something that changed everything. "Doku is also set on finding you a girl tonight, and I have no power over that."
Khan glanced behind Azni's shoulder at that point and noticed Doku looking at him from the other side of the empty spot. The Niqols wore a broad smile, and he winked a few times when he caught Khan's gaze.
'I need to teach him how to wink properly,' Khan took note in his mind before heaving a sigh and taking Azni's full cup from her hands.
Azni limited herself to laugh at that gesture, and she pretended not to watch Khan walking toward Liiza while she went toward one cauldron. Doku frowned, and his eyes darted between his girlfriend and Khan. He couldn't miss that suspicious interaction. Something was clearly up, but Azni's admonishing gaze soon fell on him and forced him to stop thinking too much about the matter.
"You shouldn't be here," Liiza whispered when she heard familiar steps resounding behind her and stopping at her side.
Khan reached the tree right next to her before laying his back on its trunk. He didn't even peek at Liiza while his eyes moved toward the depths of the forest.
"What was I supposed to do?" Khan replied while taking a sip from his cup and making sure that his voice couldn't spread too far. "You wore the dress."
"That barely counts as an excuse," Liiza scoffed, but her cheeks inevitably paled due to her faint blush. "Also, you have become too popular lately. I needed a distraction."
"You did it on purpose then," Khan chuckled. "You have gotten quite possessive."
"And yet you are the one barely holding yourself back," Liiza commented while raising her cup to drink.
Khan chuckled again, but he didn't say anything. Liiza was right. Her dress was too much for him.
Silent minutes passed. Khan and Liiza continued to stare at the darkness of the forest while the party continued behind them. The music even grew happier at times, but they didn't move from their spot. It was as if they were waiting for one of them to empty their cups.
"Won't you join the party?" Liiza asked. "It's proper, and I bet many girls are dying to meet you."
"I'm exactly where I want to be," Khan replied. "Almost exactly."
"Me too," Liiza added. "Almost exactly."
Another wave of silence fell among the two, but they eventually started to talk about random stuff. Doku, Azni, and Asyat even brought them refills of their cups every once in a while before exchanging a few jokes and leaving them alone again. Azni used the times when she visited the couple on her own to explain how the other two didn't suspect anything. They were simply happy that Liiza wasn't alone.
The couple ended up remaining alone for most of the party, even with those occasional visits, and their unique position didn't allow them to notice Ilman's arrival. No one actually saw him since he never fully stepped into the empty spot.
Ilman had every intention to join the party due to Liiza's presence, but he changed his mind when he noticed the girl wearing expressions that he had never seen on her face.
Ilman had been in love with Liiza for so long that he found it easy to notice the slight differences in her face. The girl smiled and chuckled from time to time, but that wasn't the most surprising aspect of the matter. Her eyes carried happiness that he couldn't generate even before the events of the arranged marriage.
The Niqols limited himself to find in Khan the source of Liiza's strange behavior before leaving the area. He had never left the darkness among the trees, so no one became aware of his short visit.
****
Author's notes: I need 2-3 hours for the second chapter.
I chose to do this super long chapter just to complete the scene in one go. I want the story to move forward, and spending too long in these social interactions can get boring really quickly. I don't want to skip them, so this felt like a good way to handle them.