Hurried steps resounded from behind Khan as he marched across the brown-yellow plain. He didn't know where to go, but he guessed that his platoon would have a base of some sort behind the trench.
Khan could have asked his companions for indications, but he had found himself unable to deal with the questions that involved Liiza. He had teleported on the battlefield to suppress those thoughts, but it seemed that the soldiers wouldn't let him go so easily.
"Nitis guy, wait!" The young man saved before shouted after reaching Khan's side. "I'm sorry for before. They aren't bad. We just got excited after seeing a new face."
Khan finally had the chance to inspect the man. He was taller than him, with short black hair and green eyes. His skin had brown shades, and his uniform featured a single star on his right shoulder.
"My name is Khan," Khan uttered.
"Right, right," The man exclaimed. "I'm Felix. My family has sent me here after I broke a container with synthetic mana meant for me."
"I know," Felix laughed when Khan turned to show his frown. "I'm quite clumsy."
"Is everyone here like this?" Khan sighed. "Did you all cause problems on Earth?"
"Not only Earth," Felix continued to laugh. "You can see Ecoruta as a chance for atonement. The Global Army will clear our profiles of every red spot after serving for a few months here."
"It doesn't seem like the Global Army cares whether you live or die," Khan commented.
"I wouldn't be so hard on Lieutenant Pouille," Felix explained. "He is like us. Rumors say that he offended one of the noble families, so he must stick to his orders to get out of this planet. He's actually quite nice when we aren't busy fighting."
'Where did Lieutenant Kintea even send me?' Khan cursed in his mind before disregarding the issue. He had asked for a battlefield, and Ecoruta fitted those requirements perfectly.
"I thought the Global Army would have elite soldiers here," Khan guessed.
"As far as I know, it has been like when the Global Army first arrived on Ecoruta," Felix announced. "However, the Guko's weapons have turned these battlefields into the trench warfare that you have seen before. The whole planet is basically divided in half, and those damned anti-aircraft guns prevent us from flying directly behind the enemy lines. In short, it's a bloody mess."
"How can an entire planet have anti-aircraft guns?" Khan asked.
"Well, the Guko initially developed weapons meant to oppose a second alien invasion," Felix explained. "Still, the Nak didn't return here, and they started to fight the Stal afterward, so they found themselves with tons of anti-aircraft guns with no purpose. They would have remained in some armory if the humans didn't arrive."
Everything made sense in Khan's mind. He still believed that the Global Army was working with the Guko to deploy troops in unprotected spots, but that didn't seem to be his battalion's role.
"So, how do things work here?" Khan questioned. "Do we just set another trench now?"
"Are you so eager to jump into another fight?" Felix laughed, but Khan's cold expression made him gulp and decide to answer seriously. "We will wait for HQ's orders. We'll probably advance until we arrive in another important area while the Guko and other soldiers set camps and defenses here."
Khan didn't need to question Felix about how Lieutenant Pouille planned to build another trench since a series of structures appeared in his vision. He could see a large square building that featured spiked wheels and a series of vehicles that resembled excavators. It didn't take him long to understand that he had reached the camp.
"Does that thing move?" Khan asked in a surprised tone.
"Incredible, right?" Felix exclaimed. "That's Guko's technology for you. They have built a moving camp capable of containing entire platoons. Though I must say that some features remain short even if they meant this structure for humans."
Khan nodded as he continued to inspect the moving camp. It felt incredible that such a big structure could follow the platoons as they advanced or retreated. He couldn't even begin to list the number of benefits that such habitations could provide. Something like that would have saved the lives of many Niqols in the battle inside the muddy valley.
"The camp is a bit cramped, but you'll get used to it quickly," Felix continued. "It also has a few vehicles in its hanger, but none of us can use them. Food sucks, but we can't do much about it. There isn't much privacy either, but the filtration system keeps everything quite odorless."
"Training halls?" Khan questioned.
"The Guko didn't know where to put it," Felix responded. "They are a pragmatic species, so they sacrificed a few services to prioritize other aspects. We are lucky to have showers at all."
Everything sounded relatively standard for a battlefield, and Khan also noticed how Felix didn't say anything about his mana core. He wasn't sure whether the team on the space station would leak that information later on, but it seemed that no one on the surface knew about that feature for now.
Khan could see the golden-haired woman entering the camp. Its dark metal doors slid open and revealed an environment illuminated by artificial white light, but he couldn't inspect much from his position. Meanwhile, Felix continued to peek at him, and his actions became so blatant that he felt the need to address them.
"What is it?" Khan asked.
"Don't you feel the need to wipe the blood out of your face?" Felix said while pointing at the dark liquid that had dried up by now.
"I'll take a shower once I find a room," Khan revealed.
"You can't take a shower now," Felix declared. "We have precise hours for some activities. The meals happen three times a day and last only thirty minutes, while men can take showers in the morning. The Guko didn't think that would have needed separate bathrooms, so we have to take turns."
"Can I get a new uniform, at least?" Khan questioned while pointing at the vast stain of blood on his chest.
"You'll always find new ones in the rooms," Felix responded. "Laundries are unusually fast here."
The two boys didn't say anything else. They approached the camp and witnessed as the metal doors slid open on their own. Felix then jumped in the corridor and guided Khan across the structure, describing each area and its purposes.
The insides of the moving camp were extremely simple and small. Someone slightly taller than Khan would have trouble crossing the short doors and using the showers. Still, that allowed the structure to feature multiple areas capable of providing the soldiers with everything they needed.
The dining hall and the dormitories were the biggest areas inside the camp. The former featured a series of long metal tables with stools connected to their structure. Instead, a long room had a series of bunk beds on both sides divided by a narrow passage that could contain only two soldiers walking side by side.
The platoon had hung a curtain halfway through the room to create two different areas and allow men and women to sleep separately. The women had the bottom of the hall to give them more privacy and prevent unexpected visits in case of sudden crises or similar events.
Each bed had a clean uniform folded on their pillows. Most had names written on the metal that supported the mattresses, but Khan easily found an empty one. Felix even showed him how to use the laundry, so he could change and put the star on the right shoulder of his clean clothes.
The kitchen was completely automatic and inaccessible for ordinary soldiers. Still, the structure featured an area with praying mats and consoles that the platoon could use to relax and hang out. The hall was too small to contain all the men and women in the moving camp, so they had come up with a schedule to use it. Yet, Felix revealed how everyone usually remained on their beds or left the building in the hope of getting some privacy.
"That's everything for our tour," Felix happily announced after bringing Khan to the dining hall. "Women usually shower before dinner, so it will take another hour for food to arrive, but there isn't anything else to do here, so it's not bad to get good seats this early."
Khan limited himself to nod before summarizing everything he had learnt in his mind and imagining his next months in that environment. Everything appeared rather dull, but that felt fine after Nitis' events. He needed a routine and a stark change from his life on that cold planet, and Ecoruta was perfect for that.
Soldiers had entered the camp while Felix had shown Khan around, but no one had approached them. Their previous interaction with Khan had made things awkward, so they limited themselves to inspect him from afar while they read the reports on their phones. It didn't take much before everyone learnt about the Second Impact, Istrone, and Nitis.
Felix appeared envious of the other soldiers. His eyes continued to fall on his pocket while the duo waited for the dinner to arrive, and Khan eventually decided to address the issue.
"You should read the report," Khan stated as he took his phone. "I should also see it to see what it says about me."
Felix hesitated, but his self-restraint vanished when he saw that Khan had opened Lieutenant Kintea's report on his phone. The soldier didn't hesitate to draw his device and do the same before immersing himself in Nitis' events.
'This is so sloppy,' Khan commented in his mind while reading the report.
Lieutenant Kintea had skipped many details, especially those that could put the Global Army under a bad light, to focus on the few accomplishments of the political mission. Khan ended up being at the center of them since his name appeared whenever the soldier spoke about the relationship with the Niqols.
'Khan has carried out his task as potential ambassador perfectly,' Khan read one of the lines quoting Lieutenant Kintea. 'Even the Niqols have acknowledged his dedication to his species, power, and flexibility. It's not surprising that the alien princess has fallen so hard for him. I found it hard to talk with him due to all the time he spent with her or among other Niqols.'
"Wow," Felix exclaimed after going through the report. "Did you really lose so many troops? Maybe it's for the best that the planet is off-limits for now."
Felix realized that he had said too much when he noticed Khan's glare. He wanted to say something to correct his words, but groups of women suddenly entered the dining hall since they had finished showering. Their arrival claimed the attention of the men in the room, but they didn't seem interested in those gazes.
All the women had their phones in their hands, and gasps often resounded among them. They couldn't even stop sneaking peeks at Khan whenever they read about his feats of relationship. Some even giggled before approaching the stools near him. Felix could barely contain his excitement when he understood that he had become the friend of the most popular soldier in the camp.
****
Author's notes: My grandfather died yesterday, and I spent most of today between the funeral and my family. I don't know how many chapters I'll manage to write, but I'll try to push something on a daily basis. I'll let myself be like this until Monday when I'll resume with the normal schedule.. I'm sorry for the countless issues.