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C140 - Threats

The first week inside [The Pure Trees] tested Khan's physical and mental limits. Attending lessons that heavily focused on his mind for twelve hours a day, fusing them with his regular training, and leaving some time for Liiza forced him to sacrifice his sleep often. He even had to forsake his naps on Snow's back to fit his mental exercises and meditations at times.

The problem wasn't with Khan's ability to manage his time. He simply had too much to do, or, rather, he didn't want to forsake any aspect of his life.

??

His companions didn't have it as bad as Khan. Only George and Veronica attended Professor Supyan's additional lessons, but the girl decided to stop going after only two days. Instead, the other recruits didn't even bother to try them, no matter how much George praised them.

Khan often supported George's claims. Professor Supyan was far better than Professor Zakhira at explaining the manipulation field. It turned out that the subject heavily depended on the user's emotions, so Khan and George spent entire mornings practicing their control over those feelings.

The additional lessons even showed small results by the last class of the week, when Khan managed to make his crystal glow with a dark-azure shade. Professor Zakhira didn't bother to compliment him for that small achievement, but everyone noticed that her cane didn't hit the floor violently anymore after that event.

The Niqols' easygoing approach didn't reflect on the distribution of lessons throughout the weeks. Both humans and aliens had classes for five days in a row, and the matter changed only for the students in the second year, especially those who already had access to the special classes.

It turned out that Liiza could ignore the academy for entire weeks as long as she kept the professors updated on her field. Her freedom made her decide to spend most of her time outside or in the marsh since she had no reason to be inside [The Pure Trees].

Her presence when the humans arrived wasn't casual either. Liiza had decided to remain a bit longer inside the academy to watch her boyfriend. Otherwise, she would avoid remaining in those areas because Ilman never lost the chance to propose to her.

Liiza confirmed that Khan's advice didn't cause any change in Ilman's behavior, but their talks rarely focused on the Niqols. She saw how Khan's condition worsened as the days passed and he failed to rest properly. Yet, she held back from exploding until her boyfriend was done with the weekly lessons.

"No sex until you accumulate four hours of sleep," Liiza announced as soon as Khan sat next to her and placed his back on the cold, wet walls of their cave.

Khan's tough week had finally awarded him with free time. He had completed the last lesson of the fifth day just a few hours ago, and he had even stayed in Doku's party for some time to keep up appearances. He could finally spend an entire night with Liiza without worrying about his duties, but she had surprised him with those words before they could even hug.

"What do you mean?" Khan complained. "I'm as fine as ever."

His appearance didn't agree with his words. Khan had large dark eyebags, his complexion had paled due to the relentless training, and his bloodshot eyes expressed how much effort he put in the Niqols' lessons and mental exercises.

His responses were even vague at times. Khan lost himself in his tiredness at times, but that was understandable when considering his condition. He had basically stopped sleeping. Even his naps had become a rare occurrence.

"You have been in the academy for five days," Liiza stated. "How much did you sleep during that time?"

Khan opened his mouth to complain again, but Liiza's angry glare forced him to think about the matter seriously. The situation didn't look too good when he played the previous four nights in his mind. He found it hard to recall his last nap.

"Five hours?" Khan honestly guessed. "Maybe six. I remember that I fell asleep with you once."

"For a few seconds!" Liiza angrily remarked. "That's it. I've studied your limits in the month that we have been together. Your resilience is incredible, but that's not a good reason to make use of it. You must accumulate four hours of sleep every two days, or my legs will remain sealed!"

"Wait," Khan growled. "What about your feelings? I thought you still had a hard time controlling yourself. Also, we didn't get the chance to celebrate our month together…."

Khan's tease made Liiza blush, especially since he wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her in his embrace. Liiza sat on his lap and let him hug her, but she didn't leave her blanket for even a second.

"You are four hours short," Liiza snorted. "You shouldn't worry about my self-restraint either. I have always been quite popular, and Ilman has become strangely attractive lately. Maybe your advice really helped him."

A tremor ran through Khan's body, and his body tensed up while he brought Liiza closer to his chest. The girl didn't turn at all, so he failed to check how serious she was about the matter.

"Liiza?" Khan called her in a worried voice. "You are joking, right? Please, don't use Ilman to scare me."

Khan pulled Liiza closer and even lightly tugged her to attract her attention. However, the Niqols continued to keep her back straight and cover Khan's vision with her white blanket.

Khan relaxed only when he heard Liiza suppressing a cute giggle. Her efforts eventually failed to hide her real feelings and made her explode into a loud laugh. The Niqols relaxed her back at that point, and she slid over Khan's chest to make sure that her face could stare straight at his eyes when she turned it.

"You are so cute when you play along," Liiza whispered before showing a warm smile toward Khan.

Khan also smiled when those glowing eyes shone on his face. He had always known that Liiza was teasing him. She wouldn't even think about cheating on him after what Yeza had made Deni go through.

"I know that you like it," Khan revealed. "I didn't only look at your legs in this month."

"Oh, trust me," Liiza scoffed. "I know that you have looked everywhere else too."

Liiza failed to fake the anger in her voice and ended up giggling by the end of her line. The two exchanged a long kiss at that point, but Khan saw an actual worried expression appearing on his girlfriend's face when they separated.

"Though I'm serious," Liiza said in a pleading voice. "I know that I can't control you. I don't want to do that either. I also know that you consider me and your training more important than yourself, but I don't. I'll force you to rest even if it ends up hurting me."

"I don't want you to suffer because of me," Khan responded in a stern tone as he recalled Zalpa's warnings.

"Then rest," Liiza pleaded, diving into his neck.

"I forced you to do this again," Khan sighed while lying on the ground and making sure to keep Liiza above him.

"It's fine," Liiza mumbled in a sleepy voice. "It's in your nature. I hate it, but I like you for being like this."

Khan couldn't help but caress Liiza's back. He couldn't express how close he felt to her in that situation, but an unrelated doubt still appeared in his mind.

"Do I really have to accumulate four hours of sleep every two days?" Khan wondered. "I'm pretty sure I can be fine with three or even two."

"Ilman is taller than you now that I think about it," Liiza teased while her peaceful smile remained on her face.

"I'll sleep right away!" Khan announced, and his eyes closed while Liiza's cute giggle resounded in his ears.

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"I can accept you spending your nights outside the academy," Kelly scolded when she saw Khan descending the staircase that led to the human habitations, "But how can you justify remaining an entire day somewhere on an alien planet? What if the Niqols requested our presence? What if the Global Army requested a briefing?"

Khan descended the last step and glanced at Kelly before throwing the dirty robes in his grasp toward the corner of the room. He had ended up spending the entire day with Liiza. That was already the sixth night of his first week in the academy, but Kelly had yet to accept his habits.

George and the others were all inside the underground room. Doku didn't organize any party that night, so they had the chance to focus on their training and get back to their habitation early.

The days spent attending the lessons had made their minds reach their limits, so they wanted to sleep as soon as possible now that they had free time. The recruits had only completed their real training and exchanged a few talks with the other Niqols returning to their room. Khan had returned by nine pm when they were about to crash on their beds.

George, Veronica, and the recruits who had kept track of Khan's worsening condition during the past days couldn't help but notice that he appeared to be far better that night.

Khan's face still carried the faint trace of eye bags, but they had dimmed a lot since the last time the recruits saw him. Moreover, his clean white robe and the messy long hair that fell from his head gave him a rested appearance.

"You know," Khan sighed as he adjusted his robe to make sure that the marks left by Liiza remained hidden, "Your remarks are getting annoying. You have no authority over any one of us, so I don't understand why you keep thinking that I should listen to you."

"Your behavior is putting the mission at risk," Kelly explained in a firm tone. "We aren't here to enjoy ourselves. You can't do whatever you want."

"Risk?" Khan scoffed. "I attend more lessons than you, the Niqols don't hesitate to search for me when a party is about to happen, and I'm even the only one showing results in their training methods. How am I putting the mission at risk?"

"A good soldier on the field should be able to blend with the aliens without forgetting his troops!" Kelly quoted a famous phrase that Khan vaguely recalled from the lessons in the human camp. "You aren't doing that. You don't consider your companions at all!"

"Technically, we are still recruits," Khan stated while shrugging his shoulders. "You might have had a point if I were an ambassador, but I'm just another kid sent to make a good impression, and I think I'm doing well."

Kelly opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out of it. She hated to admit that Khan was right, but his uncaring behavior only made her angrier.

"I won't hide this from my report once the mission is over," Kelly eventually threatened.

"And what would you even say?" Khan laughed before clearing his throat and trying to imitate Kelly's voice. "Khan has spent every night outside the academy without notifying his companions. His desire for privacy has been a major threat to the mission, even if he has been the only one who has actually tried to learn from the Niqols. George has done the same, even if his interest usually peaked during the parties."

Khan winked toward George, and the latter couldn't help but laugh at his joke. Veronica also giggled while covering her mouth. Rodney and Helen showed similar reactions, even if the girl added an interested gaze to her suppressed chuckle.

"I'm telling you that you have to stop spending your nights outside," Kelly ordered while standing up from her bed.

The laughs stopped at that scene. Kelly appeared livid and ready to do something drastic. Brandon and George wanted to stand up to defuse that situation, but Khan's words resounded in the room before they could attempt anything.

"Otherwise?" Khan asked as his expression grew cold. "Did you forget who I am?"

Khan's expression radiated a chilling aura. He had shown the same face when the lake created the image of a Nak, and he had even worn it for most of his time on Istrone. George's mind inevitably went battle-ready, but he remained unclear about who he had to stop in that situation.

Faint steps echoed through the room as Khan began to walk toward Kelly. The girl's face showed no fear, but she didn't move either. She was doing her best to appear confident, but the rumors about Khan inevitably filled her mind.

Khan's chilling expression was enough to warn her that the boy in front of her wasn't a simple recruit. There was a graveness in his face that she found herself unable to endure. The vague rumors picked up in the days in the other camp and during that week also filled her mind with worries.

Khan had initially decided to ignore Kelly's behavior. He even understood her worries, but he wasn't willing to sacrifice his time with Liiza to reassure her.

Still, the repeated scolding and her threat had forced Khan to show a face that only George knew well. Kelly was revealing herself as a potential issue for his relationship, so Khan decided to make her understand that they weren't at the same level.

"Do you have any idea what I did on Istrone?" Khan whispered in a chilling voice when he reached Kelly.

The girl was taller than him, but she appeared incredibly small when he stopped in front of her. The cold worlds echoing in the room even worsened the atmosphere. Kelly suddenly didn't feel safe anymore. Her instincts were telling her that Khan was dangerous.

"Uhm, is this a bad moment?" A familiar voice suddenly resounded from the staircase and attracted the recruits' attention.

Everyone turned to see that Doku had appeared at the end of the staircase. The Niqols wore an awkward expression since he had heard part of the discussion while descending, but Khan made sure to get rid of his hesitation.

"I don't think that we are in the mood for a party tonight," Khan announced while his cold expression broke into a smile.

"It's not that," Doku explained while fixing his eyes on him and dodging the other's gaze. "I have an important mission tomorrow, and Professor Zakhira suggested that you should join my team."

To be continued