War on Geminar Arc - 3

Khan was standing in the hangerbay of the Swan. As Mexiah began her docking procedure. She was sent there as both an agent of the church and a concerned sister. Khan thought on the best way to handle the situation. Mexiah's unique nature was of concern for Khan. While he knew she could be influenced, that safety feature attached to Doll would be problematic. All his hard work erased in an instant if Babalun activated it.

Khan figured the best way would be to knock off Babalun early. The weapon needed was in the Barrier Workshop, with secrecy its only guard. Grabbing it would be no problem, and the fact that the core crystal is inside Babalun's left eye made it easier. Khan would need to check to make sure that there were no hidden complications, but he was fairly certain he could do it with no one the wiser.

As Mexiah stepped out of her mechanoid, Khan couldn't help but appreciate her busty figure. Mexiah's casual manner of speaking to Lashara really got Chiaia up in arms. But what got Khan's attention was the notice that appeared when Mexiah looked at him.

[Notice a seed has been planted in Mexiah Flan. (Warning, due to alternate personality and synthetic nature, the progress will be suppressed whenever they switch. Condition will remain even if full corruption is achieved until the multiple personalities are dealt with.)]

While the message wasn't a surprise, since he already thought about that possibility. However, it was comforting to know the system would notify him in case he overlooked something. Now he had to but wait and see Babalun's next move. Before Doll would've brought Kenshi before Dagmeyr and sparked the whole Kenshi fighting for Lashara bit, but now it was up in the air.

Night has fallen. Khan was sleeping alone in his bedroom when Doll appeared. Khan sensed her presence immediately, but since there was no killing intent, Khan pretended to still be asleep. Doll approached and, with impressive speed, had Khan wrapped up in an instant.

Khan was impressed if he wasn't pretending to be asleep he wouldn't have even noticed any of the things she was doing. With almost no effort on her part, Doll had gotten Khan out of the Swan. A few minutes later, Khan was done pretending to be asleep, but he still wasn't trying to escape yet. After a fashion, Khan found himself on Dagmeyr's ship, Dagmeyr was there, his mask cracked. He was clearly trying to hide the severity of his injury, but something was bothering Khan.

They grabbed Kenshi in order to keep him from exposing their secrets, which in the end is what convinced him to do that very thing. Which was causing Khan to wonder because if it was their intention to kill him, they would've done that back at the Swan. That left two possibilities in terms of reasons.

The first option, they were hoping to set him up as some bandit who attacked Dagmeyr. Which would seem unlikely since they would have to do it in a manner that would cause Lashara to keep away. The second option was that they were hoping to force him to work for them. If that was the case, using the threat of violence would probably make this Babalun's plan since Dagmeyr preferred to play Prince Charming and convince people to serve voluntarily, at least on the surface.

Dagmeyr spoke first in that deep, augmented voice, saying, "So this is the pilot that bested me. I must say I'm a little disappointed that you were captured this easily, but you do have skills. Skills my employer wants. So, I make you this one-time offer join us or die."

Dagmeyr's body language suggested that this was purely for show, done to placate his farther. Suddenly, an unseen smile appeared on Khan's face as an idea popped into his head. A rush of nostalgia hit Khan as he prepared to give a response. It was something he hadn't done since his time in the Resident Evil universe. Khan speaking in the exact same voice that Dagmeyr just used said, "Little boy, do you honestly believe that you are in any condition to act on that threat."

...

Hearing the exact imitation of Dagmeyr's augmented voice threw everyone else in the room for a loop. Doll, who only had a passive interest, was suddenly far more intrigued. Doll was not particularly impressed with this latest scheme of Babalun's. Mostly because of how pointless it was, they either force this newcomer to submit or dispose of them.

Doll was sure that both would fail due to some reason or another. She was also disappointed by Dagmeyr's posturing. He is blind and will never be able to pilot a Sacred Mechanoid again, but he is still acting like he is the one who is going to rule the world.

Well, his delusion was none of her concern. However, what was her concern is this man in front of who somehow had his ropes cut. Since Dagmeyr was blind and the others in shock, no one stopped the man as he fled. Not that Doll was actually going to do anything about it since technically, in her current state, she can only follow orders.

...

Khan had made to the deck of the ship when he got the last notice he ever expected.

[Warning, you have contracted Rodeshiatore - The altitude sickness.]

As Khan began to stumble towards the railing as his mind tried to make sense of what was happening. It took Khan only a moment to realize that none of his perks would actually protect him from illness. Which explained the next part of that notice.

[The sickness will incapacitate you. Your current body is immune to any leathel potential of the disease, but you are still subsectable to the more diablitating aspects of the disease. Without proper treatment, recovery time will be: 5 days.]

Khan couldn't help but laugh. The Mercer Augmentation granted him many benefits, but up until that moment, Khan had never been sick with anything, and he honestly thought that the perk was responsible for that. Apparently, Khan just had an amazing constitution.

Suddenly, Dagmeyr's Mechanoid burst through the hanger doors. Its movement was sloppy, and Dagmeyr was yelling at the top of his lungs. Khan reached the railing and jumped. His plan was to enter the Shadow Nexus and sneak back to the Swan, but halfway down, he was caught. Khan's vision was fading fast, but he still managed to read the notice.

[A seed has been planted in Aura Shurifon]

Khan couldn't help but wonder if he had stolen Kenshi's plot armor when he killed him or if this was something else. As Aura carried him away, Khan decided to rest and reevaluate his plans since he now had to take potential diseases into account.

'Annoying.' Was Khan's last thought before passing out.

...

Aura held this mysterious stranger's hand as he lay in bed. She learned that his name was Khan and his current state was due to him getting Rodeshiatore. After a rather difficult ordeal, Aura managed to aquire a plant that would help him recover. Now she sits by his side, waiting for him to regain consciousness.

Honestly, she doesn't understand where this desire comes from, but she feels it's necessary. Aura's thoughts were interrupted when Khan began stirring. When his eyes opened, Aura immediately said, "Don't worry, you're safe aboard the Swan."

Khan's attention was on her, and Aura felt her cheeks getting warmer under his gaze. She tried calming herself, and then Aura asked, "What is the last thing you remember." Khan eyes locked with hers, and then he said, "I was trying to escape some people who wanted me dead."

Suddenly, Aura's attention was drawn elsewhere when she heard, "What can you tell us about the ones who were holding you?" It was empress Lashara. Khan answered, saying, "Most of them wore masks and heavy clothing. However, there was one there, a girl around your build, pale skin, and light green hair. They called her Doll."

Lashara had a blank look on her face as she mentally reviewed what she had just learned, and then she said, "Alright, thank you, go ahead and rest. We will discuss this more in the morning." Then Lashara turned to Aura and said, "Aura, we have a room prepared for you. You should get some rest as well."

Aura knew it was the proper thing to do, but she felt inclined to say, "I thank you for such generosity, but I should stay here in case they make another attempt on him." Lashara got a sly look on her face before saying, "We doubt they will try it twice in the same night, but if you wish to stay by Khan's side, then who are we to stop you." With that, Lashara left, and Aura was left to wrestle with a growing desire that under normal circumstances she would've recognized as unnatural.

...

Lashara was walking back to her room, thinking, 'Aura probably won't make a move right now, but we are sure she'll be Khan's before long. Hmm.. There are a number of available ladies in the Holy Land. Given his natural charm, if we get him a job there, then not only will we earn some funds, but Khan will definitely garner the attention of everyone there.'

Lashara suddenly burst out laughing. Her academy life would certainly be entertaining and potentially very profitable. Lashara then began to scheme on how to introduce Khan to the headmistress in order to kick start. Then another thought crossed her mind. Lashara would need to deal with the males at the academy. Otherwise, they might try something foolish. Lashara quickened her pace back to her room she would need to have a fully thought-out plan when they arrived, and she wasn't planning on disappointing Khan.