'What has even happened here?' Khan wondered, but his thoughts transformed into a curse when he recalled his conversation with Doku.
"Did the Niqols bring the booze?" Khan gave voice to a rhetorical question to check how far gone George was.
"They gave ush everything freely!" George shouted. "We had to celebrate!"
Khan had seen his good share of drunk behaviors after spending eleven years in the Slums. Every narrow street or corner hid someone who preferred a bottle of the cheapest liquor available on the market over a good meal. His father had also shown and taught him a lot about booze.
George seemed to belong to the happy drunk category. He shouted and felt the need to drink more to stretch the feelings experienced in that state. He didn't appear problematic, but leaving him there didn't seem proper, especially since it was still the middle of the day.
The first of the three days had basically just begun, but lying drunk around the camp wasn't a behavior worthy of a recruit who had earned the honor of serving on Nitis. Everyone there still had to be an elite inside the Global Army, and George was far from that in his current condition.
Khan inspected his surroundings, but he didn't find anyone. The camp felt empty, and only the faint cries of the moles near the holes containing worms resounded in the area.
That sight wasn't completely unusual. The week had entered in the free days right after a major crisis that had forced every soldier to fight. Moreover, it was lunch hour. Everyone probably was in the canteen or inside their respective rooms.
"You are one lucky guy," Khan commented while showing a faint smile.
"Of course!" George laughed. "I'm one of Ishtrone's shurvivors! No one is luckier than me!"
"Let's not talk about that," Khan sighed as his expression grew cold. "Don't ruin your mood."
"Yesh, sir!" George shouted before exploding into another loud laugh.
Khan bent toward George and helped him stand up. He had done the same with his father at times, and he had been only a kid back then. Doing the same after obtaining the mana felt like child's play.
George didn't struggle against Khan. He seemed to trust him completely, even if he didn't understand why the two were walking back into the camp.
Khan supported George from his shoulder. He had even wrapped a hand around his waist to make sure that he didn't fall. Directly carrying him would have been faster, but the recruit risked puking on him if he ended up upside-down.
The duo quickly reached the building with the many flats, and Khan didn't hesitate to bring the boy inside. Still, the scene that unfolded in his vision left him a bit surprised.
A few barrels filled the corridors, and the dense pink liquid seen during the official celebration came out from some of them. Multiple cups also lay on the floor and at the entrances of the open flats. It seemed that a proper party had happened there.
"It was sooo fun!" George shouted.
Khan revealed a faint smile as he shook his head. He had seen similar scenes too often to criticize the recruits, especially after what they had been through. Also, his mood was too good that day to feel bothered about those minor issues.
George's voice alerted some recruits who didn't hesitate to come out of their flats to see what was happening in the corridor. Khan saw Natalie, Veronica, and a few boys of whom he vaguely recalled the names. They all showed frowns caused by headaches connected to the booze, but they appeared completely sober.
"Khan, you are back," Veronica announced in a voice that sounded like a groan. "You also found George."
"I see that you had fun," Khan laughed while helping George moving forward.
"The Lieutenant and the Captain had to go to the city to handle some political matters," Veronica explained. "They left Paul in charge of the camp since the other class and its squad captain had to help capture Ugu, but a group of Niqols brought these as soon as he returned inside his quarters."
"They know the importance of secrecy," Natalie commented before groaning since speaking caused waves of pain to spread through her head.
"They told us to thank you for this," Veronica continued while patting a barrel next to her. "You are full of surprises."
Khan limited himself to smile while he continued to drag George across the corridor. Yet, he stopped when he realized that he didn't know where his room was.
"Sixth to the left," Veronica solved his doubt when she noticed how lost he appeared.
The girl even stepped forward and bent under George's free shoulder to help Khan with the process. The two led the boy inside his flat in a few seconds, and they threw him on his bed right after crossing the entrance.
"How did you even end up in this condition?" Khan asked as those who had stepped out of their flats gathered in George's room. "I thought you had more self-control."
"It wasn't our fault," Natalie explained before moving her gaze to the ground. "We have only been slightly careless."
"The Niqols warned us about this batch," Veronica added. "Apparently, it has come out stronger than usual. We didn't realize that we were getting drunk until it was too late."
Khan shook his head again, but his faint smile never left his face. He instinctively took away George's shoes as vague nostalgia rose inside his mind.
"You are good with drunks," Veronica commented after inspecting that scene.
"I come from the Slums," Khan limited himself to explain, and Veronica waited for him to wear a different expression, but that change never happened.
Veronica would never dare to claim to know Khan well, but she had observed him in the past days. That was a normal action since every recruit looked up to him, but she had a keen perception on her side. She could almost sense that something had changed inside him.
Khan often appeared cold and resolute, but a kind aura surrounded him now. Veronica couldn't explain what that vibe meant. If she had to guess, she would say that Khan had found some peace.
"I'll hit the canteen now," Khan informed the others who nodded and opened a path for him, but their expression froze when they saw a stern figure on the other side of the corridor.
Khan noticed that reaction and peeked at the corridor from the flat's entrance. He could see that Paul was inspecting the chaotic scene with a cold expression that grew angrier with each passing second.
"Do I need to ask?" Paul asked in a cold voice.
"We'll clean everything up," Khan promptly announced while coming out of George's room and performing a military salute. "We only wanted to tighten our relationship with the Niqols' classes and prepare for the imminent mission in the academies, but we underestimated the alien booze."
The recruits shot admiring gazes toward Khan, and they quickly imitated him by performing military salutes toward Paul. The boys and girls couldn't help but feel safer now that Khan had taken the situation into his own hands. That mess wasn't even his fault, but he had decided to step forward to help them.
Paul wanted to remain angry, but he couldn't continue to keep a stern face in front of a recruit who showed so much potential. Khan appeared as a natural-born leader in that situation. He didn't only show loyalty toward his companions. He was even facing his problems head-on.
"Clean up," Paul eventually ordered. "I will personally send you all back to Earth if I smell the faintest scent of booze when I come to check on you again."
"Thank you, sir!" Khan shouted, and the recruits imitated him.
The scene made Paul nod in approval. He even turned to leave the building, but a rude shout suddenly resounded from George's room and made him stop his tracks.
"We totally tricked him!" George laughed from inside his flat. "I'm telling you. Khan ish born for this. He ish the besht fucking bet during a crishsh!"
The clear drunken and rude voice made Paul cross the corridor and reach George's room in an instant. Khan didn't even try to stop him. He could see from the soldier's expression that words couldn't help anymore.
"On your feet!" Paul ordered when his eyes landed on George's sorry figure.
"I'm shorry, shir," George laughed as he stretched both arms and legs. "Everything ish shpinning. Permisshion to resht, shir."
"Permission denied," Paul snorted. "Get up now before I write a formal report to Lieutenant Kintea."
George began to laugh. He lightly slapped his cheeks as he straightened his position and sat on the bed. It took him a few seconds to make sure that his stomach felt stable enough to remain in that position, but his laugh returned once he confirmed that.
"What's so funny?" Paul shouted.
"You won't write anything about today," George laughed. "They will never make you Lieutenant if they find out that your underlings can get drunk right under your nose."
The recruits peeking at that scene widened their eyes in surprise. George seemed to have recovered after sitting, and the words that came out of his mouth were clearly meant to mock his direct superior.
"You are out of line," Paul growled while gritting his teeth.
Paul hated to admit that George was right. He could easily hide the incident from his superiors, but everything would become far more complicated with an official report. He couldn't send recruits back on Earth without reason, and every nasty event would inevitably reflect poorly on him.
"Out of line?" George suddenly stopped laughing to wear a cold expression. "Fuck you, Paul. The army wants us to commit a genocide. Why can't I have the chance to get drunk?"
George then turned toward the other recruits and showed a disgusted expression before continuing. "What are you looking at? You have no idea what's coming for you."
George's face relaxed when his eyes fell on Khan. The boy even suppressed a sob when he saw the only person in the room that he couldn't insult.
The boy lay on the bed again and turned to face the wall. His body shook a few times as he suppressed his tears. It seemed that the booze had forced everything that George had bottled inside his mind to come out, and Khan knew that the experience was far from nice.
"Khan?" George eventually said in a pleading voice.
"What is it?" Khan asked as his cold eyes fell on the floor.
"I'm still there," George revealed. "I'm still in the forest, and I can't get out."
"I'm there too," Khan said. "I'm there with you."
George sniffed before continuing. "We cut her hand, Khan. All those corpses, so many corpses."
George fell asleep on those words, and Paul felt on the verge of exploding into a burst of anger. However, a hand landed on his shoulder and made him turn toward his owner.
Khan shook his head when Paul looked at him, and the latter slowly calmed down when he saw his cold azure eyes. Some feelings didn't need words to reach others, and Paul was experiencing that while reading the emotions on Khan's face.
"You and me. Outside," Paul limited himself to say before hurrying outside of the flat.
Khan glanced a George, and sadness filled his expression. The boy had always been joyous during the last days, but it seemed that he had yet to accept Istorne's events. His behavior was probably a mask meant to hide his actual mental state.
Natalie and the other recruits stared at Khan while he left the flat and moved toward the building's exit, but he didn't even glance at them. He couldn't pretend now. He felt unable to muster enough strength to lie, so he decided to ignore his companions.
Paul was waiting for him right outside the building. The soldier walked up and down the large street while stomping his feet. He was livid, but a tinge of regret had also appeared on his expression.
"The reports never express the true cruelty of a battlefield," Paul exclaimed when he heard the building's sliding doors closing behind Khan.
"Istrone wasn't a battlefield," Khan explained. "It was a slaughter that the Kred failed to complete."
Paul snorted, but he stomped his feet right afterward. His eyes eventually fell on Khan when he stopped, and an honest question finally came out of his mouth.
"Be honest," Paul uttered. "Should I send him back on Earth?"
"No," Khan limited himself to reply.
"He is unstable!" Paul complained.
"He was drunk," Khan defended George.
"Give me a reason to keep him here then!" Paul shouted. "He disrespected a direct superior."
"He is still here after facing hell," Khan replied without showing the slightest hesitation. "He's the kind of soldier that you want to have on the battlefield once the sunlight arrives."
Paul wanted to complain, but he couldn't say anything against that. He voiced a loud curse before turning toward his quarters and leaving the area without bothering to give additional orders.
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