The first semester was about to end. The last two weeks of the sixth month usually marked the beginning of the missions that would evaluate the overall growth of the recruits and their different aptitudes, and Khan's class had just approached them.
"Do we have to use the teleport again?" Khan asked as the excitement that he felt helped sweep away part of the sadness that had taken control of his mind.
"Yes, but I can't disclose your destination," Lieutenant Unchai explained. "The Global Army doesn't want to give anyone time to prepare for the different environment."
The training camp had many wealthy recruits who could purchase or ask their families for suitable equipment once they discovered the location of the missions. Khan felt glad to learn that the Global Army was trying to prevent unfair advantages.
Soft grunts suddenly resounded behind Khan. Teco was turning Eztli, and more blood fell out of the foot-shaped injury on his abdomen during the process. Yet, Teco promptly tore a piece of his peculiar robe to put a patch on it.
Azure energy flowed out of Teco's hand and sealed the piece of his robe to the injury. His mana also made it waterproof and stopped the bleeding, but his expression didn't appear relieved in the slightest.
"There are many spells that don't require much concentration," Lieutenant Unchai explained. "The Global Army barely considers them as spells. You can give special features to your mana once you learn how to control it. It's not a vital skill, but it can help in many areas, especially on the battlefield."
Khan nodded while he watched Teco lifting Eztli and carrying him into a tunnel that led deeper into the mountain.
"Will he be okay?" Khan asked while following the duo with his eyes until they disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.
"He should," Lieutenant Unchai announced. "Mana can heal almost every injury. I once met a soldier with the flesh element who could rebuild entire human tissues. Surviving is easy. You just have to be careful about what you'll become in the process."
Khan lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while before heaving a deep sigh. Everything was in the past now. It was time to focus on the future.
"Can I go to the training hall now?" Khan asked as his voice gained a shameless tone.
"You should enjoy your last day ther-," Lieutenant Unchai exclaimed before approaching Khan's shoulder to pat him, but the dark patch on his uniform suddenly reminded him about his injury. "You aren't going anywhere! Some of you drag this idiot to the medical bay. Don't let him sneak away."
Martha promptly stepped forward, and Luke grabbed Bruce by his uniform before following his friend. The trio encircled Khan and quickly escorted him outside of the mountain.
"You don't have to do this," Khan said once the sunlight hit his eyes. "We can make a deal. I'll let you use the training hall once if we all go there."
"How magnanimous of you," Martha laughed.
"I think I have enough Credits to live inside a training hall," Luke commented while scratching his chin.
"The most expensive training hall in Ylaco's camp even," Bruce scoffed.
"You aren't any different, Bruce," Luke complained. "The Cobsend family has a higher status because of its connection with the noble families, but the Eerly family isn't poor at all. I might even say that you have as many Credits as me."
"That might be true," Bruce laughed, "But we both know that connections are more important than Credits at some point."
"Can we go back to my topic?" Khan asked. "The entire camp knows that you are rich. They literally know me because I'm with you."
"And because you stole Martha in mere weeks," Bruce said while clearing his throat to cover his words.
"I need to bring my hammers around more often," Martha snorted, but she lowered her head to hide her faint blush.
"Khan, I'll try to make it simple," Luke announced. "You have just secured a small chunk of faswite for the Global Army. The higher-ups will definitely make you attend a few missions here once we become proper soldiers. They want you to win tournaments, so they will invest in your training without asking anything in return."
"Will they?" Khan asked as his eyes lit up.
"Think it through," Bruce continued. "The Ef'i are generally stronger than us before the evolution, but you already are better than them. The Global Army will pay any price to send you here again."
"Is faswite so important?" Khan eventually asked.
"Organic cores are rare and inconvenient," Luke explained. "The future of the Global Army is with synthetic cores. The demand of faswite is nigh-endless due to all the recruits and ongoing experiments."
The conversation went on until the group reached the medical bay of the alien camp. It was a short building with large windows that showed its white insides filled with soldiers wearing white medical coats. All of them appeared to be human.
"We can leave him to you, right?" Bruce asked while looking at Martha.
"I'm not his nanny," Martha snorted.
"I hope not," Luke winked before the two boys left the area in a hurry and left Khan and Martha alone.
Khan turned to show a pleading expression toward Martha, but she gave voice to a low curse before pushing him inside the medical bay. A few nurses quickly arrived when they noticed the patch of blood on his uniform, and they immediately dragged him into one of the corridors.
One of the nurses took out a small knife that released a faint white light from its sharp edge and began to cut the dirty uniform. Khan wanted to complain, but he found himself shirtless in less than an instant.
"I could have taken it off," Khan complained. "No need to ruin an almost perfect uniform."
"Please be silent and don't move," One of the nurses ordered. "The injury has stopped bleeding, but the cut is quite deep. Also, you have multiple untreated contusions everywhere."
The second nurse cut away his trousers, which left Khan in pants in the middle of the corridor. Only the two nurses, Martha, and Khan were there, but he still felt a bit exposed.
"Wasn't there a room available?" Khan complained while scratching the side of his head.
"We use them only in essential situations," One of the nurses explained. "This is a medical bay in an alien camp. We must always be ready for a crisis."
The atmosphere in that medical bay was far different compared to Ylaco's training camp. Everything was tenser and handled quickly. The nurses and doctors didn't take their work as a simple job. They were on a mission there.
"Stay here and don't move," One of the nurses said before both of them pushed Khan on a bed and left to grab a few meds.
"They feel more like soldiers," Khan laughed while turning toward Martha, but he suddenly noticed that she was avoiding his gaze.
"What is it?" Khan asked. "Is something wrong?"
Martha glanced at Khan from the corner of her eyes, but she quickly moved her gaze away. Khan was basically naked. His pants covered his manhood, but they did a poor job at hiding its shape.
Martha managed to get a good look at Khan's body even with those glances. She could see how defined his muscles were. Khan was barely sixteen and a half, but his physique had already reached an incredible and quite appealing state.
"Are you ok?" Khan continued to ask.
Khan wasn't dense, but too much had happened that day. His mind could barely go past the events with Eztli, and the issues with the incoming mission waited for him afterward. He didn't have enough room to consider that Martha could feel shy seeing him almost naked.
The nurses suddenly reappeared at the end of the corridor, and Khan waved his hand to claim their attention.
"Can you take a look at my friend?" Khan shouted. "She doesn't seem too good."
The nurses quickly moved toward Martha, and understanding smiles appeared on their faces when they saw her blush.
"Can you handle him on your own?" Martha asked while keeping her voice down.
"Are you sure that you want to miss this?" One of the nurses teased her, but Martha promptly turned and left the area.
"Don't tell me that it's my fault," Khan sighed when the two women turned their smiles toward him.
"Young boys shouldn't ignore their ladies," The first nurse exclaimed.
"Everything seems complicated at this age," The second nurse continued, "But it really isn't. I bet you two have yet to clarify your situation."
'Women are sharp!' Khan shouted in his mind before lying backward and placing his back on the wall. 'I guess I should talk to her, but what can I even say. The missions will start tomorrow. Neither of us has time to handle feelings now.'