?716 Team

The mission didn't immediately start, but its preparations did. The message had listed the team members for the political envoy, and everyone gathered in the Harbor by the end of the week.

The gathering location had nothing to do with Khan. He was still hosting lessons, but the Global Army wasn't doing him any favor. The Harbor was the closest area to the destination and the only place with the required interspecies clearance.

Khan rode to the Harbor's hangars when the embassy warned him about everyone's arrival. It was the middle of the morning, five days after the official order, but the network remained silent about it.

No amount of scrolling on the phone brought Khan to the news he sought. He spent the entire ride to the hangars looking for official statements or announcements, but the network had nothing. It didn't even mention the imminent end of the lessons, which were supposed to be public knowledge.

Khan had also expressed his doubts to Abraham, but he was as clueless as him. The scientist didn't hear anything about his imminent departure, probably indicating that the Global Army wanted everything to be sudden. As for why, Khan had his guesses, most of which came from paranoia.

Nevertheless, Abraham wasn't completely useless. His knowledge of the scientific departments had allowed him to recognize the mission's personnel, adding information the message didn't report. Everyone was a specialist and had no notable affiliation with Khan's most obvious enemies.

That was both good and bad. The presence of proper and affirmed specialists highlighted the mission's seriousness. The Global Army appeared ready to spare no expense to succeed in the first contact with the Scalqa, which reassured Khan. It wouldn't make sense to deploy such experts just to trick him.

At the same time, Khan had proven his worth time and time again. He had survived and triumphed over untold and unfathomable crises. If the Global Army wanted to set a trap, it would have to use and sacrifice experts of that caliber.

The pickle wasn't solvable by thoughts alone, so Khan decided to suspend his paranoia until he had gotten a good look at his team. He trusted the knowledge achieved after years of political games, but his senses remained more reliable. He wouldn't mind making the specialists faint to uncover their secrets.

The cab landed in the Harbor's hangars, and a team of soldiers welcomed Khan before escorting him into more classified areas. The public wasn't aware of the imminent mission, so all the preparations happened inside isolated docks.

No words flew while Khan followed the soldiers through the many corridors between hangars. That maze of labs, teleports, and passages had long since become familiar to him, but his destination managed to hold a few surprises.

Khan arrived in a slightly small but packed hangar. Boxes and machines lined the walls, and multiple soldiers attended to them, creating a cramped vibe.

The number of boxes and machines seemed overkill for a single mission handled by a small team, but the ship towering at the hangar's center told a different story. Khan recognized that model, but his stern expression tried to falter anyway.

The grey vehicle had three sections: A huge, rectangular central part with a half-spherical canopy and two smaller, cylindrical units. The latter were connected to the main ship through narrow, rectangular bridges, and their detachable function allowed them to turn into scouting shuttles.

Each section had a pair of engines, with the central part having three. Antennas and other tools also stretched from the ship's smooth gray surface, hinting at the many functions it could perform.

'They are really serious about this,' Khan couldn't help but think.

The ship's quality, the team's size, and the boxes' high number told Khan a complete story. The vehicle could hold up to twenty soldiers, but the political envoy would only have six with Khan. The equipment and supplies would fill the rest of the space, so the Global Army believed the mission would be long.

That was hardly surprising considering the mission's nature, but Khan believed the Global Army had overdone it. Baoway was bound to have natural resources, and the plan was to settle there anyway. Preparing the ship for months of survival in orbit didn't make much sense.

The paranoia kicked in. Khan could take that as a good sign since the Global Army wouldn't invest so much into a mere trap. However, the opposite was also true. Everything had to be highly realistic to trick Khan.

Those doubts had no end or solution, so Khan didn't linger on them. He absorbed everything about the area in a matter of seconds before striding forward. The soldiers in the hangar stopped left and right to perform military salutes, but Khan only looked at the ship.

The ship had two vast side doors, which were both lifted to allow the loading process. Voices and other noises also came out of them, with some exuding anger. Khan didn't mind them, but his escort team looked troubled.

The escort team split into two rows to create a passage for Khan, and one of the soldiers even jumped inside the ship. The action didn't cause any reaction, but the following announcement did.

"Major on deck!

" The soldier shouted, performing a military salute as soon as his feet touched the ship's floor.

One round of thudding noises unfolded before silence reigned. The angry voices disappeared, leaving only stillness behind. Tension leaked into the symphony, and that feeling thickened when Khan climbed into the ship.

Khan glanced around him. He was in the ship's cargo area, which the soldiers had converted into a lab. A few machines were also turned on, emitting blue light that suggested ongoing software, but Khan focused mainly on the people around him.

It was easy to differentiate between soldiers and specialists. Khan could probably just rely on his nose for that. It wasn't just a matter of excluding the sweaty workers from the group. The vibes leaked by their auras were enough to highlight his future teammates.

Khan glanced to his right, past the sweaty soldier beside a rectangular box. Two young men were performing military salutes, and traces of anger still lingered around their figures.

Khan then glanced to his left. A young woman was standing before the wall, also performing a military salute. A layer of cheerfulness enveloped her, but the sharpness of her aura remained palpable. She was no clueless kid on her first mission.

Another woman stood farther away, this one seemingly pushing forty. Sternness floated around her, and her brown eyes radiated wisdom. She knew exactly what Khan was doing, so she was wearing her best military salute.

Lastly, a man in his thirties stood before the door to the ship's front area. He shared the middle-aged woman's seriousness, but his eyes also carried some curiosity. Still, his inspection didn't make him forget his military salute.

All in all, the group looked more than decent. The two young men were second-level warriors, but their role had nothing to do with the battlefield. The young woman was a third-level warrior, and the remaining two members were in the fourth level. That was a good set-up, especially with the addition of Khan.

'I can't sense anything odd,' Khan concluded, but his doubts remained. Yet, he temporarily put them aside to move to the next task.

"Introduce yourselves,

" Khan ordered, nodding at the two young men.

"The researchers first.

"

"Marcus Tairnu, sir,

" The tanned, brown-haired man announced.

"My specialization includes all the research-related software we'll use in the mission. I can modify the programming of scanners and ship's computers alike.

"

"K-Kirk Holger, sir,

" The blondish, skinny man followed.

"I'll deal with any hardware issue, ship included.

"

Khan then nodded at the young woman, and her cheerful voice soon filled the area.

"Amy Padridge, scout. Although I won't claim to be as good as you, sir.

"

The compliment didn't distract Khan from the task, and the middle-aged woman spoke as soon as he looked at her.

"Celeste Pakenwell, xenolinguistics. It's a pleasure to meet you, Major.

"

The last man began speaking even before Khan glanced at him.

"Randall Perelli, alien species specialist and team leader, sir.

"

Khan's eyes lingered on Randall longer than the others. The man had dark skin, and his military uniform hid a lean body. He wasn't muscular, but Khan couldn't deem him weak either. He looked pretty capable, but Khan couldn't consider him his match.

Randall couldn't see the world reflected in Khan's eyes, so the longer inspection put him on the spot. Tension expanded in his mind as his thoughts raced to find something wrong with his previous statement, and only one detail popped out.

"Of course,

" Randall promptly continued,

"If you wish to be the team leader, sir, no one would object.

"

"I have no interest in leadership,

" Khan responded, diverting his gaze.

"I'll focus on the Scalqa and share what I discover.

"

Khan's few words had been enough to erect a wall between his teammates and him. Clearly, he had no interest in friendly cooperation, but the scout didn't seem to care.

"Sir, sir,

" Amy chirped, breaking her military salute to lean forward.

"The Global Army provided a lot of booze. What do you say we have a toast to break the ice?

"

Amy's intentions felt pure and founded on the best intentions, but Khan was in no mood to make new friends. He was so wary about the potential trap that a chilling vibe invaded his following words.

"Put me up to speed,

" Khan ignored the request.

"The toasts won't happen until I trust you.

"