Liiza couldn't understand much from that robotic voice. The statent only carried vague clues, too, but Khan's following words cleared her confusion.
"Don't even start, Rodney," Khan warned. "I just want to talk business."
Ten years had passed, but Liiza still vividly recalled the sunlight crisis. She even rembered the human that had betrayed her species during that ss, and the narrow room grew colder once that realization arrived.
"[Scum]," Liiza muttered, her chilling tone conveying pristine killing intent.
"Was that the Niqols' language?" Rodney said, feigning surprise. "Is that you, Miss Liiza? Long ti no see! I'm pleased to hear you joined your human sweetheart in the habit of betraying your species."
Liiza's killing intent intensified, but Khan promptly took her hand, stopping her from destroying the console. She glared at him, angry that he would even consider dealing with such a traitor, but he did his best to summarize that.
"I t him with Milia 222," Khan explained. "We didn't reconcile, but we put aside past grudges. He earned that."
"Yes, we have beco true brothers-in-arms," Rodney announced. "I even ended up saving his ex-girlfriend. By the way, how did Miss Solodrey take the news?"
Khan didn't doubt for a single second that Rodney knew about what happened during the arranged marriage. As much as the involved forces tried to keep things hidden, Rodney was proficient in gathering information, and many years had passed since then. He had probably gotten far better at that now.
Liiza didn't know how to take that statent. She still hated Rodney for what he had done in Nitis. Yet, Liiza was also aware of how important Monica had been for Khan. She couldn't even allow herself to be jealous since the last question clearly hurt Khan.
Nevertheless, as guilty as Khan felt, he only tightened his grip on Liiza's hand, showing her a genuine smile. Things were indeed complicated, but he couldn't regret how they ended since she was finally at his side.
Liiza's expression inevitably sweetened. She brought her other hand to Khan's face, caressing his cheek. The situation didn't allow it, but she made sure to glance at his lips to share intentions the ntal connection had already conveyed.
"Rodney," Khan called, his glowing gaze lingering a bit longer on Liiza before moving to the empty screen. "You must know what I have beco. You would never talk to like this if it weren't for the call."
"You are no fun, as always," Rodney sighed from the other end of the call. "Yes, I would never talk to you like this to your face, but we are on a call, and you need my help."
Khan rolled his eyes. Few could poke him as efficiently as Rodney did among the many people he had t throughout his life. Khan truly didn't like dealing with him, but his options were limited.
Lawless zones required connections to find jobs. Khan could do without, but that would slow him down and force him to accept unsuitable tasks. He planned to enjoy his ti with Liiza, but connecting with other alien species was sothing he wanted to do, too.
Still, getting help from the Nognes family would only scare away the criminals Khan wanted to approach. That had to be a proper undercover job, and Rodney was the only relatively trusted figure who matched his requirents.
"You knew your way around Milia 222," Khan announced. "I bet you knew it even better after I left. Can you say the sa about rth 290?"
"Woah, slow down, alien-lover," Rodney exclaid. "I never agreed to help you, and even if I did, I'd talk about my remuneration first."
"Did you mishear when I said you owed one for sparing you?" Khan wondered.
"I didn't," Rodney stated, "But I rember us being even after Milia 222. I even destroyed the letter where you spoke against your dear Niqols."
Liiza shot a questioning look at Khan, and he summarized the matter. "He wrote that letter. I had no other option but to sign it. Still, I would have chased him across the universe to retract it."
"[How desperate were you for signing sothing like that]?" Liiza asked, switching to her language to make sure Rodney wouldn't understand her. She didn't bla Khan for what he had done. It only hurt her to know another piece of Khan's sad story.
"[I'm fine now]," Khan promised. The two risked falling prey to their affection, but Rodney didn't let them.
"Am I interrupting sothing?" Rodney wondered. "My ti is precious, and I can't waste it listening to an alien-lover whispering sappy words to the less hot of his alien girlfriends."
"Who exactly would be this hotter alien girlfriend?" Liiza asked, the temperature in the room dropping by a few degrees.
"Didn't he tell you?" Rodney feigned a gasp. "Khan, I'm disappointed in you. You didn't tell Miss Liiza how you replaced her with a Nele. However, I don't bla you. She was quite a fine specin."
"Rodney, how long do you think it would take to find you now?" Khan asked, sighing. Liiza knew the truth about Jenna, but the situation didn't give her the chance to claim ownership of Khan publicly, and those misunderstandings inevitably irked her.
The casual threat seed to have worked since Rodney fell silent. Jokes aside, Khan was a Prince backed up by the Thilku Empire. Most parties would stop at nothing to please him. If Khan truly wanted to, he would find Rodney and pay him back for every word he said.
"I want political support," Rodney stated, "And not those business endeavors you sealed with your important friends. I want actual support for my career inside the Global Army."
"Didn't you claim you'd get to the peak of the Global Army through your own strength?" Khan mocked. He didn't forget that promise from so long ago. It was actually funny how his status had improved so much that Rodney was willing to negotiate for his help.
"I'm trading it for sothing I gained with my own strength," Rodney pointed out. "That is, as long as you want to do proper jobs on rth 290 instead of being stuck there and having your dear Niqols catching up with you."
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