Khan hurried back toward his ship after Clifford had written down a safe account, and Hughie delivered the star map full of new checkpoints. The colony's citizens were nowhere to be seen now, but Khan ignored that tense silence and set off.
Truth be told, the negotiation had left a bad taste in Khan's mouth. He wanted to meet Clifford's needs, but the middle-aged man had pushed him too much, eventually caving to his threat.
That wasn't what Khan had planned. He didn't want to force people to obey him out of fear but couldn't compromise, either. Still, nothing could be done about the situation now, and Khan could only hope it wouldn't degenerate into a proper mess. He knew he would be ready to wipe out most of those colonies otherwise.