Chaos Heir

Chapter 1232 Simulations

Khan knew that moment would have eventually arrived, but being ready for it was a different matter altogether. He didn't expect the Niqols to find him so soon. They actually couldn't have come at a worse time.

For a second, Khan dared to hope the Niqols' ship was heading in his direction by chance, but the control desk immediately destroyed that feeling. The alien vessel was locked on him, studying his vehicle to follow its every movement.

"Tamara," Khan called. "Be a good girl and call Carlos for me."

Tamara didn't understand what was happening, but Liiza stood up before she could ask any questions, lifting her in the process. Liiza reassured the little girl through a simple smile, putting her down while accompanying her outside the bridge.

Meanwhile, Khan's mind went into overdrive, inspecting everything there was to inspect. Truth be told, the event was confusing and highly improbable, but the universe had messed up with Khan's plans before.

Theoretically, Khan and Liiza were still missing, with no public traces of them in the universe. Except for Khan's latest request to his family's forces, only incredibly ambiguous clues existed about their passage.

Nevertheless, even that faint possibility didn't make much sense. Prince Thomas was no newbie in those fields. Khan's request would definitely leave a vague trail, but a couple of weeks wouldn't have been enough to uncover his Uncle's methods.

Besides, even uncovering something would leave those forces with inconclusive results. The connection was with Prince Thomas, not Khan, and that also had multiple middlemen. Tracking down that trail was no different than firing into the universe, hoping the bullet would hit a moving asteroid.

Eliminating that explanation left only one possible option. The Niqols were simply searching and inspecting anything that crossed their scanners, and Khan had been unlucky enough to end up in their range.

That was still unlikely but more reasonable, especially with Khan's track record. After all, fate had a funny sense of humor when it came to him, so he half expected that impossible coincidence to have happened.

Still, assuming that unlikely event was truly happening forced Khan to consider his options. If his guess was on point, the Niqols' ship had no real proof of his presence on the vessel. He might be able to lie his way out of it. Actually, Carlos might.

'If only I had stolen a more important vessel,' Khan cursed in his mind, tinkering with the control desk.

Khan believed Carlos wouldn't expose him, but he remained a liability, especially due to the Niqols' heightened senses. Chances were they could sniff out his lies and pretenses, forcing their way into a complete inspection of that ship.

That was only possible because the ship was nothing more than a rescue vessel with no authority. Khan had made sure of that. Yet, that search for secrecy was now cornering him. Even if he tried to call upon interspecies regulations to avoid unwanted inspections, the Global Army was bound to give the Niqols the green light.

'Fuck!' Khan cursed in his mind. 'What else can I do?'

Running away wasn't an option with that cumbersome ship. Even if Khan somehow managed to make the alien vessel lose track of him, his position was exposed, and escaping would announce his guilt. Khan would be surrounded in no time and wouldn't have to deal with a single vehicle at that point.

'All this is too slow,' Khan realized, standing up.

No matter how Khan spun it, those half-assed methods were bound to corner him since they would give the Niqols the time to contact their allies. They might have already done that, but Khan had another option that could save him if that had yet to happen.

The bridge door reopened at that point, and Liiza walked in, hurriedly returning to Khan's side. The mental connection had told her everything she needed to know, and noticing his fighting stance only added superfluous details.

"Are you going out?" Liiza asked.

"I can catch them by surprise," Khan explained, nodding to himself while his mind played simulations. "Slam on their ship head-on, destroy their communication array, and bring them here."

Liiza didn't doubt for a second that Khan could pull that off but worried nonetheless. She didn't care for herself. She didn't need protection, and Khan would keep her safe against her will anyway.

The same went for Tamara and the rescued women. No matter what the universe threw at them, Khan would deal with it, and Liiza would help. Space wasn't exactly her element, but her expertise was vast, and the current peace in the ship vouched for that.

The worry had nothing to do with those people's safety. It had to do with Khan. His plan was reckless, but he could pull it off. Yet, much could go wrong, too.

Khan could destroy the Niqols' ship and break the communication array before it could forward any message. However, the impact could easily kill anyone inside, especially if the unfortunate pilot and passengers turned out to be second-level warriors or weaker.

Also, space was another variable. Khan was at ease inside that dreadful environment, but it remained deadly for almost everyone. If the ship ended up having more people than he could grab, someone was bound to die.

Khan would do it anyway, but Liiza knew how he would feel if he ended up killing Niqols, and that was unacceptable to her. She would rather kill her fellow Niqols herself than let Khan go through that sorrow.

Khan sensed Liiza's worry but had to act fast. As soon as the simulations in his mind became clearer, he turned toward the bridge's exit, planning to leave. Except that only his torso moved. His legs remained stuck in place, enveloped in chilling sensations.

Khan glanced down, only to find a thick layer of transparent ice around his feet. The spell stuck him to the floor and rose to cover the rest of his legs, planning to immobilize him completely.

"[What are you doing]?" Khan snapped at Liiza, knowing that escaping her ice would force him to destroy the bridge's floor. "[If I don't fix this, Tamar-]."

"[Tamara will be fine no matter what]," Liiza interrupted, her glowing eyes meeting Khan's. "[The same goes for the others. My species only wants me]."

A crack opened on the metal floor, starting from Khan's left foot and almost reaching one of the walls. Khan didn't like what Liiza was implying, but her ice held strong. Yet, it wouldn't survive long.

Liiza wore a serious, resolute expression. It almost seemed she wanted to sacrifice herself for Khan, but that impression eventually seeped through the mental connection, making her frown and deliver an angry slap to his cheek.

The foreign anger shocked Khan even before the slap landed. It was actually the reason why he didn't stop it in the first place. The event hinted at a misunderstanding, making him relax.

"[Did you think I would leave you]?!" Liiza asked, livid, grabbing the left shoulder of her hoodie and tearing it to expose the white tattoo over her bra. "[Look at this! What does it mean]?"

Khan stared at the white tattoo, which was a perfect copy of what he wore on his right shoulder. Liiza's anger had never been more vivid in his mind, either. The scene reminded him of the time Khan had hurt himself with the [Blood Vortex], highlighting his mistake.

"[I'm sorry]," Khan sighed, calming down. "[I was-]."

Khan couldn't finish his line since two cold hands reached for his cheeks, forcing him to lift his head. Liiza placed her forehead on his, also taking a deep breath to calm down.

Liiza hated how Khan could still believe she could leave him after everything that had happened. Yet, she also understood why he thought that. Even she couldn't wipe out ten years of emotional disappointments in mere months.

"[I told you]," Liiza whispered, closing her eyes to bathe in Khan's warmth. "[Our lives are intertwined now. As long as we exist, I'll be with you, and you'll be with me]."

"[I'm sorry]," Khan repeated, also immersing himself in the sensations, both his and foreign, of the moment. "[But I have to fix this somehow]."

"[There's nothing to fix]," Liiza stated. "[It's not worth fixing it at that price. Now that I'm here, your days of paying for your happiness with pain are over]."

Khan wanted to say something but ended up leaning in for a kiss. Despite the crisis, he couldn't refrain from that pure expression of affection. Luckily, he kept it brief since he didn't forget about the issue at hand.

"[I have to stop that ship somehow]," Khan reminded.

"[Khan, you gave us almost half a year of peace]," Liiza said, shaking her head and opening her eyes to see Khan's reaction to her loving smile. "[That's the longest honeymoon I could ask for. It's enough]."

Liiza's smile tried to charm Khan, but he couldn't forget about the implications of those words. After all, they led to war.

"[We stayed hidden as long as we could without compromising ourselves]," Liiza continued. "[It's time to face my species now. If they oppose us, we'll fight them together]."

Every piece of the puzzle fell together. War wasn't a great alternative, but Liiza would choose it if it saved Khan from more suffering. That was her oath and responsibility, as well as her duty as Khan's wife.

"[I can never win against you]," Khan sighed. "[Can I]?"

"[No]," Liiza proudly smirked, "[But keep trying. It's cute]."

Khan had to admit he had half-forgotten what was happening outside at that point. He grabbed Liiza's waist, lifting her to bring her onto him. She instantly complied, wrapping her legs around his torso while her hands dug into his hair.

"[I love you]," Khan whispered, and a quick kiss immediately landed on his lips.

"[I love you, too]," Liiza responded, smiling, reading to add a joke, only for her own passion to get in the way and make her dive into Khan's mouth again.

The couple entered their own separate dimension, but time kept flowing, and the bridge's door opened before they could exchange their third kiss. Tamara and Carlos entered the area, only to find Khan and Liiza entangled in unmistakable acts.

Tamara didn't think much of it, but Carlos noticed odd details. Liiza's torn hoodie, the long crack on the floor, and the ice still around Khan's feet told him that something was off. That, or the couple was engaging in some kinky play Carlos wanted nothing to do with.

"I called Carlos," Tamara exclaimed, unaware of her interruption.

Khan and Liiza pulled the brakes on their passion, both turning toward the little girl to smile at her. They also planned praises, but the control desk beeped again, claiming Khan's attention.

The ice around Khan's feet promptly melted, and Liiza even began to climb down his torso, only for him to secure her tightly on him with one arm. Liiza giggled, blushing while silently agreeing to remain on Khan while he approached the control desk to check what was happening.

The nature of the notification forced Khan to focus a bit. The Niqols' ship had gotten closer, being only a few minutes away from his position. Also, the alien vessel had sent a message requesting to open a communication channel.

Khan hesitated, but Liiza kissed the side of his head, leaving a hand there for emotional support. He agreed to the request, and a silent, tense second passed before a loud voice escaped from the speakers.

"Khan!" Everyone on the bridge heard. "My lifelong friend! Is that you?!"

The call was quite stable, but Khan would have recognized that tone even through the worst interference. He looked up at his side, only to find Liiza's frowning face, confirming that he hadn't heard wrong.

"Ilman?" Khan and Liiza wondered simultaneously.