Chaos Heir

Chapter 1240 Meeting points

Leaving the cozy scene on the broken bed tried to ruin Khan's mood, especially when he spotted Liiza spooning Tamara, planning to fall asleep with her.

Nevertheless, there were duties only Khan could complete, and his mood felt incorruptible that day. He had just officially married Liiza, and she was also pregnant with his child. Despite the unusual location and troublesome political situation, Khan's life had never felt brighter.

After donning casual clothes, Khan crossed a quarter of the ship to reach the bridge. Some of his former crewmates and rescued women nodded at him during the walk, and he responded with an idiotic smile that looked unable to leave his face.

Except for Ilman, the bridge was empty. The red-haired and red-eyed Niqols had learned to pilot ships over the past ten years, which was great for Khan's situation since he needed a potential substitute on the team.

"[How are you faring with human commands]?" Khan asked once the bridge's door closed behind him.

"[The married man is here]!" Ilman shouted, finishing tinkering with the control desk before leaving the pilot's seat. "[They are strange, but nothing I can't handle]."

Khan nodded, approaching the control desk, before warily peeking at Ilman. The Niqols had spread his arms, and Khan knew what that meant.

"[Congratulations, my friend]!" Ilman loudly laughed, trapping Khan in a tight hug. "[I would have done them yesterday, but you two were too busy with each other to mind anyone else]."

Those hugs from Ilman would never stop being awkward, but Khan felt like accepting him that day. A proud smirk even broadened on his face while Ilman waved him left and right.

Liiza had jumped on Khan as soon as the ceremony ended, and the two had to consider themselves lucky to have made it to their quarters with most of their clothes still on. They didn't leave their room for a whole day, either, so that was Ilman's first opportunity to offer his congratulations.

"[Alright, alright]," Khan laughed. "[I'm sorry I didn't let you do this yesterday]."

"[Nonsense]!" Ilman cried, finally releasing Khan. "[You two behaved like true Niqols. Witnessing your raging feelings was the best moment in my life]."

Ilman didn't know how to lie, so Khan knew he had spoken the truth without needing to study his mana. His heightened senses would have even partially failed at that since Ilman's state was similar to Liiza's, so his honesty ended up being reassuring, albeit slightly awkward.

"[How come a guy like you is still single]?" Khan wondered, changing the topic. "[I remember you being quite popular on Nitis]."

"[You were more popular than me]," Ilman laughed, turning toward the control desk to retrieve an open bottle and two glasses. "[I enjoyed plenty of parties after you left, but my tribe demanded my attention during the day]."

Ilman poured two drinks, offering one to Khan before the two performed a traditional Niqols' toast.

"[I also experienced the peaks of loving Liiza]," Ilman continued. "[I would take responsibility for any Niqols willing to love me, but it wouldn't have been fair toward them]."

Khan's booze almost went down the wrong pipe when he heard the first part of Ilman's revelation. Yet, he found the second to be quite relatable. After all, Khan had gone through something similar.

Khan had attempted to have relationships after learning to love like a Niqols, only for them to fail for that very reason. Monica aside, human women simply couldn't understand him, leaving him with a sense of emotional unfulfillment.

Ilman was even more intense than Khan, and his love for Liiza had been far from ordinary. Khan also believed part of him still loved her. So, it made sense that Ilman couldn't find a worthy substitute, especially while his tribe claimed most of his time and attention.

'Only his one would do,' Khan realized, 'But where is he even going to find it if Nitis didn't have it?'

Khan's mind couldn't help but delve into darker subjects at those thoughts. Chances were Ilman wouldn't have the opportunity to search for someone who could share his love. Despite the marriage, the Niqols might still decide to fight Khan and Liiza, and Ilman would have to pick a side at that point.

Nevertheless, Khan didn't mention the issue. Ilman didn't know the answer to that troubling question, and Khan didn't want to risk affecting it. It wouldn't be fair, especially after everything he had done for him.

Besides, having a second pilot came in handy. Khan didn't know how long that would last but would definitely enjoy the addition.

"[What happened while I was busy being a married man]?" Khan asked, also turning toward the control desk while continuing to enjoy the booze.

"[I kept the ship on the course you drew]," Ilman explained, tapping on a specific label. "[Nothing happened, except for this communication]."

The noise of robotic, high-pitched interferences came from the speaker. That loud, annoying sound could hint at a problem with the ship's communication array, but Khan recognized a voice-altering software when he heard one.

As predicted, an unrecognizable voice eventually joined that noise, speaking an alien language only Khan could translate. "[If I'm impossible, what are you]?"

"[The ship flagged this as the Nele language]," Ilman explained once the message ended. "[I didn't translate to avoid leaving tracks, and I didn't want Tamara to listen to it before learning what it meant]."

"[You did great]," Khan nodded, patting Ilman's shoulder. The message could be deleted, but a translation would have entered the ship's system. That could be removed, too, but Ilman had chosen to be careful when dealing with that unfamiliar technology.

Khan put his glass aside and tinkered with the control desk. He activated the voice-altering software before sending a message to the source of that cryptic communication.

"[I'm unfair]," Khan said in a perfect Nele accent, forwarding the message and retrieving his glass.

Ilman wanted to praise Khan's mastery over different languages but chose to join him in staring at the control desk. The initial message had arrived less than twenty minutes ago, so chances were the sender was waiting for a reply.

That guess turned out to be correct since another message soon reached the control desk. Except it didn't contain any words or altered voices. It featured a barren star map of Milia 222's neighboring quadrants, highlighting a series of seemingly random locations.

The Nele were nothing but careful, and that trait had deepened after becoming Milia 222's ruling species. Even after those confirmations, they wanted to play it safe, remaining in complete control of that potentially dangerous event.

"[What is this]?" Ilman asked, unable to follow that development. He didn't even understand the exchange of messages, so all his guesses were completely baseless.

"[These are potential meeting points]," Khan revealed, zooming out on the map while summoning another, calculating the distance from each highlighted location.