Chaos Heir

Chapter 1323: Catch

Khan had to help partially undress Liiza to allow Zalpa to draw red symbols on her skin. The process left Liiza in her underwear while bright marks shone on her belly, chest, forehead, arms, and legs.

The symbols reminded Khan of the [Blood Vortex]’s original version, albeit with a few caveats. Those marks didn’t absorb any energy from the environment. They sent the nutrients they contained into Liiza’s body, aiding her natural functions.

Despite the addition of Khan’s incredible blood, the pregnancy drained Liiza quickly, and the red marks on her now highlighted that troublesome pace.

The symbols faded by the minute. Khan could notice that change with his naked eye and knew Zalpa would have to retrace the marks in a matter of hours. That would require more supplies, which the ship probably lacked, especially in its current state.

Khan had planned that part of the trip while accounting for the stop at the outpost. The two alien scouts had prevented that break, meaning that the cargo area had never been restocked.

The violent landing had probably ruined some of the remaining supplies, and Liiza needed more of those due to her previous techniques. The situation was currently stable, but would degenerate quickly. Yet, a solution arrived without needing Khan’s involvement.

A human ship entered the barren planet’s atmosphere, flying around the patch afflicted by the purple-red storm to head toward the crashed vessel.

Khan obviously sensed the human ship’s arrival as soon as its synthetic mana tainted the symphony, so he threw the baggy hoodie on the sandy ground over Liiza, partially covering her while awaiting the imminent landing.

Zalpa had returned inside the crashed ship to do an inventory of the remaining supplies, so only Khan witnessed the human ship’s landing. The vessel settled on the grey sand a few meters from his position, and its entrance promptly opened to reveal a concerned Deni.

"[She is fine]," Khan reassured while Deni hurried toward him. "[She is stable. She only needs to rest]."

Deni didn’t exactly calm down, but he contained his worry when he reached Liiza, kneeling before her to take her hand. His glowing eyes illuminated Khan’s crossed legs since Liiza’s head rested there, but he didn’t say a word.

As for Deni’s crewmate, he wasn’t as silent as he was.

"Brother!" Wayne called, shouting as soon as he jumped out of the ship’s entrance. "I’m sorry. I didn’t think I had gotten so powerful to manifest dangers into existence!"

Wayne had missed the entire point of the event, but there would be time to explain the situation to him. Khan now had to deal with something else, which wasn’t as straightforward as it sounded.

"[Deni, I need to handle something]," Khan revealed, gently lifting Liiza’s head, slipping from under it while using her trousers to replace his lap. "[Watch over Liiza in the meantime]."

"[Of course]," Deni agreed, scooting closer to Liiza while Khan threw one last glance at her before leaving.

Wayne had almost reached Liiza when Khan intercepted him, drawing something from his torn trousers. His thick phone had cracks all over it, but had miraculously survived the battle and still functioned to some extent.

"Khan, you shouldn’t be near me," Wayne warned, managing not to wear a smile. "Something bad migh-"

"It wasn’t you," Khan reassured, patting Wayne’s shoulder. "I’m not sure how or why they found us, but it has probably nothing to do with either of us."

Khan was actually pretty sure about that point. Wayne wielded a mysterious element, and Khan probably was the Nak’s rightful heir, but they had both been inside ships when the alien scouts arrived.

The Scarlet Eyes might have tracking methods Khan was unaware of, but a sudden arrival with such precision looked suspicious anyway. Theoretically, the alien scouts had no reason to target Khan yet, so he believed their real goal had been the Nak’s home world, the same as his.

Yet, the mana had probably interfered with the process, using Khan, Wayne, or both as decoys to deal with the abrupt threat, displacing the teleport. It was an unfounded hypothesis, but Khan’s guts trusted it.

"For now," Khan continued, pulling Wayne toward the human ship, "I need access to your control desk to contact the outpost."

Wayne laughed, elated to be useful, quickening his pace to precede Khan inside the ship. His smile remained bright even after Khan entered the vessel, but something he couldn’t quite point out felt amiss.

Khan took the matter for granted, but his attention still fell on his surroundings. Everything was quiet, bright, and functioning. Nothing started flashing, sizzling, or breaking. The ship’s insides almost seemed not to notice his arrival, which was a novel sensation for him.

For once, technology didn’t reject Khan. His element hadn’t changed, but his presence didn’t threaten to shatter the world due to his mere existence. Still, there would be time to explore that novelty, too.

Khan headed directly for the ship’s bridge, letting Wayne unlock its functions with his genetic signature before connecting his cracked phone. The device flickered but complied, allowing Khan to insert security codes.

"Outpost RZ7, do you receive me?" Khan asked as soon as the communication channel opened. "It’s Prince Khan. I’m currently stranded on the unnamed planet with code P339482."

"My Prince, Outpost RZ7 received the message loud and clear," A human, male voice resounded from the control desk. "We have already sent a vessel on your way, and more are converging toward the outpost."

Khan avoided heaving a sign of relief. He had guessed that the two black aliens had ignored the outpost and Wayne’s ship to chase after him, but could only confirm it now.

"Redirect the vessels here," Khan ordered. "About the outpost, does it have landing capabilities?"

"No, My Prince," The soldier on the other side of the channel responded. "The outpost only has thrusters. They aren’t enough for reentry through a planet’s atmosphere."

Khan suspected that, but didn’t give up on his idea. "Forget the thrusters. Can the outpost technically survive reentry if something else took care of slowing it down?"

"It’s theoretically possible with our defenses, My Prince, but ..." The soldier said, unclear of what could even replace engines in that situation.

"Get the outpost to this planet’s orbit," Khan ordered. "I’ll catch and place you down on the surface once you arrive."

Khan didn’t wait for the usual words of agreement and left, and the soldier on the other end of the communication was too confused to realize that the call was still open.

"What did the Prince mean by catching us?" The soldier’s whisper to what sounded like a fellow soldier echoed on the bridge, but only Wayne heard it.

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