Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1271: Problems

As much as Khan wanted to do virtually anything else, the time for politics had arrived. He had much to plan, discuss, and decide, and that wasn’t limited to the Kros.

Carlos’ crew and the rescued women were easy enough to deal with. The cat was out of the bag now. Khan didn’t know what the Kros had shared, but his guts told him that the universe had learned about his reappearance, solving a few problems while adding far more of them.

Khan wouldn’t have to worry about what the humans on the cumbersome ship would share anymore. He could let Gordon fulfill their wishes and take care of them, sending them wherever they wanted before forgetting about them entirely.

Instead, the other new issues demanded Khan’s active oversight. Kros aside, he had to face the Global Army or discuss things with whoever he assigned as an Ambassador. Colonel Norrett was no longer suitable after his evolution, but the alternatives were difficult to control and order around.

Francis Alstair was good, but not good enough. Monica would be perfect, especially after the breakup, but Khan couldn’t ask her for favors. Liiza was even pregnant now, so Khan couldn’t be that shameless. He felt too guilty even to consider that option.

Mister Cirvags was biased toward Khan, and his expertise was with the Thilku Empire. The other figures in Khan’s force and among his allies were also too connected to him to inspire any trust in the Global Army.

Thus, the elimination process left Rodney as the only worthy candidate, and his troublesome persona would force Khan to act directly. Khan didn’t even know what he was doing now, creating the necessity for a proper update.

The Nele were another major issue. That species was complicated to interact with, and the terraforming process was still ongoing, too. A proper migration would also have to start soon, and Khan had to put a capable overseer in charge of it.

Ilman would be perfect for the job. His cluelessness about his relationship with Jenna didn’t change the fact that the Nele would trust him now. He was also quite a capable and dutiful warrior, so Khan could trust him completely.

However, Ilman was a Niqols, and those aliens had a strict sense of responsibility toward their species. Ilman was also an extreme character who was biologically unable to forsake that duty, making him a variable due to the current political situation.

Things would be fine if Khan fixed his relationship with the Niqols, but that might not necessarily happen soon. Also, the Nele had waited enough, so Khan wanted to enable their migration immediately, requiring him to understand and clarify where Ilman stood.

The nobles were another headache that didn’t account for eventual peaceful resolutions with the Global Army. The terrifying shadow of the Thilku Empire kept them in check, but Khan had caused problems by getting married on his own.

Discontent was brewing, and Khan had to give the nobles face. He had to talk with them directly, reinstating previous agreements or establishing new ones.

Khan also had to fix Princess Rachel’s situation, and one event might resolve all that, or at least give him that opportunity. Khan’s marriage was a big deal, so a public celebration would bring all those important figures to him, gathering them in one place and saving a lot of time.

Khan didn’t forget about Liiza’s pregnancy, either. Liiza was in her second trimester now, so things would grow more serious by the day. She required all the help she could get, and Khan planned to provide her with the assistance of whatever scientific and non-scientific method he knew.

Ultimately, Khan had to deal with his main goal. He didn’t know how far the preparations had progressed, but the Nak’s home world was within his reach now, and he had to visit it to claim their inheritance.

That actually had to be the priority due to what it meant. Khan had delayed it due to logistics, but Garret might have solved those by now, enabling a relatively safe trip toward the array of asteroids.

Even if Garret didn’t, the preparations had to be close to completion, leaving Khan with little time to settle everything else. Ideally, he would spend that time training, improving as much as possible before the fated meeting with the Nak, but that wasn’t an option.

“[Khan, did you forget our promise]?” Liiza asked, sensing the immense storm of thoughts in her husband’s brain. “[We face our problems together].”

The couple was flying to the sea stations to deal with the first order of business. In the end, Khan accepted the fact that Liiza would have to be at the meeting with the Kros. She would sneak into it anyway, and Khan couldn’t hide his wife forever. He actually wanted her at his side.

So, Liiza had hopped on Khan to let him princess-carry her toward the sea stations to save time. Yet, now that the structures were in sight, Khan’s mind grew messier, and Liiza noticed it.

“[I wonder if I should just come clean],” Khan uttered. “[Maybe I should tell everyone about the Scarlet Eyes so that they might stop annoying me with trivial matters].”

“[That might do more bad than good],” Liiza commented, limiting her feedback to those few words. Khan knew the political environment better than her anyway, but her concerns were accurate.

Order was necessary for growth, and some species’ governments were too fragmented to enforce it in the face of such shocking news. Khan couldn’t allow a mass panic to spread, but a middle ground probably existed.

“[I won’t be able to train while we fly toward the Nak, either],” Khan muttered, changing topics. “[I would have preferred to complete my attunement before that].”

“[Do you still use the Blood Vortex]?” Liiza wondered. She had seen the [Blood Shield] during the spar, so she was confident in a positive answer.

“[I even improved it],” Khan revealed. “[It’s the only technique that does anything remotely significant due to my current state, but I can’t use it while flying through space].”

“[I’ll arrange the supplies for the trip],” Liiza stated. “[The Niqols’ training methods might work on you now, and I also need to complete my mutations].”

“[What about the baby]?” Khan asked.

“[I’ll talk with Zaza and decide],” Liiza explained. “[It shouldn’t be done in my state, but our baby is special].”

Khan smiled lovingly, but his eyes couldn’t fall on the figure between his arms. Liiza stood up, too, relying on her ice crystals to walk in the air.

The couple had reached one of the sea stations, and crowds of soldiers and scientists filled its surface, all wearing military salutes. Garret was in their lead, his usual stiff expression only broken by a loud declaration.

“Welcome back to Coravis!” Garret shouted. “My Prince! My Princess!”

The crowds of soldiers, scientists, and workers echoed that shout, chanting at the two mighty figures flying hand-in-hand above them.