Chapter 1201: Space pirates

Chaos Heir

"I should have expected it," Liiza cursed, pacing left and right in the cargo area. "For the Nak to act like that, they had to have their reasons."

Khan leaned on one of the nearby walls, his arms crossed. He had told Liiza about the scarlet eyes, and she took the news as well as she could. After all, her species was close to the mana, and she was a qualified Shaman.

"Does your species hint at something?" Khan asked. "Maybe your ancestors knew something we forgot."

"We scoured the old records after the sunlight," Liiza shook her head. "We respect the mana. We are born with it. We even come close to worshipping it, but we know little outside Nitis."

Khan didn't expect to discover much. The timing was right, so he had revealed the true nature of the Nak's mission, but he hadn't hoped to receive answers. Khan had mostly wanted to warn Liiza about the imminent danger, but his decision had concerning repercussions.

"The Nak embody the mana," Liiza sighed, blaming herself for not understanding that truth earlier. "They are avatars to its will. They must have known, or the mana must have told them. This is bigger than any of us."

Khan agreed but was more worried about Liiza. He had never liked bringing his partners into battle. Still, he had to admit the idea of telling her to stay safe was scarier. Monica was crazy, but she was no Niqols, and Khan didn't want to put his junk in danger more than it already was.

Also, there was another distracting detail about the whole scene.

"It's a pity I can't run more tests on you," Liiza stated, finally stopping and inspecting Khan. "You have mutated too much. You are less Nak than you were ten years ago. Our best shot at learning something is to cross the asteroids and speak to the Nak directly."

Khan ignored the fact that Liiza had learned so much about his genes in mere days and without specialized equipment. He even dismissed how she had included herself in his future trip to the Nak's home. His mind couldn't help but grow dizzy when he lowered his gaze to focus on something else.

Liiza didn't wear any clothes while drawing the rune on the left side of her chest. She didn't have any since Khan had torn apart her bridal dress, and the revelation had been quite sudden, so she was still naked.

Liiza followed Khan's eyes and noticed her naked state. She blushed, glaring at Khan and speaking in a hardly believable scolding tone. "Either kiss me or help me brainstorm."

"I've been brainstorming about this for years," Khan declared, snapping out of his daze and taking off the upper part of his tracksuit. "The scarlet eyes probably come from far away. I doubt we'll learn anything about them from this side of the universe."

Khan approached Liiza, bending toward her chest to leave a loving kiss on her white tattoo. He felt his own lips through the mental connection, as well as the desire in her partner.

The temptation was immense and threatened to explode when Liiza ran her hands through Khan's hair, but pressing matters forced him to delay that passion. Once the kiss ended, he put the upper part of his tracksuit on her, shielding himself from her entrancing beauty.

"I need an hour or so to check and adjust the flight path," Khan explained, straightening himself to face Liiza. The action assaulted his self-restraint again due to her lustful expression, but keeping both of them safe came first.

"I want to see," Liiza nodded, taking Khan's hand. "You also have to tell me where we are going."

"I'll show you," Khan promised, and the two exchanged a quick kiss before walking hand-in-hand toward the bridge.

"My forces are currently preparing the path toward the asteroids," Khan revealed once he reached the pilot's seat, "But I didn't stay put in these years."

Khan was about to sit, but Liiza preceded him, climbing onto the chair and opening her legs. She spread her arms, welcoming Khan, and he couldn't help but comply.

"I've established alliances with a few species," Khan explained, sitting between Liiza's legs and letting her embrace him from behind. "The Thilku Empire, the Ef'i, and the Fuveall are relatively close to me. I plan to add the Nele next."

Khan sensed Liiza's jealousy through the mental connection before she pulled his hair. The event made him smile, and she felt that even before he did. Being connected truly was a strange experience that intensified their emotions, both good and bad.

"Should I remind you that you lost your chance with big-chested Jenna forever?" Liiza threatened.

"You have the same tattoo on your chest now," Khan voiced, casually summoning red holograms to check various details. "How do you ever expect me to look at someone else's rack again?"

The pull ended, and Khan felt Liiza stiffening in his mind before experiencing that with his back. A deep affection also followed, which Liiza pointlessly tried to hide behind proud words.

"That's how it should be," Liiza declared before resuming messing with Khan's hair.

"I had a plan for humankind," Khan said, returning to the previous topic. "But well, that's probably gone for now. The Niqols and Kros have to wait, too, but that doesn't mean I can't find more allies before I fly to the Nak."

"We," Liiza promptly corrected, continuing to play with Khan's hair. "We fly to the Nak."

"[Liiza]," Khan called, hoping the Niqols' language would help. "[That's a journey only someone like me can complete]."

"I know," Liiza replied, unaffected by that attempt. "I also know I can use the time you are away to catch up with your body count. There must be a few handsome men wherever you are taking me to."

Khan couldn't help but tense up at that idea, but Liiza peeked past his shoulder, tilting his face toward her. Her expression was serious, lacking any lust, temptation, or teasing vibes.

"Our lives are intertwined now," Liiza declared, "Both in life and death. I know you want to protect me. It's in your nature. I hate it, but I've always loved it, too."

Khan could only sigh, laying his head on Liiza's and closing his eyes. Somehow, he already had memories of that conversation, and he couldn't deny how powerful Liiza was compared to his other partners.

"But if you do try to push me away," Liiza continued, the foreign killing intent in his mind snapping his eyes open. "I'll cut that thing I love to have inside me, okay?"

"I truly couldn't resist this exotic beauty," Khan sighed.

"[You didn't even try]," Liiza giggled, leaving a quick kiss on Khan's mouth before looking at the red holograms. "So, where are we going?"

"Merth 290," Khan revealed, pulling up a star map. "It's a lawless zone. We need to get there to regain access to my money, and it's a great place to lay low and disappear."

"Oh my," Liiza voiced a fake gasp. "A lawless zone for our honeymoon. I forgot that my husband is a scoundrel."

"Technically," Khan chuckled, "I should have enough money for us to just move around while enjoying our time, but there is this other idea."

Khan tinkered with the scarlet control desk some more, adding flight paths to the star map. He had gathered countless pieces of information about various illegal activities, and far more were still hidden.

"There's an untapped force in the universe," Khan declared. "A force with connections to species otherwise unreachable, but getting there would require some undercover jobs."

Khan looked at the face on his left shoulder again. Liiza seemed mesmerized by the vast star map, which was understandable. After all, she had spent most of her life on Nitis, seeing little to nothing about the universe.

"We could stay in various beds for a year straight," Khan suggested. "You know, doing what we do best, but what do you think about killing time as space pirates?"

Khan couldn't believe he was actually suggesting that, but his disbelief intensified when Liiza stared at him, her white eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement.