Khan couldn't put into words the storm of emotions he experienced. Incredulity, disbelief, eagerness, anger, exhaustion, and more ran through his brain, replacing themselves while occasionally rging to give birth to confusing feelings.
Still, the true emotional breakdown had happened on the unnad planet, so Khan retained control over his feelings now. His mind was beyond ssy, but that confusion didn't hinder his more rational side.
Khan had only uncovered the part of the nightmare with the azure star system on Nitis, but that did little to improve his condition. He had factually searched for the Nak for over twenty-one years, and they were finally before him. Except Khan couldn't reach them yet.
The tree's visions had given Khan a general idea of how vast the array of asteroids was, and studying it with his own eyes confird an issue he had already considered. That danger zone was unfathomably enormous and deadly.
As far as classifications went, those asteroids would easily be ranked A-class among the danger zones. Khan even believed they could strive for the rarely used S-class, even if that threat wouldn't necessarily have the sa effects on him.
Khan's affinity with the Nak's mana could enable him to cross the blue storm unhard, but the sa didn't apply to his ship. He also wasn't sure his body could last that long without breathing, and nothing confird whether the azure star system had a livable atmosphere.
Khan might reach his destination only to die there due to a re lack of oxygen. The chances of that happening were low, but Khan couldn't accept such unnecessary risks, especially now that he had found the source of his curse.
Strangely, giving up on diving directly into the array of asteroids felt less annoying than expected. Even if the curse was still active, a side of Khan believed he had succeeded in getting rid of it.
Finding the Nak had already deed Khan victorious against the first part of that seemingly impossible mission. Everything else was just a matter of ti and preparation, but its conclusion felt set in stone now.
That wasn't out of arrogance. Khan was confident he would overco that hurdle, but didn't underestimate it. Still, he felt sowhat spiritually fulfilled. Khan had co full circle since the Second Impact, saving him from engaging in reckless and suicidal actions.
Khan would get the mission done. He simply had to wait a bit longer to prepare what he needed to face the Nak with a certain degree of safety, and that delay felt incredibly short and weightless compared to everything that had co before.
The specifics of those preparations also felt relatively easy. Khan needed a smaller, nimbler ship to fly through the lightning storm. He would even require sothing connecting him to the outside world, allowing him to sense its symphony without leaving his ride. Humankind didn't have that technology, but definitely knew where to find it.
Khan diverted his gaze from the asteroids for the first ti to inspect their surroundings. A fleet of Nak's ships had filled those areas in the tree's visions, but it was nowhere to be seen now. Khan couldn't even spot useful debris, which could be priceless for his preparations.
The Nak's technology heavily relied on mana, and Khan believed their ships had open channels with the outside world. He had concluded as much on Chuwei, and humankind probably had similar remains or blueprints in their archives.
Khan would need an iteration of that technology to face the lightning storm, which ant building a new ship from scratch. He was confident his family could accomplish that, especially with the data his ride was recording, but the problems didn't stop there.
Reaching the danger zone didn't make it any closer. Khan could optimize the flight routes, finding shorter paths toward the array of asteroids, but the place remained quite distant from any valuable checkpoint.
A smaller ship would also be more fuel-hungry or have smaller tanks, especially with all the tweaks Khan needed. That would demand a far closer checkpoint, which was doable for a force as big as the Nognes family. The project would simply be ti-consuming.
Khan could already imagine it. Coravis had probably developed greatly since his departure and could now allow more structures in its orbit. His forces could send a space station there before throwing it toward the danger zone. It would take so ti, but Khan would eventually get a far closer teleport.
Also, that project wouldn't conflict with the new ship's creation. Khan's forces could do both simultaneously while he focused on improving his strength for that final confrontation. He only needed to convey the gathered data to his scientists to let that work begin.
As spiritually fulfilled as Khan felt, he wanted to stare at the danger zone a bit longer. Yet, the remaining fuel had beco an issue long ago, and lingering in the area would waste more of that precious resource.
'I'll see you soon,' Khan promised, his gaze a mixture of eagerness, cold killing intent, and confidence.
Khan returned inside his ship, ignoring the interference the distant storm created. He sealed everything, checking the control desk to see what the scanners had captured. Ideally, Khan would need to fly all around the danger zone to obtain a complete picture, but what he read on the holograms was already satisfactory.
"Show the best route to Coravis," Khan ordered, and the control desk got to work, compiling all the data gathered during the trip and Coravis' current position to draw the optimal flight path.
Khan wouldn't need to stop anymore. He had obtained all the answers he needed, so the ship could fly in a straight line toward its destination. Khan had departed eleven months ago, but his return promised to be shorter, and the control desk told him by how much.
'Close to seven months, huh?' Khan read. 'I should return inside the network's reach in six. Five if they improved the communication array. That should give them a decent head start.'
Khan gave one last glance at the danger zone past the canopy before turning his ship and pushing the engines to their limits. His visit to his final destination had been short, but that departure wouldn't be a goodbye. Khan would co back, and that ti, he would end his curse.
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