Chapter 90: Lesson #1 – It’s Supposed to Hurt

**Training Room – Lower Deck of the Narak’Tharr**

The lighting was harsh. The floor covered in worn impact mats. The walls bore the scars of previous sessions: claw marks, energy burns, cracked plating from broken prosthetics.
Zeynn stepped in first, wearing a black tank top, arms wrapped in bandages, looking more determined than usual. He jogged lightly in place to warm up.
Blue watched from the doorway, lying down like a silent sphinx.

“I’m ready,” Zeynn said. “This time, I want you to train me like a warrior.”

Vykhor entered.

Shirtless, energy tattoos glowing on his cobalt skin. His amber eyes were colder than the room. He said nothing.

He approached and stopped two meters away.

“You sure you want this?”

Zeynn nodded.

“I want to earn my place. In this pack. For Evelyn. For you. For myself.”

A silence. Then a metallic click.
Vykhor locked the joint of his prosthetic glove.

“Then let’s begin.”

First round.

Zeynn lunged. Fast attack. Claws out.
He aimed for Vykhor’s sides with surprising agility.

But he struck nothing. The Kael’tarien had already shifted.

And Vykhor’s fist slammed into his ribs.
Zeynn hit the ground hard, wind knocked out of him.

“You planning to apologize or finish me off?” he gasped.

“If you talk, you don’t learn,” Vykhor replied coldly.

Zeynn got up. His left side was on fire.

He charged again.
Every move was deflected. Blocked. Countered. Controlled.

And then—
A knee to the stomach.
He collapsed. Again.

Vykhor circled him.

“You think an enemy gives you a second chance? That he waits for you to be ready?”

Zeynn groaned, raising his torso, knees on the floor.

“I thought you wanted to train me, not extinguish me.”

Vykhor leaned down, grabbed him by the nape.

“This is training. I protected you until now. That ends today.”

He let go.

Zeynn spat blood. But his eyes burned brighter.

“Again.”

Second round.

This time, Zeynn stayed low. More feline.
He used his agility, his quick footing.
Vykhor wasn’t caught off guard, but at least Zeynn kept up.
Two full minutes.

Then he went flying across the room.

“Your speed’s useful, but you have no core. You react—you don’t command.”

Zeynn groaned, gritted his teeth.

“I command my pain,” he muttered, eyes half-lidded.

Vykhor paused. A hint of a smile.

“Not bad.”

Then resumed his stance.

“Up.”

After 40 minutes.

Zeynn was on the floor. Sweating. Bruised. Trembling. But not broken.

Vykhor crouched down.

“Tomorrow, you’ll come back. And the day after too. You won’t be ready tomorrow. Or next week. But one day, you’ll beat me. Or at least, make me step back.”

Zeynn looked up at him.

“You think I can?”

“I think you haven’t decided to quit yet. And that’s all it takes.”

Zeynn let himself fall onto his back, arms spread.

“You know what? You’re still a pain in the ass. But maybe you’ve got a point.”

Blue padded over and licked the blood on Zeynn’s cheek with a strangely gentle touch.

Vykhor let him.

Then turned to leave.

“Rest. Tomorrow, we start on weapons.”

Zeynn, half-dead, smiled.

“Is it supposed to hurt?”

“It’s supposed to make you survive.”

And he left the room.

**Narak’Tharr – Main Mess Hall**

The smell of hot food filled the air: a base of stir-fried noodles—galactic standard—with improvised additions from Skye and some suspicious chunks that Zeynn eyed warily before eating anyway.

The room hummed softly with the ship’s engine vibrations.
Blue was curled up near a thermal unit, half-buried under a blanket Evelyn had knitted “to relax her fingers.”

Zeynn slouched on a chair, covered in bandages, bruises visible on his neck and arms.
He chewed slowly, clearly still recovering from his session with Vykhor.

Skye sat across from him, legs stretched over a bench, bowl in hand, a teasing grin on her lips.

“So, little feline, did you get a taste of Kael’tarien pedagogy? See any stars? Or just your own teeth on the floor?”

Zeynn raised a trembling finger.

“Just… shut up, please.”

Evelyn, seated next to him, gently applied healing cream to his shoulder.

“He lasted longer than expected. And he didn’t give up.”

“He mostly bounced around the walls,” Skye commented.

“You really want to talk about your fight with Rax?” Evelyn replied, one brow arched.

Skye raised her hands.

“Okay, point to you, Doc. But at least I didn’t whimper.”

Zeynn growled mid-bite.

“I didn’t whimper.”

Skye burst out laughing.

“You made a wet kitten noise. I thought Blue was about to call for emotional backup.”

Blue flicked an ear, then went back to sleep. He knew they were talking about him, but he had priorities.

Evelyn finished tending his wounds and packed up the kit.

“You’ll be sore tomorrow. But you heal fast. And… you’re making progress.”

Zeynn looked down, clearly touched.

“Thanks.”

Skye sat up straighter.

“Well, that’s cute and all, but I’ve got an important mission to launch.”

She activated her comm bracelet, projecting a hologram above the table.
A raw interface appeared, marked with the red sigil of encrypted communications.

“Brace yourselves,” she murmured. “I’m about to wake up Rax Ulthor.”

Zeynn’s eyes widened.

“Wait—you’re calling the cyborg who punches everything and lives on a remote asteroid by choice?”

Skye smiled like a professional scam artist.

“Shhh. Watch and learn.”

The signal crackled. A face appeared.
Rax Ulthor.

A metal jaw. Red implants running down his skull. One artificial eye, the other darker than space itself.
He was shirtless, scarred, sitting in front of a table covered in weapons.

“Skye. What do you want?”

“Pulling you out of retirement, big guy. Got a job for you. Heavy stuff.”

“I’m listening.”

Skye leaned toward the hologram.

“A living illegal weapon. A man who wants to control the galaxy. Modified prototypes. A scientist who breaks all the rules. A captain with a voice that rumbles. And a kitten who decided to bite back.”

Rax raised an eyebrow.

“And you?”

“Me? I’m the one who’s gonna give you a damn good reason to fight.”

She tapped her tablet. A file opened.
An image of the Master’s envoy.
The same one Rax had already seen… and missed.
His red eye flared with a slow blink.

“You want me to destroy him?”

“Better. You want to destroy him and shake half a system for fun? Now’s the time.”

Silence. Then:

“Send the coordinates. I’m coming.”

The line cut.

Skye turned to the others, satisfied.

“A pack is good. A pack with a living tank? Even better.”

Zeynn groaned.

“I think my motivation just broke a rib.”

Evelyn smiled gently, but her gaze drifted toward the suitcase.
The storm’s heart wasn’t open yet.

But the pack… was forming.

**Narak’Tharr – Secondary Observation Deck**
**A few hours after the call to Rax**

The immensity of space stretched out before them.
A silent sea of stars, disturbed only by the soft blue glow of the ship’s stabilizer thrusters.

Skye leaned against the glass wall, a flask in hand.
Evelyn stood nearby, arms crossed, staring out at the stars without really seeing them.

“You look like you’re thinking,” Skye murmured.

“I’m always thinking,” Evelyn replied with a faint smile.

“Bad sign.”

A light silence settled in. Comfortable.
Eventually, Evelyn spoke again, voice softer than usual:

“You realize we’re becoming something… that looks like a pack?”

Skye raised an eyebrow.

“If this is a sneaky way to make me cuddle Blue, I’m out.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know.”

Skye paused, then lowered her flask.

“Yeah. I’ve noticed. It’s weird. I’m not sure I like it.”

“Me neither,” Evelyn admitted.

They exchanged a glance. A silent understanding between two women shaped by life in opposite ways.

Evelyn continued, more quietly:

“This wasn’t the plan. Vykhor, Zeynn, you, Blue… and now Rax. It wasn’t supposed to be this. I just wanted to survive. Escape the labs. Be free.”

“And now?” Skye asked, without sarcasm.

Evelyn smiled sadly.

“Now, I’m scared of losing what we’re building. Because I realize it’s… beautiful. And rare. Almost too much.”

Skye studied her a moment, then stepped closer.

“You know what I see? A lab rat turning her ship into a damn hive. A dead-inside Kael’tarien ready to kill for her. A wild kitten who takes hits to get back up. And me… stuck between running and staying. That’s your pack.”

She shrugged.

“It’s messy. It’s unstable. But it’s real.”

Evelyn looked away, a little moved.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being here. For bringing back Rax. For bringing back a bit of normal—even if it’s yours.”

Skye winced.

“Yikes. Talk like that again and I’m jumping out the airlock.”

Evelyn laughed softly.

“Good night, Skye.”

“Don’t get mushy.”

Skye walked off, flask in hand.
Evelyn stayed a while longer, alone before the stars.

And this time, she felt a little less alone.