Chapter 94: Welcome to Z-47, Black Hole of All Trouble

The Narak’Tharr hovered above the Iskaara spaceport, bathed in amber light. Twilight cast golden reflections across the ship’s sleek, dark hull, as if even the sun itself hesitated to turn its back on it.

On board, the crew was taking their positions.

Vykhor stood tall on the bridge, focused. He had that taut calm, that predatory silence just before a strike. His gaze swept over each member of the Kael’seth pack, anchoring their presence, assessing their stance. A habit. A ritual.

Evelyn, standing straight beside him, stared at the main display with a more complex expression. She didn’t speak, but her fingers nervously toyed with the edge of her datapad. Behind her, Zeynn shadowed her every step — like a small, alert feline, senses sharpened. He pretended to study the flight path, but his eyes mostly followed Blue, who had just settled beside Evelyn, resting his muzzle on her thigh.

Kryna, the warm, modulated voice of the ship, resonated through the room like a caress:

“Trajectory to Z-47 confirmed. Jump in two minutes. All systems are synchronized, Captain.”

“Thanks, Kryna. Keep us on passive alerts. I want a full orbital map on approach.”

“With pleasure. And if I may… this mission smells exactly like trouble.”

Skye, leaning against the wall, burst out laughing.

“Even the AI is sarcastic here. I’m gonna love this flying bucket.”

She exchanged a conspiratorial glance with Rax, who was already tapping on his cybernetic arm. Lines of code scrolled across his retinal implant.

“Rax, did you detect any encrypted transmissions from the zone?” Evelyn asked.

“A few,” he replied without looking up. “Old mining base, but there’s passive traffic. Military frequencies, but not Haelven Collective. Smells like an off-the-books op.”

“You think it’s another trap?” Zeynn whispered, tense.

Evelyn placed a hand on his shoulder, gentle but firm.

“We don’t think of the worst. We prepare for the worst. Big difference.”

Rax raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Vykhor.

“And this Kane guy? We’ve got nothing on him. Why risk our necks for someone who already played hide-and-seek with you?”

Skye chimed in:

“I’m not saying we don’t help. I’m just saying… I like to know who I’m blowing up an outpost for.”

Vykhor turned slowly. His gaze cut straight through the two newcomers.

“Kane isn’t a friend. He was the commander of the base where Evelyn and I were held. He fled after our escape — not to chase us, but because he knew the Master would kill him for his failure. Then he tried to lure us in by using Zeynn.”

Zeynn let out a low growl at the memory. Blue, sprawled at his feet, lifted his head at the spike of tension.

“So why go?” Rax asked, arms crossed.

“Because now the Master wants him silenced. Which means Kane knows something. And if he’s willing to reach out… it means he’s chosen a side. Even if it’s just to survive.”

Silence thickened.

Then Skye, more steady:

“Alright, Captain. That’s good enough for me. As long as I have something to aim at and something that explodes, I’m in.”

Rax sighed.

“Great. I just hope he’s got decent coffee. Because if he’s lying to us, I swear I’ll blow up his toilets.”

Kryna resumed calmly through the speakers:

“Note: avoid connecting to toilet systems. Low priority. Jump in 30 seconds. Brace yourselves.”

Evelyn took her seat. Zeynn naturally moved beside her. He didn’t speak, but Vykhor saw it — that silent need for closeness, for reassurance. That need for a mother.

And Vykhor saw everything that touched his My’Lari.

He set a firm hand on the young Nytherian’s shoulder as he passed.

“You stay by her side during the operation. That’s an order.”

Zeynn nodded immediately.

Kryna began the countdown:

“5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Jump engaged.”

The Narak’Tharr twisted space and shot into the shimmering darkness of hyperspace, carrying with it a pack ready to face the unknown, the Master’s traps… and the truths Kane had yet to reveal.

The exit from hyperspace was brutal. The stars stabilized outside the Narak’Tharr’s windows… but peace was nowhere in sight.

What awaited them was chaos.

“Kryna!” Vykhor barked, leaping to his feet. “What the hell is this mess?”

“Analyzing… Well, that is… colorful,” the AI replied dryly. “Three raider-class ships, one stripped-down but still armed destroyer, and a squadron of salvage drones. None belong to the Master… but they all seem very eager to shoot each other.”

The cockpit vibrated under the shockwave of a nearby explosion. A spray of debris cut across their immediate trajectory.

Skye whistled, arms folded.

“Nice welcome. You sure it’s not your birthday, Vykhor?”

“They’re not after me,” he growled. “It’s Kane. The bastard must’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest, and we just stepped right into it.”

Evelyn leaned toward the central console, fingers gripping its edges.

“Pirate clans?”

Rax shrugged, eyes glued to his scans.

“Could be old partners he didn’t pay. Or bounty hunters. With Kane, pick your poison.”

“No,” Vykhor corrected, icy. “That man attracts debts, betrayals, and revenge like a black hole pulls matter. This chaos? That’s just Monday morning for him.”

“Coordinates triangulated,” Kryna announced. “A crypted communication signal is coming from an old surface bunker. Kane’s emergency beacon. He’s alive. And he’s asking for help.”

Silence. Then Zeynn:

“He could’ve picked a less… explosive place to die.”

“You wanna die comfortably?” Skye snorted.

“No, but I don’t want our first real mission to end in an orbital fireworks show.”

Blue rumbled softly, as if agreeing.

Vykhor gripped the railing and gave his orders — clipped, precise.

“Kryna, initiate low-approach maneuver. We weave through the firefight and land near the bunker. If we get target-locked by a cannon, you fire back. If anything twitches wrong, you vaporize it.”

“As always, Captain. (A small pause.) I must note that this mission is officially suicidal.”

“Duly noted. We’re going anyway.”

Skye grabbed her rifle with a grin.

“Alright girls, let’s go save a pirate. Or bury him. We’ll see.”

Rax, activating his jammers, added without ceremony:

“At this point we might as well torch the whole orbital block. Would save time.”

Zeynn armed himself silently, fingers tensing. He stayed close to Evelyn, ready to leap if she said the word.

Vykhor turned to them one last time.

“No rushing. We retrieve Kane. Then we pull out.”

His eyes lingered on Evelyn, then briefly on Zeynn and Blue. Then he slammed his fist against the airlock controls.

“Kael’seth pack… on the hunt.”

The Narak’Tharr slid through the orbital chaos of Z-47 like a silent predator in a field of wreckage. The shields hummed softly, absorbing shockwaves from the battles raging around them.

In the tactical room, the group was gathered — gearing up, checking weapons and armor, but also… processing what Vykhor had just said.

Zeynn slowly turned toward Evelyn, both surprised and strangely proud.

“He said it, right?” he murmured, as if saying it too loud would break the spell. "He said Kael’seth pack.”

Evelyn lifted her eyes from her tactical gloves. A faint smile softened her tired face.

“Yes. He did.”

Blue, stretched against the wall, eyes half-closed, let out a low rumble — like an approving vibration.

Skye, already geared up and leaning back with her arms crossed, raised an eyebrow.

“He could’ve picked a sexier name, but I’ll admit… it sounds badass.”

Rax snorted a metallic chuckle without looking up from his interface.

“And above all, he said it. Vykhor. The guy who greets you by throwing a knife into your hand. If that’s not recognition…”

Evelyn smiled. But deep within her pale gaze, something older stirred. Something rooted in belonging — a feeling she thought she’d lost somewhere between the cold walls of a lab and a life on the run.

And here, in the middle of this galactic madness…

she had found it.