Ash told them everything that happened. When Ash finished nobody said anything for a moment.
"A cat? A real talking cat inside your head?" Zhao said.
"Yes, as crazy as that sounds," Ash confirmed.
Zhao grinned. "Anyways, I can't wait to test out your defensive abilities." He hit his palm with his knuckles.
Han Wei interjected. "First you need rest. Both of you."
She didn't want to leave in this situation anyway, so when Zhao dragged a cot from the back room without being asked, she just curled down on it. Both of them were asleep in minutes.
---
Jackal had spent two more hours in front of the belt waiting for them to come out, but he had no choice but to turn back when a pissed off Korv screamed his ears off through the comm. Jackal was surprised to see Ash walking through the station upon arrival. He didn't know how they slipped past them but fortune must be smiling upon him for that brat to be alone and wandering. That was until he saw who came up behind him.
He could take his chances with Korv. He'd been doing that for years. Zhao was a different matter. Rumours said even the major black market leaders don't cross him and Jackal had learned to take rumours seriously when enough people repeated them.
He'd deal with the brats later. He had time.
His comm buzzed again, still Korv wanting to know where he is. He answered it and walked back to the Hounds bay. Korv was already inside when Jackal walked in. A few Hounds around the room shuffled awkwardly.
He didn't make it three steps before Korv pointed at the floor in front of him.
"On your knees, mutt."
Jackal got on his knees.
Korv talked about incompetence and wasted time and what exactly Jackal was worth compared to the cheapest metal scraps. After abusing him with words Korv eventually asked him to clean his boot. Jackal obeyed without saying anything. He knew Korv was enjoying his humiliation, that's how twisted he is. But Jackal was keeping count of every word and every second on his knees.
Korv's mood broke the way it always did, sudden and without any special reason. Jackal somehow managed to manipulate him enough to get away. He praised Korv, bowed and took his leave.
His hands were shaking while walking out. Not from fear but from anger. He pulled out his comm and typed one message to Colin.
*Put the plan in motion.*
He pocketed it and kept walking. By the time he reached the end of the corridor his hands had stopped shaking.
---
Rhea woke up to something hitting the floor. She lay still for a second, then got up, pulled her jacket on and went to the kitchen.
Han Wei's kitchen was empty but the kettle was still warm. She made tea, wrapped both hands around the mug and followed the sounds down to the basement.
Ash and Zhao were sparring, except Zhao clearly wasn't trying. Han Wei stood to the side watching.
Rhea leaned against the doorframe.
She'd seen Ash fight before, messy and mostly just swinging like a maniac. She smiled. But this looked different. He was more agile now, more fluid, wielding his power like a second skin. He'd already called forth some of his abilities and Rhea knew he'd already outpaced her in that department.
She looked at Zhao and Han Wei and wondered if she'd ever reach their level. She'd always been careful with her own ability. Maybe it was time to let loose a little. The times were changing.
While lost in thought, Ash caught her eye across the room.
"Morning," he said.
Zhao's punch found his ribs immediately.
"Ow—"
"Focus," Han Wei said, without looking up.
Rhea hid her smile behind her mug.
They went for another hour. Ash was getting hit less toward the end and she decided that counted as progress.
Zhao stepped back. "Let's take a break."
Ash dropped onto a crate like his legs had turned to jelly. "Two hours," he said when Rhea walked over. "Two hours and I think my bones have doubled in weight."
"You're moving better than yesterday though."
"Yesterday I was unconscious."
"That's some significant improvement."
He looked at her. She looked back with a smile. He laughed despite himself.
"Thanks," he said.
They had maybe four minutes before Han Wei appeared in the doorway.
"Let's go again."
Ash looked at the ceiling. "It's been four minutes."
"Time is essential," Zhao added, already back on his feet.
Ash stood up with a little struggle.
Zhao cracked his knuckles. "Now we take it up a notch."
"Okay," Ash said.
"More than a notch actually."
Ash's expression shifted slightly. "How much more."
"Way more," Zhao said pleasantly.
"What exactly are you two planning."
"Well it's simple, we're going to hit you with everything," Han Wei said.
"We?! I genuinely don't think I can handle that."
"Oh don't be a baby," Zhao said.
They took their stances. Ash exhaled and pulled the Barrier Dome forward, shimmering faintly at the edges.
Zhao brought one hand down in a single short motion at the air in front of him. The force that came off it had nothing to do with the size of the gesture. The barrier cracked straight down the middle, held for half a second, then folded completely and sent a shockwave that threw Ash into the wall behind him. He slid down it.
"Still standing counts," Zhao offered.
"I'm sitting."
"Counts."
Ash pulled himself upright, rebuilt the barrier and turned back to face Zhao.
Then Han Wei let go.
There was no motion, no sound, no warning. Just a pressure that arrived from every direction at once, above and below and sideways, pressing inward from all angles simultaneously. The barrier didn't register it at all. Han Wei's power moved straight through the Dome like it wasn't there. Ash realised that whatever it was, his Dome wasn't counting it as an attack. The pressure bent around the space Ash occupied and began to compress it.
Ash's knees buckled. "What the hell is this?"
"Gravity throttling," Han Wei said.
"This is completely unfair."
"Yes."
"My barrier does absolutely nothing against this."
"No."
The pressure increased slightly. Ash grunted through it.
"Think Ash, think," Han Wei said. "Powers alone won't help you always. Sometimes you need to adapt and improvise. And sometimes if you can't defeat an enemy, your next step is how to survive. And to survive you need to be tactical."
Ash's jaw was tight. He ran through what he had. Barrier Dome, useless here. Cloaking Thread, masks his presence and perception. Suppression Bind, disrupts an enemy's ability in a concentrated area. Mend Thread, limited repair and heal.
He dropped the barrier entirely.
He pushed the Cloaking Thread outward instead, not to hide himself but through the floor and walls around him, bending his signature so Han Wei's gravitational sense lost its anchor point. The compression stuttered and lost its grip for just a moment.
In the same instant he threw the Suppression Bind outward, not enough to cut Han Wei off fully but enough interference to fracture the hold for a second longer.
Then he rebuilt the barrier and threw himself sideways out of the space.
The gravity snapped back and found nothing.
Ash landed hard on his hands and knees across the room, breathing.
Nobody said anything for a moment.
"That is what I was waiting for," Han Wei said.
Zhao was already grinning. "Took you long enough."
"I cannot move," Ash said.
"Well, we're done for now," Zhao said.
Ash rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
"That old man shares my thoughts exactly. I like him."
"Are you awake?" Ash asked.
"Yes, obviously"
"Aren't you older than him by a few centuries?"
"Shush."
Three soft pings landed at the back of his skull.
"Ow. What was that?"
"Right, I keep forgetting you can't see it from out there. Tap your left wrist."
Ash lifted his wrist and tapped it twice. Something appeared overlaid across his vision, clean and precise.
**Fragment I — Sero [Defence Aspect]**
*Attributes*
> *Health: 74/100*
> *Energy: 61/100*
> *Strength: 42*
> *Agility: 38*
> *Dexterity: 35*
> *Endurance: 40*
> *Reflex: 33*
> *Pulse Output: 55*
*Available Points: 10*
*Abilities*
> *Cloaking Thread (Level 1) — 15 pts to reach Level 2*
> *Mend Thread (Level 1) — 15 pts to reach Level 2*
> *Suppression Bind (Level 1) — 15 pts to reach Level 2*
> *Barrier Dome (Level 1) — 15 pts to reach Level 2*
> *[Locked — 5 pts to unlock]*
> *[Locked — 5 pts to unlock]*
"Points," Ash said.
"Yes, you can earn them through training and defeating enemies. My old wielder used to harvest power from pulsar stars though, obviously not recommended for you. Anyways, eating, sleeping and recovering replenish your energy and health. Ten points pushes one ability to level two. Five unlocks either of the remaining two. Twenty expands your base limits."
"What are the locked ones?"
"Unlock them and find out."
"That's annoying."
"Yes."
"Wait, why can't I see my tier?"
Silence.
"...Mm."
"Sero."
"It works differently for you. Fine."
A ping. A new section appeared.
*Tier System*
> *Current Tier: 2 — Resonator*
> *Progress: 80/100*
"Tier 2," Ash said.
"Don't sulk. You're close to Tier 3."
"I'm not sulking."
"You're sulking."
He clicked through a few other sections out of curiosity.
"Hey. Stop that."
"I'm just looking."
"I built that interface. Stop poking at things you don't understand yet."
Ash dropped his wrist and the display faded. "I'm going to sleep for a bit."
"That's a really good idea."
---
Colin didn't like Careyn Hub but it had fast relay nodes, patchy Conclave oversight and nobody who cared what you were doing as long as you weren't loud about it.
He sat in the back corner of a transit cafe with a hood up and a compact terminal open on the table, relay mods grafted along the casing. Jackal's message had come two hours ago. He read it over once, fingers hovering for just a moment, then made one small adjustment and sent it.
He closed the terminal, left the cafe and walked out without looking back.
---
The planet had no name on any current Conclave chart. No registered presence, no listed coordinates.
Inside, a single screen cast pale light across a desk. On the corner of the desk, half tucked under a worn data pad, the edge of a folded document peeked out. The letterhead just visible at the top, partially covered but readable. It said *FRACTU—*
A hand reached for the comm screen. Broad across the knuckles, fingers ending in short curved claws.
The face that looked up from the screen was wide with a heavy jaw and amber eyes shining beneath a dark mane. He read the message once. Then again.
He set the comm down.
Then he smiled slowly and reached for a second one.