Chapter 33: The Watcher Beyond the Breach

Mei moved before the thought had fully formed.

She slipped through the forge entrance and crossed toward the ridge, keeping below the skyline. The shortest route would expose her to anyone watching from the eastern slope, so she approached from the west, using the broken terrain for cover.

At the base of the ridge, she crouched and examined the ground.

The tracks were faint, but they were there. Whoever had made them had deliberately avoided the softer earth and stepped across the harder patches of stone. The stride was controlled, and the trail led toward the highest point overlooking the forge.

The visitor hadn't been running from them. They had come to watch.

Mei followed the trail uphill until she found a small black shard embedded in the rock.

She stopped several meters away.

Her eyes moved across the surrounding terrain, checking for disturbed gravel, secondary devices, tripwires, or anything that suggested the shard was bait. Nothing stood out.

Only then did she draw her blade.

The tip touched the shard.

It pulsed.

Violet light flashed beneath Mei's ribs in response.

She immediately pulled the blade back. The Heart of the Apocalypse had reacted to the object.

Before Mei could examine it again, Joshua's voice came from behind her.

"You're not supposed to touch unknown alien objects."

Mei glanced over her shoulder. "You're not supposed to follow me."

"I was making sure you didn't get yourself killed."

"That's following me."

"Fine."

Joshua crouched beside her, careful to leave her enough room to move. His eyes swept over the ridge before settling on the shard.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"It reacted to you."

"Yes."

His gaze shifted toward the faint glow beneath her ribs. "Does it hurt?"

"No."

Joshua clearly didn't believe her, but before he could question her further, three lights appeared across the valley.

They flashed along the opposite cliff in a deliberate sequence before disappearing.

Mei watched the timing. A signal.

Something large moved through the clouds above the mountains. She tracked it until it disappeared behind the crimson wound in the sky.

It wasn't approaching the forge. It was moving toward the breach.

Joshua followed her gaze. "Should we wake Captain Shane and Ryan?"

"Not yet."

Mei looked back toward the valley. "If they wanted us dead, they already had the opportunity."

Joshua studied her. "Then what do they want?"

"Information."

She glanced at the shard. They had crossed the boundary exhausted and exposed. Anyone capable of tracking them through the breach could have attacked while they slept. Instead, someone had approached the forge, observed them, left without triggering Ryan's sensors, and now appeared to be signaling something beyond the mountains.

The objective wasn't the kill. It was the observation.

Mei reached for the shard with the tip of her blade and carefully lifted it from the stone.

Violet energy spread across its surface.

A symbol appeared above them—five points surrounding a dark center.

Mei memorized the shape.

Joshua stared at it. "I've seen something similar."

"Where?"

"On the command deck."

"How similar?"

"The center was larger. The outer points were closer together."

Mei stored the differences.

Before she could study the symbol further, a thin crack appeared across the shard.

Her instincts reacted first. "Down."

She grabbed Joshua's jacket and pulled him behind a boulder as the device detonated.

The blast threw stone across the ridge. Most of the force went upward and away from the forge.

Mei waited. Nothing followed. No second explosion. No gunfire. No movement from the surrounding rocks.

She rose carefully.

The purpose of the device was obvious now. It hadn't been built to kill them; it had been designed to destroy itself once they discovered it. Someone had wanted them to find it—and wanted them unable to keep it.

Joshua pushed himself upright. "Mei."

She turned. A thin line of blood ran down his cheek.

"You're hurt."

"So are you." He touched the cut and looked at the blood on his fingers. "You pulled me out of the blast."

"You were standing too close."

"You could've been hit."

"I wasn't."

Joshua stared at her. For once, he didn't answer with a joke.

Mei's hand lifted toward his face before she stopped herself and lowered it. "Go wake Ryan."

Joshua caught her wrist. His grip was gentle but firm. "Don't."

Mei looked down at his hand before meeting his eyes. He released her, but she remained where she was.

"You're going after them," he said.

She didn't deny it.

Joshua glanced toward the dark ridge. "You always do this. You decide you're the only one who needs to come back."

Mei's expression tightened.

"I know you can handle yourself," he continued. "That's never been the problem. I just don't want to get used to you being here and then lose you because you decided you had to handle everything alone."

The words struck deeper than she expected.

Mei looked toward the ridge. She could still follow the trail. She could still search for whoever had planted the shard before the opportunity disappeared. It was the logical choice.

Instead, she lowered her blade and slid it back into its sheath. "We go together."

Joshua looked at her. For a moment, neither moved.

Then he nodded. "Okay."

They headed back toward the forge.

Mei chose the darker route along the rocks, keeping them below the ridge line. Joshua followed without questioning her decision and stayed close enough to cover the angles she couldn't see.

Halfway down, Mei stopped. Joshua nearly walked into her.

"What?"

She pointed toward the mountains.

The crimson wound in the sky had widened. Something stood within it.

Mei studied the shape, searching for anything that could identify it. There was no visible propulsion, no recognizable structure, and no movement that matched a vessel or a soldier.

It was simply standing on the other side of the breach. Watching.

Joshua stepped closer. "Do you know what that is?"

"No."

The shape disappeared.

Mei's hand settled around the hilt of her blade. "We're going back. Now."

Joshua didn't argue. They moved quickly toward the forge.

Behind them, beneath the shattered stone, the symbol began forming again. Five points appeared first.

Then a sixth.

Far beyond the mountains, the crimson wound opened another fraction. Something on the other side had seen Mei notice it.

Now it knew she was watching back.