Page 37 of Fourth

The planet shimmered like liquid metal beneath layered clouds, its surface constantly shifting in patterns and colors that defied logic. Deep green swirled into gold, fractured by lines of silver and midnight blue, like a living pulse. The colors glowed softly, not blinding but vivid, casting an ethereal shimmer across the viewport as if the planet breathed light.

Each shift wasn’t random. There was a rhythm to it, asilent conversation written in color and motion. Riv’En watched as patches of iridescent violet flickered in brief flashes, signifying energy fields or life signals unique to Elaros. It was an organic camouflage, not only matching the planet’s terrain but reflecting the emotions of its people.

Maya’s breath caught audibly besidehim.

“That’s it?” she asked, voice hushed.

Riv’En did not look away from the viewport. “That is Elaros.”

Maya stood quiet for a breath, then asked, “Why does it keep shifting like that? Sometimes I can barely tell it’s a planet. It looks like it disappears.”

“It is part of their nature,” Riv’En said, his voice low. “The planet reflects its people. Constant camouflage, always shifting.It is why Elaros has remained hidden for so long. Even from us.” He paused, glancing down at her. “To outsiders, it looks unstable. To them, it is truth.”

A transmission pulse sounded through the bridge, sharp and unrelenting.

The ship’s system translated a moment later: “You have ten count-marks to leave orbit, or you will be annihilated.”

Chapter 9

THE VOICEechoed through the ship, sharp and unrelenting: “You have ten count-marks to leave orbit, or you will be annihilated.”

Maya could not breathe. It wasn’t just fear. It was as if the words themselves had stolen the air from her lungs, leaving her locked in place, every nerve stretched too tight. The ship appeared smaller somehow, the walls closer, the lights dimmer. Apulsing tension spread through her, like the ship itself had pressed its hand against her skin, steady and impossible to shake. It wasn’t until Riv’En’s robe shifted to a denser shade of gold in the low light that she remembered she wasn’t alone.

He stood at the console, tall and commanding, as if that voice had been nothing but static. His hands moved with ease, keying in a sequence she did not understand. His profile was sharp in the low light, steely.

His voice, when it came, was calm. Absolute. “You are safe.”

Maya swallowed against the sharp edge of terror in her throat. Her gaze darted to the viewport where the shimmer of an approaching vessel grew clearer, larger, until it filled the upper edge of space. Every pulse of color along its surface sent another shiver down her spine. It wasn’t just its size or the way it moved. It was the sense that the ship wasn’t observing them passively. It was alive, aware, watching her specifically. Acold ripple chased up her arms, the kind that tightened muscle before thought could catch up. Her throat tightened even more, the air in the room turned thin, as if the vessel outside was already drawing itaway.

The ship wasn’t metal, wasn’t synthetic, wasn’t anything built by human hands. It shifted like liquid, like skin stretched over muscle, alive and breathing in a manner more organic than mechanical.

Just like the planet, the ship’s surface shifted in real time, fluid patterns rippling across its hull like living camouflage. Colors—violet and silver, deep green edged with pale yellow—moved as if they were alive, as if the ship breathed.

Her voice broke before she could prevent it. “Is this the ship that was following us?”

“No,” Riv’En said, his voice flat and certain. “That ship evaded our scans. This one did not. This is an Elaroin high command vessel. It follows no one. It watches. It judges.”

“They can see us?”

Riv’En did not look away from the controls. His hands moved with the same unhurried skill as before, but there was a power to his posture now— set, purposeful. “They do not require sight.” His voice dropped a fraction lower, almost like he was speaking more to himself than to her. “They sense presence. Energy. Intent.”

A hint of pressure built behind her eyes, sharp and tight, like her entire mind had narrowed to a single, blinding point of tension. Her thoughts fuzzed at the edges, unable to escape the weight pressing in from all sides. “So what do we do?” Her voice came sharper this time, the edge of panic creeping in despite herself. “Are we leaving? Are we getting out of here?”

“No.”

The word dropped between them like a solid force. Hard as iron. Hard as Riv’En himself. He didn’t glance at her, didn’t hesitate. It wasn’t just a decision. It was afact.

The quiet between them stretched until she found it unbearable. Her skin prickled. Her entire body tensed.

And still he moved with that infuriating, terrifying precision. Every action measured. No hesitation, no excess. As if the threat outside didn’t register at all. It wasn’t bravado. It was just who he was, afixed point when everything else was in motion.

“Then what?” Her voice cracked. “We just sit here and wait for them to blow us up?”

Riv’En keyed in a final sequence. The console pulsed beneath his hand. He didn’t even glance at her when he spoke.

“This is Riv’En, Fourth of Alpha Legion, assassin-class Intergalactic Warrior. Identification marker Delta-Echo-Four. Irequest formal parlay under Elaroin code.”

The transmission pulsed out into the void. And then there was nothing.

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