Chapter 370: Saevor Drann’s Order

The first useful information from the captured Compact courier arrived several hours later.

Eirenne had already copied the ship’s navigation records, communication logs, crew files, and hidden transmission history, but most of it was routine.

The vessel had spent the last several months carrying messages between Compact military stations, commercial ports, and private relay posts.

The interesting part was its last assignment.

Aurelian was in the temporary command center when Eirenne opened the recovered orders.

"They were not sent by Marshal Taran," she said.

"Ruun?"

"No."

Aurelian looked toward the display.

The order had been issued through a military relay connected directly to Saevor Drann’s central command office.

It instructed the courier to observe Sanctuary Ardent from outside normal sensor range, confirm whether the Human evacuation was complete, estimate the remaining fleet strength, and report whether the sanctuary could still defend itself.

That alone was expected.

The second part was not.

The courier was also ordered to watch the transport routes leading away from Sanctuary Ardent and determine whether they connected to any larger Human settlement.

Astra stood beside the table.

"They are looking for Larkspur Haven and Helion Bastion Twelve."

"Yes," Aurelian said.

Rhoswen, who had arrived after hearing that the courier logs had been opened, crossed her arms.

"They already know we have somewhere to send the survivors."

"They know we have territory," Aurelian replied. "They do not know exactly where everything is."

Eirenne expanded the navigation history.

The courier had followed one evacuation route for several hours before turning away. It had not reached Larkspur Haven, but it had gone far enough to narrow the possible region.

"Can we tell what they sent before Solenne caught them?" Aurelian asked.

"Partial coordinates, fleet numbers, and a rough direction of travel. No exact destination."

"That gives us some time."

"Not much."

Aurelian knew.

Saevor Drann now understood that Sanctuary Ardent was connected to a larger Human presence.

Even if the Compact could not locate Larkspur Haven immediately, repeated scouting would eventually solve the problem.

The Crownward March could no longer depend on being ignored.

A second file appeared.

"This came from the courier captain’s personal records," Eirenne said.

Aurelian opened it.

The message was not an official order. It was a copy of a discussion between several Compact officers, apparently shared privately because the courier captain knew one of them.

The tone was very different from normal military traffic.

One officer complained that Ruun had wasted another flotilla against Sanctuary Ardent.

Another blamed Marshal Taran for losing control of the sanctuary in the first place.

A third argued that Saevor Drann was preparing to punish both men to make an example of them.

Rhoswen looked pleased.

"They are blaming each other already."

"That does not mean they are weak," Astra said.

"No, but it is enjoyable."

Aurelian kept reading.

The Compact had suffered more than the loss of ships.

Sanctuary Ardent had been one of Drann’s most important sources of old Human medical research, preserved labor, technical knowledge, and strategic information.

Several Compact research groups had built their careers around access to the sanctuary.

Now all of that was gone.

Worse, some officers had begun asking why the Compact had never discovered the lower levels.

Others wanted to know how a Human commander had entered, taken control of the sanctuary, and activated systems that had ignored Compact authority for years.

That kind of question was dangerous in any military hierarchy.

It was especially dangerous under Saevor Drann.

"He will start looking for someone to blame," Aurelian said.

Eirenne nodded.

"Captured records suggest he usually responds to major failures by removing officers he considers unreliable."

Rhoswen leaned closer to the display.

"Removing?"

"Sometimes politically."

"And sometimes?"

"Not politically."

Rhoswen nodded.

"That sounds more like him."

Aurelian closed the message.

Internal conflict inside the Compact could help them, but it could also make the enemy more dangerous.

Officers worried about punishment might take risks they would normally avoid, especially if capturing Sanctuary Ardent offered a way to save themselves.

"We assume another attack is still possible," he said. "No changes to the repair priorities."

Astra nodded.

Eirenne updated the system map.

The western shield section had reached sixty-three percent strength. Two secondary batteries were back online, although neither had enough power to threaten a heavy cruiser without support. The launch halls remained the biggest problem.

Repair crews had cleared one more route, but the damaged western entrance could still handle only small ships.

The Arcturus convoy helped with everything else.

Medical supplies moved into the lower halls.

Replacement power units reached the preservation systems.

Temporary habitation modules were being assembled for survivors who would remain on Sanctuary Ardent.

The first equipment from the Continuity Vault was also ready for transport.

Neris had organized the cargo schedule so carefully that the movement looked almost simple from the command center.

Aurelian knew it was not.

He opened a channel to her.

"How far behind are we?"

Neris appeared on the display, looking as calm and sleepy as ever despite standing in the middle of one of the busiest cargo halls in the sanctuary.

"Two hours."

"That is better than I expected."

"It was four."

"What changed?"

"I stopped letting three engineering teams request the same lift."

Aurelian could imagine exactly how that conversation had gone.

"Any problems moving the fabrication equipment?"

"Only weight. The old cargo platforms can carry it, but the upper turn is too narrow for the largest section."

"Solution?"

"We remove the outer housing here and rebuild it after transport."

"Do it."

"Already doing it."

The channel closed.

Rhoswen looked toward him.

"Why does everyone answer you after they already started doing the thing you were about to ask for?"

"Because they are competent."

"That sounds inconvenient for you."

"It is the opposite."

Astra looked toward the next report.

"The civilian council wants to speak with the captured courier crew."

Aurelian paused.

"Why?"

"They want to know what the Compact is saying about the sanctuary survivors."

That made sense.

For the people who had spent years under Compact control, the enemy outside the mountain was not an abstract military problem. T

hey had lived with Compact soldiers, researchers, and administrators. Many wanted to know whether the wider Compact considered them prisoners, property, rebels, or something else.