The next several days settled into a routine that felt almost peaceful compared to everything that had come before.
Aurelian began following the personal training schedule he had prepared, though Astercourt made several changes before she allowed it to become official.
She removed two late-night sessions, added fixed meal periods, and placed recovery time between physical training and command exercises.
When Aurelian tried to point out that he had designed the schedule for himself, she reminded him that this was exactly why someone else needed to inspect it.
Astra agreed with her.
That ended the argument before it began.
His mornings were spent in physical training chambers aboard the Black Crown. Tier III had greatly strengthened him, but growing stronger as a commander was not only a matter of gaining more battle experience.
His body still needed to adapt to the pressure created by his command core, and the gap between Tier III and Tier IV was large enough that ignoring the physical side could cause serious problems later.
Aurelian had no intention of reaching the edge of advancement only to discover that the rest of him was not ready.
The materials recovered from Mournveil also proved useful. After careful testing, the medical division processed some of the safer beast tissue into concentrated supplements that could support recovery and physical development.
The stronger samples remained restricted until Elowen, Meridian, and the medical specialists had properly understood them.
Aurelian used only what had already passed every safety check.
Rhoswen called that overly careful.
Then Meridian asked whether she wanted to test the glowing glands herself.
Rhoswen immediately decided that caution was wise.
While Aurelian trained, Eirenne focused most of her attention on the wider situation around Varensk.
She continued to help manage Larkspur Haven, Nhalis, Karven Spire, Glasswake Watch, and the growing network of Arcturus family support, but those duties did not require all of her abilities.
Astercourt and the new administrative teams had taken over much of the routine work, while local March officers were slowly learning to solve smaller problems without asking Eirenne to make every decision for them.
This gave her more freedom to return to the work she had originally been designed for.
Intelligence gathering.
Electronic intrusion.
Military prediction.
The false reports sent through the captured inspection vessel had bought them time, but Eirenne did not trust time that depended on the enemy remaining foolish.
She needed to know what Varensk was doing, how strong its rivals truly were, and whether the conflict beyond the March was close to changing.
To gather that information, she dispatched several modified reconnaissance drones through routes taken from captured Kharov records.
Some traveled under false commercial identities. Others remained outside inhabited systems and listened to long-range signals.
A few slipped close enough to relay stations that Eirenne could enter local networks without announcing her presence.
Varensk’s security systems were stronger than those used in Karven Spire and Nhalis.
That did not make them strong enough.
The real difficulty came from the rival bloc.
Their territory lay across a broken chain of systems deeper inside the region, beyond the routes controlled by Virell’s Reach.
Kharov reports usually referred to them as the Drael Compact, though that name made the organization sound more united than it truly was.
The Compact was a loose military alliance formed by several Kharov commanders, local rulers, and subject species that no longer trusted Varensk’s leadership.
They were not friends of the March.
They were simply enemies of an enemy.
According to the first reports, the Drael Compact had around nine thousand major warships spread across several fronts, with only a limited number of higher-grade vessels.
That was enough to annoy Varensk, but not enough to threaten its full strength.
Eirenne quickly discovered that the reports were wrong.
Very wrong.
The Compact had hidden much of its stronger fleet in rear systems and industrial stations where ships were recorded as unfinished hulls, civilian conversions, or repair reserves.
Several warships listed as destroyed were still active. Others had never appeared in any Kharov registry at all.
After four days of careful intrusion, Eirenne estimated that the Compact had close to eighteen thousand combat-capable ships, including far more Tier III and near-Tier IV hulls than Varensk believed.
That was still not enough to defeat Varensk directly.
But it was enough to hurt them badly.
Eirenne brought the information to Aurelian shortly after his evening training session.
He entered the Black Crown’s planning room still wearing a dark training shirt, a towel draped over his shoulders.
Astra followed him, having supervised the session with the same seriousness she brought to fleet exercises.
Eirenne was already waiting beside the central display.
Aurelian took one look at the map and understood that she had found something important.
"What changed?"
"The Drael Compact is stronger than our earlier information suggested," Eirenne said. "They have hidden approximately half their real combat strength."
Aurelian moved closer to the display.
Red markers showed Varensk’s known positions. Amber markers represented the Compact’s publicly known forces.
A second layer appeared beneath them, revealing hidden shipyards, reserve fleets, and deep-space staging points.
Astra studied the pattern.
"They are preparing an ambush."
"That is my conclusion," Eirenne replied.
Aurelian traced the Compact’s likely movement routes with his eyes. "Their hidden forces are concentrated near three fronts, but the largest group is here."
He pointed toward a narrow chain of systems connected to one of Varensk’s advancing patrol zones.
"If Varensk pushes farther, the Compact can strike from both sides."
"Yes."
"Why haven’t they attacked yet?"
"Because they are waiting for Varensk to commit more ships," Eirenne answered. "The hidden fleet is their greatest advantage. Once it appears, they will not be able to hide it again."
Aurelian nodded slowly.
It was the same principle they had discussed with Cassian. A force nobody could find affected every decision the enemy made.
Once that force entered battle, it might win a great victory, but it would lose the fear that uncertainty creates.
"The Compact needs a decisive result," Aurelian said. "Not just a successful attack."