"Solenne will coordinate the fleet while I’m on the ground," Aurelian said. "The Black Crown will stay in orbit as our main defensive anchor."
Cassian studied him for a moment before speaking.
"You’re placing a great deal of responsibility on Solenne."
"She can handle it."
That confidence had not appeared overnight. Throughout the recent campaign, Solenne had gradually become far more than a carrier commander.
She had managed scouting groups, coordinated drone wings, organized long-range strikes, and kept screening forces working together across several different battlefields.
Every operation had given her more experience, and every success had proven she could handle more.
This would simply be the next step.
It was also one they could not avoid.
Aurelian knew he could not personally direct every fleet movement forever. If March was going to keep growing, the people around him had to grow too.
That meant trusting them with real responsibility instead of trying to control every decision himself.
Cassian slowly nodded before turning toward the gathered military officers.
"Prepare a reserve response group outside Compact detection range. It moves only if Aurelian requests support or if Drann’s fleet returns earlier than expected."
One of the officers nodded.
"What level of strength?"
"Enough to defeat what’s left of the Compact fleet if necessary," Cassian answered, "but not enough to expose the entire expedition."
Another officer studied the tactical map for several seconds before giving his recommendation.
"A Tier VI support vessel with two Tier V strike groups should be enough."
No one around the table objected.
Aurelian looked toward his father.
"So you’re not coming personally."
"No."
Cassian’s answer was immediate.
"If my flagship enters Compact territory, our secrecy disappears the moment someone detects it. I also need to stay where I can respond if Varensk decides to move against Karven Spire while you’re away."
Aurelian could not argue with that.
Part of him would have preferred to know that a Tier VII flagship was only a short distance away, but Cassian was right. One appearance by a ship that powerful would tell the enemy that something far larger was happening.
The entire operation depended on staying unnoticed for as long as possible.
Cassian looked back at him.
"You’re leading this operation. That means you’re also responsible for deciding when the risk becomes unacceptable. Saving the sanctuary matters, but you do not sacrifice your entire fleet because you’re unwilling to withdraw."
"I understand."
Cassian’s expression remained firm.
"I mean it, Aurelian."
"So do I."
The two of them held each other’s gaze for several seconds before Cassian finally gave a small nod.
That was enough.
The meeting ended with the operation officially approved.
It still needed a name.
Rhoswen immediately suggested Open Door.
Astercourt arrived a few minutes late, learned that Aurelian intended to enter an occupied ancient sanctuary in person, and, without missing a beat, suggested Poor Judgment.
Neither proposal survived the discussion.
In the end, Eirenne quietly entered the mission into March records under a different name.
Quiet Lantern.
Everyone agreed it fit.
They were not invading the Compact or launching another major offensive. They were slipping into the darkness to bring people home before the war swallowed them.
Preparations continued for the rest of the day.
Neris confirmed that enough transport capacity had been gathered to evacuate more than three hundred thousand people, although moving that many civilians would still take time.
Additional emergency habitat modules were attached to the convoy, giving the transports more room for survivors while medical ships stocked supplies for preservation sickness, severe muscle weakness, and possible system failures during awakening.
Elowen also sent several medical specialists and ecological experts. Many of the people inside Sanctuary Ardent had been asleep for centuries, and there was no guarantee they carried only illnesses that modern Alliance medicine understood.
Some conditions might have disappeared long ago, while others could have evolved in unexpected ways during preservation.
Meridian focused on another problem.
She prepared portable power systems capable of restarting sealed sections of the sanctuary without depending on its aging main reactor.
If entire districts had lost power over the centuries, those systems might be the only way to bring life support back online before evacuation began.
Meanwhile, Lysara continued studying old records.
Eventually, she identified three possible emergency access routes into the sanctuary.
The first had probably collapsed decades ago.
The second connected beneath the Compact’s main security compound, making it far too dangerous.
The third passed through an abandoned geothermal maintenance tunnel several kilometers away from the sanctuary’s outer gate.
That quickly became their preferred entry point.
Eirenne sent one final encrypted message to Vaela Renn.
Help is coming. When the outer battle begins, prepare the geothermal access route. Do not alert Drann. Confirm the status of the lower hall demolition controls.
The reply arrived two hours later.
The route can be opened. Demolition controls remain under Compact security authority. We can delay activation but cannot stop it. We will be ready.
Aurelian read the message inside the Black Crown’s command chamber while Astra stood quietly beside him.
"They trust us," Astra said.
"They don’t have a better choice."
She looked at him.
"That doesn’t make their trust any less real."
Aurelian read the final line again.
We will be ready.
Those four words carried more weight than he expected.
"No," he said quietly. "It doesn’t."
Near the end of the watch cycle, the final intelligence report arrived.
The Compact’s hidden fleet had started moving toward Talis Verge.
Varensk’s forward forces were advancing as well.
Marshal Taran’s reinforcements were still hidden, but their supply convoys had reached the last staging area.
The battle would begin within a day.
Aurelian opened the main fleet channel.
One by one, the shipgirls assigned to the operation appeared across the display.
Astra stood beside him as always.
Rhoswen joined from the Crimson Bulwark, unusually quiet for once.
Solenne looked calm, focused, and completely ready to take command.
Lysara’s expression remained steady, although she could not hide all of the tension in her eyes.
Neris looked as sleepy as ever, but the transport schedules behind her were already perfectly organized.
Eirenne’s projection appeared at the center of the channel, waiting for the briefing to begin.
Aurelian looked at each of them before speaking.
"Operation Quiet Lantern begins now. We’ll travel under captured Kharov signals until we reach the final approach. The sanctuary is our only objective. Avoid unnecessary fighting, protect civilian systems whenever possible, and do not allow Compact forces to transmit a warning."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Once we enter the sanctuary system, Solenne will command everything in orbit. Astra, Rhoswen, Lysara, and Eirenne will come with me below. Neris begins the evacuation only after we’ve secured the lower halls."
Acknowledgments appeared across the channel.
Rhoswen remained completely serious.
Lysara lowered her head slightly.
"Thank you, Commander."
Aurelian understood exactly what she meant.
He answered with a small nod before turning back toward the star map. The route to Sanctuary Ardent glowed quietly ahead, threading its way between Kharov patrol lines, Compact territory, and a war that was only hours away from exploding.
"Begin departure."
The fleet left Larkspur Haven without ceremony.
There were no banners.
No public announcement.
No massive family formation crossing the stars.
Only a small group of ships was quietly slipping into the darkness, while far larger powers were preparing to tear each other apart.
Far ahead, the Drael Compact’s hidden fleet was already moving into position.
Deep beneath a distant mountain, hundreds of thousands of people waited inside sealed halls.
And for the first time since waking beneath enemy weapons, help was no longer just a hidden message buried inside forgotten machines.
It was already on the way.
After a while, the fleet had already crossed the first hidden route by the time the wider battle began.
Operation Quiet Lantern moved under captured Kharov signals, using old military codes and inspection permissions taken from Karven Spire and the intercepted flotilla.
From a distance, the convoy looked like a small technical group moving between Compact-controlled systems.
There was nothing unusual about the formation.
The transports stayed at the rear, hidden behind false cargo records. Solenne kept the combat ships spread far enough apart that they did not appear to be an attack fleet, while Eirenne continuously adjusted their signals to match the traffic patterns used by Compact supply vessels.
Even Rhoswen kept her ship quiet.
That alone showed how serious the operation had become.
Aurelian stood inside the Black Crown’s command chamber while the latest intelligence reports appeared across the tactical map.
The battle at Talis Verge had started less than an hour earlier.
Compact forces had struck Varensk’s forward fleet exactly where expected, surrounding several enemy formations inside the broken moon belt.
Early reports showed heavy Kharov losses, and Drann’s officers were already celebrating what they believed would become a historic victory.
That worked in March’s favor.
The more attention the Compact gave to Talis Verge, the less it had available to watch the road leading toward Sanctuary Ardent.
Solenne’s image appeared on the command display.
"We are approaching the final relay."
Aurelian looked at the route ahead. "Any response from local control?"