Her dark hair had been cut short, and there were tired lines around her eyes that did not match someone who had only recently awakened.
Behind her, old machinery filled a narrow engineering room.
"You made it inside," she said.
Aurelian stepped closer to the display.
"We did. What is your position?"
"Lower engineering control, beneath the western preservation halls. Compact security has blocked the main passage between us."
"Demolition controls?"
"Still active. Drann’s officers have not started the sequence, but the main battle has begun. Once they realize the ambush is failing, they will."
Eirenne opened a side display showing the sanctuary’s internal layout.
"How many people are inside the lower halls?" Aurelian asked.
Vaela hesitated.
"We do not know exactly. The records were damaged when the Compact opened the sanctuary. At least sixty thousand preservation chambers remain connected to power, but there may be several more halls below those."
Lysara’s expression tightened.
"Can you awaken them?"
"Not safely without restoring the medical network. Some could survive emergency release, but many would die within hours."
Aurelian looked toward the map.
"Then we secure the halls first."
Vaela nodded.
"There is another problem. The Compact moved explosive charges into the lower support columns years ago. They could not gain access to every preservation chamber, so they prepared to collapse the mountain instead."
Rhoswen stopped looking amused.
"Can we disarm them?"
"Some. Not all from here."
Eirenne expanded the structural view.
"Demolition network has four control points. One is near Vaela. Two are inside the Compact security sectors. The final control point is beneath the central command compound."
Aurelian understood what that meant.
Even if they secured the lower halls, the Compact could still bury them from above.
"Can you block the signal?" he asked.
"Temporarily," Eirenne said. "But the charges also have local activation systems. If the Compact commanders realize they have lost network control, they may send soldiers to trigger them manually."
Aurelian looked toward Astra.
"We split."
Astra’s expression remained calm. "That increases risk."
"It also saves time."
Rhoswen immediately leaned forward.
"I can take one control point."
"You will take the western security sector with Astra," Aurelian said. "Disable the local demolition controls, then secure Vaela’s engineering room."
Rhoswen looked surprised. "With Astra?"
"Yes."
Astra gave a small nod. "Understood."
Aurelian continued. "Lysara stays with me. We take the eastern sector and open access to the lower halls. Eirenne, keep both teams connected and warn Solenne that the sanctuary may have local transmission paths we have not found."
"I will."
Vaela spoke again.
"There are civilians in the upper living sections. Most are engineers and medical staff. Compact guards are holding them in assigned blocks."
"Can they help with the awakening process?"
"Yes. We need them."
"Then send us their locations."
Vaela began transferring the data.
Before the connection closed, she looked directly at Aurelian.
"Commander."
"Yes?"
"You need to understand something. The people here have been controlled since the day we woke. Some will be afraid of you. Others will think this is another Compact trick."
"I understand."
"Do you?"
There was no anger in her voice.
Only exhaustion.
Aurelian held her gaze.
"We will not force anyone to trust us. We only need them to survive long enough to decide for themselves."
Vaela remained silent for a moment.
Then she nodded.
"That will have to be enough."
The display went dark.
Aurelian looked around the chamber.
The captured Compact soldiers had been restrained and moved against the wall. The old engineering doors ahead were now open, revealing two passages leading deeper into the sanctuary.
One turned west.
The other descended east.
Aurelian gave Astra a final look.
"Keep Rhoswen from breaking the mountain."
Rhoswen looked offended.
Astra answered calmly.
"I will try."
"Why does everyone say it like that?" Rhoswen asked.
Aurelian ignored the question and moved into the eastern passage with Lysara and six support frames behind him.
The tunnel sloped downward, passing through layers of older construction. The farther they went, the less Compact equipment they saw.
Modern cables disappeared.
Temporary lights became rare.
The walls changed from rough industrial panels to the smooth dark material used in Vhaloric military sites.
Lysara ran one hand lightly across the surface as they walked.
"This section was sealed before the Directorate fell."
"Can you tell me why?"
"Preservation halls were often separated from the main sanctuary. If the upper levels were breached, the lower population still had a chance to remain hidden."
"That almost worked."
"Almost."
They reached the first eastern security door.
It had no Compact modifications and no visible control panel.
Lysara connected her access tool, but the door did not respond.
"Power is missing," she said.
Aurelian looked toward the portable systems carried by the support frames.
"Connect Meridian’s unit."
Two frames moved forward and attached a compact power core to the emergency ports.
The old system came alive slowly.
Symbols appeared above the door.
Lysara read them.
"Preservation command access required."
Aurelian stepped toward the scanner.
The same pale light moved over him.
Human pattern confirmed.
Temporary authority confirmed.
The door opened.
Cold air rolled into the passage.
Beyond it stretched a vast chamber filled with rows of preservation capsules disappearing into the distance.
Most remained dark.
Some showed faint blue lights.
Others carried red warning symbols.
Aurelian stopped at the entrance.
Even knowing what was down here had not prepared him for the scale.
There were thousands of capsules in this hall alone.
Lysara looked around in silence, her face pale.
"How many?" Aurelian asked.
Eirenne answered through the local channel.
"This hall contains twelve thousand four hundred chambers. Approximately seventy-one percent still show life-support activity."
Aurelian felt the number settle heavily in his mind.
And this was only one hall.
A warning appeared on the display beside the entrance.
Structural demolition system armed.
Local trigger connection detected.
Aurelian looked toward the far side of the chamber, where a small modern Compact control station had been built against the ancient wall.
Three soldiers were standing there.
One of them already had his hand on the trigger.
"Stop," Aurelian said.
The soldier looked toward him.
Fear crossed his face.
Then his hand moved.