Lysara fired first.
Her shot hit the control panel instead of the soldier standing beside it. The panel burst into sparks, throwing the man backward as alarms echoed through the preservation hall.
The other two soldiers reacted immediately and raised their weapons, but the support frames reached them first.
One frame slammed into the nearest guard, knocking him into the wall, while another locked the second man’s weapon before he could fire a single shot.
The whole fight lasted only a few seconds.
Aurelian was already moving.
He sprinted toward the damaged control station while Eirenne forced her way into the local network through every connection she could find.
"Did the trigger get sent?" he asked.
"Partially," Eirenne answered. "The signal reached two demolition charges before the connection was interrupted."
A deep rumble rolled through the floor beneath their feet.
It wasn’t an explosion.
It sounded more like heavy machinery coming to life somewhere deep below the station.
Lysara immediately looked toward the ceiling.
"What was that?"
Eirenne’s projection flickered as more data poured into her systems.
"Two demolition charges have entered their final activation sequence," she said. "We have less than three minutes."
Aurelian looked across the preservation hall.
Thousands of sleeping people rested inside glowing chambers that stretched into the darkness. None of them knew how close they had just come to dying.
He looked back at Eirenne.
"Can you stop them remotely?"
"No. Whoever built this system isolated the final control lines. They have to be disabled manually."
"Show me where."
Two bright red markers appeared on the station map.
One was beneath the preservation hall.
The other sat inside a reinforced support column behind the eastern wall.
Aurelian didn’t hesitate.
"Lysara, take the eastern charge. Use the support frames if you need them."
"And you?"
"I’m taking the one below us."
She looked at him for a brief moment.
Then she nodded once and ran without another word.
Aurelian followed Eirenne’s directions toward a nearby maintenance shaft hidden behind one of the preservation walls.
The access hatch opened with a harsh metallic sound.
Below it, an old ladder disappeared into the darkness between ancient support beams, power lines, and maintenance conduits that hadn’t been properly used in centuries.
He climbed down as quickly as he could while Eirenne continued tracking both demolition charges.
She didn’t waste time counting every second.
She simply kept feeding him the information he needed.
"Straight ahead."
"Turn left."
"Thirty meters."
"The charge is behind the next support."
The tunnel opened into a cramped maintenance chamber beneath the preservation hall.
The demolition device was exactly where Eirenne predicted.
It wasn’t large.
In fact, it looked surprisingly compact.
Modern explosives surrounded one of the ancient support columns, carefully placed to bring down the entire section above if they detonated.
Aurelian checked the timer.
Less than two minutes remained.
The outer casing was already sealed.
There was no time to examine the device properly.
"Eirenne."
"I’m connected through your terminal. Cut open the outer plate."
Aurelian pulled the emergency cutter from his belt and sliced through the reinforced casing.
The front panel dropped away.
Inside sat several control blocks, bundles of wiring, and a glowing red core that pulsed faster with every passing second.
"Which one?"
"The upper relay," Eirenne answered immediately. "Leave the center line alone."
Aurelian reached inside.
The red light pulsed even faster.
Above him, thousands of people still slept peacefully inside their preservation capsules.
They had no idea that everything now depended on his hands and Eirenne’s instructions.
"I’m ready."
"Now."
He pulled the relay free.
The glowing light vanished instantly.
Nothing happened.
For one long second, the device simply sat there.
Then Eirenne spoke.
"First charge disabled."
Aurelian finally let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
"What about Lysara?"
Before Eirenne could answer, loud crashing sounds came through the command channel.
Metal bent.
Concrete cracked.
Then another familiar voice joined the link.
"We got it."
Aurelian blinked.
"Rhoswen?"
"You told us to cover the western route."
"I did."
"We finished faster than expected."
Astra’s calm voice followed hers.
"Rhoswen broke open the support column. Lysara removed the trigger before activation."
Rhoswen sounded unusually proud of herself.
"Very carefully."
Aurelian wasn’t completely convinced by that.
Eirenne finished checking both systems.
"Second demolition charge disabled."
The danger was over.
At least for now.
Aurelian rested one hand against the ancient support column for just a moment before climbing back toward the preservation hall.
By the time he reached the surface again, Lysara was already waiting beside the damaged control station.
Astra and Rhoswen entered through the eastern access corridor only a few seconds later.
Rhoswen’s armor showed several fresh impact marks, while Astra looked almost untouched despite the fighting.
Vaela’s image appeared on the main display again.
"The lower demolition signal disappeared."
Aurelian nodded.
"We disabled both charges."
For the first time since they met, Vaela’s calm expression finally cracked.
She lowered her head and covered her mouth with one hand.
The silence lasted only a few seconds.
Then she slowly looked back up.
"Thank you."
Nobody answered.
There wasn’t time.
Vaela quickly returned to the situation at hand.
"There are more preservation halls below this one."
"I know."
"Compact security is moving toward the central command compound."
"I expected that."
She nodded.
"They’ll try to activate the remaining demolition systems if they still can."
Aurelian looked around the enormous hall again.
Rows upon rows of glowing preservation chambers stretched into the darkness, each one holding another sleeping survivor.
Astra stood quietly at his side.
Rhoswen rested her shield on one shoulder while catching her breath.
Lysara checked the tactical display, already preparing for the next fight.
They had reached the sanctuary.
They had taken temporary control of the first hall.
They had stopped the enemy’s first attempt to destroy the people sleeping here.
But this operation was nowhere near finished.
Far above them, the battle at Talis Verge was still raging.
Taran’s hidden reinforcements were still moving toward the station.
Compact officers still controlled parts of the sanctuary.
And somewhere deeper inside, the final demolition authority remained active.
If they reached those controls first, everything they had just saved could disappear in seconds.
Aurelian turned toward the deeper access corridor.
"Vaela, begin preparing the medical teams."
She nodded immediately.
"They’re ready."
"Eirenne, open a secure approach for Neris’s transports."
"I already have three routes prepared."
"Good."
He looked toward Astra and Rhoswen.
"With me."
Rhoswen lifted her shield again.
"So where are we going now?"
"The central command compound."
Astra understood before anyone else.
"To capture the final demolition controls."
"Exactly."
Lysara looked back at the thousands of glowing preservation chambers.
"And after that?"
Aurelian followed her gaze.
Blue lights stretched across the massive hall until they disappeared into the darkness, each one holding another person who had waited far too long.
His answer came without hesitation.
"After that," he said quietly, "we wake them up and bring them home."