Yarric remained on his knees with Rhoswen holding one of his arms behind his back. Blood ran from a cut above his eye, but the look on his face showed far more anger than pain.
"You think taking this room gives you control of the sanctuary?" he asked.
"It gives me the controls," Aurelian replied.
"Drann will destroy your fleet."
Aurelian glanced toward the main tactical display. "Drann has his own problems right now."
At the central console, Eirenne began working through the damaged systems. Her projection stood beside the station while lines of data moved around her.
"The demolition key is damaged, but I can still read it," she said. "I am combining it with Aurelian’s sanctuary authority."
The newer Compact controls flickered as the much older Vhaloric system began waking beneath them.
Pale light spread across the console, replacing several of the Compact symbols with older Human markings.
Human command authority confirmed.
Emergency preservation protection available.
Aurelian stepped closer and placed his hand against the old scanner.
"Disable every demolition system in the sanctuary."
For several tense seconds, the console gave no answer.
Then symbols began appearing one after another.
Compact demolition network detected.
Foreign command authority removed.
Local triggers locked.
Charges near preservation structures marked for disposal.
Rhoswen looked at the display while still holding Yarric in place.
"Marked for disposal sounds helpful."
"It is," Eirenne said.
Aurelian kept his hand against the scanner. "Can you disarm all of them from here?"
"Not completely. The old system can stop the triggers from activating, but physical teams will still have to remove each charge."
"Then lock them all."
The order spread through Sanctuary Ardent.
At the lower levels, red warning markers began to change color. First, they turned yellow, then one by one they became white.
Demolition network secured.
For a moment, nobody in the command room said anything.
Vaela’s voice came through the channel from the preservation halls.
"Commander?"
Aurelian looked at the sanctuary map. "The demolition network belongs to us now."
There was a long silence from her side of the connection.
When Vaela finally answered, her voice was quieter than before.
"Then the lower halls are safe."
"For now."
"That is more safety than they have had in years."
Lysara joined the channel next. Behind her voice, Aurelian could hear machinery starting and old systems coming back online.
"We can begin moving the medical teams into the second preservation ring. Some of the old transport lifts are working again."
Aurelian turned toward Eirenne. "Where is Neris?"
"Her first medical transports are entering the atmosphere now. Solenne has cleared the approach corridor and placed escorts above the mountain."
"Good. Open the western cargo shafts and guide the transports directly to Vaela."
Eirenne immediately began sending the route.
Yarric watched everything in silence.
His anger had not disappeared, but disbelief had started to replace some of it. He had probably spent years believing the sanctuary was completely under Compact control.
He had likely never imagined that the ancient systems would reject him the moment a recognized Human commander arrived.
To the Compact, Sanctuary Ardent had been another captured facility.
To the old systems, they had always been intruders.
Aurelian looked down at Yarric.
"How many soldiers are still inside the sanctuary?"
Yarric said nothing.
Eirenne answered for him.
"Approximately six hundred active personnel remain outside our control. Most are spread between the living sectors, storage compounds, maintenance levels, and the western barracks. Their communication network is beginning to collapse."
Aurelian turned toward Astra.
"Send a surrender offer through every channel we control."
Astra nodded. "And if they refuse?"
"We isolate them. The preservation halls come first."
Yarric finally looked up.
"You are making a mistake. Some of those soldiers will keep fighting until Drann returns."
"Then they will be waiting for a long time."
Aurelian turned back toward the main display as Eirenne brought up the situation in orbit.
The battle near Talis Verge had changed since they entered the command compound. The Compact formation was no longer pushing forward.
Several of its ships had already broken away from the main fight, while Marshal Taran’s hidden reinforcements were finally entering the system from the far side of the star.
Solenne’s fleet still stood between them and Sanctuary Ardent.
Her voice entered the command channel a moment later.
"Aurelian, the evacuation corridor is open. Neris has started descending, but a larger Compact formation is approaching from outer orbit."
"How long until they reach you?"
"Less than forty minutes."
Aurelian looked around the captured command room.
Several stations had been damaged during the fighting. Compact officers sat restrained near the walls, while the sanctuary map continued filling with routes that had been closed only minutes earlier.
They had captured the lower levels.
They had taken the demolition controls.
They had protected the preservation halls from immediate destruction.
But the fleet above them was now about to face the larger battle they had hoped to avoid.
There was no longer any reason to pretend they could leave quietly.
"Begin the evacuation," Aurelian said. "Move the most unstable preservation cases first. After that, move the awakened civilians and medical teams."
Solenne answered immediately. "And the sanctuary?"
"We hold it until everyone is out."
She remained silent for only a brief moment before replying with calm certainty.
"Understood."
The connection closed.
Aurelian looked toward Astra and Rhoswen.
"We are not finished yet."
Rhoswen adjusted her grip on her shield and studied the western sectors marked on the map.
"There are still soldiers down here."
"And another fleet is coming from above," Astra added.
Aurelian nodded. "Then we deal with both."
Rhoswen gave Yarric one last hard look before handing him over to one of the support frames.
Once the machine had him secured, she stood and rolled one shoulder, ready to move again.
Astra stepped closer to the tactical display as surrender messages began spreading through the sanctuary.
Several groups of Compact soldiers immediately went silent. Others started moving toward defensive positions, while a few threw down their weapons before fighting could begin.
Eirenne marked each response.
"Forty-seven soldiers have accepted surrender so far. Three groups are requesting proof that Yarric has been captured."
"Show them," Aurelian said.
Yarric glared at him. "You think humiliating me will help you?"
"I think stopping more people from dying will help me."
The command room cameras activated, sending a clear image of Yarric and the captured officers through the sanctuary network.
More surrender notices began appearing.
It was not enough to end the fighting, but it weakened the remaining defenders and saved Aurelian from having to clear every corridor by force.
Behind them, the old Human command systems continued waking throughout Sanctuary Ardent.
Doors that had remained closed for centuries slowly opened, while power returned to hidden passages and halls the Compact had never discovered.
Ancient transport systems began moving again.
Medical lights came on.
Sealed storage rooms unlocked.
Far below, the first preservation chambers began their awakening sequence as Vaela and the medical teams prepared to receive the people within.
Far above, Solenne turned her fleet toward the approaching enemy while Neris’s transports descended through the protected corridor.
For the first time since Sanctuary Ardent had been discovered, the people sleeping inside it were no longer waiting for someone else to decide whether they would live or die.
They had a path out.
Now Aurelian only had to keep it open.