Chapter 343: Sanctuary Ardent 3
Aurelian and Astra had barely left the central archive when the first reports from the newly awakened defense network began filling Eirenne’s display.
The sanctuary had more weapons than anyone expected, but many had remained inactive for centuries.
Some platforms responded at once, while others failed their first checks or required power routes that no longer existed.
Eirenne was already moving reserve energy through the mountain, shutting down empty sections and giving priority to the batteries protecting the evacuation corridor.
"How much can the sanctuary actually fire?" Aurelian asked as they walked back through the hidden passage.
"For the next twenty minutes, more than enough," Eirenne replied. "After that, heat and power buildup will become a problem. Several cooling systems are only partly functional, and I don’t want to draw power away from the preservation halls."
"Then tell Solenne she has twenty minutes to use them."
"I already did."
Astra checked the fleet channel while keeping pace beside him.
"The Compact formations are changing course."
Aurelian opened the orbital map.
The battle had split into two parts around Sanctuary Ardent. The first Compact formation had already pushed close to the sanctuary, where Solenne and the newly awakened batteries were striking it from two directions.
The second formation was still moving through the old station field, trying to reach the evacuation transports from the far side.
Both groups had entered the system expecting to support one another. Instead, the sanctuary’s defenses had divided the battlefield.
The first formation could not move closer without taking direct fire from the mountain, while the second had to pass through wreckage and damaged stations before it could join the battle.
If Marshal Orvek Taran’s commanders had known the sanctuary could defend itself, they would never have approached in this way.
Unfortunately, surprise alone would not decide the battle.
The Compact still had more ships.
Solenne’s fleet had already been fighting for some time, and many of her shields were worn down.
Her carrier squadrons were also below full strength after earlier operations. The sanctuary’s weapons had given her room to move, but they had not removed the danger.
On the bridge of the Dawn Petal, Solenne studied both enemy formations and quickly understood the same thing.
The Compact group nearest the sanctuary had lost its clean formation after several ships tried to retreat from the first battery strike.
Their forward cruisers were turning away, while the ships behind them were still advancing. The result was a crowded mass of vessels struggling to avoid one another.
The second Compact group was in better order, but it was moving through a narrow field of old station wreckage. It could not spread out without risking collisions or running into unstable debris.
Solenne could attack either side.
She chose the first.
"Forward cruisers, advance with the sanctuary’s next volley," she ordered. "Destroyers stay behind them and concentrate on damaged shields. Do not chase anything that breaks away."
The tactical officer beside her looked toward the second enemy formation.
"They’ll reach the outer transport lane in twenty-seven minutes."
"We won’t need twenty-seven."
The sanctuary fired again.
Three heavy beams crossed the system together. One struck a Compact cruiser directly, while the others forced nearby ships to turn and expose their sides.
Solenne’s fleet moved at the same moment.
Her cruisers closed the distance and fired into the gaps opened by the sanctuary batteries.
Destroyers launched missiles over their shoulders, while the remaining fighters from the Dawn Petal swept around the enemy’s upper flank.
The Compact commander reacted quickly.
Instead of trying to restore his original line, he ordered his forward ships to spread out and attack Solenne’s cruisers from several angles.
The order prevented another concentrated strike, but it also pushed his vessels closer to the sanctuary.
Eirenne adjusted the battery targets within seconds.
Two more Compact ships lost their shields.
One tried to withdraw but found its path blocked by a damaged escort. The cruiser turned too sharply, exposing its engines to Solenne’s fighter squadrons.
A wave of missiles struck the rear section, and the ship’s main drive went dark.
The Compact formation was not collapsing, but it was losing space.
Its commander saw the danger and sent an urgent request to the second group.
"Break through the station field and attack the evacuation route. Force the Human fleet to pull back."
The second formation’s commander received the order with little surprise.
He had already seen what was happening near the sanctuary. If he moved slowly, the first formation might be destroyed before he arrived.
If he moved too quickly, his own fleet would enter the station field without proper spacing.
Neither choice was good.
He ordered the lighter ships forward.
Compact destroyers accelerated through the wreckage, using their smaller hulls to pass between broken station frames and drifting sections of armor.
Cruisers followed in two narrow lines, while the heavier ships stayed behind until the route was clear.
The advance was fast, but it could not remain quiet.
Several wrecks carried old Compact sensor beacons, and Eirenne had taken control of them when Aurelian gained sanctuary authority.
Every movement of the second formation appeared on Solenne’s tactical map.
"They’re sending their faster ships ahead," Eirenne reported.
Solenne watched the new formation develop.
The Compact commander was trying to reach the transports before his heavier ships cleared the debris.
It was a risk, but not a foolish one. Even a smaller force could cause serious damage if it reached the medical transports.
"How many ships in the lead group?"
"Forty-three destroyers and nine light cruisers."
Solenne looked at her own reserves.
She had twelve destroyers guarding the transports, along with three damaged cruisers and several defense craft taken from Sanctuary Ardent.
They could hold for a while, but not against that many attackers.
The simple answer was to pull ships away from the main battle.
That was exactly what the Compact wanted.
Solenne opened a channel to Neris.
"Can you delay the next transport launch?"
Neris answered from the western cargo route, where workers were loading another group of civilians.
"For how long?"
"Ten minutes."
"I can keep them inside the mountain, but the cargo area is already crowded."
"Keep the doors closed until I tell you."
Neris did not ask why.
"Understood."
Solenne changed the evacuation markers on her display. The transports already in space continued moving toward the jump point, while the next group remained inside Sanctuary Ardent.
This left the outer route looking more active than it really was.
"Eirenne, can the sanctuary create false transport signals?"
"Yes."
"Place them near the old cargo platforms. Make it look as though another evacuation group is preparing to launch."
A cluster of false signals appeared near the edge of the sanctuary.
The leading Compact destroyers changed course almost at once.
They moved toward the signals, hoping to destroy the transports before Solenne could respond.
Solenne waited until they had passed between two broken station sections.
"Now close the route."
Old defense turrets hidden inside the station wreckage activated.
They were smaller than Sanctuary Ardent’s main weapons and far weaker, but the Compact ships had entered the field with their attention fixed on the false transports.
The first shots struck the lead destroyers from the side.
Compact shields flashed as captains tried to turn inside the narrow route. One destroyer struck a drifting piece of station armor.
Another slowed too sharply, forcing the ship behind it to break formation.
The old weapons did not destroy many vessels, but they broke the Compact advance into smaller groups.
Solenne sent her reserve destroyers forward.
They entered the debris field through a route Eirenne had already cleared, fired at the separated Compact ships, and pulled back before the enemy cruisers could support them.
The second formation’s commander realized the trap quickly and ordered his ships to stop following the false signals.
He reorganized his lead group around the cruisers and began clearing the old defense turrets one by one.
It was the correct response, but it cost time.
Time was the one thing Solenne needed most.
Back inside the sanctuary, Aurelian and Astra reached the circular control room beneath the reactor.
Rhoswen was waiting near the stairs with her arms folded. The captured Compact soldiers remained inside the safety chamber, watched by support frames and two security teams.
"You took longer than I liked," she said.
"We found eighty-one thousand people," Aurelian replied.
Rhoswen stared at him.
"What?"
"More than forty-three thousand are still asleep in reserve halls."
Her expression changed at once.
"That many were down there?"
"Yes."
Rhoswen looked toward the floor as though she could see through the stone.
"Then I suppose taking your time was acceptable."
"That is generous of you."
"I try."
Astra moved toward the reactor console and checked the sanctuary’s power flow.
"The defense batteries are drawing heavily from the reserve grid."
Eirenne appeared beside the display.
"I’m limiting them. The preservation systems remain the priority."
Rhoswen glanced at the orbital map.
"Can Solenne win?"
Aurelian studied the battle.
"She doesn’t need to destroy every ship. She only needs to make them leave."