Chapter 367: Compact Courier

"Reasonable."

Aurelian left the selection process to them.

He could have appointed the council himself and finished the matter within minutes, but that would defeat the point.

By the time he left, Astercourt had already begun arranging a meeting among the awakened survivors.

Elsewhere, Eirenne was taking advantage of the sanctuary’s restored systems.

Doors that had remained sealed because of damaged power were opening again, old environmental controls were being tested, and maintenance frames that had spent centuries sitting inside storage bays were being inspected before being returned to service.

The newly awakened survivors noticed the difference immediately.

For the first time since their recovery, Sanctuary Ardent no longer felt like a damaged prison.

Lights worked consistently.

Food stations were being supplied.

Medical teams moved openly through the halls.

Compact prisoners had been transferred away from civilian areas, while Arcturus and Sanctuary security teams guarded the remaining restricted sections.

There were still damaged walls, sealed passages, and entire levels without reliable power, but the sanctuary was slowly becoming livable again.

Eirenne had also restored the old internal information network.

Aurelian had ordered her to keep most historical records restricted for now, but practical information was made available to everyone.

Maps, medical instructions, meal schedules, repair notices, awakening updates, and council announcements began appearing on wall displays throughout the occupied levels.

It was a small change.

It made the sanctuary feel much more normal.

While Aurelian dealt with the civil council, Solenne was dealing with a different problem.

Her light cruiser remained near the outer edge of the defensive formation when one of the scouts reported an unexpected contact beyond the system boundary.

The ship was Compact.

Not military.

At least, not officially.

It was an old courier vessel using a civilian identification code that had been registered through several different Compact ports over the previous six years.

Solenne studied the contact while her bridge crew compared its drive signature against captured records.

"Where did it come from?" she asked.

"Jumped into the outer system eighteen minutes ago. It remained behind the fourth moon for twelve minutes, then began moving away."

"Did it transmit anything?"

"We detected a narrow signal directed toward the jump boundary."

That was enough to make the situation suspicious.

The Compact already knew where Sanctuary Ardent was. There was no reason to hide that.

What mattered was what the courier might have learned after arriving.

The Arcturus convoy was visible.

The number of ships around the sanctuary was visible.

The damaged defensive positions were visible.

Most importantly, the courier could report that the sanctuary had survived Ruun’s attack but remained vulnerable.

Solenne opened a channel to Astra.

Astra received it while walking with Aurelian toward the upper command level.

"We have a Compact courier leaving the outer system," Solenne said. "It entered without announcing itself and transmitted toward the jump boundary."

Aurelian heard the message.

"Can you intercept it?"

"Yes."

"Without weakening the sanctuary screen?"

Solenne checked the tactical map.

She had enough ships now, but many remained damaged from the earlier fighting.

"I can send two destroyers."

Astra looked toward Aurelian.

"Could be a scout."

"Probably is," he said.

Rhoswen, walking behind them, leaned closer to the projection.

"Then why are we discussing it?"

"Because destroying every Compact ship we see is not always useful."

"It is usually useful."

Aurelian ignored that.

"Can you capture it?"

Solenne considered the distance.

"If it keeps its current course, yes. I can place ships near the next safe jump route and force it to stop before its drive cools."

"What if it changes course?"

"Then it takes longer to leave the region."

Aurelian looked at the map.

The Compact courier had only a few realistic routes available. Much of the space beyond Sanctuary Ardent remained poorly charted, and taking an unknown jump path carried more danger than most captains were willing to accept.

"Intercept it," he decided. "Do not fire unless it refuses to stop."

Solenne nodded.

"I’ll handle it."

The channel closed.

Rhoswen looked at him.

"You know it will refuse."

"Probably."

"So Solenne will shoot it."

"If necessary."

"And we spent all that time discussing it."

"Yes."

She seemed genuinely bothered by that.

Astra did not bother hiding her small smile.

Solenne selected two of the least damaged destroyers and sent them toward the courier’s most likely escape route.

A third ship remained farther back, ready to cut across if the courier changed direction.

She did not need Aurelian to tell her how to arrange the interception.

The courier was faster than a normal transport, but it had entered the system recently enough that its warp systems were still cooling.

If it tried another jump too quickly, it risked damaging its drive or missing the intended route entirely.

The Compact captain appeared to understand the same problem.

Instead of running directly for the boundary, the courier changed course toward the remains of an old mining field.

Solenne watched the movement.

"There."

Her navigation officer highlighted the new path.

The courier intended to use the debris to hide long enough for its drive to recover.

"Send Valiant around the far side," Solenne ordered. "Keep Resolute on its current approach."

The destroyers separated.

The courier disappeared behind the mining debris.

For several minutes, nothing happened.

Then it emerged from the other side and found Valiant waiting less than twenty thousand kilometers away.

The destroyer locked weapons.

Solenne opened a direct channel.

"Compact courier, shut down your engines and prepare for inspection. You entered protected space without authorization and attempted to transmit military intelligence."

There was no answer.

The courier accelerated.

Solenne sighed.

"Of course."

Valiant fired a warning shot across its path.

The courier turned sharply, only to find Resolute approaching from the other direction.

For a moment, the Compact captain appeared ready to attempt another escape.

Then the engines shut down.

Rhoswen would have been disappointed.

Solenne was not.

"Board them."

While her ships secured the courier, the first civil council meeting began inside Sanctuary Ardent.

The awakened survivors selected seven temporary representatives.

Astercourt was one of them.

So was the elderly former councilwoman, Mirelle Dain. Vaela accepted a medical seat after being pressured into it by nearly every doctor and patient who heard about the meeting.