Chapter 446: You Disagree?

The first complete report on the twenty-three data cores reached Aurelian the following morning, and it was both better and worse than he expected.

Eirenne had worked with Orison, Valeris, and the cooperative observers through the night to create verified copies before anyone was allowed to examine the contents in detail.

The original cores remained sealed at the neutral review site, ensuring nobody could quietly remove information and later claim it had never existed.

Aurelian approved of that arrangement.

He approved considerably less of what they had actually found.

"How much survived?" he asked.

Eirenne brought the summary onto Black Crown's main display. "Seventeen cores contain readable information. Four are badly damaged, although Meridian believes some sections can be recovered. The remaining two are currently unreadable."

"Anything useful?"

"Very."

That answer immediately caught Astra's attention from across the room. Eirenne continued before either of them could ask.

"Most of the records concern ordinary fleet-support production. Shield components, reactor control parts, repair drones, missile guidance equipment, sensor assemblies, and several industrial processes used by Vhaloric recovery yards."

Aurelian immediately understood the problem. None of it sounded dramatic, but Helion's engineers would probably value those records more than another damaged warship.

A weapon was useful until it broke. Instructions for manufacturing replacement parts could remain useful for decades.

"Any complete ship designs?" he asked.

"Nothing confirmed."

"Heavy weapons?"

"Some component records, but no complete production chain so far."

That was almost a relief. Aurelian already had enough problems without Orison, Valeris, Harrow's Rest, and the cooperative fighting over instructions for building some ancient superweapon.

Astra studied the estimated industrial value displayed beside the records. "That's still a lot of money."

"Which explains why people were willing to risk prison for them."

Neris's first calculations were even less pleasant.

Helion lacked the industry to reproduce everything in the archives, but several simpler processes could improve existing manufacturing.

The repair-drone records alone might reduce the specialized materials required for certain replacement parts.

Meridian was especially interested in the shield-component files, while Caelira had already asked about the missile guidance records.

Neris responded by reminding everyone that the archives did not belong to Crownward.

Aurelian agreed with her.

For now, nobody was getting anything beyond the copies required for authentication and review. They would have to settle ownership first.

Fortunately, the capture of Dane and the crews at the disputed wreck field had changed the tone of the negotiations.

Orison no longer pushed its broadest claims, while Harrow's Rest became considerably more willing to discuss shared recovery rights after discovering that several of its residents had received private payments connected to Dane.

The cooperative still wanted independent access, but Dalia Renn had stopped arguing that every outer wreck field should be opened immediately. Valeris mostly wanted the shipping corridors kept clear.

For once, everyone wanted something badly enough to keep talking.

Oren contacted Aurelian later that morning with the first results of Dane's interrogation.

"Did he cooperate?" Aurelian asked.

"Eventually," Oren replied, looking exhausted.

Aurelian leaned back in his chair. "What does that mean?"

"It means he spent three hours explaining why the recovery agreement would destroy Orison before admitting that he helped organize the attack."

That wasn't particularly surprising. "Did he order it?"

"Yes."

That answer was more direct than Aurelian expected.

Oren sent over the preliminary statement. Dane had admitted to providing money, equipment, and conference information to several recovery crews.

His plan had been to destroy Orison's delegation transport and leave enough false evidence behind to direct suspicion toward independent recovery groups.

He expected the attack to collapse the negotiations.

He hadn't expected the anonymous warning.

"Does he know who sent it?" Aurelian asked.

"No, and only a few people inside his group knew about the beacon."

That narrowed things down considerably.

According to Dane, the beacon had been placed aboard the Orison transport before it left the yard. One of his contacts inside Orison had arranged it.

Aurelian frowned. "Who?"

Oren's expression showed his irritation. "He claims he never knew the person's real name."

"Do you believe him?"

"I believe he was careful enough to avoid asking questions that might later become inconvenient."

That sounded believable. Dane had built the operation through several layers of hired crews, private accounts, and recovery companies.

He had probably considered ignorance another form of protection.

Eirenne joined the conversation from beside Aurelian. "Did he provide communication records?"

"Some," Oren replied. "Although we recovered more from the depot than he admitted existed."

"Send everything you have."

Oren nodded, but instead of ending the call, his expression became more serious. "There's something else. Dane says the attack was his operation, but the effort to recover the manufacturing archives was not entirely his."

That caught Aurelian's attention. "Explain."

"One of the recovery companies funding him wanted those archives before the review began. Dane agreed because their money helped finance his operation."

"So who controls the company?"

"We don't know yet."

Of course they didn't.

Aurelian looked toward Eirenne. "Trace it."

"I'm already doing that," she replied without looking away from her display.

Oren almost smiled at that.

By the afternoon, the immediate security problem around the disputed wreck field was under control.

The seven seized ships remained where they were while they sorted out ownership and criminal responsibility.

Crews with no connection to the Valeris attack would not automatically be treated as prisoners, although nobody was being allowed to leave with disputed material.

Talyra finally received permission to return to Helion.

Rhoswen somehow heard about that before Aurelian had the chance to tell her.

Her communication window appeared while he was reviewing a supply report, and her unhappy expression made the subject immediately obvious.

"So she gets to come home."

"Yes," Aurelian replied without looking up.

"And I stay here."

"Yes."

Rhoswen stared at him while he calmly continued reading. "This is favoritism."

"Talyra finished her assignment."

"So have I."

Aurelian finally looked up. "No, you haven't."

"The conference is over."

"The investigation isn't, and the temporary corridors are still being established."

"Valeris has patrol ships."

"They also asked you to remain."

That stopped her.

Aurelian set down the report. "The council specifically requested that Crimson Bulwark stay until the first security review is finished."

Rhoswen's shoulders dropped as she sighed. "That's unfair."

"Take it up with them."

"I might."

"I know."

Despite her complaints, Aurelian knew she wouldn't abandon the assignment while Valeris still wanted her there.

That was exactly why he trusted her with it.

Talyra returned to Helion later that evening. Her destroyer needed little more than routine maintenance, and Meridian estimated that the two sensor platforms she had deployed could be serviced quickly once recovered.

Aurelian met her near the command dock after the ship completed its inspection.

"You did well," he told her.

Talyra gave a small nod. "The mission was straightforward."

Aurelian raised an eyebrow. "You followed an armed recovery group through disputed space, found Dane, helped force his surrender, tracked another group, and got shot at."

"Yes."

"That isn't straightforward."

Talyra actually paused to consider his argument. "It was straightforward compared with the records I have been reading about your recent operations."

Aurelian had no immediate answer.

Astra, standing nearby, looked far too amused by his silence.

"I would like to deploy again once maintenance is complete," Talyra continued.

Aurelian nodded slowly. "That brings up something we should have dealt with earlier."

Her expression changed slightly.

He had been putting the conversation off because there was always another emergency, another repair, or another mission waiting. That excuse no longer worked.

"Come with me."

A short time later, Seraphiel, Vaelith, Caelira, and Talyra were gathered in one of Helion's smaller briefing rooms.

Astra remained beside Aurelian, while Meridian joined remotely from engineering and Neris connected from logistics.

Vaelith glanced around the room, then looked directly at Aurelian. "Is this about my accelerator?"

"No."

Her interest immediately disappeared.

Caelira folded her arms. "Missile allocation?"

"No."

"Then I share her disappointment."

Seraphiel remained quiet, her attention fixed on Aurelian. Unlike the other two, she seemed to understand that the meeting was about something more serious.

Aurelian sat across from them. "I should have done this before any of you started taking assignments."

Talyra watched him carefully while Vaelith's attention slowly returned.

"The old Directorate is gone," Aurelian continued.

"Whatever authority your former commanders had over your ships ended with it. Crownward recovered and repaired your hulls, but that doesn't make you Crownward property."

The room became noticeably quieter.

"You've all helped us already, and I've given some of you assignments before properly asking whether you actually wanted to serve under my command. That was my mistake."

Caelira raised an eyebrow. "You're saying we can leave."

"Yes."

Her expression became more serious. "With our ships?"

Aurelian paused only long enough to make sure his answer could not be misunderstood. "Yes."

A small sound immediately came through Neris's communication channel.

Aurelian glanced toward her window. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You disagree?"

Neris kept a perfectly straight face. "I'm thinking about how much those repairs cost."

Caelira immediately smiled.