Her dark hair had been cut short, and there were tired lines around her eyes that did not match someone who had only recently awakened.
Behind her, old machinery filled a narrow engineering room.
"You made it inside," she said.
Aurelian stepped closer to the display.
"We did. What is your position?"
"Lower engineering control, beneath the western preservation halls. Compact security has blocked the main passage between us."
"Demolition controls?"
"Still active. Drann's officers have not started the sequence, but the main battle has begun. Once they realize the ambush is failing, they will."
Eirenne opened a side display showing the sanctuary's internal layout.
"How many people are inside the lower halls?" Aurelian asked.
Vaela hesitated.
"We do not know exactly. The records were damaged when the Compact opened the sanctuary. At least sixty thousand preservation chambers remain connected to power, but there may be several more halls below those."
