Chapter 440: Maximum Power?

Several hours later, Orison accepted Aurelian’s suggestion.

A civilian investigation vessel would travel toward Harrow’s Rest, accompanied by a single patrol ship that would remain outside the settlement’s immediate space.

Valeris sent two observers, while the Outer Recovery Cooperative requested permission to send one of its own.

Harrow’s Rest accepted the arrangement after some argument.

Rhoswen was considerably less happy when Aurelian informed her that she would remain at Valeris.

Again.

She stared at him through the communication screen, her expression immediately telling him that the conversation would not be easy. "You know I’m good at this kind of thing."

"You’re good at arriving with a battleship," Aurelian replied calmly.

"That too," Rhoswen admitted without hesitation.

"The point is to avoid making them think we’re invading."

Rhoswen frowned at that. "Crimson Bulwark doesn’t look that threatening."

Aurelian simply stared at her through the display until she finally sighed and looked away. "Fine. It looks a little threatening."

"A little?"

"You’re becoming difficult."

"So I’ve been told."

Despite her complaints, Rhoswen remained at Valeris while the investigation ship departed without her.

While they waited for results, Aurelian returned his attention to Helion. The latest formation exercise had exposed several small problems worth fixing before the next test.

Seraphiel’s relay network worked well as long as every ship remained within the planned formation, but Talyra’s longer scouting distance created occasional delays.

Meridian believed they could solve most of that by modifying two relay units instead of changing Seraphiel’s main system.

Caelira’s missile coordination had performed better than expected.

Her ammunition use had not.

After using thirty-two training missiles, Caelira apparently decided she needed at least one hundred for the next exercise. Neris rejected the request immediately, and Aurelian supported her decision.

Caelira responded by sending them both a detailed explanation of why thirty-two missiles were "an unrealistic representation of proper arsenal operations."

The document was eleven pages long.

Aurelian managed the first two, then forwarded it to Neris.

She sent it back.

He decided they could discuss the matter later.

Vaelith’s accelerator presented a more useful problem. Meridian’s data showed that the replacement rails were holding well, and the weapon had remained stable through every approved test.

Another controlled firing session would probably be enough to raise its permitted output.

When Aurelian gave Vaelith the news, her expression immediately brightened. "Maximum power?"

"Probably not."

Her good mood disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived.

Aurelian was beginning to understand that keeping Vaelith happy was nearly impossible unless something was exploding.

Two more days passed without another incident at Valeris. The temporary shipping corridors opened as planned, and although civilian traffic remained light at first, several mining vessels successfully used the route without interference from Orison patrols.

The observation platforms were deployed only after both sides confirmed the agreed locations, with Seraphiel helping connect their data to Helion’s wider monitoring network.

For the first time since the attacks began, Valeris had a reasonably clear view of the main civilian approaches without needing to position warships everywhere.

Then the investigation team reached Harrow’s Rest.

Eirenne brought the live report to Aurelian while he was working. "The settlement council is cooperating. There’s no sign of Dane yet, but they found the recovery tender he used."

Aurelian immediately looked up. "Where?"

"Docked at an abandoned processing platform forty thousand kilometers from the settlement."

"Empty?"

"Mostly."

That answer caught his attention. "Mostly?"

Eirenne opened the inspection report and displayed the findings. The tender’s crew was gone, its main computer had been partially wiped, and several cargo compartments were empty.

One compartment, however, still contained communications equipment, spare weapon components, and copies of navigation data covering the Valeris conference station.

More importantly, investigators had recovered records of payments made to several of the captured attackers.

Rhoswen appeared through another channel shortly after receiving the same report. "That’s enough to tie Dane to the attack."

"It ties his equipment and money to them," Aurelian corrected, studying the evidence. "We still need him."

Rhoswen gave him an annoyed look. "You really enjoy making everything difficult."

"I enjoy being sure."

She opened her mouth, paused, and eventually gave him a reluctant nod. There wasn’t much she could argue with there.

Eirenne enlarged the tender’s last known navigation records. The attempted wipe had damaged most of them, but investigators recovered part of one departure route.

Dane had not headed deeper into Orison space.

He had gone outward, toward a group of old Directorate wreck sites beyond the recognized recovery corridors.

Talyra, who had joined the briefing after completing her latest sensor test, studied the route before leaning closer to the display. "I know that region."

Aurelian turned toward her. "From the old records?"

"Yes. There was a forward recovery depot there."

Eirenne immediately checked Annex Seven’s archive and found a match. The depot had once supported Vhaloric salvage operations across several nearby systems, although its last confirmed status was more than two centuries old.

Aurelian studied the location on the map. "Could it still be usable?"

Talyra considered the question before nodding. "If someone maintained part of it, yes. It was small, but it had docking space and storage."

Rhoswen’s mood immediately improved. "I can be ready in an hour."

"No."

Her smile vanished. "Aurelian."

"We don’t know if Dane is there."

"That’s why we go look."

Instead of arguing, Aurelian turned toward Talyra. Her destroyer was built for exactly this kind of work.

She was fast, quiet, and equipped to observe a target without announcing herself to everyone in the region.

"Talyra, how soon can you leave?"

"Two hours," she answered after a quick check of her ship’s status.

Rhoswen stared at Aurelian in disbelief. "You said no to me and then immediately gave the mission to her."

"Yes."

"That’s unfair."

"You’re guarding Valeris."

Rhoswen folded her arms. "Talyra gets all the interesting work."

Talyra glanced toward her with a slightly puzzled expression. "I was awakened less than a month ago."

"Exactly," Rhoswen replied. "You’re already getting better assignments."

Aurelian rubbed his forehead before the conversation could go any further. "Talyra will conduct reconnaissance only. She will not enter the depot or engage anyone unless attacked. Eirenne will support her remotely, and one Helion patrol ship will remain far enough behind to act as backup."

Talyra gave him a firm nod. "Understood."

Aurelian then looked toward Rhoswen. "And you will stay at Valeris."

Rhoswen held his gaze for a few seconds before finally sighing. "Understood."

Two hours later, Talyra’s destroyer left Helion.

Aurelian watched the ship disappear from the outer traffic display, then returned his attention to the regional map.

He already had enough waiting for him without adding another problem.

The formation trials had to continue, the Orison agreement still needed to be finished, and the investigation at Harrow’s Rest had to determine exactly how deeply the settlement was connected to the attack.

Now, somewhere beyond the accepted recovery corridors, Malrec Dane might be hiding inside an abandoned Vhaloric depot.

For once, Aurelian hoped the answer would be simple.

Given how the last few weeks had gone, he didn’t expect it to be.