Chapter 175: Leaving The Site And Going Back

Neris kept watching the readings so she could get more detailed information about usage and assess what she could and could not do.

She didn’t rush, didn’t react early, and only when she was confident about her results did she send the information to Aurelian.

"That is safe," she said. "Not ideal, but safe. If we enter combat again, I need a warning before you push your processing higher."

Eirenne gave a small nod. "Understood."

Aurelian didn’t treat that lightly. It wasn’t new information, but it confirmed what he had already been thinking.

Eirenne was powerful, but that didn’t mean she could run without limits, not like this. Until she had a proper place to anchor herself, something with stable energy and enough support behind it, she would have to hold back when it mattered.

That wasn’t a problem.

It just meant planning around it.

"You’ll be installed at Helion Bastion Twelve or Larkspur Haven," he said. "Maybe both later. The bastion has better power and data right now. Haven has the people and the center of control."

Eirenne’s attention sharpened just a little.

"Both would be better in the long term," she said.

"In time," Aurelian replied.

"I can operate from one main location and extend outward," she continued. "If I have the right hardware and stable links, I can assist with command, logistics, production oversight, security filtering, local administration, fleet movement, and archive control."

Rhoswen looked at her, unimpressed. "That sounds like everything."

"Not everything," Eirenne said calmly. "Only the things that can be automated and can be useful and have a better result without human intervention."

Neris let out a small breath as she understood what she said. "That is still a lot."

Aurelian nodded.

That was exactly the point. A commander could fight. A commander could win battles. But holding something larger, something that kept growing, wasn’t just about strength.

It was about everything that didn’t stop piling up. Reports, supply chains, repairs, training, movement, problems that didn’t look important until they were.

Without something to manage that, even a strong position could fall apart.

Eirenne wouldn’t replace people, and she was never meant to.

But she would keep things from slipping, as humans make mistakes when they are in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

That alone made her worth more than the engine they had come for.

He didn’t say that.

Instead, he asked, "What’s left in the station?"

Eirenne brought up a clear list.

"Most of the Tier III patrol ships are not worth moving right now," she said. "Some can be restored later if needed. There is one larger support ship still in the inner bay. It was prepared as an evacuation platform, but never used. Its power system is weak, but still functional enough to be repaired."

Aurelian looked at the details.

Not a warship, but still something that can be used and needed, but not urgently.

"Mark it," he said. "We’ll come back for it."

"I expected that," Eirenne replied.

"And resources?"

"There are still minerals and processed materials in storage," she said. "Energy reserves are almost gone. That is why the station declined."

That matched everything else they had seen.

A dead star.

No fresh power.

Everything is slowly breaking down.

"We take what we can move quickly," Aurelian said. "Everything else gets marked."

Rhoswen frowned slightly. "We keep leaving things behind."

"We keep finding things too large to take all at once," Neris said.

"That’s a better way to say it."

Aurelian looked at both of them. "That’s why we’re building something larger. One ship isn’t enough for this."

That ended the complaint.

Once Eirenne’s field core was secured and the engine was properly stored, they moved on to the smaller salvage.

Station drones loaded crates of parts, data cores, and compact equipment into the ship. Nothing too large.

Nothing that would slow them down. Aurelian wasn’t going to turn a quick operation into a drawn-out one just because there was more here than they could carry.

Eirenne watched through the ship’s systems and adjusted the loading order without being asked.

Neris noticed.

"You’re already changing my cargo plan."

"Only the inefficient parts," Eirenne said.

Neris looked at her. "That took you a few seconds."

"I am fast."

Rhoswen grinned. "I’m going to like this." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Aurelian didn’t respond to that, but he understood the value.

Once everything was loaded, they prepared to leave. The remaining patrol ships had been moved into stable patterns, some docked, others left on simple routes where they wouldn’t cause problems.

The vault was sealed again. The engine was secured. Eirenne was with them now. The station stayed behind, dim and worn, but no longer empty in the same way.

Before they left, Aurelian stood in the command space and looked out at it.

Eirenne appeared beside the display.

"You’re leaving most of it," she said.

"For now."

"I know."

There was something in her voice that made it clear she understood the difference.

That made him smile, as he hadn’t expected her to understand his reasoning.

He stayed there a moment longer, looking at the broken ring, the dead sections, the parts that still held together despite everything.

It wasn’t something that could be fixed quickly, and it wasn’t something he could ignore either.

Like most of what he had found recently, it sat somewhere in the middle, not ready, not useless, just waiting for the right time.

Rhoswen leaned slightly to the side, looking past him at the display. "We’re coming back, right?"

Neris didn’t answer that, but she didn’t look like she disagreed either.

Aurelian still didn’t say anything.

Not yet.

There was no need to rush that answer.

Eirenne stayed quiet, watching him instead of the station, like she already understood that the decision wasn’t about the place alone.

It was about what he chose to build and how much he was willing to take on at once. This wasn’t just salvage anymore. It was another piece that could either be added properly or left for later.

"Would you like me to make sure to add this place as a spot to return in the future?" she asked.

Aurelian looked at her.