The fleet entered the outer path toward Mournveil, but Aurelian did not immediately order a full retreat.
Not yet.
The mining depot was behind them, burning and half-stripped, and the Kharov pursuit had already broken off after Solenne's rear strike wing punished their lead ships.
From the outside, it looked as if the raid was ending.
That was what Aurelian wanted the Kharov to believe.
In reality, he was still watching the wider cluster through Eirenne's feed.
The chaos they had created had not settled. If anything, it had spread into stranger shapes. The Kharov knew they had been hit, but they still didn't have a clean picture.
Their systems were full of false reports, broken commands, and delayed warnings. Some commanders were calling for all fleets to assemble near the inhabited worlds.
