The convoy reached the dead system without incident.
Aurelian watched the faint shadow of Mournveil ahead and let out a slow breath. By this point, the operation could already be counted as half a success.
No ship had broken formation. No suspicious signal had escaped the convoy net. No hidden observer had appeared near the route, and the carefully chosen personnel of the Arcturus family had proven worthy of the trust placed in them.
Still, he did not relax.
The dangerous part was always the one people thought had already passed.
At the edge of the nebula route, the convoy slowed and began rearranging itself. The heavier warships took the outer shell, the smaller escorts moved into layered patrol positions, and the civilian transports were gathered toward the center of the formation where the dust storms and sudden sensor failures would be least dangerous.
The Black Crown stayed outside the main body of the convoy, its upgraded systems watching the edges of the route.
