His lead destroyers opened fire as soon as they entered range.
The sanctuary cutters immediately spread out and used the old mining structures as cover.
They were too small and lightly armed to fight the Compact ships in open space, so Eirenne never tried to hold them in a fixed line.
Instead, she sent them through the debris in pairs, using the broken platforms and mining frames to hide their movements.
One cutter would draw enemy fire while the second moved around the side. Their short-range cannons aimed for exposed sensors, engines, and shield emitters rather than trying to destroy whole ships.
They did not have enough firepower for that, but they could still slow the Compact down and break apart its formation.
The Compact destroyers were larger, better protected, and much more dangerous. However, the narrow mining lane worked against them because they could not turn freely without risking a collision with debris, abandoned machinery, or one another.
