Ruun's soldiers moved quickly.
They cleared the first hall, found no resistance, and continued through the route Eirenne had left open.
Their commanders probably believed the defenders had withdrawn toward the lower levels.
The first group reached the narrow passage.
Astra allowed nearly fifty troops to enter before she sealed the door behind them.
The lights went out.
Compact soldiers fired into the darkness, but the passage walls were reinforced and offered no useful targets.
A moment later, Astra's defense teams attacked from both ends.
The fight was short.
The trapped Compact group surrendered after losing several soldiers and finding both exits sealed.
The troops behind them tried another corridor.
That one led into an empty maintenance hall where Eirenne shut down the gravity and released fire-suppression foam into the room.
Soldiers, weapons, and equipment drifted apart while sanctuary defenders fired from protected positions along the ceiling.
