The retreat order reached the corridor before the last civilian group did.
A guard read it, looked at the people approaching the narrow turn, and stayed where he was. His partner watched the nearest field pulse against the wall. If they waited too long, their position might cease to be a position at all. If they left immediately, the older man between the two women would have to cross the exposed length without anyone holding the next section.
“We move on their feet,” the first guard said.
The commander heard him.
She had refused Eli at the gate, held an evacuation exit open against a conflicting output, and authorized a hatch rescue after the main gate locked. None of those decisions made her next one automatic. She asked the forward pair whether they could receive the civilians, then told the rear pair to remain until the transfer was visible.
Staggered withdrawal. One section passed to another. Nobody called it holding forever.
The first guard moved the older man’s bag off his shoulder so one woman could support his arm properly. The man protested that he could carry it. The guard handed it to a willing person already beyond the turn and made sure the owner saw where it went. The group crossed. Only then did the pair leave its position, one watching the field while the other moved.
