Star Ship Girl Era: My Shipgirls Are Too Overpowered

Chapter 213: Going Back Home

About two months passed after the call from home.

The Crownward March did not become quiet during that time. If anything, it became busier than before.

Repairs, refits, training, intake, production, and planning all moved at the same time, and every day seemed to add one more thing to the list.

The difference was that the work no longer felt like it was being held together by Aurelian’s hands alone.

Eirenne had settled into Helion Bastion Twelve properly, and once the protected communication array from the Arcturus support team was installed, her reach became cleaner and far more stable.

She could assist Astercourt without stepping on her work, help Seris and Meren organize production, and keep the rear defense model updated without making everything dependent on Aurelian’s direct attention.

The support team from House Arcturus arrived quietly, just as Cassian had promised.

They came as engineers, survey experts, archive specialists, and administrators with enough experience to understand when not to ask unnecessary questions.

That was one of the reasons Aurelian liked working with family-trained people. They noticed everything, but they did not always say it out loud.

The greatest change came from the refits.

Astra had already become the first Tier V shipgirl in his fleet, and after her success, the rest of the upgrade work moved more confidently.

Though not as fast as before, as all of these changes take time, it will cause them to spend more time and money fixing any mistakes.

Neris’s upgrade had finished first among the support ships, and she used the new engine better than expected.

She still looked half-asleep most of the time, but now she could follow fleet movements without dragging the pace down, which made her far more useful during deep operations.

Solenne’s carrier decks were rebuilt and improved after the raid. Her losses had annoyed her more than she admitted, so she spent most of the refit window quietly working through launch cycles, fighter replacement patterns, and long-range strike timing until even Eirenne said her improvement rate was "unreasonably focused."

Solenne took that as praise.

Lysara’s refit took longer because Aurelian refused to force her into the wrong path. The Severance Lance issue still stood in the way, but Meridian and the Arcturus specialists managed to rebuild enough of the missing support structure that her future upgrade no longer looked impossible.

Rhoswen, meanwhile, surprised everyone by behaving through her own refit.

Mostly.

She only threatened the repair drones twice.

That was progress.

When Aurelian mentioned this, she looked genuinely proud.

"Only twice," she said. "That is discipline."

"It is a beginning," Astra replied.

Rhoswen nodded as if Astra had agreed with her completely. "Exactly. A strong beginning."

Aurelian decided not to argue with that.

The Thornwake sisters also improved during those two months. Selvarin recovered fastest and threw herself into guard work with quiet seriousness.

Veylora helped Meridian review old Thornwake data and quickly proved she was more useful than her calm face suggested.

Liora remained gentle and quiet, but she noticed problems early and reported them before they turned into real delays.

Maelis took the longest, but by the end of the second month, she could stand and move without support, even if Meridian still watched her like a hawk.

One day, Aurelian found Maelis reviewing tactical records again.

She looked up at once. "This is not strenuous."

"You sure? Because you can ask for help when needed," Aurelian replied.

Maelis paused.

Selvarin, standing nearby, turned her head slightly. "He has you there."

Maelis looked betrayed.

Aurelian felt a little bad for her, but not enough to let her continue. "Rest for another cycle. Then you can review whatever you want, as long as Meridian approves."

From across the bay, Meridian said, "I approve nothing yet."

Rhoswen, passing behind Aurelian, whispered, "She is scarier than your mother."

Aurelian looked at her. "Do not say that when either of them can hear you."

Rhoswen immediately straightened. "I fear nothing."

Meridian looked up from her console.

Rhoswen changed direction and left the bay.

Aurelian watched her go, then sighed. "She fears one thing."

Maelis smiled faintly.

That alone made the warning worth it.

By the end of those two months, March was no longer the same force that had returned from the Kharov raid.

It had better ships.

Better support.

Better defense.

Better communication.

And more importantly, it had a clearer direction.

Aurelian did not upgrade everyone just to show off. The March needed strength because the Kharov would recover, and because Mournveil, Halcyon Vault, Larkspur Haven, and Helion Bastion Twelve were all pieces of a larger shape he was still building.

But there was one thing he had delayed long enough.

Returning home.

He didn’t think about it before.

But now he felt like he needed to go back, see his parents properly, brief the family face-to-face, and make sure the planned cooperation did not turn into a mess of assumptions.

The Arcturus family was powerful, but power had its own habits. If he did not define his place early, others would try to define it for him.

So he prepared the return.

He did not take the whole fleet.

That would have been absurd, and also exactly the kind of thing Rhoswen wanted.

"You should take more," she said when she saw the list.

"I am visiting my family; we don’t need everyone to go."

"True, but still it’s better to be prepared."

Aurelian looked at her. "We have enough already."

"So what, adding a few more won’t change things."

"You are making me reconsider taking you."

Rhoswen immediately looked offended. "Commander, I have been extremely well-behaved for two months."

Astra, who was reviewing the same list nearby, said, "By her standards."

Rhoswen pointed at her. "That still counts."

Aurelian let out a small laugh despite himself. "Fine. You can come, but no dramatic entry requests."

Rhoswen brightened. "What about a controlled dramatic entry?"

"No."

"A modest dramatic entry?"

"No."

"A silent one with intimidating formation spacing?"

Aurelian paused. "That is just formation discipline."

"Then I accept."

In the end, he chose a small but impressive group.