He took Astra and Rhoswen out to verify the Pale Wound Corridor entry route, sothing that had been sitting in his plans for a while, not urgent on the surface, but important enough that he did not want to delay it any further.
The trip itself took ti, but not too much, as it was not a formal mission of any kind, but rather a searching outing to lay out the area.
The location was hidden well, tucked near a dead system marker and partially masked by old stellar ruin and debris patterns that made the region look worthless from a distance, the kind of place most routes would naturally avoid.
Which was probably why it had stayed quiet for so long, overlooked rather than protected.
When they finally reached it, Aurelian stood on Black Crown’s bridge and looked at the place with narrowed eyes, not rushing to conclusions.
The corridor was real.
A fold-rift, narrow and ugly, not as large as the graveyard route he had crossed earlier, but clearly stable enough to be used under the right conditions, narrow but still usable.
He had Astra scan everything carefully, not once, but multiple tis, making sure nothing was missed.
Entry stability.
Outer turbulence.
Approach lanes.
Possible anchor points.
Signal distortion.
He did not send a ship through.
That would have been reckless, especially without knowing what waited on the other side.
For now, confirming that the route existed and could still be reached was enough, more than enough for a first pass.
Once the coordinates were fully recorded and layered into the private fleet map, he gave the order to turn back, not lingering longer than necessary.
The fleet returned to Polaris without incident, the trip back quiet and uneventful.
By then, a few more days had passed, and the last major repair task was finally reaching completion, the timing aligning with what he had been waiting for.
The carrier was ready.
Compared to the eco-ship and the supply ship, this one felt different the mont Aurelian stepped onto the dock, its scale and presence hard to ignore.
It was not just bigger.
It had a different kind of vibe because of how massive it was compared to all the other ship girls he has had so far.
The engineers had already told him why. This was not a normal Tier IV carrier. It was one of those borderline designs that sat just under the next threshold, still counted as Tier IV for command purposes, but with enough higher-grade systems folded into the structure that calling it ordinary would have been ridiculous, a design that stretched its category.
A quasi-T5 hull.
That explained the repair ti.
It also explained why he had wanted it so much, even before seeing it fully restored.
This ti, he brought Astra, Neris, and Astercourt with him, choosing who needed to be present.
Rhoswen had gone to finish a few fitting changes after receiving the Tempest Ramspike, and Elowen was busy properly settling her new ecological load, both occupied with tasks that could not be delayed.
Neris was finally awake enough to walk without drifting off, though she still looked like she had not fully forgiven the universe for making her leave bed. Astercourt, by contrast, was as composed as ever, her presence steady.
The activation itself was simple.
Enough source fragnts were placed into the system.
Then they stepped back and waited outside the command chamber, letting the process take its course without interference.
This ti, the wait was short.
Much shorter than Neris.
The door opened quickly, and a blonde woman stepped out with firm, easy steps, already carrying herself like soone completely at ho on a ship, as if she had never been anything else.
She was not shy in the slightest.
She walked straight up to Aurelian and offered her hand as if this were a formal first eting between equals rather than an awakening scene, her confidence clear and unforced.
"Golden Phoenix-class strike carrier, Solenne, requesting permission to join your fleet," she said. "I hope you’ll accept."
Aurelian took her hand without hesitation, matching her straightforwardness.
"I do," he replied. "Welco."
Solenne smiled at that, confident and bright in a way that imdiately set her apart from the others, her presence easy to read.
Aurelian let the introductions happen naturally for a mont, not interrupting the flow, then opened her information through the commander network, focusing on the details.
[Warship Na: Solenne]
[Warship Status: Shield 100%, Armor 100%, No Structural or Core Damage]
[Warship Prototype: Quasi-T5 Golden Phoenix-class Strike Carrier]
[Warship Length: 3020 ters]
[Warship Rank: Tier IV Destroyer (Level Cap: Lv80)]
[Level: Lv64]
[Ship Components: Golden Phoenix Hull (Purple) Lv64, Golden Phoenix Armor (Quasi Purple) Lv64, Sunflare Engine (Blue) Lv64, Sunflare Shield (Blue) Lv64, Golden Phoenix Radar (Blue) Lv64]
[Ship Armant: Forty twin-mounted 120mm close-in defense systems (Blue) Lv64]
[Ship Hangar: Ember Talon Heavy Bomber (Blue) Lv64, Skylight Recon Aircraft (Cyan) Lv64, Dawnwing Fighter (Cyan) Lv64, Firecrest Combat Drone (Cyan) Lv64]
[Ship Attachnt: Skylance Combat ch (Purple) Lv64]
[Weapon Slots Remaining: 3]
[Hangar Slots Remaining: 20]
[Accessory Slots Remaining: 35]
[Ship Girl: Solenne]
[Talents: Sunfire Strike (Purple High-Tier), Fighter Surge (Purple Low-Tier), Tactical Discipline (Light Blue High-Tier)]
Aurelian read through it once and nodded slightly.
No, she was not a fully purple shipgirl.
But that did not matter, as he would help her upgrade later, when she reached her level cap.
Solenne was exactly what the fleet needed, filling a gap that had been there from the start.
A proper carrier.
Long-range strike.
Recon support.
Fighter presence.
Bombers.
Drones.
And enough quality in the hull itself that she was far ahead of an ordinary Tier IV ship, closer to sothing higher without crossing the line.
The fleet was no longer missing that piece.
With Astra as the flagship, Rhoswen as the aggressive close-range bruiser, Elowen as future territory support, Neris for supply, Astercourt for administration and logistics planning, and now Solenne for reach and air pressure, the shape of his early fleet was finally starting to feel complete instead of improvised, structured instead of assembled.
Aurelian closed the panel and looked at the won standing in front of him, taking in the mont.
For the first ti in a while, he could honestly say that the foundation was coming together the way he wanted, not perfectly, but in the right direction.
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