Chapter 259: Preparing To Return Back To Base 2
During that time, he asked Cassian whether there was anything urgent that needed him, and his father told him plainly that the family would need roughly a week before the first support convoy was ready.
He also told Aurelian to spend time with his shipgirls while he still could, because once the movement began, the March would become much busier.
That was all the permission he needed.
Instead of staying in the starport, Aurelian went back and brought the available shipgirls down to one of the Arcturus family’s resort regions on the capital world.
The planet was not only a center of power. It had oceans, mountain ranges, old cities, protected forests, training estates, and leisure districts built over generations.
Aurelian had grown up with access to all of it, yet he realized with some embarrassment that he had barely seen most of it properly.
His childhood had been lessons, training, family expectations, and preparation for command.
Now he was returning as a Tier III commander with a fleet of shipgirls who had spent months surviving the frontier.
The irony was not lost on him.
After some discussion, the shipgirls chose the northern snow range.
Rhoswen wanted something physical.
Neris wanted hot springs.
Elowen wanted mountain forests.
Solenne wanted open skies.
Astra said she had no preference, which everyone correctly understood to mean she would go wherever Aurelian went.
The snow range somehow satisfied most of them.
They took a private carrier shuttle down through the atmosphere and landed near a mountain resort owned by the Arcturus family.
The place was built along a wide valley surrounded by white peaks and dark pine forests, with warm lights shining from low buildings designed to blend into the landscape.
Snow fell lightly when they arrived, soft enough to be beautiful without delaying the landing.
Rhoswen stepped out first and immediately looked ready to challenge the mountain.
"So this is skiing."
Aurelian pulled on his gloves. "You are not supposed to fight the slope."
"That sounds like advice from someone who has not tried hard enough."
Neris yawned behind him. "Please don’t cause an avalanche."
"I wasn’t going to."
The first day on the slopes was less elegant than most of them probably wanted to remember.
Shipgirls had excellent bodies and fast reactions, but that did not mean they automatically understood balance on snow.
Rhoswen learned quickly but also fell dramatically several times because she insisted on taking turns too aggressively.
Solenne adapted with graceful precision after watching others for only a few minutes.
Elowen laughed more than anyone expected when she slipped into a snowbank. Neris chose the slowest beginner slope and somehow made it look like she was sleepwalking downhill.
Astra did not fall once.
That annoyed Rhoswen deeply.
Aurelian fell twice, which made Rhoswen feel much better until Astra calmly pointed out that both falls happened because he was trying to stop her from colliding with a safety marker.
By afternoon, everyone had improved enough that the resort staff no longer looked quietly terrified.
Since they had reserved a private area, nobody outside the family saw the more embarrassing moments. That was probably for the best. Some reputations were not meant to be tested by snow.
That evening, Aurelian booked an outdoor hot spring attached to their lodge. The pool overlooked the dark mountain valley, where snow continued falling beyond the warm mist rising from the water.
Everyone wore proper swimwear, and the arrangement was decent enough, but Aurelian still found himself sitting very carefully in one corner while trying not to think too much about the fact that several beautiful shipgirls were relaxing around him.
He had thought months of command would make him more resistant to beauty.
Apparently, that was optimistic.
Rhoswen sank into the water with a satisfied groan. "This is better than I expected."
Neris had already claimed a warm stone seat and looked half asleep. "Mm. Best strategic decision this week."
Elowen smiled as snowflakes melted above the water. "We should build something like this on Haven one day."
Aurelian nodded. "Once the important things are stable, maybe."
Astercourt, who had finally been convinced to join them after Aurelian promised that no paperwork would be discussed for one evening, gave him a look. "You said the same thing about three other projects."
"And I meant all of them."
"That is the problem."
The others laughed.
Astra sat nearby, quiet and composed, though even she seemed more relaxed than usual. Her silver hair was tied back, and the mist softened the sharpness she usually carried. For a while, she said nothing, only watched the snow drift down over the valley.
Aurelian leaned back and let the warmth settle into his tired muscles.
It was strange how hard rest could feel at first. His mind kept trying to return to the March, to supply lines, to Orvain’s branch, to the Kharov, to Helion Bastion Twelve, to the sealed warship below the bastion, to the stargate blueprint and everything it implied.
Then Rhoswen splashed him lightly.
He opened one eye.
She looked away with exaggerated innocence.
"Really?"
"No idea what happened."
Astra said calmly, "She did it."
"Traitor," Rhoswen muttered.
Aurelian laughed, and the tension in his chest eased.
The next few days passed quickly.
They skied, visited mountain towns, sampled local food, walked through snowy forests, and spent evenings at the hot springs or by a fire in the lodge.
The shipgirls talked more with each other than they usually had time to do aboard ships. Solenne and Lysara discussed old fleet tactics over dinner.
Elowen and Neris compared environmental recovery needs with supply capacity. Rhoswen tried to convince Astra to race her down the advanced slope, failing three times before Astra finally agreed and won by a margin that left Rhoswen silent for almost ten full seconds.
That silence was considered rare.
Aurelian also took time with Seraphine and the Morozova triplets when they joined for part of the break.
Seraphine moved through the group with calm grace, observing more than intruding, while Yelena immediately became involved in a discussion with Meridian about the family engineers.
Mirei and Katsura seemed to enjoy watching Aurelian try to balance politics, romance, fleet command, and vacation planning without looking overwhelmed.
He failed more than once.
But nobody seemed to mind.
By the end of the break, the fleet felt more energized, which made Aurelian happy.
