Chapter 262: A Virtual Combat Environment Game
Then Eirenne’s report took an unexpected turn.
"There is one additional development you may find useful," she said.
Aurelian looked at her carefully. "Hmm? What could it be that you would which made you so interested as to bring it up yourself instead of letting me find out when I read the report?"
"That’s not true, I always report everything to you personally."
"Yes, but that is when I ask you, so what’s the situation?"
Eirenne’s eyebrows twitched a little, but she didn’t continue to argue; instead, she told him the secret. "During the quieter cycles between logistics updates, I developed a fleet training simulation."
Aurelian blinked. "You developed what?"
"A virtual combat environment built from known data on Alliance, Kharov, Vhaloric, Thornwake, and March-controlled ship systems. It is designed for shipgirls, fleet officers, and eventually commander candidates."
Astra finally turned her full attention toward the projection.
Eirenne lifted one hand, and a secondary display opened beside her. It showed a simulated battlefield with several starships moving through a broken asteroid field.
The ships were not simple icons. They behaved with realistic mass, shield strain, weapon cooldowns, sensor interference, heat bloom, and command delay.
Aurelian stared at it for a moment.
"You made a game."
"No, it should be similar to a training platform."
"With score tracking?"
"Yes, but that is mainly for performance analysis."
"Matchmaking?"
"That is a must for balanced combat evaluation."
"Cosmetic ship markings?"
Eirenne paused, seeming to realize that she had accidentally created a game.
Aurelian stared harder, which made her tell him the truth.
She said, "... it’s for morale, and let’s the soldiers get more into the simulation."
Rhoswen, who had joined the channel without permission, immediately leaned into her display. "Can I play it?"
"It is already in limited testing," Eirenne said. "Several shipgirls who remained at Haven have been using it during rest periods."
Aurelian looked at Astra.
Astra looked back.
Then he looked at Eirenne again. "And?"
"The results are interesting. Because the control principles closely mirror how shipgirls manage their own vessels, the simulation appears to improve reaction speed, tactical adaptability, and familiarity with unfamiliar ship classes. It does not replace real combat, but it allows unrestricted engagement without risk of actual damage."
Aurelian’s expression grew more serious.
That was not a small thing.
Training exercises always require limits. Ships could not fire freely at full strength. Shipgirls had to hold back.
Ammunition, energy, repair costs, and safety margins all restricted what could be done. But inside a virtual environment, a battle could be lost completely, ships could be destroyed, and nobody would die.
That made it valuable.
Very valuable.
"Can it collect control data?" he asked.
"It can, but only if the shipgirls willingly upload it after each session. I will not take private control data without consent."
"Good," Aurelian said. "Ask for volunteers first. Start with those already interested, then expand slowly. If this works, it becomes one of our best training tools."
"I agree."
Rhoswen looked far too excited. "Commander, I volunteer."
Astra spoke immediately. "For testing, not for trying to crash the system."
"I wasn’t going to."
Eirenne’s projection tilted her head slightly. "The current environment is reinforced against that."
Rhoswen looked delighted. "So you expected something like what the commander said might happen."
"Yeah, it goes without saying as it is part of the basic stress parameters."
Aurelian had to look away for a moment.
The convoy took nearly two hours to fully emerge from Mournveil.
By the time the last ships cleared the route, Larkspur Haven’s orbit looked busier than it had ever been.
Transport blocks were guided toward temporary holding zones. Engineers were directed toward starport work sectors.
Medical ships moved into screening lanes. Military escorts remained at a distance, keeping the civilian arrivals from feeling as if they had entered a war zone while still making it clear that the region was protected.
Cassian did not reveal everything to the lower-ranking personnel until the convoy was safely through.
Only then did his announcement appear across the secured internal network.
Aurelian watched from the Black Crown as the message spread.
The people aboard the convoy learned that they had crossed beyond standard Alliance space into a hidden frontier region under the protection of the Arcturus family and the authority of the Crownward March.
They were told that the March contained a recovering habitable world, strategic infrastructure, valuable expansion routes, and future opportunities, but also real dangers. They were told that secrecy was mandatory.
They were told that return travel would be restricted. They were told that service here would count toward family merit, but that discipline would be strict and failure to follow security rules would be treated as betrayal.
For a few minutes after the announcement, the network became noisy.
Some people were shocked.
Some were nervous.
Many were excited.
The younger commanders reacted the most strongly. To them, this was not exile or burden. It was a chance to stand at the front of something new, far away from the crowded lanes where seniority and old claims slowed everything down.
A few messages appeared in the branch channels fast enough that Eirenne collected them for Aurelian’s review.
A hidden frontier.
A new March.
Real territory.
Merit opportunities.
Commander advancement.
A place to build.
Some even praised Cassian directly, while others praised Orvain for moving first. Aurelian saw his own name appear several times and quietly closed that part of the feed before it became uncomfortable.
Rhoswen noticed. "Don’t like being praised?"
"I like it better when I don’t have to read it live."
"That’s strangely humble."
"It’s self-defense."
Cassian’s next message was more practical. He reminded everyone that this was not a celebration of conquest.
The March needed builders before glory seekers. It needed engineers, administrators, medical teams, surveyors, security staff, and disciplined commanders.
The Kharov threat remained real. Larkspur Haven was still recovering. Helion Bastion Twelve was restricted. Mournveil was not to be entered without authorization.
The excitement did not vanish, but it became more focused.
That was Cassian’s strength.
He could encourage people without letting them become foolish.
As the convoy settled into orbit, Aurelian joined a command conference with Cassian, Eirenne, Astercourt, Neris, and several family logistics officers.
The meeting was short but dense. The first three million people would remain aboard orbital transfer ships for now while screening and work assignments were completed.
A smaller group of engineers, medical staff, and construction personnel would move to Larkspur Haven’s starport within forty-eight hours.
Orvain’s first branch team would be split between Haven and a secured orbital habitat until background reviews were finished.
No one liked the delay.
Everyone accepted it.
March did not have the luxury of making mistakes with millions of arrivals.
Ground forces were another matter.
The Arcturus family had brought more than civilians and engineers. Several million trained security and planetary operations personnel were included across the full movement, though most would not deploy immediately.
They were not here to bombard worlds from orbit. Aurelian had already made it clear that he wanted habitable worlds preserved, not ruined.
If future action against the Kharov required taking planets, orbital firepower alone would not be enough.
Ships could win space.
They could not govern cities.
They could not screen populations, secure factories, protect fields, clear bunkers, or stop desperate enemy loyalists from turning infrastructure into traps.
For that, the March would need soldiers, mechs, local officers, and shipgirls equipped for land support when necessary.
Cassian understood this better than most, and the family had prepared accordingly.
The first planetary security teams would not yet move into combat zones. For now, they would reinforce Haven, guard critical intake points, secure future construction sites, and train alongside March personnel.
Their presence also gave Aurelian more options. If the Kharov response came sooner than expected, he would not be trying to defend a growing territory with shipgirls alone.
After the meeting ended, Aurelian remained on the Black Crown’s command deck and watched the busy orbit of Larkspur Haven.
Astra stood beside him.
Rhoswen had gone quiet on the channel, probably because she was studying the new arrivals and wondering how many of the military personnel might be willing to spar with her later.
Below them, the planet turned slowly, scarred but alive.
Above it, the first great support wave of the Arcturus family settled into place.
Eirenne’s projection appeared again, this time quieter.
"The first landing schedule is ready for your approval."
Aurelian looked at the lines of ships waiting in orbit.
"Send it."
A moment later, the schedule appeared on his display. It was long, careful, and painfully detailed, which meant Astercourt had already touched it.
Aurelian reviewed the first page, approved the priority medical and engineering transfers, then leaned back slightly.
"It begins."
Astra’s voice was calm. "Yes."
Eirenne looked toward the planet. "The March will change quickly now."
"I know."
Rhoswen’s voice returned through the channel. "Good. It was about time everyone else caught up."
Aurelian smiled faintly.
The Crownward March was no longer just waiting beyond Mournveil.
It was receiving people, ships, tools, soldiers, families, and ambition.
And whether the wider Alliance noticed now or later, the first true foundation had already arrived.
