Star Ship Girl Era: My Shipgirls Are Too Overpowered

Chapter 273: Operation Quiet Anvil 5

This time, Rhoswen did not need to smash through a fixed screen. She hunted broken ships trying to regroup, using bursts of speed to cut across their escape angle while her heavy guns fired at close range.

She rammed one damaged destroyer aside, crippled a cruiser’s engines with a point-blank barrage, and forced an entire fleeing group to turn back into the family fleet’s firing lanes.

She was enjoying herself.

But she was also obeying.

Aurelian noticed both.

Astra did too.

"She is becoming more reliable," Astra said.

"She was always reliable in loyalty."

"In obedience, then."

"That is fair."

Rhoswen’s voice cut in. "Still hearing you."

Aurelian replied, "Then keep giving us reasons to say nice things."

"I can do that."

The enemy fleet lasted another twenty minutes before its structure collapsed completely.

Some ships surrendered. Some tried to run and were disabled by interceptors. A few refused to stop firing and were destroyed.

The Kharov commander’s flagship remained active the longest, a scarred armored command vessel near the rear of the original formation.

It kept broadcasting short-range orders even after losing most of its escorts, and for a brief moment, Aurelian thought the commander might try to ram one of the family cruisers.

Instead, the flagship turned toward the outer system and attempted to burn through the interdiction field.

Aurelian frowned. "He’s trying to escape."

Eirenne’s gaze was fixed on the map. "Likely carrying a hardline data core or courier package."

Cassian’s voice came through before Aurelian could give an order.

"Disable that flagship. Preserve the command section if possible."

Aurelian did not need more than that.

"Astra."

"Firing."

The Black Crown’s main battery aligned. At the same time, two family cruisers fired to cut off the flagship’s path.

The Kharov vessel tried to roll behind a drifting wreck, but Astra had already accounted for the movement.

Her shot struck the rear quarter of the ship, tearing through the engine housing without touching the forward command section.

The flagship lost thrust and spun slowly out of its escape vector.

Rhoswen moved closer, but stopped before Aurelian had to warn her.

"Boarding teams will take it," Aurelian said.

"I know."

"You sounded disappointed."

"I am growing as a mature ship girl."

Astra looked at the display. "Questionable."

Rhoswen gasped. "Astra."

Aurelian did not bother hiding his smile this time.

While Karven Spire’s remaining ships were being secured, reports from the other systems continued arriving.

Most of the operation had gone as planned. The smaller Kharov relay posts had not had time to organize resistance.

The mining depots surrendered once their communications died and they realized the local patrols had already been destroyed.

Durn Hollow required a heavier boarding action because its commander locked down the station and tried to overload the fuel tanks, but the family assault teams stopped it in time.

Ashen Gate was the only target still causing trouble.

The patrol yard there had fewer ships than Karven Spire, but more stubborn defenders. They had retreated into a fortified repair ring and were using civilian maintenance crews as cover, which slowed the branch fleet assigned to take it.

Cassian’s expression darkened slightly when the report came in.

"Send a warning. If they use civilians as shields, their officers will not receive standard military processing."

The message was sent.

Five minutes later, Ashen Gate’s repair ring began surrendering section by section.

Aurelian watched the update in silence.

The Kharov understood strength. That much had become clear.

They did not always understand restraint.

That would be one of the problems in March going forward. Taking territory from them would not be enough.

Their systems had been built on oppression, fear, forced labor, and local commanders who treated people like tools.

Even after the fleets were defeated, the worlds and stations they left behind would be full of scars.

That meant land operations would matter.

Administration would matter.

Elowen, Astercourt, Neris, Eirenne, and the newly arrived family personnel would matter as much as the fleets.

Ships could win on the first day.

They could not fix the second.

By the time the last major resistance at Karven Spire ended, the battlefield had become a controlled field of wrecks, disabled vessels, and captured infrastructure.

Salvage teams moved carefully through debris zones. Boarding craft latched onto the command flagship. Engineering ships approached the relay core under heavy guard.

The local Kharov defenders had been broken.

The station had not been destroyed.

That was the ideal outcome.

Cassian opened the command channel again.

"Karven Spire is under control. All units remain at alert status until the other target systems are fully secured. Do not assume victory until every relay, dock, and courier route has been checked."

No one argued.

Aurelian stayed on the Black Crown’s command deck and reviewed the captured system map.

The outer chain was turning blue piece by piece, but he did not feel like celebrating yet. This was only the first strike.

The Kharov would notice eventually, even if no warning had escaped today. Supply delays, missing patrols, dead relays, silent stations, all of it would become obvious once someone deeper in Varensk’s territory started asking why the outer belt had gone quiet.

The question was how much time they had bought.

Eirenne seemed to know what he was thinking.

"If no physical courier escaped, the first reliable suspicion from deeper Kharov territory will likely begin within three to seven days. Formal confirmation may take longer if we feed the relay network controlled false-status signals."

"Can you do that?"

"Yes. The relay core is intact enough. Once I have proper access, I can make Karven Spire appear damaged but functioning."

Astra looked toward her. "Damaged from what?"

"Pirate raid, internal power fault, space-beast interference, or incompetent maintenance. I am preparing several options."

Aurelian nodded. "Use whatever creates the most confusion without sounding too clever."

Eirenne smiled faintly. "That is often the best lie."

Rhoswen appeared on the display again, now calmer but still clearly pleased with the battle. "So what happens next?"

"Occupation," Aurelian said. "Data extraction. Prisoner processing. Trap removal. Repairing what we can use."

"That sounds less fun."

"It usually is."

Astra’s voice remained steady. "It is necessary."

"I know," Rhoswen said, and to her credit, she did not complain further.

The battlefield reports shifted from combat to control. Kharov prisoners were being separated by rank and role.

Forced laborers found aboard several depots were initially placed under guard, then transferred to medical and screening teams once their identities were confirmed.