Star Ship Girl Era: My Shipgirls Are Too Overpowered

Chapter 274: Operation Quiet Anvil 6

Some looked terrified of the Arcturus forces, likely because to them, one armed power replacing another did not yet mean safety.

Aurelian understood that, too.

Trust would not arrive with the first landing craft.

It had to be built.

A priority report came in from the captured Kharov flagship twenty minutes later. The boarding team had secured the command deck, but the fleet commander was still alive.

He had been injured when Astra disabled the engines, but had refused treatment until his surviving crew was stabilized.

That detail made Aurelian pause.

"He refused treatment for his crew?" he asked.

Eirenne confirmed it. "According to the boarding team audio, yes."

Astra looked thoughtful. "A disciplined commander."

"Enemy," Rhoswen said, though her tone had less bite than usual.

"Still disciplined," Astra replied.

Aurelian considered the report. "Keep him alive. I want him questioned properly."

Cassian approved the order when it was sent, adding only that useful officers were often worth more alive than dead.

That was true, though Aurelian also wanted to understand the man who had held Karven Spire together under that kind of attack.

The Kharov were enemies, but if he reduced all of them to fools or monsters, he would eventually make a mistake.

The first mistake in the frontier war was thinking the enemy could not learn.

Meanwhile, far below on Karven Spire’s central station, the surviving Kharov officers finally began to realize the scale of what had hit them.

Their local communication rooms were dead. Their backup arrays were feeding false loops. Their outer patrols had vanished.

Their fortress guns had been sliced off instead of simply blasted apart. And the dark shape of Cassian’s Tier VII vessel hung beyond the broken dock like a verdict.

Some surrendered quietly after seeing it.

Others stared too long.

The occupation teams moved with discipline. They did not loot. They did not waste time shouting.

They secured reactor rooms, data cores, dock controls, armories, life support, and traffic centers in clean order.

March officers observed alongside Arcturus family units, learning the process as much as assisting it.

Aurelian wanted that.

The family could do everything faster on its own, but the March needed experience. It could not remain a junior partner forever.

After another hour, Ashen Gate finally surrendered completely. The last resistance pocket had been cut off from power, and once the defenders realized no rescue was coming, they put down their weapons.

With that, every primary target of Operation Quiet Anvil was either secured, disabled, or under occupation.

The first combat phase was over.

Cassian called a short command review.

Aurelian joined from the Black Crown. The other branch commanders appeared in separate windows, some looking satisfied, others already tired from dealing with occupation details.

Maeron appeared as well, visibly annoyed that his assigned group had faced almost no serious resistance.

"My target surrendered after the first volley," Maeron said. "Deeply disappointing."

Orvain, who was also on the call, looked at him flatly. "That means your operation succeeded."

"It succeeded too politely."

Cassian ignored that with impressive ease.

"Operation Quiet Anvil’s first phase is complete," Cassian said. "No confirmed warnings escaped; the enemy’s outer chain of command is broken. Karven Spire relay remains intact. Occupation teams will proceed under restraint, and no branch is to claim assets independently. All captured resources are to be registered through expedition command and March authority."

That last part prevented arguments before they began.

Aurelian appreciated it.

Cassian continued, "The second phase begins after data extraction. We need to know how long before Varensk notices, which patrol routes are expected next, and whether Virell’s Reach can be isolated without triggering a wider alarm."

The system map appeared again, now with the captured chain marked in blue and the next route toward Virell’s Reach glowing faintly.

Aurelian studied it.

Virell’s Reach was closer now.

Not physically, of course, but strategically.

The road toward it had begun to open.

Cassian looked toward him through the screen. "Aurelian, Karven Spire will fall under temporary March supervision once the relay is secured. I want your people involved from the start."

"Understood."

"Eirenne will handle the relay deception?"

Eirenne’s projection nodded. "Yes. I will need access to the core and two hours without Kharov sabotage attempts."

"You will have it."

Rhoswen leaned slightly into her display. "What about pursuit?"

"There is no pursuit," Cassian said. "No ship escaped."

She looked almost disappointed again.

Astra said calmly, "That is good."

"I know," Rhoswen replied. "I can know and still feel robbed."

Aurelian nearly smiled, but kept his focus on the map.

After the review ended, the command deck quieted. Outside the Black Crown, salvage lights moved through the battlefield like small stars.

The broken Kharov ships drifted under guard. Boarding craft came and went from the station. Farther away, Cassian’s flagship remained still, vast and silent against the dark.

Aurelian stood for a while, watching the first captured system of the outer chain settle under their control.

This was different from the raid.

The raid had been fast, sharp, and temporary.

This was an occupation.

This was the beginning of ownership.

That made every decision heavier.

Astra stepped beside him.

"You are thinking about what comes after."

"Yes."

"Virell’s Reach."

"That too."

"And the Kharov response."

"Always."

She looked toward the captured station. "This victory was much easier than the ones we had before."

"It was. That worries me."

"Because these kinds of victories are good once in a while, but too many will cause the others to become complacent."

Aurelian nodded. "And because the next enemy may not give us the same conditions."

Astra accepted that quietly.

A moment later, Rhoswen’s voice came through again, softer than before.

"Commander."

"Yes?"

"When we take Virell’s Reach, will it be like this?"

Aurelian looked at the map, then toward the distant red markers beyond the captured chain.

"No," he said. "It will be harder."

Rhoswen was silent for a moment.

Then she answered, "Good."

Aurelian sighed, but there was no real irritation in it.

Astra looked at him, and this time the faint curve at the corner of her mouth was visible.