Star Ship Girl Era: My Shipgirls Are Too Overpowered

Chapter 281: Plans Against Vortan Redoubt

The shuttle rose from the capital fortress and climbed through the cold haze toward orbit.

For several minutes, Aurelian did not speak. Astra sat across from him, quiet and composed, while Rhoswen leaned back beside the hatch with her arms folded.

She looked tired in the way only someone pretending not to be tired could look, and for once, she did not fill the silence with questions.

Below them, Karven Spire’s capital slowly disappeared beneath cloud cover.

Aurelian watched it through the side display until the city became only a dark stain against the planet’s surface.

The day had been long enough to feel like several days tied together, but the work was nowhere near finished.

The capital was stable, the relay was theirs, and Daskor was in custody, yet the rest of the planet still had garrisons, industrial zones, and cities whose loyalties were unclear.

The occupation teams had avoided orbital bombardment from the beginning, which was the right choice, but that also meant the surface had to be taken carefully.

That was slower.

Messier.

More human.

When the shuttle docked with the Black Crown, Eirenne appeared in the receiving corridor before Aurelian even finished stepping out.

"We have a new issue."

Aurelian looked at her. "Of course we do."

Rhoswen straightened at once. "Combat issue?"

"Potentially."

Astra’s gaze sharpened. "Which region?"

Eirenne lifted one hand, and a map appeared beside her. Several cities and garrisons were marked in different colors, most of them yellow or blue, but one silent garrison near the eastern ridge line now glowed dark gray.

"The silent garrison has not responded to surrender terms, confirmation calls, or local civilian channels. Earlier reports suggested its commander began moving military personnel and civilians toward a central district before communications ended."

Aurelian frowned. "Civilians again?"

"Yes. Unlike the earlier attempts at gathering, this one appears more organized and less public. Local transit logs show forced relocation from nearby worker districts, but the official reason given was emergency shelter transfer."

"That sounds like a lie."

"It is very likely a lie."

Cassian joined the channel from his flagship a moment later, his expression calm but serious.

"We need to know what they are doing before sending in a full assault group. If this is another attempt to use civilians as shields, we handle it carefully. If it is something worse, we handle it quickly."

Aurelian understood what his father meant by worse.

Daskor had already tried to release the black reserve. It was possible that other commanders had access to similar hidden weapons, local cult practices, or desperate plans tied to Kharov doctrine.

The Kharov were not a single clean military structure. Some of their border lords used science, some used terror, some used old relics, and some used whatever cruel belief helped them keep control.

Aurelian looked at the gray-marked region.

"What do we know about the garrison?"

Eirenne answered, "It is called Vortan Redoubt. Originally, a planetary defense base was built to protect refinery routes and underground archive stores. The current commander is Colonel Hask Renn, listed as loyal to Daskor but not personally close to him. Records suggest he is methodical, harsh, and careful."

"Population?"

"Roughly two million in the surrounding district, though the redoubt itself should hold fewer than fifty thousand military personnel. However, transit data indicates at least one hundred and twenty thousand civilians have been moved toward the central shelter zone during the last six hours."

Rhoswen’s expression darkened. "That is not a shelter."

"No," Aurelian said. "Probably not."

Cassian gave the order. "Send scouts first. Drones, mechs, and shipgirl-linked remote units only. No human entry until we know the condition of the city."

Aurelian nodded. "I’ll coordinate with Eirenne."

"Do so. I am moving a strategic vessel into high orbit above the region, but we will not fire unless the threat spreads."

The channel closed.

Within half an hour, the first reconnaissance units entered Vortan Redoubt’s outer district.

They did not go in as a grand army. Small stealth drones slipped through broken weather layers, followed by high-altitude observation craft and several mech units controlled remotely by shipgirls from orbit.

Solenne provided air cover through a limited drone wing, while Eirenne pierced what remained of the local network.

At first, the city looked abandoned.

Factories were silent. Transit stations were locked. Streets were mostly empty, except for a few scattered civilians hiding in doorways or behind transport barriers.

There were signs of hurried movement everywhere: dropped bags, abandoned carts, half-open shelter gates, and military vehicles parked across major roads.

Then the first drone reached the central district.

A black haze hung over the area.

It was not thick enough to completely hide the skyline, but it clung to the streets and lower buildings in slow-moving sheets.

Sensor readings immediately became unstable. Heat signatures blurred. Audio feeds picked up low interference that sounded almost like distant static layered beneath breathing.

The shipgirl controlling the lead drone spoke through the channel, her voice tense.

"Commander, the air is contaminated with unknown particles. My drone’s external sensors are functioning, but the signal feels wrong."

Aurelian looked toward Eirenne.

Eirenne’s projection had gone very still.

"That is not chemical haze," she said.

Astra turned to her. "What is it?"

"I cannot confirm yet."

"Guess," Aurelian said.

Eirenne’s eyes shifted toward the feed. "The pattern resembles old Vhaloric warnings attached to abyssal breaches."

The command deck quieted.

Rhoswen frowned. "Abyssal?"

Eirenne lifted a second projection, showing fragments of old Vhaloric text recovered from Helion Bastion Twelve.

"The Vhaloric Directorate had records of hostile extra-dimensional zones, unstable spaces where matter, thought, and energy did not behave normally. Their translations vary. Abyssal space, shadow-depth, red void, devouring current. Different eras used different names."

Aurelian’s expression hardened. "Are you saying they opened something?"

"Possibly. Or they activated a relic connected to such a space."

Astra looked back toward the black haze. "Can it spread?"

"I do not know."

That was not an answer Aurelian liked.

He opened a channel to Cassian and sent the feed immediately. His father watched in silence for several seconds before speaking.

"No direct infantry entry. All units remain outside the haze until hazard classification improves."