Star Ship Girl Era: My Shipgirls Are Too Overpowered

Chapter 291: Vaelari 2

The upper command sections had been clean, metallic, and Kharov in design, all harsh angles and heavy doors.

The lower levels were warmer, more humid, and filled with machinery that looked older than the occupation itself.

Water channels ran beneath grated floors, carrying filtered seawater through cooling systems connected to the ocean industries below.

The Vaelari workers gathered in one of the cleared cargo halls.

There were hundreds of them, maybe more in the corridors beyond. Some stood in small family groups, some wore labor harnesses, and others had the blank look of people who had learned not to react too quickly to anything.

When Aurelian entered, the hall quieted.

They passed through several security doors and entered the lower logistics levels. The difference was immediate.

The upper command sections had been clean, metallic, and Kharov in design, all harsh angles and heavy doors.

The lower levels were warmer, more humid, and filled with machinery that looked older than the occupation itself.

Water channels ran beneath grated floors, carrying filtered seawater through cooling systems connected to the ocean industries below.

The Vaelari workers gathered in one of the cleared cargo halls.

There were hundreds of them, maybe more in the corridors beyond. Some stood in small family groups, some wore labor harnesses, and others had the blank look of people who had learned not to react too quickly to anything.

When Aurelian entered, the hall quieted.

Astra walked at his side, calm and imposing, and the reaction to her was immediate. Several Vaelari lowered their heads. A few Kharov prisoners nearby looked openly afraid.

Aurelian did not blame them.

He stopped near the center of the hall and spoke through the local translation channel Eirenne had prepared.

"My name is Aurelian Arcturus. The forces that held this starport have surrendered. Targan Rell has been captured. The Crownward March now controls Nhalis orbit."

The words spread across the hall in soft translated tones.

Nobody cheered.

Aurelian preferred that.

Cheering would have meant they did not understand the situation.

"For now, remain calm and follow medical and screening instructions. Labor tags will be reviewed. Assignment records will not be treated as ownership records. No one here will be handed back to a Kharov master because a file says you belong to them."

That caused movement.

Not excitement.

Not yet.

But shock, quiet, and sharp.

One older Vaelari man stepped forward with help from a younger woman. His shoulders were bent, but his eyes were clear.

"You are the new commander?" he asked.

"I command the March forces here."

"Will your people ride us too?"

The translation was accurate, but for a moment, Aurelian hoped it was not.

Astra’s expression did not change, yet the air around her felt colder.

Aurelian answered evenly. "No."

The elder studied him the same way the old worker on Karven Spire had.

"Others have said better things after winning."

"I know."

"Words are easy when ships are above us."

"Yes," Aurelian said. "They are."

That answer seemed to surprise the elder more than a denial would have.

Aurelian continued, "So I won’t ask you to trust words. Watch what happens next. Watch how records are handled, how restraints are removed, how food and medical care are distributed, and how we deal with the people who abused their authority. Judge us by that."

The elder’s gaze shifted briefly toward Astra, then back to him.

"What will happen to the Kharov who lived here?"

"They will be screened. Soldiers and officials will be judged by their actions. Ordinary families will not be punished for existing. Those who committed crimes will answer for them."

A murmur moved through the hall.

Some Vaelari looked dissatisfied with that, and Aurelian understood why. After generations of being pushed down, many probably wanted every Kharov dragged into the same chains they had worn. But building a stable world on revenge would only create the next rebellion.

The elder seemed to understand the balance better than the younger ones.

"That is harder than killing them," he said.

"Yes."

"Can you do hard things?"

Aurelian smiled faintly. "I have been practicing."

The elder looked at him for a moment longer, then gave a slow nod. "Then we will watch."

That was enough for now.

After leaving the cargo hall, Darian exhaled softly. "That went better than I expected."

Aurelian looked at him. "Your expectations were low?"

"After today? Yes."

"Fair."

Eirenne appeared beside them as they entered a quieter corridor. "The sealed storage complex has been opened through the first two remote layers. I recommend you review the feed."

Aurelian stopped walking.

The display appeared in front of him.

The complex beneath the northern starport annex was colder than the rest of the station and built behind three layers of reinforced doors.

Inside were several sealed containers marked as agricultural machinery, just as Eirenne had reported. The labels were boring. The security around them was not.

Remote drones opened the first container.

There was no abyssal haze.

Instead, they found a set of broken rings made from dark metal and pale crystal, each segment carved with patterns that did not belong to the Kharov design.

The pieces looked old, but not dead. When the drone’s lights passed over them, faint blue lines flickered inside the crystal.

Eirenne tilted her head slightly.

"Not the same as Vortan’s device."

"Dangerous?"

"Likely."

Astra studied the image. "Vhaloric?"

"Possibly related, but the crystal structure is unfamiliar. I will need Lysara and Meridian to examine this remotely before anyone touches it."

Aurelian nodded. "Keep it sealed. Full quarantine. No one enters."

"Already done."

Darian rubbed his forehead. "Agricultural machinery."

Aurelian looked at him. "Technically, if used wrong, it could make a lot of people part of the soil."

Darian stared at him.

Astra said nothing, but her eyes shifted slightly.

Eirenne seemed amused. "That was dark."

"It has been a long week."

The second container held old power regulators. The third held what looked like a collapsed control spine, perhaps part of a larger device.

The pieces did not appear active, but after Vortan, nobody was willing to trust appearances.

Eirenne started cross-referencing the items with Helion Bastion Twelve’s archives immediately.