Chapter 421: Seraphiel And Vaelith

Rhoswen asked about Vaelith’s forward accelerator less than an hour after Aurelian woke the next morning.

Aurelian was still eating when her message arrived from Valeris Reach.

He read it once, looked at Astra, then turned the screen so she could see it.

Rhoswen had written:

Can it destroy a cruiser in one shot?

Astra read the message without changing expression.

“At least she waited until morning.”

“That is your positive interpretation?”

“Yes.”

Aurelian typed a short reply.

It is damaged.

Rhoswen answered almost immediately.

I know. When will it be repaired?

Aurelian closed the message.

He had no intention of encouraging this conversation before breakfast.

The real reason he was still at Helion was more useful.

Meridian had already started the inspection he requested the previous night, going through sealed military hulls and dormant command structures that had not been touched since Helion awakened.

Later that morning, Aurelian met her, Yelena, Seraphiel, and Vaelith in Dock Ring Four.

Seraphiel had already changed into more practical clothing, though the pale lines running across it still matched the lights of her frigate. She stood beside Meridian’s engineering display and was reading through her own repair list.

Vaelith was standing on the other side.

She did not look happy.

“My focusing rails are not destroyed.”

Meridian did not look up.

“I never said they were.”

“You listed them for replacement.”

“Because they are bent.”

“They can be corrected.”

“They can also fail during firing.”

“They will not.”

Meridian finally looked at her.

“Your confidence does not change the metal.”

Vaelith crossed her arms.

Yelena quietly moved closer to Aurelian.

“They have been arguing for twenty minutes.”

“About the rails?”

“Mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“Vaelith also disagrees with the shield replacement schedule.”

Aurelian looked toward the cruiser shipgirl.

“Why?”

Vaelith answered without hesitation.

“The damaged shield nodes still function.”

“At reduced output,” Meridian said.

“Reduced is not broken.”

“Reduced becomes broken when someone fires at you.”

Aurelian understood both sides.

Vaelith wanted her ship restored quickly.

Meridian wanted it restored properly.

Since Aurelian preferred not to have his newly awakened cruiser tear herself apart in the first battle, he sided with Meridian.

“Replace the rails.”

Vaelith looked at him.

“Commander.”

“Replace them.”

“They can be repaired.”

“And if Meridian finishes testing them and agrees, then repair them. Until then, assume replacement.”

Vaelith studied him for a few seconds, then looked back at the engineering display.

“Fine.”

Meridian gave Aurelian a small nod.

He was beginning to understand that this was her version of gratitude.

Seraphiel glanced toward him.

“Is fleet engineering always like this?”

Yelena answered before Aurelian could.

“Usually worse.”

Meridian looked at her.

“That is because people keep bringing damaged ships to me.”

Aurelian steered the conversation before it became another argument.

“How is Seraphiel’s frigate?”

Meridian changed the display.

The frigate appeared with several sections highlighted.

“Better than expected. Her main sensor spine is fully functional, primary relay is functional, electronic disruption systems are at eighty-six percent, and the secondary relay should be restored within three days.”

Aurelian looked at Seraphiel.

“And weapons?”

She answered herself.

“Limited.”

That matched what he had noticed the previous day.

The frigate was larger than most support ships in the Crownward fleet, but very little of its internal space had been given to heavy weapons.

It carried defensive batteries, several missile launchers, and enough close-range weapons to protect itself against smaller ships.

That was about it.

“What exactly were you designed to do?” Aurelian asked.

Seraphiel brought up another schematic.

“My primary function was fleet protection through coordination rather than direct attack.”

Several systems appeared around the model.

The first was a wide-area defensive control network.

Instead of simply using her own shields, Seraphiel could link with friendly ships and help balance shield demand across a formation.

A ship taking concentrated fire could receive additional support through the network, while ships under less pressure temporarily reduced their share.

It would not create energy from nothing.

But it could make a fleet use what it already had much more efficiently.

Aurelian looked more closely.

“How many ships?”

“In original conditions, twelve major vessels and several smaller escorts.”

“Now?”

“Unknown until testing.”

Meridian answered that part.

“Probably eight major ships safely. More after the relay restoration.”

That alone made Seraphiel valuable.

The next system was even more interesting.

Her frigate carried a defensive interception array built into several sections of the hull. It could track missiles, drones, boarding craft, and some slower energy weapons before they reached the protected formation.

It was not perfect.

Nothing was.

But Seraphiel’s entire design had clearly been built around keeping other ships alive.

Vaelith looked at the schematic.

“You hide behind her.”

Seraphiel glanced toward her.

“You charge ahead of her.”

“Correct.”

“Then the system works.”

Vaelith seemed satisfied with that answer.

Aurelian continued reading.

Seraphiel also carried a large complement of unmanned systems.

Not fighters.

Mostly repair drones, sensor drones, electronic warfare platforms, and defensive interceptors.

“How many of these are still aboard?”

“Very few,” Seraphiel said. “The frigate was stored without a full operational complement.”

Meridian switched the display again.

“Helion can replace most of them.”

Yelena pointed toward the repair-drone section.

“We can probably improve them too. The old designs are reliable, but several of the newer Helion systems are smaller and more efficient.”

Seraphiel looked interested.

“Can the internal control system support newer units?”

“Yes.”

“Then I would prefer that.”

Aurelian nodded.

“Do it.”

Meridian began adding the changes to the repair schedule.

Seraphiel’s frigate was becoming more useful by the minute.

She was not another heavy attacker.

Aurelian already had those.

What Crownward needed more of were ships that made the rest of the fleet work better.

Eirenne handled information.

Neris handled supply.

Seraphiel could eventually become the fleet’s mobile coordination and defense support ship.

The role fit naturally.

Aurelian looked toward Seraphiel.

“Once you’re operational, I want you to spend some time with Eirenne.”

Seraphiel tilted her head slightly.

“The strategic intelligence?”

“Yes.”

“I reviewed her basic record this morning.”

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