Star Ship Girl Era: My Shipgirls Are Too Overpowered-Chapter 24: Black Crown And The Start Of The Sea Trials

The moment the ship finished syncing and the last of the internal checks cleared, Astra stepped back from the command core and turned toward Aurelian with a composed but unmistakably ready expression.

"Commander," she said, voice steady and clear, "Black Crown is fully operational and ready to depart at your command."

Aurelian didn’t answer right away. He took one more look at the data still floating at the edge of his vision, then let it fade as he focused on the real thing beneath his feet.

"Give me a moment," he replied calmly. "There are a few things we need to install before we leave."

He brought up his storage interface and retrieved two sealed units, both emitting a restrained purple glow that marked them as high-grade alliance artifacts rather than ordinary equipment.

"These will do for now," he said as he handed them to Astra. "A Source Extractor and a Source Purifier. Not top-tier, but more than enough for early operations."

When he said that, Astra, who was looking at the items, called up the dock robot to install it. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

This is because purple-quality ship components are rare, even for veteran commanders without the support of a large family, but for Aurelian, it is just a low-level item he has to use because there are no higher-level items on sale.

But still Astra accepted them without question, her movements precise as she commanded the robots to slot both units into the ship’s accessory framework.

The systems acknowledged the installation immediately, and Aurelian followed up by authorizing resource input, pushing the units up to their current operational ceiling.

"These two are standard for any fleet that plans to operate independently," he added, partly for clarity and partly out of habit. "No extraction means no sustainability. No purification means we won’t be able to get the source fragments."

"Yes, Commander," Astra replied. "Both systems are now online and integrated."

That settled the last practical concern.

Aurelian straightened slightly and lifted his gaze toward the forward display, where the dock’s massive gate waited, still closed, its surface reflecting the soft glow of the ship’s hull.

"Submit a departure request to the starport tower," he said evenly. "We’ll be conducting Black Crown’s first sea trial. Route designation will be an academy-assigned patrol corridor."

Astra didn’t hesitate. Commands flowed through the ship’s systems, and within moments, confirmation returned.

"Departure approved," she reported. "Assigned route is an outer-sector patrol corridor designated for new commanders, duration fifteen days. Risk classification: low to moderate."

That was expected.

The academy never sent first-year commanders into truly dangerous space, no matter how strong their starting point looked on paper.

Even so, this route was close enough to contested zones to provide real experience rather than a ceremonial cruise.

The dock gate began to open.

Slowly at first, then wider, until the black of space stretched out before them, scattered with distant stars and traffic lanes glowing faintly in the distance.

Aurelian felt it then.

It was a bit of excitement and the joy of finally being able to command his own ship girl.

But he also felt responsible for making sure that Astra and the future ship girls he would meet later were taken care of.

And he knew that this wasn’t a simulation, nor was it training. This was the first time he was leaving port as an actual commander, even if his fleet currently consisted of a single ship.

"Proceed," he said quietly.

Black Crown’s engines came online with a deep, restrained hum, power flowing smoothly through systems that had been built to carry far more than this initial load. The ship eased forward, gliding out of the dock without a single unnecessary vibration.

Behind them, the starport receded, becoming just another structure against the void.

Once they cleared the regulated zone, Astra adjusted course automatically, aligning with the designated transit corridor that would take them toward the academy’s outer patrol network and the nearest stargate.

"We will reach the gate in approximately forty minutes," she said. "Traffic density is high due to recent departures, so there may be a short queue."

"That’s fine," Aurelian replied. "No need to rush."

He took a seat at the command chair, resting his head against his fist, elbow braced on the armrest.

The journey to the stargate passed quietly. Astra handled navigation and monitoring without needing input, and Aurelian used the time to adjust to the subtle differences in command feedback now that a full flagship was linked to his network.

When they reached the gate, the wait was shorter than expected. Clearance came through, the space ahead warped, and Black Crown passed through smoothly, emerging dozens of systems away in a region that marked the beginning of their assigned patrol route.

"Stargate transit complete," Astra reported. "We are now on the designated patrol corridor and may begin warp cruise at your discretion."

"Proceed," Aurelian said. "Warp level five. Follow the route parameters."

"Yes, Commander."

Space stretched and folded as the ship entered warp, the outside world distorting while the interior remained calm and unaffected.

Aurelian felt the familiar sensation of movement without motion, a reminder that this wasn’t his first time traveling like this, but it was his first time doing so with authority rather than as a passenger.

The patrol itself was uneventful, as it was supposed to be. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

They encountered merchant convoys moving under escort, flagged a few suspicious vessels for alliance review, and passed through several systems without incident.

Astra handled everything efficiently, reporting when needed and quietly filtering out noise that didn’t require his attention.

As the hours passed, Aurelian stood and stretched slightly.

"I’ll leave the patrol to you for now," he said. "I want to get some training in."

"Understood," Astra replied. "I will notify you immediately if anything deviates from expected parameters."

He left the command core and made his way to the training room, already planning how to structure his cultivation cycles now that his physical and mental load had shifted again.

Behind him, Astra commanded her ship as it continued forward, steady and silent, cutting through space as if she had always been meant to do exactly this.