Eirenne handled the station work from a distance, moving whatever still worked inside Halcyon Vault into order without needing to be there in person.

Aurelian didn’t go back this time.

There was no reason to.

That was the whole point of building something with structure instead of doing everything himself. If he had to stand in every room to make something happen, then none of this would scale.

So he stayed at Helion Bastion Twelve and watched the operation through clean reports while things moved in the background.

Neris had already started preparing for her engine installation, working through what needed to be done and what could wait.

Rhoswen complained once that watching salvage through a screen was boring, then didn’t leave anyway because she wanted to see the numbers update in real time.

It took more than a day.

The old transport Eirenne had found didn’t move quickly at first, but once it cleared the Halcyon Vault bay and got into stable space, it started carrying more than anything Aurelian had been able to move during his first mission. The difference was obvious.

The small artifacts came first, then sealed containers; after that came the stabilized weapon cores.

Then full blue-grade equipment sets.

And after that, bulk materials started showing up in numbers large enough to make even Astercourt pause when she saw the totals climb.

By the time the transport reached Helion Bastion Twelve, the situation had already changed from a simple recovery to something more serious.

Even Astra joined through a command link to watch the unloading.

Rhoswen stood near the receiving platform with her arms folded, looking far more interested now than she had earlier.

"I take back what I said," she admitted. "This is not boring."

Neris nodded slightly. "No. It isn’t."

The cargo doors opened.

Light spilled out from the first set of artifact crates, and it wasn’t just normal light. It carried color with it, shades of blue and cyan, with one deeper glow that stood out immediately and pulled attention without needing explanation.

There were many blue-grade items.

More than a hundred.

Far more than Aurelian had expected, even after seeing the updated list.

Engines.

Shield systems.

Armor pieces.

Sensor arrays.

Hull modification materials.

Weapon cores.

And enough support systems to start modifying his plans as to what his future fleets will look like.

Then came the lower-grade pieces.

They didn’t look as impressive on their own, but there were a lot of them, and in the right hands, quantity mattered just as much as rarity.

And finally, the one item Eirenne had flagged earlier and something he had been waiting for since he saw what it was categorized as.

The purple-grade artifact.

It was an energy weapon core, long and narrow, secured inside a support frame marked with old warnings.

It wasn’t something that could be used casually, and none of his current ships could just take it and fire without preparation. But it was real, and it meant something for the future.

Rhoswen stared at it with clear interest as she wanted it even though she knew that the use of this weapon might be limited.

"Can I have that?"

"No," Aurelian said.

She sighed, but didn’t look surprised.

Neris was already focused on something else. "There are enough engines here to fix our speed problem for more than one ship."

"Yes," Aurelian said.

That is also one of the things he is happy to see, as he had thought he would only be able to take a few, but now the number can be increased.

Neris’s upgrade would come first because it was needed right away. After that, everything else would be handled carefully.

Aurelian wasn’t going to throw rare parts around just because he had more now. That was how people wasted good finds. It only mattered if things were used in the right place.

Eirenne seemed to approve.

"These will allow several upgrade paths," she said. "But most of the other items might not find their right owners just yet."

"I know," Aurelian said.

Rhoswen gave him a look. "That can be solved as long as we have more ship girls."

The next few hours were spent sorting everything.

This was where Eirenne proved her value again. She quickly identified old equipment, matched it to Bastion records, flagged compatibility issues, and sorted items into clear groups: items that could be used now, items that needed to wait, items that needed testing, and items that shouldn’t be touched yet.

Neris handled what directly affected the ships.

Astercourt handled how everything was assigned.

Seris and Meren handled storage and security.

For once, Aurelian wasn’t just gaining a single useful item.

He was gaining options.

A lot of them.

The engine for Neris was installed after the first round of sorting was finished.

Eirenne helped with the process, but she didn’t take over. Neris stayed in control of her own systems, as it should be.

The installation took time, and Aurelian didn’t rush it. There was no reason to. It was better to do it right now than deal with problems later.

When the first test finished, Neris opened her eyes and looked calm, but satisfied.

"It fits," she said.

"How much better?" Aurelian asked.

"Much better than I was expecting," she replied. "I can keep pace much better now. Not like Lysara or Rhoswen when they push, but for what I need, it’s more than enough."

That was all he needed to hear.

Rhoswen looked at her. "So you’re faster now."

"A little."

"You don’t sound excited."

Neris thought for a moment. "I am, but the way I express it might not be similar to how you do."

Rhoswen stared at her for a second, then gave up.

While the rest of the team continued to secure and organize the artifacts, Eirenne spent time with the shipgirls.

At first, she just watched.

Then she started asking questions.

Mainly about how they came to know the commander?

What they did before, and if they liked their new self, and how was this new place compared to what they lived in before?

Simple questions at first.