Chapter 183: Return Back Without Any Incidents

The return-from-the-dead system went smoothly.

There were no sudden contacts, no strange signals, and no more natural disasters waiting along the route.

The four Thornwake cruisers were damaged, but their engines were not poor. Even Maelis, who needed the most support, could still keep up once Meridian and Neris locked the movement pattern into place.

Because of that, the trip back took less time than Aurelian had expected.

In fact, they returned before Lysara did.

That was not strange. Lysara was not simply flying through Mournveil in a straight line.

She had to stop at each system, scan it thoroughly, check for hidden dangers, mark routes, and ensure the path could be used by a larger force later.

That sort of work always took longer than a simple return trip.

Still, having the Thornwake line back before her was useful.

It meant the repairs could begin early.

When the recovery group reached Helion Bastion Twelve, the receiving platforms were already prepared.

Eirenne had arranged most of it before they arrived, while Astercourt handled the broader schedule from Haven and made sure none of the work collided with the ongoing war preparations.

Seris and Meren were there to receive them, along with numerous awakened technical units and repair drones.

The sight of the four Thornwake cruisers entering the bastion’s controlled space drew a quiet reaction from the workers there.

No one cheered. No one made a scene. But the attention was clear. Four old prototype cruisers had been pulled out of a dead system, restored enough to move, and brought back alive.

That was not a small thing.

Meridian gave her report the moment docking began.

"All four are stable enough for transit and short-term movement," she said. "None should be deployed before overhaul. Selvarin and Veylora are in the best condition. Liora needs internal systems tuning. Maelis needs full structural work before I would trust her under pressure."

Maelis, who heard that through the shared channel, did not argue.

"I understand," she said quietly.

Aurelian looked toward the dock feed, which showed her damaged hull being guided into position.

"You will recover first," he said. "There is no need to rush into use just because you are awake."

That answer seemed to settle her.

Veylora gave a formal acknowledgment.

Selvarin simply nodded.

Liora stayed close to her sisters and looked around the bastion with quiet curiosity, as if she still had not fully accepted that the grave she had woken from was already behind her.

Once the docking process was complete, the real work began.

Eirenne took charge of the maintenance schedule, but she did not push Meridian aside. That was something Aurelian noticed immediately and appreciated.

She understood that Meridian had already done the hands-on recovery work and knew the condition of the four cruisers better than anyone else.

Instead of replacing her, Eirenne supported her, arranging power, repair-bay priority, material flow, and drone timing so Meridian could focus on the parts that actually required judgment.

That was exactly what Aurelian wanted from her.

No arguments or confusion about what needs to be done.

Clear roles.

The main repair bay was assigned to the Thornwake line for the next stage. Their full overhaul would take time, but the bastion had better equipment, more power, and much more space than the dead field.

Even the cramped internal layout of the Thornwake cruisers could be addressed properly now, at least in small ways.

Eirenne reviewed the class again after connecting to the bastion’s deeper systems.

"These ships were pushed too hard for their size," she said. "Their concept is good, but the original designers tried to fit too much into them before the hull class was ready for it."

Meridian looked up from the repair plan. "That is what I said."

"Yes," Eirenne replied. "You were correct."

Eirenne continued, highlighting several armor zones on the projection.

"Their weakest issue is protection. The weapon mix is strong. Their engines are above normal for their grade. Their flexibility is useful. But too much space was sacrificed. I can improve armor distribution during overhaul, though not enough to make them into true heavy-line ships."

Aurelian nodded. "Do what can be done without ruining their balance. Long-term, I want them to develop toward the Waywarden path."

Eirenne’s projection turned toward him.

"That is sensible. The Waywarden class is the mature version of this idea. These four will never become identical to it without rebuilding them almost from the core, but they can be guided in that direction."

Veylora, listening from the repair bay channel, spoke with calm interest. "Then we are not being restored as we were."

"No," Aurelian said. "You are being upgraded based on what you were built to be in the first place."

There was a brief silence as they didn’t expect that response.

Then Veylora replied, "Thank you."

Selvarin agreed as she also thanked her.

Liora said nothing, but her agreement was obvious.

Maelis was quiet for longer, then said softly, "Then please make us stronger."

Meridian answered before Aurelian could.

"That is the plan."

The matter was settled.

With the Thornwake line safely inside the bastion, Aurelian finally turned to the rest of the fleet.

The haul from Halcyon Vault had changed the loadout options, and there was no reason to delay the changes if the raid was still waiting on Lysara’s final route report.

Every shipgirl who could benefit from the available blue-grade equipment was called in batches, not all at once, because Astercourt refused to let the repair schedule turn into a crowd.

Neris had already received her engine.

That had been the priority.

After that, other equipment was sorted carefully.

Solenne received several auxiliary support upgrades that improved carrier coordination and fighter recovery efficiency, rather than trying to turn her into something she was not.

Rhoswen argued for more armor, then more weapon output, then both, and was finally given a controlled durability enhancement that suited her actual combat style without encouraging her to become even more reckless.

She still looked pleased, so Aurelian considered it a success.