Aurelian did not let the excitement around Auric Maw turn into action too quickly.
The damaged probe had returned with enough data to interest everyone, but not enough to make anyone safe.
Five stars, heavy energy clouds, dense beast signatures, possible planets, and a storm corridor that had destroyed most of the probes sent through it.
That was not a hunting ground yet. It was a warning wrapped around an opportunity.
So he called a combat meeting instead of giving a movement order.
The meeting took place on the Black Crown, with the main shipgirls joining through the secure fleet channel while Meridian and Neris reported from Glasswake Forward Site One.
The reconstructed image of Auric Maw hung above the table, flickering slightly where the probe data had been damaged, and the longer Aurelian looked at it, the more certain he became that rushing in would be foolish.
"This system may become one of March’s most valuable discoveries," he said. "But for now, we treat it as unknown hostile space. No crewed ships enter the Ashring Drift until we have a stable route and more probe data."
Rhoswen looked at the projection with visible effort, as if she were physically holding herself back from saying the first thing that came to mind.
Astra noticed. "You may speak."
Rhoswen exhaled. "I hate that I agree."
"That is growth," Astra said.
"It feels terrible."
Aurelian smiled faintly, then moved the display away from Auric Maw and back toward the known regions around Glasswake.
"That does not mean we stop. It means we train here first. The local beast populations are enough for controlled hunts, and we can prepare the fleet for deeper nebula combat without risking everyone in the Drift."
Eirenne shifted the map and highlighted three nearby habitats. "The glass serpents remain near the third debris belt. The shell-backed feeders are clustered around the warm dust current. A third group has appeared along the inner shadow lane. Their signatures are larger and more aggressive."
Rhoswen immediately leaned closer. "Aggressive how?"
"Fast movement, direct pursuit behavior, and repeated attacks on survey drones. Their body shape appears similar to the crimson cephalopod-class beasts recorded during earlier Vhaloric surveys, though these are adapted to Mournveil’s crystal-dust environment."
Meridian made a displeased sound. "I dislike anything with tentacles near my outpost."
Neris said sleepily, "Everyone does."
"Not everyone," Rhoswen muttered.
Astra looked at her.
Rhoswen corrected herself. "In a controlled combat context."
Aurelian ignored the exchange and focused on the tactical readings. The creatures Eirenne marked were larger than the glass serpents and more dangerous than the shell-backed feeders.
Most of the adult signatures sat around high Tier III, with several reaching Tier IV. One or two might be stronger, though the nebula interference made it hard to confirm.
They were close enough to Glasswake to become a problem later, but far enough that the outpost remained safe for now.
That made them a useful target.
Still, the fleet needed to adjust before hunting them.
Recent battles against Kharov fleets had involved shields, armor, missiles, kinetic fire, and electronic warfare.
Hunting space beasts inside Mournveil was different. Most space beasts did not rely on shields, and many closed the distance faster than ordinary warships.
Ammunition-heavy loadouts would become wasteful during long hunts, especially if the goal was experience and materials rather than a single decisive battle.
Beam weapons, laser arrays, drones, and controlled formation fire would matter more.
Aurelian had been thinking in terms of fleets and logistics for so long that he almost overlooked something basic.
Shipgirls were not conventional starships.
Their ship equipment could be adjusted far faster than a normal vessel could be refitted, especially when the change did not involve full structural reconstruction. Aurelian remembered this only after Solenne raised it calmly during the meeting.
"Commander, if this operation is meant to become a repeated hunting cycle, some of us should alter our equipment profiles. There is no reason to burn through heavy missiles and kinetic loads against unshielded beasts unless the target is heavily armored."
Aurelian paused.
Then he let out a quiet breath. "You are right."
Rhoswen blinked. "Wait. We can change loadouts?"
Astra looked at her. "Yes."
"I knew that."
"You forgot."
"I remembered eventually."
"You had not remembered yet."
Rhoswen frowned but had no useful answer.
Aurelian reviewed the fleet’s current equipment profiles. Astra’s Black Crown had no need for major changes, since her command support and heavy beam systems were already suitable for most conditions.
Rhoswen, however, could reduce the use of some close-range explosive munitions and increase sustained energy output for repeated engagements.
Solenne would focus on drone and fighter patterns rather than heavy strike packages. Lysara’s precision laser systems were already ideal.
The escorts could shift ammunition distribution toward energy cells and beam-linked capacitor packs where possible.
Meridian could handle the changes at Glasswake.
She complained before agreeing, which meant she was already planning how to do it.
"This will take several hours," she said. "Maybe longer if people keep asking if I am done."
Rhoswen opened her mouth.
Aurelian said, "Do not."
She closed it.
The refit cycle began immediately. Shipgirls shifted parts of their equipment profiles, withdrew certain modules, loaded alternate systems, and stored what was not needed for later.
Aurelian made sure every shipgirl had access to enough source fragments, spare weapon components, and emergency replacement parts to adjust again if the situation changed.
He also made a new rule.
Every shipgirl would maintain at least one alternate equipment profile suited for long-duration hunting, one for fleet warfare, and one for emergency defense.
They would not always have time to return to a proper dock, and Aurelian did not want to be the only point of distribution whenever circumstances changed.
Neris supported the idea immediately, mostly because it reduced the chance of commanders shouting for supplies at the worst possible time.
"Prepared people ask for less in bad moments," she said.
Astercourt, joining briefly through a delayed channel from Nhalis, added, "Please write that down and force everyone to sign it."
Aurelian did not ask how she had found time to join the channel.
She probably had alarms set for the phrase "new rule."
By the time the equipment changes were finished, the fleet looked slightly different on the tactical display.
Not weaker per se, but more adjusted, with more sustained fire. Fewer wasteful heavy salvos. Better drone coverage. More flexibility for long engagements.
The hunt did not begin immediately after that.
Aurelian wanted a plan, and this time, the plan was not to push into the beasts’ territory and start a fight.