So he kept going without complaint.

Piece by piece, the line settled, each step following the last without pause, the process becoming clearer as it moved forward.

The first keel frame for an engineering vessel was lowered into place under the guidance of cranes, its support brackets locking in one after another until the skeleton held firm beneath the dock lights.

Once that stage was complete, the rest of the work became more repetitive, and the machines handled it well once they had been put on the correct path, following instructions without drift.

Aurelian stood with his hands resting lightly on the control rail, watching the initial assembly sequence begin, not moving away yet.

As he watched, he felt as if he could see the progress that they were making, even though it was not much.

But compared to others his age, it is pretty far ahead, as he decided to do something out of the ordinary in his first year as a commander.

Astra, who came next to him at some point, told him the estimated launch times.

"At current throughput, first launch readiness is projected in twenty-one standard days. This can be reduced if additional awakened labor or shipborne oversight is assigned."

Aurelian frowned slightly.

"Not fast enough."

"It is the optimal outcome under present staffing."

He already knew that, but hearing it said aloud did not make it less irritating. The number stayed the same either way.

There was enough room in the dock for multiple hulls to be started in parallel, and once the system was fully stable, he intended to do exactly that, without hesitation.

Materials were not the immediate issue. Equipment was not the immediate issue either. The real shortage was capable oversight.

Too many tasks still required awakened judgment, not because every step was complicated, but because these people are able to work at a level where they can keep problems low compared to normal beings.

A missed alignment here.

A delay in recalibration there. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

A minor deviation that could make a normal person confused and need to file a report can be avoided.

Which brought his thoughts back, inevitably, to the bastion’s awakened population.

Seris and Meren should have started speaking with their people by now. He did not expect final answers from all of them immediately, but he hoped there would be some change.

Awakened units tended to adapt quickly once they understood the structure in front of them, and he had given them enough honesty that they would know what was being offered without needing to guess.

If even part of that population came over and accepted work, it would change the speed of everything, not just here but across all active projects.

He looked across the production line again, at the orderly motion that was still too slow for his liking, and shook his head once, a small, controlled motion.

The ordinary robots could do a lot, but not enough on their own.

They followed instructions well.

They did not question.

They did not adjust unless told to.

And that was the limit.

In the end, shipbuilding, rebuilding, and expansion still depended on people who could think, adjust, and take responsibility so that you would not have to worry about it and could take care of other responsibilities.

He watched as the next layer of structural plating was guided into place, clamps locking, weld lines forming in straight, precise paths.

The work was clean, almost perfect, but it still lacked the final layer of awareness that comes from someone watching over it as a job rather than a command.

That gap was what slowed everything down, but it is still better than before.

Lysara eventually returned near the end, carrying a drink she had apparently taken from somewhere nearby and looking much more rested than she had any right to, as if she had simply stepped out of the strain without paying for it.

"Still doing it properly?" she asked.

Aurelian gave her a flat look. "Yes."

"That sounds miserable."

"It would be more miserable to do it badly."

She smiled at that, because she knew he meant it, and because there was no point arguing with something that direct.

He gave the production line one final review, checking the supervisory chain Astra had assembled around it, following the command links from top to bottom.

Each section had a responsible node. Each node had a defined role. It was not perfect, but it was stable enough to run without him watching every second.

That alone changes things, as there are fewer things others have to check.

He checked the timing intervals one more time.

Checked the fallback routines.

Checked the correction triggers.

Only then did he step back from the console.

For now, it would hold.

That was enough.

As they left the yard, the progress of the shipbuilding did not stop, as most of the sensitive needs would be taken care of either by the ship girls or the people of Haven, as he had done everything he needed to.

But he knew that a stronger fleet meant nothing if it could not be maintained; more ships meant nothing if they could not be supplied; expansion meant nothing if it could not be constantly supplied while on missions.

He understood that clearly now, more than before.

The hidden Waywarden in the bastion was still there, waiting for the right moment, and when that moment came, he intended to make full use of it, not as a last option but as part of a wider structure.

But before a stronger fleet could mean anything, he needed the foundation that he could use to challenge the enemies that were eyeing the small part of the universe he could call his own.

And to make sure that he can do that, he needs to build, build more, and build enough so that he can take on anyone who sets their sights on his territory.

But that is all for the future for him. Right now, he is in a spot where he can take care of the major fleets on the enemy’s side, but not in large numbers, which limits his options and needs to be solved.