Aurelian didn’t know yet how things would look on Solenne’s side when the last transport finally left that Kharov-controlled world.

Right now, his focus had already shifted.

Something new had come up, and it mattered more in this moment.

The Destiny System had updated again.

That meant new clues.

He went through them the way he always did, alone and without rushing. The faint system screen hovered in front of him just long enough for him to read everything once, then again more carefully. Most of the clues were useful, but not urgent. The kind of information that would matter later, not right now.

There were notes about resources.

Possible travel routes.

A few hints about old ruins or hidden places he might want to check one day if he had the time.

All of that was good to have.

None of it forced him to act.

But one clue stood out right away.

It was marked blue.

That already made it important.

Blue clue: In nine days, a highly aggressive pack migration of Voidshade Fenrir will pass through the twin-star pocket inside the Mournveil Nebula.

He read it again, slower this time.

Then he opened the location data attached to it.

The Mournveil Nebula wasn’t far.

In fact, it was closer than he expected.

It sat in the opposite direction of the main Kharov pressure, about four light-years away. Not exactly next door, but still close enough to matter.

The nebula itself had been easy to ignore before. It was covered in dust and strange spatial interference that made scans less clear. There hadn’t been a reason to look too closely at it.

Until now.

The extra data filled in the details.

Inside the nebula, there were two dim stars, close together, and a scattered field of broken rocks and debris. That was where the Fenrir pack would pass through during their migration.

That alone would have been enough to catch his attention.

But the creatures themselves were the real reason this mattered.

Voidshade Fenrir were dangerous, but not out of control.

They moved fast.

They hunted in groups.

And most of them, once fully grown, sat around third-tier strength. Only a few older leaders pushed beyond that.

That made them a problem for weaker forces.

But not for him.

Not if he handled it properly.

Against a convoy or an unprepared patrol, they would tear things apart.

Against a proper shipgirl fleet, they were something else entirely.

Manageable.

More than that, they were what he needed right now.

This is because there would be a lot of them.

That meant real combat.

Real practice.

And if things were done cleanly, there would be materials to collect afterward.

It was, in simple terms, a very good opportunity.

A chance to sharpen his fleet without stepping into something too dangerous.

No direct Kharov response.

No large-scale risk.

Just controlled combat, on his terms.

That kind of chance didn’t come often.

The problem was the timing.

Aurelian leaned back slightly and let the system screen fade away.

He already knew the situation.

Solenne was still out handling the extraction.

Elowen was tied down on the surface, dealing with recovery work and growth systems.

Astercourt was busy stabilizing operations between Haven and Helion Bastion Twelve. That flow was still new and needed attention.

Neris was better used where she was, handling supply and logistics. Pulling her away just to add numbers to a hunt didn’t make sense.

That left only three real combat options.

Astra.

Lysara.

Rhoswen.

Three.

That was it.

If he took all three away from the system for a hunt, even a short one, Larkspur Haven would be left too open.

And right now, that wasn’t something he could accept.

The bastion link was still new.

The intake planning was still settling.

Reconstruction wasn’t stable yet.

Too many things were still in motion.

Pulling all his combat strength away, even for a good opportunity, would be a mistake. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

He wasn’t going to do that.

No matter how tempting the clue was.

He rested his hand lightly against his mouth for a moment, thinking.

Then he looked again at the route estimate Astra had already prepared.

That was the second issue.

Distance.

Four light-years wasn’t far, not out here.

But "not far" didn’t mean quick.

Not when you had to go there and come back.

If something went wrong at Haven while he was gone, the travel time would leave a gap.

A gap he couldn’t close quickly enough.

That was the real problem.

Not the hunt itself.

The delay.

The time he wouldn’t be here.

His eyes drifted across the table in front of him, moving over reports, notes, and recovered data.

Then they stopped.

One of the files stood out.

It was something he had picked up earlier from Helion Bastion Twelve.

At the time, it hadn’t been a priority.

Now, it was.

He opened it again.

The file described an engine system.

It was a high-output pursuit-engine package used by the Vhaloric Directorate on certain warships. Fast response ships.

It wasn’t meant to rebuild a fleet.

It was meant to improve what was already there.

If the data was correct, installing it would improve speed.

Not just in a straight line, but in short bursts.

Faster response.

Better repositioning.

Less wasted time during movement.

Exactly what he needed.

Aurelian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he read through it again.

"That would solve it," he said quietly.

Of course, there was still a problem.

Compatibility.

Not every system worked with every ship.

If it didn’t fit, then it didn’t matter how useful it looked on paper.

He stood up, gathered the files, and called for Lysara and Rhoswen.

They arrived not long after.

From different directions.

Lysara came in calm and composed, curious why her commander had called her.

Rhoswen came in with more energy, like she had been in the middle of something active and didn’t like being interrupted.

"You called?" Rhoswen said.

Aurelian nodded and brought the files up on the central display so both of them could see.

"I found something worth looking at," he said. "I was thinking of seeing the nearby systems to see if we can find ways to level up, so I was thinking of using the special engine to see if we can do it without wasting too much time traveling."

Rhoswen’s reaction was immediate.

"A hunt."

"Yes."