After reviewing and approving the Eternal Snowfall's retrofit plan, Setsuna brought up another matter to Grey and the research lolis.
"There are four Fortress Princesses here. They need interstellar upgrades too—design a plan for them."
"Hmm?"
The Northern family walked in.
Three of the older Fortress Princesses held Northern-chan's hand, curiously observing the surroundings.
"They're Abyssal Princesses, a bit different from shipgirls. See what kind of upgrade fits them best."
Setsuna ruffled Northern-chan's hair.
"HO~"
Grey crouched down, examining Northern Princess.
Northern-chan looked very small—even smaller than the research lolis roaming the Starbase.
But inside her tiny frame lay immense power.
In the Kantai Collection world, Northern-chan could make the native shipgirls cry for their mothers.
It was just that Fortress Princesses tended to be reclusive—they didn't like wandering around the sea like the other Abyssals.
Otherwise, if Northern-chan called in her three older sisters, they might have flattened the Naval Base.
"Let me see your true forms, okay?"
Grey considered for a moment.
"Okay."
The Northern family looked toward Setsuna. After he nodded, they agreed as well.
The group stepped outside the Starbase.
Shua—
Northern Princess raised her hand.
The black rigging behind her began to transform and extend.
It assembled midair and shifted—projecting a small naval base into the starry sky.
Northern-chan's true body was Dutch Harbor.
After being tainted by Abyssal power, the all-black, eerily shaped structures no longer resembled their original port layouts.
From the airport, control tower, and ground-based defenses, one could still faintly discern hints of their origin.
Her three elder sisters followed suit.
Harbor Princess's true form was much larger than Northern Princess's.
Her original model was Darwin Port in Australia—a key strategic hub for Eagle Union in the Pacific, covering over 100 square kilometers.
Even larger than the current Eternal Snowfall.
—Considering Abyssal Princesses are essentially WWII natives, this was already an astonishing scale.
Airfield Princess's body was Henderson Field on Solomon Island—a Fortress Princess specialized in aerial combat, her carrier-based aircraft far outnumbered the others.
Central Princess's true form was the famous Midway military base—smaller in area, but packed with a remarkable amount of military equipment.
All four Fortress Princesses projected their true bodies simultaneously, stunning the shipgirls, Grey, and the research lolis.
"It's one thing to anthropomorphize warships... but even naval ports?! Incredible..."
"Are we going to run into planet-girls someday...?"
Grey and the research lolis boarded the Fortress Princesses' bodies to conduct field inspections.
They knocked, observed, and recorded various parameters.
The Abyssals' power system was entirely different from shipgirls and Sirens—they were born from the ocean and drew their power from it.
Having left the sea, the Fortress Princesses felt slightly uncomfortable.
Their feet were dangling in empty space.
After a long observation, Grey and the lolis returned to the original spot and brought up a pile of holographic interfaces.
Sitting cross-legged, she began scribbling calculations.
"Hmm..."
"Since they're Fortress Princesses, their interstellar upgrades should still focus on their original traits."
"We can retrofit them into starports—installing ground-based cannons, energy shields, aviation bases, and small starship assembly docks."
"They'll accompany the fleet in peacetime. In battle, a single Fortress Princess could suppress an entire star system. They could also build and repair starships—essentially mobile starbases."
Kayo Senju selected a few starport holograms and proposed a general plan.
The biggest advantage of Fortress Princesses was their capacity to carry an enormous number of ground-based weapons—and their extreme durability.
In space, it was like the difference between a starbase and a starship.
For armed modules, there was no need to worry about size constraints.
Make the caliber as large as you want, load as many carrier-based aircraft as you can.
Inside a Fortress Princess's dock, building Titans or Colossus was out of the question—but producing frigates and destroyers was certainly feasible.
"Shields! I want that!"
Northern-chan raised her hand and bounced excitedly.
She remembered that when she fought the starship shipgirls, all her attacks hit the Klein Field.
She hadn't even touched the shipgirl's hull.
Whether or not you had a shield was a huge difference for a starship.
"You'll get them, all of them will be installed for you."
Setsuna patted Northern-chan's head.
"Turning Fortress Princesses into mobile starbases?! That sounds like MCV base trucks..."
Richelieu was a bit surprised.
She imagined that after reaching a strange star system, Setsuna would just toss Northern-chan out of the Eternal Snowfall.
In space, she would unfold her rigging with a clank, transforming into an Allied construction yard—no, a Starsea Empire starbase.
And a heavily armed one at that, no construction time required.
When not needed, she could be packed up and carried away.
Totally flashy and cool.
In space warfare, they could even drop several Fortress Princesses right in the enemy's face.
Assuming equivalent tech levels—who could withstand four starbases' worth of firepower?!
"Uh... Fortress Princesses do have a drawback. Their mobility is poor. They can't be fitted with the same propulsion systems as starships."
"When deploying, the Commander will have to bring them along and release them once battle starts."
"Normally... they just walk on foot?"
Grey pondered aloud.
She'd never heard of a naval base launching engines and moving itself across sea or space.
"I can!"
Northern-chan looked over adorably and waved.
Vmmm—
A small aircraft launched.
Northern Princess retracted her rigging, jumped onto the plane, and whoosh, shot into the air.
She circled above everyone's heads again and again.
Her aircraft was larger than miniaturized rigging planes, but smaller than conventional aircraft.
Just the right size to ride on its fuselage.
"?"
"What is that?!"
The shipgirls and research lolis all stared in shock.
"Airborne Fortress Princess? So that's how Northern-chan moves around?!"
"..."
Grey now had a new understanding of Abyssal Princesses' miracle feats.
"Can you ride your own aircraft?"
Seeing Northern Princess having so much fun, Setsuna curiously looked at Taihou, Shoukaku, Chen Hai, and the others.
"???"
"Carrier-riding carrier?"
"Commander, are you asking us to perform circus tricks?!"
...
Inside the Starbase, the Starsea Empire had launched the largest construction project in its history.
The hundreds of shipgirls brought from the Kancolle Collection world were all gathered here, queuing up for starship conversion.
On one side of the space dock, hundreds of in-progress warships were under construction.
From carriers, battleships, cruisers, to destroyers—every class was represented.
They were held in place by force fields, each vessel swarmed with countless Bulins and Angeloids wielding all kinds of tools to work on the hulls.
Only in the boundless environment of space could so many starships be refitted simultaneously.
A bit farther away, over 300,000 Specialized Bulins were assembling the keel of the Eternal Snowfall inside the dock.
The former 10-kilometer-long battleship had been completely dismantled, with only the Wisdom Cube core section preserved.
In the Juggernaut-class starship design, the old Eternal Snowfall wouldn't even feel out of place as a carrier-based craft.
A colossal vessel 3,600 kilometers wide—larger even than the Starbase itself.
Its framework stretched so far across space that the end couldn't be seen, extending from one end of the dock into the distant stars.
At intervals along the structure, Bulin teams could be seen hammering and welding.
Transport fleets came and went at regular intervals around the dock, loaded with various alloys and rare metals.
Earth's factories were running at full capacity, converting resources from other worlds into semi-finished materials and shipping them to the Starbase.
Hundreds of Bulin cargo ships offloaded their cargo, which was consumed in mere hours—only for the next fleet to dock like a relay race, prompting the Angeloids to unload again.
"Whoa... Should I say, as expected of the Admiral?"
By the docks, native shipgirls from the Kancolle world huddled together, chattering in awe.
They had originally come to watch their own ship hulls being refitted.
Witnessing their old WWII-era hulls, once only a few hundred meters long, being extended into starships several kilometers—or even tens of kilometers—was truly exhilarating.
Finally, the native shipgirls had a chance to step into space.
But seeing the other side, where the Eternal Snowfall was being reconstructed—every single one of them deeply felt like a mere speck.
The flagship of the Naval Base, Yamato's new hull, was a little over 30 kilometers long—roughly the size of one axial cannon on the Juggernaut's wing.
"A flagship should look like a flagship."
"For an interstellar empire, a revamped Eternal Snowfall like this couldn't be more appropriate."
Yamato accepted the vast difference between herself and the Admiral with grace.
Here, she wasn't some great flagship—just a squad leader of a team of shipgirls under the Commander.
"A starship over 3,000 kilometers long... it could probably fit all of us inside, poi~?"
"I heard the Juggernaut even has starship construction and repair capability, poi? It feels really secure going into battle with the Commander, poi!"
Yuudachi puffed her cheeks, staring at the still-under-construction behemoth.
Even though it had only completed the keel and not even its full frame, just imagining setting out under the protection of the Eternal Snowfall was enough to get the blood pumping.
"Such a massive hull... as expected of the Admiral..."
Shoukaku looked at the ship-in-progress with growing admiration.
If their own hulls were scaled to this size, they probably wouldn't even be able to walk.
Only two Wisdom Cube cores could power such a titan.
"Well, it's true—men like things big. Totally normal."
"The Commander's new ship is certainly massive... but I wonder if the rest of him is just as grand as the Eternal Snowfall?"
Gudako chimed in at just the right moment with a lewd joke—earning a round of side-eyes from the native shipgirls.
"???"
Several shipgirls who instantly got the implication blushed bright red.
"Don't say that about the Admiral..."
"I'm just curious, okay? We're all girls here—just mentally preparing for the future."
"Don't tell me none of you ever thought about it?"
Gudako leaned in.
The pure-hearted shipgirls were no match for her cunning. A few words and they were all caught in her snare.
"Eh? Mental preparation? That… kind of makes sense..."
Yamato and Akagi tried to maintain their ladylike demeanor, but couldn't suppress their curiosity.
"C'mon, spill a little. You know the Commander best."
Gudako nudged Shoukaku.
The other shipgirls all turned their eyes on her.
"Eh? Me?"
"I don't think that's a good idea?!"
Shoukaku blushed instantly, flustered as she was surrounded.
The shipgirls were both shy and intrigued by the topic.
After all, Shoukaku was the only oath-bound shipgirl in the base. They couldn't exactly go asking the Azure Lane girls about this stuff.
"Just tell us. If it's too embarrassing, you can just use gestures."
Gudako coaxed gently.
She was genuinely curious how Setsuna managed so many oath-bound shipgirls so flawlessly—it must mean he had some solid credentials.
"Uh..."
Shoukaku hesitated, raised her hand to demonstrate—but got shy midway.
In the end, she bit her lip and traced a line through the air near her stomach.
"About... here."
"Whoa—!!!"
Several carrier shipgirls let out gasps of awe, even Implacable, who was passing by, widened her eyes.
As if they'd just heard some shocking revelation.
This was a little bit of girl gossip about their beloved Commander.
"No wonder..."
Gudako was stunned too.
She immediately began measuring herself for comparison.
Then suddenly, everyone thought of a not-so-small issue.
Among the oath-bound shipgirls was one petite loli battleship.
"If the carrier girls are already like that... then what about Nagato?!..."
...
Elsewhere—
While the Bulins and Angeloids were upgrading his ship body,
Setsuna was experiencing what women must go through every month—no, every time they undergo modification.
His power came from his rigging and Wisdom Cubes. With his ship body completely dismantled, he couldn't use his rigging at all.
His weapon and propulsion systems had been totally stripped down—his strength naturally took a hit.
And this time, the refit project was unprecedented in scale—it wouldn't be completed anytime soon.
Thankfully, he still had his second form, the Gundam, available.
Combined with the dual Cube boost, he wouldn't be too weak.
"Tch—well, this part of the galaxy has no enemies. Worst case, I'll just host parties for a few months until the refit's done."
Inside the main starbase structure, Setsuna leaned back in his chair, sipping tea.
The benefit of having a peaceful rear world was exactly this:
No one would show up looking to start trouble while he was temporarily weakened.
Then suddenly, he slapped his forehead—realizing something awkward.
"Wait... I can't host parties?!"
"The Eternal Snowfall is under renovation?!"
Technically, any of his ship bodies could use the time-warping feature to start a party—even the Gundam form.
But the ∀'s interior space was far too cramped.
With shipgirls, Spirits, Heroic Spirits, and more—over a dozen people couldn't possibly fit.
Just the thought of not being able to fire up the Eternal Silver Partyship left him despondent. sadge.jpg
"Commander, should I say... only you would think of something like that the moment you start a refit?"
Richelieu pinched his cheek, both annoyed and amused.
"Lewdness is a Commander's number one motivation."
Setsuna replied earnestly.
You had to pursue tech, development—and lewdness—for a healthy balance.
A qualified Commander develops in all areas.
"Alright, alright, whatever you say—"
Richelieu seemed to appreciate his honesty a little.
"But during your refit, you better be careful about going out at night. Try not to go alone."
"???"
"Why?!"
Setsuna was full of question marks.
"This world doesn't have aliens. Besides shipgirls, there are only Spirits, dragon girls, Heroic Spirits, and lolis. Are you worried an enemy might teleport in and kidnap me?"
"Relax. We haven't detected any alien civilizations within thousands of light-years. Even if they existed, we could handle it."
There were plenty of strong people in the base besides himself—several dragon girls, Spirits, and the newly arrived Grey.
Setsuna felt there were no safety issues at all.
"No, I'm worried about our own people."
Richelieu spoke plainly.
"Akagi, Roon—they've been muttering about monopolizing the Commander. Stuff like tying you up in some isolated corner and consummating things in secret..."
"I'm afraid they might take advantage of your current state to hatch some dangerous plans..."
"?!"
Setsuna was momentarily speechless.
"So I actually need to worry about being kidnapped and force-heh-heh-hehed by my own people?! Battle royale?!"
...
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