Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

Morning.

The Eternal Snowfall floated silently in the starry void.

Ever since the ship’s refit was completed, Setsuna often enjoyed piloting his vessel beyond Earth’s orbit, gazing at the vast expanse of stars.

Although faster-than-light travel remained out of reach and flight speed and range were limited, being in the cosmic expanse offered an entirely different sense of freedom.

In the bedroom on the ship’s bridge.

Richelieu lazily sat up in bed, extending her fair arm to brush aside her golden locks.

She glanced at the clothes scattered on the floor and shook her head.

Poking the still-sleeping Taihou beside her, Taihou mumbled, ”Commander, let Taihou sleep a little longer…”

”You’re one to talk about yesterday…”

Taihou buried her face in the pillow, grumbling and whining like a child.

”The Commander is in the control room, stop being lazy!”

It wasn’t until Richelieu made a move to lift the covers that Taihou finally groggily sat up, her eyes half-closed.

”Aren’t you tired?” she asked, tilting her head at Richelieu.

Since Setsuna had acquired two Wisdom Cubes and integrated with the Eternal Snowfall, Taihou had begun to feel immense pressure.

Previously, she had always held the upper hand, and teaming up with Richelieu often forced the Commander to ”surrender” multiple times.

But now, the dynamic had suddenly reversed.

”Not everyone is as unreliable as you,” Richelieu retorted, though she couldn’t stop herself from slumping into a chair as she dressed, her legs feeling weak and sore, with a lingering ache between her thighs.

Two Wisdom Cubes within a single human body weren’t simply a matter of doubling power.

Strength, speed, and endurance had multiplied exponentially.

Both Richelieu and Taihou could personally attest to that.

”Whew, I heard from Purifier that if the Commander’s body grows even stronger, he might eventually be able to accommodate three, maybe more, Wisdom Cubes…”

Taihou mused for a moment.

”If that happens, won’t he have even more transformation modes? Maybe even something like a star fortress?”

Given the exceptional compatibility between Wisdom Cubes and most mechanical constructs, the two felt it was entirely possible that Setsuna’s future transformations wouldn’t be limited to just a starship.

”Hmm…”

”While I think the Commander getting stronger is a good thing, I’m starting to feel like I can’t keep up.”

Richelieu sighed wistfully.

”...”

Having shared many close experiences, the two were unreserved in their conversations.

Taihou and Richelieu exchanged a glance.

For the first time, they both found themselves entertaining the peculiar thought that perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to have a few more sisters join them.

...

In the control room, Setsuna gazed out at the distant stars, using his thoughts to control the starship as it accelerated, decelerated, cruised, and performed short-range maneuvers.

Becoming a Shipgirl—no, a Shipdad—for the first time, he was diligently adapting to his new vessel.

The refitted Eternal Snowfall was magnitudes larger than the Strike Freedom, with a complexity that far surpassed the original cruiser.

Even operating it solely through mental control presented significant challenges.

Basic movements like advancing, retreating, and accelerating with the thrusters were straightforward, but the overwhelming number of weapon systems onboard was dizzying even at a glance.

Fortunately, he had the shipgirls to guide him.

”Commander, don’t let all the random systems on the starship distract you. Focus only on the big picture,” said Richelieu as she arrived with Taihou and Yat Sen, all now fully dressed and composed.

Richelieu taught him battleship combat tactics, Taihou covered carrier-based aircraft operations, and Yat Sen handled other weaponry.

The three oath-bound shipgirls perfectly complemented all his needs.

”Using the main cannon for long-range combat is relatively simple. Just lock onto the target with your mind and select the desired weapon module,” Richelieu explained.

”When engaging broadside, you can activate additional turrets to increase firepower output, but doing so also raises the risk of exposure to enemy attacks. You’ll need to balance these factors during combat.”

Richelieu guided him step by step through the fundamentals of battleship warfare.

Setsuna locked onto several asteroids drifting in space with his thoughts.

Hum—BOOM!!!

The axial main cannon fired suddenly, obliterating a several-hundred-meter-wide asteroid into fragments.

The immense recoil caused the Eternal Snowfall to lurch backward slightly.

”Not every attack needs to be at full power, Commander. We can use the power of the Wisdom Cubes to adjust the attack’s intensity,” Richelieu reminded him.

”Oh…”

Under her guidance, Setsuna gradually familiarized himself with the techniques of bombarding enemies from extreme distances.

With the dual Wisdom Cubes augmenting him, his mental capacity was incredibly strong, allowing for locking onto targets with exceptional speed and accuracy—much to the astonishment of the Iris Libre flagship.

The same weapon, the same model, the same caliber—when mounted on the Eternal Snowfall and operated by Setsuna, was simply more powerful than when wielded by other shipgirls.

”Commander, you should’ve turned into a Shipgirl earlier. What’s the point of piloting Gundams…”

”Even setting aside your identity, purely from a strength perspective, you’re qualified to be the fleet’s supreme flagship.”

Richelieu was amazed at his rapid progress.

”Next lesson.”

After completing the battleship module, it was time for Taihou’s carrier operations.

The Eternal Snowfall was not only equipped with an absurdly large main cannon but also carried over three hundred spaceborne fighter jets.

”Commander-sama, controlling carrier-based aircraft is quite a complex task.”

Taihou leaned close to Setsuna, holding his hand while whispering softly into his ear.

”But Taihou will do her best to teach you~~”

Having grown accustomed to the nature of this Sakura Empire carrier, Setsuna wasn’t easily distracted.

Following Taihou’s instructions, he opened the hangar and launched the aircraft.

Black and red fighters swarmed into space like a cloud of bees.

”Generally speaking, the precision of aircraft control determines a carrier shipgirl’s combat effectiveness,” Taihou explained earnestly, introducing the nuances of how carrier shipgirls operate.

”Under the same equipment conditions, the one who can control their aircraft with the highest precision will be the strongest in combat.”

Her aircraft, like those of all carrier shipgirls, were controlled through mental connection.

The challenge, however, was that the more aircraft deployed, the more mental focus was required to manage them.

Stronger mental capacity meant higher control precision.

Following Taihou’s guidance, Setsuna visualized the positions of the aircraft in his mind, issuing separate commands, and controlling their flight paths and attack patterns.

In an instant, his perception merged with the vision of all 300 aircraft, nearly causing a sensation of mental overload.

”Younger light carriers typically control aircraft at the squadron level during battle,” Taihou continued.

”The more skilled carriers can manage groups of three to five planes, controlling them as small squads.”

”But Taihou can precisely control each individual plane. Commander, with enough practice, you can do it too! I’ll teach you patiently~~”

Taihou brimmed with confidence.

”For beginners, just successfully launching and recovering your planes is a good start.”

”Don’t worry too much about precision yet~~”

”…”

Setsuna closed his eyes, focusing entirely on controlling the planes without saying a word.

Hundreds of space fighters danced around the Eternal Snowfall in dazzling maneuvers.

”Hiss…”

”I can feel a part of my consciousness split off and attach to the aircraft…”

”To what level can you control them? An entire squadron? Small teams? Or can you manage each individual plane?” Taihou asked with genuine concern.

”…”

Setsuna concentrated, attempting to sense every detail of the Eternal Snowfall and its aircraft.

Whoosh—

A single fighter traced an elegant arc in the distance.

”I think I can micro-manage every weapon on each plane, including their firing rates, targets, and angles, as if I’m playing an aerial combat game… I can even adjust their engine thrust and acceleration…”

Setsuna was momentarily stunned, realizing how powerful his mental capabilities were.

”Uh, reposition the machine gun emplacements 5 meters to the left?”

”That level of micro-management is completely unnecessary!!!” Taihou exclaimed.

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