Crossover Shipgirls: Building a Dimensional Empire from Scratch

After gaining a rough understanding of the Transformers world, Setsuna began recruiting members for the expedition team.

Anyone who wanted to join could go. Even if they didn't get a chance to fight, they could still shop and sightsee in another world.

After arriving in the target universe, a teleport anchor would be placed immediately, allowing free travel between the capital and the Transformers universe.

The shipgirls were all extremely curious about another kind of mechanical lifeform and signed up enthusiastically.

The Heroic Spirits and Spirits were less interested—most had just picked up a batch of Teigus and were planning to study new gear in the capital. Only a few joined the expedition.

Among them, the most eager was Gudako.

She had an intense curiosity for every new world and always signed up first for cross-world expeditions.

Setsuna gave the expedition team a few days to prepare.

Everyone packed up and checked their equipment while Richelieu, Chen Hai, and the other strategists discussed specific operational plans.

Ritsuka Fujimaru spent her days in the workshop tinkering with her modified Barbatos.

Every now and then she'd drag Setsuna along to spar with her Turn A Gundam.

One day.

Outdoor training grounds.

Two blue-and-white Gundams clashed mid-air.

Gudako piloted Barbatos, wielding a spear-hammer with wide, aggressive swings. She occasionally fired her supergravity cannon for ranged pressure.

Setsuna countered with just a beam saber in Turn A, effortlessly deflecting every blow using his Klein Field.

After being enhanced by Fleet of Fog tech, Barbatos's strength and speed far exceeded its original specs.

To Setsuna, however, the Turn A was an extension of himself—like a mobile suit version of Susanoo. He controlled it with flawless precision.

Powered by twin cube cores, its output was insane.

Even seemingly casual strikes from him required Gudako to block with all her strength.

Clang! Clang!

Steel clashed against steel in a deep, resonating rhythm midair.

"You're too slow."

Shing!

Gudako froze for a moment—Setsuna brought his blade down cleanly, cleaving Barbatos and its pilot out of the sky.

The two of them crashed into the ground, carving a crater into the field.

"Cough, cough—"

"I give, I give! You're too strong! This isn't fair!"

Barbatos dropped its weapon as Gudako waved her hand in surrender.

Setsuna retracted his saber and helped her up.

"You're one with your machine. How is anyone supposed to play with you..."

Gudako hopped out of the cockpit, scratching her head.

Barbatos was a mobile suit for her. Turn A was Setsuna's second form. Not only were their specs different, their output ceilings weren't even comparable.

"Train a bit more. I think you're the best Gundam pilot Chaldea's ever had. Also the most magically skilled one."

Setsuna nodded.

"???"

"Was that a compliment or an insult?!"

Gudako hurled two fireballs at him in protest.

"Obviously a compliment. You should have no trouble flattening the entire Terrorcon squad."

The two bantered while packing up to head home.

Just then, Setsuna noticed a small figure standing at the edge of the training field.

A petite shipgirl with violet hair and eyes.

She wore a white one-piece dress, with delicate white stockings on her legs, and hugged a plush unicorn toy in her arms.

Her height was about the same as Gudako's. She had a sweet, bashful expression.

The little shipgirl was staring at them curiously, head tilted in wonder.

"Oh? Unicorn? You here to watch the Gundams?"

Setsuna noticed the Royal Light Carrier and retracted his Turn A, landing gently.

"..."

"I wanted to learn more about Commander Onii-chan..."

Unicorn's voice was soft and tender as she shyly hid half her face behind her plushie.

"Does Onii-chan really like big robots? You two are always practicing here together..."

"Huh?"

Setsuna was a little surprised.

There had been plenty of shipgirls who came to watch his sparring matches with Gudako in the past, but as time went on and the training became routine, the crowd had thinned.

From what Unicorn said, had she been coming often?

"Like it? Of course I do. Gundam was my first transformation mode and one of my most frequently used."

He gently patted Unicorn's head.

"..."

A flush rose on her cheeks as she softly said,

"Um... Commander Onii-chan, there's something I wanted to ask you..."

"Go ahead."

Faced with a cute and capable little sister figure, Setsuna agreed without hesitation.

"...Could you teach Unicorn how to pilot a big robot?"

She lifted her gaze, eyes brimming with hope.

"What?"

"You want to pilot a Gundam too?!"

Setsuna and Gudako almost spat out their water.

"I piloted a Gundam because that was the only tech tree I had when I landed," Setsuna explained. "Gudako uses it to amplify her power with external gear."

"But you're a carrier-type shipgirl. Wouldn't piloting a Gundam actually be a downgrade for you?!"

He eyed her up and down. In terms of firepower and mobility, a shipgirl carrier outclassed a mobile suit in almost every way.

He couldn't understand what she was after.

"Because... because Commander Onii-chan often trains with Fujimaru-senpai in their big robots... and you seem to really enjoy it..."

"Unicorn wants to understand you better... and play together too..."

Her voice trailed off as she buried her face in her plushie again, blushing hard.

"..."

"So it's just curiosity and wanting to spend time with me?"

Setsuna blinked.

That was a very Unicorn-esque reason.

As a little-sister-type shipgirl, she always called the commander "Onii-chan" and clung to him constantly.

"Mm."

She nodded shyly, sneaking a hopeful glance his way.

"Onii-chan... is that okay?"

Faced with such an earnest, adorable request from Unicorn—someone who just wanted to understand him more by learning to pilot a Gundam—there was no way he could refuse.

And besides, she was Unicorn!

Setsuna clapped his hands and took her by the hand.

"Come, I'll teach you. It's easy, you'll pick it up in no time."

"And there's a model that's perfect for you."

...

Two hours later.

Setsuna and Gudako emerged from the armory, dragging out a pure white Gundam.

Its frame was sleek and angular, holding a shield in one hand and a rifle in the other, with a single horn atop its head.

[RX-0 Unicorn]

This unit had already been modified by Fleet of Fog technology and differed slightly from the original Unicorn.

Its bazooka, gatling guns, and I-field generator had been replaced by corrosion missiles, a miniature supergravity cannon, and a Klein Field.

"Pretty, isn't it? Like you, it's called Unicorn. If you like it, it's yours."

Setsuna gave her a gentle pat.

"Mm! I love anything Onii-chan gives me!"

Unicorn nodded enthusiastically.

The two soon climbed into the Unicorn Gundam's cockpit.

Setsuna taught her directly, hands-on.

The single-seat cockpit was a bit cramped, so Unicorn sat on Setsuna's lap, carefully working the controls.

Voom—

The Unicorn Gundam took its first heavy steps forward.

"Good. I'll teach you how to move on land and in the air. First, let's master balance..."

Setsuna guided her gently, his hands over hers as she piloted the Unicorn.

Teaching Unicorn how to pilot the Unicorn Gundam—a perfect match.

Piloting a Gundam was fun. Being close to a shipgirl was fun.

Combined? Double the joy.

The little shipgirl was soft and obedient, constantly leaning closer into him. Her flushed cheeks made her even more adorable.

Maybe it was her innate affinity with machines, but in less than thirty minutes, Unicorn had grasped the basics of Gundam operation.

Unicorn quickly learned how to make the giant machine run, jump, and even use its thrusters to fly within the atmosphere.

"You're really smart."

Setsuna pinched her cheek affectionately.

"Thank you, Onii-chan..."

Unicorn replied with a soft, sweet voice, then looked up and asked,

"Onii-chan, what were you talking about before—NT-D and Destroy Mode? What are they?"

"That, huh..."

Setsuna tapped a few buttons on the Unicorn Gundam's console.

"NT-D stands for NewType-Destroyer-System. It's a system unique to the Unicorn Gundam."

"When activated, it removes the unit's limiters and switches it from Unicorn Mode to Destroy Mode, pushing the machine's performance to its peak. But it also places a mental strain on the pilot."

"Mmm... though that side effect doesn't really apply to us."

As he explained, he hit several switches.

Click—

The Gundam's singular horn split into a V-fin. The sealed faceplate and armor sections opened to reveal a glowing red psycho-frame beneath.

The internal structure expanded slightly, increasing the Gundam's overall height and dramatically boosting its mobility in flight.

Thrusters ignited as the Gundam surged skyward toward the upper atmosphere.

"Whoa—!"

Unicorn could clearly feel the increase in speed and power.

In Destroy Mode, control shifted from manual sticks to neural link, making piloting far more responsive.

"So this is how it works... If I run into a strong enemy, I should activate Destroy Mode, right?"

She looked thoughtful.

"Nope."

Setsuna shook his head.

"If you run into something you really can't beat, I suggest using True Destroy Mode."

"True Destroy Mode? What's that, Commander Onii-chan?"

Unicorn tilted her head curiously.

"Ditch the Gundam. Jump out of the cockpit. Beat them down with your shipgirl rigging instead."

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