I watched as the two armies began to clash - on one side, Melissa's, on another, my own.

While mostly composed of machines, I had decided to take Melissa's advice and allow my organic creations (that is, my spore creatures) to participate in the battle. While I only intended to use them as a policing force, having some experience under their belt would be preferable, so I had made sure they would take part in these war games. It'd been surprisingly easy to form up my creations into battalions because, as Melissa had previously stated, they had their own militaries that had, due to their alliance to find me, already taken the time to become familiar with each other, which made unit cohesion surprisingly high.

Still, in this mock battle, I could pick put a few mistakes - among others, my forces were sending out their armor ahead of their infantry support, apparently because they were eager to get glory for themselves. It seemed some things never changed, regardless of species. While Hollywood would tell you that this was an effective tactic, in the real world, sending armor ahead of their support was a good way to get them surrounded and overwhelmed by infantry, who could potentially kill the armor crews and still your vehicles for themselves. Of course, first they'd need to train with those vehicles before they could use them, but the point still stands.

At the same time, my opponents had also made a rookie mistake - their right flank was poorly defended, allowing my army to slam through it, and hard. The left flank appeared to be weak, but based on the force composition around it, this was intentional - it would bait in a green army who would charge in for an easy kill, only to find themselves rapidly encircled. It would have worked, too, if it weren't for the fact that my over aggressive armored forces were the ones who had taken the bait, and smashed right through that weak spot.

In terms of how a battle should be fought, this was...well, not the worst. It was actually better than I had expected. Rookie mistakes were few, forces on both sides were using proper formations, and those that retreated did so without turning into a route. If this was how my fleshy army was going to start, well, I could deal with that.

"Enjoying the battle?'

I turned my attention away from the mock battle to answer the question. To prepare for the battle, Melissa had arranged a space station be placed over the world the war games would commence at, giving both of us a grand view of the battle. She'd insisted on making lunch, and I had insisted back that I would bring some of my own dishes. This wasn't out of paranoia, for I doubted she would poison me, but rather, I wanted to make sure our lunch was GOOD. Plus, she'd been really kind to me so far, so this was a form of repayment.

"Indeed, I am. Though I will admit, your people are making more mistakes than I thought they would."

"You thought they would be more experienced?"

"You made it sound like they had some experience, yet my forces have none."

"Well, mine are also green. My master normally precludes me from acting in any universe I visit, at least on the grand scale, so my forces have yet to taste a real battle. This is their first fight."

"Then they are doing well, all things considered."

"So are yours."

"Thanks."

Turning my attention back to the battle, I pulled up four particular points of interest. Here, my four self aware units were fighting against Melissa's forces, each striving to take victory. One thing was different this time, though, compared to all of their previous engagements: here, they were not just fighting, but leading. I had told them wanted to see them leading because i wanted to promote them, which wan't a Lie at all. I had merely neglected to inform them of what they would be promoted to. They assumed they would get some kind of officer rank equivalent, which would be a ceremonial thing, not realizing I actually intended to make them sub-Commanders if they did well.

So far, they were proving to be skilled leaders.

While the battle for the planet raged below, I also diverted a portion of my attention to improving my flagship, the Extinction. Though already impressive, there was still much I could do to improve it. First off, modify its missile banks to be able to fire torpedoes. The ship itself was capable of going from space to underwater and back without any problems, so I saw no reason not to make it equipped to fight in both areas. I also outfitted it with the best sensors I could use, so that it would be able to find whatever I wanted. Add in some better armor, shielding, and point defenses, and the outside of the ship was good.

Now for the inside.

So far, the ship had decent crew quarters, an aquaponifer, and a few internal factories aboard, plus the reactors to power all of that and some resource synthesizers. All good, but I could certainly do better. I did, after all, have the technology to make the interior larger than a planet.

First off, more synthesizers for resource production and reactors to power them. A Beutally Efficient Serl Replicating Mechanism of War should always have a flagship that can satisfy its material needs, especially when it has just arrived in a new universe. Naturally, the things that followed for this was a set of storage facilities to hold those resources for when they were actually needed. Then came adding factories to build things with those resources and, finally, an acquisition I'd made from XCOM: warehouses to store finished products until they were needed.

Now onto the stuff for my (currently nonexistent) crew.

First off, better farms, plus kelp farms. I can build as bing as a planet in here, might as well exploit that, plus I could always use my E-DNA tech to mess with Space and make some cool skylines. I could already simulate a star's light with the technology I had, and could easily recuperate the energy expended using advanced solar collectors which, thanks to some careful examinations of the native life of Chiron, specifically plankton, could generate power using moonlight. Take that, modern solar companies!

Back on topic. With my food supplies dealt with, along with oxygen and power, time to make housing. Military barracks were added alongside luxury apartments and more modest accommodations, all meant for either my protectorates or guests. I also secretly made two super apartments that put most mansions to shame aboard my ship. One was for myself, the author was for Melissa - I did not want to make her angry. Finally, I added in a bunch of comfort stuff (movie theaters, an amusement park, a water park or five, a zoo, and so on) and called it a day. There, ship perfected.

And only half an hour had passed in real time, with the battle below us stil raging on.

Commanders are fast, okay?

XXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review, this is Flameal15k, signing off!