We Are the Private Armed Organization "Celestial Being"

In a parlor aboard the Gwameir, furnished to evoke the familiar warmth of a fireside chat and steeped in the air of traditional nobility, Luther began his CE debut.

"People of Earth and the cosmos, I apologize for interrupting you without warning.

We are the private armed organization Celestial Being. We are committed to realizing the Newtype ideal of my father, Zeon Zum Deikun, and leading all humanity into a new era.

It is deeply regrettable that the war now raging between Plant and the Earth Alliance is unquestionably at odds with my father's ideals, and it shows no sign of abating.

Just moments ago, the unrestrained fighting between the two sides completely destroyed Heliopolis, the space colony of Orb, a nation that claims to be neutral!

Before you listen to what I have to say, please take a look at this unbelievable reality!"

As bait to keep every viewer watching, the Luther Fleet began its full-frequency broadcast by showing the wreckage of Heliopolis as seen on the Gwameir's main monitor. Though the colony had completely broken apart, its original shape was still recognizable.

Once the live footage, stamped with the current standard time, had sufficiently piqued the audience's interest, Luther raised the question everyone wanted answered on their behalf.

"So, which side was responsible for this appalling massacre?!

Was it the Earth Alliance, which caused a similar tragedy—the Bloody Valentine—last year, and made the war escalate so rapidly?

Or was it Plant, which responded excessively to the Bloody Valentine and used N-Jammers, bringing energy shortages and famine to the entire Earth?

Sadly, the Earth Alliance and Plant are both murderers this time—and so is Orb, the owner of Heliopolis!"

The Bloody Valentine and the April Fool's Crisis, both events that had occurred on their namesake dates the previous year, had undoubtedly become defining moments in the war's rapid escalation. They had also made its chaos reach virtually every corner of the Earth Sphere.

Naturally, they had immediately dredged up painful memories for everyone, whether on Earth or in space, Natural or Coordinator.

Now, Heliopolis—perhaps the only place to have escaped unscathed after those two events—had also been destroyed by the flames of war. It had become the war's latest victim, sacrifice, and living offering.

By framing and connecting the events this way, Luther had ensured that everyone in the Earth Sphere was watching the "Destruction of Heliopolis" and the Luther Fleet—or, rather, Celestial Being—which was the first to broadcast information about it.

Considering that the CE World's Earth Sphere included not only the principal combatants, Plant and the Earth Alliance—that is, the three great powers of the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and the Republic of East Asia—but also numerous neutral entities with different circumstances and allegiances, once Luther had released this "explosive news" first, there was no doubt that anyone who wanted to hear his speech under the name Celestial Being could find a complete, unedited version.

Next, to further substantiate Luther's claim that "all three parties are guilty," and to bolster Celestial Being's credibility, he began patiently listing carefully selected evidence.

Naturally, the first evidence he presented was what implicated even Orb, which seemed the most innocent of the three.

On this front, the evidence Monica had been tasked with gathering, the Astray Gundam series recovered by the Gwameir, and the surveillance recordings from Luther's Time Observer each provided corroboration from different angles. Carefully selected and edited, they formed a highly convincing chain of evidence.

This included the obvious mobile suit manufacturing facilities in Heliopolis;

Partial design data for the G-Series and Astray Gundam series recovered from those facilities;

Footage of the machines undergoing field tests before Heliopolis was destroyed;

Surveillance data from the four Gundams and their pilots who had fought Luther, footage of the Strike Gundam fighting inside Heliopolis, and the actual Astray Gundam recovered by the Gwameir.

With this complete chain of evidence, Luther laid out his explanation and conclusions.

"As you can see, Orb, despite claiming neutrality, secretly designed and produced the G-Series Gundams for the Earth Alliance in Heliopolis, a remote colony in L3.

"The GAT-X105 Strike Gundam has already escaped alongside the newly built warship LCAM-01XA Archangel, which was designed at the same time. They are believed to be heading for the Eurasian Federation's Artemis Fortress, also in L3.

"The GAT-X102 Duel Gundam, GAT-X103 Buster Gundam, GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam, and GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam were seized by a special force led by ZAFT ace Rau Le Creuset, and are believed to be returning to Plant.

"As for why Orb helped develop them, the answer must lie in the Astray Gundam series it built at a secret factory, behind the Earth Alliance's back."

Through detailed displays of physical evidence and video, Luther had irrefutably proven that Orb, despite being a neutral nation, had crossed the line by developing new weapons for a belligerent nation.

He had also used the Astray Gundam series, which had been hidden away until now, to present a theory about Orb's motives that would convince the vast majority of people.

With those two arguments, he had first stripped Orb of its position as a mere victim.

And with that as the premise, when he went on to show the Archangel crew's counterattack as members of the Atlantic Federation forces, it transformed them from "victims with a few blemishes" into "uninvited housewreckers and murderers."

Of course, Luther also made sure not to let Rau Le Creuset, the mastermind behind the scenes, off the hook.

"So how did Plant—or ZAFT, or even just the Creuset Team standing right there—respond to this situation?

"Setting aside the question of how our all-knowing Nebula Medal recipient, 'Captain Creuset,' came by such classified information, he somehow managed to seize the perfect opportunity. He arrived just as the Earth Alliance—or, more precisely, the Atlantic Federation—secretly dispatched an elite unit, including Captain Mu La Flaga, the 'Hawk of Endymion,' to take delivery. This was despite the Atlantic Federation keeping the matter so secret that even its allies, the Eurasian Federation and the Republic of East Asia, knew nothing about it.

"And even though the Gundams were only prototypes, whose capabilities they could hardly have known, and therefore could only have posed a potential future threat, 'Captain Creuset' was decisive to a fault and launched an attack without the slightest hesitation.

"His force also happened to have extra pilots and all the personnel and equipment needed for a special operation, allowing them to infiltrate, sabotage, and seize the machines right under the noses of Heliopolis's alert security. They were certainly well prepared for war at all times.

"Of course, it's obvious that ZAFT's 'Captain Creuset' gave not a moment's thought to the danger his actions might pose to the civilians on Heliopolis.

"And across from them, although I don't know what was going through the minds of the Earth Alliance soldiers, they clearly didn't consider the safety of Heliopolis's civilians more important than their own secret new weapons.

"Mm-hmm. That's war. I get it, I get it."