Aina Arrives to Join Forces

January 27, CE 71, approximately 14:00 standard time.

The debris field of Heliopolis is currently quite bustling. In addition to the Gwameir and the ships of the Junk Guild, rescue vessels belonging to and coordinated by Orb arrived at the scene a day ago. Having obtained permission from the Gwameir, they have also begun rescue operations that are set to continue for a long time—after all, L3 is located in a remote area, and there are no other residential space colonies besides Heliopolis.

Therefore, although the Orb government, having received the news, has begun to fully organize and coordinate ships for rescue, transferring the personnel remains a massive undertaking.

So much so that while they requested a list of survivors from the Gwameir, that was as far as it went—though, naturally, the rescue funds calculated by headcount and day have already been transferred, and "Celestial Being," or rather the Luther Fleet, now has its first account in this world at the Dawn Bank of Orb.

Aside from the rescue ships, by this morning, some quick-moving news reporters from neutral nations, including Orb, had arrived and requested interviews, but Luther had them all dismissed by Monica.

The reason the Gwameir remains in the Heliopolis debris field, beyond recovering as many useful items as possible and incidentally rescuing some life pods from shelters that had run into trouble, is also to await reinforcements.

After all, to save time previously, they had to let the fast and long-range Gwameir sortie alone, and even then, it had not been able to arrive before the collapse of Heliopolis.

And while Luther may have been quite dismissive of all parties in his "Celestial Being Formation Declaration," he still needs to make sufficient preparations tactically.

However, whether it is dealing with the secret weapon of the "Umbrella of Artemis" or the modification and application of the Astray series, it cannot be accomplished by the Gwameir alone; they need to wait for the Musai-class light cruisers to bring the corresponding personnel and parts.

Fortunately, they did not keep the Gwameir waiting long.

Just a moment ago, after two days of patient waiting, three Musai-class light cruisers, which had departed from Mendel slightly later than the Gwameir and traveled at a slower pace, finally arrived at the Heliopolis debris field.

As the non-armed ships, which had been somewhat chaotic due to the arrival of the new warships, resumed their operations, and the curious, death-defying news ships that had crowded in were driven away, the sub-Musai launched by the lead Musai-class light cruiser completed its docking with the Gwameir not long ago.

Now, accompanied by the sound of the Gwameir's bridge door opening, the voice of Aina, who led the support team, drifted in.

"Brother Luther!"

Embracing Aina as she floated toward him, Luther gave her a light kiss, then pulled her to his side and looked behind her, only to find that, aside from the attendants, she was alone.

"Aina, where are Kurisu and Mika? And what about Brother Ginias and Norris?"

Facing Luther, who was cupping her face, Aina was quite shy, but she still provided a clear explanation.

"Sister Kurisu, upon discovering the research facility you mentioned, got excited and started researching immediately.

Sister Mika volunteered to stay behind and take charge of affairs at Mendel with Norris.

Brother Ginias was attracted by those Astray Gundam units the moment he arrived in the hangar, and he went straight to study them as well."

Well, two tech fanatics and two people in charge of the heavy lifting; it seems Mika will need some special compensation after they return.

Next, just as Luther was about to ask Aina if her journey had been smooth, the communications officer suddenly reported to him.

"Your Excellency, the duty officer in the residential area says that Miss Flay's roommate has found him, claiming to have cleared the surface levels of the simulator and wishing to unlock Master Mode. How should we respond?"

Before Luther could answer, Aina asked curiously.

"Is it a new little sister?"

"Luther insists not."

Aina's inquiry received a response from Tessa, who appeared buried in her duties as captain, so Aina naturally turned her gaze to Luther's eyes.

Confident that he hadn't done anything wrong, Luther first made Aina blush before responding to the communications officer—honestly, since the final boss of the simulator's surface levels was modeled after himself, Luther was also curious that someone, and a woman at that, could play through it so quickly.

"To clear it in just two days, that's ace material right there. What is her name?"

"Yes, that young lady calls herself 'Cagalli Yula'."

"Cagalli? How is she on the ship!"

Faced with Luther's exclamation, Tessa, who was nearby, also became curious.

"What's wrong, Luther? Is this Miss Cagalli someone special?"

Luther gave a bitter smile and answered without hiding anything—after all, the entire crew of the Gwameir had transmigrated together, and everyone on the bridge was naturally one of their own who could be trusted with anything.

"This Miss Cagalli is the biological sibling of Kira Yamato, only she didn't undergo genetic modification at Mendel and was adopted by the Orb leader Uzumi Yula Athha, who is a relative.

Although she is quite naive politically, she noticed the mobile suit development project at Heliopolis and actually chose to come and confirm it in person, naively thinking her foster father Uzumi had deceived her;

But looking at the aftermath, she also has a side that is upright and strong.

In the original world line, after her appearance at Heliopolis, her next appearance was under Uzumi's arrangement, facing war in North Africa to gain experience, with a 'Rambo-style' adjutant assisting her.

Although it was never explicitly stated how she returned to Orb, it seems now that she was simply rescued and returned to Orb on her own.

It's just that how did we end up picking her up this time, and she even became Flay's roommate... this really is."

Regarding Luther's "distress," A-Qiu, who had a relatively low presence, popped up and delivered a precise jab.

"Luther, you were complaining earlier about whether not killing Rau Le Creuset was a convergence of the world line; isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

Luther shook his head with a bitter smile at A-Qiu's jab; Tessa, however, after a moment of thought, "comforted" Luther.

"Although it is indeed a bit unexpected, it should be considered a positive direction.

After all, according to the introductions and analysis you provided for us, while Orb appears somewhat 'ambitious but incompetent,' it is still one of the targets worth winning over, right?

Since Miss Cagalli is already on the ship, we don't have to worry about how to initiate contact."

Facing Tessa's words, Luther also voiced a bit of his own concern.

"I just hope the justice-seeking Miss Cagalli doesn't view us as thieves or bandits."

"Being able to get along well with that Flay, I think she might not lack political wisdom, but is just too straightforward to hide herself; who knows, she might unexpectedly have the potential of a Newtype."