CE71, January 27, around 14:00 standard time
The wreckage field of Heliopolis was bustling now. Besides the Gwameir and the ships of the Junk Guild, rescue vessels belonging to and coordinated by Orb had arrived a day earlier. With the Gwameir's permission, they had also begun rescue operations that would continue for a long time. After all, L3 was remote, and Heliopolis was the only inhabited colony satellite in the area.
So although the Orb government had already begun doing everything it could to organize and coordinate ships for the rescue, evacuating everyone was still a massive undertaking.
They had requested the list of people rescued from the Gwameir, but that was as far as things had gone. Of course, they had already paid rescue fees based on the number of people and days involved, and "Celestial Being"—or the Luther Fleet—now had its first account in this world, at Orb's Dawn Bank.
Besides the rescue vessels, by this morning, news crews from neutral nations—including Orb—had arrived in a hurry and requested interviews. Luther had left Monica to deal with them.
The Gwameir was still stationed in the Heliopolis wreckage for several reasons: to salvage as many useful things as possible, to rescue any escape pods from shelters that had run into trouble, and to wait for reinforcements.
After all, they had been short on time earlier, so they had no choice but to send the fast, long-range Gwameir out alone. Even then, it hadn't arrived before Heliopolis fell apart.
Though Luther had spoken disdainfully of all sides in the Celestial Being Formation Declaration, he still needed to be thoroughly prepared on the tactical front.
But neither the secret weapon for dealing with the Umbrella of Artemis nor the modifications and applications for the Astray series could be handled by the Gwameir alone. They would have to wait for the Musai-class light cruisers to bring the necessary personnel and components.
Fortunately, the Gwameir hadn't had to wait long.
Just a moment ago, after two days of patient waiting, the three Musai-class light cruisers had finally arrived at the Heliopolis wreckage. They had set out from Mendel a little later than the Gwameir and were slower.
The unarmed ships, briefly thrown into confusion by the arrival of the new warships, soon resumed their work. After the curious, foolhardy news crews came crowding back and were driven off again, the lead Musai-class light cruiser's shuttle had landed aboard the Gwameir.
Now, as the bridge door slid open, Aina's voice rang out. She had come to lead the support team.
"Brother Luther!"
Luther caught Aina as she floated toward him, gave her a light kiss, and pulled her close at his side. Then he looked behind her and saw that, aside from her attendants, she had come alone.
"Aina, where are Kurisu and Mika? And Brother Ginias and Norris?"
Luther held her face in his hands. Aina looked a little shy, but gave him a clear answer.
"As for Sister Kurisu, once she found the research facility you mentioned, she got excited and went straight to work studying it.
"Sister Mika volunteered to stay behind with Norris and handle things at Mendel.
"Brother Ginias was drawn to those Astray Gundams as soon as he got to the hangar, so he went off to study them too."
Well, that left two tech fanatics and two people handling the actual work. It seemed he'd have to make it up to Mika separately when he got back.
Luther was about to ask whether Aina had had a smooth trip when the communications officer suddenly reported to him.
"Sir, the duty officer in the residential section says Miss Flay's roommate came to see him. She says she's cleared the simulator's basic levels and wants to unlock Master Mode. How should we respond?"
Before Luther could answer, Aina cut in curiously.
"Is she a new little sister?"
"Luther insists she isn't."
Tessa, who seemed absorbed in her work as captain, answered Aina's question. Aina naturally turned her gaze toward Luther.
Luther was confident he hadn't done anything to feel guilty about. He first made Aina blush with a look, then replied to the communications officer. To be honest, the final boss of the simulator's basic levels was modeled after him, so he was curious that someone—especially a woman—had cleared them so quickly.
"She cleared them in just two days? She's got ace potential. What's her name?"
"Yes, sir. The young lady gave her name as Cagalli Yula."
"Cagalli? How did she end up aboard the ship?!"
Luther's exclamation piqued Tessa's curiosity.
"What's wrong, Luther? Is there something special about Miss Cagalli?"
Luther gave a wry smile and answered without hiding anything. After all, the entire Gwameir crew had crossed over together, so everyone on the bridge was one of his own. He could tell them anything.
"Miss Cagalli is Kira Yamato's twin sister. She just wasn't genetically modified at Mendel, and she was adopted by Uzumi Yula Athha, Orb's leader, who's related to her.
"She's politically rather naive. When she noticed that Heliopolis was developing mobile suits, she came in person to confirm it, genuinely believing that her adoptive father, Uzumi, had deceived her.
"But as things unfolded, she also showed integrity and strength.
"In the original timeline, after her appearance at Heliopolis, she didn't show up again until Uzumi arranged for her to gain experience facing the war in North Africa. She even had a 'Rambo-style' adjutant to support her.
"Though it was never explained how she got back to Orb, it seems she was simply rescued and then returned on her own.
"But how did we end up picking her up this time, and why did she become Flay's roommate...? This is quite something."
At Luther's "troubles," A-Qiu, who usually kept a low profile, spoke up with a pointed jab.
"Luther, you were just complaining that Rau Le Creuset hadn't been killed and wondering if that was the timeline's convergence. Well, isn't this exactly what you wanted?"
Luther gave a wry smile and shook his head at A-Qiu's jab. Tessa, on the other hand, thought it over before "comforting" him.
"It's certainly unexpected, but I think we should see it as a good thing.
"After all, going by the introduction and analysis you gave us earlier, Orb may be a little 'ambitious but inept,' but overall, it's still one of the sides worth winning over, isn't it?
"Since Miss Cagalli is already aboard, we don't have to worry about how to approach her."
In response to Tessa, Luther voiced one of his concerns.
"I just hope that Cagalli, who hates evil, doesn't mistake us for thieves or bandits."
"Since she gets along well with Flay, I doubt she lacks political savvy. Maybe she's just straightforward and doesn't want to hide who she is. Perhaps, unexpectedly, she has the potential to be a Newtype."
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