The Indestructible 'Umbrella of Artemis'

January 28, CE 71, approximately 10:00 standard time.

Following yesterday's smooth initial contact and the pleasant welcoming banquet held last night, newly promoted Major Murrue Ramius and Major Mu La Flaga were currently in the reception room of the Artemis Fortress command center. In a relaxed atmosphere, they were discussing the resupply and personnel reinforcement of the Archangel with the fortress commander, Colonel Gerard Garcia.

"In that case, is there any way to shorten the selection process for the supplementary personnel?"

Facing the request from Major Murrue Ramius, Colonel Gerard Garcia responded with great sincerity.

"Regrettably, the fortress itself has its own routine maintenance requirements. Compressing the personnel selection time to three days is already the absolute limit."

Major Murrue Ramius found no room to refute Colonel Gerard Garcia's answer.

Not only was three days an impeccably fast turnaround compared to the weeks or even months typically required for personnel selection and transfer within the Earth Alliance or the Atlantic Federation;

In reality, although the official roster had not yet been finalized, Artemis Fortress had already dispatched personnel to participate in various aspects of the Archangel's operations, including bridge duty, logistical preparation, and mobile weapon maintenance. Furthermore, these personnel accepted the command of the original Archangel crew—who were of significantly lower rank—without a single complaint. Currently, all personnel remaining on the Archangel, including Major Bidaluf, were under the unified command of the newly promoted Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel.

Of course, Major Murrue Ramius was not oblivious to the fact that Artemis's motives for dispatching these people were not entirely pure.

However, after communicating with Admiral Halberton and considering that the Admiral was willing to temporarily cooperate with Logos just so the Earth Alliance could possess its own mobile suits as soon as possible;

Compared to Logos, wasn't the Eurasian Federation—which was also fighting on the front lines—a more acceptable recipient for some technological diffusion?

Amidst Major Murrue Ramius's silence, Major Mu La Flaga, who had also learned of "Celestial Being" and the subsequent changes in the upper echelons yesterday, voiced his concerns.

"But Colonel, 'Celestial Being' has explicitly pointed out the possibility of the Archangel being at Artemis Fortress. And Artemis Fortress is at most one day of conventional travel away from Heliopolis. What if 'Celestial Being' comes knocking?"

In response to Major Mu La Flaga's warning, Colonel Gerard Garcia let out a hearty laugh.

"Hahahaha, there is no need to worry about that.

As long as the 'Umbrella of Artemis' is active, no one will be able to conquer this fortress until its energy is exhausted and its supplies are depleted.

And if 'Celestial Being' dares to linger here for long, wouldn't they just be seeking their own destruction in the face of the Earth Alliance's grand army?"

Although Major Mu La Flaga had an ominous premonition about this, the facts thus far were exactly as Colonel Gerard Garcia had stated. The only remaining possibilities would be ultra-long-range attacks from outside the detection range or stealthy close-range surprise attacks to bypass the defense of the 'Umbrella of Artemis,' right?

Given that Artemis Fortress had already widely implemented electromagnetic interference as a standard procedure, precise long-range strikes from far beyond the detection range were theoretically impossible—after all, this was the fundamental reason why mobile suits were able to dominate the battlefield.

So, did that only leave the possibility of a stealthy, close-range surprise attack?

Major Murrue Ramius had also considered these points, and as a participant in the development of the 'G' series, she was concretely aware of one such machine.

"Colonel, there is one thing I would like to draw your attention to.

Among the 'G' units seized by ZAFT's Creuset Team, there is a Blitz Gundam equipped with a system called 'Mirage Colloid,' which can put a mobile suit into a state where it 'cannot be observed.'

If 'Celestial Being' possesses similar capabilities, they could potentially infiltrate the interior of the fortress while the 'Umbrella of Artemis' is deactivated..."

Reminded by Major Murrue Ramius, Colonel Gerard Garcia also recalled the relevant footage from the combat videos released by 'Celestial Being.'

Although the 'Mirage Colloid' system on the Blitz Gundam seemed to have failed when facing that purple machine from 'Celestial Being,' it was indeed a threat that Artemis Fortress, which relied on the 'Umbrella of Artemis,' had to guard against.

Just as Colonel Gerard Garcia was considering how to reasonably respond and issue instructions to his subordinates, a knock sounded at the door of the reception room.

"Enter."

"Report. The radar controller reports that the electromagnetic radar is experiencing unknown interference that is not caused by neutron jammers. Furthermore, the disguised spy ship on the front lines previously transmitted information that the 'Celestial Being' fleet left the wreckage of Heliopolis several hours ago."

With his subordinate having spoken to this extent, Colonel Gerard Garcia naturally understood the concern. Coupled with the earlier warning from Major Murrue Ramius, Colonel Gerard Garcia had no intention of being stubborn.

"Deploy the 'Umbrella of Artemis,' quickly!"

"Yes!"

After his subordinate left to carry out the order, Colonel Gerard Garcia smiled and thanked Major Murrue Ramius.

"Thank you for the reminder, Major Ramius.

But don't worry, their little tricks have already been seen through by us.

How about it? Would you like to come outside and see the situation for yourselves?"

Facing Colonel Gerard Garcia's request, it was clear that Major Murrue Ramius and Major Mu La Flaga had no reason to refuse.

"Please, we would be honored to accompany you."

After Major Murrue Ramius responded on behalf of Major Mu La Flaga, the two followed behind Colonel Gerard Garcia, left the reception room, and returned to the command hall of the headquarters.

On the large screen in the hall, the 'Umbrella of Artemis,' the pride of the fortress, had already been deployed. Under the active search of experienced staff, the four 'Celestial Being' warships—one red and three green—were captured outside the maximum effective range of the fortress's firepower.

"The unidentified enemy ships are beginning to decelerate!"

"Realizing they've been discovered, they've given up on their sneaky little tricks, have they?"

Although Colonel Gerard Garcia's judgment seemed overly subjective, under the current circumstances, it appeared to be the only logical explanation.

"You see, as long as the 'Umbrella of Artemis' is here, this fortress is as solid as a rock.

You can rest easy. Once we have made sufficient preparations and 'Celestial Being' has slunk away, you can safely return to the lunar base via the lunar orbit route."

Regarding Colonel Gerard Garcia's slightly "ulterior" suggestion, Major Murrue Ramius and Major Mu La Flaga were unable to refute it.

However, just as they were silently signaling their acquiescence, a loud warning suddenly came from the combat controller.

"The stationary red 'Celestial Being' warship has a high-energy reaction from its main cannon!"

"Are they at their wit's end?!"

"Ignore it. No matter what kind of attack it is, it cannot break through the invincible Umbrella of Artemis!"

Although Colonel Gerard Garcia evaluated Celestial Being in such a way;

In reality, in a certain sense, once the Umbrella of Artemis was deployed, the Artemis Fortress itself had reached the end of its rope.

Therefore, everyone could only watch helplessly as the main cannon of the Gwameir built up energy for a long time, its energy signature growing ever larger, only to ultimately fire two extremely thin beams of light.

These two beams accurately struck the joints of the Umbrella of Artemis, and like steel needles piercing an eggshell, they passed through the Umbrella of Artemis and triggered violent explosions upon the Artemis Fortress.

"How is this possible!"