The 'Celestial Being' Fleet's 'Bandit Style'

January 28, CE 71, approximately 10:45 AM standard time.

On the bridge of the Gwameir, Luther and his harem were chatting leisurely while keeping an eye on the front-line situation at the Artemis Fortress.

As the combat ratio on the front lines shifted increasingly in favor of Celestial Being, two consecutive reports from the tactical and communications officers served as the final punctuation mark for a battle that had effectively been one-sided ever since the Umbrella of Artemis was shattered.

"Report from Lady Cima: there is no organized resistance left at the Artemis Fortress front. We are moving into the battlefield cleanup phase."

"We have received an unconditional surrender declaration from the Artemis Fortress, issued by the self-proclaimed fortress commander, Colonel Gerard Garcia."

Luther smiled and exchanged a nod with a calm Tessa, after which Tessa, as the fleet commander, made the customary response.

"Reply to the Artemis Fortress: in the name of Celestial Being fleet commander Colonel Teresa Testarossa, we accept their unconditional surrender.

Relay this to Cima on the front lines and have her transition to the base suppression mission. Also, send some people to rendezvous with Haman...

Ah, never mind about Haman; it looks like things have concluded over there as well."

In the short time it took for Tessa to issue her instructions, Cima had already taken the initiative to send personnel to meet Haman, and Haman had already ceased her pursuit of the Archangel and begun her return journey.

Watching the retreating Archangel and the returning Haman, even Tessa, after signaling her subordinates to execute the orders, began to "tease" Luther.

"It seems our little sister Haman isn't too happy. It looks like it will take a long time to coax her later, our 'Brother Luther'."

Before Tessa's words could embarrass Luther, they first made the other person present who liked to call him "Brother Luther"—Aina—blush.

In response, Luther overcame Aina's slight resistance without hesitation, interlaced his fingers with hers, kissed her forehead, and then turned to answer the calm-faced Tessa and the slightly jealous, unhappy-looking Monica.

"As long as Haman needs it, I am more than willing to coax her.

After all, she is neither my contractor nor did she follow me here with her entire family; she abandoned everything for my sake.

For someone who has only me, this is but a trivial matter."

Faced with Luther's "understated" words, Aina gripped Ginias tightly with her other hand, and Monica's expression shifted, seemingly reminded of her parents and Elwin back at Mendel. Tessa offered an apologetic smile before diverting her attention back to her command duties.

Just as the atmosphere in the command area grew slightly heavy, and after Celestial Being had accepted the unconditional surrender, Colonel Gerard Garcia of the Artemis Fortress sent a real-time communication request.

"We have received a real-time communication request from the Artemis Fortress, from the self-proclaimed commander, Colonel Gerard Garcia."

For Luther, this request came at a rather opportune moment, so he spoke directly to the communications officer.

"Put it through."

"Yes."

With Luther's permission, Colonel Gerard Garcia and his staff soon appeared on the large screen of the Gwameir's bridge.

In the reception room of the Artemis Fortress command center, Colonel Gerard Garcia stood in the center, flanked by his strangely-haired adjutant and Major Bidaluf. None of the three appeared to be injured, and they stood facing the screen in a rather standard, rigid posture.

On Luther's side, Luther himself stepped forward and leaned against Tessa's captain's chair, while Monica and the Sahalin siblings simply watched from their respective stations.

Seeing the communication connected, although they might have been curious about the peculiar setup on Luther's side—such as Luther standing while Tessa sat—as the defeated party, Colonel Gerard Garcia first honestly expressed his "gratitude."

"Thank you for accepting our unconditional surrender. On behalf of the Artemis Fortress, I hereby hand over control of the fortress to your forces."

Luther's response to this was quite unexpected for Colonel Gerard Garcia.

"On behalf of Celestial Being, I accept your unconditional surrender, but there is no need to hand over control of the fortress."

Surprised that the "thing" he held so dear was rejected without hesitation by Celestial Being, Colonel Gerard Garcia's follow-up question carried a hint of relief, as if he had found a way out of a desperate situation.

"Then, may I ask why your forces attacked the Artemis Fortress?"

To this, Luther gave a slightly "humiliating" and helpless facepalm before signaling for Tessa to handle the rest of the conversation.

"Colonel Gerard Garcia, we made our intentions very clear in our initial announcement and the 'ultimatum' previously sent to you.

Celestial Being has determined that the 'Archangel party' may have committed 'war crimes' during the 'Heliopolis Collapse' incident, and therefore we must detain the 'Archangel party' for investigation and trial.

It was your side that, while fully aware of our intentions, provided shelter to the 'Archangel party,' which directly led to their escape."

From Colonel Gerard Garcia's perspective, while Tessa's statement might not be called "black and white reversal," it was clearly "calling a deer a horse."

After all, no matter how one looked at it, before being beaten into submission, Colonel Gerard Garcia would never have obediently accepted orders from the mysterious "Celestial Being"—that is, handing over the "Archangel party"—and the Celestial Being command layer was undoubtedly aware of this as well.

However, the situation was stronger than the man; since they had reached the point of being "at the mercy of others," and since Celestial Being had provided a step down to "stay alive," refusing further would be failing to "recognize the times."

"It was my own 'small mind measuring the gentleman's belly.'

Since the 'Archangel party' has already fled the Artemis Fortress, is there any other way we can provide assistance to 'Celestial Being'?"

As expected of someone who could rise to the rank of Colonel and command a region, Tessa and Luther found Colonel Gerard Garcia's "reasonableness" quite convenient.

"In any case, please cooperate with us in conducting rescue operations for the personnel first.

Furthermore, because your side obstructed our pursuit, our supplies were heavily depleted; we hope you can provide compensation.

Finally, to prevent such incidents from recurring, we will completely destroy the Light Wave Defense Belt. If you have a need, we can escort your personnel to the Second Space Domain (the vicinity of the Moon)."

Although he found it difficult to accept that Celestial Being would completely destroy the "Umbrella of Artemis," which the Artemis Fortress relied upon for survival;

Not only was it the same old saying that "the situation is stronger than the man," but after the fierce battle, the Light Wave Defense Belt generators were already heavily damaged.

Considering that Plant and the Earth Alliance were still at war, even if ZAFT did not attack, the Eurasian Federation would be unable to spare enough power to repair the "Umbrella of Artemis" in the short term.

Therefore, although Colonel Gerard Garcia hesitated for a moment, he soon gave a firm answer.

"I understand. Thank you for your magnanimity; please send a representative later so we may discuss the specific details."

After receiving nods of acknowledgment from Luther and Tessa, Colonel Gerard Garcia saluted the two of them and cut the communication.

"I imagine he's thinking to himself right now, 'Look at the bandit-like style of Celestial Being.'"

"Since our objectives have been perfectly achieved, we'll just have to let Artemis Fortress think whatever they want."

Having long grown accustomed to Luther's somewhat masochistic self-deprecation, Tessa gave a nonchalant response before preparing to dive into the specifics of the 'ransom negotiations.'

Meanwhile, amidst the announcements from the flight controller, Luther had new matters to attend to.

"Lady Haman's Newtype-use Bigro Custom has finished docking in the Hangar!"