Discussion on the Gwameir

January 28, CE 71, approximately 11:00 AM standard time.

Leaving Tessa on the bridge of the Gwameir to oversee Cima and coordinate with Colonel Gerard Garcia at Artemis Fortress regarding "ransom matters," the remaining core leadership of Celestial Being, including the two "special guests," gathered in a meeting room near the bridge to discuss the next phase of their plans.

Naturally, the next steps for Celestial Being were quite clear:

The Gwameir, serving as the flagship and primary combat force, would continue to use the pursuit of the Archangel as a pretext to project power while initiating first contact with various factions.

Meanwhile, the Musai-class escort ships would return fully laden to Mendel, the base of Celestial Being, to convert the acquired resources into further combat strength.

Therefore, the actual matter requiring discussion was the status of the core members and the two "special guests," which was precisely why the latter had been invited to join the meeting.

As for Celestial Being, Tessa, serving as fleet commander and captain of the Gwameir, and Cima, as commander of the mobile weapon unit, were certainly going to remain on the Gwameir to participate in the pursuit of the Archangel; thus, they remained occupied with current affairs and did not attend the meeting.

Haman, who had been somewhat pouty upon her return, was now being soothed by Luther, sitting in the seat to his left and pressing affectionately against him.

Further to Haman's left, Monica, for once, did not bicker with her, instead leaving the seat to Luther's right open for Aina and Ginias.

Cagalli and Flay were seated two spots to the left of Monica, placing them diagonally opposite the side of Luther's seat nearest the door.

Following custom, a female officer served black tea to everyone before clutching the tray and exiting, closing the door behind her.

Seeing that Luther was still intimately soothing Haman, it was Cagalli who could not help but speak up first.

"Tell me, Lord Luther, did you call us here just to put your intimate relationship on public display?"

Before Luther could respond, Haman, naturally annoyed that her "cuddling" with him had been interrupted, retorted sharply.

"You must be Cagalli Yula Athha, the sister of that 'Ultimate Coordinator,' Kira Yamato.

I have some bad news for you: in the battle just now, your brother, Kira Yamato, was killed by my own hand.

How about that? I thought you deserved to hear the news personally, Your Highness, Princess of Orb."

"You b*tch!"

Faced with the "bad news" delivered by Haman, Cagalli jumped up from her seat, ready to resort to violence, only for Flay to hurriedly pull her back with all her might.

"Cagalli!"

On the other side, Luther flicked Haman on the forehead with a slightly "punitive" gesture.

"Haman."

Seeing Haman rub her forehead and sit up straight with a pout, Luther turned his attention to Cagalli, who had also regained her composure and was now sitting with her arms crossed over her chest, looking equally indignant.

Looking at Cagalli and then at Haman, Luther, who knew the physical data of both, was suddenly curious about where the extra weight on Cagalli—who was slightly shorter than Haman—was distributed; after all, it was quite impressive that she could strike such a naturally masculine pose.

Regardless, Cagalli was still a young girl, and Luther's overly playful gaze naturally drew a glare from her.

To ease the awkwardness and change the subject, Luther issued a request to Haman.

"Haman, why don't you briefly describe the contact with the Archangel?"

Responding to Luther's request, Haman, who had also sensed his previous gaze, first gave Cagalli a victor's look, nearly provoking her into jumping up again;

Then, as a reward, she wrapped both arms around Luther's left arm and rubbed against it, shifting into a more comfortable position;

Finally, she turned her head and gave a concise account of the contact with the Archangel—or, in other words, the contact with Cagalli's brother, Kira Yamato.

After hearing Haman's account, which was colored by her own personal emotions, everyone present had their own thoughts.

Flay, for her part, felt that the matter was largely irrelevant to her, especially since even the fact that Kira had feelings for her was something Luther had "kindly" informed her of.

If one had to describe Flay's feelings, it was that she now viewed Kira as a suitor more seriously—though he seemed inferior to Lord Luther, he appeared to be a better choice than Sai.

As for the concerns Flay had in the original timeline regarding Kira being a Coordinator, the impact of Celestial Being's rhetoric—including the existence of Newtypes—had shifted her perspective;

Furthermore, the buffer of him being the brother of her close friend and roommate, the "Princess of Orb" Cagalli, made his status as a Coordinator no longer the primary focus—besides, could the only "Ultimate Coordinator" really be compared to an ordinary one?!

As for Cagalli.

Having personally confirmed that Celestial Being truly possessed mobile suit operating systems usable by Naturals;

And having witnessed the Newtype-exclusive system in the hangar—which she could not activate herself but had observed during training—confirming the existence of "Newtypes";

Naturally, Cagalli had already accepted the fact that she had a brother who was an "Ultimate Coordinator."

Therefore, while listening to Haman's description, as the initial confrontational emotions toward Haman gradually dissolved;

What Cagalli cared about most was the debate between Haman and Kira during their battle regarding whether "those with ability should be on the battlefield."

"'Peace and justice don't fall from the sky; they require power to protect'?

Father, is this why Orb is assisting the Earth Alliance in developing mobile suits?"

Regarding this "Cagalli's confusion," which could be said to be enough to influence the timeline, Luther honestly offered his own insights.

"If you only wish to protect those around you, perhaps a reverse-blade sword is enough.

But to protect a nation, an ideal, or a glimmer of hope, one must possess power commensurate with that goal;

Furthermore, it is not enough to simply have that power; you must let everyone, especially your adversaries, know that you possess it. Only then can you truly win peace.

To repeat the old adage: 'Power alone, or ideals alone, are never enough.'

I am not familiar with Representative Uzumi, but he is your father. When you have the time, you should have a proper talk with him."

Completely ignorant of the example Luther had cited, and having never heard a version of the "old saying" he mentioned, Cagalli clearly could not fully grasp the meaning behind his words.

However, she had perfectly understood the sentiment Luther was trying to convey.

Although the philosophy Luther expressed conflicted with her past ideals, the current Cagalli felt that his perspective made a great deal of sense.

Consequently, though she remained slightly bewildered, Cagalli nodded her head with great vigor.

"I will. And I also need to properly confirm things with Kira regarding his situation."

Having settled matters with Cagalli, Luther took the opportunity to check in with the two people to his left.

Monica shook her head, signaling that she had no questions regarding the topic; Haman, on the other hand, expressed her stance with enthusiasm.

"Next time, I will definitely beat him!"

Luther laughed, patting Haman's hair to soothe her, before turning his gaze toward Aina and Ginias to confirm their thoughts.