Everyone Goes Their Separate Ways

January 29, CE 71, approximately 10:00 standard time.

After the festivities of last night, it was time for everyone to head toward their respective futures.

On the shuttle deck of the Gwameir, the Orb civilians rescued from Heliopolis were boarding either the high-speed shuttle Ledonir Kisaka had arrived in or the small Musai belonging to Aina and her group, clearly having made the choices they deemed correct.

The key figures were doing the same, engaged in their final farewells as they committed to their own paths.

The first to bid farewell was Colonel Gerard Garcia, who had only boarded the Gwameir an hour ago and was now in a hurry to depart.

"Then, Lord Luther, Lady Tessa. The supplies have been inventoried on your end, so I leave the rest to you."

Facing the obsequious Colonel Gerard Garcia, Luther had no intention of humiliating a "man" who knew how to bend and stretch as the situation required.

"Easily done. The philosophy of Celestial Being is to hope that all of humanity can unite and strive together for a new Universal Century. As long as it contributes to that goal, we will not let any stubborn enemy go, nor will we hesitate to unite with anyone willing to be a friend. I hope you will not disappoint our sincerity regarding the 'gift' handed over to your side this time."

At Luther's declaration, Colonel Gerard Garcia nodded repeatedly.

"Please rest assured, Lord Luther. I will certainly communicate properly with Major General Bilard and relay your sincerity to the upper echelons of the Eurasian Federation."

After making this pledge to Luther, Colonel Gerard Garcia nodded to the women in turn with a humble posture, finally letting his gaze rest on Major Ledonir Kisaka of Orb.

"Many thanks to Major Ledonir Kisaka for mediating and witnessing for us. There will surely be a generous reward in the future."

"You are too kind, Colonel Gerard Garcia."

After completing the final pleasantries, Colonel Gerard Garcia waved to the group while boarding the transport craft from Artemis Fortress, which bore the emblems of the Earth Alliance and the Eurasian Federation, disappearing behind the bulkhead hatch first.

Having sent off this "outsider" of the highest order, the group on Luther's side, including Cagalli and Flay, felt significantly more relaxed.

In this atmosphere, Kisaka also bid farewell to the group, particularly to Cagalli and Luther.

"Then, Lord Luther, Miss Cagalli, as this matter is of great importance, I must return to Orb personally to report to Representative Uzumi. Lord Luther, thank you for taking the time to grant me a private audience last night."

Luther nodded politely in response to Kisaka's courtesy; Kisaka then turned back to Cagalli.

"Miss Cagalli, are you truly certain you do not want me to leave a few subordinates behind to assist and guard you?"

"I said it's not necessary. Stop with the empty talk, Kisaka, and hurry back to explain the situation clearly to Father!"

Although he had not yet received the explicit approval of Representative Uzumi, after his exchanges with both Miss Cagalli and Lord Luther yesterday, Kisaka believed that Orb and Celestial Being could indeed cooperate.

In that light, Miss Cagalli's continued presence among Celestial Being took on a different meaning.

Since Miss Cagalli appeared to be in good health and high spirits, and her living environment was beyond reproach, there was no need to insist on keeping Orb personnel in such a sensitive, core location of Celestial Being as the Gwameir.

"Then, Ledonir Kisaka, I take my leave. Lord Luther, I entrust Miss Cagalli to you. Miss Cagalli, please take care of yourself."

With a slight nod from Luther and a somewhat impatient wave from Cagalli, Kisaka boarded the high-speed shuttle he had arrived in, taking the Heliopolis civilians who hoped to return to Orb, and followed Colonel Gerard Garcia off the Gwameir.

As the scene was left with only the "special guests" who had grown familiar with one another and the original crew of the Luther Fleet—the core of Celestial Being during their arrival in the CE era—the atmosphere became more relaxed, yet the reluctance to part grew more palpable.

"Well then, I leave Luther to you all."

Monica's farewell was clearly loaded with subtext, causing Tessa to blush slightly, while Cima made a "bold" declaration.

"Oh, just leave it to me, Cima."

"Pfft, a person who collapses the moment Luther exerts a little effort has the nerve to talk big."

Called out by Haman, Cima was not annoyed, but instead "enthusiastically" draped an arm around Haman.

"You can't say it like that, Miss Haman. We have a long time ahead of us where we'll have to work together to tame this wild beast. We can't rely on Lord A-Qiu to cover for us until the very end, can we?"

Mentioned by Cima, the low-profile A-Qiu remained expressionless; however, as everyone had become sufficiently familiar with one another, one could vaguely sense that A-Qiu was actually feeling a bit shy.

Seeing the conversation veering further off course, Luther made a final effort.

"Then, Brother Ginias, I leave the modification of the Astray series units and the integration of that machine to you."

Accompanied by Aina, Ginias nodded in response to Luther.

"Although time is a bit tight, it should be manageable. It's just that, looking at the pilot for that machine, only Norris seems capable of handling it. Who will be piloting the extra Astray?"

Facing Ginias's inquiry, Luther's gaze swept over Cagalli, who felt the subsequent matters were none of her concern and was whispering to Flay, who felt the same, before answering Ginias.

"Since the direction of the adjustments is to strengthen defensive and survival capabilities, it can serve as either an escort unit or a heavy-armor unit for suppressing mass-produced machines. We'll look for a suitable pilot when the time comes. At most, we'll just need to prepare some spray paint for the foamed metal."

Since it did not involve any changes to the mobile suit design, Ginias had nothing more to say regarding Luther's response, so he gently nudged Aina with his hand.

"Well then, Brother Luther, Sister Tessa, Sister Cima, Little Sister A-Qiu, and Little Sister Haman, we shall take our leave now.

And Flay, Cagalli, it was a pleasure meeting you both. I hope we have the chance to chat over tea again sometime."

Under Ginias's urging, the shy Aina finally managed to achieve the status of a 'master of balancing relations.'

Amidst everyone's smiles, it was actually Luther who stepped forward and enthusiastically kissed Aina.

He then did not neglect Monica, 'forcibly' completing a passionate kiss with her as well.

As the Musai carrying Monica, Aina, and Ginias disappeared from everyone's sight, the Gwameir seemed to become much quieter.

Taking one last look at the hangar deck, which now only held the 'rear-guard members,' Luther pulled himself together and issued his orders.

"Then, let us be on our way as well.

The target is the Debris Belt. Let's see exactly who we'll run into this time!"