Chapter 222 – You Know, It's Common Sense That Bandits Lurk Near Anti-Bandit Forces
If a single ship of civilians arrived in Side 1's space, Eli would attend the scene in full formal dress, carefully inquiring whether these civilians had suffered unjust treatment at the hands of the Titans and arranging proper accommodations for them.
If two ships came, Eli would take up a defensive posture, suspecting it could be a trap set by the Titans to frame Undertaker. He would rigorously screen the civilians.
But now, over thirty Columbus-class ships carrying civilians were heading toward various Sides on their side.
This made Eli's expression more serious than ever before.
When, by what means, and from where had the Titans transported such a large number of civilians?
This was no longer something that could be used merely as political ammunition against the Titans.
More importantly… this number couldn't possibly be the whole of it.
A single Columbus-class ship, if stripped of cargo and crammed solely with people, could carry nearly two thousand.
Thirty such ships meant sixty thousand people.
Within the Earth Sphere, if this many had been evacuated from Earth or the Moon, Eli would've known about it the moment it began.
Which meant they must have come from a colony satellite.
But if it was a colony satellite, there was no way the population numbered only this much.
"Have those Columbus-class ships dock at surrounding colony satellites near Londenion, but do not allow the civilians aboard to enter the colonies themselves. The other colonies are to follow the same protocol. The Titans… someone in that group must be in charge. Bring them to me!"
Eli slammed his desk, suppressing his fury toward the Titans.
"But the warships in the port—"
"Any that can move and aren't under confidentiality orders, get them out of there."
Eli didn't hesitate.
With this single order, all personnel in Londenion affiliated with the Undertaker mobilized, and all leaves were canceled.
One by one, Undertaker's warships departed the port, making room for the incoming Columbus-class ships.
Finally, one of the ships took the initiative to contact Undertaker.
"We've long admired your unit's harmony between military and civilian sectors. Such a response today commands our deep respect—risking potential disruption to your defense systems just to shelter loyal Federation citizens."
In the port's control center, Eli calmly watched as a major aboard one of the Columbus-class ships saluted and spoke these words.
"Is that so? Looks like the Titans have left yet another mess for me to clean up. So what is it this time?"
With those words, Eli gave his judgment on the situation.
The Titans had botched another of their reckless operations and now came begging Undertaker for help.
"…We received authorization from Federation military command to requisition the colony satellite due to a large-scale insurrection."
"Large-scale insurrection? I haven't heard anything about that."
"This is intelligence from the Titans."
…
"And the others?"
This time, Eli was truly straining to keep his emotions in check as he asked.
"You mean the rebels? I believe, as a former anti-bandit unit, you understand the outcome they faced."
Eli's fingers trembled.
Arcadia, standing beside him, noticed and stepped forward, gently tapping Eli's hand.
"I see… You're from Earth, aren't you?"
Arcadia's touch brought Eli back to his senses.
"Yes, sir."
Mentioning his origins, even this major—who hailed from North Africa—couldn't help but puff out his chest.
"You really think there's nothing wrong with all of this?"
"All for the Federation's stability."
The man didn't even hesitate for a second.
"I understand. Take your Titans people and leave. I'll handle the rest."
Eli gave the white officer one last long look before turning away, signaling that the conversation was over.
Watching the Columbus-class ships dock one after another, now all under Undertaker's control, the expression on Eli's face grew darker.
The handover and the civilian disembarkation process took considerable time.
But Eli remained in the control center until the entire process was finished.
All the Titans personnel boarded one Columbus-class ship. They didn't appear to be taking any of the other ships with them.
Noticing that they were about to leave the port, Eli turned his gaze toward them.
He watched as the empty Columbus-class ship lit its thrusters and slowly exited the sector. At last, Eli closed his eyes.
"I recall we recently received reports of Zeon remnants moving near here, didn't we?"
Arcadia looked up in surprise.
Wait—he was the one responsible for tracking Zeon remnants. Eli's question felt like a jab at his competence.
But soon, Arcadia understood and bowed his head deeply.
"Yes, sir. I failed in my duties."
"No matter. Right now, we must focus on resolving the situation before us. The matter of rooting out bandits can wait."
Hearing Arcadia adopt a joking tone, Eli followed suit with mock formality.
"I only hope our Titan colleagues aren't unlucky enough to just stumble into them."
As soon as Eli said this, a tall female figure quietly slipped out of the control center.
…
"Senators, business moguls, famous actors and singers, doctors, scientists…"
The screening of the civilians wasn't completed until the following day.
Using their citizen IDs to verify identities one by one, they uncovered several AEUG supporters, some Zeon remnants who had already resettled, and even a few suspected Titan spies.
Their backgrounds were a mixed bag.
But one thing was undeniable: while these people were civilians, they weren't ordinary wage-earners. They were all high-profile, elite members of society.
Of course, it wasn't out of goodwill that the Titans sent these "elites" into Eli's hands, giving him the chance to put them to use.
"All their assets have been transferred?"
"Yes. Because of that, the vast majority of them are unwilling to disclose what the Titans actually did. Out of thirty thousand, fewer than a hundred have been willing to talk."
Most likely, the Titans had already moved their assets and promised to return them—on the condition they stayed silent.
If it were ordinary people, some might have believed the promise but many would've spoken up to Undertaker immediately.
But with these thirty thousand… Eli strongly suspected that the Titans had handpicked each and every one of them—people without a spine, who would rather stay silent just for the slight chance of getting their assets back.