May 30, CE70—a day that would undoubtedly be remembered in history. On Earth, ZAFT officially launched its assault on the Suez Canal, engaging in fierce battles with the Eurasian Federation's heavy ground forces.
In space, the conflict near the Moon remained at a standstill due to supply issues, while other regions remained eerily quiet, the calm before the storm.
Only in the fifth orbital zone, where the L3 Colony Cluster was located, did an unauthorized ZAFT mothership engage in combat with the newly established Misurugi Empire—a nation that 90% of people had never even heard of before.
A Laurasia-class battleship had boldly entered the meteor defense perimeter of the Misurugi Empire's Colony Satellite, Star Palace. Captain Stefano Greco was questioning the CIC staff:
"What's the response from the Misurugi Empire's Colony Satellite? Have they replied to our warning? Have their electromagnetic anti-meteor cannons activated?"
The green-uniformed communications officer quickly confirmed the situation and reported,
"Captain, the enemy remains silent—no response. The port gates are sealed shut, and there are no lights visible."
Stefano Greco sneered and issued his orders.
"Hmph, do they think playing turtle will work? They must think I don't dare attack a neutral Colony Satellite. They're underestimating me.
"All hands, red alert! MS Squad, deploy! And remind Legendre—I want prisoners. And no large-scale destruction of the Colony Satellite."
With the captain's command, the Laurasia-class battleship entered combat readiness and activated electronic jamming, completely severing the Misurugi Empire's external communications.
Three GINNs were then catapulted from the battleship, heading straight for Star Palace's port.
Over the squad comms, squad leader Legendre was casually boasting to his subordinates.
"Some industrial trash Colony Satellite, calling itself 'Star Palace.' Earth's nobility sure knows how to pick names. Listen up, boys—once I blast open the gates, we rush in shields up. Their stupid ball-shaped Engineering Machine Modified MA only has that head-mounted cannon worth worrying about, so block it with your shields. Once we're inside, we head straight for the central government building!"
With that, Legendre fired his MS's shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, blasting the metal gates wide open.
The other two GINNs followed orders, charging into the port with shields raised—only to find it pitch-black and completely empty.
They immediately reported to their leader.
"Captain, the port's empty. Infrared scans show nothing—not even construction equipment, not even a single screw."
Leandre didn't let his guard down.
"Keep those shields up and advance slowly. No way they didn't set up something. Watch for tripwires—Earthlings love that kind of trap."
It was clear that despite his temper, Legendre was experienced and competent.
But Reid's trap wasn't in the port—after all, they only had one, and damaging it would mean repairs. So the port was genuinely left empty.
Still, the three GINNs proceeded cautiously at low speed through the port area.
All along the way, there was nothing but deathly silence. Legendre was utterly stunned—that military man Reid Isaac actually left the entrance completely unguarded, allowing them to march right in. Did he really think that in the open environment inside the Colony Satellite, those handheld infantry weapons could pose a threat to the GINNs? Or did he believe the open space would make it easier for the 180mm Cannon to hit its targets compared to the narrow passageways of the spaceport?
But unguarded was unguarded. The three GINNs advanced all the way to the spaceport's final gate without encountering any resistance.
By this point, even Legendre's vigilance had waned considerably. He directly addressed his team:
"It seems the Misurugi Empire has given up. Honestly, if they wanted to surrender outright, why put on that earlier act? The logic of Naturals is truly incomprehensible. Still, keep your shields up. I'll take point."
With that, Legendre maneuvered his GINN and fired a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, blasting open the gate.
However, the moment the gate was breached, Legendre's mobile suit console erupted in a shower of sparks before the entire system went dark.
The same fate befell the other two GINNs—their systems completely crashed, their monoeyes dimmed, and the machines collapsed where they stood.
In truth, Reid's method for dealing with invading GINNs inside the Colony Satellite was simple. During a system lottery draw, he had once won a Portable EMP Bomb. This time, he had planted several at every possible entry point where GINNs might infiltrate the Colony Satellite.
Since the interior of his Colony Satellite was practically empty, and the Portable EMP Bomb's effective range was limited, detonating them wouldn't damage much. This location was far enough from the port's main control center to keep it intact.
Unless the enemy chose to breach the colony's outer walls directly, they were guaranteed to fall into his trap.
Legendre never imagined Reid would deploy EMP weapons inside the Colony Satellite. In his mind, such weapons risked shutting down the entire colony if mishandled, so he hadn't taken any precautions.
From a distance, Reid watched as the three GINNs collapsed. Eagerly, he sent a local resident to the agreed-upon terrace window to signal Angie, who was hiding outside, while he and Noin boarded an Iron Ball to retrieve their spoils.
After the Factory Module analyzed the blueprints from these three GINNs, dismantling them could yield at least two brand-new units. Finally, he and Noin wouldn't have to pilot Iron Balls anymore—they'd have proper mobile suits to operate. Reid could finally train his MS piloting skills and shed his beginner status. After all, Noin's MS piloting rating was already at Elite level.
As for the three pilots, Reid had no intention of killing them. They would serve as bargaining chips in his negotiations with PLANT, just like the Laurasia-class ship outside—he'd already instructed Angie not to sink it.
This operation would see him capturing even warships, proving to all factions that the Misurugi Empire was not to be trifled with.
Soon, the Iron Ball arrived before the three disabled GINNs. Reid ordered Noin to aim the 180mm Cannon at the cockpits while he maneuvered his Iron Ball's arm-mounted laser cutter—designed for slicing asteroids—to carve open the GINNs' cockpits.
With their systems completely fried, the GINNs couldn't even self-destruct before Reid effortlessly breached their cockpits.
Reid was quite lucky—the first GINN he opened happened to contain Legendre.
Peering out from the Iron Ball's cockpit at Legendre's humiliated expression inside the GINN, Reid activated the external speakers and said with a laugh:
"I believe you're Sergeant Legendre, right? The bodyguard of diplomat Stefano Greco. Congratulations—we're a neutral nation, and not Blue Cosmos fanatics. We accept prisoners. Later, we'll negotiate a ransom with PLANT. So, what'll it be? Do you want to die as a terrorist who invaded a neutral country? Or would you rather be a prisoner and wait for your homeland to save you?"
With Reid putting it that way, Legendre really had no choice. If he died here, PLANT certainly wouldn't have the face to award honors to someone who violated orders and invaded a third-party neutral nation. They'd probably just go along with the Misurugi Empire's narrative and label him a terrorist to save face.
Since death wouldn't preserve his honor anyway, Legendre had no choice but to surrender in the face of the 180mm Cannon. Naturally, his two teammates shared the same sentiment, obediently allowing the Colony Satellite locals who arrived later to disarm them completely before being locked in a makeshift prison converted from a warehouse.
(End of Chapter)