When Bargiruel summoned him, Reid had no choice but to go. After all, he had set the condition of participating in tactical meetings himself—he couldn't very well say he couldn't be bothered now.
Reid raced to the bridge, where he found Murrue and Bargiruel discussing their next course of action (or rather, escape route). Unlike the original scenario, there were now three possible routes to consider.
The first was a relatively straight path directly to the Earth Alliance base on the moon. This was an all-or-nothing gamble—there was no telling how much resistance they might face along the way. The Archangel would only have a chance of reaching its destination if everything went perfectly smoothly.
The second option was to take a slight detour to resupply at Artemis Fortress. With sufficient provisions, the Archangel's speed alone could easily outmaneuver any pursuers. At worst, they could take a longer roundabout path back to Earth.
The third was to head in the opposite direction toward Heliopolis. While it was farther from the Star Palace Colony Satellite, it was much closer than the moon. Resupplying at the New Misurugi Republic would serve the same purpose, after which they could figure out how to circle back to Earth.
Upon arriving, Reid immediately vetoed the third option upon hearing Bargiruel's proposal.
"Out of the question. The New Misurugi Republic can't resupply the Archangel. Don't forget—your contract is with the Crimson Wings Mercenary Group. The Republic can't offer you any official state support. Drop that idea right now. I have no intention of binding the Atlantic Federation to you over a single job."
Reid's tone brooked no argument. Murrue and Bargiruel exchanged glances but didn't press the issue. In truth, they had only been testing the waters with Reid and had already prepared for his refusal.
Even if Reid had agreed, the two would still have had to consider whether he might attach additional conditions—such as demanding they hand over technical data or even impounding the ship and mobile suits until the New Misurugi Republic had finished studying them.
But Reid wasn't done yet. Seeing that neither captain objected, he continued.
"As for resupplying at Artemis Fortress... trust me, the moment you arrive, Major General Gerard Garcia will have you under house arrest. The man has solid connections—after my incident, he only got a slap on the wrist with probation. My guess is he's desperate to redeem himself now, to secure his position as fortress commander. You'd be delivering a ready-made achievement to his doorstep. He'll absolutely strong-arm you into handing over development data as your toll."
At this, Murrue and Bargiruel's expressions darkened. Before Reid's arrival, they had considered Artemis Fortress the best option.
Left with little choice, Murrue asked resignedly, "So, Reid, are you saying we should head straight for the lunar base?"
Reid shook his head again and spoke bluntly. "Let me put it this way—whether the direct route to the lunar base succeeds hinges entirely on how much supplies you currently have. If your reserves are insufficient, taking that path is suicide. But judging by the fact that two of your three options involve resupplying, I'm guessing the Archangel's provisions aren't exactly plentiful, are they?"
This wasn't hard to guess. In the original story, the Archangel had to compete with corpses for water - supplies couldn't possibly be sufficient. Although I could exchange for food and water, there was no way to explain where these items came from aboard the Archangel. So I could only stand by helplessly. Even if forced to exchange for water and food, it would only be enough for myself and Ange.
Seeing that Reid had already seen through the situation, Bargiruel stopped hiding the truth.
"That's correct. We launched the ship in haste. Earlier at Heliopolis, we mainly replenished ammunition and repair parts. Food isn't the biggest issue - we can make do with synthetic nutrients. But water is a serious problem. The ship was already short on water, and now with so many refugees... the shortage has become even worse."
Bargiruel was actually somewhat blaming Kira for acting on his own and Murrue for her excessive sympathy. But Murrue pretended not to understand, and Reid also acted oblivious, directly changing the subject.
After the silence, Reid spoke up:
"If that's the case, we should head to Artemis Fortress. You'll definitely be placed under house arrest, but Ange and I are different. I have many acquaintances there, plus Ange has her status as European royalty. Major General Gerard Garcia wouldn't dare to forcibly detain us both."
"Then I'll see if I can pull some strings to get you out. Though honestly, I'm not optimistic about the supplies situation. This Major General Gerard Garcia is a shortsighted fool. He's screwed me over badly before."
Reid's fists clenched as he spoke, remembering how Gerard Garcia had sent his squad to the Roosevelt.
Although the outcome was his system awakening and his life taking off, it didn't change the fact that he'd actually lost a life at Junius Seven. So now Reid was considering using this opportunity to properly retaliate against that idiot.
Just as he finished speaking, Mu finally arrived at the meeting after showering. Hearing Reid mention house arrest, he asked curiously:
"Reid, what are you talking about? Who's going to detain you?"
Bargiruel, in no mood for pleasantries, snapped:
"Captain Flaga, you're too late. The meeting's mostly over. And please keep your showers shorter in future."
Mu was taken aback by the rebuke, but seeing Bargiruel's expression, realized she wasn't just picking on him, and looked to Reid.
Reid subtly shook his head at Mu, signaling not to argue back. Understanding, Mu laughed it off and apologized - with his experience, he knew better than to argue with an angry woman.
Reid smoothly brought the discussion back on track, summarizing:
"So the conclusion is clear: due to severe water shortage, we must resupply at Artemis Fortress, but must be prepared to be disarmed and detained upon entry. Worst case, we may need to hand over relevant technology as toll."
"Of course, I despise my former superior and will try to help you escape. Mu, that's the general situation. What do you think?"
Mu had nothing more to say—water shortage was a matter of life and death. They had to find a way to resupply first. Since Reid had rejected resupplying at the Star Palace Colony Satellite, the Artemis Fortress, no matter how problematic, was still friendly territory. It was definitely better than staying in Heliopolis waiting to die or heading straight for the Moon to test the limits of human endurance.
So, Mu shifted the topic to something more practical and asked directly:
"I have no objections to the destination, but how do we break through the blockade of four ZAFT motherships outside? You don't think they'll just let us go that easily, do you?"
Regarding this question, Bargiruel seemed a bit naive. She answered straightforwardly:
"Back in Heliopolis, we took out twelve of their GINNs in total. Does ZAFT even have the forces left to intercept us?"
Reid answered this question directly, saying:
"Interception is inevitable. To be precise, we only took down eleven GINNs—one crashed due to weapon detonation. When I was searching for the Archangel, I saw the Aegis rescuing it. With four motherships in total, if they've repaired the CGUE and added the four stolen MS, they can deploy another twelve MS to stop us.
Moreover, this battle will only be worse than the one in Heliopolis. I have to admit, Captain Murrue, the new MS your team developed is incredibly powerful. Even though I only briefly engaged the Aegis, I could feel the strength of that machine."
Frankly, with Reid being hailed as the Natural MS development pioneer (as circulated within the Earth Alliance), praising the advanced MS her team had developed should have made Murrue happy. But the thought that four of their creations had been stolen by the enemy and were now being turned against them left her in no mood for joy. She could only reply awkwardly:
"Ah, it's just a shame that those four Gundams are now our enemies. That's why we must bring the ship's data back to the Atlantic Federation headquarters."
Murrue spoke without much thought, but Reid took note. So, the data was stored in the Archangel's ship systems. No wonder, in the original story, Murrue fought tooth and nail to get the Archangel back to the Alaska Base.
Back when he watched the anime, Reid had wondered why they didn't store the development data in portable drives and arrange a shuttle to descend directly to the Alaska Base after rendezvousing with the 8th Fleet. That would've been far more efficient. Now it seemed they likely stored it this way because the ship's multi-layered system protections made the data harder to hack or steal.
Reid mentally filed away this intel but showed no outward reaction. Instead, he steered the conversation away from the data and continued:
"Since ZAFT will definitely try to intercept us, we'll force them to split their forces.
Here's the plan: After preparing for departure, we'll leave two decoy missiles behind. The Archangel will depart first, heading straight for the Artemis Fortress. After full thrust from the main engines, we'll shut them down immediately and proceed on low-heat auxiliary engines with inertial drift.
The first decoy missile will launch after five minutes, targeting the Moon base. The second will launch another five minutes later, heading for the Star Palace Colony Satellite."
As Reid explained this, Bargiruel nodded and offered a suggestion.
"Reid, if we're using decoy missiles, why not launch false targets first to confuse the enemy instead of sending the main ship out immediately? I think the Archangel should depart in the second or third wave."
To this question, Reid could only say that Bargiruel was too academic in her thinking and rejected the idea outright.
"No. Our opponent is Creuset. From what I know of him, he's probably already guessed most of our situation and is about 70% certain we're heading for Artemis Fortress. If they detect a large heat signature whose first destination isn't Artemis, he'll confirm his suspicions."
"But if the first target is Artemis Fortress, it'll actually make him doubt himself. That way, the decoy missiles five minutes later will truly disrupt his thinking. On the battlefield, the real becomes fake, and the fake becomes real—it's all about psychological warfare."
"This is an open strategy. If Creuset wants to intercept us, he'll have to split his forces to investigate. At least one warship per route, and Mobile Suits will naturally be diverted too."
"And in the worst-case scenario, if Creuset is stubborn and immediately chases the first heat signature, the Archangel will at least have a head start. We won't have our plan exposed and end up letting the enemy get ahead of us."
Mu nodded repeatedly at Reid's analysis, thinking that Reid truly lived up to his reputation as a battlefield commander who could capture a warship with just one Mobile Suit through strategy. The Eurasian Federation had such talent for years without realizing it—whether Artemis Fortress's commander Gerard Garcia was incompetent or not remained to be seen, but he was certainly blind.
Murrue and Bargiruel were also convinced, especially Bargiruel, who felt the urge to take notes on Reid's words. Indeed, the experience gap between those who had actually fought on the battlefield and those who came from the academy was immense.
With the plan finalized, the meeting concluded. Reid thought to himself that since he was returning to his old unit to meet his "old superior," he ought to prepare a memorable "gift"—otherwise, it would be a waste of all that "nurturing." Excusing himself to adjust the Mobile Suit, he returned to the NT-X Gundam's cockpit, secretly browsing the system for something suitable as a "present."
Meanwhile, on ZAFT's side, Creuset—just like in the original timeline—was studying the space map. The three possible routes the Archangel could take had naturally been analyzed by this strongest Natural clone.
As Reid had predicted, Creuset was almost certain the Archangel wouldn't take the lunar route. But whether it was heading to Artemis Fortress or Star Palace Colony Satellite, he was still torn. He simply didn't know the extent of cooperation between the New Misurugi Republic and the Archangel.
However, Creuset could accept either route. If the Archangel went to Artemis Fortress, he could strike the Eurasian Federation again. If it went to Star Palace Colony Satellite, the New Misurugi Republic would be fully dragged into the war, and the leverage Reid held over him would no longer be an issue.
But Creuset knew he had to pursue the Archangel relentlessly to either destination—especially Star Palace Colony Satellite. If he lost track of them and Reid Isaac simply denied the Archangel's presence there while using footage of ZAFT's attack to argue his case, it would be easy for Reid to talk his way out. After all, there would be no concrete evidence left.
So when the Vesalius (Nazca-class) detected a large ship-class heat signature moving directly toward Artemis Fortress, Creuset hesitated to make an immediate judgment.
Then five minutes later, another heat signature was detected heading for the Moon, followed ten minutes later by yet another heading toward the Star Palace Colony Satellite.
By this point, Creuset had realized something was wrong. Clicking his tongue, he muttered:
"Tch, it seems the Archangel does have expert guidance. Reid Isaac... you're proving to be someone who can't be ignored. An overt scheme? You've really managed to play on my psychology."
However, Creuset wasn't one to hesitate. He understood the principle that indecision leads to trouble. Deciding to concentrate his main forces on the more probable Artemis Fortress route (being the closest with the fewest unknowns), he commanded:
"The Vesalius and Gamov (the original ship) will take our captured Mobile Suits and search along the Artemis Fortress route for the Archangel. All remaining GINNs will be deployed to the other two motherships to search along the Star Palace Colony Satellite route. We can't let that 'Long Legs' (nickname for Archangel) escape. Move out immediately!!"
Fun fact: Commander Creuset is actually a Natural clone, not a Coordinator. It's just that Mu's father's genes were so exceptional that he could pass as a Coordinator without anyone noticing.
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