Reid's sudden outburst left both the Orb Navy and the eavesdropping ZAFT forces dumbfounded.
Everyone shared the same thought: Just what had Rondo Mina Sahaku, the eldest daughter of the Sahaku family, done to provoke Reid like this? This aggressive posture made it seem less like a diplomatic visit and more like a kidnapping attempt. There must be some history (or scandal) here.
The Orb Navy Frontline Commander could only respond helplessly:
"Mr. Reid, if you wish to meet Miss Sahaku, you could have simply filed a diplomatic request for entry. Arriving directly at our territorial waters with your fleet—even if you haven't crossed the boundary—can still be interpreted as a severe provocation."
To be fair, the frontline commander made a valid point. But Reid wasn't here for diplomacy. He retorted obstinately:
"Spare me the diplomatic formalities. Need I remind everyone what happened last time I entered one of Orb's Colony Satellites? Your nation can't even guarantee basic security. What if ZAFT ambushes me again during an official visit? Who knows what secret projects you're running with the Atlantic Federation?
Do you expect me to spend another month drifting at sea in some lifeboat?
Contact your parliament immediately. I'll wait one hour. If I don't see her by then, I'm coming in whether you like it or not. My patience has limits.
And if you want a fight, I'm game. It'll be a perfect opportunity to test Orb's supposedly advanced technology."
This was practically an open challenge, yet the frontline commander dared not escalate to combat. Without explicit authorization from command and facing superior firepower, initiating hostilities would be career suicide.
Moreover, given the New Misurugi Republic's arsenal of cutting-edge Mobile Suits, the commander doubted Reid had come empty-handed. Currently, Orb lacked even a single combat-ready MS—Reid's single ship might actually be capable of cutting through their entire defense.
While actual combat was off the table, the commander couldn't let the insult slide:
"Mr. Reid, I must caution you against such remarks. The Orb Navy will not tolerate disrespect."
In response, Reid simply activated his internal comms to Xia Yulan, who was piloting a mass-produced Wing Gundam in stealth mode high above:
"Yulan, take out a few communication antennas. Make sure to hit an empty inland area too—pick somewhere visible."
Instead of verbal rebuttal, multiple beam attacks suddenly rained from the sky. Precision strikes grazed the ships' communication arrays before harmlessly splashing into the sea. Simultaneously, another beam struck an empty training ground at an Orb port, leaving a smoldering crater.
The Orb Navy initially thought Reid had launched an unprovoked attack, but closer inspection revealed it as mere demonstration fire.
Seizing the moment, Reid played the victim:
"My, my. How dangerous—Orb's already showering me with beam fire before I've even entered your waters. Let me be clear: Don't you dare pin this on me. If I wanted to attack, your parliament building and military headquarters would've been my first targets."
Reid's words were essentially an open threat, conveying a simple message: a reminder to Orb that if they chose to escalate, the consequences would be far uglier for them than for him. The opportunity to back down still existed—it was up to them to decide.
Naturally, chaos erupted on Orb's side. The frontline naval commander cut the public broadcast and shouted over the internal comms:
"Where did that attack come from? Are there Mobile Suits in the sky? Or is there something else hovering at high altitude? Radar operators, did none of you detect anything?"
Unfortunately, there was no way Orb's Aegis-class Destroyers could detect the Mass Production Wing Gundams at such heights. Traditional high-altitude infrared thermal detection required drones or fighter support, and with signals unable to transmit back to the ground, that method was effectively useless—not that Orb even had it configured in the first place.
As for conventional metal-detecting radar, it naturally picked up nothing.
Of course, no one in Orb thought to consult the meteorological bureau for any unusual readings. And even if they had, the bureau wouldn't have been able to point at a thermal anomaly in the sky and definitively say there was a Mobile Suit hidden within.
To Orb, it was as if they were being attacked by a ghost—utterly unable to trace the source of the assault. They could only estimate the firing angle and frantically scan the area with radar.
But any decent sniper knew to relocate after taking a shot. Xia Yulan was no fool—she had already repositioned and resumed her high-altitude sniping.
After an exhaustive search yielded no results, Orb's national think tank likely pieced together the situation. Reid Isaac had probably solved the issue of Mirage Colloid Particles adhering in the Mirage Colloid System. That meant any flying Mobile Suit equipped with the system could activate it midair, and even with exhaust trails, Earth's environment made it nearly impossible to pinpoint the unit's exact location from the ground.
Orb's deduction was about 80% correct. What they couldn't have guessed, however, was that Reid also had a secondary stealth system—one that could even be installed on mass-produced units, with power consumption low enough to be manageable (thanks largely to the CE universe's advanced battery technology).
So now, Orb had no choice but to back down. Against an opponent like the Atlantic Federation, standing firm could at least project an image of defiance—dying in resistance to overwhelming injustice might leave a lasting impression.
But against Reid's single-ship force? If they stubbornly tried to posture, they'd only end up beaten to a pulp, with the world dismissing Orb as nothing more than a paper tiger, easily torn apart at the slightest pressure.
Back in Orb's parliament, Chief Representative Uzumi Nara Athha hurriedly returned from his meeting with the three Archangel officers. He and the rest of the council turned their attention to the Sahaku Family Head.
The unnamed (both in the original and side stories) Sahaku patriarch could only sigh in resignation.
"Since Reid Isaac has explicitly demanded to see my daughter, we have no choice but to send her to him. I'll contact my family immediately."
Uzumi nodded grimly.
"We're counting on you. Mina did mention that Reid Isaac might come to Orb—though none of us took it seriously. Given his status, it seemed impossible he'd come alone. Yet here he is, at this critical moment."
"Everyone, the shooting just now was both a threat and a warning. As long as we can't crack this, Reid Isaac cannot come to harm in Orb. For now, it's just beam weapons, but if the New Misurugi Republic wishes, they could drop far more destructive armaments.
Therefore, ensuring Reid Isaac's safety must be our top priority moving forward. Moreover, I must admit, I'm quite eager to meet this young man myself. So later, I'll accompany Mina to see him."
The Orb Council is divided into upper and lower houses. The upper council, which determines policy, consists of the heads of the five great families. Currently, all five family heads have been united under Uzumi's leadership (to the point they'd even join him in self-destruction—truly comrades in the original sense of the word). As for the subordinates of these five clans and the few representatives of other families, none dared oppose the man holding the sword of Damocles over their heads.
Soon, the frontline commander received orders from headquarters to inform Reid Isaac that Miss Mina and Representative Uzumi would personally arrive by ship to welcome him.
Reid quickly received the message. Seeing that Orb had backed down, he said nothing further and patiently waited for their arrival.
Orb acted swiftly. A little over ten minutes later, a warship carrying Uzumi Nara Athha and Rondo Mina Sahaku arrived, with the two deliberately standing at the bow to demonstrate their sincerity.
Upon seeing this, Reid, accompanied by Xia Yufang, stood atop the Kampfer's hand and was launched by Miguel Gaia, preparing to descend directly onto their vessel.
Uzumi and Mina were no ordinary figures either. Even as the pitch-black Kampfer charged out of the warship atop a Crane Unmanned Auxiliary Flight Device, their expressions remained unshaken.
Only when Reid and Yufang leapt down from the Kampfer's hand did Uzumi step forward with Mina, extending his hand.
"Welcome to Orb, Mr. Reid Isaac."
Reid hadn't come to humiliate Orb, so he formally shook Uzumi's hand in return.
"You're too kind, Representative Uzumi. After all, I've arrived uninvited."
Then, he leaned slightly to address Rondo Mina Sahaku behind Uzumi.
"Miss Mina, my apologies for using your name to force my way into Orb. Truthfully, I had neither the time nor an official reason to visit otherwise."
Mina could only sigh at Reid's unrepentant attitude. Still, she found the sudden convergence of various factions in Orb rather intriguing—after all, true challenge lay in profiting from danger.
So she simply smiled and replied,
"I personally have no objections. However, I hope you've considered how to explain this to Princess Angelise upon your return. I'll honor my promise—I'll accompany you throughout your stay in Orb."
Reid nodded with a grin, as if to say there was nothing to explain back home—it wasn't as if he intended to sleep with her, and Yufang was always by his side anyway. Then, he turned back to Uzumi.
"Representative Uzumi, my ship and our nation's Mobile Suits will not enter your territory. My arrival was already abrupt, and it wouldn't be right to further impose by bringing armed forces into your country."
This wasn't out of trust for Orb—in fact, it was precisely because Reid distrusted Orb that he refused to bring the Aries into its borders.
To put it bluntly, the invisible mass-produced Wing Gundams in the sky were Reid's insurance. On the outer streets, all Reid had to do was fire a signal flare, and the Wing Gundams on duty would immediately swoop down to rescue him.
The reason for bringing two units was to allow time for the Mobile Suits to rotate shifts and recharge.
Similarly, the two Hell Kings operated under the same principle. They would confirm Reid's location via the signal device he always carried, lurking in the waters near the island, ready to provide backup at any moment.
Of course, if Reid entered a military facility like Dawn Company, these two safeguards wouldn't be able to assist. But in narrow corridors, Xia Yufang was invincible.
Moreover, Reid could sense killing intent in advance. As long as he quickly switched to a bulletproof helmet and weapons, he could counterattack immediately. His bulletproof vest and pants were already worn as inner armor. Once he broke out of the base, Reid could still call for support.
Unless Orb was willing to sacrifice Rondo Mina Sahaku and lure Reid into a sealed environment rigged with explosives using unsuspecting pawns, blowing themselves up in the process.
Otherwise, Reid felt the risks of this trip to Orb were manageable—far from the infamous "Iron-Blooded Orga" scenario.
However, now that Reid had declared the ship wouldn't enter Orb, both Uzumi and Mina privately felt it was a missed opportunity.
Uzumi wanted to take advantage of the new warship—commissioned by the New Misurugi Republic and built by the East Asian Republic—docking in port to gather more intel, perhaps even steal some of the Mobile Suit data stored onboard.
Mina, on the other hand, had already realized that the Mobile Suit that had just attacked Orb would need resupply. The ship not entering Orb was likely to facilitate that. If the ship docked, things would become simpler—the aerial threat would likely disappear, and with Orb's military surrounding it, a ship trapped in port wouldn't be able to cause trouble.
But if the ship continued to loiter in Orb's waters, the problem would only grow. Not only would they need to deploy forces to monitor it constantly, but the looming threat overhead—the "Sword of Damocles"—would remain unresolved.
So Mina stepped forward, feigning displeasure as she said,
"Reid, rest assured. Orb may be small, but we have space to accommodate your ship. Please allow it to dock—we guarantee no one in Orb will approach within twenty meters. How about that?"
Uzumi knew his "niece" was cunning and didn't contradict her. Even without prior coordination, he played along, smiling as he added,
"Indeed, Mr. Reid, you have our word. Orb would never act discourteously. If anyone violates this, I will personally ensure they are severely punished."
To Reid, Uzumi's words essentially meant: "Friend, bring your ship in. If anyone tries anything, I'll throw a suitable scapegoat under the bus."
So Reid didn't even entertain the offer. Instead, he waved his hand dismissively and said,
"I appreciate your kindness. But the mercenaries with me this time are all first-timers when it comes to handling a warship. They still need more training. They're not ready for port leave yet—they need more time at sea to adjust."
Without waiting for a response, Reid raised his hand and signaled the Aries' bridge, which had been watching closely.
Captain Grodek Ainoa immediately ordered the ship to turn around, publicly sailing into the vast ocean until it disappeared from sight.
Reid watched as Uzumi and Mina maintained expressionless faces, merely gazing at the departing ship, yet their inner emotions seemed to whisper "Don't go, swallow"—a sentiment that amused him. Taking the initiative, he spoke up.
"Well, Representative Uzumi, Miss Mina, the ship has already sailed out of sight. Shall we continue standing here at the bow, letting the wind blow through us?"
At Reid's words, Uzumi and Mina snapped out of their daze. Uzumi smiled and gestured politely.
"My apologies, Mr. Reid. Let us head inside the ship for now. Once we return to Orb's main island (Yalafath Island), we can find a proper place to talk."
As soon as Uzumi finished speaking, Mina immediately added,
"
That's right, Reid. After your discussion with the Representative, I've arranged a guest room for you at the Sahaku residence. Since we agreed I'd accompany you throughout, you'll have to stay with the Sahaku family. I trust you have no objections?"