After sending Athrun and the other three off the ship, Reid headed to the Kaohsiung Port of the East Asian Republic as agreed.
At this time, the Mass Driver at Kaohsiung Port was still under emergency reconstruction, so Reid had to rely on a large Rocket Propeller to return to space.
However, Reid didn't leave the East Asian Republic empty-handed. Before departing, he gave them a piece of intelligence—that PLANT seemed to be developing an Anti-Neutron Jammer—and advised them to investigate.
Reid's move was a preemptive measure to cover his own tracks regarding the use of ultra-compact nuclear fusion reactors in Mobile Suits. After all, by this time, the Freedom and Justice Gundams were nearly complete, and the Providence Gundam had already been finished. Though these three Mobile Suits wouldn't officially debut for a while, if the East Asian Republic looked closely, they would surely find traces.
Reid's intelligence was taken extremely seriously by the East Asian Republic. Currently, the four major powers of Earth's sphere all knew that Reid had an intelligence network whose origins remained a mystery. As a result, shadowy organizations lurking in the dark—such as "The Clan" and "The Library"—had been thoroughly investigated by these powers.
Yet, nothing was uncovered. Instead, they found evidence of these organizations stirring trouble on both sides, leading to a harsh crackdown that eliminated many ambitious opportunists.
Thus, the East Asian Republic saw an opportunity for Earth to regain nuclear energy and escape the energy crisis. Whether Reid's information was true or not, they would investigate with full force—and might even drag the other two nations into it.
This would divert most of the Earth Alliance and PLANT's intelligence resources, reducing scrutiny on Reid's subsequent large-scale purchases of metal materials. It would buy him time to mass-produce Mobile Dolls and eventually deliver a surprise to everyone.
After leaving the Earth Alliance with an irresistible piece of intelligence, Reid immediately returned to space. It took him another four days to slowly make his way back to the Star Palace Colony Satellite.
By now, it was March 30th, and the entire space sphere's attention was focused on PLANT's upcoming election for a new Supreme Council Chairman. According to regulations, the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman was to be rotated among the city council representatives, with a term of one year, while city representatives served three-year terms.
Honestly, Reid had always found this rule rather absurd—and Siegel was blatantly exploiting a loophole.
Siegel had already served as PLANT's Chairman in CE 68. By official regulations, his three-year term should have expired, disqualifying him not only as Chairman but also as a city representative. The same went for Patrick, who became a city representative the same year as Siegel. Normally, he wouldn't even be eligible to run for Chairman this year.
However, PLANT had declared independence on February 18, CE 70 (the Black Robe Declaration of Independence), effectively resetting the clock.
This was why Patrick Zala could still campaign for the next year's Chairmanship.
But the order in which the twelve city representatives of PLANT would ascend to the Chairmanship still needed to be discussed. Thus, the election for which city representative would become the next Supreme Council Chairman was what constituted PLANT's so-called "general election."
The Earth Alliance was also deeply concerned about PLANT's general election, as the leading candidate for the chairmanship was Patrick Zala—a hardliner who could immediately consolidate military and political power upon taking office. Once in position, he would undoubtedly command ZAFT to launch even larger offensives.
Unfortunately, the election's outcome was predetermined. On April 1st, the PLANT Supreme Council passed the motion almost unanimously (a foregone conclusion, with even Siegel among the supporters), declaring Patrick Zala the second chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council.
The Earth Alliance promptly launched a media offensive, portraying Patrick Zala in their outlets as a madman whose sole purpose was the extermination of Naturals.
Looking back, however, the Earth Alliance's media wasn't entirely wrong about Patrick Zala.
While Earth's condemnation of Patrick Zala grew thunderous, the New Misurugi Republic remained largely indifferent. Instead, they quietly absorbed another wave of immigrants seeking refuge in neutral nations, fearing an escalation of war.
Reid, of course, didn't renege on his promise to Patrick Zala regarding the order. However, the quoted quantities were calculated as the maximum possible amounts of various metals a single Colony Satellite could theoretically produce.
Patrick Zala approved it without hesitation—after all, even such quantities were a drop in the bucket for PLANT. The cosmos was overflowing with common metals. If all asteroid mining belts across the orbital zones were fully exploited, they could easily build ten more PLANTs.
Moreover, many basic metals could be sourced cheaply through the Scrap Dealers' Association—a privilege only major powers enjoyed (smaller nations often paid above market prices to scrap dealers, as many materials weren't even circulated commercially). PLANT could even turn a profit by reselling at a markup.
The Earth Alliance didn't react too sensitively to this transaction either. After all, the New Misurugi Republic proclaimed itself a neutral state—one founded in space, no less. It was only natural for PLANT's new chairman to exchange goodwill gestures.
At worst, these were just basic metal supplies. What could the New Misurugi Republic possibly do with them? Most likely, they'd be used for constructing new Colony Satellites or repairing and rebuilding the Artemis Fortress.
However, neither the Earth Alliance nor PLANT knew that, inside a secret meeting room within the Star Palace Colony Satellite's factory, Reid and several executives were engaged in heated discussions over the specifications and programming of Mobile Dolls and mass-production units for the immigrant forces.
The catalyst was Tem Ray and Elvira Hill, who—after absorbing the principles behind Reid's trove of black technology—had begun practical experimentation.
Before leaving the Star Palace Colony Satellite, Reid had handed Tem Ray a GM Quel as a test unit to tinker with freely.
The moment Tem Ray laid eyes on the NT-X, he recognized it as a successor to the RX-78 series. He initially wanted to conduct further development experiments directly on the NT-X.
But Reid had sentimental attachments to the NT-X—it was his first independently modified Gundam. He wouldn't object if Tem Ray made modifications based on mature technology and proven retrofit plans.
However, Reid was unwilling to use the NT-X Gundam as a guinea pig, so he handed the extracted GM Quel blueprints to Tem Ray and even built a Mobile Suit for him to tinker with.
After all, the GM Quel was a downgraded successor to the NT-1 Gundam, so it could still be considered a direct descendant of the RX-78 series.
Later, when Reid returned after his rounds and had just fed the Aries to the system, Tem Ray came to him with a new set of blueprints for a Mobile Suit.
The Mobile Suit was named the Assault GM Dominion. Reid took a look—it was a technical demonstrator for mass-produced units, with an unusually simple overall design. It used the X100 frame from the Strike, was purely battery-powered, and reused the GM Quel's electronic systems. The head retained its twin 60mm Vulcan Guns, and the armor was nothing fancy, just standard Lunatitanium Alloy. There were no special systems like the Lambda Driver either.
The highlight of this unit, much like the Strike, was its backpack system, which also supported three types of backpacks—though their focuses differed.
The first backpack was purely endurance-focused, a support-type backpack packed with an array of battery cells. Paired with high-speed charging circuits made from room-temperature superconducting materials, it could fully charge an ordinary single-battery Mobile Suit in just five minutes—essentially a cheap, stripped-down version of the Deuterium Nuclear Charge System.
The only downside was that if this backpack was captured by the enemy, it would practically be handing them free supplies, as any enemy Mobile Suit using high-density batteries could still use it for charging.
Equipping this backpack meant playing the role of a battlefield medic. Due to the backpack's excessive weight, its only weapons were a beam pistol for self-defense (with an effective range far shorter than a beam rifle but decent close-range power) and an anti-beam shield. However, thanks to the ample power supply, its sprinting mobility was still guaranteed.
Tem Ray had likely designed this backpack with the battery charging issues of Mobile Dolls in mind. After all, in the Cosmic Era universe, Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactors risked exposing Minovsky Particles, and ultra-compact nuclear fusion reactors were too expensive. High-density batteries, being both cheap and effective, were the better choice.
The second backpack was the standard type, somewhat resembling the one used by the MKⅡ prototype. It came with two beam sabers, a hardpoint for mounting a physical bazooka, six rocket magazine hardpoints on the waist, and was armed with a beam rifle and a beam shield.
This basic configuration wasn't bad at all for a mass-produced unit. Future Earth Alliance Strike Dagger pilots would probably drool over this machine.
The third backpack was a firepower suppression type, equipped with a 125mm high-energy, long-range beam cannon (the same spec as the twin shoulder cannons of the Calamity Gundam). It could extend from beneath the left arm for firing, much like the Launcher Strike.
Though its power was far inferior to the 320mm "Flame God" Ultra-High Impulse Cannon, its range was no weaker. In Tem Ray's opinion, the Strike's cannon was outright overkill—against a Mothership, its range couldn't even compare to a warship's large-caliber beam cannons.
When it comes to fighting Mobile Suits, whether it's the 320mm "Flame God" Ultra-High Impulse Cannon or the 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannon, the results are similar against units with anti-beam coating. The former simply melts through whatever it hits and can pierce one or two additional units, while the latter can't achieve the same penetration against Mobile Suits equipped with both anti-beam coating and Phase Shift Armor.
Of course, against a Mobile Suit like the GINN, the 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannon can still skewer them like candied hawthorns.
Beyond that, the design of this backpack is identical to the Strike's artillery pack. The right side is equipped with a multi-purpose weapon pod containing a 120mm anti-ship Vulcan Gun and a twin 350mm missile launcher, along with a shoulder-mounted shield.
Additionally, the thigh section has an extra Beam Saber compared to the Strike's artillery configuration, providing a solution for awkward close-combat situations.
Moreover, this backpack-equipped Mobile Suit can be paired with a support-type backpack, allowing it to directly use the support pack's battery as a mobile energy source. As long as the barrel holds up, the 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannon can fire indefinitely.
(Ignore the shield and beam cannon on the right arm—just focus on the main unit.)
And so, Reid went ahead and built this Mobile Suit for testing. You have to admit, Tem Ray really knows his stuff.
Thanks to the Factory Module, Lunatitanium isn't significantly more expensive than E Carbon Steel in Reid's hands. Combined with the fact that the Riot Type GM's electronic components are already qualified mass-production parts, the construction cost is much lower than that of a fully armored Astray Gundam made from Lunatitanium. As a mass-produced MS for the migrant forces, this unit is perfectly acceptable in terms of both cost and performance.
Thus, during the meeting, this Mobile Suit was approved without much debate as the standard MS for the migrant forces. After all, the custom units now use Lunatitanium's superior counterpart—Gundarium Alloy, sourced from the AC universe—so there's no need to worry too much about Lunatitanium exposure.
However, in a subsequent meeting, Une raised the issue of specifications for mass-produced Mobile Dolls, as the relevant materials were already being prepared. Parts for the construction of Barge-class battleships had even begun to be smuggled into space disguised as Colony Satellite building materials.
By the time the Barge-class battleships were completed, their accompanying Mobile Suits would need to be deployed simultaneously to maximize their combat effectiveness.
But right now, Reid had plenty of options for low-tier Mobile Suits that could serve as Mobile Dolls.
First, the Duras—the most compatible with the MD system—had to be selected. The advantage of this unit was that its programming required no additional adjustments; it could be used as-is.
The problem, however, was that the Duras in its original world used an ultra-compact fusion reactor, which now had to be replaced with CE's black-tech batteries. This meant its high-output beam rifle also needed adjustments—the original output was too high, draining energy in just a few shots.
Additionally, Reid planned to construct the Duras' frame using foam metal, which altered its load-bearing capacity and necessitated modifications to related systems.
After running the numbers, it turned out that the foam-metal Duras wasn't much different from a foam-metal M1 Astray. There was no point in downgrading it all the way. It made more sense to just use the mass-production version of the Astray, change the head display to avoid resemblance to Orb's M1 Astray, and remove the backpack.
Of course, this wasn't the lowest-cost option. The most economical choice would still be Reid's first drawn MS, the Union Flag.
To be precise, space combat would require considering whether to use the Duras or the Astray for the Mobile Dolls. For Earth operations, the Union Flag must be equipped with Mobile Dolls, as air superiority needs to be secured by the Union Flag.
Originally, the Union Flag's Mobile Suit appeared quite slender due to the excessive weight of E Carbon Steel, but after switching to foam metal, even less material was used. It truly was the king of cost-effectiveness.
However, the Mobile Doll system for the Union Flag required major modifications to the MD system obtained from AC space, especially the flight system for Earth's environment. Even now, Nami hadn't managed to finalize it.
Thus, the focus of this meeting remained on whether to use the Duras or the Astray for the Mobile Dolls. Other units like the Leo had already been ruled out. In Une's eyes, the Leo represented nothing but outdated grunt suits—not worth wasting effort on. If they really wanted high performance, modifying a G Weapon would be far more convenient and offer higher potential.
After much discussion, the Astray ultimately won out. The Duras had no advantages in Earth-based ground combat, and for the sake of flight capability, it didn't even have a shield.
When it came to a single unit excelling in both aerial and ground combat, the Union Flag's cost-effectiveness completely overshadowed the Duras, which would require a full redesign anyway.
So, Reid made the call—modify the Astray Gundam with a GM Head, slightly protruding the antennae backward to differentiate it from the East Asian Republic's units and the future Saber series. The shoulder armor would also be reconfigured to match the GM's design. This would serve as the mass-produced Mobile Doll variant, armed only with a Beam Rifle, a Beam Crutch mounted on the right arm, a shield, and a high-yield self-destruct device.
When the time came, it would descend alongside the Assault GM Dominion. Their similar appearances would help conceal the Assault GM Dominion's role as the command unit.
In this book's side stories, organizations are all groups forced to operate in the shadows under the pressure of Earth's four major powers. None of them have the influence to casually shift international dynamics or threaten global destruction as depicted in the side stories.
The side stories clearly overstep, attempting to surpass the main story's established setting.
For example, if the Clone Troopers were as overpowered as the side stories claim, why bother cloning pilots? They could just clone national leaders and wealthy elites, eliminate the originals, and have the clones take their places.
The Library could control the Clone Troopers' actions simply by holding evidence that they weren't the originals.
Thus, in this book, these organizations are all minor nuisances. The Clan is just a large underground intelligence agency.
The Library is merely an organization with advanced cloning technology (not surpassing Creuset's cloning tech) and some skill in memory suggestion.
No rebuttals accepted. And they will hardly appear.
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!